Why? Why? Why?

Many of you have asked why essential oils? Why doTERRA? Why a detox? I am going to attempt to answer many of your questions in this post. Much of this post will be copy and paste from various sites (Jill Samter and doTERRA) in addition to my personal experience and opinion.

As you know, last year was quite difficult from June on for our family. From my layoff, to surgeries, to car accidents, to illness, and so on, it was quite a stressful year to say the least.

For several years now, I have been on a journey searching for ways to live a healthier lifestyle. I have done my own research and changed much about my lifestyle, specifically where food is concerned. After my car accident and other health issues and the change of our medical insurance plan, our financial situation drastically changed. As a result of the car accident, I have suffered greatly with pain and inflammation, which has created more of a financial strain on my family, not to mention my emotional well being. I continued researching many holistic homeopathic ways to help, the use of essential oils being one of them. I was optimistic and went to a local store and purchased some of their brand of oils. I was greatly disappointed, I felt no change at all.

About three years ago, I met a friend here in the blogging world, Jill Samter Her Facebook post were full of benefits she was receiving from essential oils. I started messaging her, I was really trying to find truth in what she was boasting about. She is full of healthful information and I have trusted in the past (still do), so I decided to give these oils from doTERRA a chance.

I'll admit, I really didn't believe they would work, But it was Jill, so I had to give it a try. I'm glad I did. Indeed they have made a huge difference in my life!

Why Essential Oils? Why doTERRA?

*Directly from doTERRA's Website

Essential Oils are natural aromatic compounds found in the seeds, bark, stems, roots, flowers, and other parts of plants.  Essential oils can lift the mood, calm the senses, and elicit powerful emotional responses. Yet the use of essential oils goes well beyond there fragrant appeal. 

 Essential oils have been used throughout history in many cultures for their medicinal and therapeutic benefits.            Modern trends towards more holistic approaches to self care and growing scientific validation of alternative health practices are driving a rediscovery of the profound health benefits of essential oils. Many have powerful cleansing properties and are naturally antimicrobial. Their unique chemical structure allows them to pass directly through the skin for immediate systemic response to topical application. And certain oils may be used as dietary aids to promote vitality and well being.  In addition to giving plants their distinctive smells, essential oils provide plants with protection against predators and disease and play a role in plant pollination.

Extraction Methods

Therapeutic-grade essential oils are most often extracted via a low-heat steam distillation process in which steam is circulated under pressure through plant material liberating the essential oils into the steam. As the steam mixture cools, the water and oils are separated and the oil is collected in its pure form. To ensure the highest quality oil extract of correct chemical composition, temperature and pressure must be monitored very closely. Too little heat and pressure will not release valuable oil, while too much can fracture an extract’s delicate chemical composition and alter its potency. 
Equally important to the carefully controlled extraction process, the careful selection of correct plant species and plant parts, harvested at the perfect moment when their essential oil compounds are most concentrated, is also required for a quality therapeutic-grade essential oil extract. This complex process is as much an art form as it is a science and requires experienced growers and distillers working together to ensure a superior product. 

Essential oils are non water-based phytochemicals made up of volatile organic compounds. Although they are fat soluble, they do not include fatty lipids or acids found in vegetable and animal oils. Essential oils are very clean, almost crisp, to the touch and are immediately absorbed by the skin. Pure, unadulterated essential oils are translucent and range in color from crystal clear to deep blue.

Try this at home: Squeeze the peel of a ripe orange. The fragrant residue on your hand is full of essential oils.

In addition to their intrinsic benefits to plants and being beautifully fragrant to people, essential oils have been used throughout history in many cultures for their medicinal and therapeutic benefits. Modern scientific study and trends towards more holistic approaches to wellness are driving a revival and new discovery of essential oil health applications.

dōTERRA (CPTG) Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade^® essential oils represent the safest, purest, and most beneficial essential oils available today. They are gently and skillfully distilled from plants that have been patiently harvested at the perfect moment by experienced growers from around the world for ideal extract composition and efficacy. Experienced essential oil users will immediately recognize dōTERRA's superior quality standard for naturally safe, purely effective therapeutic-grade essential oils.

Essential oils are used for a very wide range of emotional and physical wellness applications. They can be used a single oil at a time or in complex blends depending on user experience and desired benefit. Essential oils are usually administered by one of three methods: diffused aromatically, applied topically, or taken internally as dietary supplements.

