Is all the fuss about essential oils warranted? Can oils really boost my marriage, or my mood, or even my health?
I have to admit that I was once a skeptic. But I’ve really embraced oils over the last few years, and in today’s quick Marriage Moment I want to tell you why!
Sheila’s Marriage Moment: How Essential Oils Just Plain Make Life Better
I used to use essential oils to make nice smelling bath bombs. I really thought that was all essential oils were good for–making things smell nice.
But then, as I started to research it, I learned that they can actually boost our mood, our immunity, and even our libido!
Now, please understand: I’m a physician’s wife. I am totally 100% pro-vaccine. I believe in modern medicine and would not hesitate to go to a doctor if I needed to. I’m not saying that we should all forget the amazing benefits of modern medicine that God has blessed us with to go back to only what they used before they developed penicillin.
I’m just saying: since we live in such an amazing time, why not use the best of both worlds?
And perhaps, just perhaps, we are turning to chemical things a little too often.
I’ve been plagued by some health problems for the last few years that we’ve finally figured out are tied to some sort of chemical in restaurant food. As long as I cook at home using only real foods, I’m absolutely fine. As soon as I go to restaurants too often I get pain that’s worse than labour that they assure me is not gall bladder.
And that started me on a quest to get rid of a lot of chemicals from our house. I use citrus-infused vinegar as degreasers and as fabric softener (it smells lovely!). I use essential oils to clean my countertops and to disinfect, rather than use harsh chemicals. And when I travel now, I travel with essential oil blends for headaches, sore muscles, coughs and colds, and even cellulite (the verdict’s still out on whether that’s working, but it smells nice, so I’m okay with it).
For me, it’s about getting healthy, but also about just plain pampering myself.
Right now, the Herbs and Essential Oils Super Bundle is on sale (but only until Monday!). You get over $400 worth of resources to teach you how to incorporate herbs and essential oils into your everyday life for just $29.97. I bought my own copy on Wednesday, and I’ve been having so much fun going through the books. And pictures like this make me sigh:
It’s just so luxurious! There’s something beautiful about working with nature that we don’t get in any other endeavour in this life, other than perhaps cooking.
To me, this is the perfect summer project: learn to grow a few herbs (like mint or basil), purchase some essential oils, and then make some blends and just try them! They really are lovely.
And right now, you can learn how to herbs and oils for just $29.97–which includes books and ecourses that are worth more than $400. And you get 50% off an order from Golden Poppy Herbal Apothecary (though they only ship in the continental U.S. Sorry fellow Canadians!). Buy more than $60 of oils and you’ve paid for the bundle already!
My favourite oils? Rosemary, Peppermint, Orange, Ylang Ylang, Lemon, Tea Tree, and Eucalyptus.
Find out more here–and have a wonderful project for this summer!
What’s #1 at To Love, Honor and Vacuum?
Having trouble making sex happen? Or maybe you’re not quite equally being satisfied. Maybe your wedding night is quickly approaching and you’re getting the jitters on what you should be expecting, or worried that it won’t be what you’ve been waiting for. This week in the Tops we look at sex and ask some questions that might be on your mind.
#1 NEW Post on the Blog: The Terrible Awful Thing I Did To My Kids
#1 on the Blog Overall: Top 10 Tips For Initiating Sex With Your Husband
#1 from Facebook: I’m Always Left Hanging In Bed
#4 from Pinterest: Top 10 Wedding Night Tips
To All My British Friends: Wow. Just Wow.
I tweeted this out last night:
Why are people calling the #Brexit elections already based on exit polls? That never seems to work in North America.
— SheilaGregoire (@sheilagregoire) June 23, 2016
But then I got making dinner and my husband and I watched a show and I knit and I went to bed…and woke up this morning to Brexit!
The polls were wrong.
So I know emotions are high on both sides, and especially for the Remain camp, you must be devastated and scared right now. And as I’ve been thinking about the American election coming and how scared we often get about what kind of government we will have, God’s been reminding me more and more that we need to spend our emotional energy and spiritual energy on the things that are within our influence and control, and not worry too much about other things. God’s got them–you do what you are called to do. And even when things don’t go as you think they should, God is ultimately writing a story.
Let Him write the big one, and you do what you can in your small area of the world.
I’m not saying we shouldn’t care or keep informed; only that ultimately we should not “trust in kings or princes”. No politician or political order can save us.
And for those in the Leave camp, what an exciting time for you! It will be interesting to see what happens from all of this. But again, I urge the same thing: let’s not believe that this will cure all that ills Britain (or the world). Keep praying in your immediate circle. Keep reaching out. Keep working on relationships. That will bear much dividends for Christ.
(Okay, but I have to admit to being a little excited this morning. It has just felt to me for a long time that the world has been going in the wrong direction, and for a nation to say, “let’s stop it and do something new” is just, well, exhilirating. But perhaps it’s easier to be excited because I’m on this side of the pond!)
Did you see this on Facebook?
The former editor of a British “men’s” magazine ended up doing a documentary on what porn does to kids’ brains. He’s not a Christian, but he is so scared. A really honest look at it. It’s heartbreaking. But it’s so heartening, in a way, to see the secular world realizing this stuff.
A great article to read–I shared it and it went kind of huge, so I thought you’d all want to see it if you hadn’t already! (Maybe you should share it on Facebook, too! It’s a must read. Just click here.)
I’m getting ready for vacation!
I’ve spent the last few weeks scheduling posts while I’m gone, so keep checking in! But I’m looking forward to getting away with my family for a while. It will be our first family trip with my new son-in-law! I’ll share lots of pics. The best way to follow us is to follow us on Instagram! Here’s me, here’s Katie, and here’s Rebecca! And the girls’ feeds are seriously artistic.
