When I was really young, I didn't understand Good Friday. It seemed just the opposite to me. Someone we loved was beaten and cut, spit upon, jeered at, and nailed to a cross. The day was a very dark day for humanity. But here's the thing: What man uses for evil, God uses for good...... and that's where the Goodness of Good Friday comes in. It wasn't the end, it was just the beginning of what was to come for all of us who believe.
Blessed Good Friday friends! 
xoxo~ liz 
#Hopelives 
#goodfriday2021 
#hopeisgoodmedicine

Breath Clues: Part II
Becoming aware of HOW you breathe is important both as a health clue and an (inexpensive and valuable!) wellness tool. 
Did you take the quick quiz on the graphic?  If not, take a moment to do so!
Statistically, chronic shallow (mouth, neck, and upper chest) breathing is the most common type of breathing in Westernized cultures. This type of breathing  perpetuates stress and anxiety, activates the "fight or flight" (sympathetic response),  and suppresses the immune system. 
Conversely, diaphragmatic (deep belly) breathing balances the nervous system, supports heart health, improves circulation, promotes lymphatic drainage, reduces stress, calms the mind, and brings the body back into a more homeostatic state. 
Do you notice how some people remain calm, cool, and collected while others become a tightly wound spring with every stressor? The ability to pivot from "fight or flight" to "rest and digest" is incredibly important to health outcomes! ( Pharmacist tip: Learning to do this is helpful in keeping you away from the pharmacy!)  
The longest nerve in the body is called the  👉vagus nerve 👈. It runs from the brain thru the lungs and on to the gut, and affects every organ and body system it comes in contact with along the way ..... stomach, intestines, liver, gallbladder, heart, lungs, and the immune, endocrine, respiratory, and cardiovascular systems. In other words, the vagal nerve pathway is kind of a big deal! 😍
High vagal tone is incredibly important to overall health and wellbeing..... really, it's a use it or lose it situation. Low vagal tone is associated with increased risk for cardiovascular disease, stroke, diabetes, GI disorders, and depression. Diaphragmatic breathing increases vagal tone! 
If deep belly breathing is not something you do on the regular (ie: it's become second nature to you), Here are a few tips and tricks:
👉 Start with just 2 minutes several times a day. 
1. Place one hand on your upper chest and the other just below your rib cage, so you can feel your diaphragm move as you breathe.
2. Inhale deeply thru your nose for the count of 6-8 seconds (or 4-5 seconds if that's too much).... allowing your belly to expand. Try to fill your lungs with air. NOTE! The hand on your chest should remain as still as possible.
3. Slowly exhale through your nose for the count of 6-8 (or 4-5) drawing your belly button in and down as your abdomen moves inward.
4. As you breathe inward deeply, envision oxygen flowing inward and recharging your body. As you exhale, envision all the stress and tension leaving your body. 
5. Practice this for 2-3 minutes at a time (20-30 breath cycles). Graduate to 5 minutes as you are able! 
Scientifically noted benefits of diaphragmatic breathing can be further enhanced when you pair your breathing practice with Young Living essential oils known for their supportive roles in  health and wellness goals:
🌿Want to improve mood? Pair your practice with Citrus Fresh eo blend! 
🌿 Looking for better concentration? Try Brain Power or Frankincense!
🌿 Looking to better manage pain? (Yes, deep breathing helps with this too!) Add in PanAway or Deep Relief
🌿 Wanting to lower your blood pressure (Yep, deep breathing exercises does this too!)..... support happy vascular system breathing practices with Joy, Aroma Life, Ylang Ylang, or Lavender.
🌿Lowering blood sugar (amazing what regular deep breathing may do! Consider deep inhalations of Coriander, Melissa, or Christmas Spirit! 
🌿 Improve your sleep. Pair pre bedtime deep breathing with a diffuser loaded with Cedarwood, Orange, and Lavender! 
🌿  Use as a tool in your weight loss journey. Have you tried Grapefruit essential oil or Thieves on the bottom of the feet?
🌿 Strengthen the pelvic floor muscle (which will also improve bladder and bowel elimination function!). Consider pairing with Clary Sage, Cypress, or (Digize 👈 for colon support). 
🌿Better lymphatic flow?.... You'll love Lemon essential oil (both regular and vitality!)! 
Noticing how you are breathing, and then making corrections as needed is a simple, but VIP wellness tool and health clue! Just as diaphragmatic breathing is helpful, chronic shallow breathing will exacerbate many health problems, and over time, may also contribute to lung infections and lung diseases.
Just breathe...... deeply! 
xoxo~ liz
www.goodmedicine.info (👈 if you'd like to know more about additional breathing practices or the oils mentioned above, let's chat!)
#sharingiscaring 
#Godgaveusthetools 
#goodmedicineisgreatbreathinghabits
#goodmedicine 
#ThanksYL