Aromatic Uses

Our sense of smell influences many physiological pathways including the stimulation of hormones and other metabolic processes. Aromatherapy is founded on the body's predictable response to specific olfactory stimuli. Essential oils are widely used in aromatherapy applications. Certain essential oils, when diffused in the air, can be very stimulating while others can be calming and soothing. Beyond emotional benefits, diffusing essential oils can purify air of unwanted odors and some airborne pathogens. Low or no-heat essential oil diffusers are recommended as they do not change the chemical structure of the oil being diffused. Essential oils can also be used as cleansing and purifying additives to laundry and surface cleaners throughout the home.

Topical Uses

Due to their natural molecular composition, essential oils are easily absorbed by the skin and can be safely applied topically. Application of essential oils can have immediate, localized benefit to the target area of application. They have restorative and calming properties and can be used effectively with massage and beauty therapy. They are also natural disinfectants. The chemical structure of essential oils also allows them to be absorbed into the bloodstream via the skin for internal benefit throughout the body.

Internal Uses

Essential oils can also be used as dietary supplements supporting a variety of healthy conditions. Some essential oils have powerful antioxidant properties while others help support healthy inflammatory response in cells. Many essential oils are generally regarded as being safe for dietary use, but some oils should not be taken internally. Do not use any essential oil product internally that does not have the appropriate dietary supplement facts on its label.

Using essential oils can be both profoundly simple and life changing at the same time. Working with someone who has used essential oils before will help first-time users have a more beneficial and enjoyable experience. A large amount of information is readily available for those desiring to increase their knowledge of essential oil applications.

(Be sure to use only 100% pure therapeutic-grade essential oils and follow all label warnings and instructions. Essential oils should not be used in the eyes, inside the ear canal, or in open wounds. If redness or irritation occurs when using essential oils topically, simply apply any vegetable oils such as fractionated coconut oil or olive oil to the affected area. Consult your physician before using essential oils if you are pregnant or under a doctor's care.

Here is a link to the many uses just for lavender.

I am so grateful to Jill and the many other's locally I have met who use doTERRA oils. Everyone has helped to teach me everything I am learning. Their own experience and mine witness the benefits of doTERRA's oils. I have literally been able to not get the flu from my son when he was sick for three weeks. Recently, I was able to shortened the length of the flu, not missing any work. I have received relief with my insomnia, a stomach upset, burns, inflammation, reduced my hot flashes, helped a friends ear ache disappear (she was shocked), and they have made a huge difference in my depression. My mood is tremendously uplifted.  Keep in mind, I have only been using doTERRA for two months.

Here is some information about doTERRA:

Wellness Philosophy

dōTERRA® Essential Wellness is a company founded on a wellness philosophy of healthy lifestyle choices and informed proactive participation in one's own healthcare alternatives. dōTERRA's Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade™ essential oils and other wellness products are specifically formulated to support a wellness philosophy of eating right, exercising, resting and managing stress, and reducing toxic load. dōTERRA also teaches informed self care alternatives and encourages people to take a proactive role in their medical care. Our mission as a company is to teach people to live more healthy, productive lives and to share with others the blessing of a lifetime of wellness.



Mission Statement:

We at dōTERRA are committed to sharing the life-enhancing benefits of therapeutic-grade essential oils and essential oil enhanced wellness products with the world. We will do this by:

• Discovering and developing the world's highest-quality therapeutic-grade essential oil products through a leveraged network of highly-educated and experienced botanists, chemists, health scientists, and health care professionals.
• Producing our essential oil products to the highest standard of quality, purity, and safety used in the industry—CPTG Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade^®.
• Distributing our products through Independent Product Consultants who, working from home, introduce, educate, and sell dōTERRA^® wellness products locally through person-to-person contact and globally through personalized web shopping sites.
• Providing educational opportunities for all people interested in learning how therapeutic-grade essential oils can be used as a self-care wellness alternative.
• Bringing together health care professionals of traditional and alternative medicine to encourage further study and application of therapeutic-grade essential oils in modern health care practices.

