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I'm Mindy, the girl behind MarigoldRoad.com. I'm a family gal, but in my spare time I write to inspire women as they nurture their self worth. I get a kick out of presenting my motherhood journey in real and applicable ways, whilst including baking/craftiness for the visually intrigued. My Etsy shop offers handmade wool felt headbands, hoop art, yarn wreaths, and jewelry. You can also shop there for kitschy mid-century vintage decor & housewares.

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Hi y'all! I'm Jen and I blog over at The Arizona Russums. On my blog you will find bits about my faith, my marriage, my grad school research, and our adventures since moving to Arizona. Mainly, I  hope my blog is a place where women are encouraged to love Jesus more deeply.

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My name is Erin and I blog over at Captivated By Grace.

I am a twenty-something girl with a passion for life, love, and above all, my faith in Christ.

I enjoy all things beautiful in this world and look for God's blessings all around me. 

On my blog, I love to share the joys and beauty that can be found in this world, as well as the times that are not as beautiful and can be a bit more challenging. Let's face it...life is full of ups and downs. We just need to remember that God is with us through them all. There is nothing too big for us to handle together.

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"Hey, I'm Dana! I blog over at Wonder Forest and create retro inspired plushand home products under the same name!  I am a designer/artist in 'real'life and love a good DIY project, shopping online, and believe in beingcreative every day! Stop by and say hi!"
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My name is Gentri and I blog at Gentri Lee. I love posting about life and all of it's adventures including fashion, food, crafts/ DIY's, and inspirations. I'd love for you to pop over and say hi!

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inner healing, part two

If you are new to this little series, 

find part one of my healing journey here

find love story, the prequel here

So I began my healing process with my therapist twice a week. In her office I dealt with a lot of the hurt, anger, frustration, sadness and making sense of a lost childhood.  But the real work took place on my couch every morning.  You see, that's where I'd meet up with God.  

Every morning I would spend time with Him, reading the Word.  For about a year prior, I had gotten into a great groove with an awesome devotional Bible.  I would read the passage for the day, read the devotional and then journal on the reflection questions.  This habit was a great building block for me in my walk with the Lord.  To this day, I still journal just about every morning.

But back to that spring 2008, I was dealing with the aftermath of not only the abuse, but of the poor choices that I made as a result.  I have heard it said that broken little girls grow up to be broken women.  That was me. Plain and simple.  For the first time in my life, I was dealing with the sexual abuse from my father, the abandonment from my mother, and the mess I made in my own life.  Before I knew the Lord, I hung out in dark places and I was dealing with the consequences of those choices.

At this time, I had also left my job teaching and I was looking for work.  For the first time in my life, I couldn't get a job.  I was used to walking in to a principal's office and they'd hand me the job. {I'm not trying to brag, that is just the truth of my experience.}  But this time was different.  I couldn't even get camp counselor jobs.  What was going on?

What was going on was the Lord was making sure I had a clear schedule to do the real work.  Amidst the emotional upheaval, feeding myself three meals and walking Bodie was just about all I could handle in a day.

I wanted to break out and to breakthrough.  I was determined.  In my quest for freedom I reached out everywhere I could.  And by His grace, an awesome book, Beauty for Ashes, came into my lap.  This book changed my life.  But I didn't just read it in the way I normally read a book.  It was me and Him, every morning,  workin' it out on the couch.

I read that book like it was a workbook.  I'd read a paragraph and journal on it.  I'd read a chapter and take notes, underlining what really touched me.  I even photocopied portions of it and taped them into my Bible. When the scriptures were referenced, I didn't gloss over them {the way I sometimes do when I read} I would underline them, go look 'em up in my Bible, underline 'em there.  Ponder 'em. Medidate on 'em.

do not be conformed to this world

but be transformed

by the renewing of your mind

{Romans 12:2}

And that is exactly what began to happen to me.  My mind was becoming renewed through the word of God. Little by little I began to see that He really loved me.  It was around this time that I began to call him "Abba-Daddy" and truly develop a relationship with Him as my perfect Daddy.  

Those moments on my couch were precious.

Necessary.

I believe in healing and I believe in miracles. I also believe that I am the emotional equivalent of a person whose legs were amputated and then grew brand new legs.  I am an emotional miracle.  Given my past, my history, my choices, and the messy mess-mess that I came up out of, I should not be able to have the life I have.   

