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Renew. Restore. Revive.
Caitlin
Friday, May 31, 2013
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
Monday, May 27, 2013
A Realization About DIY Laundry Detergent
Pinterest is a wonderful place full of DIY ideas and outfits you wish you could afford. The other day I was on Pinterest, and I came across the usual DIY laundry detergent pin. I've seen this pin before, just never clicked it before. However, being a broke college student, I decided to take a look.
Did you know that DIY Laundry Detergent contains shredded bar soap, including Ivory and other commercial soaps? Of course there are other ingredients like Borax, but lets focus on the fact that you can use commercially made bar soap in your laundry detergent. DETERGENT PEOPLE! Do you see where I'm going with this?
That's when the light bulb went off in my head. People in general wash themselves with Ivory, Dove, and other commercially produced soaps which is ultimately a bunch of synthetic detergents smashed together to make a bar of soap. These same detergents can be ground up and used as your LAUNDRY DETERGENT. How do you feel about using laundry detergent on your skin?? Ouch!
If you stumbled upon my blog and have yet to use a bar of natural soap, I encourage you to go grab a bar at www.reviveyourbath.com because we make our soaps with all plant-based oils and scent everything with natural essential oils. We do not make our soap out of synthetic detergents, harsh chemicals, or fragrance oils that can actually cause skin irritation. We only produce 100% natural soap bars that make your skin happy and healthy. Revive that skin today!! (And think twice about using a bar of Ivory again...just put it in your laundry detergent!)
I would also like to say thank you this Memorial Day to all the service men and women who have or are currently serving our country. Because of you, I can say I'm proud to live in a country where I am FREE and I am BRAVE. Thank you for your service!!
Caitlin
P.S. A lovely blogger will be hosting a giveaway for a bottle of our lotion in the next couple of days, so make sure to keep an eye out for a link to the giveaway on our blog and our Facebook!
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
HiveATL
"We exist to activate local leaders by crafting experiences that cultivate community. We believe the best place to make an impact is exactly where we are, in a community full of leaders who desperately need to connect with those who understand their daily struggles, passions, and how to reach their goals." www.hiveatl.com
HiveATL is a non-profit organization started by a group of guys in Kennesaw, GA. There goal is to walk alongside people, providing an outlet for No Lonely Leaders. Every fall and spring, they host a networking party called The Gathering. Last week, I attended Hive's second ever gathering.
I didn't know what to expect at The Gathering. In fact, I don't know if I even expected much of anything. I was quite nervous not really knowing anyone else going....But I went. And I'm sure glad I did.
And that brings me to my next point: passion vomit. Josh Webb from Root Radius shared what passion vomit is and how to stop passion vomit.
Passion vomit is what happens when you have a great idea or passion about something, and you get so excited you just want to tell everyone everything about anything and nothing you say is organized or really makes any sense. Sitting down and getting your thoughts and action plan together is a good place to start your idea. If you passion vomit all over someone, how do you expect that person to go tell someone else about your grand plan? They probably won't be able to. If you share with people an organized idea, they will be able to spread the word about your idea to other people in the community, and you never know if a potential investor or someone with unlimited resources may be listening in.
John Saddington was the last speaker, and I think he was literally speaking straight to me. John spoke about how as entrepreneurs, time is our greatest asset, so why do we keep wasting it on things like our favorite TV show on Netflix? In order to get the things we need to get done, we must have good time management skills, which most of us are bad at. Since the Lord has been teaching me about self-control, I didn't think it coincidence that John spoke on this topic. The root of having good time management skills is having self-control to get the things done that need to be done when they need to be done! (That's a mouthful!)
"If God gave you an incredible vision on what to do with your life, why are you wasting time?"
That was John's last line when he spoke, and I could feel the room shift. People left The Gathering feeling empowered and thinking about why are they really wasting time? The Lord gives us passions for a reason...they aren't just things we like. Each person is unique, and I think that if all of us strived after things we were passionate about, the world would be a much different place.
