by Dan | Apr 12, 2019 | Drops of Wisdom
The cedar of Lebanon is thought to be one of the first essential oils extracted from nature. Cedarwood has its original warm and woody scent that provides limitless benefits for its user. I personally apply Cedarwood topically to my face before shaving to provide a smooth shaving experience as it also improves my skin imperfections at the same time! It can also be used to keep insects at bay or promote vitality during a workout.
Did you know that Cedarwood essential oil was considered by the Sumerians to stem from the Tree of Life? Diffuse Cedarwood with Cypress for a warm scent to promote feelings of confidence and self-esteem within the home. Cedarwood oil also includes the main sesquiterpene constituents cedrene, and thujopsene, which help improve the appearance of skin. Add one to two drops to your toner to help with skin imperfections.
Want to know more about dōTERRA Cedarwood oil? Check out its spotlight below:
https://www.doterra.com/US/en/blog/spotlight-cedarwood-oil
by Dan | Apr 3, 2019 | Drops of Wisdom
Did you know that Cypress essential oil is frequently used in spas and by massage therapists? Mix Cypress and Grapefruit essential oil with dōTERRA Fractionated Coconut Oil for an enjoyable massage. Cypress essential oil also contains monoterpenes, making it beneficial for oily skin conditions. Add one to two drops to the toner to help improve the appearance of oily skin.
Derived from the branches of the tall evergreen tree, Cypress essential oil has a fresh, clean aroma that’s energizing and refreshing. After a stressful day at work, diffuse Cypress to help calm the mind and ease emotions. Add Lime essential oil for an extra invigorating scent
Want to know more about dōTERRA Cypress essential oil? Check out its spotlight below:
https://www.doterra.com/US/en/blog/spotlight-cypress-oil
by Dan | Apr 2, 2019 | All Essential, Spirituality
This is NOT the post that I had planned for today. Not by a long shot…I had originally planned to be blogging from another country, but that wasn’t the case.
18 months ago, I heard something that drew my interest. doTERRA was going to become an open market in some new countries…one of them was Ecuador. I quickly remembered that one of my former students was in the middle of her three year term teaching English down there. A thought came to mind…what would it be like create a team of customers and possibly builders in a new country? A country that could benefit SO much from the great natural health benefits, but also the income doTERRA could provide. (I’ve seen something like this happen in another country with a similar economic situation.) Then last summer, I read a great book, Chase the Lion, that inspired me to go after my dream and not just sit back and dream about what could be.
Once Ecuador finally opened in December of 2018, the plan was put into motion. I would use my spring break to fly to Ecuador, spend a few days meeting and educating people and planting seeds amongst those the I came in contact with. Last Wednesday, final plans were made and things were all ready to go. Thursday night I packed my bags and checked my passport, I was so excited and nervous to step into my long awaited dream! Then Friday morning came and everything changed. Due to a medical issue, there would be no traveling. I couldn’t believe it. After almost 18 months of planning and dreaming – POOF! Just like that, it was gone.
My first reaction was to be angry, very angry. I basically moped and growled and barked at Kami all morning because I couldn’t come to grips with what was happening. I couldn’t understand why after all of this time, something like this could pop up at the last minute. But because of my strong faith, I knew I had to shift my energy. I took some quiet time to pray and seek some answers from God about this. It didn’t take long for me to change my perspective.
I have learned through many instances in my life that I have two choices. I can blame God or praise God when obstacles arise. I could blame Him for holding me back and preventing my first HUGE attempt at an international trip. Or I could praise him for protecting me, whether it be from the health issue or from getting my hopes up about the possible success of the trip. Maybe it wasn’t the right time, and the trip would bring me disappointment. I chose to praise God and accept it. Yes, I am sad that I’m not there, experiencing the beauty of Ecuador and meeting the amazing people of that country. But I have to trust Him for He makes all things GOOD.
by Dan | Mar 25, 2019 | Drops of Wisdom
One of dōTERRA’s most versatile and top-selling essential oil is Lemon.dōTERRA Lemon has cleansing, purifying and invigorating properties that make it great for promoting a positive mood, supporting a healthy respiratory function, and naturally cleansing the body to aid in digestion.* One of my favorite way’s to use Lemon is by diffusing it. Diffusing Lemon essential oils helps cleanse and purify the air while also creating a very uplifting and energizing environment.
