Tag: beauty

Glowing Beautiful Skin – What to Do and NOT Do

June 21, 2019

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Our skin reflects what is going on in our body.

What happens in our gut effects what happens throughout our entire body. So you begin with the gut to cleanse the skin. Here is a list of some of my favorite “do”s and “don’t”s for healthy skin, starting with…

What Goes Inside

NO gluten – Gluten can cause inflammation and cause irritation to the gut and digestive system. Remember, what happens in the gut effects the rest of the body. Plus, the gluten in the U.S. today is highly processed and grown with chemicals that can do lots of damage to the body.

NO dairy – The dairy industry today is quite a bit different than back in the olden days. Especially that from cows. Dairy can cause inflammation and it can cause your skin to produce excess sebum which leads to clogged pores and more acne.

NO sugar – Sugar can break down the collagen in your body and your skin can lose its elasticity. It can also cause inflammation. Opt for an antioxidant honey instead.

NO highly processed foods – All the extra sugar and chemical intake from these foods wears down the collagen and elastin in your skin. It also causes inflammation in the skin, which can lead to acne breakouts. (NOTE: Processed foods can be kind of tricky to define. It’s probably a good idea to know what processed foods are.)

Stay hydrated – Even when you don’t feel like drinking water adding some cucumbers and watermelon to your diet (especially during the summer) is a delicious way to stay hydrated. 🙂

EAT probiotics – The good bacteria in probiotics helps keep your gut healthy. Having a healthy gut helps to have healthy skin.

EAT Omega-3s – Your omega-9 fatty acids are great for glowing skin. They can help soothe inflammation that can be a cause for acne breakouts as well.

EAT Vitamin C – It is well known for having antioxidant properties, and can also help against sun damage. Citrus fruits and vegetables are a great natural source of this important vitamin.

EAT Bone Broth – Bone broth is high in collagen which can help reduce inflammation and improve the skin’s elasticity.

 

What Goes Outside

Clean and treat your face at night. Your face gets dirty throughout the day, and your makeup can clog your pores, causing more breakouts.

Switching your products too regularly might not agree with your skin. Give the product time to work.

Look at the ingredients. Avoid chemicals and synthetic scents and colors. The closer to nature your products are, the better for your skin. Do you know how much FOOD you can put on to help your skin health?? There are a lot I could name, but I’ll just give you three favorites.

  • Apple Cider Vinegar – Apple cider vinegar can help to kill pathogens and helps to cleanse the skin. It contains potassium and magnesium to help balance gut bacteria, which is vital to skin health. It is also a more inexpensive product…and it can go a long way.
  • Coconut Oil – Coconut oil can help strengthen the epidermal tissue, ease sunburns and is even a good makeup remover. It contains anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties, plus a lot of healthy fats that help nourish the gut and improve immune function. A way to improve your skin health from the inside out!
  • Raw Honey – RAW honey is full of enzymes, nutrients and vitamins for the skin. It also contains antiseptic qualities that can help with rashes, scars and wounds, and may help to reduce breakouts and contain moisturizing properties.

Essential Oils

  • Lemon – Lemon just seems to brighten up everything! And your face is no exception! It is antibacterial and it can help lighten dark spots and tone the skin. avoid applying lemon, or any citrus oil, to your skin that will be exposed to sunlight or UV light for 24 hours.
  • Lavender – Lavender contains antimicrobial and antioxidant characteristics that make it great for the skin. It is one of the more gentler oils so it can be soothing for itching and burning skin. And soothing to the nose as well.
  • Frankincense – Frankincense has anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties. It may help to strengthen and tone the skin and may improve elasticity. It may also help to reduce the appearance of scars and acne.
  • Tea Tree – Tea Tree oil has long been used in Australia to help fight inflammation, break outs and some redness on the skin. It is usually very gentle on the skin and is great when combined with a carrier oil…such as coconut oil.

Wonderfully Made

May 19, 2017

Woman Silhouette Waiting For Summer Sun

I know this can be a touchy subject for many people. But it is all over in our culture today and it is pretty damaging to many people.

Advertisements on a billboard, or a commercial during your favorite TV show: “Get the body you’ve always wanted.” “Look like a supermodel.” “Have perfect skin.”

