laceyswartz

The savings I noted on my August energy bill got me wondering what my overall savings have been since switching to a third party supplier for our electric and gas service.  But I only recently got a chance to pour over the past almost 2 years of bills, and here is what I found…

For our electric service…

This is the “Everyday Green” 20% renewable energy option from Viridian Energy.

Through our local utility, only about 8% of the ‘energy content label’ is made up of renewable energy sources.  So, for only about $3 more (over the past 19 months = about $0.17 per month more on average), we’ve been able to support 2.5 times the amount of green, renewable energy than we would be otherwise.

Pretty cool.

Note – the electricity that comes to your home is all the same.  “Green” or “brown” – all energy sources are uploaded to “the grid” which then delivers the electricity to our homes.  By requesting greener energy sources through a third part supplier, you are helping to create a supply and demand system where more green energy is developed and put into the grid to meet the demand from the public.

Viridian also offers a 100% wind option, which we may very well consider switching to in the future.  We had signed up for that originally – and it was only about $5 more that first month.  But then, I realized that if I was going to be telling people about Viridian in any sort of referral format (please see my disclaimer statements below!), I would need to experience the same thing that most of my referred friends, family, and clients would experience.  And most people, at least to start, go with the 20% option because it’s greener energy for around the same price they’d be spending anyway.

So, we went with the 20% option instead, and after 19 months, I am happy to report that the Viridian promise of greener energy for about the same cost (on average – sometimes below in a given month, sometimes above) as your utility, holds true.

And here are our natural gas bills so far…

This past spring, Viridian launched their natural gas program, so we decided to give them a try in this realm too, having been happy thus far with their electric service.

Natural gas is a tricky one.  There is much debate ‘out there’ about it; from how it is extracted from the earth (the cons) to using it to get off foreign oil (the pros) and more.

There are no clear standards as yet as to what constitutes a sustainable approach to natural gas – though extremely abundant, it’s a finite resource.  And I have no answers on this.

BUT, I was happy to choose Viridian for the natural gas we do use because I know that their CEO and leadership team is genuinely committed to sustainability – and that makes them a voice in the natural gas arena that I would like to support.

And so far, the savings has been great.

We’ll see what it’s like come winter when our natural gas use ramps up for the colder months, but based on how they have delivered on their electricity promises, which were not ridiculously higher than the utility even in the peak summer months, I feel pretty positive about the winter bills coming our way.  SO much better than the first natural gas company we had picked back in 2009!

So… What about you?  Is energy deregulated yet in your state?  Can you, or have you, already picked a third part supplier?  What has been your experience with this?  How do you shop for an energy supplier – cost savings, green content, or a mix of both?  Do you know what questions to ask to find what matches your values?

Having gone through this process as a customer myself and done a good deal of research on the subject, I’d be happy to help answer questions for you if I can.  Feel free to contact me.  You can also look on Viridian’s website, or this post of mine from 2010, for FAQ&A on the general topic of energy choice.

NOTE – Depending on your energy usage and what you’re looking for, Viridian might not make sense for you.  Although this is not the main focus of my consulting business, I am knowledgeable of the details and options and can promise you a no-hype consultation and 100% commitment to saying, “This doesn’t make sense for your situation” if it does not make sense for your situation.
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DISCLAIMERS:

a) In the spirit of full disclosure, while it is not a primary focus in my day to day business activities, I did choose to become a referring agent for Viridian.

b) As with Miessence, I am first and foremost a happy Viridian customer and would not be willing to ‘represent’ for them if I did not believe in the product and service enough to use it myself, based on all my research thus far.

c) Additionally, while I believe that these guys offer the best options that I’ve found thus far, I am married to principles, not a company or brand.  If I ever find a greener electric company for a better price, I’ll switch – and let you all know.  Promise!  🙂

d) If you are interested in switching to Viridian for your electric and/or natural gas service, as we did in our home, would you please consider calling them at 866-663-2508 to enroll (instead of enrolling online) and giving them my referring ID#11636?  I will make a small commission for having referred you – and be thankful to both you and Viridian.  Thank you!  🙂

e) Please remember, conservation will always save you more money than choosing a different supplier ever could, and it’s the first and most important step toward both lowering your bill and caring for people and planet.  A greener third party supplier, such as Viridian, is just icing on the cake.

f) In the spirit of further disclosure, Viridian is offering my family a little bonus for any new customers we refer before October 20th, so I’ll offer you a fun little incentive, too.  😉  For those who are genuinely interested in greener energy at a great price anyway, if you enroll by phone through my ID# before October 20th, I’ll do a fun little raffle among all those new customers for the winner’s choice of cash or a gift certificate (amount to be determined based on how many new customers actually enroll).

