Review: Naturally Pure by Christen

Hi friends!

I am SO excited to share with you a new find of mine in the local farmers market. Don't worry if you don't live near me, it is available online. What could I be so excited about?
Naturally Pure by Christen's products!

Since I was a little girl I have been forced to use scent free soaps. I thought a few years back I might have found an option to get to smell like a peach or something along those lines from Lush- but sadly the Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) in their products causes a rash and peeling of my skin. I'm not the only one this happens to...just google the substance and a myriad of websites will come up explaining irritation, and other problems that SLS may or may not cause. If I've learned anything in recent years it's better to be safe than sorry I try and avoid it and parabens. I don't treat these substances like anthrax, but I do try and make the best choices I can for myself and my family. Remember it wasn't too many years ago that people used Asbestos for many things, handled it with their bare hands and now we know it is highly carcinogenic.

Not only do I have an allergy to SLS, but I have eczema and another skin condition known as Keratosis Pilaris. I also am really sensitive to dye including that in clothes and definitely in body products.  Sensitive is an understatement for my skin and so the world of pretty smelling, colorful bath products and lotions has always been off limits though I haven't failed to at least try and have suffered the consequences many times. Thankfully I learned about 6-7 months ago that my skin didn't react to natural products as badly. I'm not saying ones that just say "natural" but ones truly made with organic products, essential oils and without SLS. Finding these products is harder than it sounds but when I met Christen at the farmers market and she shared about her truly natural and pure products I was willing to try and I am so glad I did.

The first time I bought a bath bomb and a chapstick. I figured the chapstick would be safe and the bath bomb was a hope but I wasn't better on it. I dropped it in the bathtub, hopped in and oh my goodness did it smell wonderful. "Sweet and Sassy" aroma filled the air and I enjoyed a bath and a book. I got out and had no rash, no red splotches and as I dried my skin no peeling was present. The next morning my skin was still soft and unaffected. It was amazing! Better yet my bathtub wasn't plagued with residue. As the bath drained so did all the color. Needless to say I've repurchased this one!

Cute packaging and such a treat!

Turns the water a beautiful pink color!

The chapstick I got was "Coconut Cream." She makes several different flavors but I'm a sucker for a pina colada so my choice was made easily. The lip balm is extremely smooth and not sticky. Your lips truly feel hydrated and the sensation lasts for quite a while. It's not thick and slowly soaks in to leave your lips nice and soft. I'm excited to try the other flavors soon.

A few more visits to her booth and I've ended up with soap which was a big test. I have NEVER been able to use scented or colored bar soaps and while the popularity of these pretty soaps are everywhere I haven't been able to use them. Multiple attempts from multiple places and I always find I'm throwing them away.  I took a leap of faith after the bath bomb and purchased a few different soaps. She has a large variety that changes depending on what fresh batches she has made but it not hard to find one you'll like-- it's hard to not buy them all!

Loved the Sweet and Sassy bath bomb so much I had to have the soap!

Yes those are real rose petals in this soap!

In the shower the soaps are very smooth and not greasy. They apply easily and are great to shave with. they also don't leave a residue on your skin but do leave a faint scent behind. Again no rash or irritation for me and I am so happy to have found a great product.

I will definitely continue to purchase from Christen. I promise these are my own opinions and Christen isn't paying me nor did she give me anything for free or discount. I have purchased from her and continued to because of the quality.

Naturally Pure products are :

* Paraben Free
* SLS-free
* Petrochemical Free
* Phthalate Free

They are handmade and the attention to detail is incredible. She uses high quality products and is very knowledgable about what should and shouldn't be in your soap.

You can find her at her website : Naturally Pure By Christen
on Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/naturallypurebc?fref=ts

Please give her products a try, I promise it's not just another "natural" soap company but truly a wonderful set of products from a sweet lady. Let me know your favorites!

Now I will just be crossing my fingers for a day in Florida with less than 50% humidity as higher than that and there are no bath bombs as they can't be made. Once you try one you will hope for low humidity days for this reason also.

