I have loved Facebook from the moment my sister introduced me to it. Twitter I never understood (then I listened to a Reply All podcast that basically said I never would) and Instagram I have love/hate relationship with.
I began this blog as an alternative to social media platforms. I know that any browser can shut me out or bury me but it feels a little more free than some other sites right now and I want to be my authentic self at all times and not hide behind emojis and bad spelling to escape the censors.
I’m taking my Facebook back to private and will let this be my public face.
My life is not monochrome and I don’t have the photo talent Instagram takes so I’m not going to try so hard there. I still love IG stories but most of my posts will probably just direct people here. I’m a writer at heart and I needed to do that. Not stress about my grid or my 9 or if I’m using the right filter to be attractive to others. I don’t take enough selfies either.
So I’m moving on to a platform where I can be more myself. Where I don’t have to worry (as much) about being shutdown because I want to talk about what worked for me the last time I got sick. Where I can use the gifts and talents God gave me and not try to fit a square peg in a round hole.
I know I already kind of did an intro post but I felt this gave a little more of the why. It gives you more of an idea of where I’m coming from.
It’s been a long time since I ruminated on this site so let me catch you up.
In July, after many months of surgeries and hospital stays my mother passed away. The same week as my youngest son’s wedding. Yes, it was a roller coaster of emotions. I woke up at 4 am the morning of the wedding and just sobbed because, she should’ve been there. She would have loved it and her face would have been beaming as she watched our youngest marry his junior high/high school sweetheart.
Six weeks later I got the phone call that my dad was in the emergency room with what would turn out to be COVID, one week before a scheduled heart surgery. Oh, and my sister, Rhonda, was in another emergency room with what would be eventually diagnosed, with much trial and error, a burst appendix. That turned into another wild six weeks as Rhonda almost died twice not only riding in an ambulance once but was life flighted in a helicopter a week and a half later. All due to her burst appendix not being diagnosed for 10 days.
During this time, Dad was ambulanced to the hospital where his cardiologist was and could keep an eye on him. He did a week in the hospital, another week in a swing bed facility closer to home and then two weeks (?) later, had his aortic valve replaced. He spent some time in the hospital and then a nursing home to fully recover from the surgery, COVID and the vertebrae he had cracked between the two major events. (You can’t make this stuff up.)
That takes us up to November where I started a new job! Why at this time? The opportunity arose in a nearby community for me to move to a supervisory position in their library. Being a big library, it is a promotion even if the title seems like I downgraded. It also came with a big pay raise and less stress/responsibility.
The holidays were rough for all as they were our first without Mom. Philip’s mom, who has been having her own struggles with cancer the past two years was also not doing well.
In January we received some distressing news about our dad that I’m not free to share here which has led to many phone calls, interventions, and trips back to my hometown. At the end of the month, Philip’s mother also passed.
So, here we are. Whew! Today’s sermon was on how God strengthens us. Mentally, emotionally, physically, spiritually. He is always there and strengthens us from His vast strength when we call on Him and trust Him to do so. I could feel that over these past few months. I felt the sustaining prayers of fellow saints as we traveled the week of Mom’s death and Ben’s wedding. Those prayers and texts of encouragement at just the right times strengthened us. When we could not do it in our own strength, God strengthened us. I know that is the only reason we have made it through these past several months.
It doesn’t mean we haven’t struggled. Recently, I could tell I was depleted. There were no more reserves left to tap. Walking another loved one through the valley of the shadow of death was the final thing. I could do no more. My counselor told me I needed sleep. Sleep is how our body heals. Including our brain which is affected when we go through so much trauma. God created our bodies to work with a balance of rest and work which I have not been getting.
So I’ve been sleeping. Going to bed earlier, skipping workouts so I can sleep later. Doing the bare minimum in housekeeping and cooking. Anything to let my body and mind rest and heal. This is also strength. To trust people God puts in your life for wise counsel. To trust that my house can be a little messy. That I don’t need gourmet meals on the table every night. Sometimes we just need to survive. We’ll do that with God’s strength too.
Have you accepted God’s free gift of salvation? Do you rely on His strength daily? Do you have questions about how to do this? Message me and I’ll point you to some good resources.
