Temptation

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I love a good candy bar, Caramello is probably my favorite. Or a nice cool York peppermint patty. I’m a bit ashamed to admit I had one of each yesterday :/

I love scrolling Facebook when I wind down for the evening. It’s a mindless way to chill.

I love shopping. Sometimes a trip to my favorite store is like a mini vacation. Other times I can do it right from the convenience of my couch in between those mindless Facebook scrolls. (Thanks Amazon)

What tempts you? Do your temptations feel impossible to resist? Maybe yours are a bit more serious, or maybe you also struggle with candy, shopping, and social media.

I came across a few verses I’ve probably read a dozen times, but today they struck me a little different.

“And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, he was hungry.”
‭‭Luke‬ ‭4‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Here’s what I noticed this time around:

Jesus was full of the spirit. It is very hard to be full of the spirit when there’s no room! When we are emptied of ourselves, the spirit can enter.

Jesus was led by the spirit into the wilderness. He followed his calling. He followed the prompting. Have you ever felt a nudge and brushed it off or ignored it? Sadly, I have.

The last thing I noticed – “He ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, he was hungry.” Hmm, was He not hungry day one? For me, it would have been about 3 hours in… did He not realize he was hungry until he was done? Did the spirit occupy him that well? I don’t know? Maybe that’s just my interpretation but I thought it was interesting and it stuck out to me.

When we are empty of ourselves and full of the spirit, we can resist temptation just like Jesus. Maybe we won’t go a full 40 days with no food, but we CAN resist picking up our phone for the 20th time, or running to Kohls for the latest trends (super cute Vera Wang spring line btw)

For every one of the devil’s temptation , Jesus fought back with the word of God.

“The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone.’””
‭‭Luke‬ ‭4‬:‭3‬-‭4‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, and said to him, “To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. And Jesus answered him, “It is written, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.’””
‭‭Luke‬ ‭4‬:‭5‬-‭6‬, ‭8‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“And he took him to Jerusalem and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written, “‘He will command his angels concerning you, to guard you,’ and “‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’” And Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’””
‭‭Luke‬ ‭4‬:‭9‬-‭12‬ ‭ESV‬‬

If you are feeling tempted, follow the example given to us by Jesus.

*Empty yourself. Make room for the Holy Spirit.

*Follow the spirit’s lead.

*Fight your temptations with scripture.

“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”
‭‭2 Timothy‬ ‭3‬:‭16‬-‭17‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Clean It Up! Part 1

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Have you ever looked at the ingredients list of your face wash, toothpaste, or deodorant? I never used to. In fact, I probably laughed at those people who did and said “who cares?” (sorry!) Well, it turns out I care!

After being diagnosed with breast cancer, I started paying a little more attention to what I put IN and ON my body.

I discovered some helpful websites and apps from one of my breast cancer groups. My favorites are Switch Natural and EWG (environmental working group)

There is a cost to Switch Natural (I believe it was around $25/year) For how many scans I’ve done already, I’d say I got my moneys worth!

I started scanning all my every day beauty products. Some were shocking. Others were decent. I decided to start with the stuff I use the most.

Here are some of the swaps I’ve made so far…

Deoderant

This is a tough one, especially being a breast cancer survivor. We’ve all heard aluminum is bad stuff. It’s also the only thing that doesn’t make me stink and sweat :/ I decided to give crystal deodorant a try. I was super pleased at first, but I feel like over time it lost its effectiveness. I will definitely need to find an alternative before summer, but for now it works!

https://a.co/d/9wr3Ktf

Toothpaste

I have used NuSkin whitening toothpaste for years. I’m a big tea drinker so I’m constantly battling stains and yellowish teeth. I thought this toothpaste did a decent job. However, EWG rates it a 3. Not terrible, but better options are available. I switched to David’s toothpaste, which can be found at Target or on Amazon. It comes in a metal tube and with a fun little tool to squeeze your toothpaste from the bottom up! So far so good. I’m curious to see how well it works long term. I just had my dental cleaning so I’m starting off fresh!

https://www.target.com/p/davids-antiplaque-38-whitening-fluoride-free-premium-natural-toothpaste-peppermint-5-25oz/-/A-76581782

Skin care

I’m 43 and finally have a skin care routine I can stick with and actually works. I literally held my breath when I scanned each item.

Ugh.

None were very clean. After some soul searching, I begrudgingly started searching for an alternative.

I ordered a sample kit from Farm to Skin. I’m not sure I can give up my Zo oil control pads. I might have to compromise. But…so far I am REALLY loving these Farm to Skin products. I have noticed a HUGE decrease in oil production. I am usually super oily so this was a nice benefit! I treated myself to a facial recently and my esthetician said I looked “glowy” I’ll take that as a win!!

My favs are the Retinoic cleaner, Calming essence, and Seeds of Today. You can buy a sample set for 50% off to try some of their best sellers. This has definitely been my most successful swap!! I plan on sticking with these products!

Farm to Skin

Sunscreen

This has BY FAR been the most challenging item to replace. I was using La Roche Posay and Elta Md. both were recommended by my dermatologist and both are full of junk. La Roche is worse – the list of junk was so long I had to scroll!!! (EWG was a little less harsh on their rating) I will have to report back on this swap later, because we live in Michigan and it’s January and I haven’t seen the sun is 5,320 days 🫤

Shampoo and conditioner

Typically I use a shampoo and conditioner, get bored with it, try something else, and repeat the cycle. I am starting to wash my hair a little less, but this is still a frequently used product so I researched some better alternatives. I ordered Avalon Biotin Shampoo. It’s too soon to tell…it’s OK…I’m not blown away with some big improvement in my hair, but it’s also not really any worse.

http://Avalon Organics Therapy Thickening Shampoo, Biotin B-Complex, 14 Oz https://a.co/d/hXj6VuR

Chapstick

I love my chapstick! I have a car chapstick, purse chapstick, office chapstick, etc… Since I use it multiple times a day, I really wanted to find a better alternative. I decided to give Dr Bronners a try. This scanned clean. I like peppermint best, and it’s available at Target.

Dr Bronners Lip balm

Body soap

I’m a bar soap kind of girl. I usually buy whatever is on sale at Meijer. My husband likes Old spice soap which is too manly for me. I decided on another Dr Bronners product. Their hemp bar soap works well, nice scents, and not a lot of junk. So far the citrus scent is my fav. Also available at Target!

https://www.target.com/p/dr-bronner-s-bar-soap-lavender-5oz/-/A-11007066

Hand soap

Who knew hand soap could be “unclean????”

I switched to Every One brand. This is available at Meijer and I like the lemon scent. However, it contains “phenoxyethanol.” This is found in a lot is cosmetics and personal products. I’m still doing my research, as the apps seem to have conflicting opinions on this.

Wrapping it up…

I have not worried much about my shaving cream (hardly use it)

I’m still researching and swapping out make up and hair spray. (Hair spray has been HARD)

I’ll post an update in a month or two. Once I tackle my beauty products, I’ll be moving on to household cleaners, laundry soap, etc…

What are some of your favorite products? What clean swaps have you made recently?