Bananas

This is some information about bananas that I got from my dad. I thought it was really interesting, so I'm posting it:

Bananas. Containing three natural sugars - sucrose, fructose and glucose combined with fiber, a banana gives an instant, sustained and substantial boost of energy.

Research has proven that just two bananas provide enough energy for a strenuous 90-minute workout. No wonder the banana is the number one fruit with the world's leading athletes.

But energy isn't the only way a banana can help us keep fit. It can also help overcome or prevent a substantial number of illnesses and conditions, making it a must to add to our daily diet.

Depression: According to a recent survey undertaken by MIND amongst people suffering from depression, many felt much better after eating a banana. This is because bananas contain tryptophan, a type of protein that the body converts intoserotonin, known to make you relax, improve your mood and generally make you feel happier. PMS: Forget the pills - eat a banana. The vitamin B6 it contains regulates blood glucose levels, which can affect your mood.

Anemia: High in iron, bananas can stimulate the production of haemoglobin in the blood and so helps in cases of anemia.

Blood Pressure: This unique tropical fruit is extremely high in potassium yet low in salt, making it the perfect to beat blood pressure. So much so, the US Food and Drug Administration has just allowed the banana industry to make official claims for the fruit's ability to reduce the risk of blood pressure and stroke.

Brain Power: 200 students at a Twickenham (Middlesex) school were helped through their exams this year by eating bananas at breakfast, break, and lunch in a bid to boost their brain power. Research has shown that the potassium-packed fruit can assist learning by making pupils more alert.

Constipation: High in fiber, including bananas in the diet can help restore normal bowel action, helping to overcome the problem without resorting to laxatives.

Hangovers: One of the quickest ways of curing a hangover is to make a banana milkshake, sweetened with honey. The banana calms the stomach and, with the help of the honey, builds up depleted blood sugar levels, while the milk
soothes and re-hydrates your system.

Heartburn: Bananas have a natural antacid effect in the body, so if you suffer from heartburn, try eating a banana for soothing relief.

Morning Sickness: Snacking on bananas between meals helps to keep blood sugar levels up and avoid morning sickness.

Mosquito bites: Before reaching for the insect bite cream, try rubbing the affected area with the inside of a banana skin. Many people find it amazingly successful at reducing swelling and irritation.

Nerves: Bananas are high in B vitamins that help calm the nervous system.

Overweight and at work? Studies at the Institute of Psychology in Austria found pressure at work leads to gorging on comfort food like chocolate and crisps. Looking at 5,000 hospital patients, researchers found the most obese were more likely to be in high-pressure jobs. The report concluded that, to avoid panic-induced food cravings, we need to control our blood sugar levels by snacking on high carbohydrate foods every two hours to keep levels steady.

Ulcers: The banana is used as the dietary food against intestinal disorders because of its soft texture and smoothness. It is the only raw fruit that can be eaten without distress in over-chronicler cases. It also neutralizes over-acidity and reduces irritation by coating the lining of the stomach.

Temperature control: Many other cultures see bananas as a "cooling" fruit that can lower both the physical and emotional temperature of expectant mothers. In Thailand, for example, pregnant women eat bananas to ensure their baby is born with a cool temperature.

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD): Bananas can help SAD sufferers because they contain the natural mood enhancer tryptophan.

Smoking: Bananas can also help people trying to give up smoking. The B6, B12 they contain, as well as the potassium and magnesium found in them, help the body recover from the effects of nicotine withdrawal.

Stress: Potassium is a vital mineral, which helps normalize the heartbeat, sends oxygen to the brain and regulates your body's water balance. When we are stressed, our metabolic rate rises, thereby reducing our potassium levels. These can be rebalanced with the help of a high-potassium banana snack.

Strokes: According to research in "The New England Journal of Medicine, "eating bananas as part of a regular diet can cut the risk of death by strokes by as much as 40%!

Warts: Those keen on natural alternatives swear that if you want to kill off a wart, take a piece of banana skin and place it on the wart, with the yellow side out. Carefully hold the skin in place with a plaster or surgical tape!

So, a banana really is a natural remedy for many ills. When you compare it to an apple, it has four times the protein, twice the carbohydrate, three times the phosphorus, five times the vitamin A and iron, and twice the other vitamins and minerals. It is also rich in potassium and is one of the best value foods around.

So maybe its time to change that well-known phrase so that we say, "A banana a day keeps the doctor away!"

No more chemo!!

