Calling all Curls!!

It's been a while, but now that I have some time I'd like to give you some more rules for curly hair.

Honor your curls natural shape with gel.  I don't really consider this a rule since your hair can do without gel, but it really does help.  Gel holds your hair in place and protects it from outside elements such as wind and humidity.  For best results use a alcohol and silicone free gel that has a strong hold without leaving your hair crunchy.  I use DevaCurl's ArcAngel.  This is also an organic product, and it works amazingly on my hair.  I apply my gel before towel-drying my hair.  This seems to give me a stronger hold and less frizz.

You shouldn't dry your hair with a conventional towel.  A traditional terry-cloth towel will absorb to much moisture, which your hair needs.  The harsh texture of it ruffles the hair causing frizz.  I first used an old T-shirt which works really well.  Now I use a microfiber towel, which is very convenient, and will not cause frizz because of its smooth surface.

You shouldn't touch or scrunch your hair while it's drying.  Touching your hair while it's drying interferes with the curl's natural formation and creates frizz.  Some people think that if you scrunch your hair while it's drying, that will make it more curly.  This is not the case, however; and it will create frizz.  If I sit still (such as when doing school) after I get out of the shower for a few hours; my hair is always less frizzy. :)  After your hair dries it will have a gel "cast" on it.  When it is completely dry you can scrunch the cast out of it, and release your soft curls.

You should have your hair cut ONLY when it is dry.  This is very important, especially for people with tighter curls.  Let me try to explain.  When your hair is dry your curls have all different amounts of spring.  Some curls will be tighter, and thus, curl up shorter than a looser curl.  If you wet your hair and comb it for cutting, or straighten it, this makes your hair all one length.  When you style it again your hair will be all different lengths, because it was cut all length when it was wet.  I got my hair cut by a Deva certified stylist, which means that she was taught the curly girl methods.

For more information you can go to www.mydevacurl.com or find DevaCurl on Facebook. :) 

When Nathanael Makes Smoothies...

Little brothers are so fun!  Nathanael loves smoothies, and thinks that it is a blast to help in the kitchen.  He has been doing this for a while now, and it is so cute I had to share it with you! 

 Nathanael peeling the banana. :)

Putting the banana in the blender.  He did take a bite of it first... actually I think it was several. :)  My mom assured me that some people would think that was kind of gross.  I thought it was extremely amusing. :)

The peach!

Blueberries!!  He didn't actually eat any of those this time. :)

Strawberries! 

The yogurt.  I decided it would be best if I poured it. :P

Everything ready for blending.

Nathanael helping. :)

Helping to pour (he has a spoon) :)

Enjoying his smoothie own smoothie, and yes, he will drink all that.  :)

Happy boy!

As the Curls Tumble

Well... now for the reasoning behind the Curly Girl method.  Is it really that different?  Oh yes, as you will soon see. :)

Since many people don't understand frizz, let me explain it like this.  Your hair is wet.  It is curly and beautiful!  Great start, right?  Then it dries.  The curls fall flat, and it morphs into a bunch of frizz!  *Pause for dramatic effect*  What happened?  Frizz is just a curl waiting to happen.
Your hair is a porous surface.  It absorbs everything that you put on it.  When it is not hydrated enough the hair reaches out searching for moisture creating... frizz!  This also explains why your hair is more frizzy when is is humid.  When your hair is well hydrated, it doesn't need more moisture, so it stays where you put it (most of the time). :)  It's that simple.

Here are some of the rules in following the Curly Girl method.  I'll try to explain them so they will make sense.

1. You should only use sulfate-free shampoos/cleansers.  Sulfates are the same detergents that are found in body wash, dish soap and laundry detergent.  It is the last thing that you want to put in your hair.  Sulfates strip your hair of its natural oils and hydration causing frizz.  People are addicted to lather.  The shampoo that I use is a Deva product.  They call it No-poo.  It is an all natural product that does not lather, but contains certain organic extracts that cleanse the hair.  This, I believe, is the most important step.

