Walnuts and Brain Power -- a must-read!

Most nuts and seeds, in their raw state, are excellent whole foods that literally contain "the stuff of life." Raw, organic walnuts have many health benefits. One of the major nutritional characteristics of the walnut is its ability to nourish and support brain and nervous system function. Walnuts are also composed of a slew of other phytonutrients that boost the health of the entire body, and act as excellent disease prevention measures to boot (if we are smart enough to eat them. Tip: eat more walnuts!).

The walnut, fruit of the walnut tree, has been valued for thousands of years for both its delicious, nutty flavor and for its medicinal value. The walnut tree has been highly esteemed in many cultures. It is a beautiful tree, often prized for ornamental usage, with a life span that can last several hundred years. Three main varieties exist: the English walnut (originally from the Indian continent), and the black and white walnuts, native to North America. Most commercially grown walnuts (in the U.S.) are white walnuts (sometimes called "butternut"), but the black walnut is a special treat known for its strong rich taste.

Traditional peoples enjoyed walnuts and instinctively knew that among its many other uses, the walnut was a great source of "brain food." Today we have the scientific understanding as to why this is true. However, it is very interesting how closely the walnut resembles the human brain. The wrinkly shell definitely looks like a brain, and the meat inside is split into two "lobes," just like the brain. Possibly our Creator used this design to give us a hint, and apparently more primitive cultures picked up on this.

Why Are Walnuts So Good For the Brain?

The main reason is the walnut's high content of omega-3 fatty acids. These types of fats are necessary for many functions in the body, but are particularly critical for proper brain and nervous system performance. Researchers have discovered that the membranes of all of our cells, including the brain, are composed primarily of fats -- omega-3, omega-6, and others. Omega-3 fats optimize brain function at the cellular level because they create an atmosphere that makes neurons and other nervous system cells react more effectively due to health elastic membranes that allow nutrients to enter and wastes to be eliminated most efficiently. Brain cells exposed to adequate amounts of omega-3 are also able to receive and transmit electrical signals to and from the nervous system better, thus the increase in brain function. Our brains are a very fatty organ, being made up of about 60% fats. Most Americans who eat a typical high-fat (high in the wrong kinds of fat) diet have too much omega-6 and way too little omega-3. In fact, one recent study found that 20% of the participants had so little omega-3 in their systems that it didn't even register in blood tests.

How Can Walnuts Help the Brain?

Deficiency in omega-3 fatty acids has been linked to a myriad of cognitive problems in both children and adults including:

-ADHD
-Hyperactivity
-Depression
-Learning disabilities
-Memory loss
-Sleep disorders
-Poor problem-solving skills

An interesting body of evidence has also been assembled that shows eating walnuts can be of great help to prevent and treat Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia in the elderly. In addition to the omega-3's, walnuts are also rich in many antioxidants that help to prevent and repair brain damage due to free-radicals. Walnuts truly are an excellent food source to boost your mood, clear your mind, and help it to perform at its best. They can also help avoid cognitive dysfunction as we age.

How to Choose Quality Walnuts

Like most nuts, walnuts are easily prone to rancidity if they are not fresh and properly stored. Be sure to use raw, organically-grown nuts that have been stored in a cool, dry place that is protected from light. Fresh walnuts in the shell are best, but shelled ones are OK if they have been well-cared for. Shells should not be cracked or stained (a sign of mold), and the nutmeat should be crunchy, not wrinkled or rubbery.Whether it be eating them by the handful or incorporating them into your favorite recipes, raw walnuts are an excellent whole-food addition to your diet. They come highly-recommended from some of the "smartest" people in the world!

--My Dad, Tom Mathison :)

Reminder...

Hi Friends!

Don't forget about the giveaway going on right now! The drawing will be this Wednesday -- only 3 days left as of now. Don't miss the opportunity to read this book that will change your life, and the lives of many others through you! I believe this is a book that every Christian should be reading. It's revolutionizing!



I have 3 books to give away, and 3 of my commentors will be randomly chosen this Wednesday to get a copy of this wonderful book.

Blessings to you all, and have a beautiful Lord's Day!

~Noelle

P.S. If you would like to enter in this giveaway, you can either leave me a comment here, or on the original post. :)

Photo credit: Jupiterimages.com

Happy Birthday Mommy! :)

MOM! I LOVE you! :) I am so incredibly blessed to have you as my Momma'...I have learned so very much from you -- I don't think you can even imagine!

"A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies....She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue....Her chidren arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: 'Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all.' Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. Give her the reward she has earned, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate."

The Lord is doing so much in our lives right now, and I am so excited as to what He has done so far, and what I know He's going to do in the future -- in ALL of our lives!

