"perseverance must finish its work"....James 1:4
In the midst of our darkest hour is when we are able to experience Jesus Christ in all of His fullness. It is there that we can relate with the Christ on the cross. We must choose in our darkest hour to persevere, just as the Son of God choose to persevere for us on our behalf as he hung on a cross on Calvary's Hill.
God is challenging me to a season of perseverance. Most of us just want to give up and throw in the towel in the midst of deep suffering. We wish to release ourselves from this pain so we choose to resign from it, flee from or or bury it so that we no longer have to deal with the depth of our suffering.
I'm holding fast to the promises of God that call me to persevere, that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him and that the eyes of the Lord range back and forth throughout the entire earth to strengthen those who hearts are fully committed to Him.
I remember Joseph who was sold into slavery, but did not give up hope and God blessed him for his perseverance. I remember Job who endured such great suffering and loss that his wife told him to curse God and die, yet Job held fast to perseverance in the midst of suffering and God blessed him ten-fold. Ruth held fast to the Lord in the midst of her desolation and God, by His grace brought deliverance for her.
It is rare that God's greatest blessings are not first proceeded by life's most painful moments. In fact, I'm almost convinced that we must always experience a deep loss or pain before God's greatest blessings.
So many choose to give in, the suffering becomes to great and they miss out on the beautiful story that God wanted to write. They miss out on the blessing to come because in the middle of their pain they could not see the beautiful story that God was weaving so instead they gave up.
Hold fast to Jesus in your greatest moments of pain. Do not give up or give in for there is hope for you in Jesus Christ. I am believing that as I persevere a blessing will come. If not in this life, then surely in the next.
Lord Jesus, you are joy. You are hope, life and peace. Your word is full of people who chose to believe you in the midst of their suffering. I choose to walk in that same faith, believing that you are using this to make me more like your Son, Jesus. You are teaching me about the gospel in ways that I would never have experienced if I had not walked through this.
My prayer is that you would refine my character, make me more like your Son and that soon you might bring deliverance, but even if you choose to make me wait I know that I have a Savior who walks with me. Let perseverance finish its work in me. In Jesus name, Amen.
Thursday, September 18, 2014
Thursday, July 24, 2014
Friday, July 11, 2014
I'm Kind of a Big Deal: Teens and Self-Directed Worship
Today's youth culture is experiencing a worship problem. The act of worship is not something they lack. They have no problem worshipping. However, the object of their worship is misguided and misdirected.
They live in the midst of a culture that has told them its totally acceptable and even honorable to worship themselves. The worship of self isn't all together obvious. It's usually quite subtle. It's difficult to ascertain at first, but once the surface has been scratched, self-directed worship starts to ooze from the cresses of materialism, pride, selfies, "likes", and how many followers one has on Twitter.
I wonder what would happen if we really starting getting into the lives of these young people who hide behind their smartphones and Facebook statuses. A lot of the time a Facebook status or Tweet reveals a teenager who is crying out to belong or who wishes someone would notice the pain they feel so deep in their soul.
Social media has opened up a whole new window into the soul of a teenager and adults who don't care to dig too deeply allow teens to be taught by Google and YouTube instead of by true wisdom and real relationships with adults who can speak truth into their lives.
Misdirected worship makes selfish, hedonistic people. Life becomes all about them, what they can gain, and receive instead of what they can give and who they can serve.
Worship of the one True God causes us to take the focus off ourselves and plugs us into a plan far greater than one that we could ever dream or imagine. It teaches us to say no to self and yes to sacrifice and service. It points us to hope and joy in Jesus Christ. It gives life and peace, real, lasting peace. Not temporary happiness or fleeting hope.
We will always worship something. Teenagers will choose to follow the message of the culture if no other message if being taught to them. Jesus calls us to live set apart lives. For us to be in the world, but not of it. When was the last time you spoke the words of truth into a teenager who has been misguided believing they need to run the race of popularity and self-worship like everyone else?
They need your wisdom. They need the hope and joy of Jesus Christ. They need adults who would be willing to invest in their lives. To give of their time to teach them. Lets not allow our children to be taught by the culture anymore. There is a better way offered in Jesus Christ for all who would call on His name.
