1 Corinthians 6:19-20 "Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s."

Tips for going Organic on a Budget:
1. The food shuffle - Proverbs 31:14 "She is like the merchants' ships; she bringeth her food from afar." This verse is speaking about a wife being creative and diligent. A woman who will not settle for convenience, economy, or habit. She seeks better ways to fulfill the needs of her family. She aims to joyfully put forth the effort to obtain excellent and unique things for her household. She is not discouraged that creativity requires extra work and time.
Getting food from various places will help you to save lots of money on organic produce. Gathering food from farm shares, farmers markets, bulk food distributors, growing some yourself, community gardens, work exchanges, or the internet etc. I was spending a ton more money when I was getting everything from one grocery store. 

2. Think of recipes that will stretch your food further. Things like soups, stews, casseroles, and chilies make ingredients go further. Adding a healthy carb or a legume with also fill you up and add lots of bulk to the food. Items such as rice, beans, lentils, and potatoes are great alongside organic meats and veggies. 

3. Bridge the Gap of nutrition with a product like Juice Plus. I chose to be a rep for the Juice Plus company so that I could educate people on whole foods nutrition and help point them towards a superior product to help bridge the gap of nutrition in their lives (Juice Plus info below) Juice plus is a flooding of phytonutrients. It is non-gmo, herbicide free, raw fruits, raw veggies, and raw berries in capsule or gummi form. They also have an incredible program called the children's health study where kids have the opportunity to get on juice plus for free for up to 4 years. 

4. Freeze things or learn how to can them. Don't let any awesome food go to waste or pass up a great deal! Chopping up veggies and onions and freezing them will not only save you money but will save you time too. If you ever have one of those days where you just don't feel like chopping, you will be thankful that you had some pre-chopped ingredients in the freezer. Sometimes you will come across a great deal on something, but can't think of a way to use it all at once. Canning or freezing the food will help it last until you are ready to use it in a meal. 

5. Prioritizing- Thinking of other areas in your life where you can budget more so that you and your family can reap all of the benefits of eating food the way that God designed it. 

I hope you all enjoyed my vlog today (video below) and thank you so much for taking the time out to visit my blog! Blessings, hugs, and shalom,
Lea

Benefits of Phytonutrients: 
Phytonutrients are nutrients found in plants that develop to protect the plant from damaging environments. Plants are exposed to excess ultraviolet radiation, predator pests, toxins and pollution, resulting in the generation of dangerous free radicals within their cells. These free radicals can then bind and damage proteins, cell membranes and DNA of the plant. Fortunately, phytonutrients simultaneously develop to shield the plant from such damage as well as provide their color, flavor and smell. Why is this important to us? Since we are exposed to radiation and various environmental elements just like plants, we need phytonutrients to protect us. How do we get phytonutrients? We get them by eating the plants! Each plant contains tens of thousands of different phytonutrients that can act as antioxidants, hence it’s key to eat high-antioxidant foods in order to fight free radical damage.

Why Juice Plus?
FARM FRESH NUTRITION
Juice Plus+ starts with farm fresh nutrition. Each capsule and chewable is the product of high-quality plants and seeds, well-cultivated fields and orchards, and the best fruit and vegetable farmers. After our fruit and vegetable varieties are grown, harvested, cleaned, juiced, and dried, they are blended into nutritious Juice Plus+ products that are part of a healthy diet.FAMILY FARM GROWN
Locally Grown Fruits and Vegetables for the Best Quality Nutrition. We start with farm fresh produce – the highest quality fruits and vegetables we can find. We work wherever possible with midsize family farms run by some of the best fruit and vegetable farmers in North America, which helps us provide the best quality nutrition. We inspect farming operations – from the process of handpicking to the natural control of weeds and insects – to make sure we deliver the best quality nutrition so you and your family can experience the healthful benefits of Juice Plus+.
CAREFULLY PRESERVEDWe Carefully Preserve them after Harvest For The Best NutritionFruits and vegetables lose much of their nutritional content when they’re picked early and shipped long distances. We solve that problem by locating our juicing and drying facilities as close to our farmers as possible.  Where that’s not close enough, we utilize a process called Individual Quick Freezing (IQF) to ensure the freshness of each fruit and vegetable. Once the produce has been harvested and cleaned, it goes through our proprietary Juice Plus+ juicing and drying process.