Yey!! Dr Reed just told me yesterday that he'd already decided to only give me three cycles yesterday. I didn't even have to ask him about it. I'm so relieved. Just one more injection and that is it! Praise the Lord!

Unfortunately, instead of celebrating yesterday, I was being sick because what I'd had for lunch didn't agree with my stomach. So, I was feeling physically miserable yesterday and spent most of it in bed, but inside I was still happy because there'll be no more nasty chemicals pumping through my veins. Thank goodness!

FINALLY! I'M HOME!!!

Whew! I'm sooo glad to be home! I've had a horrible time of miscommunication amongst doctors. I felt really sorry for the nurses because they could only do what they could do, but blegh! Seriously, you medics better learn how to communicate and level with your patients. I was sooo fuming at the registrars and the SHOs this time. Well, it's over and hopefully I'll never have chemo again after tomorrow...

I had to stay in hospital for 5 whole days this time because the SHO panicked and thought I was going deaf. Not exactly sure how he came to that conclusion because all I said was there had been a few occassions - no more than 6 - where I'd had a brief ringing in my ears - no more that a few seconds. So, since Cisplatin can damage your hearing, he was all like "aaaaah! Stephanie's going to get permanent hearing damage" and prolonged my treatment by reducing the dosage. Ok Pete, you're going to stick up for him here and say he was just being careful, but it wasn't nice. Especially because he didn't make it clear and let me know exactly what he was going to do and how long I was staying in for. I would have appreciated it if he'd treated me like an intelligent human being like Dr Davis did. Also, I think I am well within my right to be annoyed with doctors with poor communication skills...

Anyway... I've learned a lot about communication over the past few days - what to say when, how to be clear, how to be personable, and just how bad men are at it all. God was right, men really do need women! I've been so impressed by nurses over the last few days as well. People seem to look down on them, but really, they are amazing people with incredible amounts of care, kindness, patience, knowledge, communication skills, strength and smiles. Some doctors are just jobbies. I wish every doctor were like Dr Davis, Dr Burton and Chris Hoy. They just tell you it like it is and help you understand instead of just assuming you won't. Please medics, don't treat all people like they're stupid; give them a chance.

Also, I've found out that Dexamethasone, an anti-sickness medication I was prescribed, is actually more horrible than Bleomycin. My body has apparently gotten used to the Bleomycin because it's not making me feel as ill this time. The Dexamethasone, however, gave me really bad heartburn so I just didn't take it while I was in hospital. Yup, I slyly put it in the bin when my meds were given to me. Anyway, the doctor eventually took me off them, so it was ok. Still I got awful heartburn when I was in hospital because they'd given me it in a drip 3 days in a row and the acid burned all the way up into my mouth so I couldn't even swallow or anything. Fortunately, the nurses were on the ball and got the doctor to prescribe me this tablet that my tummy all nice. No more Dexamethasone for me, thanks very much. It's evil and more so than Bleomycin because at least the Bleomycin makes friends with your body instead of remaining mortal enemies with it. Plus, I feel less sick this time and I really think it's down to the fact that I was off the Dexamethasone because that's the only thing that's different. I don't know...

Well, enough of my disjointed moaning. If you read this before 12pm on 29 May, please pray that I know what God's will is regarding further chemo treatment. I know I'd like it to stop, but I find it difficult to know how to distinguish what God wants in all this because it's not very clear cut. If God wants me to go on one more lot of chemo, I really want to do that wholeheartedly. I just need to hear his voice clearly. So, if you have a chance, please pray so that the right outcome is reached with Dr Reed tomorrow. Thanks.

The Da Vinci Code

= blatant blasphemy

Yup! I don't like it. It made me really angry watching these characters on the screen telling me that Jesus was just another man who was married to Mary Magdelene and there was someone in France right now who was the heir to Jesus' throne. Oh yeah, which throne is that precisely? The one where Jesus alone can sit on? The one he'll rule from for a thousand years after the great tribulation? Yeah, please tell me how a human being can be as just, fair and wise as God?

And then right at the end, Tom Hanks' character was all like, 'oh it doesn't matter if Jesus was divine or not because I fell down a well and prayed to Jesus and here I am still alive. So, who knows, maybe he was down there with me?' (my paraphrase). What?! Of course it matters if Jesus was divine or not! And did he think it was just a coincidence that he was still alive after praying that Jesus would save him? Honestly! Who are we serving if not the living God? Where is our hope is Jesus wasn't ressurected from the dead? What's the point of praying in Jesus' name if he were just a man? Eh?

