From: "Victoria BidWell"
Date: January 20, 2012 7:23:37 AM EST
Subject: OPEN ME � Only if you want a wonderful story from a live-food Christian friend...

January 20th, 2012  GREETINGS, livefoodfactorfriends! M  I hope you are all well and thriving on enough live-foods to be free of misery and full of energy and high joy! We have almost 2 feet of snow! White, fluffy, breath-takingly beautiful snow!  And High is out in it... daintily eating the cold crystals, prancing around in it, digging in it, rolling in it, and -- YES! -- even taking naps in it! And I have been sooooo busy! So many guests have come through whose stories I have no time to write up right now. I have so many new recipes and live-food secrets to share! But in today's broadcast, I am doing something I have never done before -- dared to share a livefoodfactorfriends' health adventure with ya'll that has a decidedly Christian bent. I hope this will not cause you to unsubscribe! After all -- you were warned: "OPEN ME -- Only if you want to see a wonderful story from a livefoodfactor Christian friend..."   I am about to check into The Eagle's Nest for a week. But I will write a couple more times before heading over to The Guesthouse. I am going on a 2-quart a day juice diet of greens with a special recipe of 19 greens and assorted flavor bursts that I will share with you before I go!

The Wilderness Woman's Introduction to The Kim Andrews' Story M Except for a 4-week lull in late summer, 2011, and a few days in the fall, I have had a full-to-overflowing Guesthouse for many past months! I was enjoying assisting the guests through their fasts, making new and yummy recipes for them, and the "full-house income" that was allowing me to make new Homestead improvements and to pay off some outstanding bills. I never thought I would actually enjoy the day when The Guesthouse stood empty! But the 4-week lull did me great good while I prepared for another 2 months of a full-house in November and December. M  When Kim first called, I sensed I was talking with a very mature, very focused, very experienced woman of about 40 and was shocked after about an hour of getting to know each other through 3 phone calls that she was only 25! She knew we would hit if off before I did! She had spent just enough time on www.naturecurerawfoodhealthretreat.com to be able to imagine the profile of the ideal candidate for Our Hygiene Homestead in The Woods and to catch my spirit as The Wilderness Woman with The HighJoy Horse! In fact, she announced during our first talk: "I WILL BE YOUR PERFECT GUEST!"  M  I thought to myself... "That is quite the claim." Since the website opened in May of 2010, I had enjoyed many who fit that bill. But Kim has won the prize!  M  She continued: "I grew up in Alaska with no electricity and no running water." (When I was 56 and High was 6, we had lived in Canada for a full year on a trail ride ranch. And I had no electricity and no running water -- the most adventurous year of my life!) "I started riding when I was 5 and had no saddle." (I started at 6 and had no saddle, either.) "I work for my father in his mechanic shop." (I, too, was a mechanic's daughter and had worked alongside him and ran parts for him and kept books for him until my early 20s.) "And I will be the 'easiest keeper' and 'lowest maintenance' guest you have ever had." (Those are both horse terms that should not be thrown around lightly!) "All I need is a place to hold up, a private room to be by myself for a time of fasting and prayer. I just need DSL Internet and a comfortable bed. You don't even need to check on me most of the days. And I can fix my own meals after the fast." (All of this I knew I could provide.)  M  Kim and I discussed what the $1,000 a week place in Hawaii she had checked out would cost her = $6,000 + airfare. Frankly, I just could not resist the idea of having "THE PERFECT GUEST" to offset the 1 out of 4 who comes through complaining and grouchy, no matter what I do and no matter that they are getting half the price and many times over the comfort and amenities of the pricey places! Unable to avoid the temptation of having "THE PERFECT GUEST," I called her back and knocked $1,000 off the $500 a week rate. And Kim? Smart, young woman that she is? She jumped at the offer! We had both made the reservation process fun for each other! And I knew in my heart from our 3 calls that The Eagle's Nest was about to serve a mighty purpose for this tender soul. M  Draw nigh to God,  and  He will draw nigh to you.  Cleanse your hands,  ye sinners;  and purify your hearts,  ye double-minded.  James 4:8. M "THE KIM ANDREW'S STORY" to follow leaves out sooooo much of her stay here.  M  And I do not want to detract from Kim's spiritual account with reports of how tasty the beverages were, how fun and fancy the meals were, how some of the 25 days of Kim's fast my visit was less than one-minute while she waved me away to tell me she was fine, how spectacular the tail-end of the fall colors were here in Concrete just for Kim, how long and pleasant were Kim's reported walks throughout the fast, how mildly irritated some of the guests were that Kim seldom came out of her room to visit and help them distract them from themselves, how delighted she was with some of The Wilderness Woman's gifts, or how blessed she was to have handed to her GOD'S CHOSEN FAST and FAST YOUR WAY TO HEALTH and THE WEIGH-DOWN DIET.   