Today,  I was determined to go on a morning walk with my dogs to burn off some stress, connect with God, and see if I could find any messages speaking to me.  Well I heard a beautiful bird sing a little song, so I gave thanks to the bird and to God.  Then I continued on the walk our puppy, Bear is a German Shepard mix and at four months of age, he reminds me to find the fun in all you do!  Our other dog, Max is a Boarder Collie/Schnauzer mix and at twelve mature years, he knows the ropes and does not really enjoy Bears antics, in fact he thinly tolerates them.

Next thing to draw my eye was a beautiful cardinal, then I heard a lovely coo, and there was a dove in the next tree.  That seemed like a wonderful sign, I also caught a glimpse of a nest in the same tree, then I looked again.  "Hey, wait a minute!" I thought as the nest had eyes...well, what do you know that nest is really a cat!  It got me to thinking, was the cat there because of my two pups motivating it to higher and safer ground?  Or was it self-motivation to have a little birdie breakfast?  Well one thing I do know for certain is things are not always as they seem, and especially if something does not "sit right" before responding, take a minute to back up and look at the big picture, many times the story is rather different than what we saw at first glance.  I thanked God for my simple but profound lesson and went happily along my way looking for more good in my day!

Both of my children Jacob, now 11 and Rachel, now 8 were diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis four years ago, neither my husband or I have anyone, that we know of, on either side of our family with the life threatening disease, so it has been a small adjustment with treatments twice and sometimes three times daily to keep the airwaves open and children breathing easily. 

The children had just returned from a few days in the hospital for a “tune-up” and I was doing the last leg at home of IV antibiotics to help boost their immunity.  So I will share with you last night as I was tucking in my daughter for bed.  Rachel started coughing, and I thought she was going to be ill.  She looked terribly worried, I was closing off the IV antibiotic drip line for the night.  She saw a little blood on her stomach (it rubbed off from the drip during the transition).  So I called the doc to see everything was ok.  Then we prayed over her, she and I asked Jesus to lovingly wrap his healing arms around her and heal her.  This seemed to calm her down and she went to sleep.  

The next morning we read a bit from the Bible, and Jesus was saying for us to say "I trust you Jesus" in everything that happens.  I told her she could always talk to Jesus and listen, he will respond.  Then she got upset and said, "I do talk, but he never, ever answers me!"  I said, “Well, it won't necessarily sound like our voices, it may be you get a message dropped into your mind and are able to understand it... that is how it happens for me.”  Then she said, "Oh, I get that ... last night they told me I was ok, and I was not going to die."  I was a little shocked and asked “What made you think that you were going to die?” she told me she thought she was coughing up blood.  Then she went on to say she had asked Jesus to forgive her for those times in anger she said she wished she were in Heaven, and said she realized she is not really ready to go yet!  I explained the blood on her tummy had rubbed off from the pic line, we cleaned it up and I had not thought a thing more of it.  It all came clear, she thought the blood came from her cough, and thought she was dying...either Jesus or her Angel told her she was fine and she was going to live through this...and now she knows she gets guidance in the messages! This was one of the biggest blessings I could ever have prayed for in her life, to truly understand she is not alone and she knows she gets the messages.   

Health Care – Lavender, the must have in your medicine (travel) kit!

Essential oils are one of nature’s best kept secrets with one hundred times the potency of a dried herb.  It is great for burn treatments and scalds.  Lavender oil is a natural antibiotic, antiseptic, antidepressant, sedative and detoxifier which promotes healing and prevents scarring.  It actually stimulates the cells of the wound to regenerate more quickly.  We just got a German Shepard puppy and while we were playing he accidentally scratched my face.  It really stung and to my horror looking in the mirror I had a three inch red angry scratch from beside the top of my nose to my mouth!  My first impulse was pour on the lavender!  Thankfully, it was the very best thing to do, one week later it is barely noticeable, I just keep applying directly to the area morning and evening.  Not only is the scent soothing to me, but all those around me.  We just finished Christmas break and I can tell you a wee bit of calming for my delightful children was appreciated as well. 

I must confess I have had a mini love affair with essential oils for quite some time as they are natural and amazingly good ways to heal what ails you without loading up on “toxic toddies” or your average over the counter medicine (otc).  If I have a headache or am having trouble falling asleep, Lavender does the trick, but it is also amazing for bee stings and insect bites.  If you had a blemish, Lavender can make it go down, it will even reduce scars, truly!  There are eight hundred essential oil properties, which means it is the “go to oil”.  The only exceptions would be for pregnant and those with low blood pressure, they should use in low dilutions due to the Narcotic-like properties.  I was told the other day to put a drop of lavender into my new mascara upon opening to keep the germs at bay that can gather in the container, what a great tip!  I find it refreshing to be able to take one ingredient and get so very many varied uses, it really is the gift that keeps giving.  If you wanted your car to smell fresh, just put a dab of Lavender essential oil on a cotton ball and stick it under your seat, you instantly have a fresh smelling car without the nasty toxins of some over the counter deodorizers.  If this is new to you, give it a try, you will be glad you did.