Give Them Grace, Chapter 1

It is amazing how we seem to always try to bring everything back around to us. We should obey...so that we please God. We should give....so that we will receive. We should follow God's Laws...so that we will have Eternal Life- right? Wrong! We know this is false yet we seem to live this way and impart this thinking to our children. All of our behavior, obedience, giving, serving, tithing, etc. should all be motivated not from the standpoint of US but as a response to WHAT GOD HAS DONE!!!! It is not about me...it is all about God.

My life is hidden with Christ, in God: "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained by the law, Christ died for nothing!"     Galatians 2:20,21

I think it is interesting in this chapter how the author broke up behaviors that we desire from our children into different categories. She lists some desired behaviors as social, some as civic and then some as religious. The idea is put forth that some of these "rules" we teach to our children are simply to help them be law-abiding citizens, or doing the polite thing in public but have no spiritual significance. I would argue that, as a Believer, Christ should pervade absolutely every area of our lives. I don't want my life or my children's lives to be compartmentalized. In fact, I want them to see that the law of the land is what it is because it follows God's royal law of loving our neighbor. If the law of the land ever becomes different than God's law them I am not obeying it merely out of civic obedience but out of a consideration for others above myself. The same with social graces- I do not want my children to learn how to sit to the table or not behave rudely simply because that is the polite and socially acceptable thing to do but realize that we behave in such a way BECAUSE of Christ. It shows great consideration for others which, again, is the law of love. Also, it is showing respect for the parents' authority which is another Bible Truth. However, the motivation I want to instill into my children regarding all of these habits and customs is that we do them not as trained polite behavior but OUT OF A HEART THAT HAS BEEN SO CHANGED BY GOD THAT WE DESIRE TO REFLECT HIS GREAT LOVE IN EVERY AREA OF OUR LIVES. Every law and social grace that we esteem can only be truly kept when we are living out God's Word- love your neighbor as yourself. So, from this I have realized that the number one fruit I am looking to instill in my children once they see the Gospel is that we are to prefer others above ourselves. This resolves fighting, this resolves ugly words, this resolves sharing issues, rude behavior, back-talking...everything! Still, they will NEVER be able to prefer another until they have a great revelation of God's love toward them and His grace and love working in their hearts and lives. It is a  never-ending circle!
I realize God's beautiful news for me...I am so stirred that I can't help but love and obey Him in response......His love becomes shed abroad in my heart (Romans 8) until I desire to serve others and prefer them above my own self.........all of my behavior comes in line with this sweet truth......I realize in a greater way that it was through God alone that I could live this way....and the cycle continues.

What a wonderful cycle.

My favorite challenging question asked at the end of this chapter was: In what ways do you use the Bible as a rule book instead of as the "good news"?
I am interested to ask my children this morning if they see the Bible as a book of rules or as a story about Jesus and what He has done.............

Give Them Grace, Introduction

Our fallen human nature always seems to think that everything revolves around us. I think back to the time of Copernicus when the common scientific belief of the whole world was that geocentric model which states that the sun and all of the other planets were in orbit around the earth. When Copernicus challenged this idea and posed the theory that the sun was at the center and that earth, along with the other planets, revolved around it, he was excommunicated from the church! Amazing! Yes, all was created to be centered on God. Yet his love for us is so great that he has included us in His wonderful plan.
The line in this chapter  that most struck me was from The Jesus Storybook Bible quoted on page 20:
..."the Bible isn't mainly about you and what you should be doing. It's about God and what He has done."
How we need reminded of this. I think that even when we hear the Gospel preached nowadays, instead of hearing the beautiful story of God's great love toward us, we automatically begin to think: "Okay, what am I going to have to do to really make this thing work in my life?" Right rom the start we have missed the point. God is telling us what He has done so that we can respond to it and receive it. Of course there will be changes for us to make, new steps to take, etc. but the true Gospel of grace is a message that we simply receive and believe and the glory and focus is upon what God has done not the great lives we are now going to live for him. Oh, Father, help me to realize this Truth. It is not my story, it's Your story and I get to be a  part. When I glory in Your story, it suddenly affects me as well for I am the loved, I am the rescued yet you are always the hero and the story is all about you.

I can't earn my spot in the story, I cannot perform enough or shape myself enough to earn a spot. It is there written for me already. May I never trade the True story for a bath in a "sea of narcissistic moralism"- Yikes! And when I tell the story to my children may they know the true hero is God as He has written it for them to know all about Him.

Response to Give Them Grace, Forward

I had to comment on the opening forward to this book before even attempting a comment on the subsequent chapters because this idea of grace gripped me from the very start along with a keen revelation of my own false views on morality, sin and holiness. When the author of the forward quotes the book Christless Christianity (the name itself is a reproach), I am jerked back by the very tidy and moral picture of Satan taking over a city.
Things are not always as they seem.
The enemy is not so obvious as we are.
This opening forward was so reminiscent of The Screwtape Letters for me where we see the strategies of Satan personified and carried out: make them settle in their view of marriage, make them fall into the sin of pride of not being prideful, make them overindulge in innocent tea cakes, make them faithful to attend a church where the gospel is dead but no one realizes it, etc. In other words, let morality reign and the Gospel be defeated. Let orderliness and decorum dictate our norms and behavior but never let there be radical service and groaning surrender.
I have decided that I prefer the other. I have tasted orderliness and decorum, sweet morality and obedience yet without power..."having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof..?" I ALWAYS thought that scripture was speaking of someone else. Surely not me Lord! In no way do I desire to depart from a life of obedience nor morality. However, I do not wish to use them as my standard but rather a mere by-product of a life being lived full of Grace, Gospel grace. Is there any other kind? I do not merely want my children to obey me but to be compelled in their hearts to shun evil and do good. Yet to shun evil they must first know of its existence and the good which can and must powerfully overthrow it. I want them to be dirty in the fight, sweaty in the battle, waging righteous war for the One, True cause. I desire this over clean uniforms, neat manners and tidy behavior. I want them to be free to ask radical questions, to confront evil face to face and then slam the door on it; not for me to lock the door and tell them never to look behind it. I want them to CHOOSE. I want them to CHOOSE GRACE and GODLINESS, TRUTH and BEAUTY. I still desire Yes ma'am and No ma'am but not as a practiced art but out of the overflow of the heart. With God, all this is possible.