Have a great weekend!
And do check out the essential oils bundle. It really is awesome!
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Sheila Wray Gregoire has been married for 25 years and happily married for 20! She loves traveling around North America with her hubby in their RV, giving her signature "Girl Talk" about sex and marriage. And she's written 8 books. About sex and marriage. See a theme here? Plus she knits. Even in line at the grocery store.
I do love the idea of getting away from harsh chemical cleaners (especially with a little one around!), but they’re so expensive, especially on a single income. I use a vinegar/blue Dawn dish soap combo for all my bathroom counters and tub and such, but that smell is soooo overwhelming! Even if I have the bathroom fan running and the door shut, it takes about a day and a half to not smell extremely strongly of vinegar. Any advice there since you use it too?
I’m also considering starting peppermint essentials for headaches. I’ve had them fairly regularly since 7th grade, and I’m starting to get a little iffy about just popping pills every other day. I’m in the same boat as you: modern medicine all the way! But in this instance it seems to just be something that has to happen too often. How do you use peppermint oils for headaches?
I just made a roller–with peppermint and birch and a lot of almond oil as a carrier oil, and then you rub it on your temples and under your nose.
I went through months of almost daily headaches and then realized that the problem was actually with my jaw–I clench it at night, and that triggers muscle spasms that go right around my head. Now I use a lot of essential oil muscle relaxants and a lot of massage and the headaches are pretty much gone!
For cleaning with vinegar… It is really easy to infuse vinegar with citrus smell. Just save some orange or lemon peels when cooking and then add the peels to a airtight jar with vinegar. Close tight, wait 2 weeks, then strain of the peels and you should have citrus smelling vinegar. Most of the citrus essential oils are in the peels and this an inexpensive way to use them!
Also both vinegar and citrus e. Oils are more potent than we think, so you should dilute with water for cleaning purposes (and to reduce the smell)
And another frugal trick to use essential oils from nature: you can add your favorite herb (like Rosemary) or spice (like cinnamon) or lemon/orange peels to a pot of boiling water and let it simmer for as long as you like…. It will make your kitchen and house smell great. The heat and steam release the essential oils from the plants! That is a great way to combat a bad smell after a cooking accident or just simply to enjoy a nice smell without forking over the extra money for essential oils.
And another one especially helpful with little kids (sorry you got me started on one of my favorite topics)…many essential oils are not safe to use for infants (under two) like peppermint for example. This is one of the strongest oils out there. But peppermint is great for headaches and to soothe an upset stomach and also against congestion and coughs. So if your little one has one of these you should never apply even diluted peppermint oils but you can use the herbal in this case peppermint tea instead which has the same benefits less strong and is perfectly safe! Think of this like giving them the infant dose of a pain med. less strong but still effective for the little one.
My favorite teas for infants are:
Camomille: to soothe teething pain or upset stomach. For teething pain brew a strong tea, soak a clean cloth in it and give to baby to chew or suck on.
Fennel seed: to soothe stomach, (even safe to use in newborns for colic), also great for nursing mom to boost milk production
Peppermint: like I said above for stomach issues and colds, coughs
Don’t trust Pinterest when it comes to using essential oils with infants! There are many recommendations for essential oil use that are not proven safe with infants!
Yes, I’d agree! Great warning.
I totally do this! I have jars under my sink going at all times. It also works great as a laundry freshener. You just spray some of the vinegar in the dryer before you start it, and it works as a fabric softener. And tip: if you leave your clothes in the washer for a few days (not that I would EVER do that, of course), then this gets out the musty smell!
Another natural headache remedy worth trying is curcumin, or tumeric. My naturopath gave me some samples to try for my headaches, and they seemed to help. I need to order some!
I’ll try those, too. But I’d also really recommend seeing a massage therapist. I was amazed at how after one session when she worked on my jaw (which hurt like the dickens at the time) my headaches really did go away about 80%. I think for me it was a muscle issue, and I’d been popping Advil almost on a daily basis. Now I find I don’t need them very often and if I feel a headache coming on I massage my jaw with the muscle relaxant and I use peppermint to inhale and I’m usually fine (though I still take Advil if I’m not!)
I love eos too. I’m with you about using the best of both worlds, the modern medicine and nature. Can I ask you a question, do you know the name of the chemical? I’m just curious because we found one of the issues that caused my hubby a lot of health issues is called carrageenan, and once we cut that out he got soooo much better. So I’m just curious what other common chemicals cause issues, because maybe that can help him even more.
Nope. Never figured it out! I should look into carrageenan. I just know that when I cook at home using real foods I’m fine–and as soon as I go to too many restaurants in too short a time span I run into a lot of trouble. If I stick to Asian/Thai food, though, I’m usually fine!
We’ve been using essential oils for a few years now – they have really saved our bacon with our oldest child’s respiratory issues. Using the right combination of daily medication and oils during cold and flu season really keeps him much healthier. How I like to think of modern medicine and natural things like oils and herbs is that yes they’re different, but they can play in the sandbox nicely together! I take antidepressants and also use herbal supplements to help balance my moods and hormones and have noticed a huge difference. At night I dab a little bit of an essential oil blend called Stress Away on my wrists and it helps my mind calm down so I can go to sleep. Several of the moms in my MOPS group are really into essential oils – we have a diffuser going at our retreats! LOL
On the politics thing – it always grates on me the day after an election when people are dramatically posting things like “God is still on the throne!” I’m over here scratching my head like “Um…was He threatening to leave?”
Love this! And I agree with your last sentence especially!