(This is a timely repeat from the archives.)

If you listen to the news you hear a lot about flu and cold season.

So, I thought I’d share what has helped our family stay well.

When our babies were sick I would have given anything to make their pain go away.
So after suffering through a few colds, I had enough!

It was time to be on the offense.

I  found our there is  SO MUCH we can do to keep from getting sick!
Here are a few things I’ve learned over the years:

Sugar is public enemy number one.

Eating one teaspoon can lower the immune system up to six hours.

Ever wonder why the flu season happens around the holidays?

Think about all of the pies, cakes, brownies, sugar cookies…

It’s hard not to eat sugar but it’s even harder to see your babies with what my daughter calls “booger nose”.

Enough said.

Over 80% of your immune system is located in the intestinal tract.

Help keep the digestive tract working well by taking  a good quality probiotic or by eating naturally fermented foods, like yogurt or sauerkraut.

Peroxide is a wonderful helper in the fight against disease.

Bubble out your ears with peroxide.
(Just dip a cotton ball into the peroxide, lay on your side and use the cotton to drip peroxide  into your ear canal.
Wait until you hear it stop bubbling and then tip your head and pour it out.
It’s helpful to have a hand towel on the pillow.)

I do this whenever we have any symptoms and it really seems to help.  With little kids you can just take a cotton swab and dip it into the peroxide and gently put some into their ears.

If you are having a sore throat you can gargle with a mixture of  half water and half peroxide.

Wash your hands, eat healthy foods, get plenty of rest and STAY WELL!

(I hope these things help your family too.  I’m not a doctor, so these are just tips from one Mom to another.  May your family stay healthy this winter!)

“… I am the LORD that healeth thee.” (Exodus 15:26 KJV)

If you enjoyed this here is some additional reading:

My homemade germ killing cleaner.

How to treat a cold.

Drink enough water.

For more info on improving your health visit Food Renegade on Fight Back Fridays

As a fair-skinned Mama with fair-skinned children, I have to think about the sunscreen issue a lot.  I don’t want the increased risk factors from getting sunburned, but I also don’t want a bunch of toxic chemicals soaking into our skin!  What’s a Mama to do?!

The solution: the Environmental Working Group’s 2009 Sunscreen Guide!

With this handy tool you can check the ingredients in your favorite sunscreen, see how your current sunscreens toxicity is rated and find the best non-toxic sunscreen for your family.

Enjoy your summer…safely!

I just finished reading some wonderful books…I have limited time to sit down and read, so I usually stick to topics I’m trying to learn more about.

(If you read this blog very often you’ll not be surprised at my list!)

The first book I’d like to recommend is Crunchy Cons.  As I read this book, I was so glad to know there are others like me out there!

You see, I’m usually walking this narrow road between the right and left wing politicians. For example:  As a Christian I believe we are to take care of our earth because we are to be good stewards of God’s gifts.  But, we also need to remember that all we do is for people…for their good.  If we plan carefully, the earth can be kept clean and people can be well taken care of.  (stepping off of soapbox now)

Even if you don’t see eye to eye with me (and that’s okay) then you will still learn a lot from this book.

Now for a classic…Nourishing Traditions!  This book changed the way I fed my family forever.  I have seen some amazing changes happen in our family since I started feeling them whole, real foods, made in traditional ways.

By the way this “traditional” doesn’t mean your Grandmother’s condensed soup filled, topped with fried in trans fat onion pieces, canned green bean casserole that showed up at the Thanksgiving table every year!

Tasty, yes.  Good for you, nope. Sorry.

By “traditional” I’m talking about things that healthy, “primitive” cultures have been eating for thousands of years.  Like butter from animals fed only grass, lots of fresh fruits and veggies, etc.

Now for the benefits we’ve seen by eating this way:  Since October 2008, my husband has lost over 20 pounds, I’ve lost 30, my children have had an easier time doing school work, their behavior has improved, they are growing well and we are all really healthy.

