Tis the week before Christmas. I know what we’re all thinking about right now:  The most natural way to clean a bathtub. Obviously.

No? Perhaps that’s because you’re more focused on making a plan for your garden this spring. Maybe you’re distracted with all the excitement in the air over the joy of creating a balanced budget. Oh, wait. I’ve got it. You are deep in thought about ways to incorporate more kale into your diet.

I know you all so well, don’t I? Or maybe my crazy self forgot what day this is and that the countdown to Christmas is ON! Wrap, decorate, bake, peace, joy, love, go, go, go!!!!!!!!!

It’s okay. We are all very busy and also likely a tad more interested in frosting cookies than steaming brussels sprouts or cleaning bathtubs with vinegar. This time of year is FUN!!! There’s much to be said about taking time to enjoy this season with all its tinsel, peppermint, gift giving, and focus on Christ.

But I also wanted to take the time to share something really cool with you, even if “a healthy lifestyle” may not be at the forefront of your mind in these last few days before Christmas.

It’s been nine and a half years for our family.  That’s how long we’ve been on this healthy living journey – ever since our youngest was born with chronic eczema and turned our lives upside down (which totally spilled my Pepsi). I get tired just thinking about all the hundreds of changes we’ve made during this “almost decade.” From boxed cereal to homemade granola, from chemical-filled cleaners to non-toxic options, from conventional doctors to homeopathic doctors and herbal remedies – we’ve made huge strides.

We love this lifestyle, recognizing more and more that we still have much to learn, that balance is key, and that if Jesus isn’t in the center of it all – none of it really matters anyway. There were times we felt better immediately after making a healthy change, and times we felt worse as our bodies had to get used to the good changes we were making (fun times).

Change can be very difficult, and I’m telling you – making transitions from poptarts and boxed cereal every day to learning to make wholesome food from scratch was hard at times. I didn’t even know what wholesome food was (or where, pray tell, to buy it). Ditching the comet, lysol, palmolive, and tide to find non-toxic cleaners? Overwhelmed doesn’t even begin to describe how I felt. Finding doctors and home remedies that treated root causes instead of slapping a band-aid on symptoms was foreign to me.

But dear ones:  That was just the beginning of the journey. It wasn’t the end of the story (though it was the end of my Pepsi drinking days).

The journey never ends. We will all continue learning more and becoming healthier. It’s exciting, really! The changes we’ve made on our healthy living journey have been so very worth it – even (especially) the really difficult changes. At 41, I feel more physically and emotionally stable than I ever have. This is absolutely because of God’s work in my body and my heart.

Are you on a healthy living journey too? I hope so. No matter where you are in your journey, I want to offer you encouragement. Stick with this! Don’t be discouraged about the difficulty that comes with trying to do what’s right in a fallen world. God’s grace covers all in a powerful way. (Picture it!)

Yes, right now. Each step will take us no more than 5 minutes a day. This is SO doable, even during this busy time of year, I promise.  The challenge is so easy, so simple, yet so effective. Most of all: it will change your life. (Feeling good feels so good!)

Sign up for the challenge here. The smallest changes can be the biggest blessings in your life. Let’s do this together! You have nothing to lose. It’s FREE!!!

How’s you’re healthy living journey going?