What's worse is that there are people out there who actually believe all this nonsense. How could they? My friend Chelsea from church told me there was this program on a couple of days ago that actually exposed the Da Vinci code as a pack of lies, and it wasn't even a Christian or a Catholic who did the program. It was just a guy who was investgating it to see if it were true or not, so you can't say that the Church made this program to cover up once again the 'truth' of the code.

I'm sorry for being so angry, but I can't help it. They're dishonouring my God and I won't stand for it.

Me

Hi! Just thought today that I haven't really said anything about how I am for a while, and maybe you would want to know that. Well, the latest is that I'm slightly anaemic, my hands and feet are quite discoloured and I've got bruises on my hands, my sides, lower back and right shoulder. But otherwise I'm fine. I've been prescribed iron tablets by my GP and yes, I know iron tablets can cause constipation. It's nothing I can't handle. Em... Yeah, that's it. I'm going to see the Da Vinci Code tomorrow with Jonathan. Apparently it got bad reviews and journalists say that Tom Hanks' hair does all the acting, so that should be quite interesting. Oh, and speking of hair, mine has started to grow back - I think it's at a millimetre, but not all over my head quite yet.

That's all folks!

We Wrestle Not Against Flesh and Blood

More encouragement fot you:

"Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days" (Dan. 10:12, 13).

We have wonderful teaching here on prayer, and we are shown the direct hindrance from Satan.

Daniel had fasted and prayed twenty-one days, and had a very hard time in prayer. As far as we read the narrative, it was not because Daniel was not a good man, nor because his prayer was not right; but it was because of a special attack of Satan.

The Lord started a messenger to tell Daniel that his prayer was answered the moment Daniel began to pray; but an evil angel met the good angel and wrestled with him, hindering him. There was a conflict in the heavens; and Daniel seemed to go through an agony on earth the same as that which was going on in the heavens.

"We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers… against wicked spirits in high places" (Eph. 6:12, margin).

Satan delayed the answer three full weeks. Daniel nearly succumbed, and Satan would have been glad to kill him; but God will not suffer anything to come above that we "are able to bear."

Many a Christian's prayer is hindered by Satan; but you need not fear when your prayers and faith pile up; for after a while they will be like a flood, and will not only sweep the answer through, but will also bring some new accompanying blessing. --Sermon

Hell does its worst with the saints. The rarest souls have been tested with high pressures and temperatures, but Heaven will not desert them. --W. L. Watkinson

Season of Waiting

Woo! Here's some encouragement for me. I'm not here for no reason, just being prepared for the next phase. I knew that in my head, but I needed to be reminded. :-)

"And when forty years were expired, there appeared to him in the wilderness…an angel of the Lord...saying....now come, I will send thee into Egypt" (Acts 7:30-34).

Often the Lord calls us aside from our work for a season, and bids us be still and learn ere we go forth again to minister. There is no time lost in such waiting hours.

Fleeing from his enemies, the ancient knight found that his horse needed to be re-shod. Prudence seemed to urge him on without delay, but higher wisdom taught him to halt a few minutes at the blacksmith's forge by the way, to have the shoe replaced; and although he heard the feet of his pursuers galloping hard behind, yet he waited those minutes until his charger was refitted for his flight. And then, leaping into his saddle just as they appeared a hundred yards away, he dashed away from them with the fleetness of the wind, and knew that his halting had hastened his escape.

So often God bids us tarry ere we go, and fully recover ourselves for the next stage of the journey and work. --Days of Heaven upon Earth

Waiting! Yes, patiently waiting!
Till next steps made plain shall be;
To hear, with the inner hearing,
The Voice that will call for me.

Waiting! Yes, hopefully waiting!
With hope that need not grow dim;
The Master is pledged to guide me,
And my eyes are unto Him.

Waiting! Expectantly waiting!
Perhaps it may be today
The Master will quickly open
The gate to my future way.

Waiting! Yes, waiting! still waiting!
I know, though I've waited long,
That, while He withholds His purpose,
His waiting cannot be wrong.

Waiting! Yes, waiting! still waiting!
The Master will not be late:
He knoweth that I am waiting
For Him to unlatch the gate.
--J. D. Smith

Maybe... Just maybe...

Hello! Just to let you know that yesterday Dr Reed's registrar said that this next chemo cycle might be my last! Woohoo! Well, nothing's been confirmed, but she said that they'll seriously consider it.

