What Pregnancy Centers Actually Do

This Monday instead of sharing my next episode for Christ & Culture I am sharing a video that I just made giving real facts about what the pregnancy center I volunteer for actually does. From my research, this is what a lot of pregnancy centers do around the country. Many people are not fully informed on what it is that we do and therefore there is a lot of misinformation that create confusion and fear in women and men. Unfortunately many who need what these centers offer don’t reach out it because of being told false information about how we operate. The good news is the community that my center is in is starting to understand what it is that we actually do because of us reaching out to the community and educating people on what we do. The growing interest to get involved is inspirational and now more referrals being made to our center. Knowledge is truly power so please share it with others. You never know who it may come by that really needs to hear it! Click the image to watch below!

The Culture & Christ Series will return next Monday!

Season 2 Episode 5 |Think Woman Think #prochoices

What if we were honest with each other? Woman to woman? How much would our lives be better would have changed. In today’s episode we are going to talk about the life choices of a woman. I find all too often that those who call themselves pro choice hate it when you tell woman to make better choices. But I don’t hate you ladies, I love you so I’m going to be sharing with you how to make better life choices from your youth and at any moment during your life.

Watch On Rumble

Listen on Anchor:

I Know How Hard You Try, Happy Mother’s Day

Dear Mama,

Mother’s day is the time we celebrate you. Every year you are showered with love and gifts and I wonder if you need more than just one day to be appreciated. Maybe more phone calls are your wish? Or a unexpected helping hand? Or just a chat with tea? No gift can be greater than the presences of your once tiny sweeties. My little’s are still little. They shower me with kisses and brighten my days with smiles I don’t always have to ask for. They run up to hug me out of the sheer joy of being with me. And even when I mess up, tomorrow they still love me. But some of your littles are now grown and away. On holidays you wait eagerly to see their faces. And your heart flips with joy when they receive the peck on the cheek that you’ve been waiting to give for a year long. I see you mama. I see you in every woman that I stop to chat with when she just needs an ear to hear her and a young girl to teach. Sometimes she’s she so worn out after her family has come down for just one night to enjoy her gift of making everything marvelous. After a full day she is left to clean up the mess in a once again empty home.

My heart goes out to you. I pray your children in righteousness return, just to give you a deep warm hug and sing thank you and serve you for once. I want you to know that there is a God who sees you everyday. You’ll never go unnoticed. And beautiful woman you are NEVER really alone. I heard Him once say “I see you and I know how hard you try.” He knows you too even your days that have not come and the ones that have gone by. Just know that in Him you can have rest and true appreciation. I hear you and see you all the time and if we ever meet I hope to bless you so you know that you are loved, seen, heard and known.

Have a Wonderful Mother’s Day

xoxoxo

Johnnatta Giles

Fall Beauty Essentials: Body Care

I don’t know about you but I love switching up my body care products every season. My love for fall scents ends with my body care so this won’t be one of those posts. Not to worry no pumpkin spice deodorant here!

Some of these products I have used every year the cool air makes its way to our valley. So some of these need to be stocked soon and you will see what I mean below. Nevertheless, I still wanted to share them with you in hopes they too will bless you as much as they have me.

Tom’s of Maine 24 hour Fresh Apricot Deodorant is a new product for me. I was always afraid natural deodorants would expose me body odor rather than prevent it. But I am very happy this does all the little things it promises to do.

What I think of Tom

Smells fresh and fruity and that’s my favorite scent combination.

It goes on smooth and feels light.

Does not clog up my sweat glands. Yay!

Lasts all day with no need of another application.

Because of this deodorant I don’t have to use Old Spice anymore (yeah I did that. for years).

My shameless almost empty bottle of Palmer’s Moisturizing Body Oil is my go to body moisturizer all fall and winter. I use this all the time to keep my skin moisturized and soft.

What I love about this oil

As I stated before it keeps my skin moisturized and smooth.

It prevents the severe dry skin I encounter every year in Fall and Winter.

It smells amazing and has a subtle cocoa butter scent.

I can use this in an oil soak bath or I can smooth it over my skin after a shower. Two for one!

I have been using The Healing Garden’s Natural Olive Oil Body Wash for over a year now. I was immediately hooked once I smelled this body wash and I use it all year round.

Why this Body wash has my heart

I love that it’s a natural oil body wash. I have been looking for a body wash that uses not only essentials oils but also plant and vegetable oils.

I love the beautiful lavender smell. I always imagine acres of lavender when using it!

My skin has had less after shower dryness every since I have been using this. There are times I don’t want to moisturize my skin after a shower and I don’t regret it later.

