Stress-less Summer

Looking for some DIY summer body treatments that will leave your skin smooth and glowing? Look no further! Try out these simple and effective recipes using Young Living essential oils. Make a margarita body scrub using salt, olive oil, tequila, lime juice, and a few drops of Lime essential oil for a natural and refreshing exfoliation. For a body smoothing oil, mix Cel-Lite Magic Massage Oil with Grapefruit essential oil and massage into your legs and arms for a little extra smoothing. And if you want healthy, glowing skin, try making a DIY summer glow serum using CBD Beauty Boost, Frankincense essential oil, and a carrier oil of your choice. Say goodbye to moisturizers and serums, because this one is a game-changer! Don't forget to try out the other recipes like a Vitamin C facial toner, moisturizing oatmeal soak, mermaid hair detangler spray, and DIY nail polish remover as well. Get your summer glow on with these natural and nourishing treatments!

 Summer is officially here! How crazy is that!? Seems like just last week we were celebrating New Year's!

Here are a few tips and tricks to make your camping adventures or beach get-aways a little better!  

                                          
CAMPING NECESSITIES 

Do you love getting outside and exploring?  Do you think to take your Citronella, Geranium, and a battery-powered diffuser along with you? When you are hanging out at your campsite, book in hand, this combo will quickly become your BFF!  Simply fill a battery-powered diffuser with 5-7 drops each Citronella and Geranium and enjoy the incredible smell...and pest-free zone!

                                               BEACH ESSENTIALS Maybe you are more of a beach person?? I've got you covered, too! 

Do you ever feel like you don't have enough time?? 

Losing time is kinda like losing money...but worse...

You can make more money, but you can't make more time...

But, guess what? We all have time, and enough of it. Hard truth is that we waste it on the wrong things and that makes us feel like we don't have enough time. We all have the same 24 hours but some people accomplish so much and others...well...not quite so much...LOL

Let’s take a look at some areas you may be losing time..

First way you lose time is dwelling in the past. You will always feel like you don’t have enough time because you aren’t actually being present for the time you have right now. You are literally giving your time and energy away to the past. Is this you? Do you tend to hold onto the past? Those hurts? Resentments? Mistakes?  Failures? Should haves? That anger?  Can you see where this is not helping you have time in the here and now? 

 

Number 2…you spend a lot of time in fear. Yes, we are living in some crazy times right now. Faith is the opposite of fear. Are you living in faith or are you living in fear? Fear is a thief…it will steal your life. It will steal your time. So, ask yourself, are you living in fear??

 

Next up, are you living in worry? It’s a lot like fear, but a little more ramped up…you spend all your energy and time worrying about what could happen. That worry will paralyze you from living. Think about that…you’re afraid of something that might happen in the future, so you don’t live in the present. You just make the future come true now. Worry brings the future to today. You are living as if it is going to happen. You are already living in it. You will not have time to accomplish what you want in life when you are living in worry.

 

How about judgment of others and comparison…Do you know how much time you spend judging other people and comparing yourself to them instead of doing what you could actually do in the world?? Sooo much!! Social media makes this so easy…you are looking at everyone else’s highlight reel and comparing it to your reality…

Where are my procrastinators?? Procrastination is such a big one! Ever been overwhelmed by that looming to do list and just not do any of it at all? Here’s a little secret about procrastination…most of the time you will eventually get that thing done, but in the process, you’ll be stressed and overwhelmed, but then you’ll actually do the thing and it won’t even take you that long to do it…but until then, you overthink it, can’t decide how to do it,  do the laundry, the dishes, wash the floor, and the dog, binge Netflix, eat all the cookies, and...think about the thing you really should be doing...How much time did you waste?? Learn to honor your word to yourself and do what you said you were going to do…it’s so empowering to trust yourself to put something on your list and know it will get done. Then when you finish, there are no “should haves” hanging over your head. There’s no shame and no guilt…

 

How much time do you spend in indecision?? Been there…done that…just spent last week there...LOL Most of the time there is no right or wrong decision, here is just the decision you make right by how you choose to think about it. You can spend so much time in the land of indecision… Just decide. Or just decide to decide if you need to. ;)

So…how do we create time?  What is the first way you can create an abundance of time in your life? It’s simple…it’s with your thoughts. You just decide. When you tell yourself I have time and space for all I need and want to do, you feel an openness, an abundance, freedom…you don’t feel pressure, stress…you can breathe easier and relax.

Second way is to plan. Spend a little bit of time planning instead of just diving into the things. Spend 10 minutes each night or each morning planning your day. This is so powerful!! Projects and tasks will take the amount of time you assign to them. If you haven’t assigned a space of time to them, guess how long they take?? Yup - all of that empty space. 

 

What is something you have been putting off doing? It won’t take you that long, but you know you need to do it… You will end up doing it, but in the meantime, you are stressing yourself, and others, out. I challenge you to put that thing on your calendar and get it done. Make a plan.

 

We make time by thinking. We make time by planning. We make time by taking  action. How often do you walk around the thing you need to do in your house? You move it out of your way continuously. You look at it daily. A pile of stuff. Something you need to order. Bills you need to pay. Make a plan. Keep your word to yourself, and do the thing. 

So, how are you wasting time and how are you creating time?

Look back at your last 24 hours. How did you spend them? Look back and see if you can figure it out. You can’t get that time back. 

How are you going to spend your time? Are you going to prioritize your marriage, your family, your home, your health, your faith? Plan it out. When you put more intention around your time, you will find so much of it to do what you need to do or better yet, what you want to do. You’re not wasting it in fear, worry, judgment, comparison, procrastination and indecision, but you are creating it in better ways. You will be living your best life.

 

Are you in?

