Thoughtful Thursday

On a recent trip to Asheville, my friends and I stopped in for a visit to the Barnes & Noble. I love that some of my friends enjoy bookstores, have a need for a new journal on a consistent basis, and consider sitting around over a cup of coffee or sweet treat the best kind of quality time.

Anyway, I bought a book while I was there! "Let Me Be A Woman" by Elisabeth Elliott. It's a short, non-fiction consisting of various letters E.E. wrote to her daughter Valarie as she (Valarie) was waiting to be married. The topic of each letter is somewhat different but all get at the same thing..."The fact that I am a woman does not make me a different kind of Christian, but the fact that I am a Christian does make me a different kind of woman. For I have accepted God's idea of me, and my whole life is an offering back to Him..." (pg 43)

She was writing to Valarie in 1976 during the peak of the feminist movement. What a counter-cultural book for that time, and even for our time, now. There is so much going on now about gender and sexuality that some of it is kind of ridiculous.

I'm thankful for E.E.'s love for her daughter, and for her wisdom as she wrote words to her daughter that are true, even today about who I am, and am to be as a woman (more of a lady for me right now =)) of God. 

Here is the specific quote for this Thoughtful Thursday:

Talking on how the heartbeat of the Women's Liberation Movement is actually enslaving.

"But God has set no traps for us. Quite the contrary, He has summoned us to the only true and full freedom. The woman who defines her liberation as doing what she wants, or not doing what she doesn't want, is, in first place evading responsibility, [and the] evasion of responsibility is the mark of immaturity. While telling themselves that they've come a long way, that they are actually coming of age, they have retreated to a partial humanity, one which refuses to acknowledge the vast significance of the sexual differentiation...And the woman who ignores that fundamental truth ironically misses the very thing she has set out to find. By refusing to fulfill the whole vocation of womanhood she settles for a caricature, a pseudo-personhood." (pg 45)

Placing these words into the context of the time they were written blows my mind. What radical statements! But how true, are they not? Is it not true that real, life-giving freedom is found in knowing Christ and therefore who He has made us to be? We are the created are we not? Therefore, we have a purpose, we're not arbitrarily placed here, though at times it may seem as such. I mean think about it this way, you don't make a pillow to hang it on the wall or paint something beautiful to use a door mat, right? No, you make the pillow to rest your head on, or to accent a room. And you paint something beautiful to decorate your home or showcase your talent.

So, (going with the analogies) if the painting had feelings (and autonomy), and wanted to rebel against the artist it would usurp the artist's attempts to hang it and place itself on the front porch floor just in front of the door...but it wouldn't really be happy! It would trampled on, scuffed, broken. But if the autonomous, emotionally aware painting, submitted to the artist's attempts to hang it on the wall the painting would be delighted in, enjoyed, praised, appreciated...but only when, and after, the painting submitted. 


There is a distinct difference between man and woman, even down to our very soul, the very fiber and nature of our being, we are different and thus created to fulfill different roles. And E.E. is saying that in fulfilling our own, purposed roles, we find life because we are submitting to the will of our Father, the Creator! We find who we are and who we were intended to be, by God's design.

I love this book...I'm eating it up. EE is causing me to want to be a better "God-woman" more accepting and welcoming of my feminine "responsibilities", mindset, heart-set, and character...  - and I could dialogue for days!

In some of my circles, this idea is not that new or seemingly radical, but outside of them...radical indeed, and so desperately needing to be said!

- p.carrick -

No poo??

Yes, 'tis true, my hair was washed with no shampoo!

Okay, for those of you who know me, it's been said that I have hippie tendencies. Hippie tendencies in my life are evidenced by my regular wearing of Chaco sandals with most any outfit, my occasional wearing of patchoulli oil, and my over-all laid back/easy going personality. But those are all things seen/noticed at first glance or meeting. After some time, you find I'm more of just a simple, conservative chick who appreciates keeping things simple.

Anyhoo, this post will only add to the evidence for the case that I am more hippie like than not...I share because I think it's neat!

Exhibit A: No poo (shampoo) hair washing.

No shampoo??? you are asking. Why, yes, this method of haircare exists, is effective, and is all natural. I tried it once last spring but didn't quite have all the right stuff so I lost my patience and went back to the regular shampoo. This spring, however, I'm giving it a second chance. I'm feeling more confident about it now too. I've learned from my mistakes and I'm pressing on!

Why? do you ask. Why go with all natural? It's so "weird" and counter cultural. Well, perhaps it is counter cultural, and perhaps it is the doing of my inner hippie, but check out the ingredients of your typical OTC shampoo - lots of bad chemicals. Also, this method of hair washing is SO CHEAP and very easy to make. So, if you are a DIY kind of girl like myself, finding joy in crafty things as well, and have a fondness for living simply/frugally you may be  interested in the following recipe. And personally, again the inner hippie in me speaking, there is just something fun, and neat about living so simply - like back in the old days kind of.

Shampoo:      

1 -2 Tablespoons of baking soda per 1 cup of warm water.* Pour mixture into an empty spray bottle and there ya go.

That simple

*A fun thing I did was buy some lavender essential oil and put about 30 drops into the shampoo mixture for some fragrance. Be careful though essential oils are strong and expensive.

Conditioner:

1-2 Tablespoons of apple cider vinegar (or lemon juice) per 1 cup of warm water. Pour mixture into an empty spray bottle and shazam...you have an all natural conditioner. You can also put in some honey if you use lemon juice. (that's my method) Reports say that apple cider vinegar can make your hair a little greasy so the alternative is lemon/lime juice with a touch of honey.

Washing:

Simply spray the shampoo mixture at the roots of your hair and scrub in a circular motion. While washing focus mostly on the roots. This helps clean your scalp and stimulate hair growth as you are somewhat massaging your scalp. Which is the most effective way to stimulate hair growth.

Once the massage/wash is finished, rinse. Then grab your conditioning mixture and spray on the ends of your hair and your scalp. Once you've worked it into your scalp rinse again and you are finished!

All natural cleaning complete.
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A few things to note:

You won't have suds when you wash.
There is a de-tox time period of about 2 weeks, where your hair may be a little more greasy that normal until the chemical balance on your scalp balances out.
Stick it out! It's worth it.

Rockin' Re-do!!

Newest project: A re-painting of a rocking chair.

Re-cap: bought the chair at a local church yard sale for $10 last August...it was pretty rough looking...well, still is...I sanded for several hours Saturday afternoon and this all the progress I made:

Going to be a long process... =)

Touching Base

Okay...so I confess, I've been a wonderful slacker with my blogging. Forgive me, all .5 readers out there! =)

I have been INCREDIBLY busy the past month. Do you ever feel like life just doesn't stop?? That change is the only consistency?? I do.

In the past month I have gone on two retreats/conferences, participated in a wedding, and effectively moved out of one house and into a new one (insert cheers and hip-hip-horrays, coupled with a huge sigh of relief!)

Today should be my crafty creation highlight...however, I don't have much of anything to post...eek! I've been so busy, as I said before, and sadly I only have a black picture frame to show for it.

As a favor for a friend's wedding, I re-vamped an old window pane. Once the re-do was finished, she had the glass re-inserted and used Modd Podge to glue in a few of her engagement pictures, after she had them enlarged. Then it was hung near the door during the reception.

Here are just a few pics:

Process:

Remove glass

Sand

Dust

Paint

That simple.

* The pane was found after hours of searching various thrifts/goodwill/yard sales and lucking upon a store appropriately named "Shinola" near The Handlebar in Greenville.