Single! Young Christian Woman October 10

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A P U B L I C AT I O N O F O N M Y O W N N O W M I N I S T R I E S

OCT 10

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Book Review: Imaginary Jesus

... by wearing clothes

boost brain power with H 2O

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money

makeover

A Spa Day (on spare change) w w w. o n m y o w n n o w. c o m

single!

OCT 2010

young christian woman

A publication of ON MY OWN NOW MINISTRIES

www.onmyownnow.com

4.

STRAIGHT TALK FROM THE PROVERBS

Respect the Appetite.

Resist the Temptation.

By Donna Lee Schillinger

CENTER RING

By Kimberly Schluterman

6.

A Different Kind of Makeover

THE RECAP

10. Book Review: Imaginary Jesus

By Jeffrey Bridgman

12.

REBA RAY’S DOWN HOME HEALTHY COOKIN’ FOR ONE ON A BUDGET

Whistle Wetters

By Reba Ray

EDITOR IN CHIEF Donna Lee Schillinger

www.twitter.com/D_L_Schillinger

ART DIRECTION Daniela Bermúdez

14.

SPARE CHANGE

A Spa Day on Spare Change

By Julie Ann FASHION DIVINA

18.

Support Charity ...

By Wearing Clothes

By Tamara Jane JUST WHAT YOU NEED

20. Boost Brain Power with H2O

By Donna Lee Schillinger

Fridge-worthy.

We see high drama in the movies all the time, but in real life, big acting does not win awards.

Straight talk from the proverbs for young Christian women who want to remain pure, debt-free and regret-free. “In this interesting and thought-provoking exploration of the book of Proverbs, Schillinger takes young women along a journey that will help them to make better, safer, and more sound decisions.�

Cheryl C. Malandrinos The Book Connection blog Now Available at www.onmyownnow.com, at Amazon, B&N and a library and bookstore near you.

STRAIGHT TALK

RESPECT THE

RESIST THE

APPETITE.

TEMPTATION. She who is full loathes honey, but to the hungry even what is bitter tastes sweet.

Proverbs 27:7

BY

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DONNA LEE SCHILLINGER

I spent my junior year in Spain.

During Christmas break, I decided to travel to Morocco by myself. Call me crazy – a lot of people did. Since my college years were characterized by poverty, an 11-day African holiday was a stretch, but I ventured out, having the wherewithal to buy round trip tickets for each leg of my trip. Come what may, as long as I didn’t lose my tickets, I could make it back. Sure enough, my money ran out before the trip ended. When I arrived in Seville, Spain, back from Morocco, I had just enough money to stay the night in a hotel room no larger than a walk-in closet. I couldn’t afford to eat dinner that night and I would have to go the whole next day without eating too.

not edible, but I ate a few bites of it attention. Unsatisfied emotional anyway, thinking that I was at least appetites can wreak the most havgetting some vitamin C. oc.

After a long, hungry day, I made it back home around midnight. And then I ate a huge meal and got so full that I couldn’t even finish my dessert.

This is no story of chronic hunger of the sort we really should have compassion on. This is just an old travel tale about one day that I went from being so desperate I would eat something bitter and be thankful for it, to the other extreme, being so full I pushed away dessert.

STRONG CRAVINGS It’s not a huge ordeal to fast for CAUSE US TO DO

IRRATIONAL THINGS.

I could have avoided my desperate situation in Seville with better planning. And on a daily basis, I can avoid satisfying my hunger with junk food by having some healthy snacks on hand in anticipation of hunger pangs throughout the day. It’s not so easy to advise how to avoid having an unsatisfied emotional appetite. Emotional hunger may have developed from years of rejection, neglect or poverty. The best advice I can give is to recognize, right now while we’re in a rational state of mind, that appetites can make us do some crazy stuff. Respect the appetite. Though we might not be able to avoid having the yearning appetite, we can avoid the desperate act to satisfy it using one solid piece of advice that James gave us – and it works in any tempting situation: “Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”

We must resist temptation to sell ourselves for a “quick meal” to satisfy our cravings – both physical and emotional – because after we get what we so longed for, we’ll find ourselves wondering how we ever could have been so desperate.

a day and a half when you’re at home in your element, but at the exhausting end of a hard-traveled road, the body needs good nourishment. Unless I wanted to beg though, and I did consider it, I was going to have to wait until I got to Salamanca to eat.

