Just a quick post: In spite of my general dislike of the smell and taste of many essential oils, I am adjusting. Gradually, I am coming to depend on the most detestable (in smell and flavor) of all oil blends: DigestZen. If I have a bout of nausea, it helps quickly. In my last post, I had taken DigestZen internally in a capsule because I find the taste so offensive. Since then, I have been using it quite often and have found that it works more quickly if I just take a drop of it without the capsule. It is strong, but it is not any worse than your standard cough medicine. When I take it this way, it also works quickly and clears my sinuses at the same time.
In addition, on the very rare occasion that I have heartburn, DigestZen calms it very quickly. I am hoping that using it regularly will also help to calm the reflux that has damaged my vocal chords. This type of reflux (Laryngopharyngeal Reflux or LPR) normally does not cause pain or burning, so there is no warning that it is causing damage. At this point, it is just hope and speculation, but I feel confident that I won't do any additional damage by trying.
Another oil that I am using frequently: melaleuca. No joke! I use it on cuts or scrapes, which happen frequently around here. It is supposed to help all manner of skin ailments, so I am also hoping it may help to conquer the dandruff that is running rampant in our household!
More to come later. ;)
Friday, March 15, 2013
Monday, February 11, 2013
Essentil Oils, Part Three: I Hate You Then I Love You
Why do I hate the things that are good for me? It is sad but true. Most things that are good for me are also disgusting to me. Case in point: 90% of the alternatives to traditional medicine, including essential oils. No joke! I have tried various alternatives to traditional medicine over the years and have always been discouraged by their grossness. I tried medicinal herbal teas. Guess what? Any tea related to a condition I have is guaranteed to taste foul. Throat Coat? Tastes distinctly of black licorice. Everyday Detox (to improve liver function)? A vile combination of flavors I cannot even describe. Breathe Easy? More licorice combined with other gross things. Ditto for the smell of most essential oils. I like the smell of citrus based oils and little else.
So, here I am, trying alternatives again. I am sorry to tell you that I still hate them. Really. I am not an easy sell on these essential oils because I really don't like the smell or the taste of nearly all of them. The more beneficial they are, the more I despise them. That might be a tiny exaggeration, but not much. Unfortunately for me, they seem to work. Sigh.
Here they are in no particular order:
1. Frankincense. A famous and highly valuable essential oil. It smells and tastes absolutely foul. Most people find the smell exotic, but I am not most people. Unfortunately, it has helped to reduce the severity of a migraine when a drop or two is rubbed on the roof of the mouth. I have heard anecdotes from other people that it can lessen the severity and length of seizures and many other ailments.
2. Lemongrass: Helpful in treating migraines and in lowering cholesterol. It has such a STRONG smell of both lemon and grass that it is overwhelming to my senses. My husband loves it. So do many other people, just not me.
3. Oregano: Ok, this one is not totally vile, it just kind of smells a little like italian food which is a weird smell to have on your body or to taste (if taken internally) sans food. Unfortunately, it is anti-everything: anti-viral, anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-septic. Of all the luck. My creepy toenail has never looked so good as it has since I started using oregano oil!
4. OnGuard: This is a blend made only by DoTerra. It is also an anti-everything to prevent and treat colds and flus and whatever. It kills germs, pathogens, mold, fungi and I am sure the list goes on. 99% of the world loves the smell of this stuff. I am the 1%. I have found that the smell improves greatly when blended with a drop or two of citrus. I have no idea if it has prevented anyone in our house from getting sick (since you can't measure an absence of something) but I have noticed that some places in my house full of plumbing problems are easier to clean and do not get scummy build up as quickly. We use this regularly in the diffuser.
5. DeepBlue: Another DoTerra Blend. It smells mostly of wintergreen and the smell is VERY strong. I don't despise wintergreen, but it's a little much for me at times. I don't really want to use it for a perfume, but this blend has become one of my favorites. I have a few spots - my wrists and one hip -- that get cranky and painful pretty easily. Massaging the area with DeepBlue has been surprisingly soothing. It helped my hip so much! I actually ran out and am waiting for my next bottle to arrive.
6. DigestZen: A DoTerra Blend of some of the nastiest flavors known to man, including ginger, anise, fennel and coriander. What I hate and love the most about this is that it really works well on nausea. I had a whopper of a migraine last night and a nasty round of vomiting. Did the migraine cause the vomiting or did the vomiting cause the migraine? I have no idea but it was awful and I was miserable for a very long time. I couldn't sleep or even rest, just moan and squirm around trying to find a way to lay that hurt less whenever I wasn't hanging out in the bathroom,. When I had a moment of clear brain, I remembered that I could try the oils. I could not bear the thought of swallowing anything, but I read up on vomiting. There were many recommendations, but the easiest to follow was to put oregano and DigestZen in a capsule. I managed to get it down (and it stayed down) and my nausea began to ease up. I followed up by rubbing the DigestZen on my abdomen, and then repeating the regimen any time the nausea returned. I have also used it to calm heartburn and general stomach cramping after eating something I shouldn't.
