So I thought I had landed a great way to earn a little extra cash. Turns out God just needed to use it to show me that it wasn't what I really wanted.
I was all ready to go clean the gross auto shop for the first time. I went to bed early and headed over there around 4:30am. And was it ever gross. As I organized the cleaning closet I noticed a small hole in the back of the closet and tons of little chewed up plastic left by a mouse (or mice). I spent almost 3 hours there cleaning the bathroom, windows, and counters. It does feel good to take something gross and make it look clean again. I had to be back before 8 so Kevin could get to work on time. Turns out getting up that early will really wear you out.
I went back later in the week to find out about a few things I would need for the next time, and found out that not only was the only way to get hot water from the bathroom sink, they also weren't wanting to pay as much as I was needing to make it worth my while.
While the extra money was hard to see go, at the end of the day, it's just money. I don't have to get up at 4:30am once a week and wear myself out cleaning. I can wake up rested and have more time and energy for the things I care most about: my girls and my husband. In the months since this happened, I have not missed it once.
God used this whole thing to teach me the truth from Philippians 4:11 "For I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content."
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Monday, September 17, 2012
God Works in Mysterious Ways Sometimes
Last week, while at my weekly house cleaning for some friends, I locked the keys in the trunk of the car. All the doors were locked, and the only metal door hanger I could find wasn't strong or long enough to reach the nob to unlock the door. And the spare key was sitting there in the center console mocking me. And Kevin was 45mins away working and couldn't come to my rescue. Needless to say, I was frustrated. I was super proud of myself for getting the cleaning done in my fastest time yet. And then we had to sit there in the driveway and wait for the locksmith to come unlock the car for us.
But then, as I was filling out the payment slip and making small talk with the technician, turns out he's the owner/manager of the store. And it also turns out that they're looking for someone to clean the front lobby area of their auto shop. He said if I was interested to just stop by their building sometime. Wow! Didn't see that one coming. I stopped in today to check the size of the place out, and get an idea of what they're looking for. And I think it's going to work out.
He said I can come in whenever is convenient. During operational hours, or after hours. I can bring the girls with if I want, they don't care. It's just one bathroom and then the floors and windows in the main room. This is such an answer to prayer for us. We've been praying about ways I can make a little extra money to help with remodeling projects, and they seem to keep falling in my lap.
Like I told Kevin, God wanted me to lock the keys in the car. Not only to teach me some patience and humility, but also to bless me with some extra work. What an awesome God we have!
But then, as I was filling out the payment slip and making small talk with the technician, turns out he's the owner/manager of the store. And it also turns out that they're looking for someone to clean the front lobby area of their auto shop. He said if I was interested to just stop by their building sometime. Wow! Didn't see that one coming. I stopped in today to check the size of the place out, and get an idea of what they're looking for. And I think it's going to work out.
He said I can come in whenever is convenient. During operational hours, or after hours. I can bring the girls with if I want, they don't care. It's just one bathroom and then the floors and windows in the main room. This is such an answer to prayer for us. We've been praying about ways I can make a little extra money to help with remodeling projects, and they seem to keep falling in my lap.
Like I told Kevin, God wanted me to lock the keys in the car. Not only to teach me some patience and humility, but also to bless me with some extra work. What an awesome God we have!
Saturday, September 15, 2012
Lyme Disease (Or The Lack Thereof!)
I don't think I've posted about this at all, but this spring in May, I got a tick bite. No big deal right? I've gotten tons of ticks in my lifetime. Wrong. This tick carried Lyme Disease. And it gave it to me. I got very sick for several days, and had the classic symptom of the bulls-eye rash around the bite. It got so bad though, that all I could do was lay in bed and sleep.
As soon as I spotted the rash and knew what I was dealing with, I scheduled to go see my soon to be brother-in-law who is a chiropractor in town. He has a complicated set of vials that I won't even attempt to explain, but I tested positive for both Lyme and Bebisia(a co-infection of Lyme). Yikes! I hadn't done much research, but the people that I know that have gotten Lyme never seem to get better. Was I going to battle this for the rest of my life? The chiropractor was saying, "NO! You won't!".