Think about that. What is your passion? Are you doing something about that?d
Caitlin
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Self-Control
You know those lazy days where your alarm goes off, but you don't really have any place to be so you pick up your phone and visit Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram... just to find out not much happened while you were asleep. So you casually fall back asleep for an extra 30 minutes, only then having to force yourself out of the bed because now you're more tired then when your alarm first went of....yep. I'll be the first to admit that's me. (On a weekly basis now that classes are over!)
Even though that may happen and no one knows about it, when does it say about my self-control? What does the action of not being able to control my morning habits say about myself?
For those of you that read my blog, you know that my last post was about how the Lord is teaching me about the fruits of the spirit. First up was self-control. For the past twenty or so days, I've been studying the word to see what it says about developing biblical self-control.
A person without self-control is like a city with broken down walls. Proverbs 25:26
As there are fruits of the spirit, there are also fruits of self-control.
We'd all like to say we are good at each of these things, but are we really?
When it boils down to it, self-control is doing what needs to be done when it needs to be done. Like getting out of bed and not pressing the snooze button.
During the time I was studying self-control, I really wasn't getting the sweet fruit I thought I was biting into. Instead, I was forced to take an internal look at pretty much everything I do wrong. FUN. I looked at what I perceived as my self-control and asked the simple question - did the self-control that I thought I had have the fruits in the list above? Do I manage my money well? Ehhh, probably didn't need to buy new shoes last week. Do I stick to a schedule? Spontaneity is not bad, as long as everything that needs to be done is done. And whyyy can I not break the habit of biting my nails?! Is my self-control lacking so much that I can't even put up with the simple urge to bite my nails when I'm nervous? REALLY?! (Reality check.)
In Hebrews 12, the Lord talks about how he disciplines the ones He loves.. Y'all, why do we always think we need to figure out the root and reason why the Lord is disciplining us? What if the reason isn't because we did or are doing something wrong, but simply to mold us and shape us into a stronger leader for Him?
As Americans, we tend to take this season of discipline like a time out. And since we live in a self-centered world, we think, 'oh great, time our for ME to think about whats wrong with ME, oh poor pitiful ME.' No! It's about our personalities being molded to be more like him. I tell ya what, I haven't met anyone with as much self-control as Jesus. He resisted all sin. Now that's self-control y'all.
If you are in a current season of discipline (like me!), don't look at this time as painful. REJOICE PEOPLE! Self-control is a necessary to live out all of the other fruits of the spirit. How do we love without self-control? How we do have peace without self-control? How do we have kindness without self-control? Same for each of the other fruits of the spirit. It just ain't possible!
Why do we need self-control? The Lord literally calls us to DIE to ourselves for him.
Even though that may happen and no one knows about it, when does it say about my self-control? What does the action of not being able to control my morning habits say about myself?
For those of you that read my blog, you know that my last post was about how the Lord is teaching me about the fruits of the spirit. First up was self-control. For the past twenty or so days, I've been studying the word to see what it says about developing biblical self-control.
A person without self-control is like a city with broken down walls. Proverbs 25:26
As there are fruits of the spirit, there are also fruits of self-control.
We'd all like to say we are good at each of these things, but are we really?
When it boils down to it, self-control is doing what needs to be done when it needs to be done. Like getting out of bed and not pressing the snooze button.
During the time I was studying self-control, I really wasn't getting the sweet fruit I thought I was biting into. Instead, I was forced to take an internal look at pretty much everything I do wrong. FUN. I looked at what I perceived as my self-control and asked the simple question - did the self-control that I thought I had have the fruits in the list above? Do I manage my money well? Ehhh, probably didn't need to buy new shoes last week. Do I stick to a schedule? Spontaneity is not bad, as long as everything that needs to be done is done. And whyyy can I not break the habit of biting my nails?! Is my self-control lacking so much that I can't even put up with the simple urge to bite my nails when I'm nervous? REALLY?! (Reality check.)
In Hebrews 12, the Lord talks about how he disciplines the ones He loves.. Y'all, why do we always think we need to figure out the root and reason why the Lord is disciplining us? What if the reason isn't because we did or are doing something wrong, but simply to mold us and shape us into a stronger leader for Him?