2. You should hyper condition your hair.  Frizz is just a curl waiting to happen.  It is hair desperately in need of moisture.  "Once curly hair fibers are sufficiently hydrated with conditioner, they hold onto the moisture they need, and the frizz disappears," says Massey the author of Curly Girl.  The conditioner fills the porous surface of curly hair, and smooths the surface so that light can reflect off of it.  Leave some or all of the conditioner in your hair rather than rinsing.  (Typically the tighter the curl, the more conditioner you'll need.) 
Will this make your hair greasy?  I have had this question asked me a lot.  When you shampoo your hair it overly strips the oil off your scalp.  This causes it to make more oil, causing it to be greasy.  On a person with curly hair, the amount of oil made naturally by your scalp will be absorbed into your hair.  I never rinse out any conditioner, and my hair is never greasy. 
I use a Deva silicone-free conditioner.  This is another all-natural organic product, and it smells amazing. :) It doesn't contain silicone because although silicone does make your hair shiny; it also blocks the pours in your hair which keeps your hair from absorbing conditioner.  Think about it; silicone is the same thing that they use in rubber and tires.  Why would you want to put that in your hair? 

3. You should never brush or comb your hair.  Brushing and combing your hair breaks apart your delicate curls, causing frizz.   If you look at a healthy curly girl's hair you will see that her hair is grouped into something we call curl families.  In other words each curl is actually a group of hairs that are all curling the same direction.  When you comb your hair, you break apart these curl families which causes frizz.  "Instead of combing your hair, drench wet hair with conditioner in the shower and gently comb it with your fingers," says Massey.  You tend to be much gentler on your hair when you are using your fingers anyway.

I hope that wasn't an overload of information!  Those are the three most important rules for a curly girl.  I follow all of these, all the time, with no exceptions.  I will post up some more later when I have time.  :)           

   

Twirls and Curls...

I found a few pictures of me, so I thought I would share them with you first.

This is before the curly girl method.  You can kind of see my hair... I think I had it back in a flip-through ponytail.

This is using the curly girl method without Deva Curl products, or a curly girl hair cut.

This picture is a little blurry.  This is after Deva Curl products, diffuser and curly girl cut.  It looks much better now.  The longer you use Deva products the more curly and defined your hair gets.  Since this picture I have gotten it cut again, and it is quite a bit shorter.

Let me leave you with this thought...
No one else in the world has curly hair like you do,
So why would you want to straighten it and make it look like everyone else's?
Be thankful for the curly hair that God gave you, and choose to wear it that way.
~Another Curly Girl

Once Upon a Curl...

The curl'tinued story. :)

My Grandfather, who happened to be a barber, was quite aghast that I didn't shampoo my hair.  (I will explain more about this later).  So, at Christmas time as part of my Christmas present he decided to do this hot oil treatment on my hair.  The point of this treatment was to repair damaged hair, supposedly making it look healthy and shiny.  I didn't think it would work on my hair, but I went along with it.  I didn't want to offend him.  In the end, it ended up making my hair a lot worse than it already was.  Besides the fact that they shampooed it, they also combed through it without any conditioner in it which broke off a bunch of hair.

I did a lot of research on the curly girl book when I got back home.  I found a few facts on their website, and implemented them.  I also discovered that a newer version of the curly girl book was coming out in January.  I bought the newer book and read it.  It was much better than the last book!  It had more types of curls, how to cut curly hair and more updated questions and answers.  I loved it!!

I went onto the curly girl website and looked up to see if I could find a curly girl salon around here, so I could get my hair cut.  The closest one was in Eureka, Missouri; however, my grandparents live close to there, so we booked an appointment for February; which is when we would be up there next.

This lady cut my hair, and she did an amazing job!  She looked at each separate curl and cut each one so they would all be the same length.  While I was at her salon I also bought Deva Curl hair products and a diffuser.  These products are created by Lorraine Massey, the lady that wrote Curly Girl.  They have been absolutely amazing on my hair!

