Going Green

The past few months I have been changing out my cleaning and beauty products (full of chemicals) for naturally made products.  In other words – we've gone green.  I've replaced our laundry & dishwasher detergents with homemade detergent which costs just pennies.  I've replaced our fabric softener with plain white vinegar.  I use Bare Minerals makeup instead of the chemical-laden junk from the store.  I've replaced our toothpaste with a baking soda, peroxide, and tea tree oil paste.  I've replaced our underarm deodorant with my own homemade stick made from baking soda, coconut oil, and essential oils.  I've replaced my shampoo with my own homemade shampoo made with castile soap, coconut milk, water, and essential oils. (Really works for Jed!!)  I've traded in bleach and Comet for vinegar, water, and tea tree oil.  I've even traded in our air fresheners for naturally made baking soda and essential oils. (Tea tree oil – a jack of all trades!!  I love it!)  I even was looking at the “ingredients” in baby wipes and started making our own wipes after seeing all of the chemicals that are added.  And although I've been struggling with some health issues, I am feeling better as the days go on.  I've traded in my Sweet & Low for stevia or real sugar and can tell a difference in how I’m feeling already.  We're purchasing more organic foods and try to steer clear of processed foods/artificial flavors.

I started acupuncture back at the end of March and was one of the lucky ones that it worked for.  Unfortunately my body has been in this unwell mode for so long that it’s going to take quite some time to “undo” the damage.  That being said, if you go into any kind of alternative medicine expecting a “get well quick” mentality, it won’t work.  It takes time for our bodies to become unwell, it takes even longer to get them back to optimal health.  It’s frustrating, it’s irritating, and it tests my patience and endurance.  But I know that I am on the road to better living by eliminating so many of the toxins that are present in our daily lives.  The one toxin I’m not able to completely eliminate is STRESS and it’s probably the biggest toxin in my life.  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that up to 90% of all illness and disease is due to stress – and I can testify to that!  BUT, I also am able to realize that in this season of my life, stress is inevitable and unavoidable.  Having two small, sometimes challenging, children to raise in today’s society is stressful!  There is a noticeable difference in my composure when my children are around versus when they aren't.  I’m not going to sugar-coat it:  My kids can drive me nuts!  It’s difficult to be “stress-free” and calm when you are being pulled in a thousand different directions.  But I reiterate, I realize that is just the season of life that I am in right now.  And soon, sooner than I like to think, I will be wishing for this season of life to be back instead of the “empty nest” season. 

Alot of you have been asking me for the recipes I use, so consider yourselves very lucky….I’m giving away all of my beauty secrets here!

Homemade Recipes:

Deodorant: http://littlehouseinthesuburbs.com/2009/03/quick-stick-deodorant.html

Facial Toner: http://shwinandshwin.blogspot.com/2010/10/skin-brightening-toner.html

Shampoo:  http://moneysavingqueen.com/March-2012/Frugal-Living-How-to-Make-Your-Own-Shampoo/

Sugar Body Scrub: http://www.thefrugalstyle.com/wordpress/fashion-beauty/sugar-pie-honey-bunch-diy-body-scrubs/

Salt Glow: http://www.kristanlynn.com/2011/06/diy-citrus-salt-scrub.html

Toothpaste: http://tinygreenmom.com/2011/01/make-your-own-organic-toothpaste/

Dishwasher Detergent: http://beingcreativetokeepmysanity.blogspot.com/2011/01/dishwasher-detergent.html

Laundry Detergent:  http://duggarfamily.com/content/duggar_recipes/30456/powdered_laundry_detergent_top_load_machine

Baby Wipes: (and I used castile soap instead of baby wash – because of all the chemicals in baby wash even!) http://www.naturalbirthandbabycare.com/homemade-baby-wipes-recipes.html

Air Freshener : (I made one for the back of the toilet and one for in the refrigerator) http://smashedpeasandcarrots.blogspot.com/2012/03/easy-baking-soda-air-freshener-tutorial.html

Coffee Creamer: http://deliciouslyorganic.net/homemade-coffee-creamer/

Reclaimed 5:17

Awhile back, in November as Jed and I were walking out of our friends’ house, I noticed in their “burn pile” that they had a whole slew of twigs.  The “thrifter” in me thought, “You should do something neat with those twigs.  Grab some and take them home.”  Hector the Collector I am.  At any rate, I put the twigs down in our basement in a corner where I figured they would lie until we moved or our house burned down.  Moving forward, it’s now December.  One night, I was laying next to Jed trying to fall asleep to no avail.  I was crying and praying and talking to God about healing and restoring my friend Laurie’s marriage.  I felt so incredibly helpless to help her and my heart was broken for her.  I was asking God to give her strength and to help me to help her.  I was praying that He would hold her close to Him and comfort her.  Like a bolt of lightning, I suddenly had a moment of pure clarity…unexplainable.  God told me what to do with those twigs!  For weeks I had been listening to “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing” by the David Crowder Band and one of the lines just kept hammering in my head:

“Let thy goodness like a fetter; bind my wandering heart to thee.  Prone to wander Lord I feel it, prone to leave the God I love.  Here's my heart, O take and seal it, seal it for thy courts above.”

That was it!  I was asking God to bind her heart to Him!  My mind was racing, I sat up and woke Jed up asking him if he was awake because I HAD to share this vision!  He mumbled something and rolled over and I was left in astonishment.  God had told me to take those twigs and make a cross, get a glass heart (I was picturing a big fat, red, shiny heart), bind it to the cross with twine, and somehow have “Bind Thy Wandering Heart to Thee” on there somewhere and then BREAK that heart!  In essence, I was bringing that song to fruition. 

The next day, with a determined purpose, I got to work on that cross.  I stopped at Hobby Lobby and found the most perfect, couldn’t have been any better heart.  It was a “seashell” jagged heart pendant.  Best part?  ON SALE! ;-)  I got the pendant, some copper wire and some twine.  I had found an awesome font for “Bind My Wandering Heart to Thee” on Pinterest which…seriously?...It. Could. Not. Have. Been. More. Suitable. 

I went home and made the cross.  Want to know the kicker here?  Laurie collects crosses and has a cross wall in her dining room!  How’s that for divine vision?  I wrapped the cross up and delivered it to Laurie one night before Christmas when we got together for some “girl time”.  The best gift I ever gave.

The cross on Kelli's "Redeemed" paper

And as the old saying goes, “the rest is history”.  Eeeeeerrrrk!  Stop the train.  Not in this case.  My vision was so much more than I could ever imagine.  An acquaintance of mine, Kelli, saw the cross I gave to Laurie.  She approached me later and asked where I came up with the idea for the cross and I told her the story.  An instant bond was made.  Kelli was in the process of writing her testimony for our women’s Christian Retreat Weekend and before I even had the cross made, she had made the underlying theme of her talk to be….you guessed it…”Bind My Wandering Heart To Thee”.  Seriously?  God was telling us that we needed to become fast friends!!!  In comes Kelli’s vision:  Kelli had the vision to make 80 of these crosses for all of the women who were attending the Christian Retreat Weekend.  BIG project.  Not only did our friends step up to the plate to pitch in and help us, but we ended up making 120 crosses for attendees and leaders!  AND THEN…yes, there’s more…she made another 80 or so for the men’s Christian Retreat Weekend for each attendees and leaders as well!  Unbelievable.  We have also asked another “crafty” friend, Kate, to join us on our newest adventure.  I am just astonished at how one tiny vision has snowballed into something like this.  Only God could have engineered something like this. For sure!

And no, the story does not end there.  After the men’s CRW, Kelli approached me about making these crosses and selling them.  All the profits would go to a women’s shelter.  From there God got a hold of both of us and her idea morphed into something a little bit bigger than we had anticipated.  We decided we would take “old” things and make them “new” and sell them at Farmer’s Market, along with making the crosses. All of the earnings will go to a few select LOCAL charities.  People like to see with their own eyes that their donations are being put to good use.  We were both finding all kinds of things in nature that we wanted to “repurpose” and “recycle” for our newest adventure.  For me, this whole idea of recycling “junk” is very appealing.  I am a thrifter at heart and am just amazed at the finds I’ve gotten at Goodwill, St. Vinny’s, consignment stores, etc.  Not only that, but being environmentally responsible has recently caught my attention when I realized that my body is in so much pain because of my environmental factors!  When Kelli & I were discussing the name, we had originally decided on “Reclaimed 21:5” because during our pastor’s sermon two weeks ago, he visited Revelation 21:5 which states, “And the one sitting on the throne said, "Look, I am making everything new!" And then he said to me, "Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true."  Really?  Why not just stamp “Revelation 21:5” on our foreheads to get our attention God!!  Well, after some discussion, we both decided part of our mission is to spread the Word that Jesus takes the old and makes it new.  Just as we are new creations in Christ, so will our “nature inspired creations” be.  And so then it just stuck…”Reclaimed 5:17” Reference 2 Corinthians 5:17 which states, “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!”  And both Kelli and I can attest to that!  We were both broken and beat when Jesus found each of us, and like a mother nursing her child back to health, restored us.  He made us new.