M Nor will I go into detail about how Kim without her trusty scale to keep track of her weight lost or about how she arrived not looking overweight at all. I won't detail how she did not look like she had lost that much in a 25-day fast -- until I spied her from the rear-end! Her jeans were soooo baggy! During Kim's very last day here, when she was about to leave in such baggy jeans that I could not resist but take her into town special in to Value Village This is my favorite 2nd-hand store. Here  Kim was thrilled to pay only $30 for 2 Levi jackets and 3 pairs of Levi jeans -- all size 5! She was thrilled because she had been pricing just one pair of new jeans at $50 and found that same pair here -- looking brand-new!   I was so happy drive Kim into the big, new bus and train station to see her off. She was headed out to see her mother in Idaho before deciding what else to do with her healthy, happy life -- all to be lived with God's wisdom to guide her! Well, me at 25? I was a lost soul, headed for hell. I was lost but now am found. Kim's mother will be treated with a lovely gift from The Wilderness Woman and The HighJoy Horse, too! Live foods and fasting are anything but new to Kim's mother. How nice to have educated parents to guide these young people! If the rest of the younger generation were a lot more like Kim in sober-minded health habits and staying firmly grounded and rooted in Scripture, I would feel a lot better about what our world is coming to!  M  In the end, Kim was indeed, just as she had promised... "THE PERFECT GUEST!" Because (except for those long walks), she carried out The Correct Natural Hygiene Fast... Because (except for the Internet and telephone time), she rested or slept almost all of the time... Because (with no exceptions), she broke the fast correctly on small amounts of live-foods...   Because she was serious-minded about getting the most out of her time here and did not let herself get distracted...   Because she had the Health Seekers' right attitude and kept cheerful and positive... And because she saw me for who I am -- The Wilderness Woman who has spent 10 years and every bit of my resources creating a safe haven at 1/2 the going rate or less for Health Seekers and who just asks for a little appreciation -- and FUN from her Deerly Beloved Guests -- whenever they have it to give!    Because she sought first the kingdom of God...  and so many wonderful things will now be added unto her life! THE KIM ANDREWS' STORY Written from The Eagle's Nest the Night before Kim Took Wing! M  M Is not this the fast that I have chosen? To loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? Isaiah: 58: 6-7 M I was just 23. The most important decision I have ever made or will ever make was in the spring of 2009 when I gave my heart to The LORD Jesus Christ.  My life changed in every way for the better from that moment on. Jesus began a work in me that left no detail of my life untouched.  He set me free from drugs, alcohol, tobacco, depression, and in their place gave me love, joy, and a peace that passes understanding. Praise Him! As I searched His life-giving Word, I began to learn more of what it means to follow Jesus and that there is no detail too small in the life of His children to go unnoticed by Him. I also learned that my body was the purchase of His blood, purchased as a dwelling place for the Holy Spirit. The Bible in 1 Corinthians 6:19 says: "What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?" The Bible also says in 1 Corinthians 10:31:  "Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God." M Although I had been set free of free from drugs, alcohol, tobacco, depression that day in 2009, I knew that I was not taking good care of my body by eating too much and of the wrong kinds of food. Also, I was not taking enough time to rest and spend time with The Lord. My spiritual life was suffering as a result. I had known that I needed to make changes in my lifestyle for some time. And I had spent a considerable amount of time reading about nutrition, raw foods, health, and watching documentaries on the problems within the food system. All of the knowledge I was gaining pointed to one thing. I absolutely had to make changes in the way I was living. But even with all the knowledge I had acquired, there is quite a leap between knowing changes need to be made and actually allowing The Lord Jesus to work these changes in you. The cares of this life, the stresses, the deadlines, with the frenzied pace of modern living, they all have a way of taking over if our focus is not on the kingdom of God and seeking His righteousness first. Matthew 6:31-33 says: "Therefore take no thought, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'Wherewithal shall we be clothed?' For after all these things do the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."  