>> Note – Viridian currently offers service only in NJ, PA, MD, NY, CT, MA, and IL.  If you don’t live in one of those states, I’d encourage you to check around for similar options in your state from other companies – and please let me know what you find!  🙂

So, if you’re new to my blog, you’ll discover quickly that it’s much more of a personal blog than anything else.  While I aim to be a resource to my readers for sustainable living ideas of all kinds, I do not put out blog content as regularly as a professional blogger does.  I put out ideas as I wrestle with and experience them personally – and even then, only IF I find time to write.

Vocationally speaking, I am first a wife and mom – so taking care of my household takes priority over blogging.

I am secondly a home based business owner – so consulting for my clients who want to learn how to evaluate ‘green’ marketing claims and labels, or who want to learn how to evaluate home business options, takes priority over blogging.  And I sometimes use blog space to write messages to my clients beyond just sharing my own personal thoughts and struggles along the journey.

Quite honestly, between caring for my family and keeping up with the consulting questions I get regularly via email or Facebook or text or phone, there is very little time left to blog.  Even though I have a list of dozens of things I’d love to write about someday.

But that’s a ‘good problem to have’ and I’m thankful for it.  🙂

At the same time, it also keeps me continually wrestling with my night owl nature.

Summertime is so laid back in my house.  My hubby is a teacher, so since he’s home in the summer, he gives me extra space to work more.  This often includes me staying up late to get work done without the interruption of tending to the kids’ needs.  I get spoiled rotten each summer because he lets me sleep in whenever I need it.

And then, every September, the school year starts again and I get my wake up call.

School has been back in session for almost a month now, and while I’m not staying up until 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning (most nights anyway!), I’m not getting to bed as early as I’d like either.

This past weekend, Dr. Mercola’s weekly curated email had an article about best times to eat to line up with our circadian rhythms.  I honestly haven’t had time to read the whole article yet, but it definitely called my attention back – yet again – to how important sleep is for everything.  Health, weight, mental clarity, attitude – everything.  I recalled what I’ve heard about looking at electronic screens after dark ramping up your brain activity and making sleep less restful…  I remembered somewhere hearing that every hour of sleep before midnight is worth two after…

So inspired – and tired – Monday night I went to bed at 8:30 and felt awesome on Tuesday.  And then stayed up until 1ish Tuesday and Wednesday night and feel lousy today.  Muh.

I want to go to sleep earlier, but am so stuck in the patterns.

So…

I’m going to do a little challenge and am putting it out here on my blog for accountability.  🙂

Next week, Sunday the 30th through Saturday the 6th, my goal is to not be on my computer after sundown.

That will, in turn, likely get me to bed much earlier.  🙂

Anyone else with me?

I know, staying off the computer at night almost sounds ridiculous to suggest, doesn’t it?  (Where are my fellow night owls?)

But in reality, we were not created to live the 24 hour, “always on” kind of life we live in modern society.

I know this is just my own personal journey and conviction to try this little challenge, and hopefully adopt it more long term, but can you imagine what it would do for our overall health, stress-levels, relationships, and spiritual lives, not to mention individual and collective energy conservation efforts, if everyone unplugged after dark?!

Sure, there are some types of work that demand after dark electronics use, but most of us could do without it if we chose to set that boundary.

And I think the results would be worth it.

I’m excited to at least try it next week.

And now it’s ‘out there’ – online, for the world to see… So I have to do it…  🙂

If anyone else wants to join me in the “Circadian Challenge” next week, let me know – maybe we can text each other at sundown to shut down.  🙂

Blessings to you all,
Lacey 🙂

 

 

Golly, so many things I want to write about, so little time.  🙁

Well, here is a super quick post to announce the winner of our summer-end new subscribers raffle for a $50 gift certificate toward certified organic products from Miessence.

Winner is Mary, with email address ending in @bigpond.com, from Australia.  Congrats, Mary!  I guess it’s actually a winter-end raffle for you.  Very fun!  🙂

For all those who didn’t win…  I do one every season, so the next one will be held on 12/21, and you can be entered again (even though you won’t be a new subscriber anymore) if you refer a friend who subscribes here and puts your name in the referral code box.  Then you and your friend will both be entered into the seasonal raffle.

