Month: June 2016

Review-“Be Your Own Doctor”

esther7dancingLeave a comment

I went out with a girlfriend of mine one night and she mentioned that she hardly ever goes to the doctor and tries “natural” ways to solve everyday sicknesses with kids.  I was curious on how she went about this so I asked her where she learned how to do these natural remedies for sicknesses.  She said she started by reading “Be Your Own Doctor” by Rachel Weaver M.H.   I am not against the medical world and I think there is a time and place, that if you are too sick and the “natural” ways aren’t working, then you should go see your doctor.  We have had severe emergencies in our family that we needed the atmosphere and help of a hospital and the medical world.  But I do think God has given us many things in this world like herbs and plants that aid in the healing process.  I think he has provided us with many different ways to help heal sickness and so I thought it was worth getting the book to satisfy my curiosity.

After spending some time with the book, I am hooked.  Rachel Weaver has so much helpful information that would help families in gaining knowledge on how to help the healing process of your everyday sicknesses.  For example, I learned that chamomile is a natural pain reliever for sore muscles.  You can easily take a chamomile bath by steeping some chamomile tea bags in a pan of water and then pouring it into your bath water.  Rachel Weaver also talks about salves which are like thick oils that you can use for medicinal purposes.  She puts the recipe in the book and tells you how to make it.  We used the “Green Salve” which is for every day scrapes, bruises or cuts on my daughter.  She had fallen and her arm was all scraped up.  When I put the “Green Salve” on her arm, she said the pain went away.  “Green Salve” is a natural antibiotic that takes the place of something like neosporin.

“Be Your Own Doctor” not only gives you a wealth of information on what different herbs and plants do, the author also includes many recipes on how to implement them in your life.  There are 101 stories of how people used “natural” ways to solve sicknesses. This gives you a excellent perspective on how the different remedies can be used in everyday life.  I am one of those people that if I like something, I am all in.  This made me appreciate the list of supply stores that she put in the back of her book, so that I could either purchase ready made salves, tinctures and other “natural” products or she listed companies that sold the different ingredients you might need.  The most economical way would be to grow the plants yourself.

Some items I just want to buy but other things like the “Green Salve”, I want to use more and make it.  It depends on whether you would feel ambitious enough to try some of the different recipes.  They are actually quite easy to do.  I am taking it one little step at a time.  I am picking a couple of things that I want to have ready medically in my cupboard.  I am also involving the kids by having them help me make some of the different recipes.  My daughter is especially excited to see the science behind the different things we make.

“Be Your Own Doctor” is a book worthy of your library in my opinion.  There are some recipes  and valuable information in there for everybody.  You can find the book on Amazon or at Rachel Weaver’s website which is bulkherbstore.com.  She even has kits if you don’t want to think about how to get stuff or how to start.

This was my adventure for the week.  Until next time….

Trim Healthy Mama

esther7dancingLeave a comment

Part of being in the adventure of homeschooling and raising a family is staying healthy.  When I eat healthy, I feel better and am able to function better in everything that I do.  I found “Trim Healthy Mama” awhile ago and I love eating this way.  What I love about Trim Healthy Mama is that it is not a diet, its a way of eating for life.  I love to eat, I love all kinds of variety of food and enjoy trying different things, I have no desire to diet.  Trim Healthy Mama is the perfect fit for me because its all about starting a healthy lifestyle.

Trim Healthy Mama was started by two sisters who wanted to get healthy and eat the amazing food that God has provided for us.  They have 18 kids between them and desired not only a healthy lifestyle for themselves but for their families as well.  The Trim Healthy Mama method is eating protein with every meal but not mixing your carbs and fats.  They call them S and E meals.  If you are having an S meal, you are having protein with fats.  An example of this would be a cheesy omelette or steak and vegetables.  If you are having an E meal then you are having your protein with carbs.  An example of this would be oatmeal with fruit or a turkey sandwich with all the fixings minus the cheese.  What I love about this lifestyle of eating is that I am never going hungry, I am just changing the way I eat food.  Trim Healthy Mama takes out all sugar but provides alternatives that are amazing.  The natural sweeteners that I use instead of sugar keep you trim and you don’t miss the sugar.

The best way to understand the Trim Healthy Mama method is to read their book the “Trim Healthy Mama Plan”.  It gives in detail the science behind the method and why it works.  It also is a great guidebook on how to get started and how it works.  Another benefit of the Trim Healthy Mama plan is that it is diabetic friendly.  When you take out the sugar and don’t mix you carbs and fats, you are keeping your blood sugar from spiking.  I personally know diabetics that are finding it helpful to eat on the Trim Healthy Mama plan.  They also wrote their own cookbook, which is a great tool to have.  They have many different recipes which takes the work out having to come up with it yourself.  But my favorite thing that “Trim Healthy Mama” has created is their website membership.  For 5 dollars a month, you get access to not only the recipes that THM has come up with but different bloggers as well.  They have “THM television” which is the two sisters showing you how to make certain recipes.  They also have different research behind the different methods that they use which are awesome for a research geek like me.  Check out their website at www.trimhealthymama.com.

Trim Healthy Mama allows me to enjoy eating and feel great too.  Its worth checking out!

 

 

“Do Hard Things” -Book Review

esther7dancingLeave a comment

One of the things that I like to do in my homeschooling is give my kids “growth” books that challenge them to grow spiritually or in character.  The most recent book that I have given my 14 year old to read is the book “Do Hard Things” by Alex and Brett Harris.  These brothers wrote a book that challenges teens to live according to God’s way of thinking instead of the world’s way of thinking.  They call it the “rebelution” which consists of teenagers having a rebellion against low expectations.  To realize that even as a teen you don’t have to live with low expectations but can rise to change the world in amazing ways.

They give many examples within their book of teens that are currently changing the world by following in the adventure that God has for each of them.  For example, there is teenage boy named Zach Hunter who has a heart to stop human trafficking.  At the age of 12 he started with the simple idea of using loose change that you might find in between your couch cushions to loosen chains of the people who are victims of human trafficking.  He presented the idea to different peers and schools and ended up founding an organization that he still runs today as an adult which is called LC2LC (Loose Change to Loosen Chains).  He was a 12 year old that wanted to make a difference and stepped out in the adventure that God was giving him.  This is just one of the stories that can inspire young people to realize their potential now as a young person pursuing the things of God.

Unknown51kXpSNq93L._AC_US160_

“Do Hard Things” is a book that I would encourage to be on your homeschool list of “must read”.   They have also wrote other books to follow up the “Do Hard Things”.  The next book that they wrote is called “Start Here” which gives the next step for teenagers in their journey of discovering the adventure God has for them.  It gives more direction on how you might start walking out your individual adventure that God has designed specifically for you.  They are also in the process of releasing a parent book that talks about parenting world changers.  Their website is therebelution.com.  You will find current inspiring stories of teenagers changing the world and other helpful resources for your teen.

I believe that God has amazing and unique plans for each of our children.  We have the awesome privilege of helping them discover the gifts and talents that God has given them and leading them to discover their own intimate relationship with Jesus.  One of the things I try to do as often as I can with these books I give my kids, is to read them myself and cultivate an atmosphere of discussion with them to help them start thinking.  I am excited to see how each of my children walk out their own adventures with God.