5 Ways to Boost Your Child’s Immune System

As the weather changes and as people spend more time indoors together, the propensity for colds, flu, and other illnesses to spread from person to person increases.  Natural remedies are wonderful when your child is sick, but boosting their immune system to try to prevent them from catching any illness in the first place is even better!

So what are some natural ways you can boost your child's immune system?

1. First of all, there is no substitute for a nutrient-dense diet.  Nutritional deficiencies make your child much more susceptible to viruses and bacteria.  Additionally, additives and sugar found in processed foods not only do nothing to strengthen the immune system, they actually suppress it.  Keep your child off packaged food with added ingredients and cook whole foods for them.  (Need help planning a healthy menu?  I like using Build a Menu.)

2. Herbs – there are several herbs with immune boosting properties.  I'm honestly not very knowledgeable about herbs — yet!  I am working my way through the Making Herbs Simple course from Bulk Herb Store .  I'm really excited about learning!  I purchased some pre-made formulas and they worked so well when my little guy was sick last week!

3. Non-toxic environment – exposure to chemicals on a regular basis can damage the immune system.  I try to use only natural cleaning and beauty products and we do not use antibacterial soap as it kills all bacteria, not just the bad.  When any resistant bacteria emerge, there are no good bacteria to fight them.

4. Sleep – Children and adults alike need sleep in order to give their body time to regenerate cells and repair itself.  If your child does not get enough sleep, his body does not have time to rebuild itself from the damage of the day and will eventually succumb to whatever bacteria or viruses are attacking his system.

5. Probiotics – probiotics are the friendly bacteria that naturally occur in the gut.  One of their jobs is to protect the body from bacteria and viruses.  When the balance of beneficial bacteria to unfriendly bacteria is incorrect, your child will be much more susceptible to illness.  Supplementing with probiotics will help your child's body naturally protect itself.  One enjoyable way for your child to consume enough probiotics is to feed them yogurt or fermented foods like sourdough.  You can also get powdered probiotics to add to their food or drink.  I buy mine at Vitacost.  I get the Garden of Life Raw Probiotics for Kids.  (Sign up through this link and you will get a coupon for $10 off your first purchase.)

6. Oral Hygiene –  Oral health has an incredible impact on your overall health!  To make a long story short, bacteria from improper brushing and flossing habits move into the bloodstream and create system-wide imflammation, which sets the stage for any number of illnesses.  Proper dental hygiene is a must for healthy children!

(Did anybody notice that was actually 6 ways?  Evidently I can't count!)

Other posts you may like:

An Affordable Alternative to Health Insurance

If you’re distressed about the rising costs of health insurance or confused by the complexities of the Affordable Care Act, you will be happy to know that there is an alternative form of health care.

Samaritan Ministries is a “Biblical, non-insurance approach to health care needs”.

Our family has been members of Samaritan Ministries for several years now, and we have been very happy with our experience.

First, let me say that one of the reasons Samaritan Ministries works well for us is that we try to keep doctor's visits to an absolute minimum.  We use it for larger medical bills only.  If you have ongoing medical needs which require frequent doctor's visits you may need to look for a different option.

How it works:

When you have a medical need, you state to your provider that you are “self-pay”.   You negotiate with the provider for any discounts they can offer. If you need help doing this, members of Samaritan Ministries can request free help from the Karis Group.

You then submit your need to Samaritan Ministries and send them all of the bills that you received. After they review the bills and confirm that the need submitted is in accordance with their guidelines, they assign members to send their shares to you the next month. You will receive a checklist with the names of each family who will be sending a check and mark them off as each check comes in. At the end of the month you send the checklist back to Samaritan Ministries so they can confirm that the other members are paying their monthly share.

You pay the first $300 of each particular need that you share, and everything above that will be sent to you by the other members. If you have negotiated discounts with your providers, that will count toward the $300, lowering your personal out-of-pocket costs.

Pros:

It’s affordable. Our share for the entire family is $405 per month. That number remains the same regardless of how many children we have. Singles, couples without children, and single-parent families pay even less. Before we became members of Samaritan Ministries, we paid a similar amount for insurance, but that policy did not cover our children, had a high deductible, and did not cover any maternity needs.

It’s personal. When I call to submit a need, I am met with an “I’m sorry. I hope you get well soon.” When other members send their checks to us, we also receive an encouraging note.

