New Post - Changes in Name, Website and Email

We are Gluten Free Kids, formally Gluten Free Kids R.O.C.K. Yes, we are dropping the R.O.C.K. Hope this post can explain why.

We have been a support group for 3 years in the Eugene/Springfield, Oregon area. We started off as a R.O.C.K. (Raising Our Celiac Kids), even though I never met the founder of R.O.C.K. I had very little contact with the women and we ran this on our own. No direction, no help from R.O.C.K., not even a returned signed license agreement. So we got by on local encouragement and referrals. Businesses were very wonderful in providing our group samples, books, coupons, handouts, and publications. To show my appreciation, I placed their link and information about their company on the website I created for our group. It was the least I could do for their expense in providing the material.

As a leader and a Celiac myself, I understand that we are who we are and have our own beliefs and faith. When we struggle through hard times, we depend on our beliefs and faith to get us through it. And children are the same way. Children talk about everything under the sun, including their belief and faith. I see no reason to hide my belief and faith, because after all, we are encouraged in this great nation to accept one another. I have a high respect for our Countries history and why it was founded and fought so hard to give us the freedoms we have today.

Now to the point of why we are no longer a R.O.C.K. chapter.

I was contacted this week by the founder of R.O.C.K. and asked to remove the (free) ads and the following from our groups website that I own under my name.
1. If you had Faith even as small as a mustard seed...nothing would be impossible. - Matthew 17:20 LB - Not even switching to a gluten free diet or healing on a gluten free diet.
2. Accept all medical professional preferences and personal decisions made by other members, including becoming gluten free (or Celiac) by personal or God's preference. (Because I have noticed how people have chastised others for saying that God told them to go on this diet.)
3. And under my personal testimony all the religious content. We are a Christian family and a small homeschool family (2 kids). We are adventurous, creative and love to learn about the world around us. I have to give the credit to my Heavenly Father for answering our prayers about our failing health. I started praying for my daughter when she was 2 years old in the year 2000. He kept answering my prayers and pointing to wheat, but I didn't want to go there. Finally after my own health failed so much, he lead me to a loving, kind voice that only had one answer, "Celiac - positive." No where else to go, but to accept the gluten free diet. I keep reminding myself of Daniel in the bible and his desire to eat the way God instructed him to. Daniel was hand picked to honorably serve the king in his castle. Daniel and the other hand picked Israelites were assigned daily amount of food and wine from the kings table. "But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine." (Daniel 1:8) He worked out an agreement with the chief official for a trial diet of 10 days with only vegetables and water for him and his companions. "At the end of the ten days they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food." (Daniel 1:15) I try to keep in mind that gluten, casein and other allergies are defiling myself and were not meant for my lips.

I refuse to take away my gratitude from company's and individuals who believed in us and sent us materials and referrals. I don't believe in taking something for free. This is our way of helping them.

I also refuse to allow someone to take away my freedom of speech. America is one of the few countries that have that freedom. And I have the freedom to walk away and continue to help others the best way I know how.

According to the founder, our website and my e-mail account are hers, because they have the word rock in the address. I can't remove it unless I recreate everything. So over the next month, I will be changing over and adding pages from the website to this blog. I still haven't decided on the website, because in the process of creating one, I am having software changes that are not working correctly. I also have to let everyone know about my new e-mail address.