Enough for now - I could go on, especially with the DoTerra blends. They work surprisingly well, but that doesn't mean I am enjoying their smell or taste. I still hate them less than the alternatives. And, just like I have found ways to make vegetables more palatable (except for cooked spinach-that's never happening), I will find ways, hopefully, to adjust to the smells and tastes of essential oils. We'll see.
So, here I am, trying alternatives again. I am sorry to tell you that I still hate them. Really. I am not an easy sell on these essential oils because I really don't like the smell or the taste of nearly all of them. The more beneficial they are, the more I despise them. That might be a tiny exaggeration, but not much. Unfortunately for me, they seem to work. Sigh.
Here they are in no particular order:
1. Frankincense. A famous and highly valuable essential oil. It smells and tastes absolutely foul. Most people find the smell exotic, but I am not most people. Unfortunately, it has helped to reduce the severity of a migraine when a drop or two is rubbed on the roof of the mouth. I have heard anecdotes from other people that it can lessen the severity and length of seizures and many other ailments.
2. Lemongrass: Helpful in treating migraines and in lowering cholesterol. It has such a STRONG smell of both lemon and grass that it is overwhelming to my senses. My husband loves it. So do many other people, just not me.
3. Oregano: Ok, this one is not totally vile, it just kind of smells a little like italian food which is a weird smell to have on your body or to taste (if taken internally) sans food. Unfortunately, it is anti-everything: anti-viral, anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-septic. Of all the luck. My creepy toenail has never looked so good as it has since I started using oregano oil!
4. OnGuard: This is a blend made only by DoTerra. It is also an anti-everything to prevent and treat colds and flus and whatever. It kills germs, pathogens, mold, fungi and I am sure the list goes on. 99% of the world loves the smell of this stuff. I am the 1%. I have found that the smell improves greatly when blended with a drop or two of citrus. I have no idea if it has prevented anyone in our house from getting sick (since you can't measure an absence of something) but I have noticed that some places in my house full of plumbing problems are easier to clean and do not get scummy build up as quickly. We use this regularly in the diffuser.
5. DeepBlue: Another DoTerra Blend. It smells mostly of wintergreen and the smell is VERY strong. I don't despise wintergreen, but it's a little much for me at times. I don't really want to use it for a perfume, but this blend has become one of my favorites. I have a few spots - my wrists and one hip -- that get cranky and painful pretty easily. Massaging the area with DeepBlue has been surprisingly soothing. It helped my hip so much! I actually ran out and am waiting for my next bottle to arrive.
6. DigestZen: A DoTerra Blend of some of the nastiest flavors known to man, including ginger, anise, fennel and coriander. What I hate and love the most about this is that it really works well on nausea. I had a whopper of a migraine last night and a nasty round of vomiting. Did the migraine cause the vomiting or did the vomiting cause the migraine? I have no idea but it was awful and I was miserable for a very long time. I couldn't sleep or even rest, just moan and squirm around trying to find a way to lay that hurt less whenever I wasn't hanging out in the bathroom,. When I had a moment of clear brain, I remembered that I could try the oils. I could not bear the thought of swallowing anything, but I read up on vomiting. There were many recommendations, but the easiest to follow was to put oregano and DigestZen in a capsule. I managed to get it down (and it stayed down) and my nausea began to ease up. I followed up by rubbing the DigestZen on my abdomen, and then repeating the regimen any time the nausea returned. I have also used it to calm heartburn and general stomach cramping after eating something I shouldn't.
Enough for now - I could go on, especially with the DoTerra blends. They work surprisingly well, but that doesn't mean I am enjoying their smell or taste. I still hate them less than the alternatives. And, just like I have found ways to make vegetables more palatable (except for cooked spinach-that's never happening), I will find ways, hopefully, to adjust to the smells and tastes of essential oils. We'll see.
Sunday, February 10, 2013
Essential Oils, Part Two
So, I've been trying to figure out using essential oils. A few weeks ago, I was filling up my
vitamin box, trying to get in the habit of taking my
vitamins, again. I started pawing the
shelf of medicine in our cupboard and ending up throwing away at least half
of it. There were loads of expired prescriptions and just a bunch of stuff
that the doctor has prescribed that I don't want. I found the old bottles
of ADD medicine that two of my children used to take as well as the multiple
medications my doctor had prescribed for my migraines. I used to take a
blood pressure pill that was supposed to lessen the frequency of migraines,
as well as a monster pill that I would take when my migraines got to the
point that I was severely nauseated and seeing floaters and not able to
function.
I haven't refilled any of my medications since October and I told my husband a while back that I thought it had been about two weeks (since that time of month) since I had had a monster headache. I used to get them 4-5 days/week. Using the preventative medication, I'd still get at least two per week. Even with medication, I often got headaches that would last for several days at a time. The last really bad migraine I got was during my menstrual cycle, which I think is probably just something I will live with forever.