They live in the midst of a culture that has told them its totally acceptable and even honorable to worship themselves. The worship of self isn't all together obvious. It's usually quite subtle. It's difficult to ascertain at first, but once the surface has been scratched, self-directed worship starts to ooze from the cresses of materialism, pride, selfies, "likes", and how many followers one has on Twitter.
I wonder what would happen if we really starting getting into the lives of these young people who hide behind their smartphones and Facebook statuses. A lot of the time a Facebook status or Tweet reveals a teenager who is crying out to belong or who wishes someone would notice the pain they feel so deep in their soul.
Social media has opened up a whole new window into the soul of a teenager and adults who don't care to dig too deeply allow teens to be taught by Google and YouTube instead of by true wisdom and real relationships with adults who can speak truth into their lives.
Misdirected worship makes selfish, hedonistic people. Life becomes all about them, what they can gain, and receive instead of what they can give and who they can serve.
Worship of the one True God causes us to take the focus off ourselves and plugs us into a plan far greater than one that we could ever dream or imagine. It teaches us to say no to self and yes to sacrifice and service. It points us to hope and joy in Jesus Christ. It gives life and peace, real, lasting peace. Not temporary happiness or fleeting hope.
We will always worship something. Teenagers will choose to follow the message of the culture if no other message if being taught to them. Jesus calls us to live set apart lives. For us to be in the world, but not of it. When was the last time you spoke the words of truth into a teenager who has been misguided believing they need to run the race of popularity and self-worship like everyone else?
They need your wisdom. They need the hope and joy of Jesus Christ. They need adults who would be willing to invest in their lives. To give of their time to teach them. Lets not allow our children to be taught by the culture anymore. There is a better way offered in Jesus Christ for all who would call on His name.
Monday, June 9, 2014
A Youth Ministry on Fire: The Role of the Holy Spirit
Without the Holy
Spirit at work in our youth ministries they will certainly fail. While the apostles were being persecuted by
the Sanhedrin, Gameliel, a Pharisee said,
“I advise you, leave these men
alone, let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of
human origin, it will fail. 39 But if it is from God, you will not
be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.”
(Zondervan, Acts 5:38-39)
Gamelial knew that if these men were from
God, being empowered and lead by the Holy Spirit of God that nothing could stop
the work they were doing. On the same
note, he understood that if they were not from God and acting out of their own
power that their plans would fail.
We as Youth Ministers should take
seriously these words of wisdom from the Jewish Pharisee. If we truly want vibrant youth ministries
alive with students who deeply love and adore Christ we must have ministries
that are lead and directed by the life giving power of the Holy Spirit.
A Youth Minister who tries to put plans in
place without seeking God wisdom through the Spirit will find themself
frustrated and angry, because their efforts constantly fail. It might have a “flash in the pan” type of
excitement at first, but programs without God’s Spirit behind them will soon
come crumbling down.
A Youth Ministry that is centered on
Christ, is one that is centered on the Spirit.
It is the Spirit who convicts students of sin, it is the Spirit who
transform them and calls them into a deeper walk with Jesus. It is Christ inside that student, alive and
well that draws them away from deception and into the light.
Students don’t need better programming,
they need to see the power of the Holy Spirit displayed. They need to have an encounter with the
living God. They need to see and savor
Jesus Christ for themselves and a Youth Ministry that is saturated in the
Spirit will certainly bring about the power and that truth for students to
see. Students don’t need more games or
fun. They need authentic Christianity
being lived out and preached by the power of the Holy Spirit.
What we draw students with is what we will
shape them to be. If we draw them with
games and fun, we’ll make them selfish consumers, but if we draw them with the
Spirit and the word of God, then we will make disciples. Sure, we may not have BIG youth groups, but
that isn’t the point. God has called us
to make disciples, who in turn make disciples.
As difficult as it is, we must stay focused on the BIG picture and not
allow numbers to define our ministries, but we must do the hard work of
discipleship. Where we may not see
results for 15 years!
If
we remain obedient and faithful to God lifting high the name of Jesus and
trusting only in the power of the Spirit to transform our students lives then
we will see the lost be found, students run from sin and new life really begin!
