About Me

Hi, I’m Julie

Hi, my name is Julie. I am a beloved daughter of the Most High King, Jesus Christ.  Jesus is my first love and the Truth that guides the rest of my life.  I am a wife to my wonderful husband Bill and mother of 3, almost 4.

I enjoy writing, reading, researching, running, hiking, finding the best price on whatever we need, gardening, baking, going for walks with my husband, laughing with my kids, traveling, Lake Superior, encouraging people, studying God’s Word and nature.  I have a heart for the down trodden, especially the homeless population.  And I have a passion for learning about, utilizing and educating others about clean food, natural household and lawn products and natural medicine as well as encouraging others to be their best selves through the knowledge of Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

Lake Superior: One of my favorite places on earth

I started this blog to share with others the wealth of information my family and I have been learning about various health issues that found us.  We were forced to start learning about these health issues starting when our first son was about a year old and continuing with him and the birth of our second son a couple of years later.  I have learned so much and found natural solutions to problems that I suspect many kids take lots of medications for and then suffer the side effects of the medications as well as never finding and fixing the real problem.  I hope to help other parents and individuals find whole health naturally and thus feel better physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually and increase the odds of living a longer life. 

Some of the topics covered in this blog include: the benefits of eating clean food, why eating organic food is one of the best things you can do to prolong your life and quality of life, using natural cleaners and lawn products, freedom in faith in Jesus, having a healthy lifestyle that includes exercise and adequate rest, utilizing natural medicine before trying prescriptions and so much more.

The sunflower is my favorite flower. It represents growing into all that I can be for God’s glory.

How We Started Down the Organic/All Natural Road

I have always tried to live what I thought was a healthy lifestyle and to eat healthy, but that took on new meaning when our first son was about 8 months old and starting to eat food, not just breast milk.  He started to have colds that turned to trouble breathing within a few days.  Our family doctor had no substantial answers, said he probably had asthma and prescribed steroids and antibiotics.  We went through 4 rounds of that before deciding that we would try a local chiropractor who many of our friends had recommended who also specializes in nutritional medicine, supplements and applied kinesiology.  At the time, I had never been to a chiropractor myself and I didn’t think very highly of them.  However, having our son on steroids and antibiotics his whole life didn’t sound wise.  Logically, I figured something was causing our sons trouble with breathing and congestion and I wanted to find out what that was, not just cover up the symptoms with medication.  I figured we didn’t have anything to lose going to the chiropractor (except a few dollars for the appointment) so we made an appointment.

They diagnosed right away that our son is ‘sensitive’ to wheat; in other words it would not show up on an allergy test but was obviously making him very sick.  After taking wheat out of his diet he never needed antibiotics or steroids again!  This was just the beginning of a lot of food sensitivities that our two sons have.  Over time and paying a lot of attention to how various foods effect each of them we also discovered that they both react very negatively to all artificial flavors and colors in food, to preservatives and to food that was treated with a lot of herbicides or pesticides or that was genetically modified.  Just one example of many I could share here: If our 6 year old has gluten free chicken nuggets but they are not also organic the food makes him very aggressive for hours after he eats it.

If we had taken the traditional medicine route, I believe they would both have been diagnosed as ADHD, be on large doses of medicine for that as well as on steroids for continual asthma, and the younger one probably on a mood stabilizer and  in alternative education classrooms. Why? Because their behavior and physical health is that much better on an organic diet and when taking into consideration their food sensitivities! 

(If the produce looks perfect, it’s probably not worth eating.)

This and other stories of friends being healed of serious physical ailments simply by eating organic and/or using the wisdom of ‘alternative medicine’ inspires me to help others find whole health freedom as well and be their best selves in every way! 

I am not a doctor. I am a mom with a lot of life experience that I think will bless others. 

My family has found that eating organic, avoiding all artificial ingredients in our food, using natural household cleaners and avoiding harsh chemicals in general, prioritizing our relationship with God and family time, getting regular fresh air and exercise and living a healthy lifestyle are excellent tools for overall positive whole health. I hope that you find wisdom, information and encouragement that helps with your own life on this blog. 

I provide links to many other websites, doctors, and professionals with scientific and medical information as well as other Christian blogs and podcasts to further assist you. Enjoy! 

Spiritual Health: I will go into my Christian background only in brief here and more detailed elsewhere. I heard the stories of Jesus growing up at church but didn’t have a personal relationship with Him until college. At that time, I surrendered my life to Jesus as my Lord and Savior.  I am so thankful to have the foundation of Jesus and the Bible as the backdrop of my whole life, the filter that I run everything through instead of the changing ways of the world. Only with Jesus is real peace possible. I want others to know the amazing freedom that comes from living for Him instead of ourselves. My relationship with Jesus grows all the time as I learn new things through His Word (the Bible), church, Christian books, talking with other Christians, etc. And if you ever see me wearing a cross necklace just know it’s a reminder to myself to act/think/be the way Jesus calls me to be even when stressed, tired, overwhelmed, etc. People are not Christians because we are perfect, rather it is because we are all hypocrites at some times and we all need a Savior and a road map for life (the Bible and Holy Spirit).  We all need forgiveness.

Education: My bachelors is in biology. I have worked for the U.S. Forest Service and the U.S. Park Service doing a variety of projects. I worked in a few different greenhouses propagating native plants and then transplanting them out in the wild and in peoples’ gardens. I did extensive research on growing native plants and the wildlife they support. I helped educate the public about the benefits of natural landscaping. I studied rare plants in their wild environments. I helped eradicate invasive species.

My masters’ degree is in clinical counseling from a Christian seminary. I worked in this field for several years and still maintain my license.  I have worked with the homeless population at a Christian homeless shelter, in an office setting, in intensive outpatient settings with crisis situations and with youth on the autistic spectrum in both the school and office setting.  I have helped to write IEP’s and have advocated for other children’s need for IEP’s as well as my own children’s need for them in the past. 

I love to write and research and took some creative writing classes and other writing classes in my younger years. 

Currently, I am a mamma of almost 4 kids, researching and writing this blog, taking care of my family and  house, worshiping and giving thanks to God daily for all He has blessed me with and asking God, “What is Your agenda for me today?” because often what I want to accomplish doesn’t all fit but God’s perfect plan will.  I hope and pray that you are blessed by this blog.