Updates on life.....Poo, tv and daily living

Update time, but first of all I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas celebrating the birth of our Savior, Jesus!! We had a special time with family and we are now back home and planning to enjoy the rest of Christmas vacation.

Some updates....
Still no POO and loving it!!! I don't plan on going back to shampoo or conditioner. The baking soda and apple cider vinegar work marvelously for me! I also use coconut oil as a leave in conditioner/freeze treatment for my curly hair. I am down to only using 2 store bought products (down from a total of 5-6). I still use a bit of hair gel and hair spray... not much just a tad. If you haven't given the 'no poo' thing a try what are you waiting for??

TV/Screen time DECREASE! Over Thanksgiving break we celebrated the week 'old fashioned' style with NO tv or computer. How did it go?? Well the first couple of days my children suffered from MAJOR withdrawal..... MAJOR. That right there convinced my husband and I that our family had indeed slipped into a serious problem with screen time. So for 2 weeks... it was off. then we decided that we would only allow tv for movies on Friday or Saturday nights and if they asked any other time they forfeited those weekend privileges. How is it going now?? WONDERFULLY!! The kids are playing more games, reading, coloring, doing puzzles, using their imagination, building things and getting the toys back out again. We have also played more games together in the past month than we had in the past year! We have had a TON of fun and plan to keep the LIMITED screen time policy in place. As you have noticed I haven't been blogging much either... it has been a good detox for me, too. Living life is much more valuable than passively watching or reading about what others are doing.... Living MY life, the life that GOD has given ME, is my priority. DOING things with my own family takes precedent over reading what others are doing with theirs. (though I will still read blogs from time to time.... just keep my priorities in check!)

Life's challenges..... yeah, we have had some this fall. Yeah, we are still dealing with some difficult issues, but we are working on them and have been blessed to have some very wonderful Biblical guidance and counsel that had been extremely beneficial. Through Jesus we are more than conquerors!!!! The victory is already won!!!!

Looking towards 2010 God is giving me some new convictions, goals, dreams. He has also given some opportunities to just completely trust him because my human eyes can't make heads or tails from what I see. Living my life DAY to DAY, with my heart in tune with what GOD desires is going to be a huge thing.... Heart issues, peeling back more layers of ME and replacing them with GOD.... that is what I pray happens.

Living Simply... this God given desire is growing even stronger as I have had a renewed passion for the ways of God. God's way is peaceful, God's ways are different from the world. The world chases after so much and even as Christians we get sucked in to the rush for more.... stepping back farther from the mainstream world is another family goal. It is so easy for my heart to get filled up with things that distract me from the most important things in life. Defining 'simple living' for our own life will be a continual journey but one that will take on more priority this coming year than last.

I look forward to writing on this blog and sharing with you the journey that God is leading me on. I'm not sure how consistent I will be posting, but will post as I feel led. My HEART must be right..... I can NOT post to feed my pride or gain popularity. My HEART must please Jesus, not myself. I learn so much from you all and will continue to do so. I have been so blessed by friends that I have met online and know that God guides us to each other for divine purpose!!

Happy New Year!!

Have a BLESSED day, BE a BLESSING!
Heather