I began taking herbal tinctures that my sister-in-law makes for the business she started called Nature's Pharmacy. Within 12 hours, my fever was gone. Wow! Because it is only herbs, I didn't expect to feel 100% normal overnight. And I didn't. It was a long road. The joint pain, stiffness, swollen achy joints that hurt to move, tiredness, it took a lot out of me and for a long time. After almost 5 months, I finally feel normal again. I don't need a nap, I can walk up and down stairs with no pain, I can go for a walk and not hurt, I can get a shoulder rub and not feel like someone punched me the next day. And it's awesome!
After taking the tinctures for 3 months and doing a couple of liver flushes, I went in for a follow up appointment. I discovered much to my delight that the Lyme was gone. But... the bebisia was still hanging around. So I continued my tincture regiment for another 6 weeks along with 3 more liver flushes and went back to be tested again. This time: ALL GONE! Praise the Lord! I had been praying for this to be the result for several days before and during my last liver flush. Praying that the Lord would use this to take all of the bebisia out of my body. And he answered my prayer completely! He gets all the credit!
When I first found out I had Lyme and started taking only tinctures for it, many people were skeptical and hesitant about the fact that I was not getting antibiotics for it. I have to admit that I didn't even think twice about it. After watching my sister go the medical route first with no success, I didn't even want to try that. I think the people who say it can't be beat all go with the doxycycline and then give up hope of ever getting better. I trust my mother-in-law and all of my husbands family who have battled through this and come out winners. So that's what I did, and it worked!
Going forward now, is the fun part. No more venison. No more raw milk. Being super duper careful when out in the woods. And also protecting the rest of my family from ticks too. It's not something I even want to take a chance at getting again. The data shows that I live in one of the highest reported areas in the country for Lyme Disease.
But I say, "Bring it on!" I'm not going to sit in my house and be scared about getting Lyme again. I'm not going to prohibit our children from going hunting, or playing in the woods. I'm not going to be paranoid if I accidentally eat some venison or raw milk. BUT, I am going to be proactive. I'm going to never be out of bug/tick repellant. I'm going to check my family members for ticks every time they've been in tall grass. And I'm going to be ready for the day when someone does get Lyme. And I'm going to beat it again!
As soon as I spotted the rash and knew what I was dealing with, I scheduled to go see my soon to be brother-in-law who is a chiropractor in town. He has a complicated set of vials that I won't even attempt to explain, but I tested positive for both Lyme and Bebisia(a co-infection of Lyme). Yikes! I hadn't done much research, but the people that I know that have gotten Lyme never seem to get better. Was I going to battle this for the rest of my life? The chiropractor was saying, "NO! You won't!".
I began taking herbal tinctures that my sister-in-law makes for the business she started called Nature's Pharmacy. Within 12 hours, my fever was gone. Wow! Because it is only herbs, I didn't expect to feel 100% normal overnight. And I didn't. It was a long road. The joint pain, stiffness, swollen achy joints that hurt to move, tiredness, it took a lot out of me and for a long time. After almost 5 months, I finally feel normal again. I don't need a nap, I can walk up and down stairs with no pain, I can go for a walk and not hurt, I can get a shoulder rub and not feel like someone punched me the next day. And it's awesome!
After taking the tinctures for 3 months and doing a couple of liver flushes, I went in for a follow up appointment. I discovered much to my delight that the Lyme was gone. But... the bebisia was still hanging around. So I continued my tincture regiment for another 6 weeks along with 3 more liver flushes and went back to be tested again. This time: ALL GONE! Praise the Lord! I had been praying for this to be the result for several days before and during my last liver flush. Praying that the Lord would use this to take all of the bebisia out of my body. And he answered my prayer completely! He gets all the credit!
When I first found out I had Lyme and started taking only tinctures for it, many people were skeptical and hesitant about the fact that I was not getting antibiotics for it. I have to admit that I didn't even think twice about it. After watching my sister go the medical route first with no success, I didn't even want to try that. I think the people who say it can't be beat all go with the doxycycline and then give up hope of ever getting better. I trust my mother-in-law and all of my husbands family who have battled through this and come out winners. So that's what I did, and it worked!