I really feel like getting that medicine totally out of my system and beginning to use the essential oils is making the difference. When I get a headache, I can often head it off with the pasttense (a blend by DoTerra which includes peppermint, wintergreen, frankincense and ?) before it gets too bad. And I do not wake up fuzzy in the morning (as I would have with medicine) or with the headache still raging. If the essential oils only do this one thing for me, that is still $108 per month in medicines I am no longer refilling and a lot of peace of mind from not worrying about what those heavy medications are doing to me and my cranky liver.
One of the websites that has been hugely helpful in educating me is www.everythingessential.me
It is a treasure trove of information! I am still learning, and hoping that I can use the oils to heal my throat, that is still prone to laryngitis, my liver that is always cranky, and the allergies that plague our whole family!
I haven't refilled any of my medications since October and I told my husband a while back that I thought it had been about two weeks (since that time of month) since I had had a monster headache. I used to get them 4-5 days/week. Using the preventative medication, I'd still get at least two per week. Even with medication, I often got headaches that would last for several days at a time. The last really bad migraine I got was during my menstrual cycle, which I think is probably just something I will live with forever.
I really feel like getting that medicine totally out of my system and beginning to use the essential oils is making the difference. When I get a headache, I can often head it off with the pasttense (a blend by DoTerra which includes peppermint, wintergreen, frankincense and ?) before it gets too bad. And I do not wake up fuzzy in the morning (as I would have with medicine) or with the headache still raging. If the essential oils only do this one thing for me, that is still $108 per month in medicines I am no longer refilling and a lot of peace of mind from not worrying about what those heavy medications are doing to me and my cranky liver.
One of the websites that has been hugely helpful in educating me is www.everythingessential.me
It is a treasure trove of information! I am still learning, and hoping that I can use the oils to heal my throat, that is still prone to laryngitis, my liver that is always cranky, and the allergies that plague our whole family!
Sunday, January 13, 2013
My Journey with Essential Oils, part one
If that's not a title that will send you running for the hills, what will? It has all the harbingers of doom, beginning with 'my journey'and ending with something that clearly points to the whackos who trust bizarre medical treatments over their trusted physicians. Nonetheless, here I go. My apologies in advance if you continue reading.
I used to be a big supporter of traditional medicine. My mother and grandmother are nurses. Medical advances are wonderful and we are so blessed to live in a time where these advances are readily available to most who live in our country. If you get sick, the easiest road to recovery is clearly medicine! If I suffered from a headache or a stuffy nose or a fever or whatever, I took medicine. Most of the time, it worked. I took my kids for their yearly checkups and saw my doctor regularly for my own checkups. I have always been very well behaved.
Gradually, however, over the past 3-4 years, I became dissatisfied with traditional medicine for my children and myself. One of my children was taking medicine for attention deficit disorder. It had been a long battle. She didn't respond to medicines the way most people do and so it took some work to find one that was effective for her. We went through several medications, including one that caused scary hallucinations, and eventually found one that helped Once we found that medicine that would help her to keep it together in school, so she could think well enough to finish her sentences and do her work, she also had the side effects.
First and foremost, she didn't want to eat. Ever. So she became painfully thin, we worried about her weight, and we had to teach her that she had to eat regardless of whether or not she wanted to eat. She could not pay attention to hunger cues to let her know when to eat because she didn't get them. Can you see the danger sign flashing in red above our heads? We did not.
Second, she couldn't sleep. She wasn't misbehaving. She sincerely could not sleep. She was often up until midnight or later, with all of us frustrated because she couldn't sleep and she was miserable laying in the bed not sleeping. My husband and I were frustrated too. The solution our doctor offered was to give her another medicine that would help her to sleep. It worked for a while. Then as she got older, it was less effective and I was more frustrated that she still wasn't sleeping. The solution? More of the "make you sleep" medicine, which was actually a blood pressure pill. So, my adolescent daughter was on blood pressure pills to make her sleep because her ADD medication made it impossible for her to sleep. After more than four years of this battle, I had enough. I talked to the doctor about switching medication, and she suggested we try just the blood pressure pill without the "you-won't-want-to-eat-or-sleep pill." Enough. We stopped.
I remembered when we first started battling ADD. Our daughter was in second grade. We insisted on some extra testing for allergies and other disorders. When we finally determined the main culprit really was ADD-Inattentive type, the doctor told me that she would support us in whatever type of treatment we chose. She also assured me that she had no objection to alternative treatments, but that in her experience, parents tried all the alternatives, saw no results and then came back to the doctor for medication. I trusted her, so I skipped the alternatives at that point. So, several years later when we decided to stop the medication, I didn't tell the doctor.
