Short and Sweet Instagram class!

If you are stopping by because you came to my class tonight on Instagram, I am SO glad you are here!  Take a minute and say hello in the comments or shoot me an email at joyfullyoily@yahoo.com.   If you are seeing this because you follow my blog, but you want to come to my class on Instagram, just head over and find me, @joyfullyjamie is my handle.  I will be doing a short class tonight after 9:00pm central for anyone interested in learning about why I live and love the oily life!

You can also visit my website joyfullyoily.com for more information.

If you are ready to take the oily plunge, let me walk you through the process!  

Here is the link for signing up with me!

Don't start the process until you are ready to buy your kit. 

If you have any questions at all, let me know so I can answer them for you!

No Bake Energy Bites

Ingredients:

1 cup dry oatmeal (we use gluten free)

2/3 cup toasted coconut flakes

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup ground flax seed (found a kind at Trader Joe with blue berries in them)

1/2 cup chocolate chips or Cacao Nibs

1/3 cup honey or agave nectar

1 tablespoon chia seeds

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Stir all ingredients together, then let chill in the fridge for 30 minutes before rolling them into a ball, approx an inch in diameter (or you can press them into a pan and cut them like a granola bar if you prefer.) Put in an airtight container and store in the fridge up to a week. (good luck getting them to last that long! They are delicious!) 

Get your umbrellas out!

Being involved in Young Living, you hear a lot of talk about Wellness, Purpose and Abundance.

The first part, wellness, has been my goal from the start....the whole reason I started this journey.

The second part, purpose, fell into my lap with the business side...I absolutely connected with having purpose sharing the oils because I have seen them work to change lives.

The third part, abundance, wasn't really on my radar...I didn't start this journey with any kind of income goals.  My husband has a great job and our needs are met.  Now that I have been doing it for just shy of 2 years and my paychecks are pretty big, it's starting to be something I think about more.   My husband's job doesn't come without a cost, being married to a pilot who travels and is gone a lot...well, it's hard.  But I didn't want for my needs being met.  I have to hit a few more ranks in YL before my paychecks would even rival my husbands.  It is just a matter of time though....when I can, I want to make it so that my husband can stay home and only fly his line. He's been flying extra for so long, it is our normal.  But if he didn't have to pick up any trips, it would mean more time for him to be home with our kids and for us to be living our lives together instead of separate.  Now, some days, I like the separate and so does he.  But that's a whole other ball o wax ;) lol
Anyhow...abundance for me doesn't really look like what it does for some people in regards to my business.  I actually latched onto the idea of abundance on behalf of my team.  I have people who have signed up with me or with someone on my team who the type of paycheck I am making now....could make a significant change to their lifestyles for the better.  So how can I help make that happen for more of them? That is what I think about a lot.  Who on my team is dying to quit their job and become a stay at home mom? Who has a mountain of debt that is crushing them and a paycheck like this could give them room to breathe?  Who has dreams they have given up on because they don't see how they can ever finance them?  What good could be done with money in the right people's hands.

Well.  When I start looking at abundance through that lens, I work harder.

But when you take money out of the talking about abundance, that is when this gets really interesting for me.

I do desire abundance.  But a different kind....I want God to pour out on my life in abundance...not money....but his presence.  I want my heart to overflow and the words that come out of my mouth to reflect a heart of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, patience, self control....all that fruit the Bible talks about.

2 Corinthians 9:8  And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.

How cool is that verse!?!!  abound in every good work?! yes, please!


Check out this really fun video of a worship song about the Abundance of Heavenly Rain....It is definitely a favorite of mine to listen to right now :) Go ahead and enjoy it with me!

Consistency

Sometimes I feel this pressure to make and create big huge amazing things....from photography, to business decisions, to meals, to birthdays, to being a fun mom....you name it.

But I was thinking today.  Wouldn't you rather eat every day, 3x a day, something....than to not ever eat unless someone made a gourmet meal?  And what if someone's gourmet meals were only possible to make 4x a year? You would die from hunger! quite literally.

