Radical

I (David) just finished reading Radical, by David Platt, so I thought I'd write a little book review!  It was an extremely challenging (and convicting) book that I think all American Christians should read.  While the author really didn't present much that I hadn't heard before, he did it in a way to make me think and want to change my ways.  The book focuses on a call to look at what it should look like to be a follower of Jesus in a world that doesn't know Him.  An excerpt from the book on a sadly accurate portrayal of the American Christian:

When we gather at the [church], we learn to be good.  Being good is defined by what we avoid in  the  world.  We are holy because of what we don't participate in (and at this point we may be the only organization in the world defining success by what we don't do).  We live decent lives in decent homes with decent jobs and decent families as decent citizens.  We are decent church members with little more impact on the world than we had before we were saved.  Though thousands may join us, ultimately we have turned a deaf ear to billions who haven't even heard his name. 

The end of the book calls for a one-year challenge that I have decided to embark on.  It's a five-part challenge: 1) pray for the entire world; 2) read through entire Word; 3) sacrifice your money for a specific purpose; 4) spend time in another context; and 5) commit your life to a multiplying community.  Read the book and join!  If you want to borrow the book, let me know and I'll mail you mine.  Happy reading!

Swagger Wagon

Remember this post? I LOVE these people and seriously I want me a swagger wagon!

And the winner is...

Melissa!  Thanks everyone for entering - It's been fun to see your stories on how you love Norwex and how it has improved your quality of life.  Thanks for entering!
 

True Random Number Generator Min: Max: Result: 3 Powered by RANDOM.ORG 

National Adoption Day

Many wonderful things are happening this month to bring awareness to the need of adoptive and foster care families!  Tomorrow is National Adoption Day and I wanted to highlight a few things about adoption that sometimes are overlooked.


Since 2000, the goal of National Adoption Day has been that every community in the U.S. will have an annual, institutionalized, self-driven celebration of National Adoption Day on or near the Saturday before Thanksgiving, which can include finalizing adoptions of children from foster care and celebrating all adoptions. In total, more than 25,000 children have been adopted from foster care on National Adoption Day. -nationaladoptionday.org

• There are an estimated 463,000 children in foster care in the United States
• Approximately 250,000 children are adopted annually, but… 
• Each year 14, 505, 000 children grow up as orphans and age out of the system by age sixteen
• Each day 38,493 orphans age out
• Every 2.2 seconds another orphan ages out with no family to belong to and no place to call home

There is a great need for families to adopt both here in the US and internationally.  Be a part of something amazing and adopt or foster children.  Two quotes that have really challenged me lately...


“God is looking for people through whom He can do the impossible. What a pity when we plan only the things we can do by ourselves.” - A.W. Tozer


"I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the something I can do." -Helen Keller

Sources: www.hfgf.org; ;www.unaids.org/epi/2005; www.unicef.org; www.nationaladoptionday.org

Please Pray

A family at our church is literally praying for their daughter's life.  Please read this blurb from their blog describing briefly what transpired:

Ella was delivered by emergency c-section on Wednesday, Nov. 10. Christa had been having discomfort that was unusual for her and not like her other pregnancies. She went to see the doctor on Wednesday morning and was convinced to have an ultra-sound to try to determine what the problem might be. While doing the ultra-sound they discovered an extremely enlarged heart and determined that they should get the baby out right away. The medical term for what is going on is Fetal Cardiomyopathy. Her left ventricle had ballooned and her heart was filling her whole chest. 

*You can click on the title of this post to get to Ella's blog.

Coconuts In My Pits (Deodorant Challenge Update)

It's been over a month since I posted the deodorant challenge and almost forgot that I needed to tell you about my body odor or lack thereof this last month!  It has been a pleasant and wonderful smelling experience and I really like the new deodorant!

After the initial post about making the deodorant, I had to rework mine a little.  It was melting too easily so I added more corn starch and baking powder.  I wish I measured how much but I just added more until the texture was firm but still pliable.  I also decided to transfer the deodorant from the old degree stick to a small glass container.

I only had two willing bodies who tried the challenge!  Kim (my sister) and David (the hubs).  They both liked the deodorant have great reviews of the product they made.  

Kim says:

I have really enjoyed making and wearing my own homemade deodorant.  It works just as good, if not better, than deodorant you buy in the store.  I haven't noticed any smelliness from my pits at all, just fresh coconuts!  I started out just rubbing it on with my fingers but have moved on to filling an old deodorant container with my homemade deodorant and applying it like any other deodorant.  It seems to be working nicely and is not as messy.  I really enjoy the fact that I know what is in my deodorant and that is not harmful for me.  I would encourage you to try it out!  It's fun and easy to do. Thanks Kel for challenging me to try it.

