The Vulnerability Paradox

The paradox of being “perfect” to be “liked” is quickly changing.

Everyone “likes” the girl that seems to “have it all together,” but does anyone really connect to her? And what matters more?

Let me ask you something, what is one thing that draws human beings together in no other way- something that cultivates the deepest of relationships?

Vulnerability.

Can I propose a thought to you? That vulnerability, though scary at the thought, is one of the keys to deep relationships and drawing people together. The problem is, we live in a society that runs from it. We want our lives to look “perfect” on social media so people “like” us, and think great things about us, but ultimately deep down, we know that’s not reality.  May I propose to you that some of the most engaged social media posts are those that are real. The posts that make you tear up. That make you FEEL something on a deeper level. Some of my friends are really good this, and I so admire their courage to be so vulnerable. Because the reality is, when we’re vulnerable, it opens us up to potential hurt too- that’s why it’s scary. Dictionary.com gives 3 main definitions for Vulnerability: 1). capable of or susceptible to being wounded or hurt, as by a weapon, 2). Open to moral attack, criticism, temptation, etc., and 3). (of a place) open to assault, difficult to defend.
Ouch. There's a reason we think it's scary, right? And we'd be crazy to think it isn't, but at the same time, it’s kind of like love in some ways (I’m laughing at myself for typing the previous sentence, and bringing ‘love’ into this, as I know it sounds so cliche, but reader, it’s TRUE). Vulnerability is risky, and with it you have the potential for great hurt…..but you also have the potential for great, great gain.

I wouldn’t be honest if I told you that every day was perfect, because it’s not, and you know that just as much as I do. Our imperfections make us vulnerable, yes, but they also make us human. There is something extremely comforting when another soul looks at you and says: “I get that. I’ve been there too, I’m just like you. You are not alone in this.” Sometimes we don’t want to share our burdens because we think we will be a burden, but is it not commanded in Scripture to do so with those we trust and love (See Galatians 6:2)? Or maybe we keep things in because we don’t want the attention and sympathy. We think we can handle it ourselves, or worse, we don’t want to become “attention seeking” so we’d rather just not tell anyone completely- OR we don’t want to appear “weak” so we pretend everything is fine.  Maybe it’s just me.

But here’s the thing, if we don’t share our weaknesses and vulnerability, we become unrelatable and fake. As a leader of a team, I need to be vulnerable and share my struggles, because otherwise my team will think that what I’ve done is unattainable (which it’s not), and they’ll think they’ll never be “good enough” to lead a team of their own- and I never, ever, want anyone to think that about themselves based on my public projection of myself. I am fully human, and I make mistakes. I doubt myself, and I have insecurities too. I am just like you. We are all more alike than we are different (it is literally true, as science has show that all humans are genetically 99.9% identical to each other. Sorry, that was my inner nerd ;) ).

Does this all make sense? Moreover, if we don’t share, we’re like a ticking time bomb, waiting to explode. We NEED each other, yes, NEED. We were not created to be solitary creatures and we need community, with deep, connecting relationships where we can feel safe to share burdens without judgement. It’s how we were created, and it’s how we will thrive. If we fight against it, we are only hurting ourselves.

So, dear sweet reader (by the way, thanks for reading this far and sticking through this post, you’ve nearly made it to the end), I propose a challenge to you (and to me):

Let’s be more vulnerable and share our burdens with one another. Life is not easy, and we will all experience hard things in our lives, but burdens are not meant to be carried alone. They are meant to be upheld and supported by the community and body of Christ. You matter, and your situation matters.

On the flip side, If someone shares a burden with you, support them, and love them through it. Don’t judge others based on a situation they’re going through. We all have different strengths and weaknesses, and none of us are above the line of perfection.

