The Thief

Yes. It really is. Help me God to own my own journey instead of envying someone else's.

Man Your Post!

"Man Your Post!"

God gave us each a "post" and a sphere of influence, instead of just wanting bigger and better, let's just be faithful to our post!

Power Posing and Praise!

POWER POSING AND PRAISE!

This awesome TED talk shows us that God is a genius! That's what I took away from it at least. When we praise, with our arms reaching toward heaven like the Bible tells us to- all sorts of things happen within us. We gain confidence, can handle stress better, and much more... Check out this interesting video and get your pose on!

Books That Have Helped me "Un-Freeze"

BOOKS that have mattered to me and cleared up some wrong thinking that was freezing me up creatively: "Unlocking the Heart of The Artist" and "The War of Art". 

The first is from a totally Biblical perspective, extremely insightful and helpful for Christians that struggle with their creative giftings. The War of Art is completely secular but really puts things plainly and demystifies the resistance and depression all artists can so easily give into.

Beauty, Naturally

Saving Your Face with this simple 2 ingredient recipe!

Girls, guys, whoever- I found something that really works for my skin. It's called Oil Cleansing.

Sounds weird to cleanse with oil but here is why it works.

In the past I've used soap to clean my skin, then it gets dry and overcompensates by producing more oil, the pores get clogged and I end up with black heads and pimples. With oil cleansing, the theory is "like dissolves like". Oil dissolves oil without stripping the skin. I started doing this about a month ago and my skin is more glowing and clear than it's ever been plus this will help prevent wrinkles because the skin is never dried or treated with harsh chemicals. God knows about beauty! With this simple all natural method, you can have glowing skin in no time.

Check out this website that explains it better 

http://www.theoilcleansingmethod.com

Principle of Natural Beauty: If you can't consume it, don't put it on your skin which is the largest organ of your body

Simplify. And Have fun.

I will admit it's fun to look at all the products with fancy ingredients I can't even read, glossy packaging and high prices. I love going to Nordstrom and Sephora and trying all the makeup, lotions and perfumes! BUT it makes sense that if you can't eat it and put it in your body, why would we injest it through our skin? Ditch the million different chemical products or "natural" products that come with a high price and replace them with the tried and true stuff that have proven to work for thousands of years. 

For Body/Face Soap: oil cleansing and simple Castile soap like Dr. Bronners 

For Cleaning products: Castile soap, baking soda, lemon and vinegar can clean just about anything- and you won't have to inhale those really harsh toxic chemicals, or support that they are being made and hurting our environment.

For lotion, moisturizer: a tiny bit of Vitamin E oil or olive oil really does the trick better than thick, chemically made creams. Add some scented oils like lavender, eucalyptus or rose to make them smell amazing.

Best face and hair mask ever: This recipe is good to eat, put on your face and your hair! It leaves your hair super shiny and moisturized. Smash an avocado and mix with olive oil and apple cider vinegar- liberally apply everywhere and then wash it off.

The cheapest shampoo: Baking soda and water paste. Put it in your hair and rinse it out.

Perfume: natural oils, they smell great and you can inhale them without wondering about the chemicals. I have a little roll on oil of frankincense in my purse and I love putting it on throughout the day. I also keep perfume samples in my purse (yes even chemical ones) because I just love good smells.

Natural Chai, Vanilla, Cinnamon Body Scrub: I give this out as a gift in little mason jars. My friends have loved it! All you do is combine olive oil, course raw brown sugar, chai tea (I open a chai tea bag), vanilla extract, cinnamon (anti-bacterial), and mix it up! I don't do specific amounts, just play with it and see what amounts you like. Scrub your body with it in the shower and your skin will feel super smooth and moisturized!

Honey Wash: it is what it sounds like! Wash your face and hair with honey- it dissenfects and moisturizes. It's also surprisingly water soluble so it's not the sticky hassle you might think it is.

Buttermilk Bath: Put some Buttermilk in your bath, a good amount and soak. The lactic acid naturally helps dissolve dead skin leaves you glowing.

There are different levels of getting into this whole "natural" thing- some people only do cold-pressed organic oils, some only get organic food, raw honey etc... I say just start with what you can do and if you want to advance that's great. Have fun with it. There is no wrong way.

Girls, I've learned to not work on yourself just for the end result, enjoy the process and the time to be good to yourself. Light candles, put on relaxing music, think of all the things you are grateful for and thank your body for how it serves you so faithfully. Instead of beating your body up and hating it for it's flaws, be kind to yourself and appreciate the awesome beauty that God made you. When you love yourself well and see the good, you can love others well and see the good in them.

I will admit- I've tried all of this and LOVE IT. But I'm still a sucker for some of my favorite perfumes and hair products. But it's all about making small changes and enjoying the process of learning about new ways of thinking and doing beauty! I enjoy making my own products and seeing how well they work! Just start this journey of discovery and see how much cool info is out there.

My Mom's Transformation!

My mom's transformation!

Mamma Mia! my beautiful mom went through some years of completely neglecting her health and beauty. She justified it by thinking it was an unselfish "sacrifice" so she could focus on the family. But really when God started to wake her up to the fact that she could be free to enjoy learning about health and beauty and take time for herself- she served the family FAR better by her example than by "denying herself for us". 

Here is my mom, Rozanne, in her twenties: What a hottie!

Here is Rozanne as she started to have 3 girls, taking care of her mentally handicapped brother, and being a dutiful wife- with no parents or family on her side to support her.

This is her in 2009 on a family vacation. She is still pretty but doesn't have the healthy glow and has gained weight over the years. She is supporting all of our dreams but not expressing herself. She loves to learn and teach (she was a teacher) and gets into Christian spiritual books and teachers but hasn't found that thing that really ignites her passion.

Around 2011, my sister started praying for my mom and dads health. At this same time my mom stumbled across some youtube videos from a fun, charismatic, down to earth health teacher named Dan the Life Regenerator. She started to find joy in eating whole raw food, juicing, learning and discussing health combined with the spiritual mindfulness all of this was bringing about in her. She had fun with it- we went to raw food restaurants, she went to conventions, natural food stores and gained a lot more confidence in her body and self. I've noticed she worries less and enjoys the present much more. She is passionate about sharing what she's learning and enjoys connecting with other like-minded people. I caught her passion and have started making my own changes. Now I have a passion to share the health message with Christians who sadly seem to neglect their bodies and fail to do what's best for the holy temples God gave us to dwell in.

Here she is today at 63, after losing 20 lbs (and she is still on her way down) and finding health and vitality the natural way!