With a little love

For quite a few years now, I've been under the conviction that as a Christian it is not my job to bash people over with the do-ey don't-ies of my faith. I have tried to not just preach the gospel, but to instead walk it out. Instead of telling someone about the love of Christ, show them. People (myself included) are much more ready to respond to the message after they are shown a little compassion.

I feel so thankful to have "met" someone who walks out their faith in love. Not everyone would respond to a business email with a personal touch of genuine help and willingess to serve. Thank you, Sarah, if you ever pop over here to read this. Your kindness is the stuff we Christians are supposed to be made of. May God richly bless you!

are you hungry?

Yeah, but are you this hungry? Oh, Lord, help me.

1,2, 3, 4,5, 6....

...and it won't stop.

another song reference 8D I think in music. I've got one for nearly any situation.

Day 70 of the Revival.
It's not the first time in my memory that a move of God has gone on this long. It won't be the last either. And I really feel this is just the beginning. I have heard for years that the Lord was going to visit with a move that would consume the east coast, that it would spread to the world. Another Great Awakening.

Oh, wake me Lord! I want to burn with holy passion for you. I just want Him. I don't want anything else. I don't want religion, I don't programs or agendas, I don't want any man made religiosity. I just want Him. I just want to be lost in Him. I want to carry His love to a world starving for the Real Thing.

I watched a video on Sunday called ...ermmm... something like The Fingerprints of God, or something like that. What struck me the most, was that the few people featured on there were just like me-wanting to show the love of Christ. What made them so different than me is that they aren't scared to show that love to complete strangers. They are bold enough to see someone sick or hurting and ask if they can pray for them. Oh, wake me Lord!

Shampoo revisited

I know you're all clinging to every word I have to say about shampooing my hair. I totally feel it...8?

As promised, I am reporting back on how my No 'Poo experience has been so far. I did try the BS/ACV rinse thing -Baking soda, apple cider vinegar, for those of you not in the know. 8D It definitely got my hair good and clean. It didn't leave any real scent other than light clean hair-just fresh. My hair that normally would require tons of conditioner and sometimes detangler combed through very nicely. It was light and bouncy and I was fascinated. When my hair started to dry though, so did my scalp. YOUCH! It burned and itched for 3 days. I finally broke down and used some tea tree shampoo(Giovanni TTT). I wasn't so sure I was willing to try that again(although I eventually did with less BS and still the same burning results), but I searched a few message boards for other solutions. I found some AWESOME Giovanni Triple Treat shampoo. It's organic and rates pretty well over at Skin Deep. So I used it in place of the dreaded pantene and continued the acv rinses. I thought I had found a nice happy medium. I kept reading the no'poo boards though. People were raving and raving about no'poo and even water only cleanses.

I kept using the acv, and tried white vinegar-it's supposed to do something for the scalp. It was okay, but...the next day my hair was visibly lighter. Humpfff...I was totally put off the whole no shampoo thing. I don't want to lighten my hair any. When it's below the waist, any color difference is noticeable near the scalp. Fresh hair would be darker, and the years old hair (at the bottom) would be much lighter. Yuck. No more white vinegar!! I don't recommend it.

I guess I read enough of those no 'poo boards though, because not only did I not go back to using conditioner (okay, well, i did start to use a little of the Giovanni 50/50... i suppose that's cheating to say i don't use it at all.) but i mixed up a bottle of green tea/black tea rinse with a tablespoon of acv thrown in for good measure. It worked! So I've been using it as a rinse after applying a dab(i mean a dab) of conditioner.

Continued reading and a post or two about the lightening affects of vinegar got my little wheels turning. People has success, and gorgeous hair, without using any type of cleanser in their hair. It's called water only. (WO) It was recommended to me as an alternative to avoid the lightening affects. Also, less acv works for some people. hmmm... the worse thing that could happen is that I'd have to jump back in and shampoo right? I tried WO cleanses last week. I had great hair! I had only 1 day where it felt and looked pretty yucky, but a good brushing with a BBB (boars bristle brush) and a braid worn during the day, and the greasies soaked right back into the hair follicle. Amazing. . Silky soft, and good smelling hair using only water , and...maybe this is cheating too...the green tea rinse. I should mention that my hair was probably so heavy because I had actually added some extra oil to it in the shower before "washing" it. It helped with the crunchy ends that white vinegar made. I was home most of the week, so no social pressures to look like a cover page. It still looked nice. Last payday, I buzzed over to the health food store and picked up a bottle of Aubrey organics. I used it for the first time on Friday instead of a WO. I had an event to go to, ( and it was a last minute shower...I didn't want to take any chances on 7+days of WO.) and I was dying to try them. It was nice. Not bubbly like commercial 'poos, but not loaded with all that crap either.