Believe it or not, now that she is older, she has learned to manage it herself. I am learning to accept that she will always move at her own speed. She still struggles to finish her sentences and collect her thoughts. She also has very high grades, has been accepted into the gifted program and was elected to Student Council this year. And, she sleeps. We still have work to do in helping her learn to follow hunger cues, instead of ignore them but overall, she is better. She still struggles with allergies and we are still learning how to deal with those. More on that later.
Now, for myself, I also gradually became dissatisfied with my doctor. I love my doctor. She is smart and kind and practical. I stayed with her for quite a while. She cared for me through a couple of surgeries, a bout of laryngitis that left me voiceless for two weeks, and several other minor bumps and bruises. She also kept a close eye on my blood sugar, always a concern since I had gestational diabetes when I was pregnant. She was sympathetic with my pitiful attempts at weight loss, which were mostly unsuccessful. She gave me some borderline diabetes medications to try and hold it off a few more years. She never suggested I meet with a nutritionist and she never discussed my diet with me, other than to suggest I stay away from concentrated sugars. I appreciated that she was not overbearing. Except, she did really like to prescribe medicines, especially new ones that cost more than the standard $8 co-pay. She kept an eye on my blood work and kept tabs on the medications I took for migraines and to attempt to keep my allergies and reflux under control so I wouldn't lose my voice again.
Last summer, I went to see my doctor for a long overdue check up. I explained that I had been working all night and had not fasted the recommended eight or more hours. I also explained that I had not been taking any of my medication at all so I didn't know if blood tests would be meaningful since they clearly would not tell us if the medications she had recommended were effective. She reassured me that it would be good to have the information. She gave me a blood glucose monitor and promised to call and let me know how often to test my blood sugar based on my test results. The results came in: my blood sugar was too high, as expected. She did not say anything about the promised recommendation to begin tracking my blood sugar or to adjust my diet or exercise. Her recommendation? Immediately begin injections of a medication I had never heard of before. That was the limit of my tolerance and trust of her recommendations. I decided I would have to figure it out on my own.
Not too long after that, I heard a friend talking about essential oils. She had been using them with great success, and she was very persuasive. I was extremely skeptical about trying alternative treatments. I had tried (and disliked) all sorts of homeopathic remedies and all natural cleaners before. Most of them tasted like black licorice and/or smelled like really strong incense. No thank you! I read more of my friend's experiences and some other sources as well and decided it was worth trying.
At the beginning of November, I went to a class on using DoTerra essential oils. DoTerra oils were said to be stronger, safer and more therapeutic than similar products. My friend's personal experiences using the oils were compelling. The company seemed reputable. I decided to give it a try. I ordered a kit that included a modest assortment of basic oils that could be used in a variety of ways. I was specifically interested in using oils to treat allergy and sinus issues, ADD, migraines and any other minor ailments that cropped up. This is just the beginning - more coming soon!
I used to be a big supporter of traditional medicine. My mother and grandmother are nurses. Medical advances are wonderful and we are so blessed to live in a time where these advances are readily available to most who live in our country. If you get sick, the easiest road to recovery is clearly medicine! If I suffered from a headache or a stuffy nose or a fever or whatever, I took medicine. Most of the time, it worked. I took my kids for their yearly checkups and saw my doctor regularly for my own checkups. I have always been very well behaved.
Gradually, however, over the past 3-4 years, I became dissatisfied with traditional medicine for my children and myself. One of my children was taking medicine for attention deficit disorder. It had been a long battle. She didn't respond to medicines the way most people do and so it took some work to find one that was effective for her. We went through several medications, including one that caused scary hallucinations, and eventually found one that helped Once we found that medicine that would help her to keep it together in school, so she could think well enough to finish her sentences and do her work, she also had the side effects.
First and foremost, she didn't want to eat. Ever. So she became painfully thin, we worried about her weight, and we had to teach her that she had to eat regardless of whether or not she wanted to eat. She could not pay attention to hunger cues to let her know when to eat because she didn't get them. Can you see the danger sign flashing in red above our heads? We did not.
Second, she couldn't sleep. She wasn't misbehaving. She sincerely could not sleep. She was often up until midnight or later, with all of us frustrated because she couldn't sleep and she was miserable laying in the bed not sleeping. My husband and I were frustrated too. The solution our doctor offered was to give her another medicine that would help her to sleep. It worked for a while. Then as she got older, it was less effective and I was more frustrated that she still wasn't sleeping. The solution? More of the "make you sleep" medicine, which was actually a blood pressure pill. So, my adolescent daughter was on blood pressure pills to make her sleep because her ADD medication made it impossible for her to sleep. After more than four years of this battle, I had enough. I talked to the doctor about switching medication, and she suggested we try just the blood pressure pill without the "you-won't-want-to-eat-or-sleep pill." Enough. We stopped.