​Happy St. Paddy's Day!
Most people know St. Patrick thanks to a day filled with all things green and Irishness, but do you really know the man behind the day? His story is a pretty inspiring one!
 ☘️St. Patrick is the patron saint and national apostle of Ireland.
 ☘️Contrary to popular belief, he wasn’t Irish. He was born around A.D. 375 in Britain, probably somewhere in Scotland, though the exact date and place are unknown.
 ☘️According to several sources, he is credited with bringing Christianity to Ireland. He was probably partly responsible as well for the Christianization of the Picts (an early Scottish people group) and Anglo-Saxons.
 ☘️When he was 16, St. Patrick was kidnapped by pirates and sold into slavery in Ireland to herd and tend sheep.
 ☘️After six years in captivity, he escaped after having a dream sent by God, telling him to leave Ireland by going to the coast where he would find a ship waiting to sail to Britain.
 ☘️He later became a priest and a bishop and is known for two short works: Confessio and Letter to Coroticus.
 ☘️In Confessio, he tells about a dream sent by God. In it, he was given a letter with the heading “The Voice of the Irish.” He heard the Irish people calling out to him to come back to Ireland and walk once more among them.
 ☘️After overcoming doubts, and motivated by a deep sense of purpose, he returned to Ireland, where he preached and converted people for 40 years, amid opposition and formidable difficulties—not a small accomplishment, given the circumstances at that time.
☘️His Letter to Coroticus was a denunciation of British mistreatment of Irish Christians.
 ☘️According to legend, He used the shamrock to help explain the concept of the Holy Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) to unbelievers. 
 ☘️ I'm not sure where the green beer, leprechauns, and pots of gold fit into St Patrick's story 😂! Sometimes what we think we know has nothing to do with what is true. 😉
St. Patrick’s life was guided by a strong sense of divinely inspired purpose. Some pretty significant icky moments and obstacles didn’t appear to get in the way of what God asked him to do. I admire people who know their purpose in life!
Enjoy your day and get your green on in honor of St. Paddy! 
☘️💚☘️💚 ~ liz

Frequency (the measured electrical vibration of something) is often a hard concept to grasp. I have studied it pretty extensively over the last few years because understanding how frequency affects us as people, is key to vibrant health. Literally, it can make or break you.
Recently, I stumbled across a new genre of music termed 🌿"florganoleptic music". 🌿 
It's fascinating! Literally, science meets plant meets musician....... 
You can read more about it here: https://www.cosmicknotmusic.com/
........or listen to a better explanation along with a little music composed by humans and plants😍:
All I know is that I just learned something new and amazing today about plants! 
Frequency.... it's real. Singing plants, yep. They're real too😊 . This little evergreen is belting out the blues! (ha ha! must be a Northern Lights "Blues" spruce 😎)
Happy Monday friends!
Which plant juice (essential oil) makes you feel like singing?  🌿🎶🎶🎶🌿🎶🎶🎶🌿
xoxo~ liz
www.goodmedicine.info (👈 for more info on plant juice loaded with great vibes!😎)
https://youtu.be/JVrjJX96h4A
#sharingiscaring 
#hugatreeandthensingwithit
#Godisthecreatorofthemiraculous
#plantjuice 
#vibrationalhealing 
#ThanksYL

Someone here needs to hear this good word from my friend Jen Weir. She is the bomb with both words and knowledge!
Know what else is the bomb? The essential oil Kunzea. Have you tried it? If you have a bottle of it at home, but haven't used it, you may find you have a hidden treasure after reading Jen's words.
xoxo~ liz