Human appetites are fickle. We My bus didn’t leave until the after- can experience both extremes in noon, so I had the morning to see one day. When we have a need some sights. Seville is a beautiful to be satisfied, we feel desperate city with streets lined with orange enough to try anything. When that trees. While strolling along the need is finally satiated, we disdain Hold this thought: streets, those oranges were start- the very thing we had been wildly ing to look pretty good. Someone craving only minutes before. had told me they were not edible; they were an ornamental variety of orange and very bitter. In our proverb lived out, I was so hungry I didn’t care what people had told me -- I was going to try it for myself.

I was ravenous; I would have eaten the bark off the tree. The reports were true that the oranges were

WHEN I’M FEELING

MY WEAKEST,

Strong cravings cause us to do irrational things – like Esau did when he sold his place as first-born son, and all the privilege that went with it, for a bowl of lentil stew. “What an idiot!” we say. Esau didn’t do IT’S THEN I NEED TO anything any of us are not capable of doing when we’re hungry for something – food, sex, affection,

HOLD ON.

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CENTER RING

a different kind of

makeover by k i m b e r l y s c h l u t e r m a n

So, if I may brag, my husband and I are both really good with money management. So good, in fact, that in our premarital counseling, we had no issues to work through whatsoever. We both practiced good habits as individuals and we have no problems practicing them together. This is what we said to my friend-mentors as we stood in their dining room one evening.

They listened happily, congratulated us on our smart choices, and then did what mentors do best: challenged us to be even better. Dr. Bob asked if we had ever read a book called The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey. No, we hadn’t and we didn’t want to read it either, especially not six weeks before our wedding! We hemmed and hawed but finally, they talked us into reading just the first chapter. If we weren’t hooked after the first chapter, we were off the hook for having to read it.

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So that’s what we did. And the first chapter was all we did for about 12 weeks. It wasn’t so easy to dismiss, however. Some of the concepts lingered in our minds, and after things finally settled down post-wedding, we ended up wanting to read the rest together. And the result was surprising! For two people who consider themselves advanced personal money managers, that book totally kicked our butts. Although almost 90 percent of the book was stuff we already knew, the 10 percent that wasn’t has changed our lives.

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baby step

money, but his reasoning is reasonable. Essentially, if you don’t have some money stashed away for emergencies – which are as certain as death and taxes – then you will go into debt again in order to pay for them. The quick $1000 is the first step in breaking the debt cycle. Ramsey gives specific rules about where to keep the money, but to summarize, he wants it on-hand but tucked away. It needs to be something you can put your fingers on today if necessary, but also something that you’re Below is an overview of the principles in the book, not going to lay your fingers on unless it is absolutely and I would encourage you to consider their wisdom. imperative. A Certificate of Deposit that has an early Ramsey is a Christian, but this book is not about withdrawal fee is not the place for your $1,000, but Christian finances, per se. His wisdom is, however, neither is your purse. old-fashioned and sensible. The program he lays out is simple and straight-forward, but for the person of If you are reading this and thinking, “Ha – a thousand average self-discipline, kind of tough to follow. dollars might as well be a million!” then I’ll beg you to read just the first chapter like I was “forced” to do.

The Dave Ramsey financial plan is broken down into It’ll change your outlook and your life. The key is to seven “baby steps.” Steps 4, 5, and 6 include saving get the money quick, like within a month or two. Sell for college, quickly paying off your home mortgage, things, cancel your cable and unplug everything that and investing for retirement. Since those are way uses electricity if you have to. But save $1,000. down the road for both you and me, I’ll let you read the book and learn about those yourself. I want to Pay down what Ramsey calls talk about 1-3 and 7. In general, the book assumes the the “debt snowball.” Whereas I reader is the average American, meaning you have would have thought that if you debt (car, students loans, credit cards). If you’re not have multiple creditors, the in debt, good! You’re ahead of the game and the Dave smart thing to do would be to start with the highplan will teach you how to never be a slave to money. est interest rate, pay it aggressively, and then move to the next highest interest rate, Ramsey suggests Quickly save $1,000. I was surprised by this because I otherwise. He says to start with the lowest balance, thought he’d want us to pay down debt before saving

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baby step

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CENTER RING

pay it aggressively while paying minimum balances on all other debt, and then move to the next lowest.