This is my story.  I will write more later about the chemistry and method behind the curly girl book. :)

Was it Just Frizz?

Pretty much anyone that knows me, knows that I love curly hair.  When I am talking to someone, especially if I just met them, they will say "I love your hair!"  To which I usually respond, "Thank you, I do too." ;)  Let me tell you how I discovered my curls.

My hair has been frizzy ever since I was twelve years old or so.  I am not just talking about any kind of frizz either, I mean... it was one big, poofy ball of frizz.  So, to hide that problem I wore it in braids all of the time.  (If I hadn't of I would show you pictures... it was bad.)

Last summer I discovered a book, Curly Girl: The Handbook by Lorraine Massey.  This book was absolutely incredible!  It told all about how to take care of your curls.  This was like unheard of!  A book on curly hair?  Everyone I had talked to so far had told me to straighten it (which I had refused to do).  I read the book cover-to-cover several times.  I implemented everything that was practical for me to do at that time.  after a while my hair was curly, and I could wear it down.  It still wasn't perfect, though, and it didn't look like the pictures of the curls in the book.

Frizz is just a curl waiting to happen.  To be curl'tinued... 

Missions in Action

We were listening to a CD titled Missions in Action by Bob Johnston the other day.  He and his wife Mary are missionaries to the Haitian people of Haiti and the Dominican Republic.  The message he preached was about compassion, taken from Mark chapter 2.  One of the stories that he told while preaching really touched my heart, and I would like to share a sort of summary of it with you.  I hope it touches your heart, as it has mine.

I (Bob Johnston speaking) am going to tell you about a little boy about twelve years old named John Dainy (not the correct spelling, but that is how it is pronounced).  Now John Dainy was a special boy among his people.  His parents had dedicated him to Satan to become a witch doctor.  I heard that there was a family that lived up on a certain mountain, so I went up with one of my friends to tell them about Jesus.  We walked up the hill, a two hour and forty-five minute walk.  When we got to the top, I knocked on the door and tried to tell the mother and father, grandma and grandpa about Jesus.  In the yard watching us talk to his family about Jesus was a twelve year old boy named John Dainy.

The mother and father, grandma and and grandpa didn't want to hear about Jesus... they had their own gods, and they didn't need Jesus.  We left the mountain.  Two Sundays later I saw some movement in the bushes by the church.  I thought it was some of those kids that like to throw pebbles at the preacher while he is preaching.  I thought, I'm going to see who this is.  So I inched my way over to that side of the building still preaching.  When I got close enough where I could see... there he was John Dainy.  You see, John Dainy was easy to recognize.  When a Haitian boy is dedicated to Satan, they don't cut his hair.  I kept preaching.  I preached about Jesus and his free salvation.

The next week I was preaching, and I saw John Dainy by the bushes near the front door of the building.  He would peer into the door while I was preaching, so he could see me.  I preached... I preached about Jesus, and his saving blood, how he could rescue your soul from sin.  After about two hours I gave the invitation.  Who came running up that isle but John Dainy himself.  I said, John Dainy, let's pray.  We knelt down beside one of those front benches, and we prayed.  John Dainy got saved.  Praise God!

Well, John Dainy went home and told his parents; he told them that he got saved.  They kicked him out.  They didn't feed him, they wouldn't give him any water... they wouldn't give a place to sleep.  I didn't hear about this until about five days after it happened, but when I did I headed up that mountain.  One of my friends came with me.  It was about eleven o'clock at night, so we were using flashlights.  Searching our way up the mountain, we got to John Dainy's house.  We began calling for him.  By this time... we didn't even know if he was still alive.  Then we heard... the weeping and sobbing of a twelve year old boy.  We ran closer, and there was John Dainy.  On his knees, outside the door of his home praying,  "Jesus, please save my mother and father, grandma and grandpa, brothers and sisters."  He wasn't worried about himself, that he hadn't eaten in five days or had a bed to sleep in!  He had compassion.  He cared more about his own family, than he did about himself, or how comfortable he was.  To this day that door is still stained with his tears.

