See this family?
This pic was taken in late March of 2014 when we went to visit some friends. You see younger versions of all of us and if you know our friends…missing family members that now are part of their family.
I look at this picture and now see a family on the cusp of so many amazing miracles and transformations, which will turn into testimonies. Why?
Well just two days before this picture I had a friend from college come to my house to teach me, and those that took me up on the invitation, about Young Living essential oils. In this picture you’re seeing, I had not gotten my first oil bundle but remember being excited to get it.
I had no idea that not only would all these amazing transformations happen…I would begin receiving a monthly income that would soon cover our monthly Young Living purchases and the Little Free Libraries the Lord had put on my heart to put on all the JPS campuses.
If you look closely, you can see that I’m wearing glasses, which I don’t need anymore. Check out my post to find out what I did daily that caused me to be able to chunk the glasses and not need them anymore!
You know how as a parent you have some things you do really well and others you just really failed at? Well, my thing I (and my family totally agrees) that I get a BIG FAT F at is riding with/teaching my girls to drive.
However, the thing that we have been super intentional at is helping our girls be financially independent throughout the different ages/stages they've been.
I've been sharing recently in my stories about ways we've helped them at different ages. You can check out everything so far in my highlights on Instagram.
It got me to thinking how that became a thing for me and was so important and it caused me to remember two specific times that I think were key for making this such an important part of parenting for us.
Back when I was a teenager, I remember overhearing a parent, of a kid a bit older than me, say out loud the ways she had chosen to raise her child, which was to not give them any independence in their choices or to give them much money at a time...they always had to ask for EVERYTHING. That parent proclaimed they would not be able to handle it...guess what? That became true because of how they didn't let their kid handle larger amounts of money as they grew older. At that young age, I was already seeing how that was not playing out well (it only went downhill from there) and I was determined for myself that was not going to be my story and that would not be the story if I ever had kids.
The other time that played a part in this decision to be super intentional about helping our girls be money smart was a positive thing. There was a couple that was several years ahead of us in the parenting game and their kids just were excelling in so many areas. The kind of parents that you lean in when they are sharing any tips or tricks. One thing I learned they did was when their kids reached Ninth Grade was to give them monthly their allowance/money for everything they would need. That included money for clothing, school lunch, entertainment, money for savings, etc.
Basically, whatever money you were spending on them directly during the month to give them in a lump sum each month and let them learn how to budget or learn that a month can be really long if you spend it all right away.
The other time that played a part in this decision to be super intentional about helping our girls be money smart was a positive thing. There was a couple that was several years ahead of us in the parenting game and their kids just were excelling in so many areas. The kind of parents that you lean in when they are sharing any tips or tricks. One thing I learned they did was when their kids reached Ninth Grade was to give them monthly their allowance/money for everything they would need. That included money for clothing, school lunch, entertainment, money for savings, etc.
Basically, whatever money you were spending on them directly during the month to give them in a lump sum each month and let them learn how to budget or learn that a month can be really long if you spend it all right away.
There is NO CONTEST as to which kids from these two examples have turned out more successful in their habits and what they have been able to do with their lives so far.
I will be sharing in the coming days how we took this second example and followed that model during high school, what we did in college and how that's working for our employed daughter!
Do you have an area that you have been super intentional about in parenting?
I can get overwhelmed easily and then everything grows huge and I don't get anything accomplished. Anyone else? Well, I have this trick that I've been implementing more and more in all the areas and it's working so well. So, I want to share with you.
You know when the entire couch or the biggest bed in the house is covered in clean, but unfolded clothes and you don't even know where to start? Or your huge kitchen sink and the counters around it are filled with dirty dishes? Or since we're entering a new season...when you need to switch out your clothes?
Here it is--I set a timer for a small amount of time...let's say 20 minutes. Then I throw myself into that overwhelming project for that amount of time. Guess what? One of two things generally happens--
1. I either finish the chore during that time, or
2. I'm so into the project when the timer goes off that I realize I can be done in just another 20 minutes, so I keep on working.
There are times the project is too big for that 20 minutes or even double that, but that 20 minutes of work helps me see it's doable and if I'll intentionally work on it for a set amount of time each day then I'll be done with it.
I've done this for years with things like I mentioned above, but lately I've been putting this practice into place for other areas of my life.
Most recently it's been cleaning the blinds for the 22 windows in our house...I fizzled out pretty quickly last year when I attempted to do all 22 of them in a week or two. So, this year I'm doing 4-5 a week (two or three a day for two days a week) and I'm already at the halfway point and will finish at the first of next month. (I have the schedule written down in my calendar.)
Another way I've put it in place is filling the Nine LIttle Free Libraries I have at all the schools in our district. When my oldest daughter was home, I would pay her once a month to go around and fill them. I attempted to do that on my own but it just never worked. So, instead I started doing two a week...it takes less than 15 minutes and I get to them all each month without problem now.