• We start with whole food.
• We juice the whole fruit or vegetable, including peels,
  leaves and seeds, whenever possible to harvest the
  greatest amount of nutrients.  
• We don’t shortcut the drying process, like others do.

NSF CERTIFIED
Expert-Tested and Expert-Approved To Ensure The Best Nutrition
Careful testing and independent experts ensure the natural purity of our finished products. Juice Plus+ is produced at state-of-the-art facilities that meet or exceed highest food industry standards for blending, encapsulating, and packaging. Our standards are reviewed and our facilities inspected by NSF the public health and safety company. Not-for-profit NSF also inspects and certifies our products, as confirmed by the NSF seal on every Juice Plus+ bottle or pouch. As NSF-certified products, all Juice Plus+ products undergo independent testing that ensures they meet and exceed strict guidelines and deliver only the best quality nutrition.

Dangers of Herbicides:
Two new scientific studies add to concerns about the dangers posed by Roundup (glyphosate), the most widely used weedkiller in the world. A group of scientists from the University of Caen in France found that human placental cells are very sensitive to the herbicide at concentrations lower than the agricultural use, and that it disrupts human sex hormones. (Do we think it's a coincidence that so much sexual and gender confusion has increased alongside the equal increase of using herbicide on foods?)
The scientists concluded that the herbicide could “induce reproduction problems” in humans.In another study, University of Pittsburgh biologist Rick Relyea looked at the effect of Roundup on other life forms. Relyea found that the herbicide caused an 86-percent decline in the total population of tadpoles.Glyphosate is marketed under several brand names — Roundup is Monsanto’s original brand; Syngenta now markets glyphosate as Touchdown Total. These products are widely used in yards and gardens across North America, and U.S. farmers spray millions of acres of crops with them each year. Drift problems are common, where the herbicide spray lands off the targeted area, killing plants.

​Just a few of the issues I have with genetically modified foods outside of the fact that it's literally changing our DNA... and not for the better: 
Infertility: Studies done on animals showed that more than half of the babies of GM-fed mother rats died within 3 weeks. Also, the longer the mice were fed GM foods, the less babies they had and the smaller the babies were. Also, GM fed rats had uterus and ovary changes, and by the 3rd generation, they were unable to have babies. In addition, about 2 dozen US farms reported that GE-fed pigs or cows developed sterility and could not reproduce. All these suggests infertility or reduced fertility and also a high risk of birth defects. And we wonder why infertility rates are increasing daily in humans.
Cancer: In March 2015, World Health Organization (WHO) classified Glycophosphate as carcinogenic. Glycophosphate is a toxin that is greatly used in GMO foods and has been linked to many illnesses such as Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s, Autism. It has also been known to be linked to breast cancer and prostate cancer. Also IGF (Insulin Growth Factor) is increased in dairy products from cows fed with GE foods. Recent studies show that IGF-1 is an important factor in the growth of breast, prostate, colon cancers. Once again, we wonder why the incidence of cancer is increasing.
Liver toxicity: The liver is one of the important organs in the human body and is responsible for detoxification. Rats that were given GM potatoes showed damaged livers. When these rats were switched to non-GM foods, their liver over time went back to normal. I think it is safe to conclude that GM foods play a part in damaging the liver.
Antibiotic resistance: GE foods have the ability to make certain bacteria to be resistant to antibiotics which will ultimately result in the increase and spread of infections. For example, GE maize plant from Novartis includes an ampicillin resistant gene and if this gene moves from the corn into bacteria, it will make ampicillin an ineffective drug in fighting bacterial infections.