I now think of my life in the following terms:  B.C an A.C.  Before Christ and After Christ.  Before Christ I was a lost and wandering soul, just surviving the days.  And now since Christ has found me (yes…He found me, not the other way around!) and I accepted Him into my life, He has given me LIFE and PURPOSE and HOPE.  I am no longer just surviving.  I am living.

My Mind Is Racing

I don’t even know how to start this post because I have so many things running through my little head.  Every day I am having more and more “encounters” with God and am really, really finding it hard to suppress my excitement.  I guess I’m not sure if I want to say “encounters”.  More or less I am FEELING His love in a tangible way.  I am bursting with things I want to say and share with everyone I meet.  I am astounded at the provisions and blessings He has given to me and my family and am so incredibly humbled. 

I had the privilege of serving as a table leader at our church’s women’s Christian Retreat Weekend (CRW) a few weeks ago and can honestly say that I got more out of serving that weekend than I did the year before as just an attendee.  Not only that, but last weekend the men had their CRW and I had the privilege of serving in a small capacity that weekend as well.  And still, I got more out of serving during THAT weekend than I did at my own CRW! I just can’t explain it.  Being in a serving role is definitely my thing.  I have always liked to serve people – since I was young.  The only difference now is that I serve to glorify Him and His love for mankind – not for my own benefit or to “get anything out of it”.  It is a freeing feeling.  I want to model after Jesus.  When He washed the feet of His disciples?  Mind.  Blowing.  Jesus, the ultimate authority, THE KING, lowered and bent Himself to. the. ground. to serve some of those who would betray him! And He KNEW they would betray Him!  Seriously, I have no words to describe my complete awe.  I think that the act of Jesus washing the feet of his disciples is symbolic in so many ways.  It is symbolic of the cleansing and washing of our sins.  Only through Jesus can we be cleansed of our sin, and He prompts us to wash the feet of one another, to bring others to Christ by showing them love, compassion, kindness, and love and forgiving their sins (even for those who have betrayed us). He washes their feet so they would be cleansed of their sin and so they could know Him.  Sounds a bit like a baptism, don’t you think?  Basically to “carry on” His teaching and His love. If you want to read up on this, read John 13.  I don’t even know how to say all of this without confusing anyone or to state clearly exactly what I want to say because I have so many ideas running through my head.  I am just so thankful to be able to hear Him and see Him in my life because for far too long I was in darkness.

I love Easter.  I always have.  Maybe because daffodils are my favorite flower and they bloom around Easter.  Maybe it's because we used to get chocolate bunnies with the crunchy eyes (we always liked the hollow bunnies WAY better than the solid bunnies!).  Easter has a whole new meaning for me now that I walk with Christ.  And I plan to carry on His word and truth, His light and His teachings, to our kids.  It's not about the bunnies or the cute little chicks and lambs.  However, have you made the connection between symbolic Easter lambs and "The Lamb of God" who is JESUS??! Society may try to push God out of our schools and buildings, but most don't know that He is still permeating our culture!!! Ha!  Take that world!  The other night we made “Jesus’ tomb” with dirt, a small planter, grass seed, some rock, and some twigs.  I got the idea off Pinterest (if you don’t know what Pinterest is, I advise you not to check it out unless you want to be sucked into a time-sucking black hole).  Here is a picture of what it should look like when it starts to grow.

If you are like me and need something concrete to show concepts, watch this video.  I never understood exactly what it is God did for us by sending His one and only son, THE LAMB OF GOD, to earth.  This video is indescribable at explaining that concept.  (disclaimer: tissues not included). 

If you do not have a church to call home and are curious about a relationship with Jesus, give me a call, send me an email, get in touch with me somehow!  I love talking about Jesus and His unending love for us.  If you have questions that I don’t have the answer to, I know of A LOT of people who do!  :-)  Some days I wonder what took me so long to finally cement my relationship with Jesus, but then I realize that everything happens in His time, when He knows we are ready.

