Most people are familiar with mint in the form of a tasty tidbit whether it be a breath freshner, toothpaste, candy or maybe even their favorite herbal tea. However, once you know about some of the healing properties of mint you begin to understand that mint matters are so much important than a person realizes. For a person who has seen or felt it’s healing power…they know the value of keeping pure mint oil on hand!
For instance, did you know that mint (be it spearmint or peppermint) has anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-fungal, anti-spasmodic, anti-oxidant, anti-microbial, and is an analgesic? That covers many ailments that a human being can experience. Wow, can you think of any other product that has any kind of equal healing power in it? It is amazing. It also is a very tasty product and one that is fairly reasonable to purchase or to grow in your own backyard.
As some of my regular readers know, I supported a very special group of people who produce mint oil right here in Michigan. It is the Crosby Mint Farm in St. Johns, Michigan. It is a family owned business and it has just celebrated their 99 harvest of mint oil this past weekend. My family and I got to go on a tour of the farm with some very dear friends of ours this past weekend. What a joy to see this farm that is a source of healing power for so many people around the world.
There is Peppermint Jim and his sister Linette who are the owners/operators. Both of whom are knowledgable and very genuine personalities. They have a wonderous staff of mint aficionados. Their small, on farm, store is stocked with products sure to please. From candles, to body spritz, to honey subtly flavored with mint, to bath salts and various sizes of bottles of pure essential mint oils to choose from; a person could surely find a way to utilize the products that they produce.
If you have followed their story you know that they struggled in the last few years with a foreclosure and “lost” their farm to an auction. The farm’s motto is “expect miracles” and through a very interesting turn of events they were able to buy back most of the farm and their family’s home which is a huge part of their legacy of producing mint for 99 harvests. Their faith and the support of customers, media and community have come full circle which is going to allow for a great celebration next year of their 100th harvest.
I have seen the healing power of the pure mint oil that they produce; as my very own mother was relieved of painful shingle sores in her mouth that prevented her from speaking and eating normally, for a period of time last winter. When medicines perscribed for her, by her physician, failed to give her relief…I recommended the mint oil. She applied the mint oil and in a matter of a few days she was finally free from the pain and inflammation in her mouth around her tongue and gums. It was miraculous. It was well worth the small cost of the bottle of oil to see her out of the pain and discomfort she had been in. Continue Reading »
Posted in Business, Education, Faith, Impact, Passion, accomplishments, advertising, cancer, charitable organizations, charity, commitment, communication, compassion, ecology, expectations, family, finances, future, giving, goals, grandparents, health, help, history, home, illness, inspiration, learning, life, making money, marketing, media, medical, medicine, mental and physical health, ministry, miracles, mom, mother, news, observations, of connections, opinion, pain and misery, prayer, purpose, sickness | 3 Comments »
A recent newstory caught my attention; it was a NY judges decision to order a woman to purchase a digital web camera and to arrange for her children and her ex-husband to have their “visitation” for 3 hours on a web program called Skype.
It seems that times are tough financially, both for the man & the woman, and the ex-wife feels the need to move over 1,000 miles away to the state of Florida where she will live with her family to make ends meet. They are about to lose their home. There is not enough money to live on. So she is making a plan that she feels is a good one. But her children are young, ages 6 & 9. I can’t help but wonder, don’t the children need more interaction, than 3 hours a week, with their father…ONLINE?
Some people would say, well…why doesn’t the father move to Florida as well? It seems he just had cancer surgery. And in my opinion, if neither the mother, nor the father, is financially stable…how is it that either of them will find the finances to get set up to communicate digitally if they don’t already have the equipment or the software. That all costs money.
Can a parent meet the emotional needs of their children stictly by being online at the same time? Is it enough interaction to chat with your children? Is the Skype program going to replace physical hugs, going places together, putting them to bed at night, joining them in their after-school activities? Nothing against Skype but, it lacks the physical component of parenting in my opinion. I can’t imagine a mother or a father thinking that this kind of visitation is “enough” in a long term situation.
Are the co-parenting responsibilities and priviledges going to be able to be satisfactory? Will one parent end up with more of one and less of the other? Will the children feel abandoned or cheated? I wonder if there will be enough of an opportunity for natural bonding to be maintained in this type of arrangement.
Was there NO OTHER ALTERNATIVE than moving so far from the children’s father? No other affordable place to live in NY? No other job that would increase the family’s financial situation? Maybe we weren’t told all of the pertinent information regarding the situation that the family is facing. Still, I wonder for any parent; father or mother, is digital visitation enough when it comes to parenting your children? What do you think?
