We are currently in the 6th month of 2022 already!
What a crazy year it has been! I’m pretty certain that all of you who read my blog are truly wondering if everything is “ok” in spite of all the challenges we’ve faced this year.
Truthfully, some days I’m good, and some days I struggle. The stress of constraints holding me here at home, not able to go to South Dakota again to help with my mother is truly bothersome for me. In my heart of hearts, I am also deeply wanting to see my family more since my Dad passed away on May 1st, 2019. It is one of those feelings that, “before anyone else passes I need to spend more time with them!” kind of feelings…
…I just need family.
There is so much that I’ve missed over the years, and I don’t like it. I miss my Mom, my aunt, my sister, my brother and their families. I have yet to meet my great nephew! My sister’s wedding last July brought a bunch more family members who I’ve only met with the wedding celebration but have yet to spend time with and develop a relationship. It’s heart wrenching to me! 
It's safe to say, it's time to take care of my own needs now. I want to build relationships, spend time together, and love eachother. I cannot do that as well as I'd like 1,400 miles away.
Regardless, my heart needs this!
But, what about the stress? There’s A LOT of stress involved in all of every part of life making decisions, no matter which direction we decide to take in our lives!
So the questions are mounting and the research is too, but...
Handling stress, we begin with prayer, always. It doesn’t make sense to try to make decisions without prayer. Prayer changes things, folks!
Next, to combat fear of the unknown, we research! Research answers our questions, creates more questions, and takes us down rabbit trails, too, but we get answers.
Another thing we do is ask questions of people who already have experience in the area where we want to go.
Why? Scripture tells us in Proverbs 11:14, “there is safety in a multitude of counselors.” It makes sense to talk with at least 3 people in each situation before making firm decisions. Why 3? Because you may get the same answers from 2 people. Adding the 3rd person will give us the greater chance to cover areas where the other 2 have not had experiences in.
Why? Scripture tells us in Proverbs 11:14, “there is safety in a multitude of counselors.” It makes sense to talk with at least 3 people in each situation before making firm decisions. Why 3? Because you may get the same answers from 2 people. Adding the 3rd person will give us the greater chance to cover areas where the other 2 have not had experiences in.
Keep in mind that all through this timeframe, we use stress lowering practices of eating good quality foods, taking walks getting some good oxygen, praying together, and spending time with one another. Additionally, throughout this entire time, we use our oils. Which oils do I suggest? I started with Stress Away, Lavender, Copaiba, and Peace & Calming when I began in 2015. We’ve made using oils a part of our lives, so why not use these wonderful plant juices that are so pure and as close to the Garden of Eden as you can get, using them and allowing the Lord to help us with things He’s made?! As time has progressed, I’ve added CBD Calm roll-on to my “stress relieving” list and it’s been invaluable! I love finding some “new to me” kinds of things that will help with as many things as possible. Interestingly, when I use these oils for one thing, they not only help with the thing I use them for, but they also help with things I don’t know that I’m dealing with internally! What a blessing the Lord has created for us to use!
So, what do I use for bravery to be able to conquer these things? Valor! For kids there is also KidPower essential oil blend for them to use! Those work well for test taking days, feelings of anxiousness, and it’s so easy to use! Both Valorand KidPower come in a 15ml bottle as well as a roll-on. Just click the links and you'll see them! As a matter of fact, many of the oils I've mentioned come in a roll-on!
Now that we’re “oiled up”, here we go! Onward and upward!
Have a great day!
Love & God Bless,
Regina Graham
I am not a doctor. I cannot diagnose, prescribe, or treat anyone
for any disease or sickness.
Every year I get the itch to start Spring cleaning around the first of Februay. I love a clean house, dust being tamed, and puppy dog kisses off the doors and windows.
This year has been a little different. Our daughter moved out in mid February, so we decided to overhaul her old room making it light, bright and airy feeling, and dare I say add "sea turtles" to it too, but that will come. (I love sea turtles). It's a very light seafoam green now with the shalves and doors to the cupboards below coordinating nicely. It is very peaceful now!
