Heather Hodges

I have been working on a painting series called “Women of the Bible.” Here is the first in that series, “Rebecca at the Well.” She was highly influential, decisive, and a woman of action. Rebecca was the granddaughter of Nahor and Milcah, great-niece of Abraham, wife of Isaac, mother of Jacob and Esau, mother-in-law of Rachael and Leah, and grandmother of the Twelve Tribes of Israel.

When Abraham was very old (Gen. 24) and living as a foreigner in Caanan, he sent his most trusted servant back to his home in Haran to find a wife for his son, Issac. When Abraham summoned his servant, he made him take an oath “by putting his hand under the thigh of his master” (a euphamism for testicle) and swear that he would not take Isaac to Haran, but go himself to search for a wife for him in Haran. (The word ‘testament’ comes from the Latin word for testicles and refers to this custom of oath taking.)

Why did Abraham insist that the servant go back to the land of his birth to find a wife for his son? One writer, Miki Raver, suggests that, ” the culture in Haran - the homeland of all the women in the first family of Genesis - was matriarchal and matrilineal. In Haran, women were recognized as individuals with rights, they were not just considered property. A woman’s strength was valued and her sexuality honored as sacred. Abraham wanted Isaac’s mate to have the same ideas of her worth as a woman that Sarah had.” (Listen to Her Voice: Women in the Hebrew Bible, p.50)

Whether this is true or not, I’m not sure. But it does seem from the biblical account in Genesis that she was indeed a very strong woman. Not only could she lift a heavy jar of water to her shoulder repeatedly and draw enough water to quench the thirst of ten camels (my inspiration for this painting), but at a very young age she made the decision to leave her family and marry a strange man - Isaac. After her marriage she became pregnant - which was difficult to say the least. She pleaded with the Lord, “Why is this happening to me?” The Lord spoke directly to Rebecca and said, “There are two rival nations in your womb….and your older son will serve your younger son.” I think Rebecca knew and understood that her purpose was to insure Jacob’s leadership.

Rebecca intervened when the aging and mostly blind Isaac gave his blessing to his oldest son, Esau. With his mother’s help Jacob received the blessing meant for his brother and solidified his place in history as the Father of the Twelve Tribes of Israel.

But I think what we don’t see in this story is Rebecca’s grief at deceiving her beloved husband, hurting her older son Esau, and living with the consequences of sending Jacob away never to see him again.

The Lord’s plan for his people was revealed to Rebecca, not Isaac, and she became the instrument of His Will. Because of her decisiveness and courage to act, she helped determine the direction of history.

“Rebecca at the Well” - oil on canvas. The original is 22 x 28 and Giclee prints are available for .25 cents a square inch. “Giclee” is a French word meaning “forced spray” or “spray of ink.” Its a new technology that allows prints to be made on various surfaces such as canvas or watercolor paper. It is the closest duplication of an original art work that is humanly, mechanically, or technically possible. I stretch all my prints onto a wood frame that is ready to hang or frame. I paint a medium onto the print that gives it texture and depth. If you are interested in purchasing a print of any of my paintings, please let me know.

On Wednesday, March 26, Tulsans and International Soul Winning Workshop participants have a great opportunity to help change the lives of at-risk children in Tulsa . . . and worldwide in places like Ukraine, Ghana, and Denver, Colorado. The Garnett Church and the Green Country Event Center will host a fundraising dinner, live music, and an auction from 6 pm – 8 pm at Garnett, 12000 E. 31st St. Tulsa, Oklahoma 74146. All funds go to Dry Bones Denver, World Wide Youth Camps, Village of Hope Ghana, and at-risk youth programs in Tulsa. The full service, gourmet meal is being provided by Chef Roy Victory, plates are $15 each and tables of 8 can be purchased for a donation of $200. Tickets for the event are still available, please call (918) 663-3000.

I have had the honor of serving on the committee that is hosting this event, and we’ve had a lot of fun putting this evening together for you. I hope you will make plans to join us on Wednesday night. The dinner will be delicious, the music lively, and the auction a blast. Here are a few of the paintings that I’ve donated to the auction (please forgive the poor picture quality, they are much brighter in person.)

This is a 24×30 oil on canvas framed reproduction of Van Gogh’s “Starry Night.” I have long been a student of Van Gough’s technique and color palate, and this is the eighth time I have reproduced this famous painting.

“Poppies in Provence” 18×24 oil on gallery wrap canvas. This painting can be hung “as-is” or can be framed.

My latest addition to the floral series that has been so popular the last several years, “Summer Garden I & II.” These colorful paintings are 22 x 28 acrylic on gallery wrap canvas. They are intended to be hung without a frame.

I’ll see you Wednesday night at 6pm!

Sometimes listening at my sons’ bedroom door pays off.  Most of the time I just hear them talking about toys, their favorite TV show, friends, the cat, etc.  But last night I heard a different conversation that made my heart swell just a little.