There are also 9 days left on the coconut oil giveaway raffle.  See here.

Off to DC for my cousin’s bridal shower this weekend.  Hoping to find time in the next couple weeks to write more.

Blessings to all!  🙂

It never ceases to amaze me how time flies.

We returned home from Ukraine on the night of 8/13 and had just a few days to catch up a bit (which was spent mostly doing whatever the kids wanted to do with us since we’d been away from them for 1-2 weeks – and catching up on some ‘must dos’ for work), before attending the wedding of a dear friend, and then driving to Maine for vacation with some other dear friends, then visiting my awesome grandfather in CT, and then hosting a big event this past weekend with Narelle Chenery, who I took to the airport just this morning after a lovely couple days with her.

Phew!

I’ve been wanting to get my trip report written since we got home, but I knew things would just be too crazy until now, so I tried not to stress out about it, even though I knew my supporters were eager to hear about the trip.  Thankfully, I know they are all wonderfully gracious people who understand the need to know your own limitations.  Thank you all – my prayer supporters, logistic supporters, and financial supporters – first again for your support, and now also for your patience with me and grace toward my delay in getting this report to you.

And now, where to start?

Oh golly, maybe 17 years ago for those who don’t know the back story leading up to this trip?

Don’t worry, I’ll give you the abbreviated version up to this summer.  😉

For those who might be new to my blog, it does get personal.  This is basically a place where, as I’m able time-wise, I record and share my thoughts, journey, and day to day life as a wife and work at home mom with an ever growing desire for God to effect great change in the world in and through my own weakness, brokenness, and human limitations.

So here’s the summary of the back story leading up to this trip to Ukraine…

In September of 1995, I met Jesus and He’s been changing my life ever since.

In the spring of 1997, I sensed a strong call to abandon ‘my plans’ and follow Him on a path that used more of the gifts, talents, and interests He’d given me – which included cross cultural work (languages, travel, etc.).

Fall of 1997 – it became apparent that although He wanted to use these passions and talents He’d given me, He also wanted/needed to do some major work uprooting the pride I’d built up around them over the years.  The journey of being broken and remade had begun.  It hasn’t been easy, and isn’t over by any stretch of the imagination, but it has been so worth it.

Summer 1998 – Fred and I (dating at the time) spend time serving in Europe to see if this might be a direction in which God was leading us both, and therefore to determine if He might be leading us to each other in marriage.

Summer 2000 – Fred and I get married and explore the options and requirements for serving overseas long term as teachers.

Summer 2004 – We complete our Masters degrees as part of the requirements for teaching overseas – and welcome our first child.  Not long after, we discover that the organization through which we’d been planning to serve overseas doesn’t anticipate needing teachers for a long while to come.

Spring 2006 – We welcome our second child, and God starts really working on our ‘baggage’ pretty intensely.  Yucky stuff is getting drudged up to be healed, but it is agreed that the idea of moving to another culture should be tabled until we’ve worked through this stuff.  Again, not a fun process, but oh so worth it!

Summer 2008 – We welcome our third child, and God brings significant measure of restoration to Fred while at the same time increasing my passion for service through business.  (I had started on the WAHM, or Work at Home Mom, journey in the spring 2005, but mostly dabbled the first couple years).

Summer 2010 – We begin to learn much more about sustainable living and creation care.  Our change in company affiliation for my consulting business frees me up to be home more in the evenings, working online much more.  At the time, this was a blessing because we were expecting Baby #4 later that year, but in retrospect, it has also freed me up to take my business anywhere much more easily – as in, wherever God might ultimately call Fred to serve.

Fall 2011/Winter 2012 – We sense a call to serve more in our local community with a church plant in town.  Our pastor encourages us to also revisit the overseas call at this time, knowing that process generally takes time to actually come to pass.  We meet with Ben and Kristy Williams to discuss their need for ministry help in Ukraine.  It’s agreed that Fred should come on a summer short term service trip to check out the work they’re doing over there.

Spring 2012 – Since they know of our willingness to possibly serve overseas long term, Ben and Kristy ask that I come on the trip as well, since we’d obviously both need to feel called to serve there – even if my role might be more of a supportive one as wife and mom.  Thanks to the support and encouragement of our wonderful family and friends, we make plans for me to go for the last half of the trip.  I’ll need to bring the baby (toddler but still an avid nurser) with me, but the 3 ‘bigguns’ can stay with grandparents and friends.

