New Year = New Me

Hello world, it’s been almost a year since my last update! For the most part, my health in 2012 pretty much went in circles. I would get better, then drop back and get worse. Not much progress. I think that’s the main reason I hadn’t written for so long. I never lost hope, I just didn’t know what else to write! 
When the summer of 2012 came along, I slowly began to heal and decided to go on a medication that would help keep me from having flare ups...or so I thought. I took the meds for the first time in the morning and by that evening I was terribly sick. The next few days I lost all the weight that had taken months to gain and was back on the couch with no energy or appetite. Obviously, I quit the medication and finally learned that my body just does not like meds. Back to only diet once again!! 

Sometime in September, my mom learned of a naturopathic doctor that comes to our town once a  week. We heard great reports of her from others and learned she specializes in IBS (Irritable Bowl Syndrome). So we thought we’d get ahold of her and see if she could help me. We visited with her, told her my story, and so began my healing. 

“Naturopathic medicine emphasizes and utilizes the body's inherent ability to protect and repair itself.”

We ran various tests to see where my colon and over-all health was at. Things weren’t looking so good. She gave me a variety of supplements that she was confident would heal my gut and help me get back on my feet. And I am so happy to say that she was right. I began to notice I had more energy, my colon began to bleed less, I gained a little weight which brought me to 106 pounds, and I actually wanted to do things and go places, not just lay on the couch. I still had a long way to go, but we were once again seeing progress. I can’t explain our relief and joy that something was finally working. 

Then came the new year, 2013, a January I will never forget! I began the year at 106 pounds and still lacking a lot of energy, but hopeful for a new beginning. Then God decided to give me quite a surprise. All of a sudden I began to gain weight like a maniac! Starting weight was 106, then week one I was 110lbs, week two: 113.5lbs, week three: 115.5lbs, until I reached my goal weight for two years of 118 pounds. To celebrate we went out to dinner, something I hadn’t done for a very long time. So in one month i gained a total of 12 pounds. Now that is a miracle. But it doesn’t stop there. The Lord has taken me past my goal weight and brought me right back to where I was before I got sick; a happy, healthy,122 pounds. Thank you Jesus. 
Meanwhile, I was offered a job as the secretary at my church, which I gratefully accepted. I hadn’t been able to work for so long, it felt wonderful to have something to do again, a “purpose”, and a way to help others. To add to that, a photographer from my church took me under his wing and began to mentor me in photography. So much has just been handed to me this year, I am overwhelmed. 
I am now feeling like a “normal” person again. I can go and do so many things without crashing for two or three days. I have so much life in me. So much hope, and thankfulness. I release my testimony of healing to you and say to you, there is always hope. If you’re really sick, having a difficult day, or even if you’re life is awesome right now, remember that you are loved so dearly by Jesus. He has given you a marvelous life and future. Walk in confidence of who He has called you to be. You are beautiful.

Blessings,
Elise

My loves: Bread and Jesus

I'm super excited to share with you this cookbook and website I found!! My dear mother bought this cookbook for me called The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook by Elana Amsterdam. I was so excited when I looked at the recipes, seeing I could make basically every one of them, that I cried. Yes, I cried because of a cookbook. :)

Elana Amsterdam has been creating recipes especially for those who are on a gluten free diet, but kindly cutting out the sugar and dairy as well. Please, please go check out her website where she has so many recipes that will definitely get your mouth watering! http://www.elanaspantry.com/gluten-free-recipes/beverages/ 
I do have to change a couple of the ingredients to fit my diet so these are the changes:
-Heavy Cream=Almond Milk or Coconut Milk
-Agave Nectar=Honey
-Arrowroot Powder=Either I just cut in all out or add a tiny bit more almond flour.
In the recipes I post I will note the changes I made.

Scrumptious Sandwich Bread-Elana Amsterdam

3/4c creamy roasted almond butter, at room temperature

4 large eggs

1/4c blanched almond flour (I used 1/3c because I left out the arrowroot powder. Result? Perfection!)

1/4c arrowroot powder (I didn't add this)

1/2tsp sea salt

1/2tsp baking soda

1Tb ground flax meal (I didn't add this)

  Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease a 7x3" loaf pan with olive oil and dust with almond flour. ( I actually used parchment paper because I find it's just easier to get the bread out of the pan and it worked wonderfully)

  In a large bowl, mix the almond butter with a handheld mixer until smooth, then blend in the eggs. In a medium bowl, combine the almond flour, arrowroot powder, salt, baking soda, and flax meal. Blend the almond flour mixture into the wet ingredients until thoroughly combined. pour the batter into the loaf pan.