Posted in Family Time, Frustration, Fun, Heart, Impact, MONEY, Uncategorized, authorities, cancer, children, communication, controversy, custody fight, depression, divorce, emotions, expectations, family, fathers, finances, future, home, husband, kids, law enforcement, legal, life, loneliness, loss, love, marriage, memories, mental and physical health, mom, mother, news, observations, of connections, opinion, parenting, relationships | No Comments »
In America it was established, in 1791 by the adaption of the First Amendment and the Bill of Rights, that Americans have a right to exercise their freedom of religion or to exercise their lack thereof religion. It says in effect; Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
So then, imagine my surprise when I read a news article today about an alleged violation of that right at the U. S. Supreme Court Building. From reading the article it would appear that a group of middle school students and their teacher as well as a few other adults, were at the Supreme Court Building taking pictures when they decided to step to the side to pray. The details are a bit sketchy, however it is being alleged that a police officer told them that they must cease and desist; stop praying and move along because it was against the law.
Either there is more to this story, or the police officer was/is badly mis-informed, or some other reason was at the basis of being asked to move along. From my impression of the article, it sounds as if it was a peaceable gathering. However, as I said, details are sketchy. Continue Reading »
Posted in Education, Faith, Frustration, Impact, Patriotism, Remembering, accountability, authorities, awareness, children, church, commitment, communication, controversy, culture, danger, emotions, encouragement, expectations, future, government, history, kids, law enforcement, leadership, learning, legal, life, news, observations, opinion, power, prayer, prayer, protect, religion, religious freedom, respect, responsibility, school, spiritual | No Comments »
It’s been a terrible thing to read of the recent reports about Mel Gibson and his alleged audio recordings of some hate filled diatribe towards his ex-girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva . He spews forth such rancor and biting words that it nearly reduces a person without prejudices or intolerances, of either differing ethnic races or opposite genders, into a soul cringing, physically flinching posture of self protection. This is the position that many who have suffered at the hands of abuse or domestic violence find themselves in automatically when conflict occurs.
Allegedly there are even more sound bites from these audio recordings that have equally disturbing comments from Mel Gibson. In the past, he has been accused by some as having made disturbing comments about Jews when he was arrested. It was said in reference to those statements, that he was under the influence. Others would argue that what is in the heart bubbles to the surface when that person’s inhibitions are loosened up from drugs/alcohol.
This past year has seen Mr. Gibson separate from his wife of 30 years, Robyn only to publically engage in his relationship with Ms. Oksana Grigorieva. They had a female child, Lucia, together and it is alleged by Oksana that Mel Gibson physically assaulted her by hitting her in the face, while she was holding their daughter, causing physical harm to Oksana; as well as threatening to burn down her residence.
Mel is now being investigated for domestic violence by law enforcement. A tallent agency has stopped representing him in the last week as well after Mel supposedly made disparaging remarks about hispanics whom he allegedly called “wetbacks”. His personal reputation is going through some rapid changes. He has been a successful actor in the box office for years earning kudos from the entertainment world and from fans alike. Continue Reading »
Posted in Descriptive Words, Faith, Fame, Fear, Frustration, Hate Crimes, Impact, Passion, Threats, abuse, accountability, addictions, anger, attitude, authorities, bullying, celebrity, children, church, controversy, crime, custody fight, custody fight, danger, divorce, domestic violence, emotions, encouragement, entertainment, family, fathers, help, husband, kids, law enforcement, legacy, legal, life, loneliness, loss, love, marriage, medical, medicine, mental and physical health, mother, news, observations, opinion, parenting, personal development, pregnancy, rape, relationships, religion, respect, responsibility, sadness, safety, sex, spiritual, spiritual, suicidal, suicidal, trauma, trust, unhappiness, unhappiness, values, violence, wife | No Comments »
Freedom has been on my mind lately, not only because of the holiday, the Fourth of July; but, also due to several news stories of late and as well as some relationships with people in my circle of influence. When you say the word freedom, people often have a gut reaction to it. That is because freedom is central to all that we, as Americans, hold near and dear.
After all, men and women have fought and died for the privelege that we all enjoy of living free from the will of others being forced upon us regardless of their own values and beliefs. We don’t thank our military men and women enough for that and we should.
Our own country’s Declaration of Independence was based on the idea and principals of freedom. Without that document as the basis of our country, we would still be forced to accept another country’s authority of what we could and could not do as individuals, in America. Human beings still value freedom today, as much as during the formation of the United States of America; we just don’t always talk about what that means in our everyday lives.