#sharingiscaring 
#shineon
#JesusandEOs
#ThanksYL
​

​NOT YOURS
Can we talk about energy for a moment? Or, a lot of moments...
According to Mr. Einstein, everything is energy. Yet in many circles, particularly those of the more faith based nature, we shy away from energetics, deeming it woo woo, weird or, gasp, of the devil. 
My soul, who do people think created energy? 
enter exasperated eye roll....
Have you ever been so drawn to an oil but not sure why? Or better still, have you ever given yourself the space in your day to play with the oils, use something you've never tried or even, possibly dare open one that you've been saving for good? Hoarding is so 2020 you know.
Such was the case with me today and Kunzea. Remember her? 
This precious oil was drawing me in, it literally jumped off the shelf and of course I began digging in. 
The interesting part to this experience is that I have been asking the question- why won't my shoulder heal? To be totally transparent, I had struggled with severe pain for eight long years. Ever since my baby girl was in the NICU this pain has been unbearable at times. I don't talk about it because frankly drawing attention to dis ease is not my style. Yet today, I was done. Enough already. 
Emotional releasing, yep, check. 
Using CBD or any other pain essential oil blend, check check. 
Prayed for healing, check check double check.
Short of smoking weed to numb it, I'd say I had done all the things. 
End of rope officially reached. 
And yet...
Knowing what I do about energy I had to ask the question abotu why I was drawn to this seemingly obscure oil. There had to be a connection to needing this one today and this incessant pain. 
One of Kunzea’s unique features is that it can diffuse and transform deep emotional pain, that has hardened in the body. Where there is pain the body, there is always an emotion attached to the pain. Kunzea assists in releasing emotional pain and in transforming the immediate shock of accidents. 
Bingo. 
The emotional pain attached was the burdens others have heaped on my shoulders. 
The opinions of this THE way, rather than simple A way. Can anyone else relate? Just me? 
So, there's THE way to raise your people, not just A way.
There's THE way to hear from God, not A way.
There's THE (newest) way to eat, not A way. 
There's THE (again, newest) way to build a MLM biz, not A way. 
There's THE way to love your neighbor, not A way.
There's THE way to respond to blatant tyranny, not A way. 
You guys feel me? It's heavy to even type all of this. 
Let's just say my entire adult life has consisted of others telling me every way I am doing x,y,z wrong, and possibly, sinning. 
Being type A, wanting to do it all correctly, yet having the personality of non compliance was beginning to take its toll. hence the should and neck pain...
You see, this specific may not be your story, and I pray it's not. Yet some of you have pain, real physical pain that you take meds for, oils, weed, whatever your bandaid is. But healing is possible. It's emotional. 100% of the time, it's an emotion that has hardened itself in your body and needs to be chipped away. It won't happen overnight. Or I don't know, maybe it will. It's really anyone's guess. 
But I can tell you, once I began to speak truth and stop believing other people's truth, my should started to loosen. It was literally the weirdest freakiest thing evah. But it's truth. 
The cracking I heard when I stretch is at an all time minimum. 
I've got a little more to go, a little more truth to tell myself, a little more business to do with Jesus and whole lot less business to do with other people's opinions. But I'm on my way- me, Jesus and a little oil called Kunzea. 
Let me ask you, is there an oil you have been drawn to? Before this did you know that your body/energy is trying to tell you something? 
I don't, just try it. Emotion talk is my jam and not everyone's cup of tea. But I swear to you, not having physical pain feels so much better than having it. I mean, you do you. But I just thought you all should know.

​What the world needs a little more of🌍👇❤...

Just learned something new this morning. 
"Peace" is mentioned 429 times in the Old King James version of the Bible. The more modernized the version, the less often it is mentioned. The newest versions of the Bible only include the word "peace" around 230 times. 
I see a correlation here.
​
#victorswritethehistory
#peacebewithyou
#noJesusnopeace
#knowJesusknowpeace

​The beauty of life is this..... wonderful things happen regardless of chaos or calm. Meet Justice.  A curious thing about this little guy..... we had just about decided that his mama was sterile and we were going to have to let her go. 3 months ago I noticed that she appeared to be preggo, but I didn't want to hold out too much hope since she's kinda "big boned " and has shown false signs before. Rosie continued to show small signs that got bigger and more obvious, so I knew we had turned a corner with her... and goodness was surely coming. Last night I knew we were less than 24hrs from go time. 
Justice was delivered early this morning.❤ 
Keep the faith friends. Sometimes when you are ready to bail out, that's when God shows up.
Have a beautiful day!
xoxo~ liz
#livingmybestlife
#sharingiscaring
#ThanksYL
#farmgirllifelessons
#JusticeIsHere 
#keepthefaith