I have a stable life. For the most part, I make good choices.  My heart is soft.  I am trusting of God and trusting of others.  But I also know when to say no and when people are taking advantage.  I know how to set boundaries. I don't over eat,  or under eat any more.  I don't over shop, or buy things I don't want, need or have the money for.  I don't long for what I don't have, thinking it will fix me.  I no longer drink or do drugs.  I no longer smoke cigarettes.  Years before I met Mr. Handsome I looked to relationships to fix me.  Oh, back then, I'd say I was a romantic.  But really, I was just looking anywhere I could for a fix.  I was in deep, deep pain and I wanted it to stop.

And back when I was making those choices, I didn't even know I was trying to stop the pain. All I knew is I needed more of everything and nothing worked.  Until I came to Him.  Not in the cute sweet way, but in the messy, snot running from my nose way.  Crying out to Him from the deepest places in my soul and giving myself over completely to Him.

even me.

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; 

old things have passed away, behold all things have become new

{ 2 Corinthinas 5:17}

And I mean it.  When I read that verse that says that I am a new creation, you'd better believe it.  Like I said, I am a walking, talking miracle.  I have been given a second chance.  You know how sweet and lovely He is?  He restores {and keeps restoring!} the lost years.  I mentioned it in last week's post.

And that's where my life is today.  I have been given back the lost years.  That's a whole notha series.  But you see it here, in my life as a quilt.  The sweet newness of my marriage to Mr. Handsome.  The Lord  has restored me.  He has given me back lost time. 

To say that I am blessed is putting it way too lightly.  

I'm new.  

Brand spankin' new.

I started down this little rabbit trail of inner healing because I began to tell the story of how Mr. Handsome and I met.  I got to the part where I cried out to the Lord to prepare me to become married.  I  {somewhat} glossed over the inner healing that had to take place before I was even remotely ready to meet the man who would become my husband.  After I re-read it, I realized I needed to go deeper.  So I went.

But all of this is to say that next week, I'll be back, continuing the story of how Mr. Handsome and I met.  We are still on the prequel, but getting closer to that day we first met.  Thanks for sticking around on the journey with me.

more to come...

linking here:

all natural homemade deodorant tutorial

yippeeee it works!!!

all natural and no sweat smell

i've read quite a bit recently about the dangers of antiperspirants.  the news can be quite distressing, with some making links to breast cancer.  i'm not going to enter the debate.    

what i can tell you is this:

a few months ago, i felt the Lord nudging me to stop using antiperspirant.  i've known for years that it isn't good to clog the sweat glands.   

i don't need to read it in an article on health to get it.  if God created us to sweat, and while we sweat, toxins are released, why would i want to block that?  

uh...'cause it's stinky.  and i'm not a fan of stinky.

truth: for over 10 years i have vacillated.  i've used the health store brands of deodorant, i've used the rock crystal deodorant {which has those sweat gland blocking agents anyway, but i'd rationalize with myself that it was better than the alternative.} then i'd get tired of the stinky so i'd go back on the antiperspirant, and then i'd repeat the cyle.

but like i said, i felt that nudge to stop blocking my sweat glands.  so off to trader joe's i went. all natural deodorant in hand, i was back on the natural train.  but end of day found me still a little less than sweet smellling. 

so i did what i love to do...research!  i found a couple of great all natural deodorant recipes.  i combined what i learned  here, here, and here to create the one you see below.

it took only a few minutes to make 

and 

i've been using it with super fab success for over a week now.

give it a whirl!

ingredients 

6 T cornstarch or arrowroot powder

2 T baking soda

5-10 drops tea tree oil

2 T coconut oil

{i ordered mine from evitamins.com, but now they have it at trader joe's!}

materials

bowl

empty deodorant canister

{i just rolled mine all the way up + threw out the contents}

place cornstarch, baking soda and tea tree oil in bowl

{use a very light hand with the tea tree oil}

my tea tree oil bottle did not have a dropper, 

so i dropped the oil into a teaspoon first, then put it in the bowl

add coconut oil

mix all ingredients well

smush into empty deodorant canister

this recipe made enough for two

with leftovers 

{which i rolled into a ball + have in wax paper in the fridge}

 add a cute homemade label if you like

right click on this image to save to your desktop

print, cut+ apply label to your new deodorant

i also put clear packing tape over my label for a little waterproofing

a few notes about using your awesome new deodorant:

1.  use lightly-don't go back + forth over the underarm area.  