Friday, April 4, 2014
The 30 year old virgin: 8 reasons why I'm choosing to wait
SEX.
We're obsessed with it. It's everywhere, television, movies, the internet. Our culture is saturated with sex. Teenagers are finding it harder and harder to wait because, quite honestly the messages being sent to them through the media is not one of walking in purity.
So why as a 30 year old woman have I chosen to wait? Why after all these years have I not given into the pressure? What are the reasons I've kept my virginity?
Here are 8 reasons why I've chosen to wait.
1. I'm worth it. I am beautiful and valuable in the eyes of the Lord Jesus. My virginity is a one time gift that I will give away someday and I long to give that gift to my husband. It's something that I cherish. The right person will cherish that gift too. They'll see me for who I am in the eyes of Jesus, not for what they can get from me.
2. I trust that God's design is best. In a world where the cultural pressures to have sex are rampant I believe that God's design for sex is best. God created sex, therefore, sex is good, but God has set certain boundaries for sex that He desires us to live out. Not to restrict us, but to protect us and to bless us. The bible is quite clear that anything other than sex inside of marriage is wrong. Sex inside a committed marriage is safe, there's no risk of unwanted pregnancy or living with regret. God will bless sex inside a marriage, but He will not bless sex outside of marriage.
3. I love Jesus. As I've walked closely with Him and sought hard after His will for my life He's grown a heart of love so deep in me the thought of having sex before marriage is almost unthinkable. To me, Jesus, is like a well that never runs dry. He's like a spring of cool water always quenching my thirst. I long for Him. I love Him. I want to please Him.
4. My worth and value are in Christ, not in a man. A lot of young girls look to guys to fill a deep longing for love in their souls. I've found that the only person that can satisfy the deep longings of my soul is Jesus. If I give myself sexually to a man it will not satisfy the deep longings of my heart to be affirmed as beautiful, worthy and valuable. It might momentarily, but in the end I will only feel shame and regret for exposing myself so intimately with someone who is not my husband.
5. I've chosen not to believe the lie that the guy I'm dating is going to be my husband so its ok if we have sex. I almost gave in because of this lie. I allowed this lie to control my thought life in previous relationships, but since then I have repented of those impure thoughts and sought the Lord for healing. I would tell myself I'm not doing it physically so its OK if I think about it, because he's going to be my husband anyways. Once that relationship ended I was brought face to face with my sin of lust. Since then every time an impure thought wants to enter my mind I quote Philippians 4:6-7. I've asked for God to transform my mind and He certainly has. Now, as I look at being married in less than three months I very easily could buy into the same lie, but I choose not too, because quite honestly, not only is my purity worth it, but most importantly honoring God is of greatest importance to me.
6. I don't feel because I'm a virgin I've missed out on anything. I know that I have a hope that awaits me in heaven. I have a Savior who welcomes me into His home and I long to see Him face to face. I could die a happy as a virgin as long as I'm headed to see my Savior face to face. I have all the promises of God in the Lord Jesus.
7. I don't want a STD or unwanted pregnancy. God loves me. He's set boundaries for sex inside of marriage for a reason. There are real consequences for sex outside of marriage. I
8. I long to share the gift of my virginity with my husband on my wedding night. I believe there will be no greater gift I can give to my husband on that night. I loved him before I knew him and I chose to wait for him. I believe in the one flesh union of God and I look forward to giving myself fully to my husband without any previous sexual partners. I will have no one else that I have given myself to.
I could go on a little longer I'm sure, but those are eight big reasons why I've chosen to wait. This might not be the case for you, maybe you haven't chosen to wait. Maybe you think I'm crazy for being 30 and a virgin. I'm ok with that. In a world where sex is shoved down our throats I think it could do some good for someone to stand up and say I'm walking in purity and I'm proud of it!
God has a good design for sex. Anything outside of the marriage bed is against His plan for our lives.
Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.- Hebrews 13:4
I chose to believe in God's perfect design for sex. It's an issue of trust and obedience. Will I obey God's word even if I don't like what it has to say?
