Natural Ways to De-Stink!!

I have been, over the last year, trying to find ways of removing BO without using aluminum-based antiperspirants. You see, I have a theory that has no basis in science, it is just my own thoughts--but I wonder if the increase in Autism and related disorders could be linked to aluminum and breast feeding. More women are breastfeeding now than thirty years ago, and the rates of autism is on the rise. Everyone know how bad aluminum is for you--so why not? Anyhow, I have been avoiding using it except once in awhile, when I wanted to be sure to be stink-free(like a funeral...).
Anyway, has anyone (out of all you millions out there) ever found a concoction that works well? So far I have tried using mineral salts that you wet and rub under your arm, I have tried a homemade powder of cornstarch, baking soda, and tea tree oil, and also straight tea tree oil, dabbed on a wash cloth. My father-in-law suggested using colloidal silver. I have also checked out ones at the natural food store nearby. I have also taken to washing underarms every day with anti-bacterial soap, which seems to help.
I figure, you know, God made our sweat glands for a purpose, and if they are blocked and kept from allowing wastes to flow out in our sweat, then all that mess is locked inside, where it could do more damage.
I don't know, perhaps I just have more and worse-smelling sweat than most people, but it seems that most home remedies only work about 6 hours before I notice odor,and either stay home so no one smells me, or rewash and reapply!!
Also, I noticed it worse when the weather warmed up and I started weeding the garden twice a week!!

Frugal Ideas

As a family living on one income, we are always looking for ways to save a buck or two. One of the most interesting ways I have discovered recently to save money is off the beaten path. About a month ago, we purchased homefried doughnuts from an Amish lady who lives in the area. I found out at the time that she also runs a bulk food store. So I went back to browse one day and WOW!! What wonderful deals she had!! She carries Dutch Valley Bulk foods. You can buy flour, sugar, spices, salt, butter, cornstarch, cereals(hot and cold) and lots of other things too, for way less than you would get even at a "discount" outlet like Sam's club. You see, since they don't pay for electric and stuff, their overhead is lower, so they can afford to charge even less. So, go for a drive to an Amish area (or Mennonite) and see if you can track down your own bulk food supplier!!
*not that you have to be amish or mennonite to sell these products, it's just usually cheaper if you do.

How Can You Bless Your Husband Today?

This is one of the things that she mentions a lot of in Created to Be His Helpmeet,(Debi Pearl). She tells how so many women get all twisted up inside about chores that husbands didn't do, or didn't do "properly", and how their marriages are negatively effected by this. Those undone "things" have the wife so in bondage, they don't respond well to their husbands. The husbands feel this scorn or unapprectiation, and tend to withdraw even more, perhaps doing even less than before...Do you see this spiral? Now many might say,"But he should do such-and-such. That is his responsibility! No wonder she is so unhappy!"
Yes, our husbands should be willing to serve us, but husbands are fallible men, who fail, just as we are fallible women who fail. So frequently we (esp stay at home moms) might not get that shirt ironed because we had a "hard" day and curled up with a novel all day, and when he needs that shirt, we want our husband's grace for our failing, but watch out if the reverse happens!!
So, back to the main thought. How can you be a blessing to your husband today?? Can you do a chore he usually does and not put on the martyr complex about it? Could you do that plus make his favorite dessert at suppertime? Not because he deserves it, but because he is your husband and the Scriptures say to honor him? Roll up your sleeves, and get out and mow the lawn, take out the garbage, bake a pie, get sneaky with the Lord and say," Lord, how else can we serve that man of ours today??" And see what may happen!!