Do you love a clean, fresh, and citrus aroma? dōTERRA Lemon essential oil in the perfect combination of all three. Lemon has many purposeful functions, especially when it comes to cleaning surfaces in your home. Add Lemon oil to a spray bottle of water to clean tables, countertops, and other surfaces. Lemon oil also makes a great furniture polish; simply add a few drops to olive oil to clean, protect, and shine wood finishes.
With spring right around the corner, check out 10 different ways to use Lemon in your cleaning routine through the link below:
https://www.doterra.com/US/en/blog/10-Ways-to-Spring-Clean-With-Lemon
by Dan | Mar 19, 2019 | All Essential
DISCLAIMER: Parenting is hard. Real hard. The decisions that parents make for their children are personal ones which come from years of experiences – as a child and as a parent. What I’m writing today is not a judgment on others parenting styles or philosophies. It’s just the way we decided to raise Jeffrey.
Like I mentioned in previous posts about Jeffrey, there are a lot of things the kid can’t do, but it’s not for a lack of trying – by him and us. Even though there are obvious developmental delays that he exhibits, we weren’t going to allow that to prevent him from trying whatever activity he seemed interested in. We weren’t going to place limits on him,
We signed him up for the Special Olympics sports – track, long distance running, and basketball. There was also the Special Stars Soccer and Baseball. Then there was the time we put him in a bike-riding class for special-needs children. We bought him a special bike ($$$) with a handle and then adult training wheels (that he only rode maybe 10 more times).
But he wasn’t happy doing just that. He wanted to do the things that his brother and sister were doing. At church, we made sure he was included in all of the choirs, even though he would basically just stand around and watch everyone else sing. That led to him wanting to take music lessons like Megan and Christian. He chose the guitar. At first, it was so wonderful to see him playing and smiling and singing. It wasn’t fun to HEAR him doing those things. Man it was hard to be in our house with all that noise!!!
Instead of excluding him from the Junior High Band, we were fortunate to have leaders at church who encouraged him and included him in the practices and performances. That little opportunity has led Jeffrey to be one of the regular guitarists at the Higher Ground Church Service with the Senior High Band, often as the LEAD guitarist! No limits.
Once he reached middle school, he wanted to join the track team. Without hesitation, we signed the paperwork and it was official. What a great experience for him, the team, and for us to watch! His hard work and perseverance paid off meet after meet and usually ended with both teams lining the track cheering his name as he finished his second lap (always in dead last but first in everyone’s heart) and headed towards the finish line. No limits.
Now he’s a junior in high school, and as you read a few weeks ago, he has been able to participate in events like the PROM! But there’s one special event that took place last weekend that we as his parents are super proud of – Sports Nite. For those of you who are unaware of this event, it’s AWESOME! The juniors and seniors at Pennsbury High School are divided into two teams, black and orange, where they compete in field day type activities such as tug of war and trash can relay; among others. There are also dance competitions that both the girls and boys will participate in and be judged on. It’s a blast.
For the past two years we were there to watch our oldest daughter participate, and we noticed that none of Jeffrey’s special classmates were involved. We wondered if this was by choice or if they weren’t permitted to take part, so we asked around. As he began his junior year, we decided to inquire about Jeffrey’s participation in Sports Nite, it is a class they sign up to take. What we found out was that Jeffrey was more than welcome, and in fact encouraged to take part!! He couldn’t wait for the third marking period to start when his Sports Nite practices would start.
As we drove up to drop him off, it was a pretty cool moment, he jumped out of the car at the assigned time of 5 o’clock to get ready with his classmates. He waited for the opening ceremonies and exercises with his friends, got prepared for his events (the tug of war and the medicine ball relay), got changed into his cowboy costume for the dance, back into his gym gear for the rest of the night, and then hung out in the student section cheering his head off! By the time we got to see him it was almost 9 o’clock. For four hours, he was unchained, free to be a kid…a regular kid participating in something that thousands of Pennsbury students have also done through the years. A night that he told us was the BEST EVER. No limits.
Now it wasn’t pretty! His relay team lost, his tug of war team lost, his dance lost, and the Orange team lost the overall competition. But we decided a long time ago that Jeffrey would not be held back from any activity that he wanted to do, even if it included defeat. We couldn’t shelter him from these activities because he’d get upset or WE were scared something would happen to him – because LIFE is scary. If we held him back or gave him limits, what kind of life would he have? We want him to live life to the fullest. We want him to have a life without limits.