Summer 2012 – Back story ends, the trip begins…

Fred left on 7/30, and during his week away, I gained a greater appreciation for him, for single moms, and for God’s grace.  This was the first time (I think in forever) that Fred was away for more than two days/nights.  I definitely got a good reminder of how easily I can take him for granted and how thankful I am for him.  At the same time, I was also blown away by God’s goodness and grace and felt so thankful to know that if Fred were to die and I were to become a single mom, He would carry us and we’d be OK.

Andrew and I left to join Fred in Ukraine on the evening of 8/7.  Thanks to my Dad for driving us to the airport, for everyone who hung out with my older kids all week, and especially for those of you who prayed for the flight over.  Andrew did great!  It was actually really easy traveling with him alone for the most part – there were a few moments here and there, but overall, wow… so thankful.

Of course we were wiped out when we arrived early afternoon on the 8th.  Ben and Kristy and Yulia, their friend, fellow servant, and often babysitter, picked us up at the airport and we drove I think about two hours (slept a bit, so not sure) straight out to the camp site where the camp was in full swing.

Camp was in ‘free time’ for the afternoon when we arrived, and we found Fred playing catch (I think) with some of the campers right near the gate.  Obviously, we were all glad to see each other.  Andrew was very excited to ‘find Daddy.’  I had told him, and the other kids, that we were going over to find Daddy and bring him back home.  Fred took us around to meet some of the campers, we had dinner, and then Andrew and I crashed early for the night, while camp went on with its evening programs.

On Thursday, we got to spend some time with Kristy and her kids, talking about life and ministry, and then sitting in on English class.  Fred had the class full of the camp translators – who I think were mostly staff from the local church who was organizing the camp as an outreach to youth in their city.  It was really fun watching them discuss how best to translate one of Fred’s poems into Ukrainian.  I also got to spend some time with another special Yulia, who is the wife of the pastor of the church our team was working with.  Language was a barrier to getting super deep with words, but her English was quite good and we were able to talk about life as moms.  And beyond the language, there was definitely a connection of  love as sisters in Christ.

Friday, everyone left from the camp and returned to the city.  Over the next two days, we attended follow up activities with the campers, who were at all different places on their journeys with God.  Many don’t know Him at all.  Some have recently discovered Him (I think I heard that 9 campers discovered Him at camp).  And some have been walking with Him for a while.

One of the most beautiful experiences, both at camp and while attending their church service on Sunday morning, was worshiping God in song with people singing in two different languages.  The connection and love that God’s grace and mercy creates between people who otherwise are literally a ‘world’ (OK, really just an ocean) apart, is just so humbling and breathtakingly beautiful.  I found myself not wanting to leave and yearning even more for Him to make us all unified in His love, as He is working to do.

But we had to leave.  Monday was departure day.  Many of the campers came to the airport to say goodbye, and I found myself struck again by a strong desire to be a part of God’s work in Ukraine.

However, that’s not looking likely at this time.  Or at least, not with Ben and Kristy at this time.  When we met with them on Saturday morning to discuss the long term service idea more, two main things came up in the conversation.  1) They shared with us that what they need right now, before they can expand the rest of their team, is someone to take over the oversight of the English camps ministry.  But because this involves a lot of travel, they feel strongly that they need a single person or a couple with no kids.  Since we have four kids, that’s pretty obviously not us.  2) Fred is still not clear on where God is leading him.  He longs for God to bare much fruit in and through him, and he knows that can be done anywhere – in his current teaching job, in more formal ‘ministry’ roles, in any vocation of any kind really.  He feels a stirring away from school teaching, but doesn’t know toward what yet.  So, he needs to get some clearer vision on where God is calling him before we can really pursue anything else.

At the same time, God is also very clearly working in both of us to release more and more of our inner control freaks and surrender more and more to His love and grace.  This sanctifying process is most clearly happening in our role as parents, where we sometimes get pushed to the point of strong reactions and anger, instead of being able to respond in love and grace as we might more readily do with a stranger.  Why on earth should our reaction toward our children, for whom we have perhaps the greatest responsibility to model God’s love, be any different that it would be for a stranger to whom we wish to demonstrate His love?!

God’s work of  ‘putting to death’ our control freaks is also evident in our ‘work’ vocations.  I am passionate enough about what I’m doing now, career wise, that my biggest struggle is giving in to striving.  God is constantly reminding me to let go, work within the boundaries He sets for healthy sleep and relationships, do what I can do, and wait on Him to connect me with customers and business partners in His timing, instead of striving to connect myself with people in my time frames.  And Fred is, as I mentioned, working through his own stuff with regard to his work vocation.

