Soy alert!!! Just an article I found

Soy alert!!! It isn’t all that good for you...

this is not a forward. this is an article i found on the internet and just copied it. I have been doing some research on soy and it is scary what i'm finding... this story basically summarizes what happens to women... the body uses soy like it is estrogen... just imagine what it does to babies who drink soy formula and that is there only source of food, or what it does to men, or what it does to pre-menapause women.... The majority of doctors in other countries actually PRESCRIBE soy to post menapausal women to regulate their hormones!!! it is that strong.... anyway.... just though this was crazy:

One Woman's Story

By Tera

This is my true story, nothing altered. These are facts as they relate to my experience, my opinions based on what I have read and felt. I am relating them to warn other young health-conscious women who are unwittingly harming themselves and so that what I went through and what I am going through has some purpose. It would make what I have gone through worth something and not in vain.

In 1989 I graduated from high school in a small town in Texas and couldn't wait to hit the big college city so I could begin to live my own life. One of the changes I wanted to make was to eat healthier. My family wasn't big on tofu, yoghurt or fruits. I also didn't want to gain the freshman 15. Once I moved to health-conscious Austin, Texas with its parks, hike and bike trails, and health food stores, I began to fortify my body with the best and healthiest foods I could find. Tofu was the main ingredient in every healthy dish and I bought soy milk almost every day because it was better than milk. I used it for everything from cereal to smoothies or just to drink for a quick snack. I bought soy muffins, miso soup with tofu, soybeans, soybean sprouts, etc. All the literature in all the health and fitness magazines said that soy protected you against everything from heart disease to breast cancer. It was the magical isoflavones, it was the estrogen-like hormones that all worked to help you stay young and healthy

But I wasn't that healthy. I looked great, I was working out all the time, but my menstrual cycle was off. At 20 I started taking birth control pills to regulate my menstrual cycle. One brand would work for a few months but then I would become irregular again. The doctors kept switching the brands and assuring me that I'd find the one that would work. In addition to this I began to suffer from painful periods. I began to get puffy--not fat, I wasn't gaining weight, just getting rounder. It was as though I was losing my muscle tone. I wasn't looking as good as I had before, despite all my exercising. I began to suffer from fits of depression and get hot flashes. I mistook all this for PMS since my periods were irregular. I had no way of knowing when I was going to begin my period.

Now, I had started using soy when I was 19. The onset of these problems quickly began at 20. By the time I was 25 my periods were so bad I couldn't walk. The birth control pills never made them regular or less painful so I decided to stop taking them. I went on like this for another two years until I realized my pain wasn't normal. In 1998, when I was 27 years old, my gynecologist found two cysts in my uterus. Both were the size of tennis balls. I was scared to death! I went through surgery to have them removed and thank God they were benign. The gynecologist told me to go back on birth control pills. I didn't. In 1998 he discovered a lump in my breast. Again I went through surgery and again it was benign.

It was in November, 2000 that my glands swelled up and my gums became inflamed. Thinking I had a tooth infection I went to the dentist who told me that my teeth were not the problem. After a dose of antibiotics the swelling still did not go down. At this point I could feel a tiny nodule on the right side of my neck. No one else could feel it. I told my mother I had thyroid trouble. This was based only on a hunch. She, along with others in my family, said I was being silly. No one in the family suffered from thyroid trouble. What's a thyroid?" was what my friends would say.

Going on a hunch I saw a specialist who diagnosed me with Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma. After a series of tests he told me it was cancer. My fiance and I sat stunned. I was dreading another operation but so far every lump had been benign. We were not prepared and I was so scared. We scheduled surgery right away. The specialist told us that it would only be after the operation that a pathologist would be able to tell us for sure if it was cancer. They found a tumor on my right lobe composed of irregular cells and another smaller tumor growing on the left, so the entire thyroid was removed. No harm was done to my vocal chords, no harm to my parathyroids but I now had an ugly scar and would be dependent on thyroid hormones the rest of my life. They told me that after undergoing radioactive iodine I would be safe and assured me that I could live a long life.

