The Esther Project Part 3

The Esther Project Part 3
The skin improvement recipe from the last post is expensive due to the helichrysum. You can either double the lavender or consider going in on a bottle with a friend or something. But first:

Sweet Spirit:
1 Pet. 3:3-6
"Do not let your adornment be merely outward—arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel— rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God. For in this manner, in former times, the holy women who trusted in God also adorned themselves, being submissive to their own husbands, as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, whose daughters you are if you do good and are not afraid with any terror."

Physical Care:
Hair spritz:
15 drops rosemary
10 drops lavender
7-10 drops Cedarwood
2 oz. purified water
3 drops vegetable glycerin
After towel drying hair spritz on scalp. Massage in. This is a very versatile recipe. These particular oils encourage hair growth, but you can remove these EOs and instead use 10 drops of Jasmine. Lovely. Ylang Ylang has been used to ward off grey hair. (I know you don't think that will ever happen to you;)

Rosemary conditioner:
5 drops rosemary
1 T. Jojoba oil
Blend well, massage into hair. Wrap in towel and leave for up to an hour. Unwrap and style w/out rinsing. (I tried that, but found that I did have to wash and rinse it. It still left my hair feeling great.) Encourages hair growth. I would only do it once a week.

 My face lotion recipe is absolutely glorious and the frankincense in it is in a young living Kit that I recommend. You can also use Elemi which is sometimes called "poor man's frankincense".
Step 1: warm about 1/2 cup coconut oil in a small glass jar. Add 1 or 2 pumps of another carrier oil. ( options: rosehip seed oil, sweet almond, olive oil.)
Step 2: 20 drops of young living frankincense essential oil and 10 drops of YL myrrh essential oil.
Step 3: mix well. It will resolidify. Morning and evening take about 1/4 teaspoon in your hand. It will melt and easily spread around your clean face. As your body gets used to it, it will feel less greasy and more RIGHT!  I love this stuff.

Teachable:
Read Titus 2
Keep memorizing Prov. 31:10-31

Summary of the first three posts:
Drink plenty of water
Research some doable ways to detox your physical self
Consider what in your heart needs to be cleansed
Try some natural means of improving your outward appearance
Find a Godly older woman

The Esther Project Part 2

My husband and I have had many opportunities to give premarital counseling. It usually takes about 6 weeks or six sessions, during which, I occasionally interject relevant or (oh dear) irrelevant comments about the various subjects at hand, not having a curriculum to work off of like my husband does. I'm hoping this series can be something I can direct gals to.

In the first post, I basically gave you orders to take a hot bath.

Part 2 is hot on it's the heals because this may take some long term focus, and, since Esther was really in a very tough situation, we will look to other parts of scripture for guidance, as well. We aren't after her life, just her beauty secrets!

Do you have either visible or invisible scars?

Sweet Spirit:
What are the things that have injured your spirit? Did you have a troubled childhood or experience any abuse? Has it effected how you respond to others? Are there things in your past that you need to forgive? These things may take serious time to work through, so pray about where to begin...and begin. Each day is a new beginning.
Lam. 3:22-23
"Through the Lord's mercies we are not consumed,
Because His compassions fail not.
They are new every morning;
Great is Your faithfulness."
The Lord has a unique ministry for you because of these things. I'm not suggesting that they can be completely erased, but that they can be used by God. You can go deeper into His grace and mercy than other women can at your age!
This attitude keeps our hearts focused on God which will, in turn, allow you to do good to your man "all the days of your life".
Prov.31:11-12
"The heart of her husband safely trusts her;
So he will have no lack of gain.
She does him good and not evil
All the days of her life."

Beyond spending time in God's Word, the most helpful thing to do, I believe, is to seek a Godly older woman as a mentor. When I was a newly wed, I sought out 3 Godly women that I knew would speak the truth to me in love. This was a game changer in my spiritual development! I believe a mentor is crucial whether you have deep things to work through or not. You can imagine the trauma that Esther endured (losing her parents and later being whisked off to a harem) and know that God had her there for a reason-"for such a time as this."

