Love Whispers before He Shouts

God IS love. He is always speaking. He is always expressing His love towards us. Sadly, we are often not even aware of His love each day because His whisper can be drowned out by the clatter of this world.

I watched a movie last night that lingered on in my mind and heart. It lingered long enough to awaken areas of my parenting into greater love and joy (my funny accents and goofiness are back). I thought to myself, it may seem crazy but this movie has changed my life.

And then in dawned on me, the whispers in life can drastically change our lives if we choose to meditate on them and embrace the truth being spoken. However, sometimes in the busyness of life, the clatter of the world drowns out the whispers and we miss golden opportunities to grow in love. This made me ponder what maturity looks like.

I realised that…

Maturity can be measured by the level of resistance required for us to make adjustments in our lives towards greater LOVE. In other words, the mature respond to whispers.

Remember. Love whispers first. Only when we are still can we hear Him. If we constantly do not hear the whisper, love does raise His voice, because after all, He delights in loving us all. Love will speak up. Love will raise His voice. And ultimately Love will shout if necessary because Love never gives up.

Our bodies are the same. They begin by whispering to us when things are out of balance. A slightly sore knee, a sniffly nose, a headache. They all begin as whispers and if we give attention to those needs when they whisper, we find balance returns quickly.

However, if we ignore the whispers, just like Love, our bodies will raise their voice. The pain will get stronger, the symptoms will increase and the level of discomfort will increase. We have been magnificently made for balance and wholeness. If the whispers and nudges are constantly ignored, this leads to shouting which I would call chronic illness.

So if you feel that circumstances in your life are shouting at you or your body is screaming out to you, maybe it is time to pay attention. Maybe it is time to be still and ask yourself, “what is it that Love is teaching me in this season” or “What does my body require of me right now.” I dare you. Because I know Love has your best interest in mind and I know your body desires to be whole. Let us embrace the whispers of love and health today, and prevent the need for Love to shout.

May we have ears to hear what Love is whispering to us today.

Health and Harmony to you,

Raneeta Grace

The Trainer Wheels of Religion

As a mother of 3 beautiful children, I have had the honour and joy over the past few years of watching all three of them learn to ride a bike. Each child's experience has been unique, however, what I learned from our last child's experience was the most significant of all.

Trainer wheels are a disadvantage. 

Yup, that's what I just said. From my experience, trainer wheels were a waste of time and in fact they hindered our girls from learning to balance on their own. The bridge between riding with trainer wheels and learning to ride without them is basically the same as learning to ride a bike from scratch,




You see, we bought our third child a balance bike. Genius inventions. They are genius because they allow a child to learn balance without having to focus on pedaling. It took our son 10 minutes to learn to ride a pedal bike after riding his balance bike. It took our daughters a few weeks to get the hang of riding without trainer wheels and they were far more freaked out as well.

Now you may be asking me, what does this have to do with religion? Well, basically everything. You see, religion is just like the trainer wheels of a bike.

Religion takes away our ability to find balance from within, and dictates to us what is right and wrong. Religion allows us to live 'uprightly' with external supports rather than living balanced from within.

Religion will never replace a relationship with Love Himself - Jesus Christ. He is my inner guide to living balanced. In my opinion, living religiously hinders our ability to hear God and walk with Him personally. When Jesus walked the earth, he frequently offended the religious people, and in my experience with Jesus, He has frequently offended the religious mindset in me and challenged my views of right and wrong by speaking directly to my heart.

Although I grew up in a beautiful Christian home with loving parents, I still grew up using the trainer wheels of religion. Judging what is right and wrong based on what I was told. On my journey of walking out my faith in relationship with Jesus, I have had to unlearn relying on what religion dictates to me, and relearn the art of staying connected with Christ in my heart.

My prayer is that we will all awaken to freedom in Jesus and throw off the trainer wheels. Yes, we may fall and graze our knees. Yes we may lean too far to the left or right, but that is how we were designed to learn. The pure joy of riding balanced with the wind in our hair is the same joy we can experience riding freely with Christ at the center.

