When life gets in the way…

Do you have all the good intentions I have but find that life just asserts itself like a bull snorting in the dirt and stomps in the way?

Since the beginning of last week (Spring Break) our family has been riddled with sickness.  I thought we had escaped the worst of the cold and flu season only to find we were not immune.  I’ve spend two weeks nursing sick children, nursing myself and finding at the tail end of it all I’m just exhausted.

Bone weary, sleep for days, exhausted.

I think Moms should be excluded from sickness.  Do we REALLY have the time or even the grace to be sick?  Sometimes, I think not.

Dinner doesn’t cook itself, the laundry stares at me from whichever assorted pile it lays in.  The kitchen floor needs sweeping, the house cleaned with my bacteria killing essential oils.

The most I manage to do is to add the oils to a spray bottle and walk through the house hoping it lands on every available surface!

Amid this particular week’s illness we spent 3 hours atop the Matthews Bridge in downtown Jacksonville as workers tried to clear a 3-5 car pile up.  Hmmmm…..that was fun.  And even though I was able to maintain my cool knowing there was nothing that could be done the next day showed me just how much the afternoon on top of the bridge took out of me.  I had three in the car with me and one that didn’t get picked up from school until almost 6:30pm thanks to friends who help because they love Jesus!

THE MATTHEWS BRIDGE

By Maryanne Kirk from Clare, Michigan, USA (originally posted to Flickr as The Mathews Bridge) [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

 

It rained last night and it’s still raining.  However, the day atop the bridge had to be one of the prettiest days we’ve had in a while.  For that I am thankful.

But my thankful heart is also tired….unable to make decisions….weary….hopeful in the only ONE who understands.

I’ve found a little pleasure in bird shots from the bed.  But all the while my webpage begs to be worked upon, my office de-cluttered and my body screams, “REST!”

What do you do when your soul is weary?  When life screams for answers you do not have?


Kid Care

We’ve spent the last week curing coughs, sniffles and fevers with (deep breath) my essential oils (heart beats faster)!

It’s been a blessing to forego doctor visits and treat my family naturally.

So, I wanted to share some kid tips with you:

Allergies – Lemon, Lavender and Peppermint (1 drop each) on bottom of feet morning and night

Burns – Lavender and Melaleuca (tea tree oil) diluted with coconut oil.  Apply topically.

Cradle Cap – Lavender or Melaleuca or Geranium.  Mix one drop with a small amount of coconut oil and apply to affected area.  3-4 applications generally eliminates rash.

Fever – Peppermint.  Dilute 1 drop with coconut oil and apply to forehead, back of neck and bottom of feet every 15-30 minutes until fever goes down.  For my older kids I apply neat (or without the coconut oil)

Temper Tantrum – Balance and Lavender or Serenity applied on bottom of feet.  1-2 drops diluted with coconut oil.

Itchy Skin – Peppermint.  1-2 drops diluted with coconut oil and applied to the skin.

Poison Ivy – Melaleuca and Lavender.  4 drops each diluted with coconut oil.

 

You can buy fractionated coconut oil here.  Click Shop for Products.Or use the kind from your grocery store.  It will become liquid at room temperature or in the palm of your hand.

Balance and Serenity can be found here, as well as the other oils mentioned.

Balance Blend

Balance Blend

cropped-serenity_15ml6

Kiss those sweet ones for me!!!

 


Curing the Cough with doTERRA Essential Oils

I’ve got a second kid with a cough this week.  The first one dealt with it for 2 days and he had him well again.  Here’s a few great remedies to try from eeoils.me:

Gargle: 1 or 2 drops of chosen oil(s) in an ounce (mouthful) of water. Swallow after gargling. (Be aware Oregano is a “hot” oil and may be too strong for some to use this technique.)

Try:

·  Cinnamon and Lemon (mild)

·  On Guard (strong)

·  Lavender, Lemon, Peppermint (mild 2,2,2 drops to strong with 2,2,4)

·  Oregano (very strong)

Inhale: Use the chosen oils with one of the following methods:

·  Diffuse, an inhaler, or just breath deeply directly from the oil bottle

·  Make a steam tent

·  Cup and inhale (a few drops in a cup of hot water, breath vapors deeply)

Apply topically: Eucalyptus, Melaleuca, Peppermint, and/or Cypress to chest and throat areas. Covering these with a warm compress will even make this topical application more effective.