No more pantene for me! The bottle is empty. The Jason natural bottle is empty, too. The only thing left in my shower is Giovanni organic products (no cones, and no SLS's) and my newly acquired bottles of Aubrey Organics. (mmmm...they smell so nice). SO I guess I'm not totally on the no poo wagon. I'm stretching my shampoos out, and using water only in the between times, and I won't be using baking soda any time soon. (BS is not for everyone, ask my firey scalp.) I'm now just a bit more crunchy.

So, tell me. How do you "do" shampoo?

Baking in the Son

While some have been blogging about the high temperatures and bemoaning how high they are, I am doing just the opposite. Praise God!! for some high temps. I love 'em!! Yesterday was simply glorious. It was hot and breezy. Just the kind of weather I love. Of course, I'm sure it would be miserable without a little a/c inside to help cool off after I've sat out and soaked in all that heat. Hubs doesn't like the heat, odd I think for a chef who swelters away in the kitchen most of the year. 5&10 yo don't deal well with heat either, unless they can get wet. Then they both lap it up.

Yesterday morning's church service was especially uplifting for me. I've been ...er...well...struggling a bit. It's out of the blue, and came at me from no where, but I've been fighting it with everything I've got. I've not given in to the feelings and don't plan to. I'm hitting them with everything I know to do. So yesterday during worship service while the music played, I focused on the One who can lift me to places no earthly song or being could. At first it was a struggle, but then all of the sudden, I was sucked up into a higher place. Still aware of the floor under my feet, the pew under me, but equally aware of no longer being weighted down with earthly cares. No longer was I baring the load of my self. Instead it was as though I was in the presence of the King. I beheld just a glimpse of Him. No, I didn't see a face, or a specific place, but was there none the less. What a feeling of weightlessness and a breezy light. To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. It was quite nice. When I drifted back down to earth, my burden was lighter. The pew felt hard and uncomfortable, and air felt unnatural to breath. Then it struck me just how strange it is to be confronted with His holiness and to be living in an earthly body. He is just so good. Burn me up. I wanna bake in the Son.

Update

I don't know if any of you actually did any praying for me, but I am feeling better now. Thanks if you lifted me up, and shame on you if you if you read a sincere request for prayer and ignored it.

Another update I wanna let you know about: my project playlist player. I noticed all the Shane & Shane stuff I had on there no longer worked so I updated with a little Keith Green, Jason Upton, and Roy Fields. If you listen long enough, you'll catch some Enya too.

"Hello .....

darkness my old friend.
I've come to talk with you again,
Because a vision softly creeping,
Left its seeds while I was sleeping,
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains.."
-Simon and Garfunkle

This darkness I am feeling is not my friend. It rears it's ugly head today. It's an ememy. My insides are swirling, tears want to brim over my eyes, and I feel like a caged tiger. I know this is not God. I've been struggling with it off and on for a few days, but was able to get quickly on top of it. Today I was simply reading a christian book catalog and saw a book that reminded me of something and instantly it kicked into gear. It's a little harder for me to beat today. Pray for me. I need it.

Even more crunchy

I have been working on cutting out the yucky commercial shampoos over the past month. I worked on stretching my shampooing out last year( from every day to every other with and occasional plus 1). I quit using commerical home cleanseres so long ago now that i can't remember exactly how long it's been. I switched to a non petro- based dish liquid last summer. It just makes sense that the shampoo would follow.
10yo reminded me this week that the one thing I said I wouldn't give up would be shampoo, conditioner, and lotions. She remembers a conversation we had last spring about it. I remember thinking then that the idea was just crazy. Who would actually want to give up shampoo. Isn't that a little weird? Shortly after though, I was delighted when our grocery store started carrying more organic beauty products and I happily switched over our body wash and half of our shampoos. I wasn't able to totally give up my old friend Pantene until this past month. The last scrapes of the shampoo bottle are finally used up, and I don't plan to buy any more (of that kind anyway.)

