Now this is our boast: Our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially in our relations with you, with integrity and godly sincerity. We have done so, relying not on worldly wisdom but on God’s grace. For we do not write you anything you cannot read or understand. And I hope that, as you have understood us in part, you will come to understand fully that you can boast of us just as we will boast of you in the day of the Lord Jesus. - II Corinthians 1:12-14
Even the Apostle Paul sometimes dealt with imposter syndrome. Often it came up because others were questioning his motives or his wisdom. In the passage above, he feels the need to confirm that he’s good with what he preaches and how he preaches it. He doesn’t try to convince his readers, he just says that he knows where he stands.
This is super helpful to me. I am a convincer. I want to make sure others know what I know and believe what I believe. Even to the point of hearing my own arguments in my head when I’m alone. But that is not what I am called to. I fully believe that the work I am doing is a calling and that the Holy Spirit leads me in it. But when I come up against opposition, I am often tempted to convince the opposer of my value or the value of my words. But I don’t need to. I am created by God and led by God to live in His love and grow His kingdom in my corner of the world. Even typing those words makes me calmer. And the opposer is responsible for what he believes and how he behaves. It is not my job to correct or convince. Conviction is the job of the Holy Spirit.
And let’s be real. A lot of what I perceive as opposition is built up in my mind and not really wholly intended by the person I feel threatened by. It has for sure happened that I’ve taken something someone has said and made a big thing about it in my head (I call this process spinning) by going over and over what they said and how I would have liked to respond. But of course I didn’t think of all these amazing responses in the moment, so I’m creating them later in imaginary land. When I have these imaginary conversations, it changes my perception of the person who hurt me, usually for the worst. But if I pray for them and the situation, it quietens the imaginary conversations, encourages a real conversation or frees me to let go of the situation entirely.
The real point here is not about the other person at all. Its about value. I don’t get my value from others. So I don’t need to be concerned about other’s perceptions of me. Whether I live into this truth or not relies solely on the depth of my relationship with Jesus. There is no amount of self-help or willful discipline that will give me this contentment. I need to be deeply moved by the love of Jesus for me. I won’t be convinced without spending time with Him.
Today, after reading about Paul’s conscientious conviction, I went for a walk and just rested in Jesus’ love. Sometimes prayer isn’t about talking, its about being quiet and letting Him love you.
The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk
through the darkest valley,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Surely your goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
forever. – Psalm 23
I hope you find time to rest in Jesus too this weekend. I recommend diffusing lavender & lemon EOs for a fresh, calming blend while you pray.
Just a note about the current deals with Young Living that I mentioned in the last post. The Diffusers & Welcome Home Bundle are still available (while supplies last) and of course the gifts with purchase will expire on March 31.
The $10 product credit that Young Living gifted me to share with the first new purchaser this month is still available. We had a new purchaser already but she didn’t contact me first so I could transfer it to her account so she got $10 cash and I still have a product credit to share through the Young Living website. So if you’re going to be the one that wisely makes oils an essential part of your life, contact me first by replying to this email or texting me.

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Hey friends, I’ve been unfaithful to you. I haven’t put much time, presence or energy into my blog or my essential oils sharing. I don’t say this to make you concerned for my well-being or offer assurances that its ok. Perhaps really I just hope to receive forgiveness in the form of giving me your time when you do hear from me. 😊
I’ve been working on figuring out how to show up here. I want to serve you, offer hope in our dark world and take you along on my adventures so that perhaps you too can be inspired to try something new that takes you just a bit out of your comfort zone. But determining which of my adventures are appropriate for public sharing is my struggle.
One adventure I’m currently on is one of fasting. Yes, I know many of us are fasting from something for Lent, but I’m actually fasting from food. I don’t know how long I will fast. I had been thinking last week that perhaps I would fast 2 days per week throughout Lent. However, I’m not sure what the motivation was for this except that we’re supposed to fast from something and I’m not happy with my recent weight gain. But that’s a terrible reason.
However, I began yesterday as a prompt from the Lord when I awoke in the morning. I had gone to sleep praying and woke up with the word “fast”, so I did. I haven’t been given the word “eat” yet, so I’m not. I know that sounds a little crazy, but I do believe that word will come, so I wait.
It hasn’t been too difficult yet. Making dinner was pretty tough, though. I make a menu plan ahead of time most weeks, so it seemed like the best idea was to stick to the schedule. Except yesterday’s offering was a favourite of mine so I seriously considered caving. I was also suffering from a pretty intense headache so the thought that eating might relieve it was part of the temptation. But as I was stirring the risotto, it occurred to me that I didn’t begin fasting because I don’t like food, so why would I end it because I do?  It did occur to me that God would not love me less if I eat the risotto, but I wondered what will I gain if I don’t? I know for many of you, food isn’t as compelling but as my daughter says about me “You live to eat while others eat to live”.
I then tried to remember what Jesus said to the devil in the wilderness when he was tempted to turn the stone to bread. He very simply said, “It is written, man does not live on bread alone.” (Luke 4:4) He was quoting from Deuteronomy though, so I looked up the reference.
“Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands? He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the Lord your God disciplines you. Observe the commands of the Lord your God, walking in obedience to him and revering him. For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land – a land with brooks, streams, and deep springs, gushing out into the valleys and hills” (Deuteronomy 8:2-7).

I have wandered in a (work) wilderness for 2½ years and I believe that God has a richer work life in store for me than I can even imagine. So I fast and wait, read and pray and write, and know that Jesus will sustain me.
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I covet your prayers also if you have a moment or two for me. I’d love to hear if the season of Lent has created any new practices for you or if you’re fasting from something also. Next year I may have to think about fasting from shopping. I spent a few dollars yesterday on new pots for my plants that are outgrowing their current digs. I suppose its justified in caring for creation, right?
I’m also working on revamping my website and getting better tools for newsletters about oily offerings. In the meantime there are some great deals right now that I have to let you in on.
There is a smaller starter bundle available (until supplies last) which is a great option if the usual starter bundle price feels like a lot for you. It has an adorable diffuser included and 7 of the most popular oils in 5 ml bottles. A
5 ml bottle gets you about 85 drops so definitely enough to keep you going for a while.
I recommend if you get this bundle, to sign up right away for Essential Rewards and put Frankincense on your next month’s order since it doesn’t come with this bundle and is so widely used. I put it on my face every day and always on any blemishes anywhere on my body.
Alternatively, two of Young Living’s diffusers are on clearance so if you already have oils and need more rooms diffused, now is the time. These are 50% off and only until supplies last. I recommend the Desert Mist Diffuser for its appearance and more time and light options.
By the way, I have 2 product credits of $10 to give away to my first two new oily friends this month.
Also, placing an order this month is a great idea because the gift with purchase is Thieves products. The small spray is the first free gift which I use as sanitizer everywhere I go and spray on doorknobs and other frequent touch locations around my house. As your purchase amount increases, the gifts get better and bigger with Thieves Household Cleaner (THHC) and Thieves Foaming Hand Soap under the proverbial tree. I use THHC to clean everything in my house, even my cast iron pans as I found it takes anything sticky off without scrubbing (see my Lavender Adventures FB page for that story).