The reality is God loves you even though you sin, but that doesn't mean that we should continue on in our sin as if God is ok with it. "Shall we go on sinning that grace my increase, by no means, we died to sin how can we live in it any longer"- Romans 6:1-2
The point is not to get you, as a teenager or even an adult to stop having sex outside of marriage. The point is to get you to see who Jesus Christ is. As you fall more in love with Him and God's word the desires of your heart will change as God starts to align your heart with His.
If you're living in sexual sin will you be brave enough to walk away from it out of love for Jesus Christ and His word?
I'm choosing to wait. I hope you will too. Even if you've already given in to sexual temptation its never too late to make a commitment towards purity. God loves you and wants you to come to Him. Even with all of your junk. He won't turn His face away from you. He wants to make you brand new!
We're obsessed with it. It's everywhere, television, movies, the internet. Our culture is saturated with sex. Teenagers are finding it harder and harder to wait because, quite honestly the messages being sent to them through the media is not one of walking in purity.
So why as a 30 year old woman have I chosen to wait? Why after all these years have I not given into the pressure? What are the reasons I've kept my virginity?
Here are 8 reasons why I've chosen to wait.
1. I'm worth it. I am beautiful and valuable in the eyes of the Lord Jesus. My virginity is a one time gift that I will give away someday and I long to give that gift to my husband. It's something that I cherish. The right person will cherish that gift too. They'll see me for who I am in the eyes of Jesus, not for what they can get from me.
2. I trust that God's design is best. In a world where the cultural pressures to have sex are rampant I believe that God's design for sex is best. God created sex, therefore, sex is good, but God has set certain boundaries for sex that He desires us to live out. Not to restrict us, but to protect us and to bless us. The bible is quite clear that anything other than sex inside of marriage is wrong. Sex inside a committed marriage is safe, there's no risk of unwanted pregnancy or living with regret. God will bless sex inside a marriage, but He will not bless sex outside of marriage.
3. I love Jesus. As I've walked closely with Him and sought hard after His will for my life He's grown a heart of love so deep in me the thought of having sex before marriage is almost unthinkable. To me, Jesus, is like a well that never runs dry. He's like a spring of cool water always quenching my thirst. I long for Him. I love Him. I want to please Him.
4. My worth and value are in Christ, not in a man. A lot of young girls look to guys to fill a deep longing for love in their souls. I've found that the only person that can satisfy the deep longings of my soul is Jesus. If I give myself sexually to a man it will not satisfy the deep longings of my heart to be affirmed as beautiful, worthy and valuable. It might momentarily, but in the end I will only feel shame and regret for exposing myself so intimately with someone who is not my husband.
5. I've chosen not to believe the lie that the guy I'm dating is going to be my husband so its ok if we have sex. I almost gave in because of this lie. I allowed this lie to control my thought life in previous relationships, but since then I have repented of those impure thoughts and sought the Lord for healing. I would tell myself I'm not doing it physically so its OK if I think about it, because he's going to be my husband anyways. Once that relationship ended I was brought face to face with my sin of lust. Since then every time an impure thought wants to enter my mind I quote Philippians 4:6-7. I've asked for God to transform my mind and He certainly has. Now, as I look at being married in less than three months I very easily could buy into the same lie, but I choose not too, because quite honestly, not only is my purity worth it, but most importantly honoring God is of greatest importance to me.
6. I don't feel because I'm a virgin I've missed out on anything. I know that I have a hope that awaits me in heaven. I have a Savior who welcomes me into His home and I long to see Him face to face. I could die a happy as a virgin as long as I'm headed to see my Savior face to face. I have all the promises of God in the Lord Jesus.
7. I don't want a STD or unwanted pregnancy. God loves me. He's set boundaries for sex inside of marriage for a reason. There are real consequences for sex outside of marriage. I
8. I long to share the gift of my virginity with my husband on my wedding night. I believe there will be no greater gift I can give to my husband on that night. I loved him before I knew him and I chose to wait for him. I believe in the one flesh union of God and I look forward to giving myself fully to my husband without any previous sexual partners. I will have no one else that I have given myself to.
I could go on a little longer I'm sure, but those are eight big reasons why I've chosen to wait. This might not be the case for you, maybe you haven't chosen to wait. Maybe you think I'm crazy for being 30 and a virgin. I'm ok with that. In a world where sex is shoved down our throats I think it could do some good for someone to stand up and say I'm walking in purity and I'm proud of it!