 

Other great blends for coughs in general:

Brenda’s TEXAS SMOKE

In 4 oz of virgin coconut oil add:

40 drops Breathe

7   drops Thyme

15 drops Oregano

40 drops Lime

This may be put in a jar and used as a chest rub, massage between shoulder blades, put on bottoms of feet, etc. This is a big enough batch that you can have several roll-ons and still have some to put in a small jar. For really stubborn respiratory cases with a stubborn cough I have added a few drops of Patchouli and Sandalwood to the blend and put in a capsule.

 

Brenda’s blend for little people

2 drops Sandalwood

2 drops Myrrh

2 drops On Guard

2 drops Frankincense

In a capsule or on bottoms of the feet

 

Ame from Guatemala’s blend

For her small children 3 years old and 4 months old:

Balance and OnGuard on their feet morning and night.

Breathe on the chest and back

Frankincense with coconut oil on the throat

Peppermint if there is a fever

 

Amelia’s blend

Layered directly on the chest:

1-2 drops Breathe

then layer 1-2 drops Rosemary

 

Want to know more about doTERRA?  Just click here: www.mydoterra.com/JulieRWorthy

You can sign up to receive 20% off all oils for just a flat $10 or become a consultant with a great 25% discount and a gorgeous welcome packet for $35!  Plus you get all their great discounts and free oils throughout the year!  Click on over and check it out!


The High Functioning Brain

Many of you who read my blog know that I’m quite the fan of LearningRx’s brain training as well as doTERRA essential oils.  Both have made a big impact in our lives in the last two years.

      

I dropped by the LearningRx center yesterday to chat with the director and took my diffuser with me.  Tugging at me recently has been the role essential oils play in maintaining healthy brain function.  The question, “What oils might help the children training at the center as well as my own kids?” has been rolling around in my mind.    I know doTERRA’s therapeutic grade of oils have provided a healthier home environment so I found my attention drawn to a few of doTERRA’s oils and blends……

Focus?  Attention?  Alertness?

INTUNE – Focus Blend  A proprietary blend of carefully selected essential oils (amyris, patchouli, frankincense, lime, ylang ylang, sandalwood (Hawaiian) and Roman chamomile) combined to enhance focus and support healthy thought processes,  helps with difficulty paying attention and staying on task, this blend of essential oils help sustain focus.

Primary Benefits

• Helps restore focus and increase ability to stay on task • Promotes clarity of thought • Increases alertness and centering thought processes •

intune

FRANKINCENSE - Stimulates limbic system of the brain.

frankincense_15mllimbic system

 

BALANCE – Grounding Blend (for disconnectedness or anxiety)

Balancing blends contain oils that are geared toward the central nervous system and other body systems. If there are times when you feel confused, doubtful, unsettled, or in need of a sense of well-being, a balancing blend may be an excellent option.

For children who deal with ADD, ADHD, autism or bi-polar conditions, use a balancing blend to calm and balance moods.

For those who suffer mood swings, anxiety, temper problems or doldrums, a balancing blend may help calm and balance their emotions.

balance

LAVENDER – Calming and relaxing to the nervous system

Lavender offers an extensive array of activity in the human body. There’s been substantial research done on Lavender, which proves its miraculous therapeutic powers. Studies conclude that Lavender essential oil offers qualities such as a sedative, analgesic (reduces pain), mood modulator, reduces anxiety, digestion, anti-carcinogenic, and also a combatant of fungi, bacteria, and also insects. Lavender is superb for healing and being a disinfectant for wounds. One of the incredible abilities of Lavender essential oils is to heal and soothe burns, bruises, and bites. It is also beneficial for allergic reactions in the body.

lavender

 

I think that increasing brain function and overall mental wellness goes hand in hand with these super cool brain training tools at the center!