Contribution

I feel a great need to make contribution with my life. Each day there is a beat within me that calls for significance. I believe the natural tendency, and one I have often battled, is to express this through ambition or desire for notoriety, fortune and fame. Doesn't worldly success equal great contribution? As an unregenerate spirit these are the only ways one can define significant things and craft deep meaning out of life. If the whole world knows of it, surely it must be significant and it gives my life meaning. But this is all wrong! The significance I'm searching for will only ever be found in Christ and giving my life for him. My life of significance begins first with death-dying to my will, ambitions, dreams and desires,  and beginning to live now based on an eternal value system. Should I now strive for notoriety in heaven and with God himself or is that also a false path, still one of pride and self? Oh Lord, help me to know what contribution and significance look like today. My life is now hidden with Christ in God. It is not my own. Your word shows me :
1.  To love others

2. To give a cup of cold water in your name
3. To minister to widows and orphans
4. To disciple my children
5.  To love my husband ( This one is easy)
5.  Preach the gospel
6. Give things away

7. Walk in humility and consider others above myself
8.  Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit .

  This should keep me busy for a while… say, a lifetime ! I

True Sight, Sabbath Rest & Church Work

To lead means to have seen well. “Into the blind world we have now descended” Virgil tells Dante as they start their journey into Hell. If Hell is the blind world then The Church should be the world that is flooded with sight and light. It took me a while to figure that out. We do not need a blind guide but one who can tell us “Let me show you what I see.” I really want to see!!

When Jesus tells us to remove the plank from our eye, He is encouraging us to truly see. When Elijah prays for his servant it is that he may truly see.

So, what are we needing to see that we are missing in our church work today? Isn’t the very point of Redemption that we may enter into a rest? I am not lazy yet I know that I was designed for Rest, God’s kind of rest. How can I reconcile the two? The Bible clearly tells us in Hebrews 4 that God’s children, His people, the only Church He had at the time completely missed out on the promised land because they did not enter His rest. I wonder why God rested on the Sabbath. We know that he cannot be physically tired and need a day of Physical rest. And we are made in his image. Is the Sabbath idea more than a day of physical rest? He said to rest from your labor on that day. Well, I do not do enough physically in a day to really wear myself out. I cannot think of many people who do when you consider what the human body is capable of. Yet I fall into my pillow each night very weary so there must be a different kind of fatigue and a different kind of rest that I am missing. So, why did God rest on the seventh day? He did it to enjoy what he had created!! In Greek the word for “rest” is skolo and in Latin it is scola. It means to think on, to contemplate and enjoy. All of those make me very happy and relaxed just seeing them in print and saying them to myself. The actual translation means leisure and celebration!  Now, this next thought intrigues me and may cause most American, democratic,  industrial-revolutionized, modernist, progressive minds to really go tilt: This word for leisure, scola, is where we get our word for school! Who would have thought? I mean, I don’t think there are too many people who equate the words school and leisure. I happen o be one of them, however, as I am a life-long learner and get great pleasure from the contemplation of ides and learning does indeed mean celebration to me! We need a day, a time, a lifestyle of being able to work very hard but then to contemplate with great joy what has been produced, what we are living in, to rest. It is not a rest where we legalistically sit and twiddle our thumbs so that we can religiously check off, “Yep, I rested. I did not do any work” Maybe great physical exertion on the Sabbath is actually a part of the great contemplation and enjoyment for some. The idea is to experience and emulate God’s example of True rest. Jesus said in Mark 2:27, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath”.  Celebration time.  Enjoying the Journey. I love it!

Yet we are a total world of work. We are creating workers. We prize and esteem great workers and stamp them with success and lure them with money and material goods that they will have to work all the harder just to maintain and keep. We are happy with our Industrial Revolution and the factories we have sullied our land with- the Elementary, the Middle and the High factories. We desire to see numbers, quantitative values and general assessments that are easily measured yet suck the celebration and contemplation out of each product or person. Is this what we have also done to church leadership? Reduced it to a quantitative science? Are we wanting to merely create great church workers who can turn out acts of service, better bulletins, increased numbers of team members and more logged office hours rather than producing pure fruit of quality. I desire Quality over Quantity. I actually believe that one begets the other but we have it the wrong way. There must first be quality cultivated. Love for the individual and not what they can produce or quantify.  Our purpose in equipping people sometimes feels like it is just equipping in order to see what we can get back out of them for the church’s sake rather than simply equipping them for their life. The church as an institution almost seems to trump the individual. Was the saint made for the church or was the church intended for the believer? Are not WE the CHURCH?

What are some enemies of this rest? If the rest is ours, if it belongs to us, then we must possess it and strike down the enemies that have cultivated attacks for years until we believe them to be true. Is the purpose of the individual utilitarian? “What can you do?” “What is your skill set?” What we seem to really be asking is “What are useful for?” And the heart response from the individual is to work harder to measure up so that they can be validated by this new measuring stick we have produced while leaving God’s own standard behind. We have failed to see. I want to look at a person in the church and not care what team they serve on or how well they do it but love them and desire to know them even as the Father desires to know me. I want to shed the scaly skin of quantitatively summing someone up and seeing them as a number or “our people” when they are really God’s treasures that we should gingerly and lovingly handle. I want to see and stop being blind. And I want to be seen by those around me -No planks, no specks, just God and His beautiful Rest.

