maybe someday
I will wear clothes that make the outside of me match the inside
I won’t view every activity with angst about what to wear
I will dress for comfort and joy instead of camouflage
I will embrace the joy of dresses once again
I will wear shorts
Until then…
I am passionate about Young Living Essential Oils. They have added so much to my life. The company’s motto is wellness, purpose, and abundance. I truly feel that Young Living has added all three to my life. So when people might ask why I am crazy about Young Living, I have to say it has brought wellness, purpose, and abundance to my life. I want to take a look at each one. Today I want to talk about wellness.
Wellness is defined as the state or condition of being in good physical and mental health. I truly feel that I daily move closer and closer to this goal. Young Living oils and oil infused products enable me to live more of my days pain free without the damaging effects of pain medications. There are many days that I feel exhilarated and full of energy. I love carrying with me the answers to life little accidents and health issues: peppermint for headaches and fatigue, lemon for indigestion, Deep Relief for muscle pain, lavender for burns, cuts, allergies, itching… the list goes on and on. NingXia Red packets give that perfect healthful boost to the mid afternoon slump. Essentialzymes 4 aide in digestion and weight loss. Progessence Plus has my hormones under control and keeps the anxiety of peri-menopause at bay. I seriously cannot imagine my day without Young Living.
Along with a change in diet and physical exercise, Young Living is bringing wellness to me and my family.
I would love to share more about the joy of Young Living with you. Feel free to visit my website. There are several beautiful and informative videos for you to watch. So take a look and let me know what you think!
I climbed a flight of stairs yesterday.
I didn’t have knee pain.
I didn’t have to do the “step up with left leg, bring right leg up on same step; repeat method. I just put one foot in front of the other and soon I was walking up the stairs”
It has been months since I have done this.
I have been kneeling down digging and planting in our garden.
I haven’t eaten grains in 10 days!
This is my motivation to carry on…
Mother’s Day is upon us and the emotions this day brings are as varied as the lipstick selections at your local Walgreens. Some face this day with only the memory of their sweet mother and that can be so hard. However, I feel the ones that dread this day the most are the mother’s who face it without one or more of their precious children. Mom’s aren’t supposed to outlive their children. Period. This should be a rule.
Since the tragic death of my only sister 17 years ago, I have faced Mother’s Day with such mixed emotions. How do I honor my mom and the amazing job she did of raising me and my sister without reminding her of her greatest pain? I know that sounds silly, because truth is, no mom who has ever lost a child needs anyone to remind her. The pain is there in every situation. Every celebration is another mark of how life goes on without them. It sometimes must feel like no one even remembers this incredible person.
Today I feel like my mom received an early and priceless Mother’s Day gift.
My folks attend a very large church, 10,000 plus, and it would be easy to feel lost in the crowd. It was my sister’s home church and not at all that large at the time of my sister’s death. The Senior pastor and Music pastor both participated in Dee Ann’s (my sister) memorial service. Yet as the years have gone by my mom wondered if they even remembered. A pastor of a church this size performs so many funeral services, how could he remember? But today, my mom found out that he does. My mom was at church and found herself in a situation where the Senior pastor came over and began to talk to her. He said, “I just want you to know that I think of DeeAnn often. In fact, I was considering telling her story for one of my sermons.” Really? He thinks of her? He thinks her story could touch others? I can’t tell you what this did for my mom, and for me. Someone remembers, someone cares, someone acknowledges that there has been a tremendous loss. In that moment I realized that truly one of the greatest gifts we can give a mother who has lost a child is to simply remember.
So, Happy Mother’s Day to my wonderful mom
You raised 2 girls who love you dearly
It has been so fun to hear all of the comments from friends who have watched the film since I first posted the link. I truly believe the timing is right and many families are ready to take back their health. My husband and I have been gardeners off and on throughout the years. Some years were great and some not so great. Like the year we planted 54 tomato plants and harvested less than 5 tomatoes all season! We started out gardening for nostalgia sake and have since moved on to gardening for health and frugality. We are so thankful for the learning experience of watching the Back to Eden film. As 2 of our teens watched with us, it was even more exciting to see them “get it”. Last evening our 16 year old son expressed anger at how we have been doing it wrong for all of these years. The conversation quickly turned to how that is what happens when you do things “man’s way” instead of following “God’s way”! What an invaluable lesson we all shared as we piled on the wood chips!
We live on just a half acre plot so our garden can’t be that large. We have dreams of one day moving out, but for now we are starting small and trusting God for great results. We have a pear tree, blackberry bushes, and an herb garden. We plan to plant a 20X20 plot with vegetables and an additional plot for cantaloupe and strawberries.
This whole grain-free healthy living thing is full of ups and downs. Today is an up and down day. I don’t have much prepared ahead because I wasn’t feeling well over the weekend. I am out of coffee, I am out of protein powder, I am out of almond milk, I am out of cottage cheese, I am out of avocados, I am out of tomatoes… wow looks pretty grim when I get it all typed out. So, I had leftovers for the family and they have all faired pretty well so far. Breakfast wasn’t bad; soft boiled egg and a banana. But once I fed the family lunch, I realized I didn’t have a clue what I would eat. I ate an orange while I contemplated my options. What I came up with was surprisingly yummy.
