rivers of living water

On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, 'Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.'" John 7:37-38 (ESV).

This Easter I am reflecting on the wonderful life-giving properties of water. And not just the stuff that comes out of your kitchen tap. No, I am reflecting on the water that quenches my spiritual thirst; the water that gives eternal life. I am reflecting on the life-giving water that is a personal relationship with the One who died on a Cross; and His name is Jesus Christ. To come to Jesus means to believe in Him and follow after Him. To come to Jesus and drink means to receive from Him what He has to give; and what He has to give us are rivers of living water.

This Easter who doesn't need rivers of life-giving water to gush into their life? I know that I need His living water to flood my life. I am in need of Jesus; for in His Presence there is love, there is rest, and there is fullness of joy. 

This Easter I choose to come to Jesus for He is the One who fills me to overflowing. What He has to give me is always more than enough. And this Easter I recognise that who I am in Him is more than enough.

Readers, I implore you this Easter to come and drink from the One who came to sustain your life with His rivers of living water. Come to Him and quench your thirst, come to Him who loves you, who is for you, and who died for you. Yes, come and drink.

my daily bread

Last year I took a seven month sabbatical. How wonderful it was to be free to create my own schedule and have time to do the things that had been on my to-do list for years. I did a humongous spring clean at home, I started an oil painting class and I experimented with raw vegan cuisine in the kitchen. I was in the kitchen at least every other day for a few hours preparing, making and dehydrating! But 2013 is a different story. I returned to my line of work as a Singing Teacher in February this year, and at the same time I began an Internship at my home church, Planetshakers City Church. Suffice to say, my schedule now looks very different! The challenge has been to find the right life/work balance without letting my self-care routine go out the window. I've had to cut back on my hours spent in the kitchen and learn to simplify my raw vegan food menu without compromising on the nutritional content of my meals.

My food lifestyle is a work-in-progress and I like to think that there will always be room for improvement as long as I'm living. However, I thought I'd offer you a glimpse of what my daily menu looks like at this present moment...

The most recent change I've made has been to increase the amount of water I drink every day. I had been drinking at least 2 litres a day but found I was still very thirsty. Your body's metabolism is in an elimination phase between the hours of 4am to 12pm, which is why I believe that eating lighter meals during the course of the morning is better for your digestive system, energy levels, cognitive processes and your overall good health. Given this information I decided to start drinking at least 1 to 2 litres of pure water before I ate anything. Now every day I am drinking at least 3 litres of water. My body was telling me something important, and when I took the steps to do it, I found my body worked on my behalf to cleanse my system and reset my health.

So, in the course of the morning, as I feel hungry I will start to snack on fruit. Yes, just fruit. Fruit is digested quickly and burns clean, which means that eating fruit will not impede on your body's ability to eliminate waste products. This is so crucial for long-term good health as a build up of waste in your body can lead to many lifestyle-related illnesses. I always make sure I wait for my food to digest before I drink again as any fluid will dilute your digestive juices and make the digestion process more difficult. Before each meal that means I am drinking at least 1 litre of filtered water. This may sound like a lot but water is the easiest thing to grab on your way out the door. All you need is a water bottle (I use BPA-free stainless steel water bottles) and access to water, preferably filtered.

I also have two main meals during the day, usually one fruit-based and one vegetable-based. If I have a very active day I will also have a snack mid-afternoon. But water is always my first preference, my first port of call. If you looked in my fridge you would be ah-mazed at the amount of fresh fruit and vegetables that are living in there. I think this may very well be the key to eating well. Always have fresh, healthy produce on hand. Be intentional about doing your grocery shopping; pick a day, make a list, and go forth!

Now that we are nearing the end of this blog post I'd better tell you what you're waiting for... this is my menu: I prepare quick meals to have on hand, which mostly includes salads, soups and smoothies, and they are all raw. There is no cooking time, so I have already cut down on my time in the kitchen. For lunch I'll have a fruit salad with some coconut yoghurt, LSA mix (ground linseeds, sunflower seeds and almonds) or a salad with greens, grated vegetables, nuts/seeds and a homemade dip, like my zucchini hummus. For dinner I'll have a blended green soup topped with sprouts or a green smoothie, especially for the nights I'm going out. If I feel like something sweet for dessert I'll have frozen fruit or bliss balls. It's so simple it sounds boring... but I have the satisfaction of knowing I can prepare delicious food that is quick and easy, and also nourishing for my body.

brooke's green soup

3 medium tomatoes
2 cups kale, stems removed (substitute: spinach, silver beet) 
1/2 cup filtered water
1 cucumber 
1 avocado
1 stalk green onion
1 stalk celery
1 clove garlic
1/2 lemon, peeled
1/4 cup parsley, curly or flat-leaf
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Blend well; keeps in the fridge for 3 to 5 days. Enjoy!