I don’t know how long Bath and Body works have been selling Coco Shea Honey 24-Hour Body Lotion, but it is such a treat. My husband took me to one of their big sales earlier this year and I got this for a great deal along with other things. This baby sells for $15.00 but I tell you the truth it melts on your skin like butter! This will last me a long time so no shade on how much I spent on it you get my driff?  I have been searching for a special lotion just for my bathroom after me or my guest wash their hands and I’m so glad I found this.

Why this rocked my life

The moisturizing effect is unbeatable. I have been through many hand lotions and this one wins hands down. As a mother who constantly cleans and bathes and cooks for 4 little people I have the hardest time with dry hands. I always use this lotion to prevent that from happening and to heal them when the cracking first starts.

The smell is truly heavenly.

It has my favorite natural moisturizers in it. Cocoa Butter Shea Butter and.. HONEY.

It leaves no residue and does not transfer. Once I put it on it instantly absorbs!

You can find these products by of course going to their websites but the first 3 I got at Wal-Mart. And of course the last will HOPEFULLY be on Bath and Body Work’s website. Take care of yourself and stay beautiful! 

Janet

 

 

 

 

 

Fall Beauty Essentials: Curly Hair Care

5 years ago I went natural. Trying to get to know my curls was frustrating and I almost went crazy. I have the hardest times with breakage mainly in the Fall and Spring. It has been a continuous nightmare trying to find products that are safe for my scalp and delightful to my tresses. I went with all natural oils for a few years when I gave up on any product out there claiming they were both Natural and healing. In the end they made my hair worse than it was before.

But as the years went on new products emerged and I have come to love them and will be eternally grateful that they now exist. These products help Prepare my hair for the coming seasonal challenges, Prevent breakage and Protect my curls from the changing weather.

Healthy Happy Hair

Shea Moisture Manuka Honey & Mafura Oil Intensive Hydration Shampoo

Wow that’ s a long title! But don’t let that put you off on this amazing shampoo. I have tried many shampoos and conditioners throughout my whole adult life, non natural and natural as well. You already know my love for honey. I have always wanted to use honey in my hair care but first attempt to make homemade shampoo failed so I honestly gave up. I still hope to one day make my very own shampoo. But I decided to try this out until then. And I ABSOLUTELY love it! One thing I realized as my gorgeous, thick, black curls grew longer was, I had to wash my hair more often than I used to. My hair is thick so the longer it gets the more it clings onto dirt and oil.

What I love about Shea Moisture’s Manuka Honey & Mafura Oil Shampoo:

I am able to wash my hair once to twice a week without it stripping the natural oils in my scalp (this causes severe dryness and over production of oil which leads to bad dandruff).

It foams making sure that it spreads evenly throughout the hair strands cleaning well.

My hair is clean, soft and shiny all at once. Once my hair is rinsed and dried, it feels, looks and smells glorious!

Aragan Oil of Morocco & One ‘n Only Aragan Oil

Both of these oils are my favorite and I keep them on hand yearly. I don’t use conditioners after I wash my hair so these products are what I use when I don’t want to use my own handmade oil treatments.

What I love about Aragan Oil of Morocco:

This oil is thick but provides so much coverage that you only need a small amount for each section of hair. I have always favored it’s beautiful aromatic smell and it’s ability to deliver softness and it has great absorbency.

What I love about One ‘n Only Aragon Oil

Although I prefer the Aragan Oil of Morocco, this oil is my go to when I have been neglectful to my hair. When the days are busy and hours randomly turn into weeks, I sometimes forget to tend to my hair and I pay for it. This oil has been essential to helping me stop the current breakage and prevent any from happening until I can take time to care for my hair. I always keep this on hand mainly for that reason. I love the smell but I frequently use this on my kids had rather than my own. It is a good alternative to the other oil I mentioned if you don’t like that one.

The Mane Choice Tropical Moringa Oil & Honey & Mane Choice Heavenly Halo

The  Tropical Moringa Oil & Honey Daily Moisturizer cream is hard to find in stores but I did happen to find one still being sold at Target online. The Halo moisturizer is quiet popular and also more expensive than the other.

What I love about The Tropical Moringa Oil & Honey Moisturizer and Mane choice Heavenly Halo

Because there is not any major differences I decide to write a combined review on both. I like the Heavenly Halo better than the other one. The formula is not so heavy and for some reason the Tropical Moringa moisturizer irritated my scalp at the end of the week but the Halo one does not.  These moisturizers work so well that having to moisturize daily was no longer something I had to do. It’s expensive but it is because of that very reason I pay for it. I grew up having to moisturize my scalp daily to keep it from drying out. Mane Choice products set me free from that annoyance! With their divine smell , the ability to make my twists defined and my curls shine, I will forever be a Mane Choice fan as long as I live!