Relationships are often broken or strengthened on the basis of the people’s concept of the boundaries and limitations of freedom in their relationship. It does not matter whether that relationship is romantic in nature or whether the relationship is based on friendship, or is a family relationship such as parent to child or, even a working relationship with a co-worker or a boss.
Freedom and it’s limitations are important. If you think I am wrong consider this… if a couple has differing views on what kind of freedoms are going to be allowed in the relationships regarding physical relations, financial spending or saving, discipline issues with regard to raising children…or even freedom to pursue a chosen career…how does one compromise the limits of such freedoms without compromising or destroying one person or the other’s sense of what is acceptable? They must consider the other person’s feelings regarding freedom as being equally important as their own and be willing to find an acceptable solution to both parties. This is not easy…because everyone wants what they want and they want it their own way, if given a choice. Continue Reading »
Posted in Frustration, Holiday, Impact, Patriotism, attitude, authorities, awareness, children, communication, crime, culture, disappointments, divorce, domestic violence, emotions, expectations, family, finances, foster parenting, fourth of july, government, help, hero, history, kids, law enforcement, leadership, legal, life, loss, news, pain and misery, parenting, personal development, persuasion, relationships, respect, responsibility, restlessness, expectations, callings, service, teens, values, work | No Comments »
Have you ever had one of those can’t do anything right kind of days? You know the kind of day I am talking about right? The kind of day that wastes no time in letting you know that nothing is going to go your way from the moment you open your eyes and or put your feet on the floor.
I think everyone has those kinds of days once in a while. Wake up and stub your toe right off the bat, or go to make breakfast and everything you reach for to make is either lacking an ingredient or doesn’t turn out. Gotta go somewhere….well, you probably should have gotten gas last night; because, now that your vehicle is running on empty, they have raised the price of gas by 23 cents a gallon…and guess what? You need a lot of gallons to get where you are going. What in the world? Did they declare it pick on you day and no one gave ya a heads up?
Have you maybe tried to do something nice for someone and had it misunderstood? Been accused of misdeed, or wrong doing, and you have just been minding your own business, doing what is supposed to be done? Had your motives questioned? Annoyed someone simply by breathing the same air as them; or, have a separate opinion on a particular subject? Really, I mean come on people…have you thought that you, and another person such as a co-worker, were on the same page about something, only to find out that you couldn’t be more wrong? Ayi Yi Yi!
Did you let someone down accidently, or shown up late to something really important? Have you not been able to give enough to another person and their expectation of you was so high, that you felt bad not meeting their expectation?
Don’t even get me started with communication because you might just as well know right now, that nothing you say to anyone, on this kind of day, will be understood the way that you meant it to be understood. People will get mad at you, they will have hurt feelings, they will look at you like you are out of your mind and not making a lick of sense, when you try to communicate with them.
In fact, you may even have the misfortune of carrying on a conversation with a person or two and be talking about completely different subjects without realizing it until the conversation is nearly over! That is, if you even connect with them on the phone in the first place; because, no matter how many times you try to contact that certain person…you continue to play phone tag and keep missing one another. Grrrrr.
Add up the miscommunications, irresponsible moments, un-intended power struggles, the time delays, accidents, losses, bad luck, negative emotions and upset people and you have to wonder; how can you move past a day like this?
Wow…been there, done that, RECENTLY. You want to know the really cool thing about one of those, can’t do anything right days? Here it comes…are you ready for it? Those days eventually have to end; because the truth of the matter is…there are only 24 hours in a day and you get a do -over tomorrow. Ahhhh…that is the best news I have had heard all day. How about you? Tomorrow is a new day…make it a good one, eh?
Tags: bad luck, can't do anything right, co-workers, emotions, family, friends, good day, miscommunication, power struggles, relationships, responsibility, truth
Posted in Descriptive Words, Frustration, Impact, Labor, Luck, anger, communication, control, controversy, depression, disappointments, emotions, expectations, family, giving, help, hero, inspiration, job, leadership, life, loneliness, loss, love, observations, pain and misery, parenting, relationships, responsibility, sadness, sensitivity | No Comments »
If your life has been touched in some way by cancer than you have a pretty clear idea of how it affect lives and families. If your child or a child, you care about, has been diagnosed with cancer then it feels like an assault on every front. You, as the adult, have maturity on your side and some skills to help deal with this life and death challenge; even though it may not feel that way. Still, the weight of the world…all of the responsibility can feel like an anchor; holding you down. Wishing to remove some of the trauma from your child you try to handle as much of it as you can but you are human you can only do so much.