For It Is When I am Weak That I am Strong

As a convert, one of the things I wish I had known so much earlier is the saints and their writings. I enjoy not only writing but reading and the beauty and timelessness of the words of the saints help me through many a tough day. Their words and writings grow me and challenge me because they were real people with real struggles, real sin, real misunderstandings and real failures. The saints were people like you and me who in the midst of all their mess and struggle aimed to live a life that pointed to heaven and challenged others by word and deed to do the same.  We see so many stories of the saints that show them as less than perfect and their humanity shows me that it is possible that I too could grow to love God the way they do despite my sin and failures. The saints aren't to be worshiped but they are a wonderful help and example.

While reading Interior Castle by Teresa of Avila I have been challenged so much. It's not a book to breeze through but a book to slowly work through, mull over and let the words grow you. Teresa of Avila lived from 1515-1582 and was a Spanish nun and lead a Carmelite Reform. Today Teresa of Avila would have been 500 years old. When she was 2 Martin Luther would nail the 95 thesis to the Wittenberg door and in her lifetime she would see many including herself become lax in the pursuit of God. However, God woke up her faith through many illness and challenges so when you read her works your reading not only an encouragement in spiritual growth but its peppered with her own autobiography. She was Canonized as a saint in 1622 and elevated to Doctor of the Church by Pope Paul VI in 1970 being the first women to be honored as such. Teresa was a mystic. She knew there was more than just what could be intellectualized and yet she possibly was one of the most intellectual female saints I've read.

Interior Castle explains union with God and the stages in which spiritual perfection could be reached. "I began to think of the soul as if it were a castle made of a single diamond or of very clear crystal, in which there are many rooms, just as in Heaven there are many mansions." - Teresa wrote. Such a picture is beautiful to me as I explain God in a similar way as a diamond that can reflect a beautiful light in different colors and directions depending on your angle of looking at Him. Through the book she describes mansions where "the most secret things pass between God and the soul." While I haven't finished the book despite I've been reading it a while, I am slowly working through the mansions and reflecting on them. Now in the sixth mansions I've grown and been challenged to be closer to God and so much of what I read challenges me to love and care for those around me in a much more humble way. One such portion I've read over and over is the following :

"The Lord is also in the habit of sending the most grievous infirmities. This is a much greater trial, especially if the pains are severe; in some ways, when they are very acute, I think they are the greatest earthly trial that exists- the greatest of exterior trials, I mean- however many a soul may suffer; I repeat it is only to very acute pains that I am referring. For they affect the soul both outwardly and inwardly, till it becomes so much oppressed as not to know what to do with itself, and would much rather suffer any martyrdom than these pains. Still, at the very worst, they do not last so longer- no longer, as a rule, than other bad illnesses do. For, after all, God gives us no more than we can bear, and He gives patience first." 

Such a thought has been wrestling in my heart as I have been seeing patients with both acute and chronic pains. Moreover, I've had sweet friends go through some incredibly painful conditions.  As I think back to the many patients and people I've seen go through severe physical pains her explanation of the acute pains being some of the most severe are so true. I find those I've known with chronic pain  have grown to learn to manage the aches and pains not that that lessens the challenge but they have grown in strength to manage the interior and exterior difficulties.  In the acute however I've seen the look of despair. I've seen the fear. I've see the challenge to know if their next breath will be followed by another or not. There is something that happens in these acute pains and infirmities. The severe pain that does shake the sufferer to not know what to do. It's amazing and something that has grown me in compassion to see. It's so sad to see that look of fear and so challenging when you experience it yourself.

During the time I've spent shadowing and then during my ER rotation I learned so much about this. So often health care providers look at a patient who comes in, confused as to why their here when they aren't having what we would deem as a medical emergency. However, I learned quickly that people run to the ER when they are past their ability to cope with whatever pain that has happened whether interior or exterior. In their hearts and minds it is an emergency because they don't know what is next. Others, they should come to their doctor or the ER so much sooner than they do but the physical and emotion pain of the acute situation cause them so much fear that they can not clearly chose to seek proper care, or their fear of what could happen keeps them away.  At times the physical can be so painful, as can the emotional. It's no secret that physical pain can cause emotional pain and emotional pain can cause physical symptoms. Both are not easy to handle and both can shock us to a moment of not knowing what to do or where to turn.