​Two of the most well known essential oils, 💧Frankincense and 💧Myrrh, pretty much owe their claim to fame to three wise men over 2000 years ago. Now that’s some kind of successful advertising campaign! 😉
I’ve been celebrating this Christmas season by walking thru a 25 day devotional, “The Soul Felt its Worth”. Each morning has been like an Advent calendar for me as I learn history and relevant Bible verses and theology expressed through 25 traditional Christmas carols.
As I write this, I’m on day 11: “We Three Kings”.....written in 1857 by American clergyman John Henry Hopkins Jr. Spoiler alert…. The Bible never put a number on the wise men who travelled to see infant Jesus ….. Nevertheless, this carol is where we get the 3 kings/wise men from!
Although it’s considered a Christmas hymn, “We Three Kings” is really a poetic tribute to Jesus’ whole life, with Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh representing some very key attributes:
(verse 3)
“Born A King on Bethlehem’s plain
Gold I bring to crown Him again
King forever, ceasing never
Over us all to reign.”
Gold (referenced in verse 3) has been a sign of royalty, wealth, and power since nearly the beginning of time. Giving the gift of gold to Jesus was an acknowledgement to the birth of the King of Kings.
(verse 4)
“Frankincense to offer have I
Incense owns a Deity nigh
Prayer and praising, all men raising
Worship Him, God most high”
💧Frankincense was used in the temple as an incense and anointing oil, and was a symbolic acknowledgement of God and spiritual leadership. (You will be learning so much about the historic healing properties of Frank and Myrrh next week! Stay tuned!!❤ )
(verse 5)
“Myrrh is mine, its bitter perfume
Breathes of life of gathering gloom
Sorrowing, sighing, bleeding, dying
Sealed in the stone-cold tomb.”
💧Myrrh had many historical uses, including that as a key embalming agent. Its name comes from the word ‘marar’ which means bitterness. For myrrh oil to be attained, the tree’s heartwood must be pierced/tapped allowing the gum resin to trickle out in red droplets called 'tears'. The gift of myrrh symbolizes Jesus’ earthly a bitter death and subsequent burial. .
And finally, the phrase “Guide us to Thy perfect Light” in verse 2 leads us to the truth of the matter. The kings/magi-astronomers were looking for something far more significant than the bright star they were following. They were looking for THE Light. ☀️
God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all. ~ I John 1:5.
Enjoy the journey this coming week friends!
xoxo~liz
#Hegaveusthetoolsinthegarden
#sharingiscaring
#WiseIndeed
#GoldFrankincenseandMyrrh
#oilsoftheBible
#ThanksYL

​I've been diving in to the history behind some of our well known "vintage" Christmas carols this December. Some of you may have seen them in my FB stories. (I'm doing my best to highlight one per day). 🎄 It's been so interesting and I've gained a much greater appreciation for songs and their backstage stories. 
Today's archeological dig was especially compelling because it seems like it could have been written this year, and I wanted to share.  
🎶" I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day" 🎶was written as a poem in the middle of our country's Civil War in 1863 by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. 
His wife of 18 years had just passed away unexpectedly, and his son had gone to fight for the freedom of all men to parts unknown. Longfellow was notified by telegram on December 1st,  that his son was seriously wounded at a battle during the Mine Run Campaign. He was emotionally devastated by both events and the stress of everyday life during war time.
Yet in his deepest despair, he retained his devout faith in Christ.   
As I read thru the verses of the original song (some of the modern versions have been altered), I was struck by these two in particular:
🎶'And in despair I bowed my head;
"There's no peace on earth," I said;
"For hate is strong,
and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men!"
Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
"God is not dead, nor doth he sleep;
The Wrong shall fail, 
The Right prevail,
With peace on earth, good will to men."🎶
Ephesians 6:12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of the dark world and against spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
God's not dead friends. He's very much alive and He corrects injustices in His own timing. Keep the faith. Goodness and loving kindness will ultimately prevail. ❤️🇺🇸🙏
I'll forever see this Christmas carol in a different way. May the peace that passes all understanding be with you today! 
xoxo~ liz
#goodmedicineisknowingourpast
#peaceonearthgoodwilltomen 
#thewrongshallfailtherightprevail
#GodBlessUsEveryone
#relyontheGreatPhysician
#Faithisthebestmedicineofall