Essential Oils for Health & Healing

A few months ago, I jumped with both feet into the world of Essential Oils. I had used them occasionally before to scent laundry detergent with lavender, clean and disinfect with tea tree oil, or use a pre-made peppermint roller for headaches but had not integrated them into our health care. My best friend had been sharing for a few months about how Essential Oils had been changing their family's health and approach to healing. I am so grateful for the introduction, as it has truly benefited me and my family. I always prefer to handle things naturally before turning to doctors or pharmaceuticals, and I love having this new tool in our natural toolbox.

  
Essential oils are highly concentrated plant matter that are extracted from shrubs, flowers, trees, bushes, seeds and roots using steam distillation. They have many beneficial properties including anti-microbial, anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, anti-viral and anti-fungal. Essential Oils can be inhaled, applied topically and some people choose to ingest them. Not all oils are created equally, and like many things in life, you get what you pay for. If you want a highly concentrated, effective oil and noticeable results, you need to find a high quality therapeutic oil. I would encourage you to do your own research, but after spending a considerable amount of time researching and trying different brands of oils, I have chosen to use Young Living Essential Oils for our family.

Now when we are experiencing upset tummies, the sniffles, coughs, cuts, scrapes, trouble sleeping, head pain or just about any other physical ailment, we turn first to Essential Oils for relief. I have to admit that I was skeptical at first but I have been pleasantly surprised by how effective they have been. I went from using Essential Oils occasionally around our home to using them daily to promote health and wellness. My girls get excited whenever they see me pull a roller bottle out and sit right down and stick their feet out for some oil. After using Frankincense to soothe bug bites and help promote healing of scrapes, Eden is becoming famous for finding the tiniest, microscopic scrape on her skin and asking for some oil. :) Austin, who was the most skeptical of all is also slowly coming around after experiencing relief from head pain with my head pain roller blend. We have also found that Thieves helped boost our immune systems so we recover from sickness faster. And these are just a couple of examples of how Young Living has helped our family. Essential Oils are not a be-all, end-all and certainly do not replace the medical advice of a doctor, but we love having a safe, natural option to try before turning to the pharmacy.

If you have any questions about Essential Oils, want to hear more details about how they have helped our family, or if you even want to try some yourself, I would love to talk to you more about how Essential Oils can help you and your family in your journey towards natural health. Feel free to comment below, reach out to me through Facebook, or email me at AndreaBankert@gmail.com for more info.


*I am not a doctor and these comments have not been evaluated by the FDA and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or manage any disease.

Finding Strength in Weakness

This morning I woke up with a major attitude. Dear sweet Eden has been up again in the middle of the night the past few nights for various reasons ranging from dreams about dragons to just missing us, and our sleep patterns have been broken at best. Two nights ago when she woke up crying at the top of the stairs, Austin in his sleepy haze, thought someone had fallen down the stairs and bolts out of bed (with a groggy and confused me right behind him) and raced up the stairs at an Olympic pace to find the girls standing at the top waiting for us to comfort them. Once the fog had cleared and our heart rates came back down, it was back to bed for all of us for what was left of the night. Some nights, I think I might as well throw a newborn into the mix because that's about as much sleep as I feel that I get. (NOT pregnant, by the way.)

I often go to bed with prayers for forgiveness for being short tempered, impatient, or having the wrong priorities that day, drifting off with the best intentions of waking up a new and refreshed mom, ready to pour into my children the very best of me, showing the love of Christ in every situation and imparting wisdom, love and patience. Right...... Then I wake up on mornings like today, having overslept and missing out on my precious 30-60 minutes of quiet time to read my devotionals, catch up on emails and get myself mentally prepared for the day. Instead, I woke to a little chatterbox in my ear asking for me to banish the pretend spiders and webs she was "seeing" and making requests for milk and cereal before I even opened my eyes. And I was grouchy about it. Resentful even, despite the fact that my oversleeping was not her fault. (Well, it partly was, but still no reason to take my frustration out on her.)