I hope this helped a fellow curly girl out there but for all of you who don’t have curls these companies also make products for a range of different hair types. May your journey to healthy happy hair be blessed!

Janet

4 Bean Cherokee Soup & Honey Cornbread

Summer is not quite at an end but still I have been noticing leaves turning and falling as if it were already Fall. My kids have already started to pile up leaves to play in and although I’m looking forward to my favorite season it seems a bit premature. This summer has been a confusing one to Mother Nature and we have had a rough time in our garden from such a dry atmosphere.

But last year we had a bountiful harvest and my most treasured picking was of my Cherokee Trail of Tears Beans. The vines are gorgeous and produce beautiful flowers. Not too long after that, I opened purple lace beans that inside were filled with itty bity beans. They are purple at first, but then as they dry become beautiful shiny black heirlooms.

They were beautiful and I was proud but I had no idea what I would do with them. The first time I cooked them they were a bit mushy. I was hoping it was my mistake and not how the beans were meant to turn out. After some research I learned that my Native American ancestors loved to make bean soups and breads with this bean.

This early onset of fall had me in the mood for soup so it was high time I tried to make up one with my Trail of Tears Beans. I will have to try them in a bread recipe later (yikes)  but I am so stoked I nailed the bean soup! It came out so good and is now about to become a fall tradition with our Harvest Praise Celebration coming up. And it went well with my homemade Honey Cornbread!

As always both recipes to print off is at the bottom of the page.

Start by sorting beans and cleaning them well. Mix all the beans together in a crock-pot and fill pot halfway with warm water (this speeds up cooking time without having to soak the beans before) after this gather up all the spices because they are all put into the pot all at once when beans are ready.

Let beans cook at the least 4 hours on the highest setting of your Crock-pot. Check beans after 4 hours and make sure the beans are no longer hard but softened. If they are still hard just add a half of cup of water then check again in an hour. They should break gently when pierced or bitten into. Add bacon onions and seasoning to the Crock-pot and let everything cook until bacon is fully cooked through.

Once everything is fully cooked turn off crock-pot to let the soup cool down and start on the cornbread.  I always do this so that we can eat right away when the cornbread is still warm.

My Excellent Little Helper 

Note 1 : This cornbread recipe is not my own recipe but it is the recipe I used at first before I created my own. To make this into honey cornbread just add a TBSP of honey to batter before pouring it into a pan. We always use our cast iron to bake our cornbread but feel free to use whatcha got! I hope you love it as much as we do.

Note 2: Some seasonings do not have any specifics to how much I used and that is because I believe you should season to your own desired taste. But the seasonings used are necessary to create the flavor of this recipe. Just use as much or little as you like. Feel free to add in whatever and make it your own!

I think this would go well with a sweet red wine which I will have to try when I am no longer breastfeeding. My kids loved it and so did we hope you do too…Happy Eating!

4 Bean Cherokee Soup

Honey Cornbread

It’s time for School, are you Anxious?

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Can you believe it? It’s almost time for those kids to go back to school. I bet you can’t wait or if your little one is a new school yard chum you are freaking out, having anxiety and asking every one on Facebook to pray for them… and also YOU. Okay maybe that last part was more from my experience. I know that school time can bring on a mixture of emotions. As I grew up I always imagined waking up before my kids, fully dressed, with hot breakfast on the table and lunch boxes ready to go. But that just didn’t happen at all.

Actually the year my eldest entered kindergarten was the hardest year of my parenting life so far. And there are so many reasons why that was. But it was not what I dreamed of.  I got to wake up twice that entire year.  In my robe mind you on shuffling my feet across my kitchen floor. I could barely keep my eyes open because 3 hours ago I was just breastfeeding her baby brother. So I had to stay in bed as her dad got her ready and walked her to the bus.

But every morning the sound of the bus would awaken me and sometimes I would cry. My heart was aching knowing my daughter was an hour away from me and on a school bus (which I detested from childhood experiences).  So I decided every time the bus came i would pray. Pray for her protection and trust that the Lord was with her. Because for the first time in my life I was not standing beside her and protecting her.

School time can bring on so much joy for some parents but anxiety for others. Especially in light of all the school shootings and the moral decline in our school systems and class rooms. I just want to give you some advice on some things to try that may make it easier for those who are anxious.

Pray

Of course this has to be the first advice I give you. It is the most important thing. When you are over whelmed from anxiety or fear  it’s hard to get a grip on things. He is the anchor for your very soul. He promises to be your strength when you are weak and He will help you to become still in order for peace to enter in your heart. Trust in the Lord to lead you to peace.