Go on. Trust yourself. Trust the Christ in You. Trust this walk of faith.
I believe in You.
Love Raneeta

The Power of Harmony

The past few years have been a wonderful journey of health and wellness for our family as we discovered the power of essential oils and natural health. It has been a fascinating journey that has opened our eyes and minds to so much more about health and wholeness. 

Along the journey of striving for good health, we discovered the most powerful protection for our family was not nutrition, essential oils or even prayer, it was actually a HOME filled with love, peace and harmony. 

Now don't get me wrong, I am ALL FOR nutrition, essential oils and prayer, in fact, I wholeheartedly embrace these things, however my journey has taught me that love, peace and harmony are the key that override it all (I was gonna say 'the key that trumps it all' but maybe that is not fitting during the US elections. lol). Psalm 133 puts it this way, "How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity (harmony)! It is like precious oil poured on the head."

I would love to be able to say that we have perfect harmony in our home, but that would be a lie. There have been many times when peace and harmony are not present in our home and fear, strife and anger have been present. In these times, I have learned about the power and protection of harmony.

Harmony is beautiful. Harmony is when everything is united in love. Harmony is a sweet sound. It is peaceful. It is blissful. When you hear a sound that is out of harmony, it creates discord. It is unpleasant. It causes us to not feel at ease. It actually causes dis-ease to your ears and being. 

That was a big clue for me right there! Dis-ease!

We were created for harmony. Our body is designed for harmony. Love, joy and peace flow freely from harmonious relationships. When there is harmony, the bible describes it like precious oil being poured on the head (Psalm 133 as mentioned above), and you know what, that oil flows down to the rest of the body.

When my husband and I are in harmony, our home is filled with love and peace. It is just incredible. The children are happy and healthy, things go smoothly and even our pets benefit from our harmony. However, when we are out of harmony because we get offended or annoyed by one another, the atmosphere of our home changes quite obviously. There is more conflict among our children, things go wrong and I have even noticed that we become more susceptible to sickness.

I have tested out this revelation time and time again, and this has only further revealed the truth about harmony. As a couple, we have learnt the power of unity and harmony. We have learnt that nothing can penetrate that bond of love. We have learnt that if the enemy cannot put a wedge in between us, he has no way of getting in at all. This is the power of harmony that has led to breakthrough after breakthrough in our home with our health, our relationships, the atmosphere of our home and our business.

It is now obvious to me why the bible says to make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit (Eph 4:3) because it is SO POWERFUL! I encourage you to test this out for yourself. Place HARMONY and UNITY as the top priority for your home today and step back and watch your family blossom. Sure, it might not happen over night, but as you continue in harmony, you will see blessing after blessing flood your home, your health and your family. 

Written with much love
Raneeta

From Trying to Growing

Combining my studies to be a naturopath and my love for creation, I often receive lots of life lessons through plants. Today on this glorious spring day I decided to take a break from the paperwork to let the chickens out for a roam, collect some eggs and check up on some of my favourite trees in our backyard.

After hugging some chickens and admiring some of our trees, I was overcome with beauty and awe about how each tree produces such amazing fruit for us. My avocado tree for example was a gift from my dad 6 years ago when we first built our house. This is its 3^rd year of fruit and we have had about 100 avocados this year! Yummo! And as I stand and admire this superfood tree, I reflect on how simply this tree blesses me. 

It does not TRY to produce fruit. It just does.

That’s when it hit me. Just like plants, my role in life is to take what I am given and allow myself to grow the fruit that I have been preordained to grow.  

A tree is planted, and it accepts where and when it is planted. A tree is exposed to the climate and receives the rain that falls, the sun that shines, the storms that pass and the temperatures that envelop it, and the tree converts these factors into growth. It is in the everyday, mundane factors of life that we can grow without striving or effort, but just by being thankful and present.

 My avocado tree does not look across the lawn at my mandarin tree and wish it could produce sweet and juicy fruit instead of thick and creamy fruit. So we too must learn to embrace the fruit that we are called to produce in life, and let the fruit of others bless the world as they have been created to be. 