And I realize that again, despite my best intentions the night before, I cannot be the mom I want to be out of my own strength. I just can't. All it takes is a sleepless night, a missed quiet time, an over-turned bowl of milk, a sibling fight before the coffee has hit my lips, and all of my good intentions can dissolve into frustrated responses and a shadow of the parent I desire to be.

BUT on the days that I intentionally slow down to whisper desperate prayers for patience, for eyes that see my life through His perspective, for a tongue that is slow and intentional to speak, for selflessness and the ability to see my service to my family as service to Christ, then something beautiful happens. The problems are still there. The inconveniences that come with life as an imperfect person surrounded by imperfect people are still there, but they do not overwhelm and break me down. When I live each moment through Christ's strength instead of my own, I am able to take each intrusion to what I perceive as a perfect day in stride. And I am able to look at these interruptions as opportunities for us all to grow and learn. And He changes me in these moments where life isn't picture perfect and I realize that these inconveniences aren't holding me back from life, they ARE life. It's all part of His process of refining us into the people He has made us to be. It's up to us to recognize and embrace these as opportunities instead of inconveniences.

Aldi Love

After a long break for a wonderful Christmas and New Years with my family (more on that later), I am back and ready to share what we've been up to on Planting Purpose. For now, I have to share our recent re-discovery in saving some money while still eating fresh and healthy at Aldi!

I am always looking for ways to eat clean and healthy on a budget (hence a 2,000 SF garden in our back yard!), but when it comes to the grocery store, my desires don't always meet up with reality. We have settled into a pretty solid routine of what fresh and packaged items we buy organic and which items we compromise on due to price or availability. I have gotten into a routine of shopping every week in Kroger and have my shopping "route" down to a science. We recently have started focusing closer on our grocery budget and I decided to check out Aldi again.

Aldi is a discount grocery chain that has a unique atmosphere and an interesting back-story. The groceries are quite a bit cheaper than you find at conventional grocery stores for several reasons:

1. They are only open during peak shopping hours to save labor costs.
2. They do not waste money on labor costs for baggers or employees who hunt down grocery carts in the parking lot. You bring your own bags, and you place a quarter deposit down to borrow a shopping cart and receive your quarter back when you return it to it's proper location.
3. They do not accept credit cards. Credit processing fees are expensive, so they only accept cash, debit, and EBT cards.
4. They stock only the fast moving, most common grocery items rather than a huge inventory of obscure products. This keeps the stores smaller and cuts down on rent and utility costs.

Once I got used to the quirky differences, I really started to enjoy shopping at Aldi. Picture a mini Costco where the items are displayed in boxes rather than on shelves and you are bagging/organizing your purchases yourself. I had tried Aldi several years ago and wasn't impressed, but what has me excited this time around was the fact that they have really stepped up their game with organic and gluten-free items. I will likely have to go to a conventional grocery store 1-2 times per month to supplement, but I'm thrilled with the savings with most items at Aldi. We were able to purchase an entire week's worth of groceries for our family of 4 for less than $100!

Here are some items I found this time around that were healthy and extremely affordable:

- Shredded Wheat Cereal with wheat as the only ingredient
- Organic Apples
- Wild caught canned tuna 
- Sea salt grinder
- Organic Spaghetti Sauce for only $1.79! (I've never found this under $2.50)
- Organic Vegetable Broth also for $1.79
- The world's best Garlic & Herb Goat cheese, 4 oz for $1.99 (love this on salads and in eggs!)
- Organic bananas
- Organic corn chips
- A great variety of gluten free products including corn pasta, brown rice pasta, crackers, pizza crust mix (not pictured), sandwich wraps (not pictured). I won't pretend that gluten free products are a "health item" as many are highly processed and contain a long list of ingredients, however it is awesome to have some easy/quick options for snacking and dinners when you are intolerant of gluten.