P.S. I forgot to include that I always begin my day with a fresh, homemade green juice. Yum!

it's you i love

On a sunny winter afternoon in August of 2011, I walked down the aisle at my twin sister's wedding to a song I wrote for her and her groom. Everyone knows how emotional it can be for the bride and groom on their wedding day but no one tells you how emotional it can be to give away a sister. Surprisingly, it was in that moment of walking down the aisle before my sister's entrance that I felt the overwhelming sadness that came with saying goodbye. But I also felt the overwhelming happiness that came with seeing her start a new life with the man standing at the altar with tears in his eyes; the man who had won her heart; the man who had waited just for her.

In the midst of their ceremony in that small stone chapel there was one quote that rang true in my soul: It is not your love that sustains the marriage, but from now on, the marriage that sustains your love (Dietrich Bonhoeffer - 1943). I wonder if more people entered into marriage with this way of thinking, would we see more marriages that are thriving? More families kept intact? More children who feel loved and significant? More peace in our world?

How can I, a woman who has been single for all of her twenties, profess to know anything about love of the romantic kind? Well, just like the couple who pledged their lives to one another on that sunny winter afternoon, I too am waiting. The wise King Solomon writes, "I adjure you... that you not stir up or awaken love until it pleases" (Song of Solomon 2:7). You see, love waits. It waits for the right time and it waits for the right person.

I am waiting. But I am not alone. He is waiting too. And at the right time, God will write my love song.

It's You I Love

Music & Lyrics by Brooke Kimberley 

I prayed for you in the darkest night
I dreamt about you in my slumber
I realised that you were the one for me
I waited for you and moved closer

I know God He writes our love song
I'll sing in harmony with you

Sing me the melody of our love
Play me the soundtrack of our life
Let the song resonate in our hearts
It's you I love

You stayed in step now we dance in time
You part the crowd just with your presence
You hold my heart; I'm so blessed to call you mine
You waited for me then gave your yes

I know God He writes our love song
I'll sing in harmony with you

Sing me the melody of our love
Play me the soundtrack of our life
Let the song resonate in our hearts
It's you I love

I am better for knowing you
And I won't turn away
All of my dreams they live in you
I pledge my life this day

Sing me the melody of our love
Play me the soundtrack of our life
Let the song resonate in our hearts
It's you I love

It's you I love
It's you I love
It's you I love

the sustaining of life... part two

Welcome back! In my blog post last week I started to write about seven elements that sustain life: air, water, food, sunshine, rest, exercise, love. Today I'll explore the elements of rest, exercise and love...

rest

Rest... do you remember this? Because we live in a world that never switches off, rest is something we purposefully have to make time for! We have forgotten how to balance our work lives with our social lives and still have time for self-care... and in order to restore the balance this means prioritising rest! Due to electric light our night can now be as active as our day, and the effect of this has been that we are cutting back on sleep. Sleep is essential for sustaining life as there are many restorative processes that take place when we are sleeping. In fact, people who sleep for less than six hours a night have a shorter lifespan than those who sleep for seven to eight hours. I used to cut back on sleep. Now, I actively prioritise sleep. If I don't prioritise sleep I know I won't function well the next day, and this will impact on my whole week, as well as the long-term state of my health.

If you have trouble stopping for a break during the day or getting to bed earlier at night all you need to do is change your mindset and your routine. As my mum always says, "You can have it all but you can't have it all at once". Sometimes, we try to do it all, be it all, have it all. It astounds me how we place value on things that will never pay us back, and leave the things that we know are beneficial until later. At some point, our bad habits catch up with us, and like me, you will find that you will be forced to do the things that you had a choice to do before. 

So, choose to rest. 

exercise

We are made to move, my friends! Exercise has many physical and physiological benefits, so you will not only be more fit and energetic with regular exercise but you will experience better rest and sleep, better appetite control and better stability within your life. An important aspect of regular exercise is that it should be enjoyable for you, otherwise you may have trouble continuing your exercise routine. I like to walk, run, swim, dance and do Pilates. I always make time for exercise in my weekly schedule, and make sure that I am physically active every day, even if I am just spending physical energy doing my grocery shopping (I do a lot of walking and carrying!). Let me say, I don't spend hours in the gym every day, but I find as long as I am moving my body regularly, then I am experiencing the benefits of regular exercise. 