Each fruit has a different purpose and function. Each are unique. Each are needed. Let us learn to honour the fruit on another’s life as well as loving and honouring the fruit in our own lives.

Let us quit ‘trying’ to be anything or produce anything and let us just BE present in gratitude, allowing everything in life to grow us and produce the fruit we were created to produce. 

Peace and Harmony to you and your homes,

Raneeta Curtis

QUIT * COMMIT * GROW * DECLARE * OILS

So August is almost here and we need to do a few things to prepare for our winter wellness journey. Let's go through the 5 points and remember what we may need to prepare. Preparation is the key!
If you have not read the first post, please refer back to it here
http://harmonichealthnz.blogspot.co.nz/2016/07/invitation-to-winter-wellness-journey.html

QUIT:
We are all quitting wheat (gluten) and refined sugar (white, raw, brown, coconut sugar). Identify all the items in your daily life that you would usually consume with these things in them and start to say goodbye. But its not all sad. Now we find healthier alternatives to replace them with. You can buy gluten free bread if you would like to but I would recommend not over eating this either.

There are lots of natural sweeteners you can use in raw baking or to make your own sweet treats. I personally use honey and dates but you can also use rice malt syrup or 100% pure maple syrup. Read the label carefully as there are many syrups that are not pure. I'll post some of my raw baking fav recipes soon.

COMMIT:
Hydration is  key to wellness. We often think we may be having enough water but the best way to know is to have a big drink bottle and keep it with us. If its a 1 litre bottle, make sure you get through it twice a day. If its a 500ml, refill it and drink at least 4 times. Please don't just estimate. Aim for a minimum of 2 litres. This is actually not easy for me to do as I forget, but I will be committing to do this.
Also, schedule in 3 x a week for exercise. If we don't plan for it, we plan to fail. So plan each week with this in mind. Include your children if you can on bikes and in prams or enjoy the luxury of exercising while they are in daddy day care :)
I will also be having communion each day so if you want to join me in this, grab a bottle or two of mccoys dark grape juice and some gluten free bread or wraps.

GROW:

Choose 3 plants that you feel drawn to and grab some seeds/cuttings to get you started. You will need a pot, potting mix and lots of love. This step is really important, as I feel it will enable us to see how we are loving and nourishing ourselves just like the plant. I am looking forward to hearing revelations from this step and seeing photos!

DECLARE:
Now is the time to prepare your declarations for the month ahead. Think about anything you have struggled with recently and choose to focus on restoring this area with your declarations. Again, if you need help with this, please ask me. I would love to help. Keep it simple but powerful and to the point.

OILS:
Remember to select an oil to apply each day to help you on your journey. If you have not got an essential oil yet, please contact me asap so we can get it to you in time. Oils are very powerful and effective for supporting us physical and emotionally and work very nicely together with declarations. For a full list of essential oil blends, click here:
 https://www.youngliving.com/en_US/products/essential-oils/blends

I am excited to be doing this with you. August is going to be a powerfully loving and healing month for us all who are choosing this path. Please feel free to get in touch and tell me what ways you would like support.

Love,
Raneeta

Invitation to a Winter Wellness Journey

Well it is almost the last month of winter and I don’t know about you but some of my summery good habits have been forgotten. My heart for health and wellness is about cultivating a lifestyle that enables us to live in harmony with ourselves and the planet in spirit, soul and body. So I am inviting you on a journey with me for the month of AUGUST to reset good habits in our lives to sustain health and wellness.

Here is my Plan

QUIT:

• ·         wheat
• ·         sugar
• ·         Optional: quit caffeine, dairy and meat

Wheat and sugar are two very common foods in our modern diet that we can definitely do without. By eliminating these two things, we create opportunities to include other more wholesome foods in our diet.

COMMIT:

• ·         Drink 2 x litres of water a day
• ·         Exercise 3 x 30 mins a week
• ·         Optional: Daily communion

These simple activities are often neglected but can play a huge role in our overall energy levels and wellbeing. By committing for a month, we are setting ourselves up to create healthy routines for life. If Jesus is part of your journey, I highly recommend having communion with Him each day.