I used to use a big glob of shampoo and a handful or more of conditioner every time I washed my hair. This worked out to using 1 large bottle of each every 4 weeks or so. Recently the consumption was higher because 10yo's hair has gotten longer. I don't shampoo the length, just the scalp. The water washing down the length of the hair is sufficient to get that part clean. Conditioner only goes on the lenght below the ears. Let that sink in a minute. All that product, going on a limited amount of space....I have very thick hair. I loved shampoo. I loved the fresh 'clean' smell and the soft silkiness of my slick hair dancing around on my back. So it was with much thought and marinating on the idea that I decided to change the way I was washing my hair. I never thought it would work, I never thought it would smell clean, and I thought there was no way to give up commercial conditioner (that was harder than the shampoo). But, my hair, that I had grown very attached to, ( I don't know how or when that happened because it got long, but I never really gave it much thought... it was just long.) had become a firey split mess. I have never let my hair get like some of that long hair I've seen. You know the fried, frayed, horse tail grown to a point kind. No, I take care of my hair...it just got too close to the gas stove top at Christmas and poof! in an instant, fried stink. I did cut about 4 inches that was damaged off, and had been really debated chopping it all. That's when i came to grips with trying different shampoo options. If I'm gonna cut it anyway...

After letting a few hippy-ish ideas marinate a while , and reading a few blog posts, and then researching this no shampoo thing... I decided to give the baking soda and apple cider vinegar thing a whirl. The worst thing that could happen would be that I would have to use shampoo and conditioner, right? Well, to my great surprise the baking soda(hereafter abbreviated BS) and apple cider vinegar (ACV) worked as well as, if not better than Pantene. I couldn't believe it!! No shampoo. No conditioner yet I was able to comb through my ultra thick hair. I have used conditioner since I was 4 years old. Not a wash has gone by (with the exception of 1 time at grandma's...she just didn't have any) that I have gone without conditioner. I was utterly amazed. Then my hair started to dry. And my scalp began to burn. And get tight. And burn some more. My hair stayed squeaky clean for over 3 days. By the end of day 3 I was ready to rub some coconut oil on my scalp to help ease the drying. Baking soda worked...too well. After I discovered the ACV though, I started to use that in place of conditioner. My hair was amazing, but...still starting to be crunchy on the ends. I started to oil my ends a little more heavily and reading some posts at the no 'poo message boards. Some people were talking about alternative so BS washes. Some don't use anything at all. Just water. The idea exited me. Then again, I was equally excited to learn there are companies don't put all that crap in there shampoo.

Water only was something I thought I'd give a whirl during the week when no one would have to look at me...just in case. The first results were amazing. I had 10yo stick her nose in my scalp =(just like the first BS/ACV episode) and whatya know, no smell. Now some WO(wateronly) cleansers are hard core. They never go back to shampoo. I've just alternated WO with those friendlier companies (Aubrey organics, and Giovanni Organics). My hair in the past few weeks is shinier, softer, easier to manage, and even more bizarre (to me) CONDITIONER FREE!! Just this week though I cheated and bought some Giovanni 50/50 conditioner. Very light. I like it. I've also swathed from ACV to Greentea/blacktea rinses with just a drop of vinegar to up the acidity.

I sit before you with hair that has not had shampoo on it since Saturday. My hair is sooo soft, shiny and unbelievable. AND IT DOESN"T STINK!! It's important for me to add that in there. I can hardly believe that a little tea, and water, and a nice mesage can make my hair so incredible. When I do finally wash(which will probably be tomorrow) I'm going to use my new Aubrey shampoo and ..conditoner... I'm a sucker for the stuff and I can hardly wait to use a new product. I know now that I'm not stuck using the stuff though. If push can to shove, I could be shampoo free for a long long time-as long as I had access to water and a few tea bags.

blog blog bloggitty blog blog

Yup. That's right. I'm writing a blog post. I was just going over my visitors for the past few weeks. I love that I got some fresh hits. It made my little heart just pitty patter because all those scripture quoting posts are what people were searching for. I was writing them for me, but I'm tickled pink that other people share the same thoughts.

I feel good right now. I had a strange relapse of those "dreams" again last night. Despite the fact that they make me feel happy and content, I've realized I gotta rebuke them as soon as I realize what has happened. Sounds dumb maybe... but I don't care to elaborate about what the dreams are about (but it isn't in any way sensual...so get your mind out of the gutter!). I just know that allow myself to dwell on dreams like that could potentially lead to me becoming discontent with real life. Anyway...I quickly forgot about them and went on with my day.

5yo has been feeling a bit yicky for the past 2 days. She had some allergy type stuff, which translated into sinus drainage which I think went to her chest and she developed a bit of junk in there. She's back to her spunky self this evening, but we stayed home all weekend. Despite being home (which would normally be enough to make me nuts) I have just felt good and productive. I baked cookies, made a Sunday lunch and have in general felt just good. So HA! take that ya old dreams... you didn't beat me this time.