Green apple and cabbage slaw.
There. This doesn’t have to be complicated. I just need to eat food that is whole and not GMO and not comprised of grains! So chopped green cabbage and chopped green apple tossed in a balsamic with herbs and sea salt turned out to be good. In fact it was good enough to make extra and stick in the fridge for tomorrow.
Necessity is the mother of all inventions and recipes too!
All of you 80′s classic fans out there are now singing along…you can thank me later. But, I just couldn’t help myself. I really feel that way about my husband. Oh, not in the mushy gushy way you might think (although there is plenty of mushy gushy in our relationship) but in the real tangible, bring my dreams to life way. See, I am an idea person. I get visions, I feel things, I imagine what might be, I dream… the really cool thing is that God gave me a husband who can actually make those dreams become reality. “Hey, hon I think we need angels sitting on a cloud that extends out over the stage at Christmas” voila! “Hey, Greg I think it would be so cool to have an armoire in our bedroom to put our Christmas tree in” voila! “Oh my goodness Gregory, can you imagine what it would be like to…” I think you get the idea. He is amazing!
My latest vision has been to create a gathering place, a home that feels like us. A place where we grow our own food, where we cook whole foods meals for friends and family; a sanctuary of sorts… So when I first read about ‘Back to Eden’ I was hooked. I began dreaming of lush green plants bearing delightful fruits and vegetables. I sent Greg the link and said, “this is our future”. I wasn’t sure how or when, but I knew it was something I desperately wanted for our family. Fast forward 2 days, yep, only 2 days… and the guys are unloading the first step to our ‘Back to Eden’ garden!
You will need to watch this amazing film to find out why these wood chips are invaluable. The best part is they were FREE!
When you don’t eat grains you eat a lot more fruits and vegetables. Now isn’t that earth shaking insight? I am finishing day 4 of my return to grain-free and I have eaten way more fruits and vegetables in the last 4 days. I get mad at myself because I really like fruits and vegetables and I can’t understand why I go through spurts where they aren’t the centerpiece of my diet. I would be so much happier and considerably further along my health journey if I would stop taking detours into the land of inflammatory grains! So like I said earlier this week on facebook: If you see me eating grains, slap me!
My grain-free day today
Breakfast
an avacado and coffee… my family had oatmeal which I love, so I had to eat something else that I love
Lunch
I made a huge pan of stir fried chicken, cabbage, onions, and fresh green beans (kids ate this over whole wheat noodles)
Snack
coffee with skim milk
Dinner
baked sweet potato
apple
I feel the need to revisit my Pinterest board and be inspired by the fabulous bloggers there. Anyone have a great grain-free recipe they want to share?
I shared a few thoughts on my Facebook status the other day. The response was amazing. Some encouraged, some understanding, and yet some longing and asking how to find what I had found…
“When you first start to let go of being a “people pleaser”, you feel guilty and selfish. Then when you realize that having your own opinion and taking care of yourself isn’t selfish at all; it is normal! The internal pressure releases and you begin to experience joy and peace… I want my children to live in this free place.”
Freedom
It is what we all long for.
Freedom from internal pressure
Freedom from unrealistic expectations
Freedom from the vicious cycle of debt
Freedom from sickness, heartache, crime, pain, loss…
The list is endless.
While we can’t escape all of the things that bind us here on this earth, I have found the freedom that really matters. Freedom to be me and to live a life of peace and passion. The funny thing is that it is a daily struggle to stay free. I know that seems like such a contradictory statement, but it is the truth. I must moment by moment release the urge to “fix and please”.
What do you think? How do you find freedom?
I cannot believe all that the month of March holds. I am a little bit in denial that I actually have so much to accomplish. The projects, productions, tournaments, conferences, gardens…etc. I am actually feeling anxiety build as I type this. The “month” actually starts tomorrow..well, the work starts tomorrow. We have our read through for our original production “The Parable”. Our creative team has written a contemporary adaptation of the prodigal son. We wrote it in the style of Rock Opera… I am super excited.
Writing and directing an original musical production should be enough for one month, right? Well, it’s not the way my life is playing out. Here is a list of the other things going on for me in the month of March and leading into the first 2 weeks of April. This list is more for me than anyone else, it’s therapeutic just to type it out.
Rehearsals for “The Parable”
Take my daughter to rehearsals for Leonard Bernstein Mass in OKC
Canterbury choir performances
Two volleyball tournaments in Norman
Middle child starts softball season
teach Young Living class in Dallas
teach Young Living class in Elgin
Seeds conference in Tulsa (I get to see my boy!)
cook and freeze food to take to my son in Tulsa
plan and present vision for next year’s homeschool co-op (starting college prep leg of our existing co-op)
clean out and plan this years garden
homeschool
somehow continue to exercise and cook whole foods for my family
okay, I think that’s it!
The plan for today is to create a create huge master calendar and a giant To-Do list for the entire family
I’m not sure if this blog made me feel better or worse…
Saying a prayer and coating myself with Stress Away essential oil