No doubt, a lot of the ‘control freak’ that He’s digging out of us needs to go in preparation for whatever He has next for our family.  Again, not always a fun process, and sometimes painful, but oh so worth it.

The people on this trip were a great encouragement and blessing to me, and I hope that Andrew and I were a blessing and encouragement to Kristy, Yulia, and the campers with whom we got to interact.  It definitely stirred the passion for international work and ministry in my heart.

As I came home to the whirlwind of activity with which I opened this post, I found myself wrestling through a few things.  I love my work in the  business world, and I feel God has called me to serve in this role long term, but it is sometimes hard knowing that many people may mistakenly think I’m passionate first about shampoo, skin care, or nutrition – or even business.

But even that has roots in ego that needs to get uprooted.  Caring at all about how others perceive me, instead of just focusing on God and what He wants me to do on a daily basis, stems from the ego.

But then there is the side of my heart that just honestly and humbly wants the Lord to get all the credit and glory for my life.

I am in a very real sense passionate about these things – personal care and nutrition, and business – but not for their own sakes.  Rather, I am passionate about the Creator God of all the universe, who cares about us in every way possible – physically, emotionally, spiritually, financially, relationally – and connecting with Him in all these areas of my life through work that I believe lines up pretty well with His ways (nothing in this world lines up with Him perfectly) and who He’s shaping me to be.  Nutrition, health, and toxin-free living, while important, can for many become a ‘god’ in their lives.  While it’s important for me to take care of myself – and the planet given to sustain us – by eating food grown as He’d designed it to grow, and reducing exposures to man-made toxins, it’s not something to obsess or worry about either.

I want to ‘obsess’ on the author and perfecter of my faith, who alone gives me breath and life, peace, joy, guidance, and confidence in the face of uncertainty.  The One who can take my heart and expand it in bizarre directions to a point of breaking, but then somehow use all my great weakness and limitation to work out great things in the world.  He alone can do this, and I want my life to always point to Him.

One example of bizarre directions on our minds lately…  How can we feel simultaneously strong desires to be both suburban homesteaders and global nomads?!  Either way, the bottom line, is we desire to live our lives more and more fully dependent on and connected with our Lord.  But those are seemingly opposite ‘directions’ so how is that going to reconcile?

I’m left now with little to do but keep praying, take one day at a time, and wait.

The journey is to be continued…  🙂

 

Coconuts!

OK, well, actually it’s a *more than lovely* jar of coconut oil, but wow!

Listen, you probably know already that I’m more of an experiential writer than a “hard core blogger” writing out every stitch of research I can find on a subject.  I like to keep it short for both your sanity and mine – and then say… “If you have time and desire for more details, just ask me and I’ll be happy to point you in the direction of the resources I’ve found on the topic.”

So, I’m not going to get into super great detail about coconut oil and how it is safer cooking, can be used to make all sorts of homemade topical remedies (my favorites are vapor rub, bug balm, and antibiotic ointment), and can even be used in a pinch for sunblock, believe it or not!  (I tried this recently because I forgot to pack our favorite sunblock when sending my girls off to Baba and Grandma’s for summer day camp.)

What I will tell you is this…

Coconut oil is among those things that we’ve still been getting at a grocery store because we can’t get it at a local farm.  For a while now, we’ve just been using whatever organic brand Wegman’s had on the shelf.  I think it was Spectrum.  It’s been OK, I guess, but then I had the opportunity recently to sample the Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil from Tropical Traditions.

I had heard some of my friends in my local Holistic Moms chapter talk about this brand, but had just never tried it.

And then I did.

Wow!  NO comparison.  SO much better than the stuff we’d been using.  Feels better, tastes better, and most of all – smells better.

I’ll be honest, I don’t even know about pricing because I did get my sample jar free, but until or unless I find something better, this will be my go to brand, pretty much regardless of price (though I may likely still use the surely less expensive grocery store stuff for my homemade vapor rub, bug balm, and antibiotic ointment).  I’m really big on quality and value being much more than a sticker price, and in this case, I think the quality and value are worth it.  I love knowing that not only is the process by which they make the oil superior, but it’s also supporting organic farming families in the Philippines and a company whose owners honor the God of all creation, from what I can tell, by how they do business.