What do Visual Thinking, Brainy Cards, Memory Digit Cards, Metronomes and Timers (watch games played in Raleigh NC) have to do with training the brain?  They all work together to increase the functioning of our super cool (my words of the day) muscle called the brain.  The games played at LearningRx are scientifically proven to increase weak cognitive skills.  Watch a super-duper cool YouTube video here!

In this photo you see some of the cards I mentioned before as well as a timer and a metronome.  I honestly admit I have a love/hate relationship with the metronome now!  After having one child train for 36 weeks I hear that thing in my sleep!  What is amazing to me as well is during homework hours placing the metronome in the kitchen and turning it on while I cook causes my children to concentrate better.  My theory…..all that metronome use while brain training kicks them into “concentration mode”.

BAM!  Score one for ole mom!!  (PS.  I am diffusing IN TUNE as they do homework!)

LearningRx uses the metronome to increase brain strength (my definition, not theirs).  After kids learn a game, they then learn to do it with the beat of a metronome.  Slowing a process down often takes more work than speeding through it quickly.

Brainy Bag?  This is often used to toss back and forth while working through a level to either add a distraction, therefore requiring greater concentration or to help an active child have something to do while reciting, say, their presidents backwards from memory!  (One of the first things the kids learn to do.)

knowledgebankRX

 

Attention, Working Memory, Processing Speed, Logic and Reasoning, Auditory and Visual Processing and Long-Term Memory are all exercised to increase brain function, academic performance, sports, and overall behavior.  The walls at LearningRx are splashed with achievements the kids, parents, teachers and coaches notice in children who are brain training!

Just a few months ago one of Jacksonville’s LearningRx students made this video!

I do believe I’ve stumbled on a winning combination!!

Can you smell the success?


Holidays Ramblings from Florida

Our holidays have been filled with family, my son’s 14th birthday and friends visiting.  It’s been wonderful and I can’t even think of getting back to school, homework and REALITY.  I’m thankful for REALITY breaks.  Re-entry?  That’s another story.

My mom, dad, sister, brother-in-law and niece were here for Christmas.  We slept all over the house!  I was like a frat house with bodies everywhere snoozing!!  I love company!

New Years Day is my husband’s birthday and friends from SC came down to surprise him!  Yippee!!  More friends!

We’ve battled a bit of some cold virus and am treating it with DoTERRA Oregano and Marjoram on feet and Frankincense and Breathe on chests!  Thanks to Rebecca over at Camp Wander!  She’s the bomb!!

My sweet husband gave me THIS for Christmas!  Now my oils are nice and neat in their own little cushy blankets in a wonderful carrying tote!

We’ve had 70 degree days along with 50 degree days (today) and I’m certainly “climatized” now.  50 feels like 30.

If you are interested in DoTerra shoot me an email or CLICK HERE.  Click SIGN UP/JOIN.  It’s $35 and all you have to decide is whether you want to be an Independent Product Consultant ordering $50 in oils per month (and receive free points for oils in return) or as a Preferred Member.  Both give you a 25% discount.  I started as a Preferred Member and quickly changed to an IPC as I began to use oils more and more for healing and for cleaning.  My goal for 2013?  To eliminate as many toxins as possible from our household!  Want to try alongside me?

Signing up before the end of the year gets you a free bottle of $75 Frankincense with a $200 order!

Happy New Year!

And Happy Birthday Rocketman!


Things that I love…

I’ve been blessed.

Incredibly blessed by God with a handful of wonderful friends that love me dearly…the real me.

A beautiful family and a great husband.

Some small resemblance of knowledge (emphasis on small) as I enter the stage of raising teenage boys.

And relationships with some wonderful companies……as much as I’d like to stick with just one I love the knowledge I’ve gained from each.

One is DoTerra Essential Oils.  I am amazed at the healing power of oils.  Good oils.  My sister was here last week and came with a very sore and frozen shoulder from all the beautiful brides she’s helped walk down the aisle the past two months.  So when she got here I whipped out my Modern Essentials Usage Guide from AromaTools.com.