Okay, last post in this series. My hope with this series of posts was to show you that a healthier lifestyle using Young Living products was possible for everyone. But I can give you every tip in the world and it won’t matter if you’re stuck in a poverty mindset.
Poverty mindset is one where you believe you are stuck in your circumstances. Nothing will ever change, so why bother. You see most things as being out of your reach. You hate those that have money yet long to be one of them. You live in fear of running out of money and yet, can never seem to make enough.
Abundance mindset is believing there is enough money to go around and time to make it. There is a strong sense of self and abilities. You see possibilities, not barriers, and make moves to improve yourself.
The first time I read about poverty mindset I immediately thought, “That’s me!” I was shocked to know there was another way to think, to be. I was already working on myself and realized this was another step towards being a better person. Poverty mindset is not something you just shrug off, especially if it’s ingrained in you from childhood. You have to work on it, be aware of it and change your thinking, something that’s not easy. Personal development podcasts and books are helpful. Counseling can be helpful. Surrounding yourself with those that encourage you and that have an abundance mindset is very helpful. Realizing you’re stuck in it is the first step.
If you read every post in this series and came up with an argument for every post of why it wouldn’t work for you I encourage you to go back and read each post again. See the possibilities and then message me. Not only can you save money with Young Living, you can make money with Young Living and I’d love to show you how.
When you go to the Young Living website to purchase products you’ll see there’s a discount price and a retail price. If you’re like me, you’ll be thinking, “Wait, how do I get the discount?”
There are two ways to receive the discount price. Number one is make an order of 100 PV or more and you will have the discount price for a year. Number two is to put any item on a monthly Loyalty Rewards order and you will have the discount for the time that you are doing Loyalty Rewards. (Remember, to earn points the Loyalty Rewards order must total 50 PV.)
That’s it! That’s how you save 24% off the retail price. If you are new to Young Living, I still recommend the Premium Starter Kits for getting started. They are available at a huge discount, are 100 PV so you’re locked into that discount for a year, and give you a good foundation for using healthier products in your home. If you want help deciding what kit to buy, message me and we’ll see which kit meets your needs.
The biggest thing I can say about Loyalty Rewards is FREE products! Whose budget doesn’t like Free?
When I opened my account with Young Living I did it for the free products. I had been having a friend order for me but then I learned if I had my own account I could receive free products.
Here’s how it works: each month make sure you have a Loyalty Rewards order of at least 50 PV. My order is the same each month but you can change it up. Each order earns you points, watch your points grow, but make sure they don’t expire. You can redeem points at any time by placing items in your cart and when it comes to paying at checkout click, “use Loyalty Rewards Points.” You pay for shipping and that’s all!
But wait! There’s more! Each month Young Living offers gifts with purchase. There are stacking tiers of gifts depending on how much you order. You typically receive gifts at 100 PV, 190 PV, 250 PV and 300 PV. If your order is a Loyalty Rewards order, you get more gifts. More FREE products!
Loyalty Rewards is really the best way to get the most out of your Young Living account. And it helps your budget too. 😉 Don’t have an account yet? Message me and we’ll set one up for you!
Okay, look out because I can really get going on this subject.
First, cost. A small candle costs about $12-14 and burns for 25 hours. Using your diffuser, you use about 5-6 drops of oil in the diffuser. Lavender is $.09 a drop, on medium speed the diffuser runs for 8 hours, making one run equal $.54. 24 hours of diffusing will be $1.62. Less than two dollars for the same amount of time!
So obviously, diffusing is cheaper but again, don’t forget the overall health benefits. Studies have shown that burning a candle for one hour is equal to smoking one cigarette. Depending on what your candle is made of it can contain cancerous chemicals, hormone altering ingredients and will affect the respiratory system due to soot and the fake fragrances in the candles.
At one time all of my boys were on some type of allergy med. When we eliminated fake fragrance from our home – cleaning products, candles, air fresheners etc. those respiratory problems went away. We quit taking all allergy meds. More money savings! Don’t you love saving $$??
Young Living has several bundles that come with a diffuser and oils. Let’s talk and see which one is right for you. Message me!
After a starter bundle Thieves Household Cleaner is the most budget friendly item from Young Living.