I remembered when we first started battling ADD. Our daughter was in second grade. We insisted on some extra testing for allergies and other disorders. When we finally determined the main culprit really was ADD-Inattentive type, the doctor told me that she would support us in whatever type of treatment we chose. She also assured me that she had no objection to alternative treatments, but that in her experience, parents tried all the alternatives, saw no results and then came back to the doctor for medication. I trusted her, so I skipped the alternatives at that point. So, several years later when we decided to stop the medication, I didn't tell the doctor.
Believe it or not, now that she is older, she has learned to manage it herself. I am learning to accept that she will always move at her own speed. She still struggles to finish her sentences and collect her thoughts. She also has very high grades, has been accepted into the gifted program and was elected to Student Council this year. And, she sleeps. We still have work to do in helping her learn to follow hunger cues, instead of ignore them but overall, she is better. She still struggles with allergies and we are still learning how to deal with those. More on that later.
Now, for myself, I also gradually became dissatisfied with my doctor. I love my doctor. She is smart and kind and practical. I stayed with her for quite a while. She cared for me through a couple of surgeries, a bout of laryngitis that left me voiceless for two weeks, and several other minor bumps and bruises. She also kept a close eye on my blood sugar, always a concern since I had gestational diabetes when I was pregnant. She was sympathetic with my pitiful attempts at weight loss, which were mostly unsuccessful. She gave me some borderline diabetes medications to try and hold it off a few more years. She never suggested I meet with a nutritionist and she never discussed my diet with me, other than to suggest I stay away from concentrated sugars. I appreciated that she was not overbearing. Except, she did really like to prescribe medicines, especially new ones that cost more than the standard $8 co-pay. She kept an eye on my blood work and kept tabs on the medications I took for migraines and to attempt to keep my allergies and reflux under control so I wouldn't lose my voice again.
Last summer, I went to see my doctor for a long overdue check up. I explained that I had been working all night and had not fasted the recommended eight or more hours. I also explained that I had not been taking any of my medication at all so I didn't know if blood tests would be meaningful since they clearly would not tell us if the medications she had recommended were effective. She reassured me that it would be good to have the information. She gave me a blood glucose monitor and promised to call and let me know how often to test my blood sugar based on my test results. The results came in: my blood sugar was too high, as expected. She did not say anything about the promised recommendation to begin tracking my blood sugar or to adjust my diet or exercise. Her recommendation? Immediately begin injections of a medication I had never heard of before. That was the limit of my tolerance and trust of her recommendations. I decided I would have to figure it out on my own.
Not too long after that, I heard a friend talking about essential oils. She had been using them with great success, and she was very persuasive. I was extremely skeptical about trying alternative treatments. I had tried (and disliked) all sorts of homeopathic remedies and all natural cleaners before. Most of them tasted like black licorice and/or smelled like really strong incense. No thank you! I read more of my friend's experiences and some other sources as well and decided it was worth trying.
At the beginning of November, I went to a class on using DoTerra essential oils. DoTerra oils were said to be stronger, safer and more therapeutic than similar products. My friend's personal experiences using the oils were compelling. The company seemed reputable. I decided to give it a try. I ordered a kit that included a modest assortment of basic oils that could be used in a variety of ways. I was specifically interested in using oils to treat allergy and sinus issues, ADD, migraines and any other minor ailments that cropped up. This is just the beginning - more coming soon!
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Now that it is officially 2013, it seems appropriate to drop any pretense that I will be sending out the rest of our Christmas cards. Here is our Christmas letter for this year:
Poll: How do you feel about family letters included
with a Christmas card?
a. They
are obnoxious. It's just one more way to
brag about your family's miniscule accomplishments.
b.
Yawn. They make me sleepy. I read them on Christmas Eve when I can't get
to sleep.
c. I can
take them or leave them.
d. I
prefer pictures.
e. I like
the to hear the news from my friends and family. Bring it on!
If
your answer was "a": We apologize and suggest you toss this in the
trash and move on with your life. We promise not to be offended.
If
your answer was "b": Just add this to the stack you are saving for
your next bout of insomnia, especially if it doesn't arrive before Christmas Eve!
If
your answer was "c": Hmmm, we have no advice. Do as you wish.
If
your answer was "d": We are
low on pictures at the moment. Try to
imagine what we looked like last year and add more hair (except for Michael)
and wrinkles on everyone. We'll do better
next year.
If
your answer was "e": Here's
our news!
-->
We are all older! Michael hit the big
4-0, Jenn will reach there soon, Jarom hit 16, Ainsley is 14, Rebekah turned
12, and Holly will complete her first decade at the end of the month.
-->
For those who have not seen or heard, our church opened a temple in Kansas City
this year. This was definitely a
memorable and important time for our family.
Before the dedication, we toured the temple with our kids. Michael and I each had an opportunity to help
as volunteers during the temple open house.
Even more thrilling, Jarom and Ainsley (and 3000 other teenagers from
our area) were part of the Cultural Celebration at Municipal Auditorium in
honor of the temple dedication. It was
an amazing show!