Letting our Husbands Lead

I feel like I have read a LOT of material lately about the husband being the leader in our homes. Between the Helpmeet book by Debi Pearl, Love and Respect by E. Eggerich, and others, I feel like I have been bombarded by this idea lately. So I have been pondering it a lot. In so doing I have really taken a hard look at how well I may do this, (or not), by this, I mean how well do I let Chara be the leader?, how well do I support his decisions as leader?, do I covertly "punish" him for making decisions I don't agree with or like, or are inconvenient to me?
Let's just say it has been a challenging process for me to take a little more time to think about my speech, my reactions, my lack of action(at times), my willingness to trust him (or not) when I would rather take things into my own hands--in essence, so many things that really reflect on him and on Christ. There was a time back when Chara worked for Beacon Light in Bradford, and we lived in Kane, that I was a very resentful wife. I was struggling with two small babies at home, and, I am sorry to say now, I wasn't prepared for the type of self-sacrifice I had to put forth. Our finances were tight, our time was tight, my resources were limited, and much of the time I was so concerned with how miserable I was, I just wanted to make someone else just as miserable. Unfortunately, Chara received the brunt of my quiet tirade(I am not a screamer or an overt rebel). Instead of being his crown (Prov. 31) I was more like Job's wife "curse God and die..." I was the thorn in his flesh.
Since then, I have heard so much teaching and read so much about how a wife can be a crown and more precious than rubies to her husband!! And let me tell you, earning his trust, his respect, his love, his admiration, his confidance are all worth more than anything I could demand is my right. And a contentious, disagreeable wife will not earn a wife any of those things from her husband. This I have learned. And the more eager and willing I am to let him lead, to trust his decisions(w/out grumbling), to serve him extravagantly, to give preference to his choices and more, the more I feel loved, cherished, protected, and adored by him. What? You may say? If you treat a man like that, you're just setting him up to want to be more selfish!! Perhaps, but, "few men are able to continue being angry, lustful, and selfish in the face of such a strong force as being reverenced." Created to be His Helpmeet, by Debi Pearl. And this I have seen, and the more I think about married couples I know, the more this makes sense. So keep striving!!

Cracked me up today!! Nathan and I were playing around on the floor this afternoon(my son)and he was pretending I was a cow. He sets me up to "eat" some "hay" and leaves the room. He comes back in a minute with a toy bucket and says, "okay, moo-cow, time for me to milk you!"
Chara and I lost it! We laughed soooooo hard. He was insistent, however, and
moo-my had to insist that he was NOT going to milk me...
Let's see, any other howlers?(to use an Anne-ism).
Baby kept on pretending to hand me something and then take it back and laugh. That was pretty hilarious.
One of these days I will acquire some way of posting pix online and then I'll put pix of my cuties for ya'll to see. Not that there are many followers listed yet...But I shall not get discouraged. Keep on bloggin'!
Hafta spend some more time thinkin' about other good blog topics!!
Love ya'll

What a fortnight!!

Boy has life been busy for us these last couple of weeks! First of all, I will say that not all has been a happy time, for we lost my husband's dear mother on the morning of July 4th. She,(Nancy) has been battling cancer for the last 18 months or so, and finally went home to the Lord. Fortunately, we had been expecting the call, so it wasn't a big surprise to any of us. Needless to say, it has been very busy, and we have been in the car, living out of suitcase, sleeping in a leaky tent, home for fewer days than away, etc etc. But, we are home for, I think, two weeks and I am going between busy and vegging...I need both!!
I would like to also post a comment about another book I have been reading called "Created to be His Helpmeet" by Debbi Pearl. Great read!! Not for the faint at heart, however. You want to be challenged in your marriage? Get this book!!

The Wild Side

I had a thought the other day that I wanted to post, but only now made it to a computer (or compooter:) to do so. I have a young relative who is struggling with rebellion over the last year or so. She lived at home, started attending college, and worked part time. In this last year she has apparently grown increasingly discontent at home, due to restrictions placed on her by her parents. However in talking with her mother, the restrictions were not overly oppressive, and they were not charging her any rent to live and eat at home. Through further conversation, the subject came up about how this young relation of mine came to the conclusion a few years ago that she didn't have a testimony because she wasn't "saved from some wild lifestyle". That somehow because she had never lived on the wild side, her testimony was non-existent.
I have wondered these same things. I grew up reltively sheltered, not exposed to much in the line of wild living. I too wondered about how I would explain to an unbelieving friend what Jesus had done in my life, when the before and after pictures of me looked very similar. As I pondered this concept, I began to see how arrogant this is. How self-righteous. That in our youth, the good kids don't see how much sin they have to be saved from. That in spite of outwardly "good" behavior, I and others have sinful attitudes, motives, thoughts etc. that are enough to send me to the pit of hell!! That if I refrained from outward rebellion in my youth it was only the grace of God that kept me from doing so. It may be true that the rebel who comes to Christ knows the extent of his salvation in a way that is more obvious, but that doesn't negate the fact that all of us have sinned in thought or attitude or deed, and are deserving of separation from God for all eternity. Perhaps this is the reason why the Scriptures tell us to confess our sins to one another. Because so many of us have sins that we can hide all to ourselves. Sins that, unless we choose to reveal them, are private--until we come to the eyes of God, who sees all we do and think and feel. Often if we are able to confess a sin to someone, it loses its power over us. As humiliating as confessing a sin can be, it is good for us to do regularly. This begs a question however. When in our church services do we confess our sin? When do we take the time to find a friend to confess to? Our American Christian life tends to allow us to hide our inner sins. Our churches don't allow for that kind of open sharing. Even our friendships tend to be only what we think the other person wants to see. I challenge you to be real. Find a trusted friend and confess these sins. Obviously confess the sins you do to the person you trespassed, and confess all to our Heavenly Father.
Love Laura