Thieves Household Cleaner comes as a concentrate so it many seem expensive for one bottle but it actually comes out to be less than the bargain cleaner in the store. Depending on how you dilute it you can get anywhere from 17-22 bottles of multi purpose cleaner from one bottle of Thieves Household Cleaner. I use it on all bathroom and kitchen surfaces. The concentrate can even be used in your carpet cleaner or in your dishwasher.
I also like the fact that I don’t have to leave the bathroom after I spray my shower, no hacking a lung from the fumes. I also don’t have to change my clothes to clean because there’s no concern about bleaching out my clothes. I can use a kitchen funnel to pour the concentrate in a bottle because it’s that’s safe. No harmful ingredients for my respiratory, or endocrine systems. No cancer causing ingredients. No locking your cabinets.
So you’ve been buying oils at the discount store because they’re cheaper than Young Living – are they really? Did you know that Young Living carries a number of oils that cost less than $20? What if you could get quality oils and not break the bank? Would you switch then?
If no, I sincerely want to know why.
Here are the oils and blends that currently come in under $20. Caveat: We have been notified of a price increase coming July 1 so act fast on some of these! (this applies to those that have unlocked the 24% discount with Young Living by ordering on Loyalty Rewards or making a purchase of 100 PV) ***OBVIOUSLY we are way into July now so double check the prices on the website.
Since we began Young Living we’ve been able to go off of allergy and asthma meds. We get sick less often. We see the doctors less. We take less sick days. Being a part of the Young Living community taught us that living a healthy lifestyle is about preventative care not reactive care. Through our education community we’ve learned about items and products in our home that were damaging our health and we got rid of them. We became proactive about our health, not reactive.
When we puchased our starter bundle we didn’t know it but we purchased a toolkit for our health. We don’t buy over the counter medications anymore. All we need came in that bundle. Over the years we’ve added to our toolkit, we’ve given ourselves options. We’ve learned more about healthy lifestyles from others. Not only do we save tons of money with the things we don’t buy and don’t do we’ve also purchased a peace of mind that is priceless.
Okay, this one might make you super stingy of your oils – I’m so guilty of this. Sometimes watching my family using oils makes me cringe, like watching your kids squeeze out the toothpaste! But I bite my tongue because, hey, at least they are using them!
Let’s use two of our most popular oils for this example: Lavender and Lemon.
A 15ml bottle of Lavender costs $25.25. A 15ml bottle of oil contains approximately 250 drops in a bottle so a drop of lavender is going to cost about $.10. Remember how we talked about quality? Unless you’re diffusing or making a recipe you aren’t going to use more than one drop at a time.
Let’s look at Lemon. Lemon costs $12.00 for a 15 ml (Just $12.00!) which comes out to $.05 a drop. My one drop of Lemon that I use in my water every morning is only $.05. You can’t even buy a Lemon for that!
So when you break down the cost of oils per drop, it helps you look at the price in a different. Are there some costly oils? Sure. But do you know how pounds of rose petals it takes to just make one ounce of Rose Essential oil? Did you know that the Melissa plant gets fussy about how it’s picked and handled? If you want the purported constituents of the oil you have to make sure it doesn’t touch the ground. Or do you the detailed process it takes to make Frankinsence oil? There’s a reason Lemon oil (readily available) and Melissa (harder to get oil from) have such a huge price difference.
So yeah, hoard your Rose oil and keep it out of reach of the kids, but maybe let them go crazy with the Lemon or Orange oil .
This budget hack is one of the simplist. Say you want to buy an oil but the price is a little much for your budget right now. Check to see if there is a Young Living Vitality Oil available!
Vitality oils come in the 5 ml size so often they run at a lower price point than the 15 ml counterpart. Did you know that the Vitality oil (white label) and the regularly labeled oil are the same oil? So, why the different labels?
The Vitatlity line was created for Young Living to stay in compliance with the FDA. The FDA does not allow companies to label one product for both internal and external use so to stay in compliance with oils that are considered safe for internal use Young Living created another label. The oils in the Vitality line are ones that you know are safe to ingest in drinks, capsules or straight in your mouth.
They are also the same oil you find in the bottles with a different label. So, don’t want to spend the money on a 15 ml bottle? Buy the 5 ml bottle instead! Philip and I do this a lot when we need just a little something to add to our order to get one of those monthly freebies I talk about all the time.
Diffusing Hope 