Here’s what we did:  FROZED SHOULDER:

Begin by applying 1-2 drops of white fir to the shoulder reflex point on the foot on the same side as the frozen shoulder to help with any inflammation.  Check for improvement.  Repeat using Lemongrass(for torn or pulled ligaments), Basil (for muscle spasms), and Wintergreen (for bone problems).  After determining which combination works best apply directly to injured shoulder.  Afterwards apply Peppermint to soothe nerves and Oregano to enhance flexibility (we diluted Oregano as it is a HOT oil).  Finish up with 1-2 drops of white fir to opposite should as it compensates for injured one.  Drink lots of water.

Within the day her shoulder had greater mobility and less pain.  We repeated the process again that night and I sent her home with all the oils including Fractionated Coconut Oil to dilute the Oregano with.  (Just a side note Coconut Oil is the bomb!)

So DoTerra has been a blessing in my life!  And I’m loving sharing with others.

The other company that is changing my life as well as many others is Beyond Organic.  If you haven’t read Jordan Rubin’s story it’s quite amazing how God led him to begin healing his body through food and is now educating the world on the importance of our meat being raised properly.  They even milk their cows to praise and worship music so NO GRAIN fed beef!  Their pastures are amazing and their products taste wonderful.

My other passion?  LearningRx and what cognitive brain training can do for struggling children and adults.  I’ve put three of my children through the program, as many of you know and I am a firm believer in the results we see in our children.  I can’t wait to train myself.

So where does that put me?  I want to share all of these wonderful things with the world!  Maybe, along with my photography, I should be a jack of all trades pure and God-given.  Is that a title?

So I share to let you know there are good, solid companies out there truly designed to help with your health, naturally, the way God intended.  Don’t get me wrong I truly believe medicine is a gift as well but when I can heal naturally it’s my choice every time.

Have a great Sunday!


Essential oils

Beeyoutiful and doTerra are my favorite oil companies. I recently found this wonderful way God provides for us.
Check out www beeyoutiful.com and doterra.com

Grape seed crush from Beeyoutiful:
Try the citrus solution to keeping your body and home healthy. Grapefruit Seed Crush, an extract made from the seeds and pulp of grapefruit, is anti-viral, anti-fungal, anti-bacterial, anti-parasitic for just about every healing, disinfecting, and cleaning need. It’s even safe and effective when taken internally — including babies and pregnant or nursing mommies. One great advantage of GSC over traditional antibiotic treatments is that “super bugs” don’t evolve to overpower this product as they do antibiotics. And Grapefruit Seed Crush doesn’t harm beneficial bacteria lining the intestines.

For personal hygiene, gargle with diluted GSC to help sore throats, mouth sores, and halitosis. Mix it with shampoo to treat eczema and dandruff, and spray a solution of GSC on athlete’s foot. Taken internally, Grapefruit Seed Crush fights parasites.

Around the house, instead of pouring on the usual, toxic cleaners and disinfectants, let the powerful anti-microbial action of Grapefruit Seed Crush keep your home clean and healthy. Mix up natural bathroom cleaners and mold killers, add it to your dishwater and laundry tub, or make anti-bacterial baby wipes for bottoms and public toilet seats. By creating your own health-friendly cleaners, you’ll save money, too.

There are practically limitless ways to put Grapefruit Seed Crush to work (see the long list below!), but for all uses, GSC should be diluted with water. Adding 3-6 drops to 6 oz. of water is generally a good proportion. GSC is non-toxic, so an extra drop here and there won’t hurt. Results are usually better, though, when Grapefruit Seed Crush is used frequently in a more diluted solution than less frequently in heavier concentrations. You’ll doubtless find your favorites as you try these ideas.

Medical Uses:

Sickroom — Spritz with a solution of GSC in water. Add it to a vaporizer or mop water.