Similar to the $1,000 quick cash, the goal is to change your behavior. It’s a baby step. If you aggressively pay off your lowest-balance debt, then it should pay off quickly. Then you’re motivated and encouraged to keep going! Take everything that you were paying on your lowest balance, which is now paid in full, and apply it to the second lowest balance. It snowballs from there until your debt is paid off quicker than you ever thought.

When you are finally finished with Baby Step 3, you step back and think, holy cow. Can you believe you just did that?! I’m going to skip Steps 4-6, not because they aren’t important, but because you have enough to keep you busy for a while. I have to leave you a reason to read the book, right?

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baby step

But I’m going to be a plot spoiler and let you in on Baby Step 7: Build wealth and give! One of the best parts of wealth, besides peace of mind and security, is being able to give it Depending on your debt, it might take a couple years away. Have you noticed that poor people can’t help to make it through Baby Step 2. But once you have, poor people much? Although the Lord loves a sacrifiyou’ve accomplished something major. Yes, it is dif- cial giver, he has no problem with wealth. Remember: ficult to sacrifice for so long, but Ramsey’s motto is, the love of money is the root of evil – not money itself.

“If today you will live like no one else, later you can The Total Money Makeover spends a lot of time live like no one else.” teaching you about myths and not-so-secret secrets Finish building your emergency about money management. He rants about bad monfund. Right now, you have $1,000 ey habits – and he should know, he had a bunch – and stashed away and no debt. That why they will leave you a slave to debt forever. By same amount that you were pay- the way, Ramsey has been bankrupt and come back ing toward your debt each month will now be added again, so he learned many of his lessons the hard to your Emergency Fund. If you had been paying a car way! Ramsey informs on where to invest, how much payment, credit cards and maybe a student loan, all to invest and strategies for success. It is not a getof those payments you no longer have to make can rich-quick scheme, but rather a get-rich-slowly plan. now be applied toward building your emergency fund quickly. Most financial advisors recommend having As you become financially independent and rely less 3-6 months of life expenses in the bank. Personally, in on your parents for financial support, you will probthis economy, I feel more comfortable with 9-12, but ably run across all kinds of “financial advice.” A lot of what you hear may be really, really bad advice – it’s your decision. and certainly not grounded in God’s word. And yet,

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baby step

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I wouldn’t say that the Dave Ramsey plan is the only smart plan out there either. I would encourage you to read the book and decide for yourself. If nothing else, it’s hard to argue with his motto that if today you will live like no one else, later you can live like no one else!

The concept of sacrificing today for a bigger payout later will be present in any successful financial plan… and you can take that one to the bank.

Yo u w i l l p r o b a b l y r u n a c r o s s a l l k i n d s o f “ f i n a n c i a l a d v i c e .” A l o t o f w h a t y o u h e a r m a y b e r e a l l y, r e a l l y bad advice – and cer tainly not g r o u n d e d i n G o d ’s w o r d .

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THE RECAP

by Jeffrey Bridgman

Imaginary Jesus by Matt Mikalatos is an excellent book with both serious and funny material. As a depiction of the author’s journey to discover the real Jesus, it confronts some of the darkest questions of the Christian faith. At the same time it is a comedy of bizarre characters, such as a talking donkey, and strange events, such as an inner tube race down a ski slope with a philosophical intent – reminiscent of Calvin and Hobbes.

It also contains some exaggerated, fast-paced action, like getting smashed in the face by a metal bar in a fight between two imaginary saviors. The reader can’t help but laugh when the two are subsequently healed by a televangelist also named Jesus – Mikalatos must have drawn on his years of clerking in a comic book store for that one. In any case, this book is never boring and it leaves the reader wanting more at the end of each chapter.