I said, John Dainy... are you alright?  He said, "Yes, I'm alright, but please pray for my mother and father, grandpa and grandma, brothers and sisters... that they would be saved.  I prayed for them and talked to him some more.  Then we went on down the mountain.

One day I woke up at four-thirty in the morning to go to the church and pray, and there was John Dainy.  He was sweeping the church yard before he had to take his father's goats up to the top of the mountain.  I said, John Dainy, do you understand that salvation is by Jesus' blood alone, and not by your works?  He said, "Yes Preacher, but I'm doing this for Jesus."  Then before he left he reminded me.  "Preacher, don't forget to pray for my mother and father, grandma and grandpa, brothers and sisters."  He never missed a day to tell me that... he would always remind me.  "Don't forget to pray for them, Preacher."

About two weeks later, he didn't come down to sweep the church yard.  I wondered why, but I didn't really think much of it... until he missed a service.  John Dainy never missed a church service.  Someone came and told me that John Dainy was very sick.  I went up the mountain, a two hour and forty-five minute walk.  When I came to his house they had him laying on a bed in the house.  His belly was all swollen with hunger.  I said, John Dainy... it's the preacher.  He looked up at me and said, "Oh, Preacher, I knew you would come."  I asked him, John Dainy do you know that you're saved?  He said "Yes, Preacher, I'm going to heaven.  I'm going to see Jesus."  After a while I had to leave so I told him, John Dainy, I have to go into town tomorrow, but I'll be back on Wednesday, you hang in there, okay?

On Wednesday, when I was getting ready to go up the mountain, someone came running down and told me that John Dainy was very sick.  I ran up that mountain.  The normally two hour and forty-five minute walk took me one hour and eleven minutes.  When I got up there I went into where he was laying on the bed.  His belly had burst from his hunger.  I reached down and took his hand, that was swollen bigger than mine and said, John Dainy I have to ask you one more time.  Do you know that you know?  He said, "Preacher, I know, and I'm going to see Jesus.  Please pray for my mother and father, grandma and grandpa, brothers and sisters."  So I began to pray, but it was John Dainy that I was praying for.  He stopped me, "No, Preacher, don't pray for me... pray for my mother and father, grandma and grandpa, brothers and sisters."  I had lost it at this point, and I was weeping.  I began to pray, I prayed that they would all get saved.  Then right before John Dainy took his final breath he said, "Preacher, when I get to heaven I'll save you a place right next to mine, so we can always be together." 

The compassion of that boy had made him willing to go to the point of death.  He loved his family, and he wanted them to be saved, above anything and everything else.  The next morning, I went into the church to pray... and inside the church there was already a wooden casket with the body of John Dainy in it.  I began to weep, and I prayed that God would give me that kind of compassion as I preached the funeral service for this boy.  That John Dainy's mother and father, grandma and grandpa, brothers and sisters would get saved.

At John Dainy's funeral there was upwards of a thousand people there.  They were in the church, outside and all around the church.  I preached, and God gave me a special kind of compassion that I haven't been able to understand.  I preached, and John Dainy's mother and father got saved, his grandma and grandpa got saved, his brothers and sisters got saved!  John Dainy's compassion took him to death, so that his family would get saved.

Do you have compassion?  We all have lost friends and family.  Do you pray for them?  Do you really pray for them?  Do you spend time every day pouring out your heart for them?  Do you have compassion for the lost?  I definitely haven't been taking the time to pray for my lost friends and family every day.  This story preached to me.  God, please give me that kind of compassion!

Trust in the Lord and do Good...

Summer has been a busy time for me this year.  To sum things up let me say... Camp JOY!!
Camp JOY is a Bible camp located in the backwoods of Ava, Missouri.  There are three weeks for kids to attend, depending on their age.  The first week is for children ages 7-9, the second week is ages 10-12 and third week is ages 13-18.