Mom, one thing I'll always think of when I think of you are your favorite Scriptures...which are high on my favorite's list too! Here are just a few of them:

"In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength." (Isaiah 30:15b)

"If you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses? If you stumble in safe country, how will you manage in the thickets by the Jordan?" (Jeremiah 12:5)

"Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy. He who goes out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with him." (Psalm 126:5-6)

"Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain." (Psalm 127:1)

"'Even now,' declares the Lord, 'return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.' Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity. Who knows? He may turn and have pity and leave behind a blessing -- grain offerings and drink offerings for the Lord your God." (Joel 2:12-14)

"I will restore the years the locusts have eaten..." (Joel 2:25)

"...To bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair." (Isaiah 61:3)

"But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed." (Isaiah 53:5)

Mom, these Scriptures have always spoken to me in a huge way, too. These are a few of the commonly-quoted Scriptures I grew up with, and I have grown to love them, and take enormous comfort in them! I have always loved reading your Bible, because half of it is marked up -- and what is marked up is usually what speaks to me the most, too ;)

Mom, I love you so much and I am so blessed to be your daughter.

I hope you have a great rest of the day, and a wonderful year ahead!

Love ya!~

~Noelle

~~~

Years are lost on the wind, like stray embers from a fire

Remnants of smoke give testament to a love that never tires.

A million memories light up the road that she has traveled,

Along with faded snapshots of a woman, once a child.

Everyday she adds pages to the life she's made her own

An endless quilt of patches, tattered and then re-sewn.

Life has no perfect number, to which we can assign,

A moment or an afternoon that makes an entire life.

It's a brief slideshow of pictures forgotten and then replayed

Like the first time she read the Bible, or knelt down to pray

There's the day that she let her childhood slip into the past,

Beautiful in white—she gave her hand to a love that still lasts.

She watched her son's first at bat, her daughter's first ballet,

I envision the first tear she cried over dreams that never came.

Her laugh is louder and stronger, every day she truly gives,

Which adds depth and color to the quality of life she lives.

Fifty diamonds sparkle, each gem a cornerstone to shine,

Building blocks that create a window through passing time.

Embrace the moments that made you who you are today,

Because, dear friend, I wouldn't want a mother any other way.

--Megan Marie Munroe

Random sweetness

TOO CUTE not to share :)

Part two of an important question...and a special giveaway for my special blog readers!

Hey there, all!

I'm back again, with part 2 of yesterday's post. :)

The Lord has been doing such an incredible, beautiful, exciting work in my heart lately, and I am so invigorated. I feel physically charged with a strange sense of "spiritual electricity"! :) I feel like the Lord is preparing me for something...and by His grace, I'm willing to go to the ends of the earth with my Savior..."wherever He leads me, I will follow". And I have a strange feeling that He is going to take me up on that "offer". I'm ready, Lord!

All of us, that have repented of our sin and surrendered our lives to Father, that have been born again, washed, refreshed, wiped clean, beautified with the Master's touch, are a part of the incredible Body of Christ. He is the head, and we are each a part and play a special role in the interworkings of the Christian life. We are not our own; we have been bought with a price (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).

"Now about spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be
ignorant.....There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are
different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of
working, but the same God works in all of them in all men. Now to each one the
manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given
through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by
means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts
of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another
prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in
different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues.
All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each
one, just as he determines. The body is a unit, although it is made up of many
parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with
Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body -- whether Jews or
Greeks, slaves or free -- and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Now the
body is not made up of one part but of many. If the foot should say, 'Because I
am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,' it would not for that
reason cease to be part of the body. And if the ear should say, 'Because I am
not an eye, I do not belong to the body,' it would not for that reason cease to
be part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of
hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be?
But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as
he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it
is, there are many parts, but one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, 'I don't
need you!' And the head cannot say to the feet, 'I don't need
you!'.....But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater
honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the
body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part
suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices
with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. "
(1 Corinthians 12:1-27)

So is that clear enough, or what?

We are ALL a part of the body of Christ, and we each have responsibilities. Why, then, are so many of us bent over in complacency, bored with our Christian lives, dull and insensitive to the Spirit's leading and conviction, and ignorant to our calling, and to Spiritual Warfare? Christians, we need to get up! To open our eyes! We are asleep in the light. What does the Lord have to do to get our attention? He has given us a detailed manual for our entire lives, and we ignore it, leaving it to sit upon the shelf to gather dust!
People are dying, and so many of us sit in the midst of the battlefield, relaxing, doing nothing. I have been SO guilty of this, and the Lord is convicting me so intensely of this sin -- and the cool thing is that AS He's convicting me, He's also inspiring me. He doesn't just leave me feeling bad about what I haven't done -- He equips me for the future! That is so like Him, and this is what He promises! :)

Friends, we need to READ our Bibles, ask the Lord to SHOW us what we're doing, and OBEY His leading!