I think we need to put less pressure on ourselves to do these big amazing crazy off the charts things...and instead, be consistent in the small things.  The daily things.  And you know what? When your kids are growing up big and strong because of those daily meals, when your photo albums are full of moments that you cherish, when your business grows steady, when your online presence is consistent, when birthdays are fun no matter how they are celebrated, when your kids love you even though you plan nothing for them to do for days on end....I call that winning.  Huge success actually.  The kind that is sustainable and the kind you can recreate day in and day out.  The kind you can look back on and know matters.

#joyfullyliving

I have been noodling what I want to do over here on this fabulous little corner of the internet.  It felt good to catalog the big things that have happened with our health and wellness and positive changes we have made as a family...but now that those stories are told...it's time to get current!

So my goal is to share the ways we are #joyfullyliving and I hope that you follow along!  I will be tying in my instagram posts but elaborating on them over here.  I really love instagram, it is such a lovely place.  The photos, the people, all of it.

Topics and themes I will explore:

Contemplation
Gratitude
Simplicity
Wellness
Beauty
Faith

If these themes speak to your heart, would you start using the hashtag #joyfullyliving along with me? I'd love to connect on instagram (@joyfullyjamie is my name!) and create a community together.  I think the impact of joy speaks to the small things and the happy moments, but it is also about persevering through the hard times with grace.

How my gluten free journey began

ORIGINALLY POSTED November of 2013  ***since this post, I have been gluten free.  It is a challenge still, but much easier in general.  I do not miss it because I do not miss feeling like crap every day.  I do get "glutened' once in a while and it sucks, but I do my very best to avoid it if I know it is there or possibly there. ***

Here is my journey....


11/21/13
So after each of my children were born I had a crazy thing happen.  My hands would quit working when I first woke up...from a night of sleep or a nap.  I had to use my arms to scoop up my newborns and once I got them settled into nursing, I'd shake my hands and try to bend my fingers while they popped and cracked and eventually "warmed up" and would work.

I asked my doctor about it, thinking maybe it was some crazy post-partum thing, but she had no idea.  It would sort of come and go and wouldn't be as bad after a few months.  So I didn't really investigate it too deeply, I was too busy taking care of babies.  And I should add, my whole life my hands have been really weak. Like "invite someone over for dinner cause it's all cooked and I can't get the pasta sauce open" weak.

Another thing.  I have always had headaches. Often.  I thought it was normal.  Even up to a few months ago I thought it was normal.  Sometimes they were migraine like, most of the time just dull and constant.  So I saw a billboard a couple months ago that basically said "Headaches are not normal" and it was an adv for something...I don't even know what.  But it got me thinking.

Add in that most of my life I have had to use dandruff shampoos, but not for dandruff...they were just the only shampoos that would help heal up these soars I used to get in my hair line.

And of course...GI issues.  But I've already probably over shared.

So multiple things, kind of unassociated and never super horrible.  I just never connected the dots.

Until.

My friend, Whitney.  She shared in our bible study why she was going Gluten Free (a doctors recommendation) and I am not kidding...she described me.

Of course I am a slow study. I didn't do anything about it.  But I did kind of lose my mind regarding my inability to lose the baby weight and so I implored my sister (who is a food freak) to get me on a food plan that would help me reach my goals.  She didn't tell me to go Gluten Free, but the diet basically cut like 90% of gluteny items out of my eating.

And my hands quit hurting.
And my headaches were mostly gone.
And my hair line healed and I didn't have to use chemical shampoo.
And my stomach didn't hurt constantly.

I connected the dots.  But I guess I am still a slow learner...and I wasn't totally convinced.  So once I lost weight. I went back to eating like I had before (smaller portions, I didn't gain back the weight!).

And my hands hurt.
And I had headaches.
And the sores returned.
And my stomach....ug.

I reached a really low low when my hands were hurting so bad that I thought I had Arthritis. And they were visibly swollen and my whole body felt like an old woman when I'd get out of bed in the mornings. I couldn't do my kids car seat buckles.  I was hurting so much.

And finally, I pushed past every excuse and bit of disbelief.

This was only a couple weeks ago.  I have been off of gluten totally for a little over a week.

