Unencumbered Living

Laundry

I make my own laundry soap & fabric softener. I use 1 bar of Fels Napa Bar soap grated
1 cup of Borax
1cup of Super Wash Soda
1 cup of Oxi Clean

I also use a Black & Decker Food Processor to grate & mix the soaps.

To mix & grate the bar soap. Put one cup of one of the powered soap in the food processor before grating the bar soap. It will make mixing easier. Mix well before adding the other 2 cups of dry ingredients. Once everything is mixed, store into a container.

When removing the lid to the food processor, be careful of the dust. Do not inhale the dust.

I have HE washer & use only one tbsp for a heavy load. I use less for smaller loads.

For the fabric softener, I use Distilled Vinegar & Essential Oils Tea Tree Oil & Lavender about 20 drops in 32 oz of vinegar. If you are using Tea Tree separate from the Lavender only put 10 drops from each.

I use Tea Tree Oil to keep bugs away in the summer. You can use whatever scent of oil you like.

* Remember shake the vinegar each time before use. *

I put the vinegar right in the fabric softener dispenser.

If what I offer here is relevant to you in any way, please consider donating. As I tend to my family (disabled hubby and homeschooled kids) I write in my free time. No knitting here but I love Taco Bell now and then and your donations help keep the spicy food coming. Every donation is appreciated!!!

Donations are not tax deductible.

Unwanted Patterns

Noticed any patterns in your life you want to stop?

Some of the patterns could have been passed down from generation to generation.   Or you started our own. It could be how you think to the food choices you pick. Sometimes it takes fresh eyes to help see where the pattern might have started or the steps of the pattern.

Start by looking at what you want to change. Write it down, this helps to stay focus on one thing at a time.   Then keep your eyes open during your day to see what might trigger the pattern to start, write that down.   Jot notes down what happens during the pattern.   How do you feel during it, will be good to write down also. Look over what you wrote down to see if you notice the pattern anywhere else in your life or your family life. Information is powerful when you are looking to change your life.   Contact me, I can help.

Coffee

Coffee is a must for my mornings.   I have not always been a coffee drinker.   In my younger years I would go to a coffee shop & have a cup of coffee while I visited with friends.   Then I got married & it was once in a while with dessert.   Had my first child & still was only when I was up all night with him.   My coffee maker & grinder would last forever. Since I would rarely was used it.

As the family grew to 2 kids, coffee was a must. I started to wear out coffee makers & grinders left & right.   I have tried all different types & brands along the way.   All of the coffee makers made coffee & the grinders all ground the beans.   I did not favor one over the other until we lost power in a storm & no way to make coffee. I’m sure my hubby thought of some way to make coffee for me. But there had to be an easier way.

When visiting one of our friends house they had a coffee press. No power need to make coffee!!! Let all rejoicing begin!!!!!!!    Over the years I tried different brands of coffee presses all worked just fine. I’m using right now the Hamilton Beach Grinder, Travel Coffee Press (when I have the need to travel) & Coffee Press.

Now all I need is hot water. No problem, that is the easy part.   I use for my everyday use is a electric tea kettle. In about 3 minutes I have hot water.

I’m not going to get in to the brand of coffee or even the creamer I use. Everyone has their own likes & dislikes.   I will say my coffee is the reason I roll out of bed in the morning.

Who are You in Christ?

Do you know who you are in Christ?

Do you know the treasures that are in you? Sometimes it can be buried under stuff that we picked up through life. Contact me, I got shovels to help dig.

These books are helpful: for guys Wild At Heart by John Eldredge; for girls Becoming Myself:Embracing God’s Dream of You by Stasi Eldredge

How do you know the design God gave you? What is driving you deep down? The stuff God put in us from when we were being created in our mother’s womb is part of our design, the treasures that lay deep within us.

As we grow through are childhood into being adults, the treasures get unpacked & built up. Sometimes the treasures don’t even get unpacked to be built up or only part way. Then what do we do?

We can go to God & ask Him to send people to us to help us. We need help sometimes from people & sometimes only from God. Here’s a small prayer that might help you…….God please send Your people to surround me who are safe & trust worthy that will help build me up & help me unpack the treasures You put in me. Lord help me to be open to receive the help. In Jesus name, Amen.

Health

What do I do to stay healthy?

Beside the eat healthy, plenty sleep & water, exercise, washing your hands & not doing anything that would cause your body to get run down.   There are other things I do to help my body stay healthy. I will be sharing links to stuff that I use, hope you find it helpful.