So once this was finished, I moved on to the shelves in our living room. At this point in time I'm still not able to lift or carry anything over a gallon of milk, I needed help. My oldest son came along to help me and we were able to finsih 2 of the shelves. The other shelves are higher, but we'll get to those soon. Every day we work on deep cleaning a different area, so it's all good.
What do I use to clean with?
All I ever use anymore is Thieves Household Cleaner. When I do sinks, tubs, and toilets, I add baking soda and a citrus oil or Purification Essential Oil blend. When I'm done things smell absolutely divine! Like Christmas all year long!
You can find these items here:
*Thieves Household Cleaner--This replaces every single cleaner in my home. I use one cap full to 20 ounces of water or 2 cap fulls to 30 ounces of water. I clean windows, counter tops, tables, floors, sinks, tubs, toilets,
EVERYTHING with this cleaner! It is $1.29 per bottle when you do the math. You can get 20 bottles of spray out of one bottle of Thieves Household Cleaner. It's the toxin free stuff I've used for 4 years and it is safe for people and pets! Disclaimer! If you're allergic to cinnamon, let me know and I"ll give you another recipe that you can use with Purification Essential Oil!
In case you were wondering what you could clean with this natural, nontoxic plant based cleaner, take a look!
I love this cleaner so much that I can honestly say without a shadow of a doubt that I will never use any other cleaner again, EVER!!!
In fact, if you'd like to learn more, let me know and I can send you a super informative textable class! You can listen to this while you're driving to work, waiting in the carpool lane, after the kids are in bed, before the kids get up, while you go for your daily walk, or walking on the treadmill. If you need pockets of time, that works too! The important thing is that you're not only learning about this product, but you're learning about all the things that are currently under your roof and how toxic they are!
It's a no brainer!
Now, what other oils do I clean with and how do I use them?
I'm glad you asked!
I'm glad you asked!
This is one of the many ways I add oils to my Thieves Household Cleaner bottle. Give it a shake before you use to make sure all the oils are incorporated.
Why not just use oils in water?
Oils will lay across the top of the water, so you need something in your mixture for the oils to grab ahold of and mix together in to the liquid. So, with 1 capful of Thieves Household Cleaner as the base cleaner, you can add oils like:
Citrus Fresh: Orange, Grapefruit, Mandarin, Tangerine, Lemon and Spearmint--This is the only blend that contains Mandarin oil as of the writing of this post. Mandarin OIl is not avalable at this time as a single oil at this time. If you would like a sample of this oil, let me know and I'll send it to you. It smells absolutely wonderful! I love diffusing this oil as well as cleaning with it! There are so many benefits from this oil, just look up "Benefits of...." any of these oils and do the research! You'll be blown away!
Orange: This is a single oil that is so very uplifting and fresh! I love diffusing this oil, using it in my hair, or adding it to a roll-on with Lavender to use as my perfume. Adding this to my Thieves bottle makes a wonderful addition to this cleaner! I love it! Once again, google "Benefits of..." and you'll be surprised!
Lavender: According to the Young Living website, "Lavender essential oil is the most universal oil and has a tranquil aroma that is soothing to the senses, as well as to the skin when applied topically. Taken internally, it contains antioxidants, may provide immune support, and can be used to add a floral flavor to your evening tea."
As for using it in cleaning, it's a wonderful soothing scent that helps our home and family calm and settle after a long hard day. It works well in the diffuser, on your wrists, and the back of your neck, too! You can use this oil for so many things! Google "Uses of Lavender Essential Oil" It truly is the "Swiss Army Knife of Essential Oils!"
Pine: Many people liken this scent with a popular cleaner, but that cleaner is filled with cancer causing toxic chemicals. This essential oil is all there is in this oil...just pine. Nothing else! Once again, ya'all just google "Benefits of..." to see for yourself the benefits of these essential oils and make the switch today!
How do I use this in my cleaning? I use 10 drops in my Thieves Household Cleaner bottle or with 4 cap fulls of Thieves Household Cleaner in a bucket of mop water. I have 4 big dogs and a cat, so that means BIG messes. Four cap fulls in a mop bucket takes care of those big messes really quick and I know without a shadow of a doubt that I"m not introducing cancer causing chemicals in to their bodies through their noses or their paw pads. (More on this later)
Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezie!