As Americans, we tend to take this season of discipline like a time out. And since we live in a self-centered world, we think, 'oh great, time our for ME to think about whats wrong with ME, oh poor pitiful ME.' No! It's about our personalities being molded to be more like him. I tell ya what, I haven't met anyone with as much self-control as Jesus. He resisted all sin. Now that's self-control y'all.
If you are in a current season of discipline (like me!), don't look at this time as painful. REJOICE PEOPLE! Self-control is a necessary to live out all of the other fruits of the spirit. How do we love without self-control? How we do have peace without self-control? How do we have kindness without self-control? Same for each of the other fruits of the spirit. It just ain't possible!
Why do we need self-control? The Lord literally calls us to DIE to ourselves for him.
I encourage you to ask yourself that question and let the Lord reveal that to you during the rest of this week.
Have a reviving day!
Caitlin
Sunday, May 5, 2013
Feeling like a Cactus?
Since August of 2012, I've been on the constant pursuit of what it means to live and look more like Jesus each day.
Back in February, I drew this picture in my journal one night.
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Let me remind you of the fruits of the spirit. They are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, AND self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). You can see that on the tree trunk I wrote 'come and take the fruit you need because you are hungry.' Being the little confident and sassy person that I am, I thought to myself that there was no need for me to draw a self-control branch because I have that part under control.
Haha that's funny.
Since then, the Lord has been taking me on quite the journey through the fruits of the spirit and how to develop biblical fruits. Including self-control.
Let's use the metaphor that each person is a tree. Each of these trees are planted in good soil, okay soil, or the really bad soil. Now literal trees cannot uproot themselves and replant themselves into better soil, but we can. We have the choice where to be rooted. The fruits we produce depend on what kind of soil we are planted in.
It's not everyday you travel out to the desert land and see a huge field of oak trees now do ya? Nope, but you may see a cactus or two.
Ahhhh the cactus. What a weird/interesting plant. Seriously, look at that thing.
A cactus has these abnormally long prickles that are protecting the plant...protecting what's on the inside. It's a defense mechanism pretty much telling every animal in the desert that it better not try to eat it because it will poke you and won't let you into the good stuff, where the water is.
When you take a look at a cactus and an oak tree and compare the two metaphorically to people, you can tell the difference between which plant was in the good soil and which one was in the bad soil.
The oak tree is growing stronger and taller each day with the help of constant rainfall. The leaves are green and happy. A cactus lives in a dry land, where water is rarely present. The cactus defends itself with this monstrous prickles not to let anyone in and not let anything out.
That's really ironic because here is a picture I drew a couple days later.
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Looks like I was being all cactus-y.
Another thing about being a cactus is that cacti grow up in the desert, ALONE. We are not meant to be alone. Fruitful and happy oak trees don't grow up alone and in the desert. Nope. It just doesn't happen.
Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there.
Galatians 5:24
Do you live out your life everyday with the passions and desires that the Lord has given you? Because I'm the first one to raise my hand and say no. Everyday I get caught up in the he said/she said of this world. Do you even know the passions and desires that the Lord has given you?
And that's why I want to learn more about each of the fruits of the spirit, what they mean, and how to live them out daily. The first one being self-control.
I hope you are ready to dig into each of the fruits with me.
Caitlin
Saturday, May 4, 2013
Friday, May 3, 2013
Visit Pearl's Spa in Acworth!
Pearl's Spa in Acworth, GA is now carrying our linen sprays and lotions!
Make sure to stop on by and pick something up for Mother's Day!
My soaps were also featured on The Lovely Side's blog as their favorite bar soap! You can read the full article by clicking the link below.
PS - there are only two days left of the semester...I have one final on Monday and my last one on Tuesday. I'm SO EXCITED!!! I am taking 2 summer classes (Managing Organizations & Consumer Behavior), but I am very excited for the little break I will get before summer classes start :)
Have a reviving day!
Caitlin
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