  Bake for 40-45 minutes on the bottom rack of the oven, until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the bread cool in the pan for 1 hour, then serve.

  Ok, first things first, again I accidentally had some sugar in my diet.....blah. The result? Nausea, frequent stomach aches, and a bleeding colon. Not fun. But it's leaving my body quicker than I had thought, thanks to the prayers of my friends and family.
  I think the hardest part of these last three or four weeks is the difficulty in gaining any weight. I had been gaining weight rather quickly and was up to 107 then for some reason dropped down to 102. I have been stuck at 104.5 (My usual or healthy weight is 120lbs) now for three-four weeks now and it gets me stumped. I'm eating quite a bit but can't gain anything. I would really like to start fitting into my clothes again, but I guess I just have to be patient and I sure wouldn't mind your prayers for a rapid weight gain!! :)
  There is nothing like music that touches and speaks to my heart in such a powerful way. When I find a song that does that, I listen to it over and over and over and ooover again! My song of the week has been "Find You On My Knees" by Kari Jobe. In fact, I'm listening to it on repeat as I write!! It's a song I can sing to that speaks what my heart is feeling and I can pour myself out at Jesus's feet. Then He comes and He gives me such joy and peace I end up laughing and singing the song to Him as a thank you. It's so good.

That's just what my Daddy does,  He lifts me up and He never leaves me searching no matter what. Oh He makes me happy!

Psalm 46:1-3
~Elise

New Life

   No, I have not fallen off the face of the earth, I've just taken an unannounced break from blogging. As I very briefly mentioned in a previous blog my family and I moving. I just got caught up with packing and all that so many things got put to the side for a bit. But we are moved now and getting settled so I decided to let you know that yes, I am still here, still planning on blogging and cooking!

   I will have to give a brief overview of this past month or so to get caught up.  I'll tell ya right now, God has sure had His hand on this move.  Every day I realize more and more just how blessed I am to be here. A few days before we moved my energy, appetite, and emotional state shot up! I was able to help do some light packing and helping out-oh did that feel good! Once we got to the new house I was able to be up much of the day unpacking the kitchen and getting things organized. I was so relieved to be out of "my chair", to help, and do some easy enough work.

   I have met some of the most amazing people here. They have ministered to me in a way I never expected. They just took me in and made me feel like we've known each other for years! They have prayed over me many times and I have seen such amazing changes.

   This last week was a bit of a rough start, my colon began lightly bleeding again. It wasn't enough to really scare me but fear tried to get in there and I felt the weight of discouragement, but I just said no it and asked God to take my hand and give me a thankful heart. Because truly, I have so much to be thankful for and if I can be thankful, being sick seems to shrink and becomes less of a worry. My Jesus can handle anything so I lay myself and this burden of sickness at His feet and He wraps me in His arms and takes my burden from me and gives me peace. That is enough to be thankful for.

I have more recipes to share and an exciting cookbook that I found, but I'll save that for the next update, I WILL be back! :)

Be thankful!!
~elise

Long Awaited Update and Doctor's Visit

This last week has been a wild roller coaster! Every day--every hour--has been up and then down and then back up again. It has been hard on all of us here at the Borck household. Our emotions became so muddled up we didn't even know how to respond when things began to turn around!