Going forward now, is the fun part. No more venison. No more raw milk. Being super duper careful when out in the woods. And also protecting the rest of my family from ticks too. It's not something I even want to take a chance at getting again. The data shows that I live in one of the highest reported areas in the country for Lyme Disease.
Friday, August 24, 2012
Letter to Adalaide
We will be burying her tonight. I don't know if I will be able to read it there, but I am going to give it to her parents.
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
My Little Niece is With Jesus
I just cried through this song. Mark Schultz - What it Means to Be Loved. Cried over the little niece that I will never get to hold. Never get to meet. Never get to watch grow up. There aren't really any words. Just shock and grief. It feels so strange to be completely helpless to fix a situation. To have no words to say. To not know how to help, or what to do.
Then I remembered reading this post from a friend's blog. It's called "Miscarriage: How to Comfort". It's the first place I went. I wanted to make sure I don't say any of the things on the 'what not to say' list. I want to know what things I can do to help. The second place I went was another friend's blog who lost their daughter about a year and a half ago. She had a link to a blog with a whole series on "How to Help Your Grieving Friend". What awesome tools. As I've never been through a miscarriage, I don't really know how she's feeling, or what things I can do to help. I know there's a long road of grieving ahead for her, but I know that I want to be there for her. I want to help in whatever ways I can, but I don't want to be annoying.
The other thing that this makes me wonder is how anyone, and I mean ANYONE can think that abortion is okay. These are little people we're talking about. Children with a future ahead of them. I just don't understand why there is such a big debate over it in our country. What is there to debate?
Anyway. Just needed to type out my thoughts. If you have any advice for me how to help her, I'd be glad to hear it.
Then I remembered reading this post from a friend's blog. It's called "Miscarriage: How to Comfort". It's the first place I went. I wanted to make sure I don't say any of the things on the 'what not to say' list. I want to know what things I can do to help. The second place I went was another friend's blog who lost their daughter about a year and a half ago. She had a link to a blog with a whole series on "How to Help Your Grieving Friend". What awesome tools. As I've never been through a miscarriage, I don't really know how she's feeling, or what things I can do to help. I know there's a long road of grieving ahead for her, but I know that I want to be there for her. I want to help in whatever ways I can, but I don't want to be annoying.
The other thing that this makes me wonder is how anyone, and I mean ANYONE can think that abortion is okay. These are little people we're talking about. Children with a future ahead of them. I just don't understand why there is such a big debate over it in our country. What is there to debate?
Anyway. Just needed to type out my thoughts. If you have any advice for me how to help her, I'd be glad to hear it.
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Be Your Own 'Doctor' by Rachel Weaver (6/44)
I got this book a couple of years ago, and have been working my way through it for quite a while now. Kevin and I take a naturalistic approach to our health care, and this book has been a wonderful resource for me in knowing how to remedy many things ourselves.
Roughly the first half of the book goes through many different herbs telling the healing properties of each, and ways they can be used. Many of the items listed are common things you would find in your kitchen i.e. onions, garlic, cayenne, ginger, parsley, apple cider vinegar. The second half of the book goes through several topical sections such as pregnancy, respiratory difficulties, colon health, and others. This section gives you herbal remedies for many areas of health. Then it the back of the book are some recipes for teas, salves, tinctures, etc. and how to plan ahead to treat things with herbs.
Every chapter has at least one story about how she has used the herb being discussed and what the results were. She also gives resources of where to order the herbs and items that she talks about.
I think the one thing from the book that I have used the most is called 'People's Paste Powder'. It's a combination of comfrey rood powder, slippery elm powder, myrrh powder, bayberry root powder, and garlic powder. You use it to put on cuts or wounds. All you do is pack it into the wound, and it forms a scab like thing. The comfrey root increases circulation to the area which results in faster healing. I have used it several times, and had situations where I was somewhere else and wished I had it with me.