After treatment I began to search for the cause of all these problems. An x-ray I had done at age 8 was under suspicion, as was stress--everything got blamed on stress, genes, maybe that time I tried to smoke a cigarette (I was never a smoker but tried once), maybe that summer when I was 25 and began to drink vodka and try mixed drinks ( I was never one for alcohol but wanted to know what the hype was about). I began to look for esoteric reasons like not being spiritual enough. I never once thought it could be all the soy I had consumed for nearly ten years. After all, soy is healthy. I never drank soft drinks, and even when I was under excruciating pain, never took aspirin or headache medications. Maybe it was birth control pills.

I came upon a web page that linked thyroid problems to soy intake and the conspiracy of soy marketed as a health food when in fact it is only a toxic by-product of the vegetable oil industry. This was insane, I thought. After all, the health and fitness magazines had said nothing about soy being harmful. I visited an herbalist who was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in 1985. She informed me that soy was the culprit. She was a health-conscious individual who in her twenties fortified her diet with soy. A few years after that she had to have a hysterectomy due to cysts and other uterine problems. A few months later another acquaintance who had consumed soy came down with thyroid cancer. She was 27. A girl in England I met through the internet in a thyroid cancer forum had just undergone surgery and she was only 19. What was going on???? The research said that thyroid cancer was more common in older women, age 50 or older. It was said to be genetic or the result of nuclear fallout like in Chernobyl.

Today I found out that yet another acquaintance--another health-conscious individual--just found out she has thyroid cancer and she is 29. I got on the internet and found breast cancer linked to the radioactive iodine given during treatment. This didn't seem true. As fearful as I am of anything nuclear, the treatment has been given for over 150 years. Breast cancer is linked to estrogen. What mimics estrogen in the female body? SOY! I am not a scientist nor a doctor but I know my body. I knew that there were changes going on and I did search for clues as to why, but I never suspected soy because until now I never once found a single article that stated soy could be dangerous. Evening primrose oil I heard taken in large amounts, vitamin A, C and E can make tumors grow if taken in large dosages, MSG, even tuna is harmful but never once SOY. Women who took soy prior to thyroid problems will continue to take it after if they are not aware of what soy actually does, what it contains and how it reacts in the female body. I think this is the reason that women with thyroid cancer often develop breast cancer later.

Now it all makes sense. If you trace the problems I have had, they are all related to hormones. Taking birth control pills I believe only added more hormones to my body that I didn't need. I believe it was the fruit, no smoking, no drinking, exercise and veggies that kept my first surgeries benign. I wasn't as lucky the last time.

My co-worker is big into soy and I see her losing hair and gaining weight despite a walking workout during her break and after work, and apples and oranges for lunch. She just had cysts removed from her uterus too. I warn her to stay off the soy. I refer her to websites but until it is on the evening news on all four networks, women will suffer. I say what I can but at the Christmas potluck every dish contained soy in one form or another. It's now the staple of the new American diet--eat right, eat for health, eat to ward off cancer, AND IT'S SOY!

Back in 1994 I did have my thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) checked, again on a hunch. I was suffering from lethargic days, fits of depression, feeling off, and mild digestive problems. My TSH was a 6. A good physician, taking into account my symptoms, would have explored this. We are not always blessed with good physicians. Many don't know what a thyroid gland is, what it does or even where it is, and they miss important signs.

By the way, today I have normal periods even though I am not on birth control pills and even though I have had to change my dosage of thyroid hormone since the thyroidectomy. I do not touch soy, haven't for two years.