Company Values:

We at dōTERRA will conduct our business in such a way as to be a positive influence for good with each person, customer, consultant, employee, vendor, and partner with whom we come in contact. We will do this by:

• Conducting our business with absolute honesty and integrity.
• Treating all people with whom we come in contact with kindness
  and respect.
• Conducting our interactions with others in a spirit of service and caring.
• Working hard and managing the use of company resources wisely.
• Fostering an uplifting work environment by smiling, laughing, and
  having fun.
• Being grateful for success and giving recognition to others.
• Being generous with those less fortunate in our community and
  around the world.

CPTG (Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade) 

In addition to being 100% pure and natural, dōTERRA's Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade essential oils are subjected to further quality testing that ensures the correct composition of the active natural compounds found in each oil. Even though an essential oil may be 100% pure, if the right species or part of a plant has not been used, or if the plant has not been grown in the right environment or harvested at the right time, or if it has not been distilled under the right conditions, the natural chemical makeup of the extraction will not provide as predictable and powerful a benefit. In some cases, the wrong plant harvested at the wrong time may result in an extract that contains harmful levels of some constituents.

dōTERRA's Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade® essential oils are guaranteed to be 100% pure and natural and free of synthetic compounds or contaminates. They are subjected to rigorous mass spectrometry and gas chromatography testing to ensure extract composition and activity. 

*** I want to add, even with the extreme measures doTerra takes to ensure the safety and purity of their product it's always good to follow these guidelines for young children as their skin is more sensitive: rub on the soles of their feet or with franctioned coconut oil elsewhere on their body.  Also, for those with sensitive skin franctioned coconut oil with the oils is also recommended. 

Please NOTE: This is my opinion as a direct result of my personal experience. I am not offering any medical advice, just sharing my personal experience. 

“The statements contained in this post have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. The information contained here is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Suggestions and ideas presented in this document are for information only and should not be interpreted as medical advice, meant for diagnosing illness, or for prescriptive purposes. Readers are encouraged to consult their health care provider before beginning any cleanse, diet, detoxification program, or any supplement regimen. The information in this post is not to be used to replace the services or instructions of a physician or qualified health care practitioner.”

If you are interested in learning more about doTERRA's essential oils or would like to purchase oils, please message me or feel free to check out my website by clinking on my link.

God Does Not Lose

Romans 8:22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.

In his book, The Explicit Gospel, Matt Chandler states that "original sin has effects beyond humanity, it effects the world. This rebellion against God disrupts the natural order of everything. People who have Job-like experience may moan, Well, if life wasn't like this, if I had more money, if I had more power, if I had more friends, if I had better religion, if my parents weren't so mean, if I grew up in a different place...What they begin to create in their minds is the idea that a better existence exists somewhere over the rainbow. This place, this world is broken. There's no sense in looking into it for the fix. Illogically, foolishly, we are looking for fixes from broken people with broken ideas in broken places. SIN is building your self-worth on anything but God. From the second we are born, we seek our own happiness. It may look different when we get older, but the desire is always the same, our own happiness, our own pleasure. Happiness is the driven force behind everything we do. When sin entered this world, Romans 1:23 tells us we exchanged the infinite Creator for creation. We began to settle for temporary fleeting pleasures rather than for what is eternal and soul-satisfying. This is madness. It's all meaningless.The majority of human beings believe that people and circumstances exist to make them happy. We believe the brokenness inside will be satisfied with outside things. If we're not happy, who's to blame...people and circumstances. God's plan is to renew and remake, and God does not lose. One of the ways the mission of God to reconcile all things to himself chisels away at the work of sanctification is when we engage with the hurt, the pain, and sorrow of the world around us. When we do that, God shows us our inadequacies, shortcomings, fears and sin. We are shown the areas where we don't trust God, the areas in which we refuse to surrender to God. Grace is a heart changer, because the heart is where behavior comes from. Where ever our heart is, that's where our actions follow. Many times I've found someone isn't broken because they've sinned against God. They are broken up because their sin is costing them something. They are living in a worldly sorrow. They're more sorrowful that their rebellion against God has led to consequences, without the real understanding that they have defamed and dishonored God."


HE is the Potter and is in the process of remolding me.

What I've realized, is this...slowly, little by little, I began losing my walk with the Lord. Sin in this world, in my life, slowly took over me, and my desire again became to seek satisfaction in others, in this world, in my circumstances, because I wanted life to be easy. Trying to walk as a Christian, is well, difficult. I began to feel like maybe I wasn't really up for the task. I became more influenced by seeking gratification from my spouse and others, from the world. I constantly felt judged, because "I wasn't behaving like a christian should". What I realize in MY attempt to reconcile this family and others to Christ, I was taking God's place. I AM NOT GOD. I've tried to convince myself that what I was trying to do was lead everyone to Christ, to get my family to see the need for a Savior. What really was going on...this is just a different look on control.