Mouth and Gum Infections — Swish and gargle with water-diluted GSC. You can swallow it for internal benefit.
Sore throat – Gargle with diluted GSC and swallow. Many germs enter the body through the mouth, so stop them in their tracks. GSC kills strep throat germs and helps viral sore throats, too.
Candida Overgrowth — Drink a diluted GSC solution to kill yeast in your gut. Even babies with thrush (an oral yeast infection) can be helped by drinking a few ounces of water with a couple drops of GSC added. For female yeast infections, dilute and douche 12 hours apart for at least 3 days (grapefruit seed extract is considered by some to be even more effective than nystatin and other yeast-killing agents—and without the bad side effects of those drugs). For thorough treatment, some women drink GSC regularly for several months. Others stay on a maintenance dose for longer. And, of course, cutting down on sugar and refined foods will improve your chance of victory in the yeast war.
Baby wipes — Mix water, aloe vera gel, GSC, and any pleasant-smelling essential oil. Soak paper towels or small washcloths in the solution, and store them in a plastic container near the changing table. GSC kills painful yeast-related diaper rashes.
Skin and scalp cleaner – Add GSC to shampoo and regular liquid soaps, or dilute with water and chamomile tea or aloe gel for a facial scrub. It’s beneficial for dermatitis and acne. For warts and cysts, GSC can be applied undiluted (the only exception to the dilution rule) directly onto the affected area; cover with a bandage. With these applications, you can skip the antibacterial soaps and hand sanitizers. They cause your body to become more resistant to antibiotics — which you might really need someday for a life-threatening emergency.
Diarrhea, food poisoning, stomach flu – Dilute and swallow GSC every few hours as needed. Be sure to take GSC on trips out of the country (use bottled water for diluting).
Poison ivy and poison oak — Symptoms improve and feel better quickly after an application of diluted GSC.
Parasite cleansing — Even folks in non-third world countries can have parasites that weaken their health thanks to imported foods, sushi, other popular raw foods, and household pets (dogs can transmit 65 known parasites to humans while cats carry about 40 contagious diseases that affect people). Drink a few ounces of GSC solution regularly, and enjoy your pets and sushi without worry.
Athlete’s foot, ringworm, and other skin and nail fungus problems. — Spray with a diluted solution.
General Purpose Uses:
Animals – Dogs, cats, birds, all livestock, and even fish can benefit from GSC for wound healing, parasite treatment, and in place of antibiotics. Cats will ingest sprayed-on GSC solution when they groom themselves. Clean your dog’s kennel and the cat’s litterbox with diluted GSC. Put a few drops in your fish tank and get rid of algae problems! It helps prevent fish diseases, too.

Drinking water – If you aren’t sure about the safety of water you have available and can’t boil or distill it, first let the particles settle (or filter them out), then treat with GSC. It tastes a little bitter, but you”ll know it’s keeping you safe from parasites and disease.
Toothbrushes – Keep family members from re-infecting themselves with germs left on their toothbrushes. Mix up a glass of GSC solution for each person to soak their toothbrush in between uses. The mixture will last for several days before needing replacement (a GSC-soaked brush should be rinsed before using it again).
Fruit and vegetable wash – Remove pesticides and parasites before eating. You can add GSC to a bowl or sink full of water, or you can make a spray. This is much cheaper than expensive food washes sold at the store and just as effective. You’ll find fruits and vegetables stay fresh longer, too.
Replace toxic cleaners and bleach — Make a spray bottle for cleaning your bathrooms and kitchens (don’t forget the cutting boards). It disinfects even better than rubbing alcohol or colloidal silver! GSC helps do away with mold problems. Add GSC to your laundry to disinfect and brighten clothes and bedding.
Public bathrooms — Combine a dab of baby shampoo with water and GSC, and soak paper towels in the solution to make your own wipes. Keep them fresh in a zippered plastic bag in your purse or diaper bag. Or carry a tiny spray bottle with the diluted mixture to spritz questionable surfaces.
Houseplants – If you have an aphid problem or scaly mold, dilute GSC with water and spray the tops and bottoms of leaves and stems. You can add cayenne or garlic juice for stubborn plant problems.
Sprouts — Treat the sprouts you grow with a diluted GSC mixture and spin them dry for a longer life in the fridge.
For home and body health, a Grapefruit Seed Crush solution is the solution!

Important: Always dilute Grapefruit Seed Crush before using, and never use any form of Grapefruit Seed Crush in your eyes.

(taken from Beeyoutiful’s website:  info about Grapefruit Seed Crush)


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