Leading by example

This morning I was doing my daily devotions and I was in Genesis 22. You know the story; God wanted to test Abraham, so he told him to sacrifice his son, Isaac. The two traveled to Mount Moriah where Abraham built an alter and was about to offer his son to God, when an angel of the Lord stopped him. He had passed the test.

If you're anything like me you have heard this message time and time again - a message of faith and obedience. But today when I was reading, that's not what came to me. Now, I am convinced that Isaac knew exactly what was going on by the time they reached the mountain and built the alter. There is no word of a struggle, of Isaac trying to flee or of him pleading for his life with his father. No, I believe that Isaac was ready and willing to let his father sacrifice him. And this is what spoke to me. Did God talk to Isaac and tell him what he had commanded his father to do? That everything was going to be alright? Maybe. But, and this is only my personal theory, I don't really think so. I believe that Isaac's compliance came from the fact that he simply trusted his father to do God's will and what was best for him.

What a concept. I want that. I want to be so solid in my obedience to God, so blatent in my love for and service to him that my children would follow my lead, do as I say without question, because they fully and completely trust that I am doing God's will and what I believe is the best thing for them. I want them to trust me, even when they don't understand, when they can't see the point or the purpose - and it all starts with my obedience. Oh how I want to be an Abraham, not only in service to God, but in service to my children.

Homemade Wipe Solution

Okay, so this isn't exactly food (although you could eat it if you wanted to, but I'm not sure what would compel someone to do such a thing), but it is a recipe. My family cloth diapers and we also use cloth wipes. When we were in the NICU the nurses didn't use any kind of solution on their wipes, just water, and that's what we've been using since. However, a few weeks ago their poops started changing (over share?) and I decided it was time for something a little... cleaner. Enter the wipe solution. I researched various recipes and created my own based on what I found, so I thought I'd share it with you.

What you'll need:

1 tablespoon Coconut, Almond, Apricot, or some other fruit/nut oil (I used Organic Unrefined Coconut Oil)

1 tablespoon Dr. Bronner's Castile Soap (They have multiple fragrances, but I just used the unscented)

4 drops Organic Tea Tree Essential oil

4 drops Organic Lavender Essential oil

1 teaspoon White vinegar (Omit this is your baby has a rash!)

2 1/2 cups water

Add all the ingredients in a bowl and whisk until fully combined (not too much though, to avoid foaming the soap)

At this point you can do a couple things; you can put the solution into a bottle and spray your wipes as you use them, or you can wet the wipes and store them. We have a Prince Lionheart Cloth Wipes Warmer that we were lovingly and generously given by a sweet friend at our baby shower, so I apply the solution and put my wipes in that. I used a squirt bottle and arranged my wipes on a clean surface, then I applied the solution over the wipes evenly (both sides).

And done! This made enough for about 40 wipes, which will last us about 4 days. You could very easily double the recipe and store the remaining solution in a larger bottle, but it only took about 5 minutes to make from start to finish. Much cheaper and "greener" than buying disposable wipes every week!


Tips and side-notes:
- You can use different essential oils based on your preferences. I chose lavender for it's antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antiseptic, aromatic, and sedative properties, and Tea Tree oil for it's antibacterial, antifungal, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antiseptic, and antiviral properties. Just make sure that whatever oils you choose are organic and truly essential. Read the fine print!

- The use of vinegar is also for anti-fungal purposes.

- You can also add more or less soap. I prefer not to have that filmy feeling left over, and I think it tends to dry out skin, so I use less than some recipes call for.

Be successful and happy, not a mother.

If you haven't seen the latest Beyaz birth control commercial, here's a summary. Four very chic women walk into the proverbial department store of life. There they spend the next few minutes browsing over all the things the world store has to offer. Money, vacations, boyfriends, etc. Eventually one of the women stumbles upon a stork carrying a bundle, which she hastily backs away from. The women leave with their chosen goods and the commercial ends.

Maybe I'm only perturbed by this because I am a mother, but I find the insinuation here to be completely insulting. Throughout the commercial we are told that with this birth control you have *choices*, as if to say "You don't have to be doomed to a depressing life of motherhood! Don't you know that if you allow yourself to become a mother you will instantly also become uneducated, miserable, poor, alone, and in all other ways imprisoned?"

It's amazing to me how the world has turned such an awesome thing into an inferior burden. Not that long ago the idea of a mother staying home taking care of her children was the norm. Not so these days. No, these days to even suggest such a thing to some women is an insulting smack in the face. When did raising children become déclassé? I, personally, don't think there is any job in existence more important than that of raising of a human being. Do children come with responsibility? Of course they do, everyone knows that. But being a mother, having children, is not the end of life. It is the beginning of a new life, though. It gives you an entirely new perspective, new priorities, new principles - and honestly, I don't think that's a bad thing. Becoming a mother expands your bounds of compassion and sympathy, it causes you to see what really matters in life, and it shows you who your true friends are. But that's not really the way the world works, is it? Because in this world we are driven by a selfish mentality, thanks in part to the messages we are bombarded with on a daily basis.

As for me? Becoming a mother has, without a shadow of a doubt, made me a better person. So thanks anyways Beyaz, but you can keep it.

What it's all about.

Welcome!

I realize that for a while I will be catering to a somewhat scant close knit group of readers, so if you've made your way over to read this, thank you! I've had casual blogs in the past, but this time I am diving in with the intention of really throwing myself into this. Thus, the fabulous new blog design - courtesy of the lovely Sarah over at Kingdom Twindom. My goal in blogging is to share my faith, my life, my heart, and some of my food with you. It is my plan to be transparently honest in hopes that I can inspire others to do the same, to be who they are as God made them, without a facade. I plan to practice what Mrs. Kingdom Twindom coined as "Bold Blogging" - a blog where I will not inhibit or impede what I know to be true through Christ simply to display an attitude of political correctness. So, what that said again I welcome to you to my blog and I really hope you enjoy reading as much as I will enjoy sharing. See you soon!