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The story begins with Matt and a foot-bouncin’, iPod listenin’ Jesus hanging out at a cafe in Portland. Matt’s life takes a turn for the bizarre when a stranger, who we find out is actually the Apostle Peter, walks in and punches Jesus in the face. This helps Matt to realize that the man he was hanging out with was an imaginary, powerless Jesus, who is not capable of saving him from getting a parking ticket. (Although, I think mine may have totally saved me from getting a parking ticket last week.) The story continues with Matt embarking on a wild chase to hunt down and “deal with” this impostor, hoping to uncover the real Jesus.

But, you still may be wondering, what in the world is an “imaginary Jesus”?

him in the face,” and search for the real thing.

Matt recounts a time when his wife’s wrists were hurting. He prayed for her and within minutes the pain went away. Then he questioned, “What had just happened? As strange as this may sound, this obvious answer to our prayer frightened me. This was an unexpected and slightly terrifying Jesus.... How do you deal with a God who breaks all the rules such as the one which says, ‘God doesn’t do miracles today,’ that your confident, well-meaning friends have told you he will follow?”

Matt eventually concludes he can’t control Jesus, and is frightened by this fact. But this seemingly good, The book does a good job articulating this, so below albeit scary, event later becomes the root of Matt’s are some quotes that should help explain what the doubt and causes him to invent yet another imaginary Jesus. It happens during another situation when author means by this term. they need a miracle, and this time God doesn’t act.

“They’re constructs that tell you what Matt explains: “Sometimes seeing miracles makes Jesus will say or do, how he feels, what the later lack of them that much harder.” he thinks, without ever having to get to Anyone who reads this book is likely to discover know him.” they have created their own false concept of Jesus.

“People invent a Jesus for one specific I certainly did. In the course of my walk with Jesus, reason and then discard him when they I have to admit I’ve turned my back on Him at times don’t need him anymore.... The real Jebecause, “I didn’t want to serve a God like that.” Now sus is inconvenient. He doesn’t show up I understand that these times of turning away often when you call. He asks for unreasonable stemmed from an imaginary Jesus who I created, but things. He frightens people. He can be was tired of serving. immensely frustrating.”

I’ve definitely met Legalist Jesus. He’s the one that At one point Matt’s own Imaginary Jesus explains: speaks lies like, “I don’t know why you expect God “You say you want to get rid of me, but every time to show up. You haven’t been good enough,”or “God you send me away you call me back. The first prob- doesn’t love you when you disobey Him.” I’ve also lem you face, the first time you pray and don’t get an met Bargain Jesus – the one that will answer our immediate answer, you call me back, and extrapolate prayers only if we keep our side of the deal. Both of answers to your own questions. You’re praying to these gods were so unattractive they almost made yourself Matt.... But time after time you keep return- me turn away from Christ entirely. But in reality, I was ing to me because deep down you prefer me to the missing the real Jesus, which is why it’s so important real thing.” to realize we often have these false images hanging around. There are probably more of these false conEssentially, the author is describing lies we tell our- cepts of Jesus in my life that I’ve yet to uncover, but selves, and others have told us, about who Jesus is this book helped open my eyes to this critical issue.

– lies that lead us away from Christ.

Following the sound advice of this book, we should One of the goals of this book is to point out the con- seek out these false ideas of Jesus, and send them cept of error realization. We can’t correct something packing with “a swift punch to their faces and a good until we know it’s wrong. If we don’t know that our kick in their shins.” Don’t worry, the real Jesus will concept of Jesus is false, we won’t know to “punch approve.

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reba ray’s down home healthy cookin’ for one on a budget

T

his may well be the easiest set of recipettes I’ve ever concocted – variations on the theme of water! Any maybe yur wonderin’ why I would even bother. Well, can I tell you a little secret about yurself?

You’re probably mildly dehydrated. I can say this with confidence, though it dudn’t give me any joy to do so, because medical and nutrition experts estimate that up to 80 percent of the population is walking around in a constant state of mild dehydration. Feelin’ a little thirsty? Maybe, maybe not. Yur body may be so used to bein’ drained that it doesn’t even send a decent thirst signal for mild dehydration. So, if yur thirst mechanism isn’t kickin’ in, you need a back-up plan: Drink 10 cups of water or water-based food and drink every day. Just make it a habit.

Why? Because even mild dehydration can zap a person of intellect! Ever feel sleepy in class or meetings?