Do I want my family/others saved, walking in Christ, living in a godly way, seeking Him above all things. ABSOLUTELY! But, I CAN"T CHANGE ANYONE ONLY GOD CAN! I've realized, trying to be God is a task no human can take on, something I no longer want to do. I've really seen how sovereign God is.

The world, my family, myself, is groaning because of sin!!! I am not responsible for everyone's sin. I am responsible for my own sin. We all are suffering the consequences right now as a result of worshiping created things instead of the Creator.  Pete Wilson states, "Idolatry simply isn't a sin. It's what is fundamentally wrong with the human heart. While everything we chase looks good or feels good or taste good, it's also poison to our souls. The real question for any of us is this: Which idol is God's biggest rival in your life."

God is so loving and just.  God brings everything to the light in His timing. He allows us to fall into the pit of despair, to think we can do it on our own, to suffer consequences of our sin, so that we recognize His sovereignty. My situation, right now, reveals to me, that even though it feels as if God is absent in my life, He in fact, is powerfully present. He is in constant pursuit of us, with a purpose to reconcile us to Him. The devil also is in constant pursuit. Crafty, he is. From the beginning he has blinded us through deception. Makes everything pleasing to the eye, convinces us that it's good, and often convinces us it's from God. LIAR!

Sin exist. We are sinned against and we sin against others. Ultimately we must look in the mirror and see ourselves in front of the cross with hammer and nail in hand as we pierce Christ flesh. James 5:16 Tells us to confess our sins to one another, that you may be healed. As Christians God is reconciling us to Himself, by showing us our sin, our brokenness. He also calls us to reconcile to one another, that we are agents of God's forgiveness.

What do I need? Do we all need? To turn back to God. I have given up my role as savior. I can't lead anyone else to repentance, only God can. God will remold everyone, just like again, He is remolding me, so that I/others realize the need for a Savior. That our life gone wrong is because we worship self, and as Matt says...God does not lose. God promises death or life. Both are through Him and from Him. One is a gift given by Grace to which we are unworthy, the other is the wage of sin, turning away from God, and becoming our own god, this death we deserve.

God is just.

He is sovereign.

He will not lose.

New Beginnings

A little over one week ago I received "the letter" that changed my life as I once knew it. My current place of employment was purchased by another company. We were told layoffs were inevitable.

I was one of the elect.

Honestly, I wasn't surprised I was chosen. However, I was surprised by the waves of emotion that followed. I've known this was a possibility and I've tried to prepare myself financially and emotionally. What I've come to realize...

You're never fully prepared.

You're never strong enough.

When I tell people I was born and raised in Hawaii, I almost always get the same response..."Oh, you are so lucky! I love the ocean, love the sunsets." This is true, my visit to Maui last year reaffirmed the beauty in both. But, ah...what else was confirmed by that trip, my fear of the ocean.

This past week, I've often found my emotions like the waves of the sea I fear so much. I'm not the best swimmer and there were many times I was tossed by the waves, fear encompassing me. The worst thing you can do when caught in the middle of a wave is panic. You must resist the temptation to panic and fight against the wave. The more you panic, the more short of breath you become. You're responding out of fear and  if you give into that fear, you will drown.

Life is a lot like the waves isn't it. We think life is predictable. It's quite the opposite.

Life is unpredictable.

The only one who knows what is in store for our life is God himself. Yet, we still try to control our destiny.

A man's heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps. Proverbs 16:9

I cannot lie, this week has been tough. There have been a few times I have panicked in the waves instead of calmly letting them take me to shore.

What I am learning, is that I will make it not by my strength, but by the Lord's. I've ridden these waves before. As I look back, He has always been faithful. My life has not gone as I have planned, but I have been blessed because I cling to His promise for me.

Plans to prosper and not to harm me, plans to give me hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11

When I find myself in a panic, I have faith in Him who awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea "Peace, be still!" Mark 4:39

Today I pick up my final paper work and turn in my badge.

Tomorrow, All things are made new.