Esther 4:14b-16
"'Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?'
Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai: “Go, gather all the Jews who are present in Shushan, and fast for me; neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day."

There are some wonderful essential oils that people have used during this kind of process. Our sense of smell is very important. When we smell something, it hits our ole factory nerves in our noses and shoots right to the brain. A person can have positive or negative feelings about something because of a smell. Lavender, usually considered the "Swiss army knife" of essential oils because of its many uses, can take you back to grandmas house and fill you with all kinds of warm fuzzies. If, however, you hated that place, then you probably won't benefit from it. On the other hand, many smells are not actually the real essence of the plant God made, but only a synthetic, so don't give up with out trying a whiff of the real stuff.

Some examples of blends that YL carries are: Forgiveness, Release, and Trauma Life. These were designed to minister to people's emotions and mental state. As I mentioned, these are blends, so make sure you read what all oils are in it first. There may be something there that turns you off. Some singles could be frankincense, ylang ylang, lavender, and lemon. Sometimes a person may smell an EO and hate it, but then grow to like it over time. We all have different body chemistry. Something I like, you may think smells like cat urine, or when your body chemistry changes, it may smell different to you. I use to not like the smell of Cedarwood, but I was having so much trouble falling asleep, I kept trying it, and now I love it.

Physical Care:
On the surface level
This is a wonderful blend of oils that you can use on any skin trouble, whether it is just a temporary issue or something that has bothered you for years. Esther did this sort of thing for a year, so don't expect overnight success.
10 drops helichrysum
6 drops lavender
8 drops lemongrass
4 drops patchouli
5 drops myrrh
1 ounce V-6 Mixing oil. (This is a carrier oil blend the YL carries)
Olive oil or coconut oil (fractionated) would work as well. Jojoba is a wonderful carrier oil that is used for carrying the EOs in deeper. It's molecules are pin shaped and soak in quickly. On the other hand, a lot of massage therapists go for sweet almond oil. It's molecules are oval shaped and therefore stay on the skin longer. These four carrier oils are a must at my house.
MIX IN THE ORDER GIVEN (VERY important!!!), rolling the bottle between your palms after adding each oil. Apply topically at least 3-4 times a day.

Teachable:
Begin memorizing Prov. 31:10-31
In this passage of scripture, there is SO much scope for growing in the Lord! I did not discover its value until shortly after we were married, but, oh how much I needed it, and how much I could have blessed my husband if I had come more prepared!

I hope and pray that your hurts are only skin deep, but if they are deeper, God is there too. He is, after all, EVERYWHERE.
There is enough trouble in this life with just our own sin nature and selfish desires, and you can be sure that getting married will bring your sin right out there for you to discover just how much of it there is! You can look at it as an opportunity to be more refined and sanctified!

So, for this post, just tag it onto the first one as soon as you can. You want to give yourself as much time as possible to heal wounds.

A relaxing bath combo:
5 drops Lavender
 3 drops cedarwood wood
 2 drops vetiver
2 cups Epsom salts.
Mix the EOs into the Epsom salt then add to bath

THE ESTHER PROJECT PART 1

I'm really excited about this! I've been running this idea around in my head for 18 months and it's finally coming out on paper.
I have to post recipes compliantly because I am not a doctor, therefore some recipe titles may be vague, but just know that there is MUCH MUCH more to the benefits than the title suggests. You can always give me a call to clarify. I'm going to try to stick to recipes and encourage you to research for yourself.

THE ESTHER PROJECT!!!

What is it?
Originally I was thinking about how Esther, in the Bible, was prepared to meet the king and how the preparations went on for months! So, my idea was to present some beautification ideas to brides-to-be. However, I will try to make it applicable to other women, since our bodies are God's temple and we should try to take care of it.

This will be a series of maybe 6-8 blog posts with suggestions to prepare a bride spiritually, physically and emotionally for marriage.
As the series comes to a close, I may have a post for those that are very close to marriage that I will send individually to those qualified for such information.