-->This
year, for the first and only time, our kids are all attending school in
different buildings. This has added a
new kind of crazy to our lives!
*Jarom
attends Ruskin High School and survived his first year in the high school
drumline. We had no idea the kind of
time commitment this required, but it was *so* much fun to watch him march with
the band! He plays Bass Drum #3.
Now that concert band has resumed, he is back to spending his time
mostly on the marimba.
*Ainsley
attends Hickman Mills Junior High. She
is an excellent student and was recently accepted into our district's gifted program.
She also continues to play violin in the orchestra and she was elected
to the Student Council! She has been a
little disappointed that they have not had a meeting since the elections, but I am sure she will have them falling into line soon.
*Rebekah
attends Smith Hale Middle School. She is
also an excellent student and she plays the cello in the orchestra. She is the
first chair in the cello section for the whole sixth grade! Since she turned 12 in September, she now
gets to participate in the youth programs at church. She is also becoming a social butterfly, being
the first of our kids to burn up the phone lines & invite friends over!
*Holly
is our last child still at Burke Elementary in fourth grade. She recently starred as Goliath in a video
production of "David and Goliath," performed by the Activity Day
girls at church. She gave a moving and
dramatic performance. She also
participated in the Twelfth Night Feast for school (as an ox horn dancer) and,
we are told, had her picture in the Kansas City Star. She will be available for autographs during
Christmas vacation. You can check our
family website for her schedule of appearances.
-->One
other major event this year: Michael graduated summa cum laude from Columbia
College with a B.A. in history. We are
*so* proud of his accomplishment! He
took a (very short) break and is now working on his master's degree in public
administration.
-->
Jenn is still here, doing the same things, praying for a clone or a little more
brain power to keep up with everyone else!
Enough
of that! From our family to yours, with
*much* affection, we wish you a beautiful holiday season, celebrating with
those you love most.
Sincerely,
The
Ort Family
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Joy to the World
I cannot think of Christmas without thinking of the music that abounds during this season. “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” “Joy to the World,” “Far, Far Away on Judea’s Plains,” "The First Noel," "Jingle Bells," “Angels We Have Heard on High,” “O Come All Ye Faithful,” and many, many more come immediately to mind. More than any time of year, I find myself ready to “make a joyful noise” all over the place! This truly is the season of joy. We celebrate the miracle of a baby, born in the humblest of circumstances, who came to save us all. What greater reason is there to have and express joy?
I hope you each make the time for the quiet moments of pondering that will allow you to feel the true joy of Christmas. Then, I invite you to make a joyful noise all around you. Make a joyful noise as you pray meaningfully to your Father in heaven, for your own needs and for the needs of those you know and love. Make a joyful noise as you share your testimony when prompted by the Holy Ghost. Make a joyful noise as you seek out those in need (whether that need is one of food or of a loving, thoughtful gesture) and seek to fill those needs. Make a joyful noise as you spend quality time with your family and friends, discussing the real reason we are so joyful at this time of year. Make a joyful noise as you mend quarrels and forgive offenses. Make a joyful noise as you seek ways to serve more throughout the year. And by all means, make a joyful noise as you sing all the beautiful songs that tell of our Savior's birth. The music we make, whether on- or off-key, is always beautiful when it expresses the deepest feelings of our heart.
With much love to you all this Christmas season,
Sister Jennifer Ort
Some of my faves:
http://youtu.be/pWBjl-jPcVM
En español - 'Los Peces en el Río' - this talks about how even the fishes in the river are excited about the birth of the baby Jesus
I hope you each make the time for the quiet moments of pondering that will allow you to feel the true joy of Christmas. Then, I invite you to make a joyful noise all around you. Make a joyful noise as you pray meaningfully to your Father in heaven, for your own needs and for the needs of those you know and love. Make a joyful noise as you share your testimony when prompted by the Holy Ghost. Make a joyful noise as you seek out those in need (whether that need is one of food or of a loving, thoughtful gesture) and seek to fill those needs. Make a joyful noise as you spend quality time with your family and friends, discussing the real reason we are so joyful at this time of year. Make a joyful noise as you mend quarrels and forgive offenses. Make a joyful noise as you seek ways to serve more throughout the year. And by all means, make a joyful noise as you sing all the beautiful songs that tell of our Savior's birth. The music we make, whether on- or off-key, is always beautiful when it expresses the deepest feelings of our heart.
With much love to you all this Christmas season,
Sister Jennifer Ort
Some of my faves:
http://youtu.be/pWBjl-jPcVM
En español - 'Los Peces en el Río' - this talks about how even the fishes in the river are excited about the birth of the baby Jesus
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Fear 101
Fear has been on my mind a lot recently. I have had several conversations with friends recently who have shared their fears with me. None of these were huge, life-threatening fears. Instead, they were struggling with small fears--fear of failure, fear of criticism, fear of disapproval--that kept them from doing the good things that would ultimately bring them peace and happiness. With that on my mind, I chose "fear" as the subject of the last lesson I taught in Relief Society. In spite of the fact that the topic had been on my mind for several weeks, I was completely unprepared for the FABulous discussion that resulted. I don’t want to forget this fantastic discussion, so I decided to write out what I can remember from my notes.