Hey, hey, my friend!! 

Summer is supposed to be one of the best, most fun times of the year, right? So, why does it seem to be one of the most overwhelming times, too?  We hear a lot of talk about the slow, relaxing days of summer, and there are a few of those, but when you have kids, a job, and a life, summer can feel anything but slow. There are vacations to plan, ball games to attend, work to be done, and all those fun summer activities you want to squeeze in...sometimes it seems more chaotic than carefree...

All those plates you are spinning can make you a little crazy...especially once you realize some are plastic and some of them are glass... A new study from the American Physiological Society says that stress can actually rise during the summer. And I thought it was just me...LOL 

The good news? There are plenty of ways to decrease your stress levels and keep your emotional health in check. We have been learning how important that is on our Sunday Night Lives, remember? ;) 

Before we go further, I want to invite you to Dr. Edie’s Marriage workshop that is taking place on June 2 at noon. I’ve shared a lot of her teachings with you and I think every one of us would benefit from this event, regardless of what your relationship status is. You can register at www.lifeingraceblog.com/reinvent. Hope I will see you there!!

 

One thing I love to do in the summer is read at the lake while the kids enjoy the water. Thought I'd share some of my favorite books on emotions, how our thoughts create those emotions, and how it not only affects our ability to live our best life, but it also affects those around us, even marking our DNA and being passed on to future generations. Emotional work is extremely important work, my friends.

Heal Your Body by Louise Haye. An easy read, simple and quick to use!  https://www.amazon.com/Heal-Your-Body-Louise-Hay/dp/0937611352

Feelings Buried Alive Never Die by Karol Truman. This was tough for me to get into but once she started talking about birth trauma and I could see one of my kiddos in her words, I was hooked…  https://www.amazon.com/Feelings-Buried-Alive-Never-Die/dp/0911207023/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=feelings+buried+alive+never+die&qid=1653661421&s=books&sr=1-1

The Genie in Your Genes by Dr. Dawson Church. Epigenetics, blood transfusions, transplants, DNA, emotional trauma. Your genes respond to your thoughts, emotions and beliefs. I'm particularly interested in snagging this one since I had to have a transfusion 11 years ago... https://www.amazon.com/Genie-Your-Genes-Epigenetic-Intention/dp/1604152435/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=the+genie+in+your+genes&qid=1653661526&s=books&sr=1-1 

Forgiving What You Can’t Forget by Lysa TerKeurst. Discover how to move on, make peace with painful memories, and create a life that’s beautiful again. If you haven't read any of Lysa's books, you are missing out.  https://www.amazon.com/Forgiving-What-You-Cant-Forget/dp/1404114890/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1SW98Z1F3526D&keywords=forgiving+what+you+can%27t+forget&qid=1653661594&sprefix=forgiving+what+you+can%27t+forget%2Caps%2C2769&sr=8-1 
 

The Pathway to Emotional Healing by Jen McCraw. This is very similar to Releasing Emotional Patterns with Essential Oils and I have heard amazing things about this!!  Detailed explanations about how emotions cause physical dis-ease; instructions for releasing emotions and recovering from trauma; 70+ pages of charts with easy-to-follow instructions for releasing over 250 different emotions; Scriptural affirmations; Essential oil application suggestions; Emotional roots of almost 400 physical symptoms and illnesses and more.  https://the-pathway-book.com/ 

Switch On Your Brain by Caroline Leaf.  75-98 percent of the illnesses that plague us today are a direct result of our thought life. What we think about truly affects us both physically and emotionally. Fear alone triggers more than 1,400 known physical and chemical responses in our bodies, activating more than thirty different hormones! https://www.amazon.com/Switch-Your-Brain-Happiness-Thinking/dp/0801018390/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2A3HW3JSEP1KS&keywords=switch+on+your+brain+by+dr.+caroline+leaf+paperback&qid=1653661967&sprefix=switch+on+your+brain+%2Caps%2C1583&sr=8-1

The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel Van Der Kolk, MD. He uses recent scientific advances to show how trauma literally reshapes both body and brain, compromising sufferers’ capacities for pleasure, engagement, self-control, and trust.
 https://www.amazon.com/Body-Keeps-Score-Healing-Trauma/dp/0143127748/ref=sr_1_1?crid=20HRHIFD0KASK&keywords=the+body+keeps+the+score&qid=1653662081&sprefix=the+body+keeps%2Caps%2C1480&sr=8-1

Truth Drops By Stacy McDonald. Hope and healing for those struggling with toxic thoughts, helping you find how a distorted view of self, unresolved hurts and lingering fears can stunt your overall success and learn how to release it all to the God who sees…  https://growinghealthyhomes.com/truthdrops/ 

Winning The War In Your Mind - Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life by Craig Groeschel. Nearly everyone struggles with the battle in their mind on a nearly daily basis. Pastor Craig gives a totally different perspective on dealing with these struggles and shows us clearly how God sees us and how our trust in Him and developing new patterns of thinking puts us on the path to freedom from the poison we and the enemy create in our own heads. https://www.amazon.com/Winning-War-Your-Mind-Thinking/dp/0310363543/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr= 

 

“Get Out Of Your Head” by Jennie Allen. Jennie inspires and equips you to transform your emotions, your outlook, and even your circumstances by taking control of your thoughts. Our enemy is determined to get in our heads to make us feel helpless, overwhelmed, and incapable of making a difference for the kingdom of God. 

https://www.amazon.com/Get-Out-Your-Head-Stopping/dp/1601429649/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1653662822&sr=8-1 
 

I'd love to hear what your favorite summertime reads are!! 

Until you can make your way to your happy reading place, pop this blend into your diffuser and feel yourself start to relax... 

Until next week...

Be well.