And good news for you!  I’ve been approved to do a giveaway of this amazing product, too.  😉

Before I get to those details, I just have to share this.  Give yourself a smile break today and watch this video just for fun…
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Wasn’t that fun?!

Right – so the giveaway!

Below is the scoop on the giveaway from Tropical Traditions. Scroll down for the details from them, including a great little video about their extra special coconut oil and what makes it so very different from others on the market.

TO ENTER:  Simply subscribe to Tropical Traditions’ newsletter AND my monthly newsletter (your info is safe with both of us, not shared, and you may unsubscribe any time) before 9/30, THEN come right back here and give yourself an official entry in the giveaway raffle using the Rafflecopter widget below.  (Open to Canadian and US residents – this giveaway only; other blog giveaways vary in eligible locations)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclaimer: Tropical Traditions provided me with a free sample of this product to review, and I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose. Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review or sponsor a product giveaway in return for the free product.

Disclosure: If you click on any of the Tropical Traditions links in this post and place an order, I will get a gift certificate to use on my next order of coconut oil – and be grateful to you and them.  Thanks!  🙂

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Everything below this line, written by Tropical Traditions.
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Win 1 quart of Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil!

Tropical Traditions is America’s source for coconut oil. Their Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil is hand crafted in small batches by family producers, and it is the highest quality coconut oil they offer. You can read more about how virgin coconut oil is different from other coconut oils on their website: What is Virgin Coconut Oil?

You can watch the video they produced about Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil:

Tropical Traditions also carries other varieties of affordable high quality coconut oil. Visit their website to check on current sales, to learn about the many uses of coconut oil, and to read about all the advantages of buying coconut oil online. Since the FDA does not want us to discuss the health benefits of coconut oil on a page where it is being sold or given away, here is the best website to read about the health benefits of coconut oil.

WIN SIX AUTOGRAPHED COPIES OF KRISTI MARSH’S BOOK “LITTLE CHANGES”AND A MIESSENCE GIFT CERTIFICATE

This announcement first made on July 17th in the July edition of MiCommunity.  Reposted here on the blog August 17th.

Have you seen the new book by Kristi Marsh yet?

In the months of July and August, some members of the MiCommunity Team will be reading Kristi’s book, Little Changes, and really hope you will read along too.

We would love to hear what has inspired you to make “Little Changes” in your lives? If you haven’t yet, what has kept you from making the changes? What do you fear as the biggest hurdle in sticking with these changes?

By sharing your thoughts with us, you will be entered into our summer raffle to win 6 autographed copies of Little Changes to share with your book club or circle of friends plus a Miessence Certified Organics gift certificate to help you on the road towards elimination of chemicals in your home.

To enter, simply comment below and share your thoughts on the questions above by August 28th at 11:59 pm.  The raffle winner will be notified by September 15th.

For an additional entry and chance to win this raffle, subscribe to our MiCommunity monthly inbox magazine between July 17th and August 28th, and use the code ‘little changes’ when you subscribe here.

If you’d like the ‘fine print’ on the raffle, please request a copy of the terms & conditions here.

ENJOY THE BOOK!!!

 

Going away for a week always makes coming home a bittersweet experience.  It’s nice to get home, but it’s not always so nice to come home to all the emails and mail that accumulated while gone.

Coming home this week from Ukraine was bittersweet for a lot of reasons, and I hope to get all my thoughts out into a blog post at some point soon.  I’m still processing a lot of it.

But on the mundane topic of backed up mail, I thought I’d just put up a quick post to say how nice it was to open my energy bill today and see that we saved $4 on our gas bill and $3 on our electric bill – even in the peak of summer.  And with greener energy.  Nice!

Glad we made the switch almost two years ago.  Very happy still with our provider.  🙂

Just wrapping up day #4 of “flying solo” without Fred, and so far, it’s been OK.

Of course, we miss him lots, but it hasn’t been the insanity I might have expected.

I’ve somehow managed to keep up with laundry, dishes, and most of my business to-dos, while also feeling like I’m getting some good time with the kiddos.  They’ve been helping with the chores pretty nicely, so there’s been a bit more of a “team picking up the slack for being down a major member” atmosphere here at home.  Of course, there has been the normal sibling bickering now and again, too, but they’ve also been playing pretty nicely overall.  And Mom-mom has stopped by every evening to pick the girls up from VBS while I get the boys down to bed.  It’s certainly been nice having her around in the evenings.  Thank you, Mom-mom!