It works.   Whenever I discuss Samaritan Ministries with others, I often hear concerns that it’s too scary to trust the other members to send their checks to you. We have shared multiple needs and have never been shorted. I mentioned the checklist earlier which Samaritan Ministries uses to make sure the other members are sending their shares. If for some reason someone on your list does not send their share, that amount will be reassigned in the following month to another member. Also, I like that when I send my monthly share, I am sending it directly to another member. I know that the full amount is going directly to that person’s need. If the shares were funneled through the Samaritan Ministries office, I would have to wonder if the money was really being used for needs or if they were using part of it for their own profits. Sending the money from member to member keeps the testimony of the ministry above board.

I have freedom to choose my providers. Rather than having to choose from approved health care providers as I would with an insurance company, I am free to choose my own providers. I love being able to go where I know I will receive the best care and not have to worry about being denied coverage by insurance.

Cons:

As much as we appreciate Samaritan Ministries, there are some not-so-perfect things about it.   I’ll share them here in hopes of helping you make the most informed decision about your health care coverage.

Prorating. This happens when the amount of needs submitted exceeds the amount of share money available. This has happened with one of the needs we have shared, and we received 80% of the amount of our bills rather than the full amount. 80% is still great, but when money is tight and your bill is large, it can be very disappointing to find out that the bills had to be prorated. However, if there is extra share money available the following month, the surplus will be used to help with the prorated needs. My husband just got a letter notifying him that there was some money in the pro rata fund which would be dispersed to those whose needs were prorated earlier this year.

Out of pocket costs. Since members pay the first $300 of each need they have, routine checkups and single doctor visits will be paid for out of your own pocket. That can be a drawback if you are used to frequent doctor visits that were paid for by insurance. Most optical, auditory, and dental needs are not shareable either.

Additional information:

Members of Samaritan Ministries are exempt from the individual mandate to buy health insurance.   The new healthcare laws contain a provision that members of health care sharing ministries are not subject to the insurance requirement.

While most needs are shareable, there are some medical conditions that are not covered or have limited coverage. The member guidelines clearly explain which needs can and cannot be shared. Additionally, if Samaritan Ministries determines your medical need cannot be shared according to their guidelines, they may publish your medical need as a “Special Prayer Need,” where members can help you pray for God’s provision and where they are encouraged to give a small amount above their normal share to help with your need. Many times needs that cannot be shared are still met in full through the generosity of other members.

To be a member of Samaritan Ministries, you must be a professing Christian who attends church regularly. You must agree to abstain from sinful practices such as drug abuse and sexual immorality and you must be accountable to a pastor or other church leader for the needs you submit.

The maximum amount that will be shared among the members for each medical need is $250,000. Members are also eligible to participate the Save to Share ministry, where the rest of needs over $250,000 may be shared.

There are no lifetime or yearly maximum amounts eligible for sharing and there is no limit on the number of needs that an individual member or household may have.

If you want to know more, you can find FAQ’s, member testimonials, and application information on the Samaritan Ministries website. And if you decide that this is the right option for your family, I would love for you to mention our family as a referral (John and MaryEllen Bream).

If you have any additional questions you can leave them here and I'll do my best to answer them.

(Are you part of a health care sharing ministry other than Samaritan Ministries?  Email me at imperfecthomemaker@gmail.com if you're willing to share about your experience in a short written interview.  I would love to give the readers here a comparison of the different services available.)

Dear Mom: You Are Not Enough

In my internet wanderings I have seen a theme pop up occasionally on various mom blogs and websites that says the following:

“You are enough.”

While that may sound pretty, I had to ask myself if that was really true.

I'm not trying to pour cold water on what others are meaning as an encouragement to weary moms.  Not at all.

However, I want to offer some encouragement that is based on Biblical truth rather than on a feel-good quote.

You see, the phrase “You are enough” sends the message that in spite of your failures and shortcomings, all your kids need is you.  In the end, as long as you're doing the best you can, you're doing just fine.

But holding to the belief that “you are enough” will only bring greater discouragement when all is said and done.

What mom can really bring herself to believe these statements? “It's okay if I lose my patience with my kids.  I'm doing my best so I can't worry about it.  I'll try again tomorrow.”  “It's okay if I don't use my time wisely.  I'll do better tomorrow.”  “I did a lousy job of parenting today, but I won't worry about it because my kids love me anyway.”

I don't know about you, but I don't want to spend my life believing that my best (which always ends up in failure) is good enough.  Because it's not.

Rather than living life accepting failure as normal and good, mom, you can go through life victorious!

And this victory only comes when you realize that you are not enough!