God has a good design for sex. Anything outside of the marriage bed is against His plan for our lives.
Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.- Hebrews 13:4
The reality is God loves you even though you sin, but that doesn't mean that we should continue on in our sin as if God is ok with it. "Shall we go on sinning that grace my increase, by no means, we died to sin how can we live in it any longer"- Romans 6:1-2
The point is not to get you, as a teenager or even an adult to stop having sex outside of marriage. The point is to get you to see who Jesus Christ is. As you fall more in love with Him and God's word the desires of your heart will change as God starts to align your heart with His.
If you're living in sexual sin will you be brave enough to walk away from it out of love for Jesus Christ and His word?
I'm choosing to wait. I hope you will too. Even if you've already given in to sexual temptation its never too late to make a commitment towards purity. God loves you and wants you to come to Him. Even with all of your junk. He won't turn His face away from you. He wants to make you brand new!
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
Disconnect to Reconnect
Prayer is our connection with God. It lifts the heavy burdens off of the soul who is tired and weary. It brings fresh hope and speaks new life into the heart of man. Prayer keeps us trusting and keep us humble. True prayer forces me to let go of control and walk in humility. It plants hope and purpose in my soul and gives me new eyes to see the beauty of who God is.
My challenge to you is for just a moment to stop scrolling through your newsfeed and spend these next few minutes in prayer. What your soul needs is not more updates, "likes" and hash-tags it needs a connection with the living God. It needs that constant daily source of living water to flow fresh through your veins. You don't need one more thing to add to your to do list. You just need to "be" with your Father. To go with Him where He goes and to stop for just a moment to listen to His voice.
Intentional prayer isn't done on the fly or in the shower. It's done in the stillness and quietness of your soul. Where its just you and your Father. It's there where you hear His voice more clearly.
Disconnect to reconnect with God. It's really quite simple. Now, get off of here and go spend time with your Father. He desires to breathe His life into you today.
Monday, February 17, 2014
How I Beat Adult Acne- The Natural Way
Adult Acne.
Gross....
I say this from personal experience.
It's embarrassing, frustrating and at times it feels hopeless. Why am I almost 30 and for the last 11 years my face has been breaking out like a 13 year old going through puberty...
Take this pill, it will clear your acne up for the most part, but it will make your body very sensitive to the sun and make your arms and hands tingle all over. Oh, and when you try to get off this pill, your acne will breakout worse than before you got in it. So good luck being on an antibiotic the rest of your life....:/
Or wait, try this creme it will make those acne scars disappear, but oh by the way, it makes your skin EXTREMELY dry and when you sweat on your face a rash will break out.
These were only a few of the frustrations that I dealt with as an adult who suffered from mild/moderate acne on and off for the last 11 years of my life.
I asked my dermatologist questions like, there has to be a root cause to this, are we addressing the root cause of the issue or just masking the problem with antibiotics? Or, am I going to need to be on antibiotics for the rest of my life? That doesn't seem good for my body....
In a round about way she told me that we weren't addressing the root problem, but that hopefully through antibiotics the problem would eventually go away. I didn't care for that answer having been on antibiotics now for two years and when I tried to go off of them my face broke out like pepperoni pizza.
So, I decided to go the holistic route. I met with a holistic health practitioner and she and I for about a year tackled this issue. We figured out some interesting things that modern medicine neglected to tell me in the dermatologist office.
1. Most adult acne sufferers issues come from within the gut due to an overgrowth of candida. It's not a hormonal issue. My issue stemmed from my liver. Therefore, I'm on supplements that target healthy liver balance. It was remarkable to me the difference I saw in my skin once I got on liver supplements.
2. I also realized at least for me that gluten and sugar seem to make my skin breakout (lots of holistic nutritionists will tell you the same for acne sufferers) Therefore, I avoid them, because it seems like every time I have them my face breaks out. I hope to eventually start re-introducing gluten back into my diet, but for now as I figure things out I'm avoiding it. This means I really don't eat much fruit anymore either, maybe once or twice a week. I hope to slowly start adding fruit back in and see how my skin reacts. I just started in with no sugar or fruit a couple of months ago and noticed a change in my skin when I did it. A lot of this is trial and error. You have to pay attention to your skin and how you're eating.
