Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Tea Time




Okay so this blog may seem a little strange coming from me: I have always thought tea was for women to drink, and coffee was for men. I dont know where that idea came from, but it had been somewhat drilled into my mindset. When me and Jazmin started dating, she really loved tea, and I didnt. When I got back to Alaska, I started to drink it because my parents are tea fanatics. Over time I have tried all kinds of teas, and my favorite is now Celestial Seasonings green teas, Blueberry Breeze and Mandarin Orchard being my favorite of those. They have flavors for any kind of taste you want. But to me its more about the health benefits of green tea that strike me. If you know me, you know that I enjoy excercise and healthy eating. When I started reading about the benefits of green tea, I was surprised. Here are some of them:




  • full of antioxidants, these prevent the toxins in your body known at free radicals. the antixodants found in green tea have been proven to be 100 times more powerful than those found in Vitamin C, and 25 times more powerful than those found in Vitamin E!


  • reduces risk of stroke and coronary artery disease


  • reduces risk of cancer


  • increase in metabolism and fat fighting properties


  • reduces stress


To get the full benefits from green tea, researchers say you need to drink about 3 cups a day. This isnt really a whole lot, as you can easily have a cup at breakfast, in the day, and then before bed (if its decaf!!). I guess it has just intrigued me, the effects that this potent drink really contains. God has blessed us with little things like this, and I think its important to take advantage of them!

Monday, January 12, 2009

Picture time


Me and my beautiful niece Marie















Jake, me, and my uncle Bill













my sister and I, 21st birthday!








Me snowshoeing, and I bought my mom cast iron cookware for Christmas

New Year update

Wow! Time is flying and I find myself getting farther and farther behind on my blog!! As soon as I am able to get Jazmin up here I might just have to hand the reigns over to her, that way it gives her something to do and also she can practice her English! Well she is doing good, helping her mom at work (she is a real estate agent), finishing school, and planning the wedding (the second one) and Im really proud of her for doing all these things. She is really excited to move up here to Alaska but I think she will be happier moving up here in the summer, because lately its been about -30 every day. As far as ministry goes, our preacher Robert was gone most of December taking a much needed break and visiting with family. I was given to chances to preach from the pulpit, a few Weds. night devos, the mens small group and my Sun. morning teen class. During the week I am usually studying, visiting, or resting. I am studying with a 74 year old Serbo Croatian man named Milorod and its going really well, he is already a Christian but he is to old to drive at night (which is when most of the group bible studies take place) so I told him I can bring the bible study to him, we have been studying about prayer and taking lessons from Jesus. He has become a good friend and I enjoy the time we spend together. Anyways just wanted to let everyone know what all is going on, I will try and get pics up soon! God bless - Ben and Jaz