This year I was blessed to be able to help out in the kitchen second week with 5 other ladies, one of which is my close friend. :)  It was a lot of fun, and such a blessing just to be at camp, but also to be able to serve those kids by cooking for them! It was really nice to be able to talk to, and get to know the kids even though I wasn't counseling!  Over the week there was 10 campers saved!! Praise God... such a joy!!!

The third week I attended as a camper.  This was my 6th year to attend, and it has always been a blessing to be there.  This year our theme was "I'll Just Keep Trusting My Lord", so all of the classes and songs were centered around trust.  I was in a cabin with 19 other girls.  This was the most number of girls I have ever been with!  It was a lot of fun to get to know all of the other girls, because I only knew 4 of them. :)  My counselors were Miss Allison and Hannah.  They were really an encouragement and blessing to me!

One of the major things that we do as a cabin at camp is memorize scripture.  I love memorizing, so I always look forward to it!  Mrs. Allison really likes doing motions with the verses, so that was a lot of fun. :)

All of the counselors sang this song as a special in chapel one evening... I really liked it, and I hope it will be a blessing to you!

All Around Fun Times

I am back!  We have been very busy lately.  If we hadn't been, I think I would have blogged more frequently. :)

Today we had a slave day at our house.  "What is a slave day?" you may ask.  Well, I will tell you.  Last fall we went to a Mennonite Youth Group dinner and auction.  At the auction we bought a slip of paper that said slave day.  Today the youth group came to our house.  The group consisted of about 12 boys and 5 girls.  They were all unmarried; ages 15 1/2 to around 27 (I think).
They came at 9:00 in the morning and stayed until around 5:30 at night.  The boys cut and split wood.  The girls weeded the garden and cleaned up sticks from the wood that was being chopped.  It was very nice to have them do all of that work.  I made lunch for everyone and cleaned the house while they were here.  Mommy had Nathanael outside with her most of the day.  He was very happy! :)  

Our last day for the Homeschool Orchestra was yesterday.  Classes will not resume again until August.  It is rather sad, but not really.  I think we will be so busy that we will hardly notice we are missing it.

I have been busy with other things as well.  Let's see... being a page at the SHEM convention...babysitting five children under the age of five... Orchestra and Orchestra concerts... Silver Dollar City... and I think that's about it. :P

I am auditioning for the Springfield Youth Symphony on the 31st, so I'd appreciate it if you would be praying for me about that.  I would really like to get into the Youth Symphony, if it is God's will! :)

Little Things

I am at home without the baby (Nathanael) for the first day in my life since he was born!!  It is amazing how much time a baby can take.  However, our baby is rather special, he takes a lot of time.  I believe my mother calls him a high need child.  His mind is constantly moving, and so is he.  He is always busy; playing, moving, and at the same time making an awful mess of things. :)  So, for us to keep up with him takes a lot of energy.  I recently babysat 5 children ages 4, 3, 2, 1, and 1 month.  All of them together were less work than Nathanael is!  :)

It has been raining for about a week here.  We were flooded in for a day once, but I am so thankful for the rain!  I would rather it be raining, than for it to be too hot. :)  Listening to the awesome thunder and watching the lightening from the storms brought this Psalm to my mind.
   
O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens.
  Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger.
  When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;
  What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?
  For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.
  Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet:
  All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field;
  The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas.
  O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! Psalms 8


Isn't it amazing?!  The God of all the universe cares about man.  More than that, he cares about me and you!  He visits us, he is always with us.  Doesn't it just awe you?  Praise God!