Ever have trouble concentratin’ when it’s time to work on an assignment? Excuse yurself and go getcha a big glass of water. I know what yur thinkin: “Then I’ll have to excuse myself again in 20 minutes to go to the bathroom.” It’s true that when you start to drink what you oughta be drinkin’, you have to run to the potty a lot more than usual. But if you’ll just make 10 cups a day a habit, pretty soon – like within a couple of weeks – yur body will get used to it and you won’t be running to the potty every 20 minutes. And you’ll be operatin’ at yur prime, all the time.

You probably knew that severe dehydration can be life-threatening. Ever heard of cholera? It can kill a person in a day simply by dehydratin’ em. Mild dehydration is serious stuff too! Because a thirsty body trickles down to thirsty cells, chronic mild dehydra-

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Up to 80 percent of the population is walking around in a constant state of mild dehydration.

Feelin’ a little thirsty?

tion can mess with yur body systems and organs.

Here’s a quick list of some of the damage lackin’ a little water every day can cause: headaches, impaired sleep (except in classes and meetings!), dry skin, joint problems, sore eyes and digestive disorders, as well as lack of concentration. Furthermore, you may have no clue that lack of water is causing or making worse these conditions: asthma, heart disease, hypertension, infections and more.

Simple enough to fix, though: drink water, right? Actually, that might not solve the problem. Dehydration can be caused by just a whole lot of things, so check out this list of 25 causes of dehydration, only one of which is that you need to drink more. Disclaimer: The link above is not a medical reference; it’s a list compiled by someone wantin’ to sell you fancy wa-

ter purification rituals. However, it’s a really good list! Most of the medical sites, like Mayo Clinic, just list a few causes of dehydration that you might be lookin’ for in a person needing medical attention. I don’t endorse fancy water purification rituals, but read Just What You Need in this issue of Single! for some whistle-wetting gear I do recommend.

Now, whatcha gonna wet yur whistle with?

I don’t fully understand it, but I hear people sayin’ all the time, “I don’t like water.” Well, OK, but ya still need to drink it, so we better figure out a way to get past that. But first let’s look at some ways that don’t work: Sodas. You read me right! Those tiny bubbles are keepin’ yur body from processing that water the way it needs to. Caffeinated drinks, including sweet tea, and alcohol (but you already knew that, right?) contribute to dehydration as well. What does count toward yur 10 cups is anything with water, like fruits and veggies, soup, milk, juice and decaf coffee or tea. Trouble with gettin’ all yur daily hydration through sources other than water is that all the rest of those sources have calories. For weight management, you gotta drink some water! If you get a decent supply of fruits and veggies, and maybe eat a yogurt or drink a glass of milk a day, you probably only need to down 8 cups of liquid a day. But if yur diet in a day is dry – breads, pastas, nuts, etc., make it 10 cups of libation. Now for some ways to dress up water without too much effort, from least to greatest taste impact.

10. Add ice 9. Tear in half and toss in mint leaves 8. Gently squeeze and toss in a lemon or lime wedge 7. Flavored ice cubes (made out of yur favorite juice).

6. Bite and crush a piece of hard candy with the wrapper still on and then open it into yur water.

Butterscotch, peppermint and cinnamon all work well.

5. More candy! Add red hots to the bottom of the glass.

4. Toss in a few maraschino cherries and a few squirts of lime juice from concentrate.

3. Try herbal teas. Every grocery store has ‘em.

2. Go half and half: juice and water. (All juice is a high calorie way to hydrate.)

1. Kool-aid or lemonade singles are an easy way to convert yur liter water bottle into a highly tolerable sugary beverage.

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spare change

a

spa

- day on spare change

Could you use a day at the spa?

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Just one problem, right – who’s paying? Your’re on your own now, and you know what that means: If you’re going to the spa, you’re paying. Well, so much for the spa. But wait! You can have the same relaxing and fun day at home, pampering yourself or sharing the pampering among friends, on less than $10 for a full body treatment.

by julie ann It was a tough assignment, but I made the sacrifice and became the guinea pig to test at-home spa treatments, so I can fully endorse these practice to you. They are easy, low-cost recipes to cover you from head to toe, while costing mere pennies. And they’re made with natural products you probably already have in your kitchen.