There were several other items that I didn't get to try this week and am looking forward to checking out. They had organic grass fed ground beef for $5.99/lb. Their produce also is priced well and they have some organic stuff mixed in depending on what's available. I'm hoping for even more organic options as we draw closer to summer. For now, I'm happy to find somewhere that helps save on the grocery bill while not compromising on quality. You can look for an Aldi close to you by clicking here!

Cultivating a Life of Thanks

It's been quiet over here on the blog. I'm not entirely sure why, but I've been in a bit of a quiet and contemplative mood the past couple of weeks. Thanksgiving has become my absolute favorite holiday. Don't get me wrong, I love Christmas and some others, but there's just something about a time where you gather with family and friends to collectively reflect on your blessings. Other than the Black Friday mess (that's a WHOLE other story), Thanksgiving is largely untouched by the consumerism and frantic pace that can mar the holidays.


I try to spend the month of November slowing down to really taking note of all of the people and things in my life that I'm grateful for. And while material things sometimes enter the picture, the overwhelming theme to what I'm most grateful for centers around love. This year as I reflect, the verse that the Lord has brought to my heart repeatedly is Psalm 95:2.

How many times do I come to the Lord in prayer and open my mouth to recite a long list of things that I think I need or that I'm worried about before I even consider and thank Him for all that He has done for me? Even if He hadn't blessed me with my husband and children, wonderful family and friends, a comfortable home and a beautiful life, He has still been so good to me. His love has completely transformed me from an insecure, self-loathing girl looking for love, acceptance, and peace in all the wrong places to a completely different woman - a daughter of the King, confident of who He has made me to be and excited to be walking in the destiny He has for my life.

This year, I feel an urgency in my spirit to really strive to create a culture of thanks in our home that extends far beyond Thanksgiving into every aspect of our lives throughout the year. Pure thanks cannot be dependent on our circumstances, because circumstances change. When finding himself in a painful and seemingly impossible circumstance, Paul says:

I don't know about you, but often I can get caught up and focused on the "next thing". Whether it's the next season of life or the next purchase I want to make, my attention can be so consumed in the future. And often, once I get it, I'm not satisfied or at peace.....I'm looking ahead to the next thing! I want it to stop. I want to live each day (not just at Thanksgiving) in the peace and grace that stems from a heart that is truly thankful. I want to be present and engage in where I am right here, right now. I want to put down my phone more and appreciate who and what is right in front of me. I want to show my girls how to be content and thankful instead of telling them they should be. I want to be intentional in how I spend my thoughts, time, money and emotions. I want to give more and desire less. I want to be grateful for each and every gift in front of me because I truly am so very blessed.

Stuffed Green Peppers

We had our first freeze over the weekend and before it arrived, we tore out all of our pepper plants and tried to salvage anything that was left. We had a bunch of green peppers that hadn't had time to turn. I'm not a huge fan of green peppers and wasn't sure what to do with all of them. I decided to give stuffed peppers a try and I'm so glad I did....they were amazing!




Ingredients
- 6 large green peppers (or equivalent)
- 1 pound ground turkey
- 1/2 cup chopped onion
- 1 (14.5) oz can peeled and chopped tomatoes
- 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 cup uncooked rice (or quinoa)
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 cup shredded mozzerella
- 1/2 cup shredded cheddar
- 20 oz. Pacifico creamy tomato soup
- salt and pepper to taste

1. Cut off the tops of the peppers and remove the seeds. Boil a large pot of salted water and drop the peppers in to cook for 5 minutes. Drain and set the peppers in a baking dish.

2. Saute ground turkey and onions until meat is browned and onions are soft. Season with salt and pepper then stir in the tomatoes, rice, Worcestershire sauce and water. Simmer until rice is tender and water is gone. Remove from heat and stir in the cheese.

3. Fill the peppers with the meat mixture and pour the tomato soup on top. Enjoy!

DIY Thanksgiving Banner

Saturday was our first winter-like day of the season. It was bitter and raining outside, and my winter instincts kicked in. All I wanted to do was bake, eat, watch movies and do crafts. Now that we are officially in November, I decided to try a little bit of fall decorating as we will be hosting my family for Thanksgiving this year. Our great room has a large fireplace and mantle where I have placed an antique stained glass window. I figured a Thanksgiving banner would be a great addition for the month. 