Conversation and Busy Life

Well, I have decided that I am not a very frequent blogger.  I dared to think when I first created this blog that I was "going to blog at least every week, if not more often".  Well, that didn't happen. :P  I really have been meaning to post for a long time (over a month to be exact), but it just hasn't happened. :)

What things that are happening to make me so busy?  Well, my baby brother (Nathanael) is now almost eleven months old.  He is getting to move so fast!  You can hardly turn your back on him one minute, before he's into something. :)  He is so adorable, though; all the ladies love him because he smiles at them. :)

This month was my flute performance and contest month.  First I had my Federation music contest, on the 5th.  On the 19th, I performed in an MSU Flute Day competition and on the 26th I had my recital.  All of these require lots of practice, which I do late at night, after the baby is in bed. :)

My mother and I are having a Preparing to be a Help Meet class at our church.  It is a lot of fun!  Currently we have 9 girls attending ranging in age from 12 to 19, but mostly younger girls.  We are also doing a modesty section, in the class, where we learn what clothing that we wear would be a stumbling block to guys.  It is very interesting, and has been quite an eye opener for me.

My verses for this month are 1Peter 1:13-21
Wherefore, gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace which is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; 
As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: 
But as he which has called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; 
Because it is written: Be ye holy; for I am holy.  
And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear:  
Forasmuch as ye know that ye are not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by the tradition of your fathers;  
But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.  
Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, 
Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.

I was supposed to memorize two verses a month, but I decide this would be a good passage for the whole month.  In our "Preparing" class at the beginning of the month we were doing a word study on conversation.  In my study I was surprised by the fact that conversation means your whole mannerism.  Your attitude, mood, actions, words... pretty much everything that has to do with yourself.  So, when the Bible says be ye holy in all manner of conversation, it really means all.  Just imagine, if all Christians were holy in all manner of conversation, what a different world we would have.  If every Christian's attitude, actions and words were holy, how could anyone fault us?  Don't you think that people would see Jesus in that?  Anyway, that has been my thoughts for the month. :) 

Valentine's Day Thoughts

Well, it's Valentine's Day!  A time to remember your family, special friends and of course, if you have one, your valentine.  I am thinking about my future valentine today!

One of the ways that I help my future valentine is by praying for him.  I think one of the most important things to pray, in helping him, is that his parents would have wisdom in raising him.  It doesn't really matter how old he might be, or how many siblings he has.  His parents still need wisdom and guidance on how to nurture him in the Lord.

Another thing I pray is that he would abound in his love of God.  That he would keep growing in the Lord, and that he would have a vision for the things of Jesus.  If he has a vision for Jesus, he won't be easily distracted.  He won't be hanging out with other girls because he knows that there is no value in that.  God has something better waiting for him.  But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.  1Corinthians 2:9

Something else I like to do is pray for myself.  That God would strengthen me and prepare me so that later I will be a worthy help meet for my future husband.  I know that God will let my future husband find me, just when I'm ready.  No, I don't know who he is, and I am not planning on getting married soon.  I am simply preparing, so I will be ready... when the time comes. :)

Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.  Delight thyself in the Lord and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.  Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him and he shall bring it to pass.  He shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.  Rest in the Lord; wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.  Psalms 37:3-7

I understand that this might be a different concept, to pray for your future husband instead of praying for a husband.  By praying it helps me to trust God, to realize that he really is going to bring it to pass.

I want the first valentine I ever have to be my future husband.  He will be the most special valentine ever, because he will be the only valentine I have ever had.  Happy Valentine's Day!!! 

First Post! :)

Hello new blogging world to which I am greatly inexperienced!  I think, since this is my first post, I should write a little bit about what kind of things I will be putting on this blog.  Mainly I want to write about the things I am learning through reading God's word, and lessons he has been teaching me.  I love my Savior dearly, he is my everything!  I hope that through reading about what I am learning will be a blessing and encouragement to you!!

I love to cook!  I have been cooking for my family since I was little bitty :) so if I try any recipes that I find are great I'll post them so you can try them out. :)

I'll also be posting about my family and life here on the farm.  And maybe about my adorable baby brother (currently 9 months old) who is 15 years younger than I am, which makes him very special.  :)  

Well, those are the things I am going to write about.  I'll write more later!