Dear readers, please use my story in any way you can. There are so many young girls who are consuming soy because they think they are taking care of themselves, and women taking soy because they want to be healthy. It is so unfair that the information about the dangers of soy isn't more widely circulated. It is sad. Health is wealth and until 1998 no matter how badly things went--car breaking down, bills, bad dates--I felt comforted in that I had my health. There are many out there who feel this way and it is a terrible blow when you realize you are not as healthy as you thought and that the information that you depended on was wrong.

Just my thoughts on love... Keep it pure

Just my thoughts on love... Keep it pure
Category: Life

As Professor Jérôme Lejeune said, "to dissociate the child from love is an error to mankind" That's why God says to keep love making pure by practicing monogamus relation ships which back up that husbands are the only ones authorized to be with his wife.

Contraception is making love without making a child.
Fertilization is making a child without love.
Abortion is just destroying the child.
Pornography in all forms just destroys the love.

All of the above is not in accord with the dignity of human nature.



"For he that will save his life, shall lose it: and he that shall lose his life for my sake, shall find it. For what does it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and suffer the loss of his own soul? Or what exchange shall a man give for his soul? Matthew 16: 25-26

As the late Professor Jérôme Lejeune explained, "Normally the child of love, desired and conceived in joy, is received with great enthusiasm in the warmest of all shelters, the body of its own mother."4 Never in the history of man has human life been denigrated and exterminated in such great numbers as in the present era. Today's technology claims to supplant love by performing endless manipulations, not only to destroy life and the normal functions of the human body created by God, but also by fabricating a false beginning of life and a false termination of man's natural end. Such misinformation could not have transpired, nor prevailed, without the approval or indifference of those responsible for the protection of life.

Prof. Jerome Lejeune also stated: "Do what he (man) will, he attempts to justify his conduct, and if he cannot manage that, he changes the meaning of the words, in the absence of control over the rules of the game."5 Freezing genetic material to reproduce animals (beasts and brutes without immortal souls) was the beginning of artificial insemination, but what followed was the denigration of the dignity of man by using the same technique, which was devised for animals, and now applying it to mankind.

Today, many physicians have fallen into the clutches of industrialized manipulation of existing human cells forgetting that man cannot create immortal souls from nothing. Scientists are manipulating what is already in existence. They are becoming active participants in the violation of the Natural and Divine Laws. They recommend, prescribe or perform the most atrocious and violent acts against the unborn, handicapped and/or elderly persons. The few physicians that have spoken against these heinous crimes were, and continue to be, severely chastised and persecuted by members of their own profession. On the other hand, those who remain silent against such perpetrations against humanity, become passive cooperators by allowing such atrocities to continue.

The Devil’s Be-attitudes

The Devil’s Be-attitudes
Category: Life

• Blessed are those who are too tired, too busy, too distracted to spend an hour a week with their fellow Christians; they are my best workers.
• Blessed are those Christians who wait to be asked and expect to be thanked; I can use them.
• Blessed are the touchy. With a bit of luck they may stop going to church; they are my missionaries.
• Blessed are the troublemakers; they shall be called my children.
• Blessed are the complainers; I'm all ears to them.
• Blessed are they who are bored with the minister's mannerisms and mistakes; for they get nothing out of his sermons.
• Blessed is the church member who expects to be invited to his own church; for he is a part of the problem instead of the solution.
• Blessed are they who gossip; for they shall cause strife and divisions that please me.
• Blessed are they who are easily offended; for they will soon get angry and quit.
• Blessed are they who do not give their offering to carry on God's work; for they are my helpers.
• Blessed is he who professes to love God but hates his brother; for he shall be with me forever.
• Blessed are you who when you read this think it is about other people and not yourself; I'VE GOT YOU…..

Femininity & Modesty

"The Secret Garden"

By Mrs. Jennie Chancey

I want you to imagine with me for a few moments. Picture in your mind the most beautiful, abundant garden you can. Roses bloom and fill the air with their scent. Hollyhocks and sweet peas line meandering walkways. Bright colors surround you on every side, while birds sing happily to each other in trees loaded with fruit. Shady areas beckon you to sit upon soft, green grass. A clear brook bubbles over smooth rocks and winds its way through patches of daisies, lilies, forget-me-nots, and buttercups. The garden is a delight to the senses--a place of rest, refreshment, and splendor. Some faithful gardener has kept it free of weeds, staked up the slender stalks of tall plants, watered the flowers, swept the walks, and pruned the trees to perfection.