 

Stewardship

I am a steward of all that God has given me. Nothing is my own. I am not even my own. The Bible has already told me this...why does it seems to be such an epiphany to my soul? In this day and age of human rights, reason, and enlightenment, there is much emphasis on what is mine. As a Christina, if I am not careful, the pleasing notes of the song that Society sings begins to strike a chord within me and I feel justified in demanding what rightfully belongs to me as a human being. Yet the Kingdom of God teaches me opposite. I have been bought with a price. I am not my own.
More and more I have been hearing the word stewardship in my heart. I am a steward of many things, both tangible and intangible that belong to God Himself. My marriage, my children, my home, my finances. They are not might. I merely have been entrusted with the oversight of these costly goods by the Master Himself, the owner of it all. Parable after parable teaches me that I will be called to give account one day of how I have managed my Lord's items. Have I been faithful or have I squandered? I want to not only manage well but show a return on God's investment as I present back to Him all that He has made me steward of.

A Day of Opportunity

A day of opportunity awaits me. To some it might just be another ordinary day but I see change. I see a blank slate on which I can write anything that I desire. It is up to me. It can be a great day or a down day. This is the day that I can recognize areas where I have plateaued and begin to climb again.  I can allow my children to frustrate me or I can see opportunities to disciple them. I will finally read that book that I have been putting off, go for that run, make that phone call, write that note of thanks, buy that gift. It is a great day. I can write a new song, patten a new idea, meet a new friend or lift someone's spirits. I can connect with one of my children, have intimate time worshipping the Lord, send a love email to my husband at work and cook a marvelkous creation for supper. Or...I could complain and rush to get the kids in bed early so that I can do what I want to do. I could go to bed tired and wake up still tired. I could look to escape through food, television or procrastination. But it won't be like that for me. It is a day of opportunity. My neck is outstretched and I am expecting. Anything is possible!

Stuff

I think yard sales are wonderful. My husband despairs when I mention that I am thinking of having a yard sale. The thought of cleaning out my closets and eliminating bins from my attic is an absolutely liberating experience for me. What's even better is to have someone else come alongside you on a cleaning out binge becasue they are even more objective than you are. Someone close who doesn't mind telling you the truth. I rememeber a visit from my older sister once to my home. We must be so weird. We think its fun to get together and clean out closets in our houses. Most girls' outings probably consist of getting mani pedis and a latte at Starbucks. Not us...nooooo. We clean out each other's closets. So, on one of her trips here she began to help me with my linen closet. It is a small narrow closet at the end of my hallway and in my house closets are cherished. We even turn little wall cubbies into closets and cover them with curtained "doors". We need closets! So, in tackling the linen/gift/laundry hamper closet I knew that many things had to go. I would generously lay aside a sheet set and say, "I'll yard sale this" to which she would shake her head, roll her eyes and pull out two more sets and emphatically state: "You only get to keep two sets per bed!" Oh I love it! This was love. This was such a help. We threw out old quilts, old pillows, old pillow cases and, yes, even a few sentimental baby items only because there are sooo many sentimental items in life that we must learn to rank our sentiments and some had to go. My closet looked beautiful. I felt like a better woman. My whole house felt cleaner and all because I got rid of some stuff. The Latin word for "stuff" is impedimentum, where we get our word impediment. That's right! Owning more stuff slows us down, it impedes our progress. This is why we study classical languages, everyope! It opens our eyes to greater truths and helps propel us on our way. This is why I love having yard sales and cleaning things out; I am no longer hindered bu clutter or things that I own. Think about it- the less we own, the less responsibility we have to maintain.  Own less, de-clutter, sell off a few things or give them away and liberate yourself! Throw off those impediments and run a little bit faster than before!

"..Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, ² fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. ³ Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."    Hebrews 12:1-3 (NIV)

Preparing your home for Fall: Diffusing Essential Oils

The sounds and sights and smells of fall are in the air- crunching leaves, apple cider and a crisp air of change that no other season seems to bring. I love to bring the outdoors in but it seems a little messy bringing dying leaves in and strewing them about the kitchen table. I would love to sit buckets of apples about but I might have a fruit fly invasion, and now that I know about the toxins in my formerly beloved Yankee Candles, I no longer light up my beautiful jars with evocative names such as Cranberry Chutney, Buttercream and Orchard Harvest. But there is a way to create an atmosphere of fragrance in your home using the life-giving, immune building and spirit-lifting essential oils......It's called diffusing.

dif·fuse/diˈfyo͞oz/

Verb:	Spread or cause to spread over a wide area or among a large number of people.
Adjective:	Spread out over a large area; not concentrated.
Synonyms:	verb.  spread - disseminate - propagate - disperse - distribute adjective.  diffusive - prolix

Young Living sells a number of diffusers to aid in spreading the beautiful fragrance of the oils throughout your home. They carry several types and styles now but I still rely upon their traditional nebulizer, air pump diffuser. With Young Living's innovative air pump, oils are dispersed in a micro-fine vapor, allowing them to remain suspended in the air for extended periods of time. The diffuser disperses the oils without heating them so they retain their therapeutic benefits. When inhaled, the oils are easily absorbed through the lungs. Depending on the oil used, diffusing can cleanse the air of odor, calm overactive children, and support respiration. I often hear of people who excitedly order their diffusers only to plug it in and wonder how to really use it for the most benefit in their home and lives. I want to share with you some practical tips making your diffuser work the best for you.

