"Atheism, World Religions, and Christianity"

 Since I spent a lot of time editing my "Atheism and World Religions" Bible Study post (to send it to a relative in jail who shares what I send with others on the same floor), I figured I'd post it here too, to make the time I spent on it more worth it.  (There are "questions for discussion" at the end of the original post, click here to find them.).  Okay, so here we go:

Christianity isn’t always a shiny, happy, “everything goes smoothly and life’s always great” kind of faith.  It can be messy, painful, and difficult.  Many of us believers may someday find ourselves in a deep pit of despair, struggling with heartache, doubt, fear, desperately seeking assurance and reasons to keep clinging to Jesus, for evidence that our faith is resting on something solid, that we weren’t fooling ourselves all this time but that the Bible is really true, that God is really real, that He cares about us and can be trusted, that He is watching over us, that someday we’ll be with Him in heaven and everything will be okay.  If so, this study may be for you.  Or maybe you’re doing fine but would love to have some solid support for your faith, to have some great reasons for why you believe what you do.  Or maybe you don’t believe in God or the Bible but want to, and you just need some extra proof to give you the push you need.  In that case, this study might be for you too.  This will be long (and more personal than “academic”) because I will be looking at several different things which all relate to what we choose to believe and why: atheism, world religions, heretical teachings, evidence to support the Bible and Jesus, and how I would describe salvation and faith in Jesus.

Using Essential Oils during Sick Season

Since we are headed into sick season (and have been in it for almost 2 years now), I thought I'd compile a few of my favorite, commonly-used essential oil recipes, for easy reference.

 

FYI: There are some essential oils that should not be used around pets (particularly tea tree oil), so research the oils you use before diffusing it in the same room as your pet.  And there are some that are not recommended for use on or around small children (or those with compromised immune systems).  Research the oils you use before using them if you have pets, little kids, or people with health issues.  I will add notes about using essential oils around children at the bottom of this post, and recommendations for dilution ratios.  (Also see “My Basic Safety Rules for Essential Oils.”)  NEVER use essential oils directly on skin without diluting first.  And dilute it more for younger kids.  I created the recipes below for my family’s use, for kids aged 10 and up.  And we all have averagely-healthy immune systems.  (All the oils listed in these recipes are Essential Oils, not fragrance or flavor oils.)