Easy DIY Natural Make-Up Remover Pads

Hello friends!
So I'm all about convenience, even when it comes to the little things like taking your make-up off at the end of the day....scratch that, ESPECIALLY when it comes to taking off your make-up at the end of the day. After a long day, the last thing I want to do is scrub by eyes to try to remove every bit of mascara in an effort to do what's "healthy" for my skin. Can anyone else relate?  To prevent this, I used to buy the make-up remover pads from the store. They just stayed in their little container and I could just pull one out, swoop, and bam! Make-up gone. 
However, when I got involved with Young Living, I quickly learned that these conventional make-up removers are NOT so good to be putting on your skin....take a look at the ingredient list. Go ahead and check in your bathroom right now, I'll wait for you.

As you can see, it's FULL of chemicals and words I can't even pronounce. Eeek! Am I really putting that on my eyes?! Thus started the search for a natural make-up remover. Instead of paying $6-8 for a small pack in the store, I learned I can make my own at a fraction of the cost, AND it's actually GOOD for your skin! Win-win!

You can watch the video of me making it here if you're more of an audio/visual person. :) 

Easy DIY Make-Up Remover Pads

Ingredients:

- 1/4 to 1/2 c distilled water

- 1 tsp. unscented castille soap (I like to use Dr. Bronner's brand)

- 1 tsp. witch hazel

- 1 tsp. fractionated coconut oil

- 5-6 drops each Young Living Frankincense and Young Living Lavender Essential Oil (click here to learn why the quality of your oil matters)

- Premium quality cotton rounds

Directions:

Add all ingredients except the cotton rounds to a 4oz mason jar. Put the lid on and gently shake the jar. Then, add a stack of cotton rounds. There is no set "number" of cotton rounds that you need- add them until all of the fluid is absorbed. If you find that there are still rounds that are dry, you can add additional coconut oil and water and shake things up a bit. It does take a bit of playing around with to get the right balance!

Get some of the oils that I use (the BEST oils on the planet) here (you'll want to do the member option- quickly explained here- so you can get in on the discounts and freebies)!

When God Seems Silent

Hi friend!

I was reminded of this verse today after spending some time with a new coloring book I had received as a gift for Christmas. I was really excited about this book in particular because it is full of Scripture coloring pages, which means you're really able to mediate on the verse as your coloring it, and then you can even tear out the pages and give them to people or hang them up (found here on Amazon, if you want to check it out).

Anyway, I love this verse in particular in the NKJV version, which says, "To everything there is a season, a time to every purpose under heaven (Ecclesiastes 3:1)."

Sometimes God may seem silent, and it may seem like He's not working, but He is. Always. I think of the 400 years of silence between Malachi and Matthew. During this time, there were no new prophets or words from the Lord. Can you imagine what some of the people were thinking during this time? "Where is God? He has not sent any prophets in ages! Has He left us?!?" God appeared silent, REALLY silent. But friends, the silence of God does not indicate a lack of His working. In fact, God was working during this time. He was preparing the way for the Savior to come! Better yet, when the time did come for the Savior to be born, He was better than anything the people could have planned or imagined for themselves.

So if you're in a season of what may seem like "silence" from God, let me encourage you with this short note: God is always working for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28). And because He knows us better than we know ourselves, His plan is always far greater for us than anything we could come up with on our own. Your level of feeling towards God  is not an indicator of His level of working in your life. :)

May this be an encouragement and reminder to you as you enter this new year!

A Summer to Remember

Wow, this post is coming LATE! Sorry about that, friends! I originally wrote it back in August, but never actually posted it until now...oops. :/ Anyway, I'd still like to share it for documenting's (is that a word?) sake.

Looking back on the summer before my senior year of college, all I can say is WOW, this was a summer to remember. Not only did I reach some incredible business goals, but I got to travel world, build amazing relationships, and impact lives for the gospel.

Our family recently bought a cottage on Burt Lake, so much of this summer was spent up at the lake: exploring the surrounding areas, sitting by the campfire, watching movies, swimming (of course), kayaking, and playing games.

In May I also turned 21, which doesn't really mean anything for me because I've pledged to my school that I won't drink while a student there, but still just turning 21 kind of feels like a big deal (mainly because I now have a horizontal license, and am considered a full blown "adult" by society). Haha.