When you first begin using your diffuser, it will need to be primed- this usually requires 15 to 20 drops at least and, depending on the oil you use, you may need to add more within a half hour. Some oils are thicker than others and they diffuse at a much slower rate. Other oils are thinner oils and may diffuse through rapidly. Also, this will depend upon the way you have adjusted the little clear plastic knob on the air pump itself. This allows for greater or less air flow going into the diffuser itself. I find that keeping my diffuser primed and not letting it run dry causes it to work the very best. When I see it getting low or the air stream does not sound as powerful, I add about 10 more drops unless I am preparing to turn it off for the day. On a typical day, I usually run my diffuser most in the afternoon and evening. Everyone is usually home at that time and I am preparing to run the vacuum and do a quick pick up of the house before we all settle in for the night. The smell of the diffuser adds to the cleanness of the air and dispels any little germs that family members have brought home with them from work, school, play, etc. Put your diffuser in the room where you most commonly stay. Position it so that it can flow to other rooms as well. Turn on ceiling fans to help with the dispersion of the oil throughout your entire house. If you have fried fish or cooked something particularly odiferous, diffuse briefly in the kitchen with Purification, lemon, lemongrass or Thieves.

 The oil that you want to diffuse should be poured into the little well. You can diffuse a blend, a single oils or create your own blend by pouring in one single oil and then adding another. Peppermint and Lavender are a great combination used like this. You may invent your own. I would not mix blends unless one blend is almost gone and then you want to add another. Instructions on the diffuser probably tell you to remove one oil before adding another but I never do this, unless the two are radically different. In my, case, I diffuse such similar oils so often that I do not find the need for this. However, if you have been diffusing something like Joy and then you want to switch to R.C because someone is fighting a cold then you can use an eye dropper to remove the joy oil as best as possible and replace it in its original bottle. If you are very particular you can wash the diffuser before beginning the next oil.

Cleaning your diffuser:

 To clean your diffuser simply unplug, detach the clear tubing (this should never need cleaned) and submerge the glass nebulizer and the the metal base in hot, sudsy water. I simply use my mild dish soap. After letting them soak for about 30 minutes, rinse and lay out on a towel to dry or dry with a hair dryer if you're in a hurry!  

Remember that even though the diffuser has an air pump to cause the oil flowing in to be dispersed, the flow of the oil itself from the little well into the actual nebulizer works by gravity. Therefore, the more oil in the well, the greater the flow will be and the better the diffuser will work. If you are diffusing throughout the day, continue adding oil as you see necessary. If company is coming over, I would diffuse for at least a full hour before they arrive but not during their time there. You can run your diffuser all day if you wish but I would not recommend this. The pump needs a chance to rest occasionally. Diffusing at night is wonderful- as you sleep or as your children sleep. It guarantees 8 hours or so of inhaling the therapeutic oils and receiving their benefits.

Favorite Diffusing oils:

Abundance- almost a rich perfume smell. The smell directly from the bottle I do not care for but it diffuses beautifully and creates a sense of just what the name implies...abundance.

Cinnamon Bark- Wonderful for the Fall and Christmas seasons. This oil supports a healthy immune system and wards off infection.

Any woodsy oils like Douglas Fir at Christmas time.

Geranium- not necessarily a fall or wintry smelling oil but just wonderful. Your home will feel like a beautiful flower garden. Geranium is wonderful for women to inhale and helps everyone's respiratory system.

Lemongrass- one of the best and very affordable for frequent diffusing.

Christmas Spirit- just as it says and very affordable. Diffuse all through December.

Purification- I save this more for Spring cleaning and summer diffusing but it is wonderful.

There are so many more but these oils are affordable and diffuse well. If you want to splurge for the Balsam Fir you will be hooked forever but it is a significant price difference. It does diffuse longer, however, and is well worth it. Save it for special days- particularly those when your mood needs elevated. It works like a natural anti-depressant. Wonderful!

Come up with your own favorites-- I would love to hear!

What's in your Washing Machine? Chemicals go skin deep...

 

Your skin is the largest organ in your body. It covers your body. It was put there to protect everything that is on the inside and should be treated with great care. Chemicals that come in contact with our skin enter directly into our bloodstream before they have the chance to be filtered out. We must become educated about exposures to our skin and take note of the various chemicals in our lotions, hygiene products, face creams, make-up, etc. Anything that we put on our skin. One thing that is usually overlooked, however, is our actual clothing itself (which we wear almost 24 hours a day) and the bedding we lay upon as we sleep at night. Bearing this in mind, it is absolutely critical that we think about what our clothes are being washed in. Many of us have grown up loving that Downy fresh smell but if you realized the negative effects of fabric softeners you would, I believe, seriously reconsider their use. The more and more you become accustomed the natural, uplifting fragrances of the essential oils, the more your nose recognizes just how obnoxious manufactured frangrances and chemicals really are-- whether  Febreeze, Yankee Candle, Glade Plug-ins or fabric softeners. Just consider the following:

 

Fabric softeners are some of the most toxic products made for daily household use.  They contain chemicals like chloroform, benzyl acetate and pentane that are known to cause cancer and/or damage to the lungs, brain and nerves.  These chemicals are even more dangerous when heated in clothes dryers.  The toxic fumes go into the neighbor-hood and everyone is forced to breathe them in.   

Fabric Softener chemicals are made to stay in clothing and release slowly for a long time.  That slow release of chemicals into the air affects the health of those wearing the clothes and also other people around them.

Some of the symptoms caused by fabric softener fumes are: breathing difficulty, tiredness not resolved by resting, nervousness for no known reason, difficulty controlling body movements, problems with concentration or memory, dizziness, headaches, feeling faint, upset stomach, and/or rashes.   