Apart from Christ, you can do nothing!

You can try over and over and over again, but if you are attempting this endeavor of motherhood (and life in general!) on your own, your will fail miserably every single time.

But according to the precious promises of God, you do not have to accept failure.  Through Christ you can live each day victoriously!

Consider these scriptures:

Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

John 15:5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

I Corinthians 15:57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

II Corinthians 2:14 Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ.

Strength!  Fruit-bearing!  Victory!  Triumph!  That's what you find when you realize that you are not enough!  Aren't those so much better than mere acceptance of your imperfect self?

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Another problem with believing that you are enough is this: what you believe and practice will be picked up by your children.

When you believe that you are enough – that you are all your children need, they will also believe exactly that.  When they are hurt or disappointed they will learn that all they need to do is run to mommy and she will make everything better.  How tragic for a child to grow up never learning how to run to the only One who can solve their problems!

No matter how much I love my children, there is a place in their life that I can never fill – that I was never meant to fill.  That is the honored place that belongs to the Lord Jesus Christ.  I want him to be my children's best friend.  When my children need somewhere to run when they are hurt or disappointed, I want them to learn to run to Him – not  to mom.  Will I always be there with my arms open?  You better believe it!  But mingled with that fierce embrace will be the knowledge that I can't make it better because I am not enough.  That is when I go with my child to the throne of Grace and lead him to the One who is enough!

What a precious gift to give your child — the gift of teaching him to put his trust not in an imperfect human, but in a God who will never fail him!

Mom, you are not enough.  But you can have a personal relationship with the One who is enough.  (If you don't know him, please read this page to find out how you can!)

If you do have a personal relationship with Christ, remember that you can live each day victoriously through His strength!  You can teach your children to run to him with every hurt and difficulty.  You can end each day without feeling frustrated at your failure.

Because HE is enough.

Won't you join me on Facebook for more mom-to-mom encouragement?

One Simple Word That Could Change Your Home

You are here because you are a homemaker.  (At least that's what I'm assuming!)

Look up the definition of “homemaker” in any dictionary, and you will find something to the effect of “a person who manages a home.”

Now if you look up the definition of the word “home”, you will find that it not only means “the place where a person lives”, but it also includes “the social unit formed by a family living together”. 

So, as a homemaker, you are not only the manager of the house in which you live, but you are in essence the manager of the family that lives there as well.

If you want to be successful in your calling as a homemaker, your time and attention should be on how you can better yourself in your management of both your home and your family.

Right here, before they ever get any further than the definition of their calling, is where many homemakers get derailed.

I confess it is very easy to do.

Opportunities to do so many good things come your way all the time – teaching Sunday School, leading homeschool co-op, volunteering at the crisis pregnancy center, etc.

But the question you must ask yourself when these opportunities come along is “Will this prevent me from managing my home and family successfully?  How much of my time will this require?”

If you cannot honestly say that your role as a home manager will not be hindered, then the word you must use is the word “No.”

It's a hard one to say sometimes.  (What will other people think?) Let me be clear.  I am not saying it is wrong to accept opportunities. But I am saying it is wrong if it will prevent you from fulfilling your responsibilities at home.

If you find yourself constantly frazzled that you can't keep up with the laundry, or frustrated that you can never seem to find time to give your child some much-needed one-on-one time, or feeling guilty that you haven't cooked a nice meal for your husband in who-knows-how-long, then you'll know it's time to use that little word.

Maybe you not only need to refuse new opportunities, but you need to cut down on some of the things with which you are already involved.

Don't feel guilty for saying no to something good in order to say yes to that which is best in this season of your life.

Reduce responsibility, and see if it doesn't help you find an extra level of peace in your home!

What do you need to say no to?  I'd love for you to share your thoughts in the comments!

Where to Start with Child Training When You Feel Like You’re Behind

I’ve recently had some moms ask me where to begin when their children are older but they wish they would have started training their children to obey God from birth.

They know they need to start, but aren’t quite sure how.

Teaching your child at an older age is not going to differ much from teaching a younger child.

We all need the same thing whether we’re children, teenagers, or adults, and that is the spirit of God working to change us through the power of His Word.

The salvation of your child and subsequently a life that is lived for God’s glory is the ultimate goal. The goal is not to have your child outwardly conform to your standards, but rather to be changed from the inside out. So first of all, ask yourself “Does my child claim to know Christ as his Savior?” If not, pray specifically toward that end and focus on teaching them Scripture that is directed specifically toward pointing out their sin and their need for a Savior.