i apply one stroke and i'm smell free all day!

i've read that if you over-apply it can get drippy

2.  coconut oil is solid when kept under 76 degrees, 

so if you live in a warm climate, you can keep in the fridge

so far, i've been keeping mine in the bathroom with no troubles

we'll see how it goes in the summer

3.  only roll up what you need, otherwise it can get melty

i read that this is also due to the coconut oil only being solid under 76 degrees F

i just roll up what i need for the day, and so far, so rockin' good

i gotta say, i am so excitedly jumping for joy at this new deodorant

and i've been using it during my most sweaty times of the month

tmi? 

maybe.

but its the truth.

i'm happily smell free

and my sweat glands are doing what they were created to do.

happy all natural deodorant!

personal style

tuesday

{work from home + errands; giving sozo ministry @ nite}

pink sweater- max studio outlet

tshirt- forever 21

jeans- forever 21

flats- off broadway shoe wherehouse

style tip:

i'm so loving this old sweater.  it's an unusual shade of pink and it seems to flatter my skin tone.  but it has a neckline that's totally unflattering on me.  so i make sure to always wear it with a crew neck t shirt.  this way i have a more flattering neckline and i also still get to benefit from the flattering color.  try out different colors + necklines.  see what flatters and what doesn't.  always go with what works on you + not what's 'in fashion.'  my opinion here: personal style = panache, and that's always in style!

wednesday

{work from home + receiving sozo ministry @ nite}

grey t shirt- forever 21

tank under t- forever 21

tshirt sweater- thrifted

jeans- forever 21

shoes- off broadway shoe warehouse

earrings- cost plus world market

style tip: 

when thrifting, look for things that you know you'll wear.  like this t shirt material 'sweater,' i put it on + it looked like it was already mine.  like it was so 'me' that it looked like it came from my closet.  score!  also, the rest of my out fit was so simple + muted, i felt like it'd be fun to wear some earrings that "popped"- enter the turquoise hanging numbers from cost plus.

thursday

{visiting in san clemente}

sweater- local boutique

dark skinnies- forever 21

suede + leather uggs- can't remember where i got 'em!

scarf- local boutique

t under sweater- forever 21

style tip:

i love winter white over dark.  the white brings light to the face and the dark is slimming.  

hello slimming.  you are my friend.

sunday

{church + baby shower}

dress- loehmann's

tank underneath- forever 21

boots- nine west

socks peeking from boots- local boutique

necklace- local boutique

hairband- gift from mr. handsome

style tip:

i don't know what it is about baby showers, but i just love to wear dresses to a shower.  but it was cold that day!  i wanted to look a tad 'nicey' because of the shower.  otherwise i would have worn my beat up old motorcycle boots.  but instead i wore the more elegant riding boots.  but to add a little unexpected style, i paired them with the peeking out socks.  you could only see them when i crossed my legs, but still, it added a bit of subtle style.  i'm all about subtle.

monday

{date night}

old abercrombie sweater- thrifted

tshirt underneath- forever 21

skinny cords- heritage 1981

suede + leather uggs- can't remember where i got 'em

scarf- i made it

necklace underneath-local boutique

style tip:

i love how warm this sweater is, but it's waaay masculine, so i softened the whole look {which is more on the boyish side} with a more girlie scarf.  mixing it up adds that personal style i was talking about earlier.  my personal style is to mix up boyish and girlie.  find what works for you!  maybe you want to wear a pearl necklace with everything, even a t shirt.  or maybe you are an accessory girl, or have a signature color.   experiment and find what feels like 'you' and then go with it!

happy fun outfits!

linking here:

craft room

whew.       

finally.       

I'm happy to say that my little studio has gone through an overhaul.  It was about time. I had no where to put things, so they just all lived on the surfaces.  And I'm not even a messy person.  Typically tidy over here.  But I just got so busy when I did get down to work here that I just ignored the mess and plowed ahead.  No more!  I'd had it.  Plus knowing that we were having family coming for a visit was just the inspiration I needed to get it in gear.  