Terese explains so perfectly ...they do not last long... and "For, after all, God gives us no more than we can bear, and He gives patience first." I am so thankful for this truth. The acute sharp pain that causes panic does not last long. We either are given the strength to bear with it for its duration or the infirmity is lifted by various means (medication, treatment, God's healing).

Friends I'm praying for you in these challenges. Please do not believe the lie that your illness or suffering is because of a lack of faith or belief. Friends that is NOT true. Do not look to the verses of "you reap what you sow" and go to the place of thinking your sick or injured or hurting whether interiorly or externally because of what you've sown. God allows many things in His timing for His purpose. At times our choices do lead to illness and injury but at times God allows challenges to grow us. He allows the hard times because He loves us and wants to give us His grace and gifts. For many also these challenges help them turn back to God which is His desire. He desires that ALL would know and love Him.
Friends on the good days and bad: Love Him. Don't turn away on the hard days but turn toward Him. He alone will be your strength, He will give you no more than you can bear as He will give you what you need.

"but He has answered me, 'My grace is enough for you: for power is at full stretch in weakness.' It is, then, about my weaknesses that I am happiest of all to boast, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me; and that is why I am glad of weaknesses, insults, constraints, persecutions and distress for Christ's sake. For it is when I am weak that I am strong." - 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 

Happy Birthday St. Teresa of Avila. Thank you for your example and encouragement. 

Teresa's Bookmark Prayer:


Nada te turbe,
nada te espante;
todo se pasa,
Dios no se muda.
La pacientia todo lo alcanza.
Quien a Dios tiene nada la falta:
solo Dios basta.


meaning:

Let nothing disturb you,
Let nothing frighten you,
All things are passing away:
God never changes.
Patience obtains all things.
Whoever has God lacks nothing;
God alone suffices.

<3

Suffering Is a Call To Conversion

It's amazing the depth of just a sentence. In a world of Facebook, Instagram and Twitter posts we have learned to sum our thoughts and lives into short sentiments that portray our thoughts, actions or feelings. The weight in Pope Francis' tweet though is amazing.

Suffering is a call to conversion.
Our frailty and vulnerability call us to conversion.

Friends it amazed me to think about this as I recently went on a Christ Renews His Parish retreat at my church and now am planning the next retreat. I won't go into detail about it but know that I would recommend it to anyone, it's a great experience. If I learned anything in meeting the ladies from CRHP and my experiences in my own life I see so much truth in the Holy Father's words. As I listen to the stories of those around me and think of my own I find the commonality of those who turn to God in times of challenge, and forget about Him when things are good.  I'll admit that for a period of my life this was my relationship with God. I never meant it to be that way, I would have told you I believed in Him no matter what the season. It's only in retrospect that I can tell you that I only really ran to Him when things were more than I could handle.  I didn't look for guidance unless I felt lost. I didn't look for comfort until I felt scared. I didn't really look to honor Him I just didn't want to anger Him. It was the challenges and trials in my life that helped me to rely on Him and as I relied on Him I learned each time that He never would leave me or forsake me. When I felt far from God it was because I had moved and it was my challenges that helped me walk back. Now God doesn't cause bad things to happen but He allows  things to happen and works through them. It's the trials in my life: the tough days, my mom dying, my grandmother getting alzheimers and passing away, relationships ending, work difficulties, the hard days in PA school, the bad days, the good days, all of them have helped me to move closer and closer to God. I've come to know that my relationship with Him is everything and my closeness to Him makes a huge difference in how I handle the suffering in my life.

I am so thankful for all the lessons He has taught me in the midst of the messiest days of my life. It's my frailty and vulnerability that shows me my consistent need for a savior.  Friends turn to Him in the good days and the tough ones. He alone can fill your needs and give rest to your soul.

Let your frailty and vulnerability remind you of your humanity. Let your humanity remind you that you were created and you need your creator. Let your suffering call your heart to deeper conversion.
<3

It's Only When We Are Vulnerable That We Have True Community

I have been so privileged in the past couple of weeks. So amazed and blessed. I can't put my finger on why...but God has graced me with the privilege of having people share their stories with me. Stories that we mostly would not normally want to share and yet one by one they have come into my life to share. It's been beautiful to hear the challenges, the joys and yet it's also brought so much reality and truth to my heart.