Supplies

- scrap fabric, up to 1/2 yard depending on how many letters you want to do

- stencils

- paint

- garden string

- hot glue gun

- scissors or rotary cutter

- small piece of cardstock

1. Decide what message you want to display and cut out a 3" x 5" piece of fabric for each letter. I didn't have anything in my fabric scraps that had the exact texture I was looking for, so I used a lining fabric and a lace fabric and sewed them together with a quick stitch at the top.

 2. I arranged the stencils over the fabric pieces and painted them with some leftover paint from a furniture project.

 

 

3. Once the paint dried, I took a small piece of card stock and made a triangular stencil so that I could mark off and cut a triangle in the bottom of the fabric. 

4. I then took a generous length of garden twine, centered the letters on it with 1" space in between and hot glued the fabric to the string.  

5. Then I attached to the back of the stained glass window and on the mantle. (Sorry for the terrible photo quality! It's so hard to get a clear photo with the windows on either side.)

It was a cheap and easy way to dress up the mantle, and I will probably make another one when the Christmas season arrives. For now, I love the daily reminder of where our blessings come from and to bring my thanks each day to the Lord.

Fun with Fire

The homeschooling honeymoon has worn off in our house. We started with enthusiastic interest for each new task and rapt attention to every topic I presented has faded into a mostly comfortable rhythm and routine where some days are better than others. The announcement of school time is met some days with resistance and requests for more time to play rather than a dash for the school room. We still have days where the girls can't wait to get started, but they are less frequent than when we began. I imagine this is normal whether your child is in public, private or home schooled. (And if it's not, I'm not sure I want you to tell me!) We push through the tough days and get our lessons accomplished, sometimes saving some work for the next day when minds and attitudes are refreshed. In the last week or so, boundaries have been tested, interest has been short, and truthfully, my patience has been thin. While I consider it a huge blessing to stay home with my kids and teach them, it is not always easy. I think we all needed a break and a reminder of some of those fun first days. We got just that yesterday. 

I had decided to take a break from our normal curriculum and do a couple of days on community helpers and safety. I gathered some books from the library and printed off some coloring pages, but other than that I wasn't quite sure what we were going to do. After the girls' gymnastics lessons, I decided to stop by our local fire station, and they were gracious enough to give us a personal tour. The girls had a blast looking at and climbing in the fire truck.



They were given junior firefighter hats and badges as well as coloring books and temporary tattoos. Cora, who is normally quite shy around adults and strangers, shocked me by asking several of her own questions. She was so interested in how the truck worked and what their job entailed.


 The girls were able to see the lights and our tour guide allowed Cora to sound the siren on the truck. When we had exhausted our questions and taken a few photos, it was time to go but neither of them were ready.

Once we got home, I made a huge bowl of popcorn (a favorite snack but something I usually save for after dinner or special movies) and we headed up to the school room. There we read some books on fire safety, including a cute narrative called No Dragons for Tea. The girls colored in the book from the fire station, worked on some early reading skills with a firefighter matching game (thank you Pinterest) and did some copy work with fire safety words.
 We did some role playing games where I set off the smoke detector and they pretended to crawl under the smoke to the door, check the doorknob for heat, stop, drop and roll when their clothes caught fire, and crawl outside then call 9-1-1. I'm pretty sure they would have done that repeatedly all day. 

When we were done inside, Cora "suited up" and we headed to the backyard where she took the hose and pretended to be a firefighter putting out our house fire. 

While we may not have accomplished as much work as we normally do, there was not one complaint or argument all day. The girls learned some important life skills, Cora came out of her shell asking her own questions to the firefighter, and most importantly we all had a lot of fun. It was exactly the "break" we all needed, and I am inspired to plan more fun days like this into our regular curriculum.