August's Oil of the Month is On Guard

It's time to say no to the products we are currently using to clean our homes. Instead of making things more clean, these products are making people more sick, and poisoning our children and pets. 

A great place to start is with On Guard. It's an all natural essential oil known for it's strong ability to kill harmful bacteria, mold, and viruses. This oil can be diffused into the air to improve the overall air quality and wellness of your home. It can also be used to clean and purify household surfaces.

The unique thing about On Guard, is that it is completely safe, and can be used as a form of preventative medicine against colds and flus. Therefore, it is completely safe to your body, but lethal to harmful bacteria. Unlike our standard chemical cleaners that are proving more and more to be lethal to both harmful bacteria and humans. 

If you're worried about the "convenience factor," thinking that making your own natural cleaners will take too much time, think again. On Guard is so easy to use! There are a couple of different ways you can use it:

1. You can diffuse it into the air. You can either set the bottle out on the counter for 25-40 minutes a day, with the top off. You can also buy a diffuser, and put a few drops of On Guard into the diffuser, so that the oil is sprayed into the air. 
2. You can add a few drops onto a damp washcloth and then go to town cleaning your kitchen, bathroom, floor, tables, etc. No other products are needed. This oil is strong and effective against bacteria, mold, and viruses, so there is no need to saturate a towel. Simply add a few drops. It can't get easier than this!
3. During cold and flu season, administer a drop or two to door handles, remote controls, kids toys, cell phones, and anything else that collects germs. This is a safer, but equally effective alternative to using bleach. 
4. Use it to stimulate your immune system. Combine 1 drop of On Guard per 15 drops of coconut oil into a bottle. Mix well. Massage the mixture into your throat, stomach, bottom of feet, and under the arms. This will help to prevent colds and flus by stimulating your immune system. (I know this isn't a "natural cleaner" but this info is important! Who doesn't want a natural remedy for fighting colds?)

If you are interested in purchasing On Guard for yourself, you can order it here: www.mydoterra.com/abbyshroka 

Click on "shop for products" in the top right hand corner.
After entering the country of shipping, click on "oil blends" to find On Guard.

In case you need any more motivation to toss out the standard cleaning products and start using natural ones, here are a few scary statistics about the popular household cleaners you are storing under your kitchen sink.

• Over 100 chemicals commonly found in homes have been linked to allergies, birth defects, cancer, and psychological abnormalities.
• The average American uses about 25 gallons of toxic, hazardous chemical product per year, in their home.
• The toxic chemicals in household cleaners are three times more likely to cause cancer than air pollution.
• Only 1% of toxins are required to be listed on labels, because companies classify their formulas as "trade secrets."

If you are interested in purchasing On Guard for yourself, you can order it here: www.mydoterra.com/abbyshroka 

- Click on "shop for products" in the top right hand corner.
- After entering the country of shipping, click on "oil blends" to find On Guard.
- Enjoy peace of mind, knowing your family is no longer digesting those harmful chemicals you used to spray on your kitchen table and bathroom counters.
- Happy cleaning!

Wishing you all Health, Hope, & Happiness
Abby

If you missed last month's essential oil, click here, to read all about Lemon Oil and how I use it to clean my kitchen counters.

Jesus

I'm in that place where I can't pray. I try, but I just can't. All I can do is say the name "Jesus." It comes out in moans. It comes through tears. It comes in whispers that only I can hear. It comes with begging and pleading. Emotions too raw to name are attached to His name.

If you've never been in this place, I pray you never will be. If you have, then you know how much it hurts. This is one of those times where you need those prayer warriors in your life. You need others to cover you because you can't muster the words yourself.

There is a verse in the new testament that says "when we don't know what to pray for, the Spirit intercedes with groans that words cannot express."I'm so very thankful for this verse. Whoever wrote that verse was clearly in that place of muttering the name of Jesus over and over again on their knees. I'm so thankful for the Spirit inside of me. I'm so thankful for a God that can read my heart and understand every feeling, even when I can't express them, and don't understand them.

For months I have been begging God for deliverance. Asking him to intervene, to change our circumstances, to rescue us, to restore us. I have been asking earnestly for Him to show me what we are doing wrong. Search my heart! Tell me what we are doing that is preventing a swift deliverance? What is preventing your blessing. We have tried to do God's will. We have tried and tried. Now it's beyond just "tried." We have persevered with God's will. And still nothing.

Big. Fat. Silence.

Where are you God? Why have you turned away from us? Why have you hidden your face from us? Why have you allowed Satan to have us? Please, we are begging you, HEAR OUR PRAYERS!

And then, I got a call from my Nana. One of the most Godly women in my life. She told me this beautiful story. A miracle of God. She told me that when she heard about this miracle, she told her friend "isn't that so wonderful that God heard our prayers?" And then her friend responds, "God ALWAYS hears our prayers, He just doesn't always act in the way we ask Him to."

Wow. How true is that? God always hears our prayers. Always. He is hearing every prayer I am crying. Even the ones that my Spirit is crying because I can't even speak them myself. I don't know why He isn't acting. I probably will never know. But I know He hears. I know He cares. I know my deliverance is coming. Because I know who my God is.

The KtKronicles

I wanted to take a minute to introduce a new blog that I'm following called "The KtKronicles." I love this blog because it is authentic and real, it's grace filled, and it gets to the heart of the matter right away. No surfacey stuff at all. She gets raw and real in her relationship with Jesus, and leaves me inspired to keep pressing on through another day with HOPE.

Most of all, she is relatable, through her joys and her struggles. I can see myself in each blog.

If you're currently in a "valley" of life, filled with hopelessness and despair, read Katy's most recent blog "365 Days." She talks about how God has taken her OUT of that place. She shows us that God really does keep his promises, He actually does provide in amazing ways when we need them most, and that the valley does come to an end. You can read it here.

Katy is a mom of 4, a writer, a Holy Yoga lover (seriously who isn't?), and a "wife in limbo" as she calls it. She also makes awesome all natural products like laundry detergent and facial cleansers. If you're looking to exchange those chemical cleaners in your home for some all natural ones, check out her stuff.

Visit her blog here, and take a read. I promise you won't regret it!

Wishing you all Health, Hope, & Happiness
Abby