Man, I'm going to be in such a sulky, bad mood if they say I still have to get four...

Instant Obedience

Here's a scary challenge from my devotions:

"In the selfsame day, as God had said unto him" (Gen. 17:23).

Instant obedience is the only kind of obedience there is; delayed obedience is disobedience. Every time God calls us to any duty, He is offering to make a covenant with us; doing the duty is our part, and He will do His part in special blessing.

The only way we can obey is to obey "in the selfsame day," as Abraham did. To be sure, we often postpone a duty and then later on do it as fully as we can. It is better to do this than not to do it at all. But it is then, at the best, only a crippled, disfigured, half-way sort of duty-doing; and a postponed duty never can bring the full blessing that God intended, and that it would have brought if done at the earliest possible moment.

It is a pity to rob ourselves, along with robbing God and others, by procrastination. "In the selfsame day" is the Genesis way of saying, "Do it now." --Messages for the Morning Watch

Luther says that "a true believer will crucify the question, 'Why?' He will obey without questioning." I will not be one of those who, except they see signs and wonders, will in no wise believe. I will obey without questioning.

"Ours not to make reply,
Ours not to reason why,
Ours but to do and die."

Obedience is the fruit of faith; patience, the bloom on the fruit. --Christina Rossetti

Muse

I love Muse. I love Muse. I love them, I love them, I LOVE them!!! Woohoo! I'm sooooooo happy they're finally releasing a new single. Phew! I can't wait for their new album to come out! It's going to be totally weird and amazing! Yey! They played in Dundee yesterday and I was totally gutted I missed them, but this lovely fansite has put all the songs they played yesterday on it and now I'm listening to them. I can pretend that they're playing just for me. :-D

I don't care what you say, Pete. They're the best band in my world!!

Blueberry Pancakes

Woohoo! I've finally gotten to the stage where my stomach's back to normal! Yey! My nausea lasted a few days longer this time, but that's ok. It's the best out of all side effects. :-) I'm off noodles because the other night they tasted so bad, it made me want to throw up. Blegh! Never EVER eat prawn flavoured instant noodles. Eugh! Anyway... I made some blueberry pancakes for breakfast yesterday. They were lovely. The mix Pete bought me really turned out some beautiful pancakes, which surprisingly tasted great with coffee flavoured ice cream. Go figure! Ok, I didn't have ice cream first thing in the morning. By the time the pancakes were ready, it was nearly noon...

Also, I finally got out the house today. Woohoo! Well, I thought it was going to be another slow day, with just a blood test and the bank to look forward to but I ended getting to have lunch with my mum and spend the afternoon with Marji. :-) It was really good with Marji actually because we basically just reminisced about the last five years and laughed at how silly, young and immature we were. We're probably still quite immature, I suppose, but it was nice looking back and seeing how much we had grown up. I think the nicest thing about it was looking back at the hardest times, especially over the last couple of years, and see that out of them came a lot of growth. And though those times were really difficult and really painful, I can look back now and be really thankful because they woke me up to the real world and made me grow up. It made me really positive about this whole cancer thing. Most of my online devotions over the last couple of weeks have been about how God brings difficulty to shape us into the 'most precious jewels'. Well, it was nice to be reminded of that truth by looking back over the last few years and just see the truth of that. I'm really thankful. Wonder what I'll be saying about the cancer in a year's time? Maybe I'll be too excited because I'll FINALLY be able to go to Japan?! Yey! I'll be so happy to finally get there. Haha!

It's so nice to be at this stage of the chemo cycle when I start to feel well and like me again. Phew! :-D

My tummy

Well, you'll be pleased to know that I didn't touch Gaviscon once today. Woohoo! I severely dislike the stuff and am not looking forward to having it as often the next time around. But that's ok, I guess. It is another two weeks away...

Today I've gone back to being insatiably hungry. I have spent only about two or three hours in total being satisfied and not "famished". I do have to correct myself for using the word "famished" because truly I do not know what famished could possibly mean, but regardless, that is how I felt. I didn't venture to make the pancakes today because I didn't crave them... Maybe I only want what I can't have? I don't know. This time I've really craved noodles and orange juice. I'm having noodles just now, but they're not as nice as the ones I want. You can only get those from Malaysia, so I'll just have to be content and have them in my dreams. I'm going to go buy orange juice tomorrow.