Here’s a question to think about: What makes a supermodel?

You see, our world believes you should look a certain way in order to be beautiful and to be noticed. There is only one shape, one size, a perfect weight. And we have been sucked into believing this, whether we realize it or not.

Don’t think so? Let me ask you: Have you ever been dissatisfied with your shape? Have you ever, even for just a moment, wished you looked different? Had different hair, better skin, prettier features? Have you ever doubted, or denied, you were pretty – even after having so many people tell you how beautiful you were? Too many girls and women fall into this way of thinking. The harm that this causes comes in several forms, but I’ll just mention two major ones that I’ve seen (and felt) through the years.

Form #1: Not Enough

We begin to hate ourselves. We don’t care. We get embarrassed about ourselves and we also tend to annoy others with our constant denials when they complement us. We get discouraged, and jealous, when we see others we think are prettier than ourselves. We don’t believe we are worth much, if anything.

This has to sadden God, who put so much into us and considers us His masterpiece, and we neglect it and think it ugly and worthless. We are always trying to change it. Yes, we may be a mess (we don’t meet our beauty standards) but we are a BEAUTIFUL mess – because we were made by the author of beauty. Just look around. See the sunset? The stars and the moon? Look and see the flowers that grow in the field every spring. Why do we care so much what the world thinks beauty is? “Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.” It is defined by the person who sees it. And the world is fickle. It will change its definition of beauty every day. But God’s is constant. 

Form #2: Too Much

On the other hand…. In our efforts to look better and be better (to prove ourselves to everyone) we can easily go overboard. We don’t eat enough and we wear ourselves out, making it worse instead of better. We can easily get overzealous and injure ourselves (I’ve been in this form, too). It can be very hard to recover from this.

So now you may be thinking, “Where is the balance? How do I keep from going too far one way or the other?”

Believe me, it is not easy to find the balance. On the #1 hand: be content with yourself and don’t long to be someone you are not meant to be. But DO NOT be content with letting yourself go and accepting it as “this is who I am”. We have been given a beautiful gift to take care of. And we should do our best to keep our bodies in the best condition they can be. And that leads me to hand #2… 3 words: everyone is different. Each person can handle different levels of diet and exercise. The important thing here is to know your body… and to listen to it AND the people around you who know.

To sum it up in a nutshell: Take care of what you have been given, but also be confident in who you are. In who God made you to be. For you are wonderfully made. His beautiful creation.

Now go forth with these new thoughts in your mind… and live long and prosper! 😀

Cracked Pots

August 21, 2016

She called us “crackpots” and those who do not understand laughed with her.

Jacquelynn Floyd, a columnist for the Dallas Morning News, used “crackpots” to describe those parents (me included) who choose not to vaccinate or seek an alternative schedule. A State Representative from Dallas, Jason Villalba HD114, seems to be ok with calling us that name as well,  and just a few months after saying he had respect for us. The moment he was called on it, he back peddled but the damage had been done.



Simply endorsing the article and tweeting it speaks volumes about the attitude in his heart. He was bragging on the fact that he tried to reduce our exemptions in Texas. He still does not see the vaccine injured community. Blinders must have been on sale at PolitiMart. Or, maybe his eyes were for sale. Either way, he does not see us.

I AM a cracked pot. I am flawed and broken. All day long I struggle to keep it together and at the end of the day, I feel used up and not enough. I don’t have a child with vaccine injury. I have 5 healthy children.
Every mom and dad that raises a child with vaccine injury, probably feels like a cracked pot as well.
Here is what most people think about cracked pots:

1. They leak a lot.

2. They are messy.

3. They are considered less valuable.

4. They are disposable.

At least, this is how Jacquelynn and Rep. Villalba think of those of us who  don’t vaccinate or alter the current schedule.  We are trash, waste, and spewing disease on others.

Here is how I view cracked pots



The following story is copied from a Christian website. It’s an old story with a message for you at the end. Keep reading!

The Cracked Pot

A Water Bearer in India had two large pots, each hung on each end of a pole which he carried across his neck. One of the pots had a crack in it, and while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water at the end of the long walk from the stream to the master’s house, the cracked pot arrived only half full. For a full two years this went on daily, with the bearer delivering only one and one half pots of water in his master’s house.

The perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments, perfect to the end for which it was made. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it was able to accomplish only half of what it had been made to do. After two years of what it perceived to be a bitter failure, it spoke to the Water Bearer one day by the stream. “I am ashamed of myself, and I want to apologize to you.” “Why?” asked the bearer. “What are you ashamed of?” “I have been able, for these past two years, to deliver only half my load because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your master’s house. Because of my flaws, you have to do all of this work, and you don’t get full value from your efforts,” the pot said.
The Water Bearer felt sorry for the old cracked pot, and in his compassion he said, “As we return to the master’s house, I want you to notice the beautiful flowers along the path.” Indeed, as they went up the hill, the old cracked pot took notice of the sun warming the beautiful wild flowers on the side of the path, and this cheered it some. But at the end of the trail, it still felt bad because it had leaked out half its load, and so again it apologize to the bearer for its failure. The bearer said to the pot, “Did you notice that there were flowers only on your side of your path, but not on the other pot’s side? That’s because I have always known about your flaw, and I took advantage of it. I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back from the stream, you’ve watered them. For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate my master’s table. Without you being just the way you are, he would not have this beauty to grace his house.”
Each of us has our own unique flaws. We’re all cracked pots. But if we will allow it, the Lord will use our flaws to grace His Father’s table. In God’s great economy, nothing goes to waste. So as we seek ways to minister together, and as God calls you to tasks He has appointed for you, don’t be afraid of your flaws. Acknowledge them, and allow Him to take advantage of them, and you, too, can be the cause of beauty in His pathway. Go out boldly, knowing that in our weakness we find His strength, and that “In Him every one of God’s promises is a Yes.”
I love all of the message above and I wanted to include the whole post. I COUNT on the message above. I do not live with a vaccine injured child. I can only imagine the cracks I would have under the stress of caring for lifelong pain, physical disabilities, verbal hurdles,  daily seizures, violent mood swings, a child with diabetes… The list is huge.

For every 45 people in the USA, AT LEAST 1 is vaccine injured. According to Siri today, there are over 324,000,000 people in the USA. Doing the math, it comes to over 7,200,000 are injured by the vaccines they were given. Think about the size of that!! There are currently more vaccine injured than the current COMBINED POPULATIONS of Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Nebraska!!!

But they want to call us crackpots because we don’t get shots like the kid next to us does. We KNOW what can happen. No, we do NOT ride on the coattails of those who are getting their shots. No, we do not ask anyone to keep getting their shots so we can be “safe.” No, we aren’t carrying those diseases. The vaccinating are!

At least for a few weeks after they get their shots, those that received injections of live viruses are contagious. MD Anderson Cancer Center (a hub for the immunocompromised) has this policy for visiting children:

“The Child Visitation Room provides a safe, supervised area for children when a family member is going to a restricted area. Children who do not pass the screening cannot be taken to the Child Visitation Room. All children in the visitation room must have a negative screen for recent illnesses, exposure to chickenpox or live vaccines.

If special permission is given for a child to visit a restricted area, they must be screened for recent polio vaccination. A child who has received oral polio vaccine within the past six weeks is prohibited from contact with immuno-suppressed patients.”

The Disneyland measles outbreak reminded us that it is not commonly deadly, and Harvard University reminded us that the vaccinated are likely sources of many of the “eradicated” diseases. Not one died and they all had been vaccinated for the mumps they contracted.

We see our vaccine injured community, as HUGE as it is, and wonder why this nation insists on blinders. Why does it insist on fear-motivated bullying when we are already broken?

I do not wish vaccine injury on my worst enemy, nor I will not put my children at risk for it. I WILL fight, alongside Texans For Vaccine Choice, to keep our right to choose and support anyone’s choice TO vaccinate their children or not. I am even able to weep with them if the unthinkable happens. I have many friends whose babies died shortly following a routine vaccination. Those babies aren’t in the 1:45 count. I don’t have a statistic for those who have died. I’m convinced it is FAR higher than those who died from an outbreak of measles. Those babies aren’t remembered by communities because they do not have daily struggles. They are only remembered by their families.

But we are called the “crackpots.”

No. We are CRACKED POTS. We are broken under pressure and still simply give.