$1

$3

Honey Yogurt Oatmeal Facial:

Hands and Feet:

Paying $50 to $250 for a salon facial would probably do more harm than good to my face, considering the distress I would suffer when they hand me the bill! Even store brought products for home use are a shock with price tags of $15 $.5 to $25. However, once you see the glow on your face after a Honey Yogurt Oatmeal Facial – with a Hair Hot Oil cool price tag of about a dollar per Treatment: treatment – salon facials won’t On average, a store bought hot oil even tempt you anymore! treatment costs $1 to $3.50 and Instructions: Mix two tablespoons you could expect to pay from $5 plain yogurt, one tablespoon honto $20 at a salon. Instead, head to ey and two tablespoons of cooked your cupboard and grab your cano- oatmeal, cooled, into a paste and la oil and you’ll only be spending apply to a clean face. Leave on 10 about 17 to 50 cents per treatment. to 15 minutes and then wash off Instructions: Pour two to four table- with a warm wash cloth. spoons (depending on length and thickness of hair) of canola oil into a coffee mug and microwave until warm – about 15 seconds. Then use a large paint brush to apply to hair.

Leave on for five to 15 minutes and then rinse. This can get messy, so make sure you wear old clothes.

The yogurt contains lactic acid which is great for refining pours, aids in exfoliation and stimulates collagen production. The honey will help keep skin soft and moisturized.

I’m not a big fan of having gooey gunk on my face, so I was a little nervous about this treatment.

However, I was pleased with the experience. Although the oatmeal chunks sticking to my face made me look a little like Nanny McPhee, once I washed it off, my face felt cool and refreshed.

I expected it to be hard to rinse out, but it came out nicely and I followed up with my regular conditioner. Afterwards I noticed my hair was much softer and felt “lighter” than normal. If you have damaged hair, you might want to do this once or twice a week until Even purchased in the smallest inyou see improvement. crements, you should have enough ingredients for several treatments and even a few breakfasts!

The manicure and pedicure is the personal treat of choice for a lot of women. But again, why spend your time and money at a salon when you can achieve similar results at home?

Instructions: For an at-home manipedi you will need nail polish remover, basic manicure tools (nail trimmer and file), a basin for water, Epson salt and/or bubble bath, a pumice stone or foot file, a moisturizer and your favorite color of nail polish.

First, remove any old polish and then trim and file the nails. Next, soak feet/hands in a basin of warm water (Epson salt for feet, bubble bath for hands.) For feet, use a pumice stone or foot file to soften rough spots. Once hands/feet are dry, moisturize, run over nails on hands and feet with a quick swab of nail polish remover once more to remove any lotion on the nails. Apply polish to nails and relax while they dry.

I’m always doing at home manipedis, so this wasn’t a new experience for me. I do a hand and foot treatment about once a week.

About twice a week I change my fingernail color.

If you have problems painting your own nails, throw a mani-pedi party and get your friends to help. Also, check YouTube and search athome manicure or pedicure to find videos or more in-depth text tutorials.

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$5 Body Scrub: Don’t put that oatmeal away just yet because you will need it for our final treatment: a total body sugar oatmeal scrub. Store bought sugar-based body scrubs cost from $16 to $30 and at a day spa the price will start around $50. However, this treatment will be just as sweet with a price tag of less than $5 per treatment.

Instructions: Mix ¼ cup brown sugar, ¼ cup raw oatmeal and ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil. While standing in the shower, apply on dry skin with your hands and rub in a circular motion. Turn on shower and rinse off. If you want a more aggressive exfoliation, apply wearing a loopha mit.

I was glad that I was standing in the shower, because this turned out to be really messy upon application.

It was a little irritating while I was rubbing it in, but once I showered it felt amazing. It left my skin fabulously soft and glowing for several days.

My skin was a little oily for about 30 minutes after application, so be sure to avoid good clothes right after the shower. Because olive oil is a bit more expensive (that is what makes the price on this treatment a little higher) you can experiment with canola or other types of oil.

Coconut oil is also great, but costs even more than olive oil.

These treatments are just a spring board to all kinds of fun, at-home treatments you can concoct with natural ingredients. Find hundreds of options on the Internet by searching: at home _____ (facial, body scrub, etc.). Have fun experimenting and don’t forget to count up the money you are saving!