Babies, children, older people and those who are already sick are especially harmed by these chemicals.  Damage can be permanent, causing lifelong illness.  Babies often react with rashes, frequent crying and/or diarrhea.  Disinfectants can have these same effects.  Experts suggest a possible connection between Sudden Infant Death (“Crib death”) and the use of these products for washing baby clothes, crib sheets and blankets.   

 

If you are looking to actually soften your clothes try dissolving 1/2 cup baking soda to your water and letting dissolve prior to putting in clothes. If you buy fabric softnener for the frangrance then here are some suggestions:

 

Oils can be added to each washer load of clothes. Lemongrass is one of my favorites right now for several reasons: It is economical, has a potent smell, helps clean and disinfect the clothes along with your laundy soap and keeps your washer very clean and disinfected at the same time. I add about 5 drops to each full load that I wash and a few extra drops to the rinse cycle if the clothes were especially soiled. You may use other oils according to your preference such as Thieves, Lavender, any citrus oils, Purification, etc.

I also add lemongrass or something like it to a spary bottle that I use to iron with. I do not use spray starch nor do I dry clean any longer unless absolutely necessary because they use formaldehyde among other toxic chemicals. I love ironing with my lemongrass spray and it adds layer upon layer of smell. If you must dryclean be sure to air your clothes out of doors before wearing them. Remember- know what you are buying for your family and know what you are putting on your body all day. It is more than just changing creams, lotions, and eating organic. When it comes to happy, healthy laundry don't get taken to the cleaners!!

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My hair is falling! My hair is falling!...out, that is

My husband will be so happy to know I have made this post. Husbands everywhere may thank me. As soon as I have washed and blown my hair dry, my husband (a.k.a. Mr. Clean) is waiting outside the bathroom door with the vacuum cleaner because he will not enter until the mass of black hair has been swept clean away. When he does enter, he will dutifully check the drain and pull out a clump of black ookiness (he calls it a dead rat)  while holding his nose and rush to the trash can to deposit it. Then, he looks at me as if silently assessing whether or not I actually have any hair left on top of my head and shakes his head as if to say, "How can any normal person lose that much hair?" Well, ladies, we do. If you have had a child or have passed the age of 35- or both- there is a good chance that you are a shedder! I want to help to shed some light on this phenomenon and get to the root of the problem. Did you see my little jokes? "Shed" some light? "Root" of the problem-- hee hee. Okay, so down to business......It is all hormone related. Yes, yes.....isn't everything?

 Let's look back to when you were pregnant with your first little one. Did you notice how luxurious your hair and nails were? How fast they grew, how strong and lustrous it all seemed? Many write it off to pre-natal vitamins and determine to take them the rest of their lives. After delivery, however, a few short months may have passed and you found yourself with dry, brittle nails, split ends, thinning hair. It just didn't style the same, it didn't blow dry the same. Switching shampoo didn't help.... and then the shedding began. If you were breastfeeding this process may have been delayed until you began to wean or your baby began on solid foods (which is, in fact, weaning).And if you were very observant the shedding escalated right before you began to menstruate again and then followed your monthly cycle thereafter. The primary reason is due to Progesterone. When you are pregnant your body is producing about 400 mg of Progesterone A DAY! That level plummets after delivery (thus, postpartum depression) unless you are a diligent nurser. Then the drop is a little less though still noticeable. However, as nursing your baby draws to a close or you start solids and there is less nursing, hormones begin to shift and Estrogen once again tries to assume its dominant position of being miss bossy pants. Ask your husband, he probably noticed (:

The body is so wonderful and resilient that in an ideal life with the ideal body living in ideal circumstances you would sail through the adjustment and barely notice. But with women today already struggling for good health, facing autoimmune diseases, having evidence of hypothyroidism (even though the Dr. says levels look fine) there is very little margin for our bodies to handle these hormone changes. Increased hair loss is yet another result. On average, everyday, you lose about 10 % of your hair. Everyday! This is normal shedding, and should only be detected when you see a little left in your hairbrush. Low progesterone levels or excessive Estrogen cause a marked difference and changes that percentage to more like 40% loss a day. Natural Progesterone could be a great help if you match any of these descriptions. Young Living's Progessence Serum is plant-derived natural progesterone mixed with Frankincense oil. You can use it daily and do not have to cycle it with your monthly period. You can use it only when you detect symptoms of low estrogen or daily as a prevention. If you have seen so much hair loss that there are bald spots I would apply the serum directly to that site. Otherwise, applying along the carotid arteries of your neck makes for great absorption. Keep written notes on your calendar of what days you use the serum and what results you begin to see. This will serve as a log for you to check back with and tell if there has really been a difference. Also write down the days your hair loss seems more extreme and see how that coincides with your monthly cycle. In addition to addressing hormones- or as a treatment on its own- use essential oils as a scalp and hair treatment. Rosemary and Cedarwood are both oils that cleanse, nourish and strengthen the hair follicle and help to prevent hair loss.

Recipe for thick, lustrous hair once more:
5 drops Rosemary
5 drops Cedarwood (can use both oils or select one)
Mix with extra virgin olive oil, pure coconut oil or Jojoba oil and massage into the scalp (pay special attention to balding spots)
Leave on scalp for at least 15 minutes and then wash hair as usual

I would suggest doing this while you soak in the tub or during an excercise routine.
If you are serious then be dilligent and do this before each hair washing. For it to work, YOU have to work it! Let me know your results...and may your hair be luxurious once more!

Fall cleaning with Thieves!