If your child does know Christ as his Savior, then he has the Holy Spirit dwelling within. It should be your goal as the parent to direct your child to follow the Spirit’s promptings in his heart. If all a child learns is to follow rules, his life will be a mess when he is grown and he has no one to make any rules for him. Instead you need teach your child that God’s Word needs to be his authority. When enforcing rules at home, remind your child every time that by disobeying his parents he has actually disobeyed God’s Word.

Before we go any further, I want to be doubly sure you understand exactly what the goal is. You can’t reach a goal if you’re not 100% clear on what it is.

Read this out loud to solidify it in your own heart and mind:

My goal in training (child’s name) is the salvation of (his/her) soul and (his/her) submission to the Word of God.

Okay, now that you know exactly what the goal is let’s go over some practical steps to get there.

1. First of all, PRAY! I already mentioned that it is the Holy Spirit who must do the work in your child’s heart. You can enforce conformity to outward standards, but you can never get into your child’s heart and change his thinking and attitudes. If you want the Holy Spirit to do so, you need to ask him! You should also be praying for wisdom to know what to say as you teach your child and how to respond when a particular situation arises.

2. Know the Word of God for yourself. If your goal is for your children to be submissive to the Word of God, they first of all need to know what it says. And if you want your children to know the Word of God, you need to know it yourself. You can’t teach something you don’t know!  (See also: Finding Time for God When You Can Hardly Find Time to Breathe.)

3. Build credibility. You can talk to your children until you are blue in the face, but they are not going to listen to a word you say if your life does not back up what you are saying. (Mom tells me God’s Word is the most important thing in the world, but she spends all her time on the computer? Mom tells me to speak to others kindly, but she yells at me when she’s frustrated?   You get the picture.)

Not only do you build credibility by how you live, but you also build credibility by being consistent in your discipline. If you’ve told your children they may not touch a particular item in the house, but you see them playing with it one day and ignore it because it’s “too inconvenient” to deal with at the time, they are going to pick up very quickly that obedience isn’t really as important as you say. If you tell your child to clean his room and he doesn’t do it until the second or third time (when you’ve finally yelled loud enough), he is going to learn that he doesn’t really have to obey right away.

Now what if you have made mistakes in the past and haven’t been consistent about disciplining your child every time he disobeys or doesn’t obey the first time he’s told?

If your child is old enough to realize those things, he is old enough for you to sit down with him and give him an honest heart-to-heart talk about where you’ve failed him as a parent. Explain to him that you haven’t taught him how important it is to obey you (and ultimately God), but that starting from this moment on, you will be making the importance of obedience clear to him by administering appropriate consequences when he disobeys.

Seeing mom or dad admit mistakes is not going to destroy your credibility; it will actually help your child realize that his parents aren’t trying to pretend to be perfect.   (He already knows you’re not perfect, so seeing you try to act like you are only shows him that you are a liar and a hypocrite – not exactly character traits you are wanting to exemplify.)  Once you've talked with your child and told him what to expect — do it!  Follow through, or you will destroy the credibility you're trying to build before you ever get started!

4. Show your children how much you love and care about them. “No one cares how much you know until they know how much you care” may seem like a trite statement, but yet it is true. Do you want your children to listen when you try to correct and instruct them?  They won't want to hear it unless you have shown them that you care about them as a person.  Spend time with them.  Listen to them.  Get to know them.  We'll cover some practical ways to do that another time.  We'll also cover some ideas for specific scriptures that are good to teach your children, but for now just teach them something!

Since this post is getting long, I'll try to sum it all up in four words.

Where do you start when you feel like you're behind with child training?

Start where you are.

Today.

Not in a week after you've come up with a detailed plan.  Not after you've lamented over the years you've lost.  Right now.

Go forward and don't look back.

Love and prayers for you and your children,

Possibly Free Ultimate Healthy Living Bundle!

This year's Ultimate Healthy Living Bundle will be here in just a few weeks.  It always has fantastic resources!

I know many of you have a hard time affording it, though, so I wanted to share a way you can get a bundle completely free!

Here's what to do:

1. Go here and sign up to be notified when the sale goes live.

2. When you do, you'll also receive a special referral link.  Share the link with your friends, and receive the following:

• Refer 1 friend and get $5 off your bundle
• Refer 5 friends and get the 12 healthy living audio conference sessions free
• Refer 10 friends and get your bundle free!

Surely you've all got 10 friends, right?

Now what are you waiting for, go get started on that free bundle!