The Garden

I recently attended a Garden Party offered by our Women's Ministry team.  I went with the expectation of escaping mommy-hood for a moment and having some grown-up conversation with sisters in my church family.  What I did not expect, but what in fact happened, was a worship experience.  When we walk into a worship experience unexpectedly, and we come face to face with the almighty God, the experience is just so much sweeter. Don't ya think?

I limited God in what He could do with that moment in time.  I put my own expectations in place of His much greater blessings.  He drew me closer to Him when I was in a mindset of escape.  Has anyone else noticed the many paradoxes in God's ways?  They never cease to rightfully put me in a state of awe. 

Not the actual party, but quite similar. I will get a picture of our party.

At first, I assumed that the reason for the theme of the event was a garden party because it was convenient to decorate for that kind of party especially when the ministry already had so many of the that type of decor in their store room.  Some flowers, some pots, a watering can and voila, garden party done. Let me clarify that I don't think, by any means, that the leaders of our women's ministry team look for the easiest way out of anything.  They are super hard working laborers for the Lord.  This was evidenced by the beauty they were able to display with gorgeous detail in a very plain room with black rubber floors.  When they shared why they chose the theme, it immediately became clear that this was not a convenience thing at all, instead it was nothing short of a blessing.

At that party, God reminded me through our church's women's ministry leaders, the speaker, a small book, and the music leader of the beautiful, albeit perfect (of course), metaphor of the garden.  Jesus Himself uses the Parable of the Sower to describe the type of soil needed for a seed to take proper root. Everyone is a plot of land, a meaningless spot of dirt until we accept Him.  He cultivates us and prepares us for His use and plan, a plan to prosper us for His kingdom.  For the purpose of us to then share the Seed of His Word with others. When He has prepared their soil then those seeds can take root, and so on as it is meant to be by the Creator of all Life. We are not called to work the soil of hearts of others, that is His labor, we were only called to spread the Seed of His Gospel, Jesus' last command to His people.

Additionally, He reminded me that this metaphor must be introspective, too. He desires for me to grow in His garden and be fruitful for His purposes, not my own. Realizing that it is His love, mercy, and grace that waters my soul to make me fruitful.  And by that fruit, others will see Him and seeds can be planted for them to become fruitful, as well.

It is all beautiful, perfect, and ALWAYS good in God's garden.  

My "Poo-Free" Experiment

Ooo! Gross!
Yeah, I know, but I'm not speaking of that "poo"!  I'm talking shampoo here.  In my attempt to continue moving toward being a good steward of all that God has provided by making most of the cost effectiveness of the cleaning items I use in my home, I began to look at my beauty products, as well.  I tried toothpaste for a while.  It worked great!  However, I developed some tooth sensitivities and had to begin using store bought toothpaste made specifically for sensitive teeth to get some relief.  I still use (and have my children use) a homemade whitening toothpaste occasionally to brighten our smiles.

Moving to a poo-free life was not difficult at all.  I began about six months ago. I simply began using baking soda to wash my hair.  I use it two different ways.  When I have it mixed, my preferred method is half baking soda and half water.  After a quick shake in the shower to mix it up (water and baking soda separate when left to sit for a period of time), the mixture squirts easily from a bottle and I can get it down to my scalp better.  When I don't have this mixed up, I also keep a bottle of just baking soda.  I put a small amount in my palm, let the shower stream spray on the pile, rub my hands together until it is a shampoo-consistency and apply to my hair.

Either way, I have found that the SECRET to using baking soda for shampoo is scrubbing all the way down to the scalp.  And making sure every hair comes in contact with the soda.  It really is just that simple!

My hair did not respond well at first.  It felt super oily, sticky and heavy for the couple of weeks.  Of course, my hair has never been accused of being dry.  Just one missed day of shampooing, prior to this experiment, and my hair was a greasy mess!

THE SCIENCE BEHIND IT: I believe the oily, sticky, heavy feeling is due to your hair being used to overproducing oils when the chemical cleaning/stripping agents in store bought shampoos are applied to it daily.  So when you quit, it takes a few weeks for your hair to regulate oil production to the mild cleaning action of baking soda.  I have even heard of people whose hair has regulated to only being rinse by water each day.  Bless their hearts!  Maybe someday, but I am not there yet.

For whatever reason, at first I had to wash it everyday to get it even close to styleable.  Everyday got a little better and soon I found myself washing less often, so that now I can sometimes even go 3-4 days between washings!  This is amazing for a girl who, when using shampoo, had to wash at least every other day.  I could never go three days, and even the second day was iffy at best! I am impressed with how clean my hair feels, how well it styles, and the money I have saved.

***If I feel I need to condition, a half of a pea-sized amount of extra virgin coconut oil, tames the frizz and makes my hair feel soft as a cloud.

****Another fact I should point out is that I do not color my hair. I am not sure how this method works on colored hair.

I have not gotten my family on board yet, but my husband is getting close to trying it, so we will see how that works out!