It’s been one year today. A year since I took a leap of faith. A year ago today, I was big pregnant with my 6th baby. A year since I regularly woke up sweating in the middle of the night, worrying about how we would afford all these kids. A year since I did what I never thought I’d do (again) – join a direct sales company.

With all the sadness and awful things happening in this world, I know that God calls us to be good stewards of the gifts He’s given us. He calls us to take care of our bodies, our families, our communities, and our world. What I’m doing with Norwex is one way to spread the message of wellness and help people live healthier lives.

My grandma died a month ago, and I’ve had some time to reflect on the things she taught me. One of my favorite memories of her is from when she invited me to attend a bible study with her. Up until then, she was just my grandma, but when I went to bible study with her, I was able to see her in a whole new light. She lit up the room – when Grandma talked, everyone listened to her quiet wisdom. She left her mark of kindness and love and sass in this world. It’s a better place because she was here. She wasn’t just my grandma, she was truly a gift to everyone who knew her.

My sweet grandma also smoked for 50 years of her life before quitting in 1998. For about the past 10 years, she was been hooked to an oxygen tank because of her COPD and she rarely left her home. Mentally, she was sharp as a tack, and I’m left wondering how much better her quality of life would have been had she not smoked all those years. When she first started smoking, it was just what everyone did, and no one could have imagined the health consequences later in life.

Fast forward to today – everyone KNOWS that smoking is bad for you, and many who do smoke try to quit to improve their health. The number of people who smoke today has actually dropped to an all-time low, which is wonderful for the health of our community. But SO many people still get cancer and asthma and chronic illnesses. What gives?

I recently read an article about indoor air pollution and how chemical cleaning products affect our bodies. Scientists studied lung function in women who used chemcial cleaning sprays frequently over the past 20 years and found that prolonged use of these products affects the lungs the same as smoking 20 cigarettes a day. As Maya Angelou said:

Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.

Now that we know that these chemical cleaners really are harming the health of our families and our environment, what can we do?

Change. Change our way of thinking.

The scientists from the study I mentioned above said that most of our every day cleaning should be done with just a simple microfiber cloth and water.

It’s a new and DIFFERENT way to clean. Instead of chemically disinfecting your surfaces and leaving behind chemical residue and dead bacteria that eventually attract more dust/dirt/germs, with Norwex you’re actually removing the dirt and germs from your surfaces.

{It took me awhile to realize the difference between chemically disinfecting and mechanically removing germs from surfaces. Think of it this way: EVERYONE knows that given the option, scrubbing your hands with soap and water is a better way to clean than using hand sanitizer. When you wash your hands, you’re mechanically removing the dirt and germs and rinsing them down the drain. Hand sanitizer kills the germs on your hands chemically, which works in a pinch, but generally it’s better to scrub!}
(If you’d like more info, please contact me!)

With this business, I’ve had wonderful months, loved this business, but also had slow months, made mistakes, and felt like giving up, but I keep persevering because I know that this business and these products are blessing the families they touch. It’s been a happy year, a cleaner year, a healthier year, a blessed year.

Thank you to all my hosts, customers, and team members!

If you’d like to join me on my journey with Norwex, please contact me on Facebook or through my contact form here.