Eucalyptus Globulus (One of 3 that Young Living has to offer): This oil has a special place in my heart. This oil began my Young Living journey in 2010. I was so tired of not being able to breathe. I wanted relief and this worked so well for me that I bought Lavender, then fell in love with it. Then when my son needed some help paying attention to his school work, I bought Vetiver. With every single oil I've purchased or received for FREE, it holds a special place in my heart and mind. This one helped me with this _____, that one helped me with that _____. This is such a beautiful journey! I love that the Lord gave us these wonderful plant oils to use to help our bodies! My appreciation of Him and His goodness has grown more and more with the use of each "new to my home" oil that comes in the door!
Read the link above about this gloriously wonderful oil. You'll see some words like
KEY CONSTITUENTS
Eucalyptol, Alpha-pinene, Limonene
Go ahead and google those constituents and see what they do for our bodies! They're absolutely fantastically wonderful! You won't regret any amount of research you put in to your own knowledge about how to help your own and your family's health.
Lime: I found out about how lovely this particular oil was from a friend of mine who suggested 6 drops of it and 2 drops of Peppermint in her diffuser. OH MY WORD!!! This combination smells absolutely divine! Just imagine the riches you'll find when you see the key constituents of this little ditty! It will bless your socks off! Yes, putting it in to my Thieves Household Cleaner bottle or my mop water works fantastically with all sorts of pet odors and cleans like crazy! I love it!
Peppermint: This oil was purely left in my Starter Kit when I bought it back in 2015. I figured, "I don't like Peppermint Ice Cream, tea, or mint jelly, so this will just stay there until I learn more about it." And that's perfectly ok! Each of us are on a different journey with these oils. Like I tell everyone, if I had 7 lifetimes to learn all there is to know about essential oils, that still wouldn't be enough time to know all there is to know! Take a look at this one! It's awesome! It helps with muscle aches, breathing issues, and tummy troubles, so just read sbout it and do the research about this oil like I did! You'll never regret the time you invest in researching things for your health!
OH MY Word!!!! There are so many more that you could use as well! These are just a few to clean your home!
Just a reminder, though, these oils are so much more than just scents. They are health giving, life supporting, plant juices given to us by God Himself for the "healing of the nations!" (Revelation 22:2b; Ezekiel 47:12)
How do you get your hands on this wonderful cleaner and all the oils above? Easy! You can click on any of the links to those products above. If you want to save 24%, click the "add to subscription" button. Create your account, add your address as your default, and make sure you go to your "Account Details" and set up your PIN number. Remember to write down all of your information--email, member number, password, and PIN number--so that you can use it when you need it in the future. Then check out. Easy Peasy! If you need help, I'm available to help you maneuver the process.
Want to learn more about the toxic chemicals under your cabinets? I've got you covered! Just send me a text message or an email and I'll send you a textable class. If you're a visual learner, I have a Zoom class available, or I can come to you and teach to you and your family and friends. There are lots of options to do this, so we're only limited by our own imagination.
Let me know!
Love and God Bless,
Regina Graham
I am not a doctor. I cannot diagnose, prescribe, or treat anyone
for any disease or sickness.
Tractor ride throughout the farm. We saw alligators, sheep, horses,
buffalo, cows, pigs, bees, and lots of strawberries!
One day you're out with your grandson, daughter-in-love, husband, and son enjoying a local strawberry farm, playing on the playground, seeing how bees work, tractor rides, and watching all the animals. Then, later that evening, the little guy starts to vomit throughout the night. Then the rest of the family starts dropping like flies!
Yup! This has been us this week. And there's nothing as iirritating as thinking that upset in your stomach could be the looming sickness that means you're next! That really plays on your mind, messes with your plans, and kinda throws a monkey wrench in to everything.
So, what do I do to try to keep myself from getting so sick?
So, what do I do to try to keep myself from getting so sick?