Here's my rather distressing 'before' pic

My workspace in is the guesthouse out back.  We lovingly refer to it as the 'casita.'  In the casita, this painting hangs in what would otherwise be the kitchen.  My sweet sister in law, Lindsey invited me over last year to explore this fun collage + painting technique.  I really like it, even though it's unfinished.

ahhh...organization

the glass jars are re-purposed candle jars from wall mart

the white cups are from ikea, otherwise known as plant pots

my dear friend emily got me this book when we were in art school.  i still cherish it. 

hello kitty is courtesy of my friend alvino.

i just covered some ikea bulletin boards with fabric.

some of the sweet memories posted up are from blog sugar.

cute fabric in little hoops.  i want to add more sizes, but they were out when i was at the fabric store.  it's a work in progress.

I made a printable from psalm 91, turning the words into a declaration.

His truth protects me.

I am not afraid of anything.

He gives His angels charge over me.

I could read that forever.

happy fun studio make over!

linking up here

no reply blogger

i was    

i didn't even know it.        

i'd leave comments on people's blogs, but they couldn't reply back to me.    

i fixed it a while back     

but lately i've been getting comments from no reply bloggers     

and maybe they don't even know they are     

so just in case, i thought i'd mention it here    

are you a no reply blogger?      

 jodi at pleasant-home helped me out   

and i put a stop to it.    

visit jodi here   

just to check and make sure    

she'll show you how and why    

and why not even   

thanks jodi!    

happy commenting!

inner healing

read part one here

About three or four days after I wrote "Our love story, the prequel", I gave it a re-read.  I realized that in my excitement to share our story with you, I somehow seemed to gloss over the inner healing part of this journey.  And that is nothing to gloss over, let me tell you.  So in an attempt to be transparent, and true, let me delve a little deeper. 

So it was spring in 2008 and I discovered that I was sexually abused as a child.  I had repressed these memories for many many years.  As a matter of fact, when I was in my late teens and seeing a therapist, I asked her if she thought I was abused.  She said no.  She felt that I was treated inappropriately {sexualized} but not abused.  I later leaned in my healing process that even this is considered abuse.  But nonetheless, as a very young adult, the last thing I wanted to do was deal with being abused and since I was not totally sure, I believed I could trust this professional. My feelings went underground once again.

So flash forward to that March morning in 2008.  I was in a pool of tears.  On the floor.  Overwhelmed.  I reached out to two good friends of mine and shared the story with them.  They too had been abused.  With this network of women around me, I had people I could call and just simply cry.  I went to see a Christian counselor who was a good woman, and I'm sure a great counselor, but she was too soft.  But I will never forget the wisdom of the word she shared with me on one of our last sessions.

I had never heard that verse before. And I hung onto it. You see, I believe God.  I trust Him.  And if He said it, it's so.  End of story.  

and I am here to tell you the He has, and does, continue to restore those years that were stolen

But I digress.

So when I say the counselor I saw was too soft, I mean to say that I knew I was in a battle here.  I needed to fight.  I refused to allow the circumstances of my past to keep me in the mire.  Refused.  So I continued searching.  I went back to a therapist that I had seen when I was initially interviewing potential therapists.  I had a feeling she was the one.

This 'feeling' was me beginning to hear and trust the voice of the Lord.  

I was new in learning to hear Him.  But I was on my way.   And this therapist and I began our work.  She told me about two different books on the subject.  I ordered them immediately. I poured through the workbook.  I read the book.  I ordered additional resources.  I wrote.  I journaled.  I cried.  I painted my fury.  I cried some more.  I worked out at the gym with abandon, listening to the angriest music I could find {more fury.}And I talked, I shared, I discovered, and I forgave.

So much happened for me in that little office.  One of the greatest lessons that I learned is that my father, who was one of my abusers, was not all bad.  What? Yup, you heard it right.  It was a challenge for me, but I came to understand and reconcile that he did bad things to me and he also did good things.   It wasn't a black and white situation.  And making peace with this was paramount in my recovery.

Perhaps the greatest understanding that I came away with is that someone must have done this to him.  Abuse doesn't exist in a vacuum.  It is generational.  Only my poor father, who really did try the best he could, never was able to get the help he needed.  His life and his heart must have been tortured.

compassion

I have come to a place of compassion.  But I didn't get here overnight.  And I didn't get here alone.

When I first read those words I wept from the very deepest place in my soul.  

I was the brokenhearted.  

I was the captive 

I was bound.  

And He came to set me free.

Whom the Son sets free is free indeed!

John 8:36

Can I get an amen?

As much of the work was in therapy, the greatest work, was the one the Lord did in my heart.  And I want to continue to share this with you a bit more.  Journey with me.  There's more to come.

Until next time...

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