Sweet Spirt:
When Esther was brought under the custody of Hegai, the custodian of the women in the palace, she immediately found favor and was provided EXTRA beauty preparations. She must have had a sweet personality because everybody seemed to like her, as you can read in chapter 2. Her character was something people wanted around.

Physical care:
Esther 2:12b
"...for thus were the days of their preparation apportioned: six months with oil of myrrh, and six months with perfumes and preparations for beautifying women."

Myrrh is an essential oil that blends and works very well with other essential oils. It is in the same botanical family as frankincense. It offers all kinds of support to our bodies, only one of which is the skin. The "perfumes and preparations" will have been from plants and minerals, of course. There weren't too many drugs stores back then, so there will be many essential oil suggestions, as well as carrier oil information, provided in the following posts. Many of the oil suggestions here were even used in Biblical times. Some, like Jasmine, are actually absolutes or an essence rather than an essential oil. It's all about the extraction process. I use only Young Living brand because of their careful processes that we refer to as their "Seed to Seal" guarantee and the longevity of the company.  Remember that your skin is your largest organ, and whatever you put on it gets into your body because of its pores. So, think carefully before applying anything synthetic or cheap to your skin. What goes ON, goes IN.

Teachable:
Esther 2:15
"Now when the turn came for Esther the daughter of Abihail the uncle of Mordecai, who had taken her as his daughter, to go in to the king, she requested nothing but what Hegai the king's eunuch, the custodian of the women, advised. And Esther obtained favor in the sight of all who saw her."
Esther was not only depending on her looks and vibrant health to impress the king, but also used her head and listened to advise available to her in the palace. She was also spiritually in tune, as shown later in the book, when she fasts and seeks the Lord before making an appeal to her husband.

So, of course, spending time on your physical appearance only, is not the end all of life. In fact, if careful attention is not paid to your spiritual and mental development then all you will be is a pretty shell- empty inside. Prov. 31:30 "Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing,
But a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised."

Let's get started!
Week 1-3

Drinking your fluids:
Anytime is a good time to check your fluid intake, and I'm not talking about soda! Try to be in the habit of about 8 glasses of water a day. If you had a workout, then drink even more. I love to add a drop or two of lemon or tangerine YL essential oil. We have used lime as well and even peppermint. However, peppermint is very strong, so just one drop spread across 24-32 oz of water will do.

Thanks to our strange American diet, you may want to do a few detox things. Drinking plenty of water will be a huge help!
detox bath recipe: 4 cups of each: epsom salt, baking soda & peroxide. Soak for a minimum 30 minutes, best for one hour. If you want to add essential oils, add a few drops to the epsom salt first, so the oil will mix better with the water. Lavender, Peace & Calming, Elemi are just a few wonderful choices to add. Elemi is related to frankincense but a lot less expensive. 5-10 drops of EO should be sufficient.

Remineralizing is important, in addition to the above ingredients, add 1-2 cups Himalayan or Celtic sea salt to bath. This bath can be repeated often with no negative side effects or interference with meds.

Add these ingredients to a "hot to tolerance" tub bath or foot bath (reduce ingredients for this by half), and ad the hydrogen peroxide last of all.

Afterward, towel off and rub down with Young Living's OrthoEase, olive oil or coconut oil. You will want to pick up a good quality olive oil and coconut oil. Ideally, you want virgin olive oil or the "first oil". Coconut oil is an incredible germ fighter and great option as a carrier oil. I get my Epsom salt in bulk through Amazon and look for baking soda that is free of aluminum.
Put these items on your wish list for coming weeks/months: you may want to budget yourself to @$50 a month. I can also show you how to get YL oils wholesale.
Carrier oils from http://www.heatherloraine.com/
Myrrh
Patchouli
Jasmine
Frankincense
Lavender

For an excellent source with more information about many of the oils I'll be covering, simply contact me. I hope you enjoy this little series.