Fall is in the air! This is one of my favorite times- boiled peanuts, football games, sweaters, crisp air and hot apple cider! God is so good to give us all of the changes in seasons so that we have variety throughout the year. Usually, when I need a change, I simply rearrange the furniture in my house or switch around a closet. Fall is an especially wonderful time to do this because we are all tucking away our summer wardrobe and bringing out the oranges, browns, bluejeans and courderoys that will serve us for the next several months. I recently changed out my boys' clothes and revamped the closet that they share- getting rid of old and finding what would fit for the coming season. I also took advantage of having the closet empty to clean in there. Inevitably, cleaning out one space motivates me to clean out another and this weekend I was on a de-cluttering and cleaning out binge. I went through each room asking myself "What can I get rid of in here?" It was fun! Bags are loaded in the back of my car now to be dropped at the thrift store or to be delivered to various friends with children who can now wear the clothes that mine have outgrown. It is a great feeling to SIMPLIFY. My husband and I are adopting this as a theme for this coming year- we are simplifying time, schedules, finances, clothes, TOYS (can I get an amen?) and our lives in general.

 One of the tings that drew me to begin using the Young Living products was a desire to SIMPLIFY my cleaning regimen and find a cleaner that was not killing brain cells along with killing the germs and dust in my house. In fact, my first order almost 4 years ago now was the Thieves cleaning kit. It comes with the all-purpose Thieves household cleaner (2 of them!) that can be used from your kitchen to your bath to your laundry area as well as for windows and mirrors. It is very simple to use. The kit also comes with the fabulous Thieves oil which is wonderful to diffuse and kills must, mold and mildew throughout your house. The Thieves handsoaps comes with the kit as well as the toothpaste which we love. It is a great way to start. You can throw out the six or so assorted cleaners that you have bought for different area and replace them all with the Thieves cleaner. The cleaner is concentrated so to use it you dilute it and make up your own bottles tailored for whichever area of the house you want to use them in. Start with 2 or three 32oz. cleaning spray bottles you can find at the dollar store. I pour the Thieves cleaner into the bottle up to about 1/4inch. I have never measured this but I would guess it is about 1 to 2 Tbsp. Fill the rest of the bottle with good water- not chlorinated from the tap but one that has been through a carbon filter or buy distilled water from the grocery store for 99 cents (use this for your ironing, too and you won't have brown spots left on your clothes). Here is the fun part with the cleaner- if you desire, you may add oils to enhance the smell and effect of the cleaner. The cleaner can stand on its own for sure but I use the oils for the scent and the added action they bring. Lemon or lemongrass is wonderful in the kitchen. Both are antibacterieal and antiviral. Spray down your cutting boards, your counter tops, particularly crusty casserole dishes before they go into the dishwasher, etc. For the bathrooms you can use the same or try lavender, peppermint or purification which is one of my favorites for cleaning. Spray your baseboards or, better yet, make a big soapy bucket with about 1-2Tbsp of thieves cleaner and add in the thieves oil or purifaction and go through your house cleaning baseboards, all surfaces, floors, and wiping down the walls of those closets you've been cleaning out. You will love the smell and feel accomplishing. Diffuse with Purification as you do this and watch your house be transformed. It is amazing how a house that feels clean to you also looks better to you! Mix up a lightly more concentrated bottle and put the cleaner in your laundry area to replace your old Spray n Wash or Shout! For a terrible greasy pot put a capful of the undiluted cleaner right in with a little water and wipe off after 10 minutes or so. It is a wonderful degreaser. Use lemon oil in place of goo-gone. It is great for getting tough price tags off of picture frames, stickers off of windows, etc. Just be careful using it on painted surfaces because it can take off the paint as well! I cannot say enough about diffusing. Wait for a beautiful Fall day with good breeze and open up all of your windows as you clean to give your home a good airing. Then, begin to diffuse with Thieves, Purification, Lemongrass, or your choice. These three wil have you breathing better, kill viruses living in the air as well as mold spores and dust mites circulating from all that cleaning! AT the same time, you are protecting and building up your immune system particulalry when you are using the Thieves oil. One final tip- rub a little of the Thieves oil on the bottom of your children's feet before they head out the door to school. It will protects their immune system and help fight off whatever they are being exposed to during the days. More on children and oils to come later but for now go tackle your homes, give things away, move some furniture around and enjoy a simple and effective cleaning of your house and home. You will feel better for it....

Make your own air freshener/carpet freshener recipe:

1 drop of essential oil per ounce clean water

Spray on carpet before vacuuming, spray on cloth furniture like febreeze and spray in the air

Favorites to use:

Any of the oils I listed above plus Joy, Peppermint, Christmas Spirit (with the season, of course), Balsam Fir or your choice

Essential oils- why we love them!

Essential oils are fragrant little bottles of goodness. They are medicines, they are perfumes, they are deodorizers and aromatherapy. The most common question that I receive from people is- "What oil do I use for such and such". While there is often a specific answer to this question, the general answer is to just begin using the basic oils in your everyday life and let them have tehir powerful affect generally before focusing on specifics. It is like finding God's will for your life. To many, that seems like an elusive idea that may only be discovered by prayer and fasting, but the Truth is that God's general will for EVERYONE is contained within His word. There is enough of the genereal will of God for each of us to be doing that quite often if we are faithful to do that, He will take care of His specific will and not allow us to miss it. God's general will includes first seeking God with all of our hearts. talking to Him daily, loving all people and showing it by displaying patience, self-control, joy and other fruits of the Spirit. This alone could keep us busy for a lifetime! Sharing Christ with people is God's general will for all of us. If we make this our aim He will take care of our lives and lead us into the very specifics such as who we are to marry, where we are to work, if we are to work, what home we should live in, where should our children go to school, should we sign up for soccer this spring, or should I serve in that area of ministry at church.  It seems to be our nature to go looking for the specifics instead of giving our time to what we already know.
Our health and our bodies are very much the same.
Essential oils are not greasy oils like our cooking oils(olive, coconut, canola, etc.). They can penetrate the skin but do not clog pores. They are obtained by low pressure/low temperature steam distillation rather than being pressed from a plant. They have a shelf life of hundreds of thousands of years as they in themselves carry super ability to preserve and nurture life- they will do the same thing in your body! Look at some of the wonderful properties of these plant oils:
Antimicrobial- against bacteria, viruses and fungi
Insect repellant and used to treat bite symptoms
Antispasmodic- promotes muscle relaxation- menstral cramps, injuries, tension
Settling for stomach discomforts
Pain relieving
Increases circulation and oxygen to the tissues (we will come back to this one)
Stimulates the immune system
Hormone-like properties
Initiates regeneration of nerves
Assists in balancing psychological symptoms
Lessens anxiety