I might have some sweet or baked good once every two weeks. I also don't eat overly processed foods. I eat a holistic diet 90% percent of the time.
3. I used to get 2-3 breakouts every couple of days. Now I get 1-3 every couple of weeks. To me, that is worth being off crazy medicine that gives you weird side effects and doesn't fix the root problem.
4. I also take a zinc supplement as well.
5. For about a year I cut out dairy too, but have slowly started reintroducing that back into my diet. Mostly through keifer yogurt which I have about 1/2 cup everyday now. This is full of probiotics and is GREAT for gut integrity.
6. I DO NOT WASH MY FACE ANYMORE. Yes, its true. I use this regimen instead.
-at night I wash my face off with hot water, wipe with a towel, then I take a mixture of Bragg's apple cider vinegar and water that I made and (1 cup purified water, 1 cup ACV) put that on a cotton ball and use that to cleanse my face. I'm not kidding this stuff is pure gold. When I had a breakout before it would 1-2 weeks to not be noticeable anymore, where now with this its almost gone in 1-3 days. It's remarkable.
-after cleansing with ACV I turn on my oven, stick my face inside so that it gets hot and take a small amount of Nutiva Organic coconut oil and use that to moisturize my face. Why the oven? Because Coconut oil isn't a liquid its a solid that has to be heated so if I didn't have a hot face it wouldn't melt and spread, plus it opens up my pours a lot better.
-in the morning I use a mixture of Trader Joe's raw honey, fresh squeezed lemon and cinnamon. I wash my face off with hot water, wipe with a towel, put my mixture on and let it sit for 10-20 min. Then I wipe that off!
-Lastly, after my honey mask I put on a daily moisturizer made by Aubree organics. You can find it at your local health food store. It's great stuff!
My face has never looked clearer. My acne scars are going away (I've had some of these for YEARS) and my face is no longer oily like it used to be. And I'm getting less breakouts then ever!
Is it hard work, sure! It's not fun giving up certain foods, but to me the change in diet and my routine for cleansing my face is totally worth it.
I was hesitant to share about my journey. Mostly, because of my pride. Admitting to having acne as an adult can be humiliating, but I'm hoping that maybe someone who is in the spot that I was in a year ago might benefit from stepping away from conventional medicine and really try to tackle the root issue of their acne. Now, I'm not saying that what I did will work for you, but maybe trying a few things would. It's a lot of trial and error and its a very long process. It's a process that I'm still in when it comes to figuring out my diet, but I'm certainly in a MUCH better spot and for the first time feel like I've got things under control.
I'm praising God for that. We shouldn't be surprised that He would give us the cure to certain ailments naturally!
As always consult your doctor before starting any new regimens. There are some great holistic health practitioners that can give you some great guidance, because what worked for me, may not work for you.
If you feel like just watching a great video about what I just said. Here's one that really helped me. Dr. Axe (4 Secrets to Cure Acne Forever) It's pretty much what I follow!
Gross....
I say this from personal experience.
It's embarrassing, frustrating and at times it feels hopeless. Why am I almost 30 and for the last 11 years my face has been breaking out like a 13 year old going through puberty...
Take this pill, it will clear your acne up for the most part, but it will make your body very sensitive to the sun and make your arms and hands tingle all over. Oh, and when you try to get off this pill, your acne will breakout worse than before you got in it. So good luck being on an antibiotic the rest of your life....:/
Or wait, try this creme it will make those acne scars disappear, but oh by the way, it makes your skin EXTREMELY dry and when you sweat on your face a rash will break out.
These were only a few of the frustrations that I dealt with as an adult who suffered from mild/moderate acne on and off for the last 11 years of my life.
I asked my dermatologist questions like, there has to be a root cause to this, are we addressing the root cause of the issue or just masking the problem with antibiotics? Or, am I going to need to be on antibiotics for the rest of my life? That doesn't seem good for my body....