Later that month, I got to go with my church to AFRICA to share the gospel for about 10 days. It was LIFE CHANGING and just incredible. We spent 2 days in Johannesburg, after which we flew to Rwanda to begin our ministry in an Orphanage as well as speak and do dramas at a local youth conference! To see some more pics of our trip, you can watch this video. If you want to read my recap letter with stories and more info about our trip, you can check that out here too. :)


THEN in June, shortly after arriving home from Africa, I was headed out west! Our final destination was to the annual Young Living Grand Convention in Salt Lake City! This was my 3rd time going, and as always, it was an amazing time of learning and fellowship with our team. To see some of the SUPER FUN time we had there, you can watch this crazy video I made. haha.

BUT before we went to Salt Lake, we spent a little bit of time at Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks! My parents are national park junkies, so this was actually our second time visiting these parks. If you haven't been out west, it is a trip worth making. SO much beauty!

The end of June was crazy for my business. You see, I don't have a summer job like most college students my age. I own my own business with Young Living Essential oils, and I work that year round, which makes it really nice in the summer because I'm not tied down. Anyway, on the last day of June I reached a goal in my business that I had been working toward for 6 months (read about that here) and because of it, earned a kit of products from the company that retails at about $3,000. So so thankful and blessed!


I FINALLY had some time back home in July, even though it was intermittent as we took many weekend trips up to the cottage (as I mentioned before). My sister also came out from California to visit for about 2 weeks, so that was fun having her home for a bit!

And that, my friends, pretty much wraps up my summer! I am headed back to Ohio tomorrow to begin my senior year of college. CRAZINESS. Anyway, while I have bittersweet feelings about this year, I know that there are GREAT things ahead!

Thanks for taking the time to read! I'd love to hear about what you did this summer in the comments below!

On Goals and the Journey to Silver!

So let me be the first to say that I am writing this WAY later than I anticipated. When I went Silver in 6 with Young Living at the end of June, I expected myself to have written about it much sooner, but here we are in mid-August already!

Anyway, better late than never, right? :) Hitting Silver (in 6) was a HUGE milestone for my team. It was something that could NOT have been accomplished without the help and support of my amazing team. I am so thankful for them and have loved that the Lord has brought us all together on this journey.  While this is a milestone, I know it is ONE milestone, and is not the END milestone. In other words, this is just the beginning of many great things (working on toward GOLD people!).

Side note: If any of you are wondering about the Premier Aroma Collection (it retails at almost $3k, and is the company's gift to me for reaching silver in 6, can I just say I love Young Living?) that I earned. Below is a pic of me with the kit when it arrived. It was so fun opening up and I literally could smell the oils right when I opened the box!

If you would like to see the full version of me telling my story of how this began and some of my tips for building to silver, you can watch a video of me talking about it here where I was sharing for our team's weekly conference call.

However, I wanted to share some tid-bit's here too. First of all, let me just say that when I first began this journey, silver seemed SO far away. I say that to encourage you, in that everyone starts at the same level, and has the same initial thought when they look at the compensation plan. Goodness, I remember thinking that Executive seemed like such a long way away. Each of the ranks looks SO intimidating (at least they did for me) at first, but I am here to tell you that with consistent work and effort, you CAN reach those ranks and before you know it, you will be achieving numbers in your business that will BLOW your mind. Just for fun, here are some pictures of me at my first Young Living convention, 2 years ago (2014). I was a Star at the time:

One of the biggest things that has impacted me on this journey is the power of writing your goals and keeping them in front of you...
In December 2015, when I reached the rank of Executive, I had no idea if I was going to even be able to maintain it for the next month (which would have automatically dropped me out of qualification for Silver in 6). However, I knew my goal and what I wanted, and I kept pressing toward it. And I prayed, a lot. Don't ever underestimate the hand of God in your businesses. One of the biggest things that I knew above all else, was that this was in HIS hands and it was HIS businesses. Giving your business to the Lord is the BEST decision you can make for your success.