A note to fathers

For any fathers out there, who may stumble onto my blog, I want to remind them to show their children the example of giving honor to your wife. Especially if your wife manages home and raises the children, the world can be lonely and difficult if you don't feel appreciated. If you are a faithful employee, and hear words of commendation from your boss or other employees, imagine how your wife feels at times. Home all day with say a six-month old, a two year old, and a four year old. Two of her companions don't even talk yet! It is difficult for a wife(especially if she has been highly trained in a specialized field) to manage all day and at the end of it, still see poopy diapers that need rinsing out, dirty dishes in the sink, Cherrios spilled on the living room floor etc...It's hard to remember all you have accomplished in a day when what you look at at the end of the day is a disaster...Be the example to your children to thank her for cooking dinner, to verbalize appreciation for her hard work all day. This is something that my husband does frequently in front of our children, and they (ages 3 and 5) are already doing the same thing! They spontaneously say "thank you for this good food mommy" or "you're a special mommy!"
What a boost!

How to lose your life...

I, as a homemaker, have frequently pondered the struggle for many women to reconcile being at home. We feel that we have gifts that must be used, avenues of life that need to be explored, and often feel left out with our "lot in life". We feel that the rest of the world is out there being fulfilled while we are home wiping bottoms and noses, and cleaning up everything from spilled orange juice to poop to fill-in-the-blank! However, doesn't the Scripture tell us that those who strive after their own lives really lose them? And those that are willing to "lose" their lives for Christ's sake really find it? I think when people read that verse they immediately think that "losing their lives for Christ's sake" means being martyred as a missionary, or serving full-time as some sort of evangelist--some direct and public means of service. But I think this verse means any task or responsibility or life station that seems burdensome to us or difficult. Any of these things that we in our natural selves don't want to do. Are we willing to put aside our ambitions for ourselves--quite literally lose ourselves--for Christ's sake serving someone else?? Serving babies and small children who can't (for awhile) return any love or appreciation back? And yet if we are willing to submit to the Lord's will and take one day at a time and praise Him through those times, I think our burdens will become "light" as the Bible says!! That serving at home as a home manager, a helpmeet to my husband, a mother and teacher to my children, though no one else may see, I need to remember that God sees and the "good deeds" that I do in secret, that no one knows about, my Heavenly Father has not forgotten my faithfulness when no one was looking. Don't get me wrong, I am not trying to sound puffed up with acts of righteousness, just trying to keep perspective on the season of life that I am in, and how it is just noble as any other work--perhaps even more.

mary mary quite contrary...

Our summer's garden is doing beautiful! We have potatoes, beans, onions, carrots, herbs, tomatoes, peppers, watermelon, squash, cucumbers, and we had broc, and cabbage, but they aren't doing so well, so we might try to figure out something quick that we could grow in that spot. We have mostly picked through our radishes, I just picked a bunch of lettuce, and our beans should be flowering soon!!
Does anyone know if canary melon would grow up here?
YEA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

Something that concerned me...

I have been seeing this all over the internet! President Obama is telling mothers to go back to school to further their education using govt money...WHAT govt. money? Don't we need to STOP spending??? Also, I assume we should put our children in govt subsidized childcare, and utilize all the entitlements there are...
How about telling families to save more, spend less, and if you can't afford education now, save for it!! Not to mention the potential for familial break down when both spouses are working/educating full time. Don't get me wrong, I am not against education, but what about the education of our children? Isn't mommy the best teacher?? Who loves our children more than mommy? Don't our children need more than "social skills"? Like lessons in unselfishness, manners, The Bible, obedience, and *gasp* the opportunity to be home and share in its upkeep and maintenance. Don't they need chances to be with mommy and daddy in an unpressured envirnment to ask questions, play games, learn work ethic, etc?