Sunday, August 11, 2013

A Manly Post; Essential Oils Aren't Just for Women!

Guest Post: Please join me in welcoming my loving, talented, and supportive husband who wrote this guest blog post today! 

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 My wife is a Young Living distributor; so naturally I have learned a few things about essential oils. I'm no missiOILogist, but when something aches, I have a few oils that I can recommend for someone to try. Over the last 6 months, I have seen my wife minister to refugee women using oils and prayer as a means to point them to Jesus. I have been amazed at the knowledge and care she brings to her ministry! As a good husband, I have advocated for her use of oils and supported her in her endeavors when it comes to purchasing new oils, writing blogs, and attending classes. However, I never planned to actually use the oils outside of our home or even in my ministry to men.

That is until last week..

We meet with a wonderful family each week. We all usually crawl around on the floor and play with my one year old son. We eat tasty Middle Eastern food, drink tea, and watch a lot of Arab T.V. But as our relationship has grown they have begun to share their struggles with us. So, when my friend told me that his back had been hurting for a number of years I offered to pray for him; but my wife also reminded me that she had essential oils.

So I reluctantly offered to use them...fully expecting him to refuse; after all, he is a guy and using oils is more for girls right?



[caption id="attachment_144" align="aligncenter" width="225"]Listen up, guys!  Oils are for manly men, too! Listen up, guys! Oils are for manly men, too![/caption]
Wrong!


 My friend was very excited to try them. So I applied Lavender and Peppermint oil to his back, and applied some heat afterwards. After placing the oils on his back, I prayed in the name of Jesus to heal his back. And to my joyful surprise, God healed his back.

He felt great afterwards!

Praise God!



So here's the point: God is powerful, my friend was healed, and men, oils aren't just for women!


Click here to visit our Young Living website to find out more or to order your own essential oils.

Disclaimer:  Please remember we are not doctors and are just sharing our own experiences with Young Living therapeutic grade essential oils. 

Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Hey Moms...You Can Reach Out and Make a Difference!

Moms-  do you ever feel like you are unable to 'do' ministry?  Do you feel like you can't possibly add another thing to your busy life which is filled with changing diapers, preparing meals, and cleaning up afterwards?

OR... maybe I should ask... Do you know God can use you to transform communities???  Do you know that you and your family can love your refugee or immigrant neighbor like Jesus and not be afraid of the unknowns of a different culture?  Do you know that it might even be easier to befriend foreign born families if you have young children?

Rewind ........

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I felt like I was in a busy phase of life... I had just had a new baby and a 3 year old who loved running around singing "do-do-do-doooooooo.. Batman!"  I was cooking meals, attempting to keep up with the housework, opening our home to our church and our refugee friends a few times a month, supporting my husband in his work. making weekly ministry visits and trying to find ways to diligently teach our eldest son about Jesus' love.

Fast forward less than one year.............

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Now I am living in a beautifully diverse neighborhood where daily I am blessed to interact with and love on my neighbors who have immigrated here from countries that are considered closed to the gospel.  I am still struggling to keep the apartment clean, support my husband, disciple our children and run after our little one as he tries to crawl away and get into something he shouldn't!  But God, in His grace, has allowed me to be a part of my neighbors' lives.

I am just so excited about how God is using me- an imperfect stay-at-home mom who has her hands full -  to try to live out the command to 'love your neighbors as yourself'!

I want to encourage all moms out there that YOU CAN participate in the great commission and not have to make a huge life change or pack up and move your family to another country!

I'm praying that God will give us all a passion and grant us courage and love to reach out to those of our neighbors who have never heard the gospel or met a 'real' Christian before.   Moms, let's open up our homes, our hearts, and our lives for the glory of God!  Let's not be content to live with our comfort in mind, but to truly follow Jesus and love the sojourner and the oppressed.  Let's lay aside the weight that easily entangles us and run this earthly race with endurance and purpose!

.....I can't wait to share with you some ideas on how to get started!