Wonderful Vinegar

On this blog I've often mentioned how versatile baking soda is...that you can use it for so many different things. Today I want to talk about another incredible product - Vinegar.

First, vinegar is indispensible in the home.

"Heinz company spokesperson Michael Mullen references numerous studies to show that a straight 5 percent solution of vinegar—the kind you can buy in the supermarket—kills 99 percent of bacteria, 82 percent of mold, and 80 percent of germs (viruses)."
(from: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/vinegar-kills-bacteria-mold-germs.html)

Vinegar is an effective cleaning agent, deoderizer, and mold remover.
-You can clean with it in the kitchen, bathroom, etc.
-You can pour it on moldy sidewalks or other moldy surfaces instead of bleach.
-You can use it to clean out your washer & dryer. Pour about 1/2 gallon of vinegar in an empty washing machine, run it 1/2 full of water, then run a rinse, not full cycle. This will clean out any soap build-up, mildew, or smells. For the dryer, pour about 3 cups of vinegar on a bath towel, then dry for 30-45 minutes. (We do this at least once a month to clean out the washer & dryer.)
-You can set out a bowl of vinegar to help absorb offensive smells.
-You can pour vinegar down the drain once a month to help remove build-up.

There are so many great uses for vinegar in the home! Here's a website with a few more tips: (http://www.care2.com/greenliving/annies-top-10-vinegar-uses.html)

(Note: always use Heinze vinegar for home uses. Other brands of vinegar use petroleum products in processing, thus are toxic. Heinz brand is a safe, natural form of vinegar.)


Second, you can use vinegar to promote healing in your body.

-Some missionary friends of ours were exposed to serious pesticides in Venezuela. They used vinegar to help detox the harmful chemicals. - Mix 1 Tbl. of organic apple cider vinegar and 1 tsp. of honey in 8 oz of water. Drink it first thing in the morning before you eat. (How long you should do this will depend on how much you need to detox. But my friend said this vinegar drink has also helped her arthritis, so she continues to do it daily.)
-You can use 1-2 oz of organic apple cider vinegar in a detox bath. Run the bath as hot as is comfortable, add in the vinegar, and soak for 10-20 minutes (as long as it's still comfortable).
-Vinegar can help with digestion and has other benefical results in the body as well.

Check out this website for much more information about organic apple cider vinegar:
http://www.bragg.com/

(Note: when using vinegar internally or externally on the body, always use organic apple cider vinegar. My massage therapist recommends Bragg's brand, as do many other health experts.)


So there you have it, the many uses of wonderful vinegar! =)
If you have any other uses to add, please share them in the comments.

Perspective

(FYI - I'm putting this post on both of my blogs this week, since it applies to both.)


This week marks 7 years since my health collapsed. 7 years of feeling like my life is on hold. 7 years of learning, changing, healing. 7 years of a strange journey I never would have chosen.

In some ways it feels like I've been in a time warp, stuck at age 25, while the rest of the world moves on. In other ways, I feel like I've aged 15 years, not 7.

Most of my friends are now married with 2 or 3 kids, serving on the mission-field or active in ministry somewhere. They're living the kind of life I always expected to live.

I confess, sometimes I feel impatient with God. Other people with health challenges similar to mine have gotten well in a matter of months. Why must my healing process take so long?

Then I think of my friends Sam & Nathan (twins). They recently turned 37. They've been living with Environmental Illness for almost 20 years. They didn't get to finish high school, never even got their driver's licenses. They've missed out on so many "normal" things in life. They've been enduring and persevering through their illness, day by day, for close to 20 years.

When I think about them, I sometimes get more upset with God than I do over my own situation. What is He thinking? What kind of life is that for my dear friends?

As always, my heavenly Father is faithful to gently rebuke my wrong thinking and remind me of His truth.


- "All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be." -Psalm 139:16b

- "LORD, you have assigned me my portion and my cup...." -Psalm 16:5a

- "You are good, and what you do is good...." -Psalm 119:68a

- "Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them...When Peter saw him, he asked, 'Lord, what about him?'
Jesus answered, 'If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me.'” -John 21:20-22


God's plan for each of us is different, but His call is the same - to follow. Wherever our Shepherd leads us....


Is God's plan for my friends in missionary service good?
Certainly.

Is God's plan for my friends Sam & Nathan good?
By faith, I believe it is.

Is God's plan for me good?
How could I doubt it.


I know my 7 years have not been wasted. I know God is working out His perfect plan for me.

And I've learned that it's not the passing of time or my circumstances that matter most - but rather finding joy in the fellowship of my Savior, one day at a time.


"Surely you have granted [me] eternal blessings and made [me] glad with the joy of your presence." -Psalm 21:6

Detoxing Quotes

The lengthy process of detoxing can be annoying, frustrating, even agonizing. My mom and I try to keep a sense of humor through all the pain, frustration, and crazy symptoms.

Here are a few quotes we've come up with to amuse ourselves in the midst of the struggle. =)


"Wherever I go, there my toxins are."
- I often feel like Pigpen (from Charlie Brown) with his cloud of dust following him everywhere.

"Blame it on detoxing."
- Are you feeling irritable, depressed, schizophrenic...it's probably from something you're detoxing.

"Don't inhale."
- Always give this warning to anyone you're about to hug.

"Crying washes out the toxins."
- Bursting into tears (because of reactions or symptoms) is never fun, but when it happens, my mom alway reminds me that at least it's another way of getting rid of toxins.

"Eat it today, detox it tomorrow."
- This is especially helpful to remember when I'm tempted to eat some non-organic, preservative-laden food. Is it worth the price of taking 3-4 days to detox it?

"Dare to detox."
- Detoxing is not for the faint-hearted. It takes courage, perseverance, flexibility, a sense of humor, and lots of prayer!


In some ways I think the detoxing process parallels the Christian life. God is continually removing the "toxic" things from our lives and replacing them with His goodness and truth. This process of inner transformation can at times feel annoying, frustrating, even agonizing. But a changed life is well worth the pain.

Spiritual transformation is a life-long journey.
I just hope that the detoxing process isn't.
=)