First, we discussed what fear is. We had a very long list that included the expected (scared, afraid, worry, pain) and the unexpected (physical response, respect, opposite of love). We considered the different kinds of fear: fear of law, fear of consequences or punishment, fear of imminent, physical danger, fear that is worry or nervousness, fear that demonstrates a lack of faith, and fear that is godly. There are several examples in the scriptures that demonstrate different kinds of fear. In the garden of Eden, Adam disobeyed God and was afraid (Genesis 3:10). According to the Bible Dictionary (P. 672 in the LDS version of the Holy Bible), "Sin destroys that feeling of confidence God’s child should feel in a loving Father, and produces instead a feeling of shame and guilt. Ever since the Fall, God has been teaching men not to fear, but with penitence to ask forgiveness in full confidence of receiving it."
There are other examples of fear in the scriptures. When I think of scriptural examples, Jonah comes to mind. God commanded him to warn the people of Ninevah, who were truly wicked. But, like Adam, Jonah tried to hide, forgetting that there is no hiding from God. But, after only a few days, Jonah, who in is heart truly feared God (in the sense that he respected him, worshiped him), turned to the Lord and was given another chance. It is encouraging to me that the Lord allowed Jonah to do his work, even though he didn’t answer the call perfectly on the first try.
Another well known example of showing courage, in spite of fear, is Esther. The wife of a temperamental king, Esther had good reason to fear for her life. The king decreed that anyone who came to him without being summoned might be put to death. Esther exercised her faith, fasted and prayed, and, in the end, saved her people.
I don’t think most of us will be in the position of having God himself command us to warn a nation of rotten, scary people or to plead for our lives in front of a king who is known for chopping off heads when he’s in a bad mood. However, I do think we are often in the position of needing to speak up to someone who is near us and may need our warning voice. I do think we are in the position of having to say hard things to people we care about or to people who may be in a position of authority over us. I also think that how we respond to the smaller, daily fears—speaking in front of a group of people, saying a prayer at church, calling a church sister we don’t know to check on her, walking into church when we’ve been gone a while, walking into any new place where we know no one, the list could go on forever—will teach us and prepare us to face the bigger fears, when we are faced with something we don’t believe we can possibly overcome.
So, we have to consider, what is fear supposed to teach us and what has God commanded us to do with our fear? Here’s a brief list:
>Don’t fear man more than God (D & C 3:6-7)
>Fear NOT to do good (D & C 6:33-37)
>Speak the word without fear (Phillippians 1:14 + chapter heading)
>Serve God with reverence and godly fear (Hebrews 12:28)
>Perfect love casteth out fear( Moroni 8:16 / 1 John 4:18)
One of the sisters, Sister Bradshaw, shared a fantastic experience that really touched me and seemed to perfectly illustrate what we need to learn about fear. She told us that her son had been very afraid of water and did not want to go swimming until she got him a pair of floaties. Once he understood that the floaties would keep him above water, he grew to love swimming at the pool. One day, he was going a little too fast and slipped on the edge of the pool, fell in and went under the water. There may have been an instance where Susan could have chosen to panic, to teach her son that this was scary, but she stayed calm and let the floaties do their job. He slipped, he went under, but in just a few seconds, the floaties brought him right back up so his head was above water. I was amazed at her wisdom and her calm reaction. She taught her son to stay calm, have faith in the floaties that would lift him back up.
What a brilliant example for us to follow! Mortality can really be a bumpy road. We hear often that this life is a “test,” and that we are here to learn and progress. When we slip and fall (whether this is dealing with a crisis or simply forgetting, for a time, to trust in God), what are the floaties that will lift us back up? Another brief list:
>the standard answers to everything: pray, read the scriptures, go to church (obvious,but still true)
>the example of others
>the memory of a better time, or a time when you received peace, comfort or testimony
>service – uplifting in even the darkest times
>___________ (fill in the blank)
After this discussion, I find myself looking on fear as a tool. Fear can warn me of true danger, physical or spiritual. Fear can help me build my faith and prioritize. Am I wasting my energy fearing things that will ultimately make me a better person?
Final thought, from Elder F. Enzio Busche:
“It takes courage and commitment to follow the promptings of the Spirit because they may frighten us as they lead us to walk along new paths, sometimes paths that no one has walked before, paths of the second mile, of acting totally differently from how worldly people act. For instance, we may be prompted to smile when someone offends us, to give love where others give hate, to say thank you where others would not find anything to be thankful for, to accept jobs that others would be too proud to do, to apologize where others would defend themselves, and to do all the seemingly crazy things that the Spirit prompts a righteous, honest, listening heart to do” (“The Only Real Treasure,” New Era, Dec. 1979, p. 5).