Dealing with the paperwork, the care of other siblings and spouse, working a full time job; not to mention hands on care between treatments, paying bills, chauffeuring back and forth between doctor and hospital visits; it can become overwhelming. However, the most important thing is meeting the physical, spiritual and emotional needs of your childhood cancer patient. You can’t be all things to all of the people in your life at the same time and there are moments when you have to be away from your child in the hospital. Finding a way to still provide comfort and security for your child, even when you aren’t there, is of the utmost importance to you. This is extremely important for the positive outcome of the battle against cancer. There is someone who has been there and is trying to make a difference for other families in the same battle.
There is a non-profit organization called, Friends Like Us. Friends like us was started by the parents of a childhood cancer patient named Brandon. Mark and Delores Bailey are those parents and they created something called the chemo bear. This bear provided comfort to their son when he fought his battle. The chemo bear is customized in a way with interactionable parts which simulates the treatments that the cancer patient goes through. This helps to open the door for positive communication between the child-patient and the medical staff who are providing care.
Children with cancer have to deal with so many life changes and it can be frightening and lonely. Treatments are often unpleasant or uncomfortable. These bears can provide great physical and emotional comfort to a child who is suffering during this time in unfamiliar locations sometimes seperated from friends or family.
The Bailey’s have started a program which provides chemo bears free of charge to child cancer patients through social workers in cancer hospitals. The bears cost about 24 dollars to make and ship…and so the Getting Better Together program thrives on fundraising. This week, June 28-July 5th, they are having a fundraising event called, Adopt A Bear. For each $25 dollar donation, a bear will be given to a child with cancer. Want to learn more about this wonderful program? Are you associated with a hospital or cancer clinic that has not heard of this great program? Check out their website for more information here: http://www.friendslikeus.org/ or follow them on Twitter here: http://www.twitter.com/friendslikeus .
If you can find it in your heart to help spread the word or to donate much needed dollars to provide comfort to a little one please do so. If you want donate in the memory of someone who’s life has been affected by cancer; please do. I think that is a great way to honor someone. Thank you!
Posted in Education, Fear, Heart, Heart to heart, Impact, MONEY, cancer, charitable organizations, chemo, children, comfort, communication, compassion, courage, depression, donate, emotions, environment, family, fathers, finances, grandchildren, grandparents, health, help, hospital, hospitals, inspiration, kids, life, loneliness, loss, medical, mother, news, observations, opinion, pain and misery, parenting, pharmacist, physician, relationships, responsibility, sadness, spiritual, support, teens, trauma, unhappiness | 3 Comments »
Provincetown school district in Massachutes is in the middle of a controversy regarding their new policy of providing condoms to school aged children to prevent disease and pregnancy without having to notify the parents or get their approval. This new policy is less than a month old and allows for kids, regardless of age, to receive condoms upon request if they speak to a school nurse/counselor and the school official believes that the student is sexually active, or is planning to become sexually active.
There is great debate about whether this policy should or should not be in place. The Provincetown school district superintendent, Beth Singer appears to be puzzled by the controversy; even though the policy has no age limitation. This goes above and beyond regular sex ed where parents can opt out of certain aspects of a sex ed program because of their beliefs or their own choice in how they want to explain the facts of life to their children; but, this policy removes that option by eliminating a parent’s consent or awareness.
The author of the policy believes that all students should be educated about the use of condoms regarding disease and pregnancy prevention along with other issues relating to sexual education. News reports say that she believes the controversy is surprising, but good as it gets people discussing the issue. She has said that the policy was not created with the intention of giving condoms to children in elementary school. It will probably now be geared for middle school and up, if I understand this correctly. However, I think that is wrong because even though it does happen, kids should NOT be having sex. If they are having sex then it is up to the parents and that child/teen to discuss how things should be handled; it should be a private family matter.
It seems that, the school committee that approved the policy will re-examine the way that the policy is written because opposition to the policy has arisen over the availability of condoms to grade school children without having to notify the parents, of said students. Golly, I wonder why the parents are so upset…I mean…it is not like the school is trying to take over the role of the parents or anything, right? >by the way, that is SARCASM if you are not getting that without hearing the “tone” of my voice.