Increase alertness

Humans need blood to live and plants need their essential oil to live. The chemical structure of these oils is compatible with the human cells and tissues. They are compatible with human protein, therefore, our bodies readily identify the oils and accept them in. They have the ability to actually penetrate the cell membrane and diffuse through the blood and tissues and travel to all parts of the body within minutes. Essential oils can increase oxygen at the cellular level! As we will see later on, all disease growsbecause of an acidic enviromnet where oxygen levels are low and depleted. The ability to increase oxygen to cells is equivalent to giving life to the cells and enabling them to do what they were designed and created to do. Whether it is a heart cell, a liver cell, or a hormone cell- we want them all working at their optimum level! Click on the following link for a great explanation of how Young Living's oils are purely therapeutic and to see suggestions on certain oils and their uses.

http://www.nurturedfamily.com/blog/index.php/2010/11/essential-oils/

Abundant Living and Appreciating Assets

All of those titles would be sure to catch most anyone's attention- especially in today's society where we are busy, tired, run down, and yet more and more responsibility seems to greet us with each new day. Add in a marriage, three or so children, work responsibilities, relationships and...whew! We need Jesus! But we also need to take care of ourselves and our bodies. I heard a minister make the statement one time that " Our body is our greatest asset". That statement has stuck with me for several years now as I have mulled over whether or not I see the validity in it. As a believer, isn't our re-created spirit where Christ himself dwells our greatest asset? Isn't our mind renewed with God's Word our greatest asset? After all, right thinking equals right living, doesn't it? Well, each of these is an arguable point but I have observed and even experienced for myself that our body is, indeed, our greatest asset here on the earth. Without it, even the purest of hearts, even the wisest of minds still come up short in their ability to get up, move about and impact the world. Even the most mature and sagacious of Believers has to get his body up out of bed in the morning and enter into the new day. We can't travel if we're unwell, we can't serve others if we are sick, and we have little to give out when we ourselves are tired and in pain.We need hands to serve with, feet that take us somewhere, and the energy to boot. Our body is a great asset and we want to appreciate it a little more than we have been! My husband is leading Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University at out church right now and we are undergoing financial reconstruction in some ways and fine tuning others. With financial planning it is common to hear the phrase "depreciating assets". Well, if you are a woman who is approaching 35 or can look back and see it in the distance, you begin to realize that, like your vehicle(only pay cash for your car- Dave Ramsey says so), your body begins to feel like a depreciating asset. I have recently come into this knowledge and I am determined to push my body right back into my assets collumn! For many of us, our bodies have gotten into debt. Our time and energy accounts are overdrawn, we are exceeding our spending limit every day and as a result our hormones are unhappy, our health is unhappy, and our husbands are unhappy! We can change this!

This a happy, healthy woman. Everyone who wants to feel like this, raise your hand...or hold out both arms and throw your head back, that's even better!

 About 3 or 4 years ago I was invited to a friend's home where I was introduced to a line of Essential Oils and other health care products by a company called Young Living. Well, I was already praying and primed for a change that I knew my family and I needed to embrace in order to go to the next level of living that I believed God had for us. We had already made several changes in our diets, learning what it meant to eat organic, etc. but I knew there was more. As a nurse and a former Biology major, the biochemistry of the oils and how they related to the human body intrigued me. I began to study and as I did we gradually accumulated these little bottle of fragrant oils in bathroom drawers, kitchen cabinets and upon bedside tables until the use of them had become a way of life for us. My children didn't need antibiotics any more. My husband stopped having a bout with strep throat twice a year, my constant allergies began to disappear, and our energy increased. We knew that we were healthier and stronger. As my interest grew, I began to share my little finds with others and before I knew it I had women calling and emailing and desiring seminars so that they could learn more as well. Hence, this blog. This was a blog that I began with much ambition to chronicle the growings and happenings of my children but I faltered, only submitting an entry here and there. But the blog was still there. At my most recent seminar, while teaching on the oils and fielding a number of questions, one of the younger girls piped up, "You should do a blog!" and I liked the idea. So, I will attempt to keep this blog updated with teachings and information about the Young Living Oils and other products as well as lifestyle changes we are making toward a more abundant life. There may be a smattering of children pictures as well and perhaps I will be able to accomplish two things at once in this one little webby spot. I think I will start from the beginning with a teaching on what the oils are and what they can do...........

A Field Trip & Turning Six!