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On My Own Now: Straight talk from the proverbs for young Christian women who want to remain pure, debt-free and regret-free.

Now available at www.onmyownnow.com, at Amazon, B&N and a library near you.

Unconventionally conventional wisdom.

⎟Fashion DIVinA⎟ Think you can’t afford to give to charities? Well, can I ask a personal question? How much did you pay for your shoes? And how about your favorite T-shirt? If you bought them retail, chances are you can afford to give to charity and it will cost no more than you’re already paying for clothes and shoes.

Next time you have a need (or desire, as is usually the case) for new clothes or shoes, how about making a purchase from one of the growing number of social entrepreneurs who have committed to doing good deeds with their profits. Below are five such organizations, and if you don’t find what you need

Why don’t I skip the clothing purchase and donate directly to a charity? with these companies, searching the Internet will likely till up other options.

I’ve supported some of these myself and they’re a great witnessing tool. I’ve been stopped several times, and questioned about what I’m wearing and what it means.

But before you ask, here’s the answer to the question that will eventually occur to you: Why don’t I skip the clothing purchase and donate directly to a charity? The answer comes from the Web site of Groobs, a shoe company that donates $6 to $9 (which is 50% of its profits) to charity for each pair of shoes sold. Groob Founder Jason Fry says, “Do it. Make a difference in someone’s life. Volunteer, give money but why not get your GROOB ON and make an impact in a person’s life too?”

by Tamara Jane 18

Tom’s shoes are no Payless variety, costing considerably more than bargain shoes, and Tom’s shoes cost considerably more than Groobs (see below). But consider this: If you buy bargain shoes, you get what you pay for and you probably do not go out and make a donation to charity in the same amount as you spent on shoes. But if you buy Toms or Groobs, you get a premium pair of shoes and a comparable premium pair of shoes is

donated to a person who may actually be in desper- It’s a great opportunity to raise awareness of a good ate need of a pair of shoes. I’m not talking need like cause. we talk need, like my-sneakers-have-a-hole-in-them need. I’m talking need like has-no-shoes-at-all need.

If you’re already giving a tithe and offerings and living on a tight budget, best stick to bargain shoes and clothes. However, if you’ve been skimping on charity or you regularly pay $50 for a pair of shoes and $20 for t-shirts, best try to redeem those purchases by making them part of the global poverty “solution,” because at present, they are part of the global poverty problem. “Solution” is in quotes because I’m not so naïve as to think that we can rid the world of poverty.

In fact, it’s not scriptural. Jesus said the poor will always be with us. Yet we are commanded and advised over and over in scripture to be kind to the poor and give to the poor. So if you’ve ever wondered how to go about doing that, you’ll be ecstatic to know that it’s as easy as going shopping through some of the companies listed below.

TOMS SHOES Toms makes comfortable, cute yet simple shoes and for every pair that is purchased one pair goes to a child who needs a pair of shoes. “One for one.” Recently, Toms reached a milestone in that they have given away one million pairs of shoes. Toms sponsors “one day without shoes” each year on April 5th – another great conversation starter. (Especially with the boss!) If you can’t go barefoot in your school or workplace, buy a pair of Toms and wear them on that day! Toms is also a great choice if you don’t shop online. They are carried by shoe stores all over. Find one near you.

INVISIBLE CHILDREN (IC)

TWLOHA

You can purchase T-shirts, tanktops, messenger bags... and why? To help raise awareness of and end (to write love on her arms) the longest running war in Africa. Invisible Children With a motto, “Rescue is possible,” TWLOHA raises uses films, creativity and social action to end the use awareness about people who are hurting and in need of child soldiers in rebel warfare and restore Northof love and support, and have expressed this need ern Uganda to peace and prosperity. And this selling through depression, suicide, eating disorders, cut- clothes thing is working for them as well. On May 24, ting, burning, other self-mutilation or just by being in- 2010, Jason Russell, Laren Poole and Ben Keesey of secure. From their online store, buy hoodies, T-shirts, IC joined President Obama in the Oval Office as he tanktops, wristbands and more that sport a message signed the LRA Disarmament and Northern Uganda to let hurting people know you care. Proceeds sup- Recovery Act – proof your contributions make a difference. port TWLOHA’s mission.

