March 2019 ~ Mercy At the Speed of Hiking

I believe the sun rising signals the start of the day. 

I believe the seasons are a blessing. 

I believe our bodies are made for the speed of walking
 and our souls for running, 

towards God's goodness and away from evil. 

I believe in God's divine plans for me and all creation. 

So I'll savor the sunrise and give thanks. 

When life begins to move too fast, I'm thankful for the new habit of walking. This morning I walked our local park whose trees you can just see on the left. It's more open and I can choose how far and which direction to gather the best view. Today I chose to walk in the sunshine, as it's still cold. It is my current chosen physical 'labor' I think Edie calls it, as we don't have the same amount of physical movement in our sedentary lives as our ancestors. 

Our hike this weekend was breathtaking. We visited Tallulah Gorge, about an hour and a half away from home. I went specifically to cross the suspension bridge, to revisit a place that causes great fear. We can do hard things. It's needful to push into things that challenge us, and this time it wasn't the height but the number of ascending and descending steps. My calves haven't had that kind of workout in a while. The best was this picture. All four of us collected of free will in one photo for posterity. 

We did it. #ihike2019 8/52, in the books. 

Laura, Jack 15, Eric, Henry 12 

Tallulah Gorge 2019

'Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!

His mercy endures for ever.

...

I called on the Lord in distress;

The Lord answered me and set me in a broad place.

the Lord is on my side; I will not fear. 

What can man do to me?' 

from ~   Psalm 118

Essential Oils, Healthy Living, March 2019

Thoughts become actions.

Actions become habits. 

Habits determine our character.

Character determines our destiny. 

Last night I found myself listening to Dr. Edie, at LifeinGrace, about schedule planning. I realized I'd made the jump. I had a moment of clarity that comes with a pattern of success. Last October(2018), I realized I needed to get serious about my destiny. For years this poem/quote has been an active part of my belief system. And it's true. But like many things I'd only half-used the knowledge at my disposal. So this year is new in many ways as I am grabbing strong hold on resources that will help me to accomplish my goals. 

December(2018) brought eating into perspective, reading 'It Starts with Food,' and completing my first #whole30. 
January (2019) added exercise including #ihike2019 with 52 hikes, of at least 2 miles, to be completed this year. 
February(2019) brought focus to another level of dedication to areas that are more slippery, but needed to be handled. #readthebooksihave is not a cute slogan to stop spending but a dedication to a plan to determine what is really important to me-- not just inherited or an accidental leftover from homeschooling. Choice-making that cuts to the heart of what I want the next 48 years to look like- remember I'm shooting for 100. We can do hard things and there are resources at our disposal. But when we take inventory of our selves- figuratively or physically- not everything has to go. Heidi White suggested recently in a most excellent interview found here, the books we have read inform our moral imagination and furnish our minds. She is participating in a larger conversation going on in Classical Education circles, but this is not to be missed by anyone who is wondering about how media or books can impact our lives. 

March(2019) brings another component of my year of evaluation and growth. Essential oils became a part of my daily routine last November. 4 months later I'm actively embracing being a distributor for Young Living. After what I called a trial period for myself, I feel like I can recommend the products. Recommend, not educate. I'll leave that to Edie for now. Her live videos on Facebook as well as YouTube are amazing--so informative and encouraging.

Thieves and Citrus Fresh are my favorites. I use my diffuser everyday and clean with Thieves cleaning products regularly. My next order will include the Ningxia drink. I've successfully used Peppermint, Digize and Copaiba for an upset stomach.  The list goes on.... 

You can order retail from me or choose the wholesale distributor option with kit purchase at this link, or the link in the sidebar. (make sure my number pops up) The wholesale option pops up first. Don't let that scare you, though; you can bypass and just select from the catalog, which is what I did for a year. 

For now, I'm going to go plan my order with my hot lemon water. Don't you love the 'Been There' Starbucks Series cup??