We all struggle, we all fail. We all mess up. The Lord knows that. But the Lord has thrown your sins into the depth of the seas, and fishing is not allowed. It's time to get over the past, get up off of our knees (or our pillows, if that's the case) and MOVE ON! Upward and onward, and the LORD will hem us in, from behind and before. And He will bless our obedience. That is His promise. That is His solemn Word.

By the way, as an aside...did you know that not too long ago, a certain crusade obtained
380,000 decisions for Christ, but later found only 14,000 in fellowship? That means that they couldn't account for 366,000 decisions for Christ. They concluded that it was a lack of follow-up that resulted in this massive fall-away rate.

Lack of follow-up? Really?

Yeah, maybe in part. But supposedly, 14,000 of those people did find a Biblically sound
church to become a part of. So what about the other 366,000 people? They couldn't find a church? That doesn't really seem to make sense. If the smaller group could, you'd think these people would too.

Could it be something else, other than a "lack of follow-up"? (Besides, how are you
supposed to follow up on 380,000 people anyway??)

I would like to introduce you, ladies and gentlemen, to The Way of the Master ministries.
(Also known as Living Waters.) I would like to go more into this in another post, but for now, suffice it to say, I am hosting a giveaway on my blog...Ray Comfort & Kirk Cameron's life-changing, earth-shaking, blow-your-mind radical book -- Revival's Golden Key.

Leave me a comment on this post (it's ok if you've never commented before), and out of all my commentors, three will be randomly chosen to get a free copy of this excellent book.

Believe me. This will change your life. It did mine -- forever. I give this book a 10,000
star rating. :)

THE DRAWING WILL BE WEDNESDAY, MAY 20th, so if you want to have a chance of
winning this book, leave a comment on this post!

Blessings to all of you, and may you have a beautiful day! This is the day that the Lord has made; we will be GLAD, and REJOICE in it!

Right?! :)

Part one of an important question...

So. Friends.

I have an important question for you.

First off, I am aware that "tonight" has come and gone. :) Sorry about that...things just get really hectic sometimes!

So, my question.

How many of us have more than one (sometimes a lot more than one) unBelievers in our families?

And I'm not talking brothers and sisters, parents, grandparents, etc. I'm talking each and every one of our immediate and distant relatives.

I, for one, have very few family members that have repented of and turned away from their sins, and trusted Jesus Christ with their entire lives. This grives me deeply, and I'm praying for opportunities to speak to my family, to let them know what's up, and where they're heading. Even my own brother and sister are not Believers -- and this makes me extremely sad. I hurt for them, and I so desire to have my brother and sister as my Brother and Sister in Christ, which means so much more than the fact that we are blood relatives. Do you agree?

Okay, so a lot of us have family members that aren't Believers. Let's go a little further. How many of us have friends that aren't Believers? (I trust that those of us that are truly walking in Holiness with the Father obey His command in Scripture to (granted, this is a paraphrase) not be "buddy-buddy" with those who are not born again, and so I speak of friends as...oh...neighbors; those of us in small towns (like me) who are "friends" with cashiers in the grocery stores, fast-food restaurants, our doctors, etc.; these kinds of people.) How many of us know people, people that we see very often (maybe even every day), that are not realizing the path they're heading down, and don't see that their sin is, according to Romans 7:13, "exceeding sinful". How many?

Did you know that statistics prove that their are 150,000 people whose spirits depart from this world every 24 hours? That's one hundred and fifty thousand people. And the majority of that 150,000 every day is entering hell. Matthew 7:13-14 says (emphasis added), "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it."

Okay, let's get radical. Not that it should be radical, but unfortunately, for many in the contemporary Christianity scene, it is.
How about your enemies?
How long will it be before one of your enemies' souls "enters the road to destruction", as thousands upon thousands of people do every day? Do you want their blood on your hands, because you were too stubborn, proud, afraid, angry (whatever your excuse is) to forgive them, when you've been forgiven so much, to let them know where they're heading?

Ok. One step further. What about all the people you don't know, in the very least, but that you pass by in the streets, the stores, come across on the internet, talk to on the phone, etc., every single day? What about them?

We take seriously the commandment in Exodus chapter 20, verse 13, that says, "You shall not murder." But we justify our sin of ignoring His command in Mark 16:15, where He says, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation."

My question is, how can we, how DO we, obey one command in Scripture and ignore the other, or if not ignore it, justify our lack of obedience with lame excuses like, "I'm too afraid to share my faith" or "I'm too afraid of 'rejection'" or "I don't want to be pushy" or "I don't feel ready" or "I'm afraid I'll say something wrong and drive them away"? How can we do it?

• "I'm too afraid to share my faith" -- Well, the Lord has two things to say about that. First off, He says in Matthew 10:32-33, "Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven." And to go hand-in-hand with that command, He gives a solemn promise in Isaiah 41:10: "So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." So the Lord blew the cover on that excuse, didn't He?! :)
• "I'm too afraid of 'rejection'" -- The Lord says in Matthew chapter five, verse ten (emphasis added), "BLESSED are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Amen?!
• "I don't want to be pushy" -- Again, the answer -- and the problem with your excuse -- is in the living and active Word of the Lord. "You are the salt of the earth...You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven." (Matthew 5:13-16)
• "I don't feel ready" -- "'For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; for I will help you. Do not be afraid, O worm Jacob, O little Israel, for I myself will help you,' declares the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel." (Isaiah 41:13-14)
• "I'm afraid I'll say something wrong and drive them away" -- "'Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.'" (Exodus 4:11-12)

And the exciting, amazing thought is that there are SO many more promises, just like this, in the Word of God.

Let me leave you with this beautiful thought -- and stay tuned for part two of this post!

"The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing." (Zephaniah 3:17)

For me, this is enough! :)

New post(s)...

...coming tonight, friends! :)