First, I keep eating nutritiously. When I go for comfort foods, yes, they're comforting, but usually not packed with nutrients. So, Chicken soup with home made broth and/or organic bone broth is in the crock pot along with frozen veggies, and brown and indian wild rice for the B vitamin boost. We have lots of water based foods that help keep the fluids in our bodies as well as our colon moving well.
...speaking of colon...
Second, we take LIfe 9 probiotic with 17 billion active cultures. It is a timed release capsule, releasing in the small intestine where it does it's best work to help keep the gut flora balanced and in check. When we do get sick, as soon as possible after being sick we get this going again to rebalance our gut flora to help regulate everything. It helps so much!
Third, we roll Thieves Essential Oil Blend on our feet and spine to help with "Mega" immune support! It is amazing! Take a look at the ingredients and look up "Benefits of...." and see how awesome this powerhouse oil blend is!
Fourth, we add Digize Vitality Essential Oil Blend to our tummy protocol. You can add this to an 8 ounce glass of water with Peppermint Vitality oil, or add them both to a Veggie Capsule so you don't have to taste the Digize. (Believe me when I say I MUCH prefer taking Digize this way! ) Add a couple drops of Grapeseed, Olive, or Avocado oil to the capsule too. Eat it with something that has fat in it, like a piece of cheese to help the oils attach to the larger fat molecules and absorb in to your system slower.
You can also add a couple drops of Peppermint and Digize to your tummy where ever it is bothering you to help ease discomfort. I add 2 drops each and apply in a clock wise fashion every couple of hours to help with tummy troubles. There is also Tummygize for kids that may help the little ones too. There is an entire KidScents Little Oilers Bundle and an entire line of products for them, including an awesome diffuser that you can play white noise and lullabies. It's a beautiful durable diffuser!
Fifth, we rest.
A LOT!!!
Sixth, we drink lots of water and tea. It's for hydration and my young folks like to use Body Armor. I haven't ever used it, but with the electrolytes and so forth, it works well for them. I prefer to use Vitality Drops with Electrolytes. My kids think it's too acidic, but I don't use very much, maybe 2-3 drops in a quart of water and it makes a HUGE difference!
We are continuing to work at little things around the house while we wait for our turn to be sick. I'm hoping I don't get it, like usual. I'm working with all these oils to try to keep this bug away. I'm so thankful that I have all these wonderful products on hand to help me and my family work our way through the flu.
Take care!
Love & God Bless,
Regina Graham 
This was taken on my FOURTH year anniversary of exclusively
using Young Living Shampoos and Conditioners on my hair. It's make
a HUGE difference!!!
I am not a doctor. I cannot diagnose, prescribe, or treat anyone
for any disease or sickness.
My hair was a mess. I always had snarls, knots, dried frizzy ends, and within 2 days I had to rewash and condition. It didn't matter what I did, which moisturizing shampoo or conditioner that I bought, it always left my hair needing to be controlled. I was a hot mess!
I looked at the ingredients in my shampoo, conditioner, mousse, gel, and hairspray and realized all those toxic synthetic chemicals were soaking in to my body. They had been for 48 years!!! I couldn't believe I didn't know this before! So, I started taking care of my hair, protecting my hair and my body from cancer causing, hormone disrupting toxins.
I looked at the ingredients in my shampoo, conditioner, mousse, gel, and hairspray and realized all those toxic synthetic chemicals were soaking in to my body. They had been for 48 years!!! I couldn't believe I didn't know this before! So, I started taking care of my hair, protecting my hair and my body from cancer causing, hormone disrupting toxins.
I started looking at the Young Living Shampoos and reading what many others have experienced. I chose to begin with the Copaiba Vanilla Shampoo and Conditioner. I needed the moisture in the ends, but I also needed something to help with the oily scalp.
I gradually moved over to the Lavender Mint Clarifying Shampoo, but stayed with the Copaiba Vanilla Conditioner.
This month makes 4 years of toxin free hair care for me.
This month makes 4 years of toxin free hair care for me.
If you notice, there is some gray in there along with my natural curl. Now, I do not use anything on my hair but Lavender Volume Shampoo and Conditioner.
