Weekend of Inspiration

My original intent for this blog was to post a minimum of once a month, at the beginning of each month, to report on my progress. After the disappointing lab test results in June, I was majorly bummed, not even wanting to post any more! I didn't post in July, mainly due to vacation, nor in September, also due to a long-weekend vacation and a lot of other stuff going on in my life. But I blogged in my personal blog about this past weekend, and I'm feeling so jazzed about it right now that I've decided to share it here, too.

Sunday, October 4, 2015

What a great weekend! Two extraordinary southern gentlemen traveled from their respective homes in West Virginia and South Carolina to California, one to Glendale and one to Berkeley, to speak to their followers who have come to know them through their published works and from their online presence.

Herb Montgomery, director of Renewed Heart Ministries, has touched the hearts and lives of countless thousands of individuals in ways that no one had ever dreamed possible. Atheists and agnostics have taken another look at the Jesus they had never been introduced to before now. Others, marginalized by ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientation, have come to feel safe in the presence of a God they never really knew. I have to admit I was skeptical when I first heard of Herb (in 2013) from someone whom I passed off as "just another religious enthusiast." And, while I respected her opinion, I knew I'd have to find out for myself. I first heard Herb speak in Atlanta in 2014. "Speak" is hardly an adequate word to describe what we all experienced at that SDA Kinship Kampmeeting. There really are no words to describe Herb's ministry. If you're curious, you'd just have to listen to his audio podcasts or view his video presentations.

At the time of this writing (as webmaster for Glendale City Church), I am anxiously awaiting upload of any audio and/or video files that the audio-visual crew was able to obtain this past weekend (October 2-3) so I can post them online. I can already tell (from Facebook posts I have seen) that the GCC audience has been forever impacted by the ministry of Herb Montgomery.

Jimmy Moore is a thorough researcher and author who has experienced what a low-carb high-fat dietary lifestyle can do for someone who was morbidly obese and now is not. And, as it was with Herb Montgomery, I admit to having had some skepticism about Jimmy, who is not a medical professional but simply a person for whom this dietary protocol has worked. But, urged by the recommendation of fellow diabetics, I ordered (for my Kindle) and read Keto Clarity and Cholesterol Clarity which he co-authored with Dr. Eric Westman of Duke University who works extensively with diabetic patients. But Jimmy doesn't expect the reader to just take his word or even just what Dr. Westman says; he includes information from scores of other healthcare experts in the chapters, arranged topically. So when Jimmy co-authored The Ketogenic Cookbook with a nutritionist who created the recipes, I was intrigued. His section on "Vegetarian Recipes" sold me on it.

Then I found out that Jimmy Moore and wife Christine were doing a cross-country tour and would be in Berkeley (17 miles from where we live) for a book signing and dinner at a new paleo restaurant, and I was excited! But by the time I decided we could fit this event into our life, the tickets were all sold out. I posted about it on Jimmy's Facebook event thread, and he encouraged me to come anyway. So we did (last night). That was my early birthday present! As we walked (well, Linda rode) the two blocks from where we had to park on the narrow Berkeley streets, there was a feeling of anticipation similar to what it was like many years ago when my kids were on Feingold and we were going to meet with other Feingold families for a Feingold picnic!

Now the thing about both Herb Montgomery and Jimmy Moore, though they are in entirely different fields, is that they are both off-the-beaten-path kind of people. What they teach defies conventional wisdom! Well, I have spent my life defying conventional wisdom, being intrigued to explore things that are totally "out of the box" to stretch my mind and broaden my horizons. So both of these men's messages are complete no-brainers for me.

Jimmy's book signing took place in the main part of the restaurant (Mission Heirloom) and was relaxed enough that I got to spend 15-20 minutes in conversation with him and Christine after he signed my copy of The Ketogenic Cookbook. At the dinner (with 50 other people) in a reserved area out on the back patio, Jimmy answered questions from the group as they ate a completely ketogenic meal made with recipes from his new cookbook. Even Barley cooperated very nicely, sleeping peacefully in his bag on Linda's chest the entire time! Unfortunately, I got so caught up in the moment that I failed to take any cell phone pictures at the event. But the sights and sounds and smells and tastes will be forever embedded in my memory.

Thank you, Jimmy Moore and Herb Montgomery, for the gifts of yourselves this weekend!

Quote from The Ketogenic Cookbook:
"The difficulty lies not so much in developing new ideas as in escaping from old ones."
—John Maynard Keynes