We decided to head to the doctor's office to see if our doc could tell us anything or somehow give us a little help. We needed some kind of a boost to get me past this one hitch I was struggling to get past. We went in to see my doctor on Thursday (Feb. 23). We arrived at 10:30 am and got home around  4:00 pm! My doctor is so wonderful; he understands that we want to do things as naturally as possible and he really tries to help us that way. We have told him about Kefir and about the GAPS diet and he actually did research and approves of both!
My doctor went through the routine of checking my stomach and still mentions he is surprised it never hurts when he taps it, so praise God for no pain! He suggested I go on a steroid enema and we decided to go with it. He also suggested I get some IV fluids being I was a little dehydrated. We knew it would give me some energy and help me "get going" again, so we heartily consented.
I was wheeled, yes wheeled in a wheelchair, to the IV room and sat across the room from an older lady getting a blood transfusion. I was so thankful I didn't have to go through that! (a little history note here, I almost had to have that done a while back when I was sick before) I got my IV's in and they began flooding me with heavenly juices! I tried to continue to eat my stock and veggies, but it was difficult because I was so tired and I had to eat with my left hand :). After IV's I went home, ate, ate, and ate some more.
I want to go back a bit and mention some other important things. That morning I received a new remedy from my homeopath so I did take that in the morning. I took it again that night, and slept aaaalmost all night, I was up in the restroom only once. The next day (yesterday) I woke up with a boing, hopped out of bed and made my own breakfast!! I still had energy to take a bath and do my hair! It felt so good! My colon was still bleeding and I had to be careful and really watch what I ate. But by the night the blood had almost disappeared and I didn't end up throwing up (as I had been doing for a few nights now).
Last night I slept. I slept peacefully without getting up one time!! Again I made...half...of my breakfast and am enjoying the thought that I also made a great smoothie for myself with my lunch. I am introducing more foods so I can hopefully eat more to put some weight back on these bones. (I dropped about 16.5 pounds total) So that really lifts my spirits too!! I hope to be able to go through some stuff this afternoon and help pack. No worries it will be sitting kind of work, like folding clothes. :) My mind is happy and bright, so is my heart. I feel like this is truly the turn around we have been waiting for. And it was without medications; just Jesus doing His thing!!

I continue to learn so much about Jesus and who I truly am and how I work deep inside. God is refining me and I know He's not finished with me yet!! This has just been another stage--like being in the kiln; it hurts but He is making me into a strong, beautifully crafted jar of clay, for His especial use. :)

~elise

I feel like I was rambling, I hope it all makes sense!! :) Have a beautiful day!

Another Battle

It seems that that slight bump from my computer caused more damage than I had thought. All the old symptoms are back. I am trying to take everyday as it comes and trust God that He will heal me yet again. This song by Kari Jobe has been running through my mind all morning. The crazy thing is, I was reading the comments below the youtube video and so many other people are going through struggles so much greater than mine, like cancer and not having much time to live. How they continue to praise God encourages me beyond belief. I want to be like them!!

~elise

My Computer Beat Me Up!!

Well, I have been making great progress! My emotional state has been so much better as well. I'm not so down in the dumps about not being able to have certain foods or do certain things. I am much more hopeful and just plain old happy! :D
Yesterday was interesting....
I was doing great in the morning, it was a normal day until a little incident in the afternoon!
I sat down in "my" chair, put my pillow on my lap, and grabbed my computer. What's so interesting about that?? Well, as I picked up my computer, it slid down my arms and bumped my stomach pretty good. To a "normal" person it wouldn't have been a big deal. But for me, immediately I had to run to the restroom. That little bump really knocked something in my colon because it sure bled!! Even just to the touch my upper stomach/colon area was quite sore. It felt like I had bruised it! By the time I went to bed the blood had almost stopped, to which I was very thankful.
I didn't freak out which was good, I was just extra careful and rested a lot after that, as well as taking extra precautions with my ferocious computer. :)
Today I am back to normal. My colon, I think, has decided to work with me again, it hasn't been bleeding much at all anymore and I feel such peace.
I sure hope you all have a wonderful Valentines Day!!! Eat some chocolates and red velvet cupcakes for me!! <3

~elise

Jesus is my Healer

YES!!! I have had a turn around!!! A couple days ago my homeopath sent me a new remedy to try and it worked! I was feeling so sick and tired a couple days ago. My stomach was aching terribly and I woke up just crabby. I went with my family to another town to go house hunting being we are moving and I know that took a toll on my colon. All of the moving around, walking, getting in and out of the vehicle disturbed my colon and made it bleed more. The next day I just sat and sat and sat while drinking cup after cup of stock. I took the remedy prescribed to me and in the evening the blood lessened and continued to lessen so quickly! By the time I went to bed my colon had almost completely quit bleeding!!!!
The next day I did go back out to look at a couple houses with my family which caused a bit more blood, but still so much less.
Today, I can happily say I have more energy, my "wanting to eat" level is going back up, the blood is quitting, I have been sleeping through the night, and I'm in the bathroom only when I get up in the morning and right before bed. Oh I feel good!!
I started eating a couple VERY soft carrots yesterday and they settled just fine, so I tried some more today and I believe I will now be progressing steadily. I hope I can introduce a couple more veggies soon as well as some chicken. :D
I'm so excited to be able to be eating again. It makes me happy!!!!

Thank you Lord for your faithfulness and for teaching me to be stronger in You!

~elise