My little girl is six years old.  Just last week she was five years old and now she is six. Six sounds so much more grown up than 5 for some reason. She even looks older now. She wears blue jeans and rolls her eyes every once in a while.She makes her own bed, can take the wet clothes out of the washer and put them into the dryer, and puts her clothes back on their hangers. She climbs trees and moved up to the "big kids class" at church. Yet in some ways, she is still very little and I like to watch for those things. She still has a baby way of saying some words,  still wears her footie jammies, loves to carry around her baby dolls and asks for me to fix her hair up in buns. She still needs to be read aloud to and likes to be carried to her bed when we drive in late from somewhere and it's dark outside. William says that living things grow and that we should rejoice that she is alive and growing, too.(This was in response to my idea that we should freeze her exactly as she is right now. His ideas are always much wiser and doable than mine.) So, it really is a blessing. I think I will change my anouncement of her turning six........I will say: "My little girl is six years old! She is growing and strong! She has a sound mind, a peaceful heart, a born-again spirit and a healthy body! Hooray! She sailed through 5 and got promoted to 6! Her life is a great success! Next year she will be seven and it just keeps getting better!!!!! Yes, that is how it should be- a celebration.
 Here are the ways we celebrated  turning six:

We went to Mt. Vernon, George Washington's home just below DC. We got to tour the house and go through a beautiful museum gallery showing memorabilia surrounding the First President's life. The film on the Revolutionary War was a real highlight! This was our first official field trip and I thought is was a great success. The most fascinating part for me was a key that Washington had on display in his home. It was THE key to the Bastille in Paris that was stormed by angry French Revolutionaries. Apparently, LaFayette presented it to Washington as a gift in honor of him being the "father of freedom". I thought of Jesus who came to set not just a few free but all men everywhere, whether bound with natural chains or the fetters of sin. We serve the Father of ALL freedoms and he holds the keys to death, hell and the grave!
(P.S. Notice Josiah)

We had to wait in line for about an hour to tour the house at Mt. Vernon. Meanwhile, the kids could play "Graces" on the lawn. You pass a wooden hoop back and forth with two wooden sticks. It was called "Graces' because you had to keep perfect posture and let the hoop float up in the air and gracefully catch it. We obviously have to work on keeping our backside tucked in, but- hey.....we caught the hoop!

Thank you, Aunt Hannah for telling us about the wonderful Lego exhibit at the National Building Museum in DC! We took the kids for their first ride on Washington's Metro rail system to see this great exhibit. After seeing the huge Lego replicas of famous skyscrapers(like the Sears Tower), you could stay and build your own. Here's Jon Langley with the start of his creation.

Daddy and Josiah try their hand at it, too.

Shaisy building-- see the exhibit in the background? Since this is the only place I photographed a glimpse of the actual Legos on display, I obviously thought the real feature of the weekend was my children! (:

Keeping Life Colorful

Sometimes things at the last minute work the best...sometimes. This year for Hallelujah Night (our alternative to Halloween) I had not prepared any costumes. Usually, I get really excited and inspired and sew cute things and paint faces and plan my theme, only to snap a quick picture and then the moment we arrive at church my very cute, well-executed Adam, Eve & the apple costumes get stripped off, torn up, and quickly discarded in exchange for bouncing up and down on the huge blow-up games and sliding down the monster slide. A week of planning results in 5 minutes of glory... and I think most of it was for me, anyway. (Kind of like those birthday cakes I make "for the kids"...) Well, this year my lack of ambition turned out just right for everyone on Hallelujah night. When the kids realized mommy had no costumes made they were stricken with grief. So, I dug deep for some creativity, still thinking about functionality and what would survive 3 hours of ecstatic jumping and candy eating. Blue jeans, a turtleneck, a construction cone hat and a crayola wrapper blown up on the copier and....voila! The costumes were still quickly discarded and trampled but I didn't care! Jon Langley actually wore his cone hat for quite a while but that's just him. The next day they wanted to be crayons again- this was  a hit!

The Highlight of My Day

I just got a phone call. It is the highlight of my day- each day. It's what makes me scurry around to get things picked up, run the vacuum, put supper on the table....and be ready for the big moment. I love to hear the phone ring because I know that it will be him, my favorite person, my best friend. My husband is coming home!!

My Big Little Girl

Shea is my hero. She is a big girl. She is responsible. She thinks about others. She brings people cups of water when they're outside working. She unloads the dishwasher because she knows that I don't like to. She likes to take baths with me. Now she is blowdrying her own hair. She is very into stylish things- feather boas, furry pink pocketbooks with rhinestones, multiple patterns and headbands. All of these are at the top of her list. Her most endearing quality, however, is that she loves to be with me. When I was her age I had to fix my own hair because I tormented my mother and pitched a fit until Daddy said that mother wasn't allowed to do it anymore and I would have to learn how to for myself. Shea does it because she's responsible and wants to be a help to her mommy on Sunday mornings. I want to be just like her when I grow up.

Solitude

This is every mother's dream- just an hour or two alone. We go to the bathroom with an entourage, fix supper with one attached to our leg, and have to go through the slight invasion of privacy of having to try on outfits in the handicap TJ Maxx dressing room while 3 pair of eyes are fixed on us and our mommy figure. Time alone is a bit lacking. Daddy can escape "outside" but mommy- well, being mommy is another story. Maybe I'd watch a decorating show, maybe I'd go through my closet, maybe I'd lay in my hammock, pray or play the piano. Solitude- it's more than a luxury. It is a necessity.

Solitude

 Oh Solitude, bleak and grey

If some love has flown away

If another takes your place

If you've wandered far from Grace

Solitude- a lonely word?

One that's rarely ever heard

In a home of padding feet,

screeching voices begging treats

Solitude- the great unknown

Quite extinct in modern homes

Perhaps within but not without

Might one tend to have a bout with

Solitude- neither bleak nor grey

Let one have a sunny day

Day of leisure, day of ease

When there's only one to please

This type repose will surely do

Oh, Solitude- I welcome you!