I could go on and on…go ahead, take the plunge into traditional, nourishing foods and see what good things happen in your family!

For those of you who have already seen the great things eating healthy foods can do, please share your comments!

Want more? Then head over to Fight Back Friday to see what’s new!

It’s amazing to be feeling better!  After what my family just went through, I thought it would be good to remind myself and you, dear reader, to ….stay well!  As a Christian, I believe the Bible is The Truth and God wants us to be healthy!  I also know we should do what we can to stay healthy and the Lord will help us the rest of the way!

“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; Who heals all thy diseases.” Psalm 103: 2&3

If you listen to the news you hear a lot about flu and cold season.

So, I thought I’d share what has helped our family stay well.

When our babies were sick I would have given anything to make their pain go away.
So after suffering through a few colds, I had enough!

It was time to be on the offense.

I  found our there is  SO MUCH we can do to keep from getting sick!
Here are a few things I’ve learned over the years:

Sugar is public enemy number one.

Eating one teaspoon can lower the immune system up to     six hours.

Ever wonder why the flu season happens around the holidays?

Think about all of the pies, cakes, brownies, sugar cookies…

It’s hard not to eat sugar but it’s even harder to see your babies with what my daughter calls “booger nose”.

Enough said.

Over 80% of your immune system is located in the intestinal tract.

Help keep the digestive tract working well by taking  a good quality probiotic or by eating naturally fermented foods, like yogurt or sauerkraut.

Peroxide is a wonderful helper in the fight against disease.

Bubble out your ears with peroxide.
(Just dip a cotton ball into the peroxide, lay on your side and use the cotton to drip peroxide  into your ear canal.
Wait until you hear it stop bubbling and then tip your head and pour it out.
It’s helpful to have a hand towel on the pillow.)

I do this whenever we have any symptoms and it really seems to help.  With little kids you can just take a cotton swab and dip it into the peroxide and gently put some into their ears.

If you are having a sore throat you can gargle with a mixture of  half water and half peroxide.

Wash your hands, eat healthy foods, get plenty of rest and STAY WELL!

I hope these things help your family too.  I’m not a doctor, so these are just tips from one Mom to another.  May your family stay healthy this winter!

“… I am the LORD that healeth thee.” (Exodus 15:26 KJV)

If you enjoyed this here is some additional reading:

My homemade germ killing cleaner.

How to treat a cold.

Drink enough water.

For more info on improving your health visit Food Renegade on Fight Back Fridays

Sarah is a wonderful Christian woman and she’s passionate about honoring the Lord in every area of her life.  I’m here to testify that she lives out what she’s encouraging us to do.  Enjoy!

——————————————–

It’s exciting to me to be guest posting for my wonderful sis in law today. It’s a privilege!

At my blog, Living To Worship, I have written several times about modest dress.  It’s so often misconstrued and misunderstood.  Ranking right up there in that misunderstood, misconstrued category is healthy living.

Isn’t it amazing that something that should be so simple has become so complicated?  It seems to be dominated by either harsh, extreme rules that no one can consistently follow, OR such liberalism that all vision of health and chastity is lost.

I want to try impart something of the things I’ve learned in my young life (I just turned 26 last Monday, March 9th!) that have helped me to become very disciplined and very free at the same time.

The truth of God’s Word gives us some absolutes in the book of 1 Corinthians that have shaped the way I approach life and the way I handle this body I’ve been given.

In 1 Corinthians 11:29, Paul is sharply correcting the Corinthian church for the way they’ve been managing the Lord’s Supper.  He tells them because they haven’t been discerning the Lord’s body, many are sickly, weak and many sleep (die!!!).

I believe we can draw on the principle of not discerning the Lord’s Body when it comes to our daily lives as well. Because, we find out in 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 that we are literally the temples of God: “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and [that] the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?  If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which [temple] ye are.”

WOW – those are strong words!