You see, even though I didn't know all the details of HOW I was going to make Silver in 6 happen at the time, I believed it would happen and I continued to do whatever it took to work towards my goal- even if it meant driving 1hr and 20min in rush hour to my group in Cinci for almost every weekend in March, getting up at 5am on my school break to help with a mom-to-mom sale, or stepping out of my comfort zone by calling people I didn't know. When you have a set goal, you will do CRAZY things to reach it, as long as you don't leave room for excuses.

You HAVE to KEEP your goal in front of you.  Honestly, it was scary writing my goal of silver by June when I wrote it for the first time, as it seemed so far away. In fact, I wrote that before I had even gone Executive (so it was REALLY scary). Below is a picture of my where I write my goals. You'll notice I had a different goal written initially for Silver, and I crossed that out and re-wrote my goal. Sometimes that happens, and that's OK!

Also, SHARE your goals with your upline mentor and downline leaders...this is a TEAM effort...help THEM succeed first and then you will too. Just never ever give up and I cannot emphasize this enough: keep your goals and dreams in front of you at ALL times. I had Si6 on my dream board, as well as a pin that said "silver by convention" that I carried with me to ALL my classes I did, as it was my reminder to me and my team of the bigger goal. Lastly, I put me as a silver as my screen background (It's now been changed to me as a Gold) on my phone. This is HUGE. Everyday I would see myself as a silver before I was even there. Let me ask you, do YOU see yourself where you want to be or where you are currently? It makes a difference in your mind, guys! I have many people ask me, "What does your phone background mean?" Which also gives me an opportunity for me to share with them what I'm doing!

Anyway, I want to encourage you all with this...you CAN do this if you put your complete mind and focus on it. Be dedicated to your business. If you treat it like a real business (and not a hobby), it will reap the benefits of a real business.
This is JUST the beginning...the future is bright! With all the chaos in the world today, I am proud to be a part of something that gives people HOPE! Be encouraged today!

If you accidentally stumbled upon this page and want to find out more about Young Living and joining my team, just go ahead and click here.

Love you all! :)

DIY Easy Peasy [Chocolate Orange Peppermint] Dry Shampoo!

When I first discovered dry shampoo, it changed my life. Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating a bit, but it was definitely a big deal. I had no idea that you could just spray some stuff on your hair and VOILA, the grease was gone! After playing around with it a bit, I found out that most dry shampoos leave a nice white film on your hair, which gave me a nice salt-and-pepper/grey streaky look, which I really wasn't going for...I have since then found out that they have dry shampoo for dark hair (YAY), but since I've been into Young Living, I don't really like the idea of spraying toxic chemicals all over my scalp. SO when Young Living posted this recipe on their blog, I was ALL about it. It's SO easy, can be made for dark OR light hair, and literally took me 5 minutes to make (also it smells amazing!).


As with many of my DIY recipes, you have some leeway to modify it based on what oils you like and what you're going for. The recipe from the YL blog called for 2 drops each of Cedarwood and Rosemary, and 1 drop of Tea Tree Essential Oil. However, because I have dark hair and thus added the Cocoa, I went for oils that not only would be good for your hair/scalp, but also would complement the cocoa smell, hence Peppermint and Orange! Other oils you could try would be Cinnamon, Royal Hawaiian Sandalwood, or Lavender.

I have to say though, the Peppermint-Orange-Cocoa combination smells SO GOOD I could eat it!

Sometimes things get a little messy ;) 

And there you have it! Using a make-up brush to apply it to your roots works really well.

DIY Dry Shampoo (modified from the Young Living blog)

Ingredients:

-1/4 c. Cornstarch
-1 tbsp. Baking Soda
- Young Living Essential Oils of Choice (see paragraph #2 above, listed below is what I used)
     - 2 drops each of Peppermint, Cedarwood, & Orange
-2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder, for dark hair only

Directions:
Mix all ingredients together in a bowl and store in your container of choice. I find using a make-up brush the best way to apply the shampoo, as it gives the most control and lets you reach the roots really well, though you can also store your shampoo in an empty salt and pepper shaker or baby powder bottle and use it that way. Be sure to let it sit in your hair for a minute so it can absorb the grease, then brush through with a comb or brush.