If you are unsure of how to start, aim to walk everyday for an amount of time that you know you can do on a good day and a bad day. Every week start to increase the length of time you are walking until you are walking for 30 minutes at least 5 to 7 times a week. I started at 12 minutes at my worst, and my mum had to take my shoes off at the end of my walk because I was so exhausted! Trust me, you can do this! Walking is the most natural exercise we can do... and best prepares us for living and sustaining our day to day lives.

love

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16. 

We all need to be loved. Love is practiced in the context of relationship; the most integral relationship to the sustaining of my life is my relationship with my Father God. He gave his Son, Jesus Christ, to the world so that I may come into relationship with him. His love for me is unconditional. His love for me sets me free.

There is nothing greater than love for the sustaining of life. Nothing.

the sustaining of life... part one

After I finished my music degree, I worked as a carer for people with severe physical and intellectual disabilities for a few years. It was a hard job, but boy, was it a rewarding one! It was a job I absolutely loved but had to give up because I wasn't able to physically cope with the work anymore due to my own illness, and I could no longer handle the crazy hours that go hand in hand with shift work. Almost a year and a half later I still think about the beautiful people I had the privilege of supporting during their day to day lives. And I miss them. I cooked a lot of meals, gave a lot of showers, and wiped a lot of bottoms... but what struck me the most about assisting people with disabilities was this - we are not that different. In fact, we are more similar than we are different. And this is because we are human beings; and humans, we all need the same things in order to sustain the lives we have been given.

In the world of natural living we find seven elements that sustain life: air, water, food, sunshine, rest, exercise, love. I would like to briefly explore air, water, food and sunshine in this post, and the rest of the elements in my next post. Hopefully, this inspires you to look into these elements, and to test out the importance of including these elements in the structure of your life.

air

You may never have heard this surprising little nugget of information but... we get more energy from the air we breathe than from the water we drink and the food we eat! It is through the act of breathing we obtain the oxygen our bodies need to function at their best. Oxygen is the key to energising the body, and the more oxygen we deliver to our cells, the more energy our bodies will have. 

I learnt the power of oxygen on a flight to London at Christmas in 2011. I was so exhausted from the active lead up to my trip that I ended up suffering from nausea that could not be alleviated once on the plane. The kind air stewards decided to give me nearly three tanks of oxygen through a breathing mask to help settle my nausea. It not only helped my nausea but I felt my energy level pick up during the flight. In the end, I felt slightly addicted to this amazing substance called oxygen!

Without oxygen the body cannot perform the functions it needs for the sustaining of life. Oxygen is involved in processes such as digestion, assimilation of nutrients from food, and the elimination of wastes. Without access to oxygen tanks the best way to increase your intake of oxygen is to practice deep breathing. Our main breathing muscles are the intercostal muscles, which are the muscles between the ribs, and the diaphragm, an involuntary muscle which is basically the "floor" of the ribcage. You will see and feel deep breathing. As the air goes in there is an expansion through the ribcage and the abdomen, and as the air goes out there is a contraction through the ribcage and the abdomen. Try some slow deep breaths in this pattern: in, out, pause, repeat. Imagine your lungs are like balloons that get bigger as the air goes in and smaller as the air goes out. 

water

Though I am a vegan mainly for health reasons I cannot ignore the ethical side of choosing to follow a plant-based diet. Our choices do affect the world around us. For example, it takes up to 50,000 litres of water to produce 1 kilogram of beef compared to only 2,500 litres to produce 1 kilogram of white rice, and less for most fruit and vegetables (Vegetarian Network Victoria, Eating Up the World, February 2009). I don't know about you but I can think of better ways this water could be used. Fresh water is an invaluable resource. Humans need water to survive and our thirst is the guide to how much water we need to drink, which is about 2 litres a day depending on the climate, your diet and your activity level. 

food

I've previously written a post about my view on food, which you'll find on this blog under the name finding food. To put it simply, food is fuel, and my belief is that we function best when we follow a plant-based diet. So, I suggest to do as your mother told you and eat your vegetables!!!

sunshine

Now I know that in Australia we have a massive hole in the ozone layer but we still need the benefits of the sun's rays! There are only two ways to obtain our vitamin D - sunshine and supplements. Unless you live in foggy Londontown I'd suggest trying sunshine out for a change. The ultraviolet rays of the sun trigger vitamin D synthesis in the skin when you are exposed to sunlight. The production of vitamin D is essential for human health and for providing energy to our bodies. The recommended level of exposure to sunlight every day is 10-15 minutes on bare skin in direct sunshine in order to produce the vitamin D we need. I've also found sunshine to be a natural way to highlight the colour of my hair... it's not only chemical free but it's actually free!

For more information I highly recommend the book How a Man Lived in Three Centuries: The complete guide to Natural Health by Roger French, which is an excellent resource for those inspired to live in a more natural way.

To be continued...