I drink elderberry tea.   This tea helps my body fight any germs that may try to make me sick. Besides the delicious flavor & it is approved by my kids (they prefer it with raw honey), I have not come down with anything since last winter. Before I started drinking Elderberry tea, each time I went to Grand Rapids with my husband (for TBI appointments), we would come back sick. Since we started drinking the tea days before the appointment, day of the appointment & then a few days after. No head colds, no sore throats, no flu, nothing!!

I wear Skecher’s Air Relaxed Fit shoe, makes me want to walk. Remember the exercise part, yeah, not my favorite thing to do. But walking in these shoes helps motivate me to walk. The memory foam on the inside forms to your foot like a hug. Then the added air bags on the bottom of the shoes is like walking on clouds. My feet, legs, hips & back do not get sore. I my best walking through the woods & dirt roads but on the rare times I need to hit the stores to walk there, I know my feet are covered in these. Then in the winter for exercise I help the men here chop wood & move the snow.

I use the Contigo Water bottle for my water. It keeps it cold for a long time. I can even put ice cubes in it!! The opening opens up bigger to fit ice cubes in.   When I’m in the car, it fits in the cup holders or the side pocket on the door. It’s rare that you see me without it!

We use Organic Sambucus Lozenges if we get a scratchy throat. It taste great!! It has the Elderberry goodness in the lozengers plus zinc & vitamin C.

Ungodly Vows

Ungodly vows or word curses over us can block us from daily goals/ life goals/even from God. We can come under them from us speaking or thinking it is truth.

When ungodly vows are made we can enter into curses on us & generations to come. Ungodly vows can be pass down from past generations.

Sorting out what is in line with God & what He has for us is not as hard as we might think. It is easier with help & fresh eyes. It goes along with when your in the middle of it, you are unable to see clearly but someone from the outside looking in can be helpful.

An example of an ungodly vow is, “I can’t do anything right.” That is far from truth. We can make small vows/word curses that have an impact on our lives. It can be freeing to remove them from our lives.

Taking control of our thoughts is a step to line us with truth. If our thoughts are free to run with whatever pops into our head without questioning where it comes from & is the thought lined up with truth makes a difference.

With ungodly vows & ungodly thoughts removed from us & truth is in us, we can then move forward in our lives in areas we were locked down before. Some have even said,” It was like a weight was removed from their shoulders.”

Printer

The printer I use at home, I love this printer. It is user friendly. Load paper in the front, scans, faxes, copies & is wireless!! Each color has it’s own ink cartridges, so if you only use the black ink only replace that one. It is smaller in size but with lots of power. I have tried other printers in the past. None of the other printers I feel measure up to the HP printer.

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Bitterness & Unforgiveness

Are you carrying bitterness & unforgiveness?

Ephesians 4:31 NIV
^”Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.”

Bitterness & unforgiveness can eat us alive. Forgiveness is not for the person you are upset with or mad at. It’s for you to walk in & live peaceful. Forgiveness is not letting the person who caused you pain the free pass to cause you more pain in the future. Each person is accountable for their actions & words.

Colossians 3:13 [Full Chapter] NIV

“Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”

Bitterness & unforgiveness can cause our filter of information coming in & going out to be tainted. Once we clean out the bitterness & forgive, we will have a new view on how we filter information. Then other people interactions with us will be completely different. The new filter will be like new eyes.

Keeping our heart pure from bitterness & unforgiveness helps keep our relationship circuits running in our heads. With the relationship circuits running, we can communicate better with each other.

Edge Of A Storm

Do you feel like you are on the verge of the next storm of your life? May be you are already in it. Are you done living your life from storm to storm? There is hope & help, contact me.

Sometimes it’s hard to hold our heads above water when waves of life keep hitting. Sometimes we need someone to come along side of us to help hold us up while we are pushing forward. With help you can soar above the storm & deal with the waves of life.

If we are focused on the waves & the storm, that is all we see & it consumes us. Changing our view & focus can help. Not easy at times but it can be done. Having someone by your side, in your corner, can help in those hard times.

Having our gaze on what truly matters helps us through the storms & pulls us up from the waves.

What do you have your gaze on?

There are many things we can lock our sight on but where is it taking us? Are you walking in the peace that you want?

How do we even get to the peace we want? Setting the goal of wanting to walk in peace is the first step. Next is to practice on keeping the gaze locked. It may be only for an hour, but the next time you can try for longer. It may be helpful to be able to talk with someone while doing it. Having people that are uplifting in your corner will help. Also be forgiving to yourself if you stumble in this. Beating yourself up for not nailing it will just add to the waves.