I like the Rangers. I like the Cowboys. I like them the way that I like popping a piece of candy into my mouth. It gives me brief pleasure, but it's not something I seek out every day, or make a priority, or something I rearrange my schedule for. It doesn't make me jump up and down screaming. It's not a habit that compels me to spend a lot of money or invest a lot of my time into what's here today, gone tomorrow. Wait, am I talking about candy, or sports? Hee hee, well I am talking about both.

Seems to me that many believers get so caught up in sports that they forget who they are in Christ. When they get into a game, their character seems to change, and the things that are usually important to them are suddenly forgotten. That bugs me.

I wouldn't say that there is anything wrong with enjoying sports (or any other earthly pleasure that is legal and wouldn't ruin the testimony), just that as Christians we should examine all things by the light of Scripture.

All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any. {1 Corinthians 6:12}

What it comes down to is this: Does this thing control me? Does it change me? Does it draw my heart away from what is eternally important, and make me dwell on things which do not really matter?

Can we imagine the man who said he pressed toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus, glued to the TV every Monday night to watch football, hollering at the referee for the bad call he made? I just can't see it.

I don't mean to imply that as believers we can't enjoy watching a game. I just wish believers would remember Whom we represent, and what our mission is during our brief lifetime. Just thinking.

Some are thinking I'm getting ahead of things, blogging about the birth of the promised Messiah in mid-October. But did you know He was born right around this time? Yep, it can be calculated that His birth fell right around the Fall Feasts, likely the Feast of Trumpets or the Feast of Tabernacles. Either way, the babe was certainly not laid in the manger in the dead of winter in Bethlehem. If it were so, then the shepherds would have been notified by angels at home, which is where they would have had their sheep cozied against the cold, and not out in the fields at night.

God never commanded us to celebrate the birth of Messiah in the winter, and the Scriptures do not bear out that He was born at that time. So why DO so many celebrate the birth of the Saviour on December 25th? I will leave you to do your own research about the history of that date.

In the meantime, if you want to truly remember and celebrate the birth of Jesus, NOW is the time. Don't wait for December! :o)

In my continued efforts to replace commercial health and beauty products laden with harmful chemicals with healthy alternatives, I was thrilled when my friend Kelly gave me her recipe for homemade deodorant! Most of my life I had used a commercial deodorant until some years ago I learned how the aluminum in it can accumulate in my body and possibly put cancer and other health issues into my future!

Okay, the recipe. I did not have all of the ingredients listed in the original, but I altered it a bit and came up with this:

Ingredients:
2 or 3 Tbsp coconut oil
3 or 4 drops GSE (Grapefruit Seed Extract)*
1/4 cup baking soda
1/4 cup talcum powder** (I use baby powder, because I like the scent.)
a few drops essential oil like lavender (Optional. I omit this since I use baby powder.)

Soften the coconut oil in a small saucepan, and add the rest of the ingredients. Mix very well with a spatula, then scrape it out into a small container. I put mine into a 4" x 4" square plastic container, and once it hardens, I cut it into four squares for easy application. The soft mixture can also be put into an empty commercial deodorant container, which sounds like a really good idea! (Haven't tried it myself, yet.) Allow to harden at room-temperature or in the refrigerator, depending on the climate where you live. Now it's ready to use!

I was really surprised how effective this deodorant is. I was relieved, too, because my deodorant crystal was not working as well for me as it used to. (Probably due to hormone changes.) If you try it out, let me know how it works for you!

~.~ Good health to you and yours! ~.~

* Original recipe calls for Tea Tree Oil, which I do not have, but intend to try out some day!

** The original recipe called for corn starch instead of the talcum powder I use, but I'm trying to get away from using (modified) corn starch, too.