Hopefully this is helpful for you and that overwhelming project you have before you. You'll have to let me know if it does help.
In the meantime, I've got to go clean the 3 blinds that are on my schedule for today.
I am SO thankful for two companies that I have found in the last few months! They are small mom/pop type operations but are doing it so well and align with my desire to know what I'm eating and drinking. I also LOVE supporting individuals and small businesses that might just be doing a dance because I placed an order with them. (I totally get that since I do that every time I get a new customer.)
So, I love when a company is so totally transparent about what they use in their finished products, desire to use the highest quality ingredients and aren't going to cut corners to get there just to price their product lower than the competition. That sentence sounds a bit diva I just now realize. Which is funny because I'm so far from diva.... except in what I put in and on my body.
I want to be able to pronounce everything, know exactly what it is they are listing as an ingredient and know that they used organic ingredients or actually even better than organic since that term really has been diluted as of late. This all comes from my learning and observing how Young Living grows and produces it's essential oils and other products. That's how they function SO I AM HERE for other companies that operate similarly.
I'm finally getting to why you chose to read.... I have NO idea where I first heard about Bread of Heaven but I'm so thankful I did. They are a family-owned company out of Indiana that offers an AMAZING PRODUCT, and they have the very best customer service!! You can place one-time orders or do subscription and save a bit (I'm all about subscriptions for being intentional about something). My favorites are their Cinnamon Sourdough Bagels sweetened with dates (make sure you read how they are best prepared) and their Cinnamon Sourdough Bread for French toast. One super fun thing is that they pop in an individual treat into every order so you can try that as well. It's usually a muffin. You can get $5 off your FIRST ORDER using this link.
So, if you get the Cinnamon Sourdough Bagels...grab a high-quality butter and put a couple of pieces on your sliced bagel. Toast in toaster oven or oven for less than a minute. THEN turn on oven to 350 and bake for 2-3 minutes. I empty the dishwasher or get our supplements all set out during this time. Trust me...you don't just want to grab these from the fridge and eat them. Let me know what you think!
Next...The Asheville Tea Company is my newest favorite!! I discovered them after having lunch with my friend Michelle in a cafe in Asheville in August. I've only had the Spiced Apple Butter (it is the very best herbal tea I've ever had) and Asheville Grey (this will replace my Stash Earl Grey) but I'm looking forward to trying other tea flavors on their rotating seasonal menu. We believe in creating the most delicious cups of tea, using a local, farm-to-teacup approach to ingredient sourcing is their mission. I love it and it doesn't hurt that Asheville is just about my favorite corner of the world!
I'm so thankful there are companies out there that understand that using quality ingredients matters...because we have this one body, and we need to steward it as best we can.
I'm so thankful there are companies out there that understand that using quality ingredients matters...because we have this one body, and we need to steward it as best we can.
Today I want to share what I began doing daily at the end of March 2014 and started “seeing” the difference in just a few weeks.
Notice these two pics of me…one was taken in September 2014 and the other was last month on the top of a mountain! Do you notice a difference about me besides location and a few more wrinkles and gray hair? If you said glasses…then you get a star!
Before I go any further…everyone is created differently and can have different outcomes. This is my outcome/testimony and I’m so thankful for it.
No, I have not had eye surgery. Instead I began applying a drop of Young Living’s Frankincense to my temples and bridge of my nose and then the remaining Frankincense Vitality to the roof of my mouth. It tastes like an old friend now, but I remember thinking it was HORRIBLE for the first few weeks.
Why did I keep putting my taste buds through that? Well at that oils party/class, it was shared that Frankincense was so beneficial for the brain and its long-term health. Well I latched onto that and determined I was going to use it daily all around my brain. Well…where was I surrounding with this daily application of Frankincense? My eyes!!
So fast forward several weeks of using Frankincense and I noticed my glasses were beginning to bother me/be annoying when I was sitting close to someone. After a few weeks of this I took myself to my eye doctor. After a thorough exam he said, “This is the weirdest thing but your vision is improving. That’s unusual for your age.”
Well I got my glasses prescription updated, asked my friend who told me about oils if this was possible…YES…and went about living life, continuing to apply my drop of Frankincense everyday. Fast forward 7 months….my glasses were living on top of my head (like sunglasses) because I would put them on each morning in case I needed them, but immediately realized I didn’t and never would throughout the day. So in February 2015….I left them at home and haven’t needed them since.
Thankfully my daily use of Frankincense is holding off the readers as well and I’m at the age those are becoming necessary for most of my friends.
Thankfully my daily use of Frankincense is holding off the readers as well and I’m at the age those are becoming necessary for most of my friends.
I’m loving the side-effects of using Frankincense everyday for my long-term brain health!!