I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in 'herbal home health care'. It does take a little bit of preparation and work to do, but in my opinion, it is well worth it. I always keep this book within arm's reach because it is so quick and easy to reference something that comes up in our family. If you are interested in the book, you can order it on Amazon. I believe it's $24.
Roughly the first half of the book goes through many different herbs telling the healing properties of each, and ways they can be used. Many of the items listed are common things you would find in your kitchen i.e. onions, garlic, cayenne, ginger, parsley, apple cider vinegar. The second half of the book goes through several topical sections such as pregnancy, respiratory difficulties, colon health, and others. This section gives you herbal remedies for many areas of health. Then it the back of the book are some recipes for teas, salves, tinctures, etc. and how to plan ahead to treat things with herbs.Every chapter has at least one story about how she has used the herb being discussed and what the results were. She also gives resources of where to order the herbs and items that she talks about.
I think the one thing from the book that I have used the most is called 'People's Paste Powder'. It's a combination of comfrey rood powder, slippery elm powder, myrrh powder, bayberry root powder, and garlic powder. You use it to put on cuts or wounds. All you do is pack it into the wound, and it forms a scab like thing. The comfrey root increases circulation to the area which results in faster healing. I have used it several times, and had situations where I was somewhere else and wished I had it with me.
I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in 'herbal home health care'. It does take a little bit of preparation and work to do, but in my opinion, it is well worth it. I always keep this book within arm's reach because it is so quick and easy to reference something that comes up in our family. If you are interested in the book, you can order it on Amazon. I believe it's $24.
Thoughts for Young Mothers by Elsie D. Holsinger (5/44)
My sister-in-law and I take turns helping clean each others' homes each week. A couple of weeks ago, we were at her house, and I was helping her move some books onto a bookshelf. I came across this book, and the title intrigued me. I'm a young mother, and hearing someone's thoughts for me sounded great.
It was a pretty quick read (only 128 pages). It's an older book printed in 1953, but the Biblical truths it contains are timeless. Each chapter begins with a verse that goes with the theme of the chapter. Actually, every chapter is filled with verses.
I think the first few chapters were my favorites. In them, she talks about being like Christ, choosing to be content, keeping our spiritual nourishment a top priority, and learning from the example of Hannah in the Bible.
One quote that really spoke to me was this, "We Christian mothers are more than cooks and housekeepers. We are children of God and joint heirs with Christ. We are His representatives, His ambassadors. God has given us our home with our children as a special place to serve Him. Glorify and praise the Lord just where you are."
This whole book was an encouragement, and a good reminder of ways that I can be a better mother to my girls. I was reminded that I, as the mother, set the tone of the household. Meaning, if Mom is happy and cheerful showing patience and love, the home will respond in the same way. If Mom is tired, cranky, irritable and cross, the home will respond in that way as well. This was a good look in the mirror for me to realize that when my children are getting on my nerves, it's probably MY attitude that needs an adjustment.
I would definitely recommend this book to other young mothers. And I found out from my S-I-L that the book actually belongs to our Church library, so you can borrow it from there!
I think the first few chapters were my favorites. In them, she talks about being like Christ, choosing to be content, keeping our spiritual nourishment a top priority, and learning from the example of Hannah in the Bible.
One quote that really spoke to me was this, "We Christian mothers are more than cooks and housekeepers. We are children of God and joint heirs with Christ. We are His representatives, His ambassadors. God has given us our home with our children as a special place to serve Him. Glorify and praise the Lord just where you are."
This whole book was an encouragement, and a good reminder of ways that I can be a better mother to my girls. I was reminded that I, as the mother, set the tone of the household. Meaning, if Mom is happy and cheerful showing patience and love, the home will respond in the same way. If Mom is tired, cranky, irritable and cross, the home will respond in that way as well. This was a good look in the mirror for me to realize that when my children are getting on my nerves, it's probably MY attitude that needs an adjustment.
I would definitely recommend this book to other young mothers. And I found out from my S-I-L that the book actually belongs to our Church library, so you can borrow it from there!
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