I feel vulnerable.  I feel scared to eat.  I feel uneducated.  I feel mad at my body.  I feel relieved to know what is going on.  It is a mixed bag of emotions...on top of being a physical issue.

I am giving away the gluten foods in my cupboards, I am cooking it up and serving it to people who don't have my problems, I donated crackers to a non-profit.  I have let the kids have loads of snacks.  Which I will not be replacing.  I think they will benefit from a low-zero gluten existence as well. And I just don't want gluten in my house cause A. self control and B. scared of accidentally grabbing something with gluten in a thoughtless moment.


After only a week of being totally off, my hands work again.  I think the headaches, the sores and the stomach stuff I could probably sort of live with...but I need my hands.  I am hoping after being off of gluten even longer, they will stop clicking too...the pain is gone at least.


So that's my gluten story. It's weird. I never really thought it would be me. But it is.  So now, a new way of living and eating is mandatory and welcomed in many ways as well.

Thanks for reading all of this (if you actually did! ha!)  If you are also dealing with this, please tell me...I need to know who to bug when I have questions.

my journey...where I am today with chemical free living

So listen.  I started using Young Living Essential Oils almost two years ago and since then, I have been on a journey of health and wellness that has surprised even me.

Using the oils to support health and wellness has been one piece of the puzzle. Diet is another (and a huge one that I know I need to do more for) I have to be gluten free because of inflammation.  I'll repost my story with gluten after I post this blog.  Lucas has to be dye free.

We have taken out household cleaners with toxic chemicals.  The day Lucas poured himself a cup of glass cleaner when I was folding laundry the next room over and drank it? yeah. That was the day I decided that. (sigh)

I have addressed my personal care products (shampoo, deodorant, toothpaste, facial cleaners and moisturizers, etc) and the personal care products of my children.

I won't go into a ton of detail cause I don't want to TMI you all out, but I have eliminated chemical filled personal care products during my monthly lady time. (considering doing a blog on it, but it will be links to other people cause I really don't want to go into detail for me, I have some level of privacy still despite social media. haha.)

When things come to light in my life that I need to address, I am trying to do so.  Instead of ignoring it and putting my head in the sand. Which, by the way, is so much easier.  But I am so so so over having my environment control me.  I want to have energy, I want be stress free, I want to live a long healthy life, I want to not wonder what is in what I am using on myself and my kids (personal care products, hello chemical city).

The more I learn, the more responsible I feel to do better.  I know there are huge blindspots still.  But one thing at a time so I can change and adapt at a pace that is sustainable.

So my next foray into my health and the health of my family is diet. I know it. I've know it for a while.  I have put it off, I have taken teeny tiny baby baby steps.  But I have not embraced it.  I don't know what it will look like exactly because I have a lot to learn, but it's on my radar....front and center.   I have a lot to investigate still on that front but there are some really really obvious things that have to change.  Like soda.  Gone.  And (I hate to even think this cause it makes me sad cause I have a love affair with it) milk.  Needs to be gone.  Dairy? I don't know. Maybe.  Cheese isn't good for Lucas in general (annatto) and Judah eats cheese sticks but I rarely eat cheese any more cause cheese was like something I put on stuff....stuff I can't eat any more (or very often, even if the GF version exists it's probably expensive) and really shouldn't be eating either.  I don't think I'd eliminate cheese totally from my kids diets.  They don't need to have the same kind of restrictions as I do (or Lance).

Anyhow, I know I am rambling a bit here about the diet part, but I just needed to get it out of my head and into the universe.  Cause keeping it in my head does no one any good.

I'd love to hear other people's journey with living a more toxic chemical free life....and healthy diet too.  What is your "thing" right now that you are working on or feeling convicted to change?

I chose this photo of myself and my Sister in Love because we were on a bus driving to the Young Living lavender farm in Mona UT at the time.  This last year has been HUGE for myself and Ashley when it comes to these big changes in our families for our health and wellness.  In fact, head on over to her blog, Stories and Toast, if you want to follow along someone else's journey who is "like minded" if this is a topic of interest!