Happy Dry-Shampooing!

an unexpected {yet perfect} answer

"The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent.

 Moses said to the Lord, "You have been telling me, ‘Lead these people,’ but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. You have said, ‘I know you by name and you have found favor with me.’  If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. Remember that this nation is your people".

 The Lord replied, 'My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.'"

Exodus 33:11-14

Often times I (wrongfully) catch myself thinking that I will learn the most from Scripture by reading the NT. You know, the gospels, epistles, etc. After all, those books were written specifically to the church, right? I often find myself skimming over the OT (esp. Exodus, Numbers, Leviticus, Deut...you know the books I'm talking about), or deeming (in my mind) it as less important than the NT, but that is so NOT true. We can learn a lot from these books...if we just take some time to see what they're saying. 

Okay so before I even make my point about how this passage relates to the title of this post, check this out:

The first thing I noticed when I read this passage was the relationship between Moses and the Lord. It says in verse 11 that God spoke to Moses as one speaks to a friend. How COOL is that!? Imagine that kind of relationship with the Lord! Crazy right? Even crazier is the fact that we now can have that kind of relationship with God too. In the OT, God spoke to priests and prophets on behalf of the people. But now, because of Jesus, we are able to play that role of a priest and have that kind of relationship with God. 1 Peter 2:9 says we are a royal priesthood, and Hebrews 4:16 tells us to come boldly before the throne of grace, something that in the OT, only the priests could do. So basically, we can have that relationship that Moses had we God...we can speak to Him as we would speak to a friend, and He wants to speak to us that way. God wants to hear our thoughts, emotions, hurts, desires, pains, dreams.....that sounds alot like a RELATIONSHIP, my friend- not a religion! :) Anyway...!

THEN it gets even better (this is the main point I want to make), Moses shows his humanness and QUESTIONS the Lord. Sound familiar? You have been telling me, ‘Lead these people,’ but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. You have said, ‘I know you by name and you have found favor with me. (v.12).  What is Moses doing? He's questioning God on what He said He would do, instead of believing and knowing that God would come through on His Word. 
How often do we do this? I know I'm definitely guilty of it! Have you ever said, "Lord, you said you were going to provide for this, but I don't know how that's going to happen because you have not provided a job in 3 months," or something similar? We often wonder, is God REALLY my provider, my healer, my satisfaction? He SAID He is, but how often is that not enough for us when we don't immediately see the fruit of it?

The BEST thing about this is the Lord's response: "My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest." 

What? I can totally image Moses being like "Ummmmm okay Lord, that's great, but you totally didn't answer my question. You still didn't tell me who you were going to send with me and how we were going to get this done. You want me to lead all of these thousands of people but unless you give me some sort of blueprint to work with this is not going to happen."


...(wait for it)...


But that's the point. 

God DID answer His question, just in a way Moses didn't expect.

God didn't give Moses all the details of how things were going to play out. He didn't tell Moses exactly HOW He was going to come through on His promises, BUT God did give Him a peace and the promise of His presence, which would be ENOUGH to get Moses through whatever the future held. 
God did come through on His promises, and He answered Moses's question, just maybe in a way Moses didn't expect.

Can you see where I'm headed with this application?

I'm a planner. I like to plan things in advance, and know the details and schedule. So, this is something that's really hard for me. Sometimes I ask God for answers to questions about my future and you know what? He doesn't always give them. But, I've realized that the promise of God's presence and rest is SO much greater than knowing all of the minute details of life or how things are going to work out. It's about learning to walk by faith, which is how we grow.

So, if you're in a time of transition or growth (like me), trust in the Lord. Continue to pursue Him and His promises, knowing that He may not give you all the answers right when you want them, but He WILL be there for you. You may feel like you need to know everything, but you know what? You don't, because you serve a God that DOES and has your very best interest at heart.

If you remember anything at all from this post, let it be this: Even down uncertain paths, If you have God's presence, you have all you need.