In a round about way she told me that we weren't addressing the root problem, but that hopefully through antibiotics the problem would eventually go away. I didn't care for that answer having been on antibiotics now for two years and when I tried to go off of them my face broke out like pepperoni pizza.
So, I decided to go the holistic route. I met with a holistic health practitioner and she and I for about a year tackled this issue. We figured out some interesting things that modern medicine neglected to tell me in the dermatologist office.
1. Most adult acne sufferers issues come from within the gut due to an overgrowth of candida. It's not a hormonal issue. My issue stemmed from my liver. Therefore, I'm on supplements that target healthy liver balance. It was remarkable to me the difference I saw in my skin once I got on liver supplements.
2. I also realized at least for me that gluten and sugar seem to make my skin breakout (lots of holistic nutritionists will tell you the same for acne sufferers) Therefore, I avoid them, because it seems like every time I have them my face breaks out. I hope to eventually start re-introducing gluten back into my diet, but for now as I figure things out I'm avoiding it. This means I really don't eat much fruit anymore either, maybe once or twice a week. I hope to slowly start adding fruit back in and see how my skin reacts. I just started in with no sugar or fruit a couple of months ago and noticed a change in my skin when I did it. A lot of this is trial and error. You have to pay attention to your skin and how you're eating.
I might have some sweet or baked good once every two weeks. I also don't eat overly processed foods. I eat a holistic diet 90% percent of the time.
3. I used to get 2-3 breakouts every couple of days. Now I get 1-3 every couple of weeks. To me, that is worth being off crazy medicine that gives you weird side effects and doesn't fix the root problem.
4. I also take a zinc supplement as well.
5. For about a year I cut out dairy too, but have slowly started reintroducing that back into my diet. Mostly through keifer yogurt which I have about 1/2 cup everyday now. This is full of probiotics and is GREAT for gut integrity.
6. I DO NOT WASH MY FACE ANYMORE. Yes, its true. I use this regimen instead.
-at night I wash my face off with hot water, wipe with a towel, then I take a mixture of Bragg's apple cider vinegar and water that I made and (1 cup purified water, 1 cup ACV) put that on a cotton ball and use that to cleanse my face. I'm not kidding this stuff is pure gold. When I had a breakout before it would 1-2 weeks to not be noticeable anymore, where now with this its almost gone in 1-3 days. It's remarkable.
-after cleansing with ACV I turn on my oven, stick my face inside so that it gets hot and take a small amount of Nutiva Organic coconut oil and use that to moisturize my face. Why the oven? Because Coconut oil isn't a liquid its a solid that has to be heated so if I didn't have a hot face it wouldn't melt and spread, plus it opens up my pours a lot better.
-in the morning I use a mixture of Trader Joe's raw honey, fresh squeezed lemon and cinnamon. I wash my face off with hot water, wipe with a towel, put my mixture on and let it sit for 10-20 min. Then I wipe that off!
-Lastly, after my honey mask I put on a daily moisturizer made by Aubree organics. You can find it at your local health food store. It's great stuff!
My face has never looked clearer. My acne scars are going away (I've had some of these for YEARS) and my face is no longer oily like it used to be. And I'm getting less breakouts then ever!
Is it hard work, sure! It's not fun giving up certain foods, but to me the change in diet and my routine for cleansing my face is totally worth it.
I was hesitant to share about my journey. Mostly, because of my pride. Admitting to having acne as an adult can be humiliating, but I'm hoping that maybe someone who is in the spot that I was in a year ago might benefit from stepping away from conventional medicine and really try to tackle the root issue of their acne. Now, I'm not saying that what I did will work for you, but maybe trying a few things would. It's a lot of trial and error and its a very long process. It's a process that I'm still in when it comes to figuring out my diet, but I'm certainly in a MUCH better spot and for the first time feel like I've got things under control.
I'm praising God for that. We shouldn't be surprised that He would give us the cure to certain ailments naturally!
As always consult your doctor before starting any new regimens. There are some great holistic health practitioners that can give you some great guidance, because what worked for me, may not work for you.
If you feel like just watching a great video about what I just said. Here's one that really helped me. Dr. Axe (4 Secrets to Cure Acne Forever) It's pretty much what I follow!
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