Change

Where do I begin?

How do I say this?

I have begun the dive into the world of essential oils. Actually, I began around the time Anderson was born but I had NO IDEA what I was dealing with. My aunt, Joy, sent me an email after she had heard about the trauma that was Anderson's birth & my painful & long recovery. It was this blog post. I couldn't believe what I was reading. How did I not know this?!

That is how I was introduced into the world of EO's.

I am honestly so overwhelmed but I MUST share this with you...

So, I cloth diaper. You probably know that. Well, coconut oil is great for using daily with cloth diapers to prevent diaper rash. 

I also cook. EVOO is great for having in the kitchen for all sorts of recipes. Duh.

And while coconut oil & EVOO are NOT essential oils, they pair with them as carrier oils. These are two items your probably already have in your home!

I acquired some lavender from the health food store and would use it on my wool dryer balls {I know, I'm becoming a total hippie, but I don't even care. Actually, I kind of LOVE it. Shhh, don't tell anyone}. I even used it with some white vinegar & water to clean some second-hand wooden blocks I bought for Anderson at Kid's Market.

I then got some peppermint oil from Pepper Place Farmer's Market one Saturday & it kind of rocked my world. Anytime I had a headache or stomach ache I would apply it topically. And it totally helped.

I then purchased frankincense & bergamot for back pain at some point but I wasn't certain whether it helped or not. I even got eucalyptus for simmering in a pot of water on the stove to help with colds & sinus infections. I wasn't sure if it helped but it seemed to.

All of these things I discovered just by the power of google. And these oils were just purchased from the health food store meaning they are not food grade or high quality at all!

Naturally when I saw one of my facebook friends {Kelli} talking about these wonderful high quality, food grade oils she had discovered I was intrigued. I messaged her asking if there was an oil to help with teething. 

Ha! Little did I know that there is an oil FOR EVERYTHING!!! Of course there is one for teething. She recommended Thieves.  And then she told me that I could become a member of Young Living and purchase all the oils I would need at the wholesale rate. 

I was hooked. Sort of... A month or two later she posted about a Live event where people would talk about some different oils, do demonstrations and whatnot. It was free and I definitely wanted to go! I took my neighbor, Jackie, with me and we heard some REALLY interesting testimonials. 

We discussed their validity. Could they really be true? Hmmm...

Kelli had also added me to a facebook group on EO's. I'm already in a Cloth Diaper (CD) group, Breastfeeding (BF'ing) group & a Mommy Trading group (this is not some freak group where you trade children only children's items ;-) ). What the heck was one more group?

I read some but mostly ignored the posts. But at the Live event I ordered my Everyday Living kit & I couldn't wait for it to arrive. I began reading all of the posts in the facebook group trying to absorb as much practical information as possible. 

***Let's take a break***

Now let's back up...I have always had a sensitive stomach. I remember having painful heartburn as a child, getting nauseas while out to eat, I had a serious acid reflux problem in college & unbelievable heartburn during pregnancy. I've always had stomach issues but over the past several months they had seemed to worsen.

I won't go into details because they're embarrassing* & unnecessary but I found myself in the GI doctor's waiting room with a lot of people at least 3x my age...

I'm not kidding.

I went back, talked to the Dr., took a couple of easy tests, had a lot of blood drawn & was sent home & told to wait for lab results. I was nervous. 

Side Note: Don't google your symptoms, people. It can never be good.

The next afternoon the Dr. called saying all of my lab results were normal. What a praise! But also not very helpful. I didn't know what to do from there because my symptoms were still around and he told me to come back in if they kept up.

How long was I supposed to wait?! And I certainly didn't want to seem like a hypochondriac...What was I supposed to do?!

***Back to my kit arriving***

I had been reading in the facebook group that people were ingesting peppermint & lemon twice a day to help with weight loss and digestive troubles. I decided I would give it a shot.

My reasoning was that these were natural plants and if I needed help with digestion, weight loss or weight gain, etc. they would know what to do.

I began taking them. Everyday, twice a day, I filled a vegetable capsule with 2 drops of peppermint & 2 drops of lemon & the rest of the capsule with EVOO.

I didn't suddenly feel like a new person. I didn't all of a sudden have some major change. But I also didn't feel sick. Some of my symptoms began to subside. I was able to eat full meals without getting sick. I noticed a gradual change in my body...

Then, last week I slacked off. I hadn't taken my oils for a few days and I began getting sick after meals, wondering what was going on. I started to feel the way I had the month before. And it hit me. These oils aren't some fluke...

These oils are from plants that God created with his words...

 "And God said, 'Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.' And it was so.The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good."

Genesis 1:11-12 ESV

There's so much more that I want to share and I will. I am so grateful for what the Lord is doing in my life physically. I'm so grateful for the way He is using Young Living in SO MANY people's lives. I just can't wait to share more with you!

 Precious treasure and oil are in a wise man's dwelling,
    but a foolish man devours it.

Proverbs 21:20 ESV