David says:

I really had low expectations for the homemade deodarant and thought I would use it for about a week and go back to my Old Spice.  However, I haven't had any foul body odor yet!   Granted, I don't sweat that much.  Overall, I have been impressed and have seen how easy it is to make.  I plan on continuing with the deodorant for the foreseeable future.  

If anyone else decides to try it, let me know what you think.  My next experiment might be homemade toothpaste! 

Norwex (A Giveaway!)

I've been meaning to tell you all about Norwex, an amazing company and product.  I am a proud Norwex consultant and haven't even told my blog friends!  I started selling Norwex about 6 months ago and have now been using the products in my home for nearly 3 years.  I am a very frugal person and like to save money so that is what originally got me interested in it and now I'm totally sold!

If you haven't heard of Norwex let me give you a brief description so you are up to date on why I love it so much!

The main product and how Norwex was born is through their amazing silver embedded microfiber cloth.  The microfiber is a very high quality, the threads they use are the size of a human hair split between 100 & 200 times. Because it’s such a fine thread it is able to absorb more dust and bacteria and dirt etc.!  The silver embedded in the cloth actually suffocates bacteria therefore killing it up to 99.99% within 24 hours!!  This has been tested against SARS, Salmonella, E. Coli, Streptococcus (faecalis and pyogenes) and a few others that I've never heard of!  

When cleaning with Norwex microfiber cloths you only want to use water.  Using any sort of soap or chemical actually puts a barrier between the bacteria and the silver therefore not allowing it to kill the bacteria as easily.  Using only water to clean has many benefits.  Cleaning with Norwex is the easiest thing you can do for yourself and it will save you literally hundreds of dollars. 

The great thing about all this is in the end it saves you lots of money (no more paper towels, no more windex, bleach, or other floor cleaners etc.), is so simple and still kills bacteria while keeping the home environment safe for you!  I use these cloths for everything in my house including my whole bathroom, the kitchen, the windows & mirrors, my face (to remove make up and wash my face) and on Norah!  The company has many great products but that is the basic antibac cloth.  There are different weaves of the basic cloth that you can use for mirrors/windows and face and body.

A few of the main products:

Enviro Cloth (basic cloth) comes in four colors for $14.50 each

Basic Antibac Package (one enviro cloth & one window cloth) $28.99

Antibac Body Pack (three 12X12 cloths, comes in two color scheme choices) $16.99

Baby Body Pack (three 8X8 cloths in pastel only) $14.99 *This is what we use on our face and YES it does remove makeup!

It’s great to feel like we are taking better care of Norah by not having chemicals in our home or on our floors or anywhere near our little babe. 

Here is my old bathroom, yes I know SICK.  But, just keeping it real.  I cleaned one side (right) with the Norwex antibac cloth with only water!  I was able to remove all the buildup and kept my tub much cleaner after this :) *Click on the image to enlarge*

This is an example of a friends hallway carpet.  She had a Norwex party and we took a cloth with only water and rubbed for about two minutes to get this result!  I just wanted to demonstrate how easy dirt can be absorbed into the cloths.

Click here for a review on Norwex from my new favorite website, Passionate Homemakeing!

Leave a comment (and send your friends here to leave one too) telling me why you love Norwex, a success story or one cleaning item you will discard if you win a Norwex cloth!  I will draw a winner on Sunday November 21st!  Make sure in your comment you tell me your name so I can contact you if you win!

If you have questions about Norwex or simply want to place an order, email me at kelly.blomgren@gmail.com  I know when I first learned about Norwex I was very skeptical, so please ask any questions!

We Love Fall!

 We love the fall for so many reasons.  These pictures tell a few...

Family Time at the Orchard!

 Norah's first pumpkin patch!

We still have a few mini mountains in our back drop here in Spokane :)

She Walks!

Elderberry Syrup

Since it's sore throat and cold season we thought we'd stock up on some remedies before they hit.  Not really stock up but just having some homeopathic options on hand is something we like to do.

I've actually been wanted to try elderberry syrup for about a year and then came across a video on how to make it yourself.  It's much more cost effective to make the syrup yourself rather than buying it in the store.  Also, if you buy it in the store you will go through it very quickly.  The syrup can be used as a preventative as well as medicinal for when you have a sore throat.  You take 1 tablespoon daily to boost immune system and up to 1 tablespoon per hour during sickness.  Kids will even like it since it's a sweet syrup made with honey.  Check out the video and see how easy it is!  My elder berries are ordered and getting here later this week.

“Elderberry is anti-viral, contains high levels of flavonoids and antioxidants, has cell-protecting components, soothes sore throats, and supports the immune system and respiratory system.” -passionatehomemaking.com