Living with alopecia areata

It was exactly two years ago yesterday I worked up the courage to share this on my personal blog.

Since then I have received encouragement, questions from other women who struggle with hair loss and opportunities to share my story to the glory of God.

This is a chronic auto immune disease (according to the dermatologist) so you may ask how am I now, two years later?

After a little unrelated health scare around Easter time, adding to that stress due to many difficult decisions along with the many responsibilities of daily life, I discovered a small patch of thinning hair on the top of my head. Needless to say I was concerned! And this did not help my stress level!

Stress causes me (and I'm guessing many others) to make poor health decisions. I don't get as much sleep as I should. I hydrate with coffee instead of water, which causes me to be dehydrated since it's a diuretic! I don't routinely make healthy food choices. I forget to take my supplements... Guilty!

This wake up call from my body convinced me to continue really taking care of myself! Here are some steps I took right away.

1. Biotin, B complex, Juice plus - daily.
2. Drink a tall glass of water first thing in the morning (before coffee!!), and last thing before bed.
3. Get to bed earlier.
4. Spend time in prayer and God's word every day.
5. Eat more vegetables.
6. Continue to eat gluten free, and reduce dairy. (Cheese and dairy hidden in snacks are the only dairy I really ate to begin with but I cut those things out as well)
7. Breathe deep and try to relax!
8. Take a walk, move my body regularly.

Believe it or not, that little patch of thin hair disappeared in about a month. When I visited my hair stylist, she didn't see any areas of thinning hair. Praise the Lord!

Hair loss is really a symptom of a deeper health issue for me. Maybe it is for you too? If you are suffering from this, first thing I would recommend is getting labs analyzed by a Naturopath or doctor of osteopathy (DO) for deficiencies. Maybe you are lacking iron? Or vitamin D? Maybe the Biotin and B Complex would help, or maybe you need to get on Juice plus to help fill in the gaps of fruits and vegetables?

I would also reflect on the last few months of your life... Are your circumstances causing you undue stress? Our bodies are integrated and when we feel sick it may be a sign something else is going on emotionally, mentally, or even spiritually that is revealing itself in a physical way.

I don't know what she would find to play with if I went totally bald...

Always.touching.mommy's.hair

In the end, I'm strangely thankful for this in my life. It sounds crazy! But not only does this keep me disciplined with regards to health, more importantly it causes me to have empathy towards others with physical problems and extending grace makes me more like Jesus.

Giving grace to others is easier when God has allowed personal struggles in my own life. My present understanding replaces the past ignorance, which caused me to judge. Judgmental attitudes melt away and grace takes shape. And since Jesus is the definition of grace, this means God is conforming me to be like Jesus, like He promised, by allowing me to struggle. It's a step in the process of sanctification. And isn't that what life is all about? It's not about being in top physical health or appearance. Life in Christ about becoming more like Christ in every way so we can be ready to follow Him when He calls. A sometimes difficult but fulfilling journey!

His, Mama G

Summer Reading: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

Sometimes classic books are difficult to finish reading because of the vocabulary and length, especially for kids as young as 4, but promising to watch the movie at the end really motivates us. Some of the classic chapter books we've read include Charlotte's Web, The Chronicles of Narnia (five of the seven books, three of which were rewarded with GREAT Disney movies), Mr. Poppers Penguins (the movie was a disappointment), and Stewart Little (we liked the movies better than the book!).

The Wizard of Oz movie was a staple of my childhood but I never read the book. After finding The Wonderful Wizard of Oz at the public library we decided this would fun for summer reading. Then I scored the movie on craigslist for $2 (yes!!) so this was an even greater motivator.  It took us about 2 weeks to read all 24 chapters. Tonight we got a little fancy and planned a "Wizard of Oz" themed meal, then piled on the couch to watch Judy Garland sing "Somewhere Over the Rainbow". The wicked witch was as scary as ever! It was a really fun night.

Honey Lemon making the "yellow brick road" with crackers and cheddar cheese

Hiro is ready to munch!

Toto in a basket

Red hearts, blue berries for Munchkinland and Emerald Celery City (in hummus)

Hot air balloon cupcakes

 So what books are you and your children reading this summer?

His, Mama G

Deep roots ... sweet fruit

Journaling.
I must have inherited the desire to write from my maternal gramma who has been with Jesus for almost 8 years. Receiving a letter from gramma was such a treat. She shared the news, the weather, prayer requests, health reports, missionary updates, and ended with "keep running the race" type encouragement.

It has been a long and winding road to our final decision to home educate our children. Our rising second grader has literally seen it all in his 7 years.
He's been "mommy-cared." He's been "daddy-cared". He's been day-cared. He's been home schooled. He's been public schooled. He's been charter schooled. He's been Sunday schooled.

Baby girl has been mostly "mommy-cared" with a little preschooled and Sunday schooled.

All along we have learned and grown and would not trade our experiences nor do we regret them. They have shaped us in order to "give the Lord the glory". But as we discover God's will for our family, we have decided home educating our two kiddos is the best choice.

But why? What made us decide to home school?
The answer is the same to other questions people ask our family.
What made you decide to move to this city?
What made you (Mama) decide to stop working full time and become a single income family?
What made you (Papa) decide to leave this large familiar church to do full time ministry at a small church?
Because we felt God calling us to do those things. It was our faith in God that made us decide.

God calls us each to different things at different times, all for his glory. It's our job to lean in and listen closely for His voice. As Psalm 1 says so beautifully, we should be like the tree that's planted by streams of water, which yields fruit, and does not wither but prospers. We have access to the living water Himself, revealed to us in God's word. As we dwell in Him, we yield.

I confess I don't always do this first, or perfectly. Many times I have listened to other voices shouting over His quiet stream inside.
In fact while preparing the curriculum for this fall, I felt so overwhelmed. While making ends meet this month I had serious doubts about our choice to home school. Wouldn't our family be better off financially if I went back to work full time? But this song "Way Beyond Me" by Toby Mac speaks to our situation, and others like it, perfectly. These bridge lyrics are my favorite...

 You take me to the place where I know I need You
Straight to the depths that I can't handle on my own
And Lord I know, I know I need You
So take me to Your great ...
Take me to Your great unknown

Home schooling is the great unknown. He knows, I don't! And it's not for everyone... There is truly only one "one size fits all" in life - and it's not school choice - it's Jesus. He sees us individually, knows our names, holds us accountable and equips us for individual jobs - for His glory. We're walking by faith through each day knowing He will take us to the places where we need Him and His glory will be all we can boast about!

"For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works 

which He prepared in advance for us to do." Ephesians 2:10

So here I am, a homeschooling mom of two, ready to get to work for the glory of God, resting in the promise that He has prepared the way!  What big thing has God called you to do, in faith?  What is He whispering to you, that is beyond your natural abilities? Therein lies the great adventure for the believer. To dive headfirst into His will is proof of deep roots and guaranteed sweet fruit!

His, Mama G