GROW:

• ·         3 x plants/herbs from seed/cutting in your kitchen

Now you may be thinking that you might skip this point and it’s not relevant for you, but this point is ESSENTIAL on your journey. This is to learn the art of love and nurture. I believe our health is a reflection of our love and nurture of ourselves. By growing some plants from seed/cutting this month, we will be able to see a daily example of how small acts of love make a big impact and cause growth and life.

Find an indoor pot, grab some seeds and start loving those seeds to germination. It will encourage and inspire you.

DECLARE:

• ·         Write and declare at least 5 daily declarations to support you

Declarations have changed my life this year and I have learned the more consistent we are, the faster the impact. Declarations can be very simple or a little more specific. Some of my declarations include: I am loved and accepted. I choose to be healthy and fit. I am fully awake and engaged with life.

If you need help writing your declarations, I am more than happy to help you out.

OILS:

• ·         Select and apply one or more essential oils every day

Essential oils have been a huge part of my journey to health. Young Living has so many wonderful blends to help you on your journey including Acceptance, Abundance, Awaken, Envision, Valor, Peace & Calming, Stress Away, Joy, Release etc. 

Choose one or more oils and intentionally apply them each day or night to support you on your emotional journey to wellness.

Yes! I choose this journey!

If this sounds like something you would like to be a part of, then I am asking for your commitment to all 5 aspects of this journey as I believe they are a powerful combination.

QUIT * COMMIT * GROW * DECLARE * OILS

To join the journey:

Like my FB page ‘Harmonic Health NZ - Young Living Essential Oils’

Comment on this blog post and say “I’m in”, “I’m keen” “Count me in”

We will use this facebook page to share the journey of winter wellness together and post comments, photos and ideas with one another. In the lead up to August, I will post tips and ideas to get you started. 

Make a powerfully positive choice and join the journey! It will be fun to do it together. 

Love Raneeta

The #1 Secret Ingredient to Your Healing

I love Monarch butterflies. I love watching them, I love growing them, and I love learning from them. You see, about 3 or 4 years ago, when we first started growing butterflies at home with my children, I began to awaken to some sweet revelation about transformation. The truth is, monarch butterflies cannot transform without eating about 90% swan plant. We learned that you can feed them pumpkin when they run out of swan plant, but this is only if they are almost big enough to transform anyway.

 

So the wonderful revelation I had about the key to transformation is this. Swan Plant = LOVE.

 

Without love, we cannot and will not transform into the new creation that God has intended for us to be. And so, the secret ingredient to your healing, your families’ healing, your children’s healing is…LOVE! In the past 2 years with all that I have learned and practised on my journey to natural health, that common thread for ever healing has been LOVE. Loving others, but just as powerfully, loving ourselves! For one to truly heal, self-love is part of the journey.

Again this year, as every year, we have more caterpillars than swan plant and we run into the desperate situation of not having enough for all of our precious caterpillars to transform. And I have realised we have a shortage of LOVE worldwide. A global deficit. There are so many on their healing journey, so many who desperately want to transform and become who they were called to be, and yet, there is currently not enough LOVE around to be that secret ingredient to complete the transformation process.

 

I am challenged. I am deeply challenged. When I see caterpillars crawling off in search of food because there is none left, it touches my heart. And now with the ‘knowing’ that the same thing takes place in our world each day, that people, precious people are looking, searching, hungry for love to help them make their transformation, I am deeply challenged that I would sow more seeds of love and cultivate acres of swan plants, acres of a love culture in order to be the catalyst for true healing, transformation and freedom. It is our responsibility to plant seed, it is God who makes them grow. There is no striving in this kind of love. But there is lots of giving, feeling, connecting, enduring and persevering.

May this inspire us all to cultivate more love in our homes, our communities and our beautiful world. Everyone deserves an opportunity to transform. Let’s make sure we provide the love when it is in our power to do so.

Written with Love,

Raneeta