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. 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). If this impacted you in some way share it with someone you know! Bless everyone reading this by sharing your own experience in the comments below.
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