The kids all seem to miss Daddy in their own way.  The girls have outright said multiple times, “I miss Daddy.”  Matthew asked me tonight, “Where is Daddy?”  When I said “on the other side of the world,” he looked a bit confused, so I clarified, “far away,” and he just looked sad.  And Andrew has just been a little squirrelier than usual at bed time.  I think he really misses the routine of Daddy coming to snuggle him down to bed after Mommy gives him some night-night nursies.

So where in the world is Fred?  In case you hadn’t heard, he’s in Ukraine on a short term missions trip, helping a local church over there with English language ministries for youth.  I don’t really know much more than that he arrived, as evidenced by the voicemail he left me when I missed his call yesterday (sad), the Facebook post he put up somehow, and the picture that our friend Kristy put up on Facebook for me…

That’s Fred, second from the right, with his ‘travel hat.’

That hat!  Love that hat!  It has survived the ridiculous crashing waves of the New Zealand coast and many an other adventure over the years.

The only other thing that I do know is that God is up to something very cool – in the lives of the students, in the lives of the team members, in Fred, in me, in our kids… in the world at large…  sorry, can’t help it, I’m a big picture person these days!

Good stuff.

I can’t wait to get over there next week and join him!

Yup, Andrew and I will be heading over next Tuesday, to join Fred and the team for the last 5 days of the trip.  It’s a red-eye, so I figure it’s either going to be great ’cause he’ll sleep, or awful ’cause he’ll scream.  🙂

So, yeah, speaking of “flying solo” – any tips, besides nursing, for long flights alone with a crazy, 19 month old bundle of energy?  I’m thinking books – he’s been getting really into books lately…

If you’re “the praying sort,” I’d definitely like to put out a special request for prayers for the trip – thank you!   And if you’re not, I’ll also appreciate the kindness behind whatever good thoughts or well wishes you want to ‘think my way’ – thanks!  🙂

Oh, and I guess I should start thinking about packing sometime soon, eh?  Wow, I’ve changed.  The pre-kids me would have been overpacked and ready at least a full week in advance.  Now, I plan to throw a few things in a bag and just go.  It’s only 5 days.  We can rough it.  ;o)

Sometime in late May or early June, I had the wonderful opportunity to receive a review copy of a new book by one of my favorite authors – or author families, I guess.

In mid-May, I received an email from Emma Sleeth at BlessedEarth.org, who is herself a published author.

Her father, Matthew Sleeth wrote a book called, Serve God, Save the Planet, which I read back in June of 2010.

That book, combined with my shocking discovery (since I was working as a WAHM consultant with a pretty well known, semi-natural company at the time, it really was a shock to me) of a product line that was truly organic from a company deeply committed to sustainable business practices, were two major forces that God used to ‘kick it up a notch’ for me on my journey of more natural living.

Contrary to the secular humanist worldview of sustainability that says, ‘We can save the world by changing how we live,’ my perspective is a bit different.  I guess you could say it’s more along the lines of ‘we love because He first loved us.’

Don’t get me wrong.  There are LOT of wonderful, amazing people out there doing great things for sustainability from all different walks of life and every possible religious background, who I truly admire greatly.  In many cases, I suspect their hearts may be more in tune with the heart of God than are the hearts of some church-goers in America.  Nonetheless…

I don’t put much stock in man’s ability to save ourselves from ourselves.

I am not on a journey of continual change for sustainable living because I think that by doing so, *I* (or the collective we) will save the world.

I am on this journey because God has convicted my heart about making daily choices increasingly more in line with His heart, out of an ever deepening love for Him and for all His creation – including of course, all people.

As He reveals His Love more and more to all the world and changes our hearts more and more, He will, through us, restore the world to a sustainable future – one where He is recognized as the Sustainer of all life and where everything is put back into harmony under His loving authority.

The Sleeth family gets that.  They have been on this journey for a while now too, and each book I’ve read shares a bit more of their own story on this journey of conviction and love.

In her newest book, Almost Amish, Nancy Sleeth (wife to Matthew and mom to Emma) weaves together her own family’s story with time honored (even if not always honored by the broader culture) ways of the Amish people to make a very compelling and attractive case for slowing down, simplifying things, and living more sustainably.  And, as with all the Sleeth-family books, Nancy’s warm-hearted, personable style can be appreciated by people of all worldview perspectives.

All my life, I’ve lived within just a few hours drive of Lancaster County, and I’ve certainly been aware of the Amish people.  But, I’m not sure I ever gave much thought to why they have chosen to remain so true to their traditions.