My taste buds have been so bizzare this time because I can't taste bread, water tastes minging and I really need strong tastes before my mouth is satisfied. Hope that doesn't last because it's ridiculous.

Well, I'm going to go and make these noodles more interesting because my mouth doesn't want to receive them just yet. Pfff...

So far so good!

Woohoo! Back to some colours. Black gets a bit boring after a while.

Anyway, I'm still ok. Just wanted to thank you all for continuing to pray for me. This time the worst of it was quite bad heartburn, but the nausea was tolerable. :-) I hope none of you ever get heartburn or have to take Gaviscon on a regular basis. It's not the nicest thing. And I'm not just taking Gaviscon because of the adverts, it's what they give us on the ward.

I'm still waiting for the car to take me to the hospital. I just hope I get there on time to get my blood test and meet Mim. I thought I'd be there by now and could meet her at 12, but nope, the car still isn't here. :-S I hope I'm not too late. Plus, I hope the stupid heartburn goes away so I can actually enjoy my lunch. Anyway, the fantastic thing is that tomorrow my tummy should be back to normal. Phew! I was hoping it'd be today, but I should just be patient I guess. I'm going to venture to make pancakes from the blueberry pancake mix Pete bought me. That'll be lovely. :-)

Car's here now. See you later!

Beginning Without Finishing

Hey! Here's a wee challenge to us all. Apt for me today actually. Nice to get a friendly kick up the backside from God. :-)

"He spoke a parable unto them…that men ought always to pray, and not to faint" (Luke 18:1).

No temptation in the life of intercession is more common than this of failure to persevere. We begin to pray for a certain thing; we put up our petitions for a day, a week, a month; and then, receiving as yet no definite answer, straightway we faint, and cease altogether from prayer concerning it.

This is a deadly fault. It is simply the snare of many beginnings with no completions. It is ruinous in all spheres of life.

The man who forms the habit of beginning without finishing has simply formed the habit of failure. The man who begins to pray about a thing and does not pray it through to a successful issue of answer has formed the same habit in prayer.

To faint is to fail; then defeat begets disheartenment, and unfaith in the reality of prayer, which is fatal to all success.

But someone says, "How long shall we pray? Do we not come to a place where we may cease from our petitions and rest the matter in God's hands?"

There is but one answer. Pray until the thing you pray for has actually been granted, or until you have the assurance in your heart that it will be.

Only at one of these two places dare we stay our importunity, for prayer is not only a calling upon God, but also a conflict with Satan. And inasmuch as God is using our intercession as a mighty factor of victory in that conflict, He alone, and not we, must decide when we dare cease from our petitioning. So we dare not stay our prayer until the answer itself has come, or until we receive the assurance that it will come.

In the first case we stop because we see. In the other, we stop because we believe, and the faith of our heart is just as sure as the sight of our eyes; for it is faith from, yes, the faith of God, within us.

More and more, as we live the prayer life, shall we come to experience and recognize this God-given assurance, and know when to rest quietly in it, or when to continue our petitioning until we receive it. --The Practice of Prayer

The Prayer of Faith

Meant to put this on before I left for the hospital, but didn't have time. Hope it encourages you:

"God that cannot lie promised" (Titus 1:2).

Faith is not working up by will power a sort of certainty that something is coming to pass, but it is seeing as an actual fact that God has said that this thing shall come to pass, and that it is true, and then rejoicing to know that it is true, and just resting because God has said it.

Faith turns the promise into a prophecy. While it is merely a promise it is contingent upon our cooperation. But when faith claims it, it becomes a prophecy, and we go forth feeling that it is something that must be done because God cannot lie.
--Days of Heaven upon Earth

I hear men praying everywhere for more faith, but when I listen to them carefully, and get at the real heart of their prayer, very often it is not more faith at all that they are wanting, but a change from faith to sight.

Faith says not, "I see that it is good for me, so God must have sent it," but, "God sent it, and so it must be good for me."

Faith, walking in the dark with God, only prays Him to clasp its hand more closely.
--Phillips Brooks

"The Shepherd does not ask of thee
Faith in thy faith, but only faith in Him;
And this He meant in saying, 'Come to me.'
In light or darkness seek to do His will,
And leave the. work of faith to Jesus still."

PS: Thanks to all who prayed for me about Thursday and the Bleomycin. It didn't affect me as badly as it did the last time. I just had bad nausea and heartburn, which I probably will have for the next few days, but that's normal. Thanks again!