Today, I launched my new vlog series per request of our sisterhood group, Day In The Life of a Stay at Home Wife. I kicked the day off with making a simple version of bulletproof coffee for my sweetie before he headed out the door. It got me thinking, as most things do, about life. We are always looking for ways to upgrade everything and to make it better, healthier, stronger, longer lasting, etc.. This caught my attention... am I also doing this with my faith? Does my faith need to be made more bulletproof? What can I do each and everyday to boost the resilience of my faith and make healthier my relationship with Abba? So, here's the little recipe I came up with to build up a more bulletproof faith walk, and as always, I would love to hear what you think in the comments. 
Bullet-proof faith:
A heaping of the word - It is our life, bread, sword, water... without it we have nothing. 
A constant dose of prayer - Keeping in contact with the very One who made us and knowing that He loves to hear from us
A sprinkle of fellowship - Not relying on others to sustain our faith, but making a point to be with people who love the Lord and discuss the things of God. 
A helping of service- Finding areas where you can serve others and be the moving parts of the body of our Messiah

I really hope you all enjoyed my first vlog in this series - please let me know what you would like to see in future videos. 
Love, Lea
(Coffee recipe and benefits below)
Bullet-Proof Coffee- 
Organic black coffee
Grassfed Organic Butter
Organic Coconut Oil
Cinnamon
Stevia
Instead of loading your coffee with carbohydrate-rich milk and sugar, you’re adding in seriously beneficial fats that your brain craves. Instead of adding some creamer, you put in some vitamin-rich butter. 
Omega 3 fatty acids are essential for normal growth and play an important role in the prevention and treatment of coronary artery disease, arthritis, inflammation, cancer and high blood pressure. These fats are vital for our health, yet our bodies cannot produce them – meaning we must obtain them from our diet. What’s more, for optimal health it’s imperative that we balance our intake of omega 3 fats with our intake of another essential fatty acid – omega 6. Yet the standard American diet is far too high in omega 6 fats, leading to an unhealthy ratio. Eating grass-fed butter (as opposed to grain-fed) can provide your body with a much needed boost of omega 3s and work towards regaining that healthy balance. (Other good sources of omega 3s include fish, flaxseeds, walnuts and chia seeds.)

Ever feel like God is farther than you can reach? I think we all go through seasons like that where we wonder where He is or If He can hear us. Sometimes the sounds of our doubt or the clanging of the world around us becomes so loud that we can no longer hear that still small voice in the wind. Is it really that God is far off from us or is it us who has moved positions? 
We know from scripture that God is unchanging... everlasting... omnipresent. He has no beginning and no end and scripture also promises believers that He will never leave us or forsake us. It doesn't always feel like this though, does it? I believe with all my heart that God's reasons for things are perfect. I have had times in my life when I felt so close to Him, like I was wrapped in His arms, and I have had times when I would yell out and hear nothing but my own echo. I think back on moments when I believe He was being silent for a reason, seasons where I desperately needed to learn to trust Him deeper with a surrendered heart or when I needed to press into faith without sight. 
When Thomas doubted that Jesus had risen from the dead, he said that he wouldn't believe until he touched Him and placed a in finger in His side. Jesus came and let Thomas place his hand on the wounds and then He said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
If that doesn't strike the heart with conviction, I don't know what will. I have been Thomas. I have told God, "I need to feel you!" The truth is, that God wants us to have a heart of faith and a heart a soul that longs for Him. 
I felt weak this morning... really weak. Physically and mentally weak. We can look at all we are facing and all of our problems and all of the suffering in this world and feel alone, lost, panicked, and abandoned. The enemy is so good at making us forget who God is and who we are in Him. This morning in my car, feeling so weak and overwhelmed, knowing that the enemy was breathing his stink and lies down the back of my neck, this scripture came blazing through to my heart like a sword in battle piercing through the smoke. James 4:8 "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you." I instantly shifted my eyes to the heavens and began to weep and cried out, "I love you, I praise you, you are so worthy". Just like a little girl crawling up in her fathers lap after she fell and cut her knee. I cried and cried and then it came... that presence. The peace that surpasses all understanding, that voice in the wind. His promise stood.. I drew near to Him and He drew near to me. He's faithful, and that doesn't change just because life does. 
I have had God come to me like a roaring lion and I had had God speak to me through the rustling in the leaves. He's waiting for us. He is waiting for us to surrender it all to Him, with faith in our hearts, that no matter what we see or do not see with our eyes, to believe that He is exactly who HE said that He is.