Now, around this imaginary paradise, imagine a strong wall built of aged stones. The stones are joined together perfectly, leaving no chinks. The mortar is in excellent repair so that no part of the wall is left to crumble away. A single door marks the entrance to the garden, and it is built of solid wood and locked securely. Passersby on the road can hear the tinkling of the brook and the singing of birds within the walls. They can smell the wonderful perfume of the flowers. They can even see some climbing roses draped over the tops of the walls, announcing that within is a wonderful treasure. But no one passing by possesses the key to the door. That is safely stowed in the gardener's pocket.

Can you picture this "Secret Garden" with me? Do you know the name of the garden? Ladies, the garden is you! Little girls, the garden is you! Your name is inscribed on that strong door in bright, golden letters. You are "The Secret Garden!"

Let me read a brief passage from the Song of Songs to set this picture in its context:

"A garden enclosed is my sister, my spouse; a spring shut up, a fountain sealed. Thy plants are an orchard of pomegranates, with pleasant fruits; camphire, with spikenard,
spikenard and saffron; calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense; myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices: A fountain of gardens, a well of living waters, and streams from Lebanon." (Song 4:12-15)

In this beautiful book of the Bible, Solomon gives us a picture of womanhood that is simply radiant. Every woman is like this lovely bride--a "garden" full of all manner of delicious fruits and lovely flowers. Isn't it wonderful that God has this view of womanhood? It is something precious, special, and honored. It is a glory to be a woman!

Last year I talked about how male and female together make up the image of God, as is written in Genesis 1:27: "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them." Together, male and female are "man" -- mankind, that is. Man isn't complete without woman, and this doesn't just apply to married couples--it applies to the human race as a whole. God delights in our differences as men and women, because He made us to complement one another. He loves for men to be manly and women to be womanly.

And that brings me back to our Secret Garden. Ladies, do you know what the wall is that surrounds your garden? It isn't a prison wall. It isn't a fortress. It isn't an ugly wall. The wall is modesty.

Modesty.

Webster's Dictionary defines modesty as "natural delicacy…regarding personal charms; purity of thought and manners; due regard for propriety in speech or action." Paul writes about modesty in I Timothy 2:9-10, saying, "In like manner also, that the women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with propriety and moderation, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing, but, which is proper for women professing godliness, with good works."

Now, I know when I say the word "modesty," some ladies immediately have alarm bells go off in their heads. "Oh, no. Here she goes. Now we're going to get a list of rules about clothes. I don't need legalism, so I'll just tune out." Or perhaps the word conjures up images of a frumpy, unkempt housewife who hasn't attempted to brush her hair for days. Both of these responses miss the point, however. Modesty isn't about legalism. It isn't about deliberately looking unwomanly or unattractive. Quite the opposite.

Let's look at the picture God gives us of Jerusalem in Ezekiel 16:10-14: "'I clothed you in embroidered cloth and gave you sandals of badger skin; I clothed you with fine linen and covered you with silk. I adorned you with ornaments, put bracelets on your wrists, and a chain on your neck. And I put a jewel in your nose, earrings in your ears, and a beautiful crown on your head. Thus you were adorned with gold and silver, and your clothing was of fine linen, silk, and embroidered cloth. You ate pastry of fine flour, honey, and oil. You were exceedingly beautiful, and succeeded to royalty. Your fame went out among the nations because of your beauty, for it was perfect through My splendor which I had bestowed on you,' says the Lord God."