Perfect love casteth out fear (1 John 4:18)
First, we discussed what fear is. We had a very long list that included the expected (scared, afraid, worry, pain) and the unexpected (physical response, respect, opposite of love). We considered the different kinds of fear: fear of law, fear of consequences or punishment, fear of imminent, physical danger, fear that is worry or nervousness, fear that demonstrates a lack of faith, and fear that is godly. There are several examples in the scriptures that demonstrate different kinds of fear. In the garden of Eden, Adam disobeyed God and was afraid (Genesis 3:10). According to the Bible Dictionary (P. 672 in the LDS version of the Holy Bible), "Sin destroys that feeling of confidence God’s child should feel in a loving Father, and produces instead a feeling of shame and guilt. Ever since the Fall, God has been teaching men not to fear, but with penitence to ask forgiveness in full confidence of receiving it."
There are other examples of fear in the scriptures. When I think of scriptural examples, Jonah comes to mind. God commanded him to warn the people of Ninevah, who were truly wicked. But, like Adam, Jonah tried to hide, forgetting that there is no hiding from God. But, after only a few days, Jonah, who in is heart truly feared God (in the sense that he respected him, worshiped him), turned to the Lord and was given another chance. It is encouraging to me that the Lord allowed Jonah to do his work, even though he didn’t answer the call perfectly on the first try.
Another well known example of showing courage, in spite of fear, is Esther. The wife of a temperamental king, Esther had good reason to fear for her life. The king decreed that anyone who came to him without being summoned might be put to death. Esther exercised her faith, fasted and prayed, and, in the end, saved her people.
I don’t think most of us will be in the position of having God himself command us to warn a nation of rotten, scary people or to plead for our lives in front of a king who is known for chopping off heads when he’s in a bad mood. However, I do think we are often in the position of needing to speak up to someone who is near us and may need our warning voice. I do think we are in the position of having to say hard things to people we care about or to people who may be in a position of authority over us. I also think that how we respond to the smaller, daily fears—speaking in front of a group of people, saying a prayer at church, calling a church sister we don’t know to check on her, walking into church when we’ve been gone a while, walking into any new place where we know no one, the list could go on forever—will teach us and prepare us to face the bigger fears, when we are faced with something we don’t believe we can possibly overcome.
So, we have to consider, what is fear supposed to teach us and what has God commanded us to do with our fear? Here’s a brief list:
>Don’t fear man more than God (D & C 3:6-7)
>Fear NOT to do good (D & C 6:33-37)
>Speak the word without fear (Phillippians 1:14 + chapter heading)
>Serve God with reverence and godly fear (Hebrews 12:28)
>Perfect love casteth out fear( Moroni 8:16 / 1 John 4:18)
One of the sisters, Sister Bradshaw, shared a fantastic experience that really touched me and seemed to perfectly illustrate what we need to learn about fear. She told us that her son had been very afraid of water and did not want to go swimming until she got him a pair of floaties. Once he understood that the floaties would keep him above water, he grew to love swimming at the pool. One day, he was going a little too fast and slipped on the edge of the pool, fell in and went under the water. There may have been an instance where Susan could have chosen to panic, to teach her son that this was scary, but she stayed calm and let the floaties do their job. He slipped, he went under, but in just a few seconds, the floaties brought him right back up so his head was above water. I was amazed at her wisdom and her calm reaction. She taught her son to stay calm, have faith in the floaties that would lift him back up.
What a brilliant example for us to follow! Mortality can really be a bumpy road. We hear often that this life is a “test,” and that we are here to learn and progress. When we slip and fall (whether this is dealing with a crisis or simply forgetting, for a time, to trust in God), what are the floaties that will lift us back up? Another brief list:
>the standard answers to everything: pray, read the scriptures, go to church (obvious,but still true)
>the example of others
>the memory of a better time, or a time when you received peace, comfort or testimony
>service – uplifting in even the darkest times
>___________ (fill in the blank)
After this discussion, I find myself looking on fear as a tool. Fear can warn me of true danger, physical or spiritual. Fear can help me build my faith and prioritize. Am I wasting my energy fearing things that will ultimately make me a better person?
Final thought, from Elder F. Enzio Busche:
“It takes courage and commitment to follow the promptings of the Spirit because they may frighten us as they lead us to walk along new paths, sometimes paths that no one has walked before, paths of the second mile, of acting totally differently from how worldly people act. For instance, we may be prompted to smile when someone offends us, to give love where others give hate, to say thank you where others would not find anything to be thankful for, to accept jobs that others would be too proud to do, to apologize where others would defend themselves, and to do all the seemingly crazy things that the Spirit prompts a righteous, honest, listening heart to do” (“The Only Real Treasure,” New Era, Dec. 1979, p. 5).
Perfect love casteth out fear (1 John 4:18)
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