Elijah (5 yrs old) - “Caleb, you want to know why I’m so proud of you?”

Caleb (6 yrs old) - “Why?”

Elijah - “Because you didn’t cry when Mom pulled your tooth out.”

Elijah, Mom is so proud of you for affirming your big brother.  Way to go bud!!!!

On October 8, 2000 during my first trimester with Caleb, I went in for my initial ultrasound. During the visit we learned that the baby was developing beautifully, but in addition to giving birth to a boy, I would soon be delivering 2 very large kidney stones (1cm and 2cm.) For those of you who have suffered with this ailment you know that these “stones” should have been labeled “rocks” instead because they were so large. It was like Plymouth and Gibraltar were growing in my kidney. Needless to say, the pregnancy and delivery were complicated and very arduous as a result of the stones. When Caleb was 11 days old, I was back in the hospital for my first ESWL (extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy - a procedure that uses shock waves to break up a kidney stone into small pieces that can more easily fit through the urinary tract and pass from the body.)

Over the next four years I was in and out of the ER and hospital for a total of 7 lithotripsies and thousands and thousands of dollars. I changed my diet drastically and began consuming buckets of water, but because of an abnormal type of kidney (medullary sponge kidney) my body continued to make stones. This was getting old fast, and very expensive. There had to be a better way, so I began educating myself about urology and nephrology. I read everything I could find about kidney stones, their prevention and cure, including home remedies.

One Sunday at church, I casually mentioned one of the home remedies I’d read about to a friend and he said, “Yeah, I know about that cure, it worked for me - twice.” I was stunned, a home remedy given credibility by a trusted friend. With a bit of skepticism, I considered giving it a try. So during my next attack, I sent Wade to the grocery store to purchase the two common ingredients for the remedy. I followed the instructions of the remedy and waited. I only had to wait about 45 minutes before the 4mm stone passed. I was shocked, giddy, elated. It worked!!!! I had been relieved of the pain and hassle of a kidney stone with about $5 dollars worth of supplies and 45 minutes. This was revolutionary for me. Could this mean no more ER visits, no more huge sums of money spent on ESWLs, no more senseless pain? The answer for me has been YES !!!! I have not visited the ER due to kidney stones nor had an ESWL or any real stone pain for the past 3 years.

I continue to visit my family physician every 6 months for a KUB (kidney,ureter, bladder) x-ray for extra measure. When I do have a stone, I rush home to perform the remedy. When I return to the doctor’s office for a follow up x-ray they are always baffled about the expediency of the home remedy.

Like 80% of stone formers, I make calcium oxalate stones. Our kidneys are the cleaners of the body, they filter blood to remove excess mineral salts and other wastes. Part of the cleaning process is to produce urine that excretes the waste from the body. Kidney stones form when your urine becomes so saturated with calcium oxalate and other minerals that no more of it can dissolve into the urine. Its kind of like trying to dissolve too much sugar in your tea. So, the undissolved portion of the mineral develops into crystals. These crystals bunch together to form barbed stones that hurt like the dickens when they travel from the kidney, through the ureter, down to the bladder and out through the urethra. This process can be more painful for men (so I’m told) because the urethra in males is longer than in females. Up until the urethra, kidney stones are equal opportunity pains in the……you know where.

The remedy is simply chemistry in reverse. Chemistry forms stones in the first place, so it makes sense that chemistry can destroy them. For the low, low price of $49.99 you too can be kidney stone free and I will share with you the two ingredients you need for this home remedy. Just kidding. All you need is a 2 liter of Coca Cola and a bunch of asparagus (8 ounzes.) Within a 15 minute period, drink the entire 2 liter of Coke, wait 10 minutes then consume the pureed asparagus. It is important to puree the asparagus and eat this like a soup. I put lemon juice and a little salt for taste. Follow this by drinking several glasses of water. You will feel miserably full for about an hour, but relief should come quickly. During this time, I can actually feel the stone moving from my back and around my side. I have only minimal pain during this process. It sure beats the ER and $4000.

Please be smart about this. If you know you have a stone and it’s under.5cm then you might want to try the remedy. What can it hurt? But if you’re experiencing excruciating pain and you’re not sure what’s going on, GO TO THE DOCTOR!!!!! I’m not a physician, I’m just a kidney stone former who has found a home remedy that works for me.

So how does it work? From what I understand, the phosphoric acid in the Coke begins to dissolve the calcium oxalate stone, then the asparagus (which is a natural diuretic) helps expel what’s left. GROSS ALERT: (I guess if you’ve read this far, you don’t really care) I’ve actually done a little research of my own and put a previously passed stone in a bowl with Coke. After about 3o minutes it was a mushy mess. It had been dissolved. I did the same experiment with lemon juice and got the same results. During one particularly painful episode I knew I was facing a large stone, so I drank lemon juice and real lemonade for a week, when I did the home remedy I passed a smooth stone. It looked like a baby river rock. The lemon juice had knocked the edges off and had actually shrunk the stone so it could pass. Since then I have combined lemon juice with my 2 liter of Coke and have gotten very good results.