I determined that I wanted to seek first the kingdom of God. M I had made attempts at change in the past, all of which were short-lived. The Lord convicted me that I needed a total rest, a time to seek Him with my whole heart, to learn His will and regain the health He desired me to have, without distraction or interruption. A fast on water-only was in order. I searched through many web pages and even spoke with some Natural Hygiene doctors, but none of it ever fit together quite right.  The timing was always off, or the price was way too high. For whatever reason, I just couldn't quite connect the dots. Then, in my search, I came across Dr. Tosca Hagg and sent her an e-mail. She told me she no longer had her retreat open but directed me to Victoria. I looked at www.naturecurerawfoodhealthretreat.com and decided to give Victoria a call. She was pleasant and very enthusiastic on the phone as she described a peaceful, little retreat in the woods. It was just what exactly I was looking for! I sought the Lord for His will to be done. And by His mighty power, in His perfect time, He put the details together for me. Six weeks later, Victoria BidWell drove up in her PT Cruiser, met me at the bus station in Burlington with a smile, a big hug, and a delicious, fresh, Hygiene Homestead-made pineapple smoothie! M We arrived at The Homestead in the woods after dark with the hundreds of tiny wilderness lights to greet us. Victoria gave me a tour of the charming, little house before showing me to "The Eagle's Nest" where I would be spending the next six weeks. It was obvious that Victoria had put a lot of effort into making the little green house a home. There were charming hutches filled to the brim with beautiful and interesting dishes, antiques, and a kitchen that had every possible gadget you could dream of! The Eagle's Nest was the best part. It was a quaint, little room -- country/western-themed with over-stuffed chairs, large mirrors, beautiful wall hangings, and complete with a tall electric-flaming fireplace and a like-sized, like-like eagle perched on its nest atop the mantle. M My fast on water-only began the following morning. I proceeded to hold up in my room like a well-fed brown bear during winter hibernation. In the early part of my fast, I did a lot of sleeping. My body was detoxing and getting much needed rest. As I got deeper into my 25 days of fasting, I began to experience the spiritual benefits I had been seeking. The clarity and solitude I was experiencing allowed me to draw close to The Lord and to hear His voice. When you shut out the world and all its varying demands, and draw close to God, just as He has promised, He will draw closer to you. I began studying all of the texts in the Bible on fasting and was amazed that I found fasting so prominent throughout the entire Old and New Testaments! I wondered why more people do not take advantage of this wonderful experience. Victoria showed me "The Fasting Library" sectioned off in The Homestead Library when I arrived. Then, early in my fast, she handed me two "just for Kim" books on spiritual fasting. These I also found very helpful and inspiring. M Victoria came to visit me every day, mostly after her business days of telephone calls and runs to the Post Office were over. She comes into your room with a smile on her face, and she loves to have fun! I appreciated her thoughtful gifts and surprises and making sure I had everything I needed and our short and long talks. After my fast, she made sure I had plenty of fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds. I even had my own new, miniature frig in my room! On the final day of my stay, we visited a salad bar to share a beautiful meal in each others' company. The best part of our last day together was finally meeting HighJoy -- the beautiful, white, Arabian horse. No one could ever call herself "The Wilderness Woman" without a wild horse to ride. And HighJoy is just that: a cut-proud gelding who acts like a stallion with a mind of his own! He is quite the character and is a master performer if there is a snack involved. Overall, I had a wonderful fasting experience and am coming away a new person with a stronger relationship with my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. M A big "THANK YOU!" to Victoria and The HighJoy horse for making all of this possible! My stay would have cost $6,000 anywhere else, and I would have had no Eagle's Nest. But I paid less than half this amount to The Wilderness Woman and had such privacy in The Eagle's Nest! I plan to return to my Nest. And in the meantime, The Wilderness Woman and High left me with a miniature Eagle: her wings spread out and about to take flight -- just to remind me of my quiet time of fasting and prayer at Our Hygiene Homestead in The Woods. M But those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength;  They shall mount up with wings like eagles,  They shall run and not be weary,  They shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:31

P.O. Box 558, Concrete, WA 98237, USA

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