I let it air dry and it works for me. I know there are hacks out there that you can use, but I'm learning (daily) to embrace how the Lord made me. As for those hacks, there is one that I've still been mulling over in my mind to even try--Thieves Hand Sanitizer as a gel for my hair. It's toxin free, so that wouldn't be an issue. I'm more thinking, "Do I want to put that in my hair?" Hmmmm.
What about your hair?
Honestly, for me, it's been a matter of trial and error. I knew I didn't want any more toxic chemicals touching my scalp, so I played around with what Young Living had to offer. That's the best thing I could have done for my hair. Currently, I wash my hair 2x/week to protect it from getting spit ends. I also use driers and curling irons very sparingly--once, maybe twice a year.
I gently brush my hair after washing, conditioning, and patting dry. Then I braid it to the side so it's off my neck and out of my face. If I had short hair it would bother me being in my face, so I much prefer the long hair for this reason. I do a bun much of the summer and through the warm months, especially through August when it's, as my son says, "hotter than the surface of the sun" here in southern Georgia.
How about your hair? How do you protect your hair from split ends? Want to ditch the toxins in your shampoo and conditioner, just let me know! I've got ya covered!
Love & God Bless,
Regina Graham
Me and my beautiful Momma in July of last year.
I am not a doctor. I cannot diagnose, prescribe, or treat anyone
for any disease or sickness.
I was looking through my blog posts and realized I'd written this one around February 10th or so...
This past week has been a whirlwind! The whirlwind that most likely will not be ending or coming to a culimnation or settling down until Monday or Tuesday of next week. (More on that later)
This past week has been a whirlwind! The whirlwind that most likely will not be ending or coming to a culimnation or settling down until Monday or Tuesday of next week. (More on that later)
It's interesting how things change in our lives and just wrap and intertwine throughout every little crack and crevice.
I know I"m being vague and I apologise!
Our son, daughter-in-love who is due to have their 2nd little one in June, and our grandson moved in with us this past weekend. What excitement!
I love having them here! I love teaching him and giving him things to occupy his time. He LOVES helping me, which melts my heart! Today I was dusting when he got home from running to town with his Momma and said, "Nana, can I help you dust?" So I gave him a washcloth, sprayed it with Thieves Household Cleaner and asked him to work on the bench for me. And he did it with such a HUGE grin on his face!
Later, I asked my oldest son to brush our 100 pound collie, Gus. Then added, "Why not ask *A* to help?" So Gus laid down on the floor and let them brush him, after a few minutes, they'd give him a little treat, then they'd brush more. It's the longest I've seen Gus so willing to be brushed! LOL I don't know if it's just the little boy brushing him or all the treats that kept him there. LOL
I'm running on sheer exhaustion right now. As-a-matter-of-fact, right now it is 9:39pm and I should be heading to bed, but when I get an idea to write about, I need to write or I'll forget. I do my arm stretches and exercises 2 times a day, then ice it, then keep my schedule for pain meds, then Lavender to help with brusing, Lemongrass to help with swelling, Frankincense to help with "all the things", and Cedarwood to help with oxygenation and healing of the cells. I'm also putting Cool Azul Pain Cream on top of that and prayer....lots and lots of prayer!
I anoint myself and pray for the Lord to heal my shoulder. Sometimes healing comes instantly, but in other times, healing comes with determination, pain--as in breaking the adhesions doing the exercises, and submitting to the Lord's pruning sheers. That's what happens when you ask the Lord to help you be more "fruity." In order to become more fruitful, the vines need pruning. (John 17)
So do I! Pruning hurts! There isn't any other way to put it. Exhaustion comes along with all this, then there are the emotions of everything going on right now.
I'm wiped out!
I think I"ll grant myself some grace and allow myself to rest in the afternoons. It's through rest that our bodies heal themselves, so it's a win-win situation!
Have a lovely and blessed week!
Love & God Bless,
Regina Graham
I am not a doctor. I cannot diagnose, prescribe, or treat anyone
for any disease or sickness.
