Shalom Mama

Everyday Essentials

Nina Nelson — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 18:00:00 +0000

My favorite essential oil trio.

“Mama, what are you doing?” Isaac asked me last night as I applied a drop of lavender essential oil to the bottoms of my feet.

“Oh, I’m just putting this oil on my feet, buddy. Lavender is really soothing and if you put it on the bottom of your feet, it [...]

How to Create a (Simple) Herbal Medicine Chest

Nina Nelson — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 11:00:00 +0000

My new book, Simple Natural Health, is ready! It’s a simple, comprehensive guide to natural health – nourishing your body with herbs, nutrition and fitness and nourishing your soul. The following list is an excerpt from the book.

Herbal medicine plays an important part in my family’s health. I use herbs for upset tummies, sore throats [...]

Building Community

Nina Nelson — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 18:00:00 +0000

A few months ago, Ian and I sat in our living room, praying together for a couple that we could build a strong relationship with. One that would just embrace us for the broken people we are and help us grow.

We wanted needed people to do life with.

Two days later, they knocked on our [...]

Fighting the Resistance

Nina Nelson — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 18:00:00 +0000

Something happens when you begin creating new habits. You’re cruising along, seeing positive change, enjoying the momentum, when all of a sudden, something inside you rises up in opposition.

Fear slams on the brakes and says, “What the hell are you doing?! This is scary. And uncomfortable. Don’t change – things are fine the way they [...]

Become Your Family’s Herbalist

Nina Nelson — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 14:00:19 +0000

My history with herbal remedies began when I was pretty young. You see, I grew up on an herb farm, where my dad managed the growing and processing of herbs for a world-wide herbal wholesale company.

The summers were great with the smell of peppermint filling the air. And Dad put a lot of those remedies [...]

Taming the Paper Beast

Nina Nelson — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 15:42:03 +0000

I vividly remember the day that I needed to do something about my clutter. A sitter was coming over (one of the few times we’ve ever paid anyone to watch our kids – you’re lucky, Emily) and my house was a mess.

Photo: FeatheredTar

And to top it all off, there was a pile of papers [...]

My Journey to Natural Health

Nina Nelson — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 19:49:01 +0000

The following is an excerpt from my new book, Simple Natural Health. It’s on it’s way to the designer for the final layout and I am so excited to share it with you!

Once upon a time, feeling terrible every day was a normal part of life. I had headaches, stomach aches and frequent [...]

Conquering My #1 Energy Waster

Nina Nelson — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 20:00:15 +0000

Photo credit: Annie Mole

After my initial decluttering session in 2009 (where I got rid of half of our possessions), I discovered that I would have to repeat it every six months or so if I didn’t address one major issue. Shopping.

Shopping had been such a major part of my life (sad, right?). I would shop [...]

The Year of Increase

Nina Nelson — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 21:26:02 +0000

More fun!

Creating a theme for the year was not something I’d ever thought about before. Frankly, it seemed a little weird.

But I was so excited about the possibility of building more meaningful relationships, I couldn’t resist naming 2011. And wow! I already told you how it went, but wow! It was just so awesome.

That’s [...]

How to Make Friends

Nina Nelson — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 21:50:28 +0000

My Sister Root, Megan, and her hubby Justin.

When I dubbed 2011 The Year of Building Relationships, I had no idea it would be so rich. I thought that I might make a couple new friends and talk to existing ones a bit more often, but it was so much more than that.

The people that [...]