Obviously, God does not have a problem with beauty! Modesty is not about drab colors or dullness. It is not about lists of detailed rules that suffocate womanly charm or cause us to become Pharisees who consider ourselves superior to others. Instead, modesty is all about the loving protection the Master Gardener has created for all of His "secret gardens." It is about a wall that keeps us safely guarded for the one earthly gardener who will be given the key and commanded to nourish and protect the garden within the wall.

In His Word, God has graciously given us guidelines for modesty. Beginning in the Garden of Eden, we learn that we cannot cover ourselves properly. When Adam and Eve sewed fig leaves together to make aprons, they weren't covered. God had to make them coats of skin. This is a picture of how we are unable to cover our own sins and need the sacrifice of Christ to cover them and save us. But this picture isn't just spiritual; it also shows us that what we often consider modest (covering our "private parts") isn't modest enough.

Now, ladies, I am going to put my neck on the line here and say some things that may not sit well with everyone. I don't say these things because I think I am better than others or because I feel a need to dictate to others. I say them because I am deeply concerned about the direction we are taking as women in society and--more importantly--in the Church. Have you been to Wal-Mart lately? Have you been downtown lately? Have you been at all shocked by what you've seen? Ladies, I am seeing girls as young as eight wearing things that shouldn't be seen outside of a closed bedroom. I am seeing college girls walking around in men's boxers and sports bras. But what concerns me most is how complacent we all are about the immodesty that is so openly embraced by our culture--and, sadly, even by women in the church.

Again, remember that modesty is not about looking ugly! I am not going to advocate burkhas that cover every square inch of flesh. The Bible does not give us such a picture of modesty. I am not advocating baggy, androgynous clothing that hides our femininity. To do that would be to despise God's image, which is male and female. God truly does delight in our differences as women.

But, ladies, what God calls "secret" and "precious," we must not flaunt before the world. When we behave immodestly, we declare to the world that the Secret Garden is unlocked. When we dress immodestly, we punch holes in the garden wall and invite the world to gaze upon beauties and riches that are intended for one man alone. When we begin to pull the wall down, what can we expect but that the garden will be trampled, muddied, and ruined by wayward travelers and greedy despoilers?

When God pronounced Israel unfaithful through His prophets, He almost always spoke of stripping His people bare and revealing their shame. In Isaiah 47:2, He declares He will "take off the skirt, uncover the thigh." In Ezekiel 23:26, He announces, "They shall also strip you of your clothes and take away your beautiful jewelry." To be stripped bare is not a symbol of freedom, no matter what our culture tells us. It is a symbol of devastation, judgment, and loss of purity.

Ladies, is this the picture we want to give the world of the Gospel? Of Christ, our heavenly Bridegroom? Do we want to tell the world through our clothes that our Groom, our Gardener, does not honor and cherish those who are His own?

When we dress modestly, we communicate some wonderful truths. We declare daily that we are protected and beloved women. We are not cheap. We are not easy. We are not bait. We are not unguarded. We respect ourselves and others. We honor our brothers in the Lord and pledge to help them guard their purity by not being stumbling blocks to them.

Now, can a woman be modest in her clothing and still be impure or vain? Absolutely. No amount of rule-keeping will help us if we do not have changed hearts--hearts that see things from God's perspective and delight to honor our Lord and show respect for the way He has made us. And God does give us guidelines in Scripture to help us understand what is and is not modest. It is important for mothers and daughters to study these things together and discuss them. I would encourage all of you to do a Bible study on modesty. You can use the very helpful biblegateway.com online to help you locate all the verses that pertain to modesty, clothing, and beauty. You can study heroines of the Bible who personify beautiful modesty, like Sarah, Rebekah, Ruth, Abigail, and Esther. You can read articles from many different perspectives at beautifulwomanhood.org under the "Femininity and Modesty" section.