Once again, I’m not a urologist, nephrologist, or any other kind of “ologist.” I’m simply telling a story about my journey with kidney stones. To date, I’ve passed nearly a dozen stones with this remedy ranging from 1mm to 5mm in size. After hearing about a close friend who was in the ER because of a painful stone, I wanted to share my story. I merely hope that reading this will help someone else avoid the pain of kidney stones. It’s too gross and embarrassing to tell it for any other reason. Yuck.

Your stone-free friend - Heather.

Its no great confession that the Hodges’ family loves to watch the Discovery Channel.  Some of our favorite shows are Myth Busters, Smash Lab, Deadliest Catch, Man Vs. Wild, and Survivor Man.   Just about any night of the week you could walk in and catch us cheering while we watch Jamie and Adam bust urban myths, the Smash Lap crew blowing something up, Les Stroud in another hopeless survival situation with only his multi-tool, or Bear Grylls exploring the wild and eating scorpions and sheep eye balls - raw.   Yes, my once girl friendly home has turned into a den of explosions and gross stuff.  I love being the mom of boys!!!!!

I’m finally home after a very long, but rewarding journey to Novosibirsk, Russia. The reason I went was to help lead the 2008 Mentor Retreat for World Wide Youth Camps. They are an international missions ministry focused on orphans in Russia and Ukraine. They host summer and winter camps for the orphans in which American mission teams will travel to both countries to conduct church camp for the children. During the camps Russian and Ukrainian mentors serve as translators for the Americans but they also form spiritual friendships with the orphans. After the Americans leave, these in-country mentors will continue their relationships with the orphans. It might be compared to our Big Brother/Big Sister program where at-risk kids are mentored and shown love from a caring adult.

One of the hard lessons I learned from this trip is that orphans in Russia are considered inferior by the culture and have a very small chance of becoming successful after leaving the orphanage. They suffer from “institutional syndrome” and may physically be 16 years old, but are in fact emotionally much younger. As a result, when they leave the orphanage at 17 or 18, they are not ready to face the challenges of living on their own and many fall into drugs, alcoholism, prostitution, and some commit suicide. The Russian mentors working with WWYC want to help the orphans avoid these pitfalls. So they start mentoring the orphans while they are still in the orphanage and build lasting friendships with them. They spend their own time and money taking the orphans to lunch, buying them clothes, and most importantly spending time in conversation with them. The mentors walk along side the orphans helping them make difficult decisions and preparing for life outside the orphanage. One of the goals of WWYC is to create a facility that will serve as a half-way house for the orphans. This sanctuary is several years away, but the need is immediate. It would serve as a respite for the orphans and a safe place for them to go, meet with their mentor, find compassion, have bible studies, gain life skills and rest.

The retreat that I helped lead with my brother Houston Heflin and Rob Browne was very similar to spiritual retreats here. We were led in textual studies by Houston out of Matthew 14 (Jesus walks on the water), and I took the group through team-building activities and helped apply the teaching with games and initiatives. We prayed together, played together, had good food, stayed up late talking, cried together, and made new friends as a result. Our goal for the retreat was to mentor the mentors, build them up through the Word and through our actions. We hoped to not only give them more tools to draw from as they minister to the orphans in Novosibirsk, but also to deepen their faith in Christ. We had very serious times together and very silly times too. But throughout the experience the Lord was present in powerful ways. Most of the mentors are Christians, but several of them have not yet given their lives fully to Him. Please continue to pray not only for the orphans but for these wonderful people who stand beside them and mentor them.

Houston teaching.

Buddy Ropers - a team building game also known as Group Knot

Group Lap Sit - this can be accomplished with a very large group too.

“Super” Olga and Olga “99″ navigating the mine field. They were being verbally guided through by a partner on the other side of the room.

Natalia preparing for the Trust Fall. This may seem familiar to us, but it was very threatening to some of the mentors.

Thanks again for all your thoughts and prayers while I was gone. Wade and the boys did fine while I was away and I even came home to a semi-clean house and more food in the fridge than when I left. Some of you have asked about the cold…yes it was VERY cold (minus 10 degrees F). Siberia in February-what was I thinking? It was so cold my teeth hurt when I was outside. But I must say, the cold is not what I will remember most about this trip. I will remember the warmth of my new friends in Russia, late night tea, Super Olga’s tears, Pushcoff’s jokes, Houston trying to stay awake through jet lag, Rob sneaking upstairs to put little gifts on the mentor’s beds, walking arm-in-arm with Anna through the woods, eating new foods, Natalia shouting “make it 12″, the rubber chicken flying through the room, being so tired we were giddy, the joy of meeting new friends, but most of all the pain of saying goodbye.