Anonymous...and Lifestyle Changes

God simply amazes me more and more and It has to do with the simple fact that He is good!!!  Since I have made up in my mind that I'll do my best not to worry, just pray and trust God to do exactly what He says He will do, He has been blessing my socks off left and right.  Last week I checked the mail and to my amazement, there was a money order in the mail from someone in Florida.  I have no clue who sent it, I have no idea at all.  I did make sure it was a legitimate postal money order and after verifying that, we headed to purchase groceries, much needed toiletries, and paid a bill!!!  I had no clue how we were going to take care of any of that prior to that, but God had already worked it out!  So to who ever anonymous is.....I thank you with a sincere heart and Praise the Lord for your willingness to bless us in such an awesome way.

A sweet friend and I were talking and we both agree, if the body of Christ would step up to the plate, I don't believe we would have any Christians struggling in this nation.  Single moms would be able to fulfill their calling to stay home and raise up godly seeds.  And then, think of the testimony that would be to non believers...no brother or sister in Christ going to the government for housing, food, or medical expenses...
Now that would be awesome and amazing in and of itself and YES a mighty testimony to the world!!!

You know I do a lot of reading and many times I happen upon someone's blog and have no idea how I found that blog, but am ever grateful that I did.  Well, last night was no different.  I have purposed in my heart to make some changes for myself.  Some of it has to do with the economy and the fact that I am still unemployed.  Yet some of it has to do with the fact that I just want to live a healthier simpler life if at all possible.
So I've gone back to drinking green smoothies every morning and it has helped to cut my cravings and I find at lunch time I'm really not hungry and don't start getting hungry until around 5ish...well, dinner is at 6 so I usually drink a tall 44 oz of water and eat dinner at 6.  Since I'm on a serious budget, my smoothies are basic.  water to cover the blades in my blender, 2 handfuls of spinach or lettuce (green or red leaf), 1 cup frozen fruit, 1 cup plain yogurt.  Quick and simple yummy breakfast, followed by a large cup of ice water.  I've increased my water intake throughout the day as well.  In the last 3 months, I've switched from disposable pads to cloth pads and just in the last 2 weeks I switched from toilet paper to cloth wipes (I buy a small pack of toilet paper now for certain needs in the restroom, but that 4 pack should last me for a time).  I just made my first batch of deodorant and let me tell you it's been 2 days and I love it already.  I've been wanting to make the switch, but I've been a bit chicken!  I also tried another thing suggested from this blog and washed my hair with ivory soap...oh yea, I've switched from the fancy soaps back to ivory.  I've used dove for as long as I can remember, but found in the last 2 months or so it was beginning to cause me to itch like no one's business!  I digress.  So the reason I washed my hair with ivory soap, is that between my 2 daughters and I, the shampoo is gone in a month.  They simply use too much.  I did an experiment and bought everyone their own bottle of shampoo, the same size and my sons lasted the longest of course, then mine, but the girls were out of shampoo in 3 weeks.  So, I tried washing my hair with the ivory soap and it cleaned it very well and then made it feel like a dry mess, but I applied conditioner in it and it is just fine and very manageable.  I have used the apple cider vinegar as a conditioner before and loved the way it worked, so after we have used the remaining 3 bottles of conditioner in my home, I will be buying apple cider vinegar from that point on.  I had already been making my laundry soap so no changes there.  I have one thing I just have not been able to give up and that's the bleach.  I don't even use it on our clothes anymore, just to clean with, but I'm noticing it is causing me to have more headaches and it's burning my eyes and nose and that's just with a little bit being used.  So I'm sure that will be next.  I'm in search of a liquid dish soap replacement for hand washing dishes.  I've gone to using coconut oil in my bath water as a moisturizer....love the way it feels on my skin and I don't even have to use lotion when I get out and it only takes a little....1 TBSP!!!!  I also use coconut oil on my face.  I've weeded out hair grease and simply use a mixture of coconut oil and olive oil on my hair.  And with those few changes just for my hair, it is growing by leaps and bounds!!!

Please share any ideas you have or come up with that I can give a try.  I'm all about saving money and living healthier!!!