The one option you do not have is to ignore the issue of modesty or to brush it aside as unimportant or not a priority. When I see the college girls walking around in underwear, I hurt for them. I want to tell them, "Ladies, you are worth so much more than your clothing says you are worth!" I want to know where their fathers are. I wonder what kind of example they had from their own mothers. The example they are getting from the checkout stand magazines is not going to teach them how to care for their gardens or keep them protected and honored. But when they look at Christian women, will they see a better way? Or will they just see more of the same? If we look upon modesty as a prison to be escaped--saying "How much can I get away with?"--we tell others that our God is a heartless warden who only wants to stifle our individuality. But if we look upon modesty as yet another way to be salt and light as women--saying, "Thank you, Lord, for making me a woman and showing me how You honor womanhood!"--we tell others that our God loves femininity and desires to protect us as His beloved children.

What an opportunity we have today to show the world the glories of God-given womanhood! What a priceless gift to be able to demonstrate how our Heavenly Gardener protects and nourishes His Bride. And, ladies, modesty doesn't start when you're a teenager. It isn't just for older women. Let's look again at the Song of Solomon. The Shulamite's brothers ask about their role in the life of their little sister:

"What shall we do for our sister in the day when she is spoken for? If she is a wall, we will build upon her a battlement of silver; and if she is a door, we will enclose her with boards of cedar" (8:8-9).

Do you see how even brothers have a role in protecting and cherishing modesty? And notice that they don't say they'll build a barbed wire fence around their sister. No. They are going to make her "wall" beautiful by adorning it with silver. They are going to make her door strong by reinforcing it with fragrant boards of cedar. What a fantastic picture of modesty! It is beautiful, it is to be treasured, it is all about cherishing and loving the precious garden within.

You are all gardens. From the smallest girl here to the oldest grandmother, you are gardens! God has made you beautiful in His time. He has called you to be "all glorious within the palace," as the Psalmist writes. Your womanliness and femininity are to be a blessing to others, but your treasures are not to be laid bare to the world.

I appeal to you to read God's Word and think God's thoughts after Him. Then we can echo Isaiah when we say, "I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, My soul shall be joyful in my God; For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels" (61:10).

A secret garden is a wonderful thing! It is a treasure to be guarded and cherished. It isn't something to be ashamed of. Make the walls of your garden lovely. Keep the roses blooming and the brook pure and clear. Those outside will appreciate the beauty of the adorned wall itself, because they will know the wonderful garden within is all the more special for being private and protected. Most of all, rejoice that you have so great and tender a Gardener to keep you. Honor Him by rejoicing in the modesty He has called you to possess. And honor others by making sure your modesty draws attention to the beautiful "hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God" (I Peter 3:4).

My Introduction

I have been married for over 4 years. I have a 3 year old, a 2 year old and a 2 month old. I like staying at home and raising my family. I do have a small daycare... just 2-4 other young kids I watch.

I am looking for a pure Christian church group to gather with and fellowship regularly. My children need some innocent friends to play with... none who have lost their innocence in the public school system. I home school... more like UN school my two boys so far. I don't believe the public school system should be copied in anyway since it has proven to be a failing system. So I don't force my boys to sit and study curriculum. I teach them as my Lord has said in his Holy Word, "when you rise, during the day, and when you lie down at night," just constantly enjoying to learn in a totally unstructured environment.

We own a house in town and I hope to move out in the country soon. I would like to start a small farm. The only animal we have so far is a German Shepherd dog whom we want to breed this summer. I am a homemaker in training. I am learning how to bring my home back into the simple living lifestyle such as:

• growing and making my own food from scratch,
  
• making house hold products like soaps, clothes, cleaners, hygiene products, candles
• doing laundry by hand and hang drying them
• my breastfeed, naturally delivered with midwife, diaper free infant :)
• home taught children
• very little "Hell-i-vision" ;)

I just want all the garbage of the world to stay away from me... "for as of me and my house... we will serve the Lord."

I want to get on here to find other woman with my desire for their families and learn as much as I can how I can draw my life style and ways closer to him...