It's been the women who's husbands have left after many years of marriage for someone else and yet their strength to attempt to forgive, to honor God, to move forward. The beauty of their struggle and yet each story I've heard in the last few months with these circumstances seems to amaze me in their strength. I have to be honest I didn't know how common infidelity was, and know that I never think infidelity is beautiful: it's heart breaking. What is beautiful is the strength of some of those I have met to deal with the situation and circumstances with grace. 

It's been those I've meet with challenges with children whether infertility, miscarriage, the loss of a child through abortion or the challenge of choosing adoption. I've been privileged to meet many with unique stories but the commonality that being a parent is hard and facing that struggle with beauty and grace. It's listening to the mom who's child has a new diagnosis or disease, the friend who shares her children are wearing her out with attempts to parent, and the challenge of parenting well despite our own sinfulness and challenges. It's shows a beautiful picture of how great our God is to be our loving heavenly Father and listen and care so patiently for each of us.  The struggles of motherhood that I don't know personally as I don't have babies of my own yet, but struggles I understand within my own experiences as a child.  It gives me so much to pray about, that God would prepare Paul and I for parenthood and His timing. If there is anything I've learned from these beautiful stories is that I must certainly grow in my understanding and dependence of our Lord if I am ever to parent well.  It is only from Christ that I will learn selfless love. While I can learn many other things from many other people it will be at the feet of Jesus that I learn how to care children, and subsequently how to love all of God's children around me. 

It's the stories of loss of a spouse, a sibling, a parent, a child from many circumstances. It's the family member who cries over their loved one's challenges. It's the commonality that when our loves ones hurt we hurt too that teaches me so much about how when we hurt our Savior's heart hurts too. I think back to times in my life of heartbreak and challenge and now see that as I felt the temptation to lend to despair, which is a lie as we are never alone, that God too felt my hurt and counted my tears precious one by one as His word tells me. 

It's pain, disease and death that meets me in so many places whether at work or in my daily interactions. It's the reminder that we aren't meant for this world and yet the struggle of honoring Him no matter how low the valley or high the mountain top of each day.  I used to think it was in the hardest times that God felt farthest away but now in retrospect I can see that is when He has been closest. It's been in the challenges I've run toward Him and in the joys at times I've thought I could handle things on my own. If I've learned anything in my life it's that no matter how wonderful or tough the day I can't do it alone and it's all by the grace of God I'm where I am. 

Friends in all the stories that have been shared with me in my life by friends, neighbors, patients, strangers, each has become a precious gift to me. Whether you know it or not when you share with me you teach me that the very beauty in each of us is our humanity. I admire the struggle it takes to be human that is displayed in such a varied yet similar way. No matter the story or the person involved our desire for peace and happiness is evident in all of us and it's the beauty of the fight for that that overwhelms my soul. 

Don't be afraid to share your story. I'll tell you the truth of your story is more beautiful than the mask you could wear to cover it. It's only when we share that we can let others know they aren't alone. It's only when we are vulnerable that we can have true community. Somewhere along the way I was taught the lie that we should pretend that everything is fine no matter if it's not. That we shouldn't share the reality of our lives or the truth of our story but rather should blend in. This lie is unhealthy and untrue. It's only when we know what someone is going through that we can offer a hand to help, offer a prayer, or know to say "you too? I thought I was the only one." 

thank you friends for your stories. Thank you for letter me pray for you. thank you for showing me more about God even when you didn't know you were doing it. <3 

I pray my story can do the same for you.

Much later, when I understood what perfection was, I realised that to become a saint one must suffer a great deal, always seek what is best, and forget oneself. I understood that there were many kinds of of sanctity and that each soul was free to respond to the approaches of Our Lord and to do little or much for Him — in other words,to make a choice among the sacrifices He demands. Then, just as when I was a child, I cried: “My God, I choose all. I do not want to be a saint by halves. I am not afraid to suffer for You. I fear only one thing — that I should keep my own will. So take it, for I choose all that You will.” – St. Thérèse of Lisieux, The Story of a Soul.