Look Forward

It really helped me when I thought about all the things that she may tell me when she got home. I kept an eye on the clock reminding myself that in a few hours she will be home.  Fill up your time with productivity but never forget to rest. Do something for yourself. No matter how small it is.  It will help take your mind off those worries.

Focus on the Good

Be honest with the Lord or friends about how you feel. But don’t focus on any negative thoughts. They will only lead you right back to the place of needing to be rescued from anxiety again. The only way to keep your peace is to do as Philippians 4:8 says.

Weekends are for fun

Don’t let the worries of this world steal your joy and rob you of intimacy with your children. I planned my weekends to focus on spending quality time with my daughter. Our week days were filled with studying, home work, house chores, dinner. It didn’t leave much room for quality time with her so I always planned something for the weekends. Take the Saturday and go for a walk. Teach your kids to breathe as you breathe. They may be feeling the same anxiety you are too about heading back.

I know this world is getting darker but remember Who Holds The Light. That light even among darkness is for you. And He even creates light out of darkness. Pray for the ones who are without love and who are victims of the evil in this world. Pray over the school year and our educators at the schools and in the homes of homeschoolers as well. I am praying that this year would be different and that there will be great change. In Jesus Christ’s name. Amen

From one Parent to another

God bless this school year and may He protect and watch over our children!

 

Legacy of Love

Being a mom of 4 is quite the challenge. And even though I have gotten a lot stronger since my c-section I have come to realize that sometimes there is just not enough time in the day. I have gotten to the point where I am needing more breaks to rest than I ever had before. I feel bad about that sometimes because I want to give out more so my kids will remember how much I loved them. But I get so darn tired and just need moments of rest.

One of the things I love to do is watch a movie or a documentary while they nap or dad takes them outside to play. One documentary in particular has recently sent me on a thought journey and taught me an important lesson. Being intentional and devoted is the first things that help create a legacy of love for our children and that is what matters the most.

August 1997 was the year that I was 8 turning 9. It was also the month and year that Diana, Princess of Wales died. I was watching  Dianna: In her Own Words on Netflix and revelation sprang forth in my heart. She was the first person I ever looked up to. I barely remember much about the first time I had heard her name. But I knew she was someone very much loved and the beauty of her heart drew me in.

I was so young then on the day of her funeral. My heart was breaking knowing that this person no longer graced this Earth. And I cried. I remember being shocked of how many people were there at her funeral as well every other memorial services around the world.  I had no idea I was not the only who took notice of her. But what amazed me the most were the words being spoken about this woman. This mother.

When I heard of all that she did for the sick and the left behind I thought in my mind “I want a heart like that. I want to do that one day.” I could have never imagined that my heart would grow to have a hunger to be a humanitarian as well. There is a natural born hatred in me for injustice and suffering. And one day very soon I will be traveling to the least of these just to sow the love of Christ.

As I grew up I came across more information about Diana. The more I found out the more I fell in love wit her. This woman was long gone but she left such a legacy of love that it was still being felt by the living. The one thing that I came across that stood out to me more than anything about Diana was her absolute love and devotion for her children. Each photo and video I saw of her and the two boys,  I remember thinking “I want to be a mother like that!”

I see now well before my children had even entered this world God was already sowing in my heart His will for me as a mother through Diana. I had no other influence. The main women in my life abused me. Hatred and lies were being sown in me daily but the Lord always brought me across women that would sow truth in me and combat it all. All these years it was meant for the now., the today as a mother of four beautiful children.

Some may think that is idolatry. Call it what you want, all I know is God will use the people around you as a child to help you to grow in the way you should go. God always knows what He is doing. And though I had no mother to teach me I had Diana.

In this season of motherhood today I am learning that being an intentional devoted mother is the first step. Devoted to raising well fed healthy kids. Devoted to praying with them and reading them the Word. Intentional in teaching them and disciplining them according to God. Intentionally creating an atmosphere of peace and rest. Some days it’s all that I can do that day and that is enough.

Let me share with you this intentional piece of a letter I just wrote in my motherhood diary. That day was  I was so tired and all I could do is take care of their basic needs and write them a little letter:

“I want to always make sure no matter what, I am doing my part as your mother. It can be hard when I am hurting. But you guys as well as the Lord, get me out of bed every morning and keep me moving forward. You are truly a gift to me. Each one of you created something beautiful in my character.”

There are so many things I have done that I know is creating a legacy of love for my children. I want them to always know that they have been a huge part of who I have become as a mother and women. That Life without them is unimaginable. So I have to remind myself daily. Be intentional and stay devoted. If  today that’s all I’ve got that is everything they need.

God bless you!