Even if you’re a strict thrift store shopper (and good for you and the world if you are), you can still get involved with these charities if in no other way than Twenty-five percent of the proceeds from the pur- by browsing their sites, becoming familiar with the chase of clothes and jewelry sold on this site support causes, telling others (in conversation, as well as ThinkHumanity.org, whose mission is to provide re- through social media), making a direct donation, parlief, support and hope for a promising future to refu- ticipating in one of their awareness efforts and best gees in Africa. I have bought one of their t-shirts that of all, praying for their causes. says, “This shirt feeds starving children,” on the front, and on the back it explains, “Each shirt sold provides one child with a meal a day for a month.” This shirt is the traffic stopper. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been stopped and asked what my shirt is about.

WE ARE OVERLOOKED

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DRINK OF WATER

by Donna Lee Schillinger

Man, Reba Ray hit that drinkin’ thang hard, didn’t she? But it’s not so easy to keep up with 8 to 10 cups of liquid a day. After all, we have enough to keep track of without measuring water – which is just one good reason why just what you need is a stainless steel water bottle. They come in sizes ranging from 12 to 40 ounces, so you can just do the math and figure, “I need to drink 3 of these to get enough water each day.”

Simplicity is one, but by no means the only, nor the most important reason to invest in stainless steel.

Probably most importantly, reusing a stainless steel container cuts down on the plastic water bottle waste which is now at epic proportions! Save the planet – use stainless steel. Of next greatest importance is our health. Plastic emits a harmful chemical, BPA, the impact of which we’re still trying to get a handle on. Even if we purchase our water and take it right home and stick it in the fridge, chances are that somewhere along the supply chain that plastic heated enough to give off some BPA. So the very essence that’s supposed to be nourishing our bodies is poisoning us!

Another great advantage to stainless steel is that we can fill it up from our tap and drink water at a fraction of the cost we would pay for plastic bottled water. A review of four popular brands of water

JUST W you HAT

NEED

bottle is at GoGreenTravelGreen. com. It also helps that stainless steel bottles are trendy now (you won’t look like a geek carrying it) vest in a good, but lowand they don’t change the flavor of cost water filtration system, like water. a Brita pitcher. No installation, initial investment is reasonable But what about that? Maybe and you can take it with you when you’ve been driven to the (disposyou move. Purchase filters in mulable) bottle by bad tap water. Ugh! tipacks to make them more afFirst, check to see if your city’s fordable. PUR, another filtration drinking water just tastes bad or system you pour tap water into really is bad. If you pay your own and then store in the fridge, ofwater bill, the water company will fers a 2-pack of flavored filters for mail you a Consumer Confidence cheaper than their 2-pack of reguReport annually by July 1. Public lar filters. If your water needs a lot health and safety company, NSF, of help, try one of their five flavors. offers a guide to interpreting waFor a full and cost-conscious analter quality reports. Or, get a quick ysis of water filtration, with links online report from the Environto purchase the different systems, mental Working Group’s drinking visit Cheapism.com’s cheap water water database – the largest in the filter page. world! Enter your zip code, then select your water company, read What ever happened to drinking the report and weep! from the hose? Days gone by. Water is serious business now, and If your water actually has a good that means that we, the consumquality rating and just tastes funers, need to get smart about water. ny, I highly recommend immersAs carelessly as we brush our teeth ing yourself in it, that is, drink it with the tap running and take long anyway, all the time, for about two showers, it would seem we think weeks and soon you won’t notice water is free. Consider, however, if how nasty it truly is. Your taste we pay $.99 for a 12-ounce bottle, and smell receptors will become that we’re actually paying more satiated for those particular nasty for a gallon of water than for a galparticles and soon you’ll be able to lon of milk. Would you pay $10.56 actually enjoy your water. But be for a gallon of milk? Do the math, warned that after a vacation of a baby, that’s what you’re paying for week or more, you might have to water at $.99 for 12 ounces. Don’t desensitize yourself again. drink your paycheck away! Invest If your water is actually bad, in- in good, cheap water today.

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