We’re told again in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, “19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost [which is] in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? 20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.”

I think it’s interesting that Paul mentions glorifying God in our bodies FIRST.  Is it possible that when we’re not glorifying God by modestly clothing our bodies and keeping them fit and healthy, then we’re not truly glorifying Him in our spirits either?  After all, these verses make it very clear that OUR BODIES belong to Him, not just our spirits.

We could discuss healthy eating and modesty “rules” all day long.  But until we deal with the heart of the matter, even the good guidelines can’t truly make a difference in our lives.

If we would begin to approach the way we treat our bodies as a means of honoring God and recognize that our bodies are truly not our own, we can get consistent and stay consistent when it comes to living chaste and healthy lives.

These are some practical guidelines that I live by everyday:

1. SET AN ABSOLUTE

If you don’t have a plan, you’ll wear or eat anything. Set an absolute, so that you have a boundary that is non-negotiable.

2. MAKE YOURSELF ACCOUNTABLE

Station someone in your life who won’t give you any wiggle room and give them  permission to correct you.

3. PUT YOUR HAND TO THE PLOW AND DON’T LOOK BACK

(Luke 9:62, Matthew 10:38)

Use your words to support your decision.

Don’t allow thoughts in your mind or words to come out of your mouth about how much you miss being able to eat/wear whatever you want.

Don’t undermine yourself with, “Oh that deep fried macaroni and double cheese with bacon and mayonnaise sandwich looks soooooooo good!!!!!”

Or, in reference to an article of clothing, keep saying, “this is not so bad, this is not so bad, this is not so bad, this is not so bad…” as you desperately try to convince yourself that what you’re wearing is “modest enough.”

If you’re having to ask, “Is this modest?”, then it probably isn’t!

4. REMIND YOURSELF DAILY (OR MOMENT BY MOMENT) THAT YOU’RE DOING THIS FOR JESUS

(1 Corinthians 6:20)

Remember, Proverbs 13:12 says, “Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but [when] the desire cometh, [it is] a tree of life.”

Desire is a powerful thing. Stir up the desire that God has already placed within you to honor Him in every area of your life, including your body. When you do that this tree of life will spring up, take deep root in your life and will produce the fruit that remains!

If you listen to the news you hear a lot about flu and cold season.

So, I thought I’d share what has helped our family stay well.

When our babies were sick I would have given anything to make their pain go away.
So after suffering through a few colds, I had enough!

It was time to be on the offense.

I  found our there is  SO MUCH we can do to keep from getting sick!
Here are a few things I’ve learned over the years:

Sugar is public enemy number one.

Eating one teaspoon can lower the immune system up to     six hours.

Ever wonder why the flu season happens around the holidays?

Think about all of the pies, cakes, brownies, sugar cookies…

It’s hard not to eat sugar but it’s even harder to see your babies with what my daughter calls “booger nose”.

Enough said.

Over 80% of your immune system is located in the intestinal tract.

Help keep the digestive tract working well by taking  a good quality probiotic.

Peroxide is a wonderful helper in the fight against disease.

Bubble out your ears with peroxide.
(Just dip a cotton ball into the peroxide, lay on your side and use the cotton to drip peroxide  into your ear canal.
Wait until you hear it stop bubbling and then tip your head and pour it out.
It’s helpful to have a hand towel on the pillow.)

I do this whenever we have any symptoms and it really seems to help.  With little kids you can just take a cotton swab and dip it into the peroxide and gently put some into their ears.

If you are having a sore throat you can gargle with a mixture of  half water and half peroxide.

Wash your hands, eat healthy foods, get plenty of rest and STAY WELL!

I hope these things help your family too.  I’m not a doctor, so these are just tips from one Mom to another.  May your family stay healthy this winter!

“… I am the LORD that healeth thee.” (Exodus 15:26 KJV)

If you enjoyed this here is some additional reading:

My homemade germ killing cleaner.

How to treat a cold.

Drink enough water.