My feeling is that anytime a school or agency tries to usurp the authority of a parent over their children… it is wrong. By creating a situation where kids can skip going to their parents for something as important as birth control or a device meant to protect them while having sexual relations with another person (whether it be another minor or not) is a serious problem. Continue Reading »
Posted in Education, Faith, Impact, Teen Pregnancy, Uncategorized, abortion, anger, anti-abortion, authorities, awareness, baby, birth, children, church, crime, emotions, family, fathers, foster parenting, future, government, health, kids, learning, legal, life, medical, mother, observations, parenting, physician, pregnancy, relationships, religion, religious freedom, respect, responsibility, school, schools, sex, spiritual, teens, values, wedding | No Comments »
Ok, I am just going to say it…Just because it hasn’t happened to you or one of your loved ones doesn’t mean that it can’t or won’t happen. Summer is here and school is out. A big part of summer fun and relaxation is swimming in pools or dipping in hot tubs. Parents everywhere think they have safety covered when they zip up or tie on a safety life jacket and have life rings available at the poolside. They may even feel reassured if there is a fence around the pool and an alarm is activated when the volume or level of water changes; which would alert a parent to the presence of a person in the pool.
Those things are very important; however, there are even more precautions to take to keep your kids safe in this environment. Many people aren’t even aware of this particular danger that we are going to discuss today. The danger I am talking about is the vacuum or suction that allows for the water in the pool, or hot tub to circulate.
A child or even some adults are in danger because of the design of those drains, in some pools. The power of these drains can drastically alter or cause the loss of life. Pools that aren’t up to date, or equipped, with various layers of protection, regarding the force of the suction in these drains, can kill or permanently harm human lives.
It is important to note that people on vacation may not be aware of the quality or level of protection that a hotel/campground/waterpark may or may not have. It’s even possible for people to take for granted that the neighbor’s or grandma/grandpa’s pool is “safe” for their children’s use this summer.
Using large drain covers that are considered to be blockage free; and, that are firmly attached with screws are the first step towards protecting lives. Equally important to the issue of safety and well-being is to have back up systems that help to restrict, or reduce the amount of suction through these drains.
There are safety shut off valves, that can save lives too; those safety shut off valves can sense when a drain becomes blocked and the force increases on the surface of the drain cover. This powerful suction can occur when the skin of a person covers the drain and pulls with a large force trapping a person underwater; so a shut off valve is critical for saving lives. Continue Reading »
Tags: campgrounds, danger, death, drowning, help, hot tub drains, hotels, kids, observations, parenting, pool drains, pool safety, pool safety awareness, protection, safety advocates, summer safety, summer safety tips, summer vacation, swimming, teens, traveling, traveling to hotels, water parks, water safety
Posted in Education, Fourth of July, Fun, Impact, Relax, Summer, authorities, awareness, children, danger, death, emergency, family, grandchildren, grandparents, help, holidays, home, kids, life, observations, opinion, pain and misery, parenting, power, protect, safety, teens, tourism, travel, well-being | No Comments »
Recently when my father had to have a major medical surgery, we as a family had to make some tough decisions about how to keep family close during the hospital stay to keep an eye on him. We are blessed in the fact that our parents had five daughters so that helps when these situations occur to share the burden; not everyone is in the same situation. However, our mom also has some medical issues that require keeping the physical stress and strain low key for her. The problem became, how do we keep her close to dad during this time without taxing her strength and endurance for the possible 1-3 week hospital stay for dad.
The solution was the wonderful hospitality house that is connected to Spectrum Hospital downtown Grand Rapids, Michigan called the Renucci Hospitality House. I can’t tell you what a wonderful service this Renucci House offers. It was built in 1999 and helps to house family members of the hospital’s patients that are in need of having a place close by to sleep and rest. It was designed to provide comfort and rest for the weary soul. There is a small healing garden that is darling. There is a playroom for young siblings or children of the hospital patient. The staff is wonderful and caring, from the hosts to the cleaning crew. There is a computer for the patient’s family members to use, a laundry facility, an exercise room…and quiet rooms for relaxing. The dinning room is open 24-7 and the kitchen is stocked with non-perishable food items for those moments when food or drink is needed. Continue Reading »
Tags: anger, anxiety, comfort, community service, compassion, depression, donations, emotions, families, family, Fear, Grand Rapids Michigan, healing, help, hope, hospital stay, hospitality House, hunger, Impact, life, meals, mentoring, pay it forward, Renucci House, sadness, Spectrum Hospital, support, volunteerism, volunteers, youth groups
Posted in Heart, Heart to heart, Impact, Opportunities, Time, attitude, charitable organizations, chemo, children, comfort, compassion, donate, elderly, emergency, emotions, encouragement, environment, family, finances, health, help, holidays, home, hospital, hospitals, hunger, inspiration, joy, kids, leadership, learning, legacy, library, life, love, meals, medical, mental and physical health, mentoring, ministry, observations, of connections, opinion, pain and misery, parenting, service, stress, support, surgery, talent, talents, volunteering | No Comments »
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