Perseverence

"Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God's will.  Then you will receive all that He has planned." Hebrews 10:36

Today marks the end of a 6-week long journey (which started 4 1/2 years ago!) through surgeries, body casts, loss of independence, and immobility.  Today Nora gets her cast off!!!  Many of you are not familiar with hip dysplasia, but if you pregnant or having children, your baby will be checked at birth for it - all babies are.(http://www.hipdysplasia.org/) We found out before I was even out of the delivery room four and a half years ago, that Nora had something wrong with her hips.  She has run the gammut of harnesses, surgeries, body casts, and braces.  I am convinced that God created Nora with her "disability" for a reason and a purpose - to teach her compassion, strength, and courage.  She has dealt with it more maturely and more courageously than most adults would - she ASTOUNDS me.  She truly is my hero.

..........Continued from yesterday......

Yesterday we had the pleasure of taking Nora & Archer down to Iowa City to get Nora's cast off.  She was so incredibly brave!  After about 30 minutes of "sawing" and "cracking" the cast off...she was finally free!  But we weren't able to let her walk just yet - they needed to do x-rays to make sure the surgery did as it was supposed to.  After x-rays we reviewed them and talked with Dr. Dietz.  Hesitantly, we asked if the surgery was successful and if she will require more surgery.  His reply was that the surgery was successful, but that he can't guarantee that she won't require more surgery - but he is very optimistic that this will be it for now!  Praise God!  It was so, so comforting to be able to hold Nora close to me again.  I have missed that, and so has she.  Last night we spent the night cuddling on the couch, just me and Nora.  She is happy to be out of her cast, yet she's a bit tentative.  She still can't walk (without support) and has trouble lifting her legs, but Dr. Dietz said that she should be back to her old self hopefully within two weeks.  We thought we were going to be able to send her back to daycare today, but she just doesn't have the strength and can't walk yet, so Grandma Hurst gets to stay with her in the mornings and I get to stay with her in the afternoons!  I LOVE my time with her!  I was so sad on Tuesday when I thought it was our last day together.  I took her to Happy Joe's for lunch and then for a walk (in her wheelchair, of course!) on the Heritage Trail since it was so nice out.  I have so thoroughly enjoyed our special time together - it has reminded me of the special one-on-one time I used to have with my Grandma Gaul on the farm, which I SO fondly remember.  I hope Nora remembers this time together with me just as fondly <3

I want to take this opportunity to thank EACH and every one of you for your support.  You will never know how much it has meant to our family for the meals, cards, time spent, and most of all prayers.  We are humbly blessed to be surrounded by amazing people.  Thanking God today for His many, many provisions! We. Are. Blessed.

 In the Elevator on the way to Nora's appointment!

 Nervous....

 See ya stinky!!!

We're Back!

It has dawned on me that I haven't blogged in, well, what seems like forever.  At this time of year of giving thanks, I felt compelled to write about the many, many blessings in our lives and how utterly grateful we are.  Do you ever feel so thankful that you feel overwhelmed and your tongue just can't get the words out fast enough?  That's how I'm feeling these days.  I have so much to be grateful for and I don't even know where to begin. I am so incredibly thankful to have a loving God who blesses me with His presence, His patience, His mercy, and His grace on a daily basis.  I fall so short of deserving any of it, yet He freely and willingly gives it to me because He loves me that much.  Before I knew God, I mean really knew God, I never knew what the phrase, "There but for the grace of God go I." meant.  None of us deserve to be forgiven of our sin, and that's why His grace is so amazing.  Ever hear the song "Amazing Grace"?

I am thankful for my husband.  He has shown me the value of unconditional love, forgiveness, grace, and mercy.  We've been down a tumultuous road in our first five years of marriage, but as the saying goes, "if you're ever going to see the rainbow, you've got to stand a little rain".  On our 5th wedding anniversary this past October, we had the honor of renewing our wedding vows, inviting Christ into our marriage. Maybe I sound a little foolish here, but I can truly say that those vows and that ceremony meant more to me than our actual wedding day.  I sang the song "Blessings" by Laura Story to Jed that night and that song couldn't be more true for us. "What if my greatest disappointments or the aching of this life is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can’t satisfy. And what if trials of this life: the rain, the storms, the hardest nights - are Your mercies in disguise."  Jed and I have weathered through some of the hardest days of our lives, and yet, rather than breaking us, they have made us stronger, closer and revealed the glory that is our Lord, Jesus to us.  Sometimes some of the best things come from some of the worst things and I will testify to that until the day that I leave this earthly world and join my Father in Heaven.

This is just a little tidbit of the things I am thankful for, but I just don't have the time to post them all right now.  I hope to keep the family blog updated more now, so stay tuned.  Have a happy Thanksgiving everyone and enjoy the many blessings you've been given!