Nancy’s book both helped me to better understand the Biblical roots to the Amish way of life, and encouraged me to continue pressing on in this journey.

When I read books like Almost Amish, or books about other intentional communities such Shane Claiborne’s Irresistible Revolution, I confess to sometimes feeling overwhelmed by the obstacles to creating more close knit community in the suburban setting in which I find myself.

I wonder what on earth this looks like – to create a more intentional community right in my neighborhood – when I feel simultaneously more connected to people outside my neighborhood through church, community organizations, or work AND at the same time so busy within my “four walls” just caring for my own small children and household.

Even as I write this, I find my heart drawn toward wanting to organize a block party or something.  I think that must be my first step.

Yikes life is so rich and complicated!  Relationships with God, spouses, children, neighbors, friends, family, business partners and clients, strangers…  When I try to organize it all in nice little neat compartments in my head, my brain just begins to shut down.  I just pray that God will guide my steps daily and use me to speak love to whomever He puts in my path that day, in whatever contexts.

But this is the big challenge, isn’t it?  Learning how to slow down, simplify, and live more sustainably within the context of a culture that is anything but slow, simple, or sustainable.  The possibilities for the HOW of living out that change are nearly endless, and I can get easily overwhelmed if I try to make all these changes at once, or if I stop trusting Him for the daily process and journey of change.

Ultimately, my journey may look similar yet very different from Nancy’s journey, or anyone else’s journey.  While we can look to others for ideas, or inspiration, or guidance – and I definitely do highly recommend any and all of the Sleeth family’s books – we need to always avoid the temptation to compare or envy.  What matters is that we each ask Him daily what to do with the time He’s given us – and be faithful to walk out our unique roles to play in this unfolding of history.

Gradually over time, as we seek Him first and follow, He will produce that lasting change that ultimately restores all creation.  I am so thankful that I can rest in that knowledge and not give in to the temptation to stress out about every little change I still hope to make.

What about you?  Where do you find your greatest sense of community?  What changes toward more sustainable living do you still want to makes?  What books have you read that inspire you?  Do you struggle with comparing yourself to others who may be on different points along this journey?  How do you remind yourself to rest in the love and plan God has for you?

Internationally Recognized Expert in Toxin-Free and Sustainable Products to Speak Aug. 26^th in Cherry Hill, N.J.  Narelle Chenery, Founder of Miessence, was First to Gain International Certification for Organic Skin Care Products

Narelle Chenery, the “mother” of certified-organic skin care products, will speak Aug. 26 at Trilutions in Cherry Hill.  Chenery, the founder of Miessence Certified Organics, will talk about finding and using chemical-free products and integrating organic sources of nutrition into your diet.  A resident of Australia, her presentation here is part of her North American tour that also takes her to Michigan, Ohio, Vermont, South Carolina and Alberta and Manitoba, Canada.

Chenery has spent more than a decade researching and developing personal care products that are truly organic – including how the ingredients are grown, extracted, processed, preserved, bottled and labeled, all to international organic standards.  In more recent years, she has turned her attention to maximizing the nutritional benefits of organic “superfoods.”

“People are becoming increasingly aware of the potentially hazardous chemicals in so many of the products we use daily.  They want safe and sustainable alternatives but are often frustrated by misleading marketing claims,” says Lacey Swartz of KV Organics, the event sponsor.  “In addition to toxins, people are also concerned about nutrient depletion in our food systems and are seeking ways to return to real-food sources of nutrition.”

Chenery will address the importance of personal care products that are completely free of toxic synthetic chemicals and supplemental sources of organic whole food nutrition.  Her presentation will be geared toward both consumers and holistic health professionals.

Miessence, launched in 2001, is the first extensive range of skin care, body care, hair care, cosmetics, and superfood nutritional products to be certified to international food-grade organic standards.  Following the main presentation, Chenery will host a separate session for those interested in partnering with Miessence in the growing organics industry.

Chenery’s presentation will take place at Trilutions Real Estate Group, 1960 Route 70 East in Cherry Hill, from 2 – 3:30 p.m.  The presentation is free, and light refreshments will be served.  Reservations are recommended.  For more information or to register, call Lacey Swartz at 609-504-1802 or visit http://www.kvorganics.com/event-registration/.

 

About KV Organics

KV Organics is dedicated to teaching people how to identify toxic ingredients, expose misleading marketing claims, and find the safest and most sustainable options for healthy living and personal care.  For more information, visit www.kvorganics.com.