Written by Kari @ Live on Purpose, Contributing Writer

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if eating healthy didn’t have to be so complicated? I love talking to my grandmother, who is 83, and just listening to how different things were so many years ago. Do you know there was a day and time when people just ate. Yep – it was that simple. They grew gardens, they raised cattle, pigs, goats and sheep. They knew how to prolong their winter supply and utilize everything they had so it didn’t go to waste. Many towns had small, family owned markets to get stuff like flour, sugar and spices. There may have been more labor involved in their eating, but they never had to wonder if the food they were eating was “real” or “fake”, if it had chemicals sprayed all over it or if they animal had been treated humanely. They just ate.

Not so much today. Unfortunately, most people spend hours upon hours every week just trying to see if the food they are buying and eating is healthy or toxic. Think of all the label reading,  menu scouring, waiter questioning and google searches that go into your weekly eating habits.

One of the most misunderstood and sometimes unheard of issues with our food supply today is GMO’s – genetically modified organisms. Yes, I teach classes, do consultations and host small group challenges – and so many people still have never even heard of the term, GMO.

When I first heard about this issue years ago, I was fascinated and have researched it over the past 10 years with somewhat of a vengeance. So much so, that I do everything I can to avoid eating foods with GMO’s as mush as I can, although I found that when we travel it’s not super easy.

What exactly are GENETICALLY MODIFIED ORGANISMS Or GENETICALLY ENGINEERED INGREDIENTS?

Without getting into controversy here, I want to mention that there is much debate on the ethical boundaries of GMO’s and the fact that many countries ban any products with GMO’s and it’s illegal to grow anything with GMO’s – yet The United States allows them, grows them and supports them and their health benefits. In fact, many third party studies have shown such damaging effects of GMO, so we should be more cautious about these considering they never had studies done with genetically modified ingredients in the past. It’s also good to point out that the FDA does not require labeling and doesn’t feel it’s necessary as long as the companies declare it to be
safe.

Basically, food is altered in an unnatural way that is damaging our soil, hurting family farms and is disrupting the healthy functions of the physical body, in humans and animals. When you understand that this is an area that is understudied and short term and long term effects are mostly unknown still, we need to have better diligence when it comes to consuming foods containing these.

Personally I think the biggest concern is that the government and agencies do not feel we have the right to know what foods on the market contain GMO’s. This is disturbing, so it’s a good idea to do research on these foods, which companies use them and don’t and how to know what to look for when you are grocery shopping.

Below you will find a good list of companies that are GMO-free! Although there is no complete list that I have found – these are good resources and helpful for those who don’t have the time to do the research themselves. Get acquainted with the names. Print off the list and carry it with you when you go shopping. Look for stamps on foods that say “NON-GMO VERIFIED” or “CERTIFIED ORGANIC USDA”. These simple steps will help you narrow down your selections so you know which foods are safe to eat. They may not be as safe as going to your backyard, but for those who have to buy their food at the store – these two things will make a huge difference in your food choices.

Choose dairy that states it’s from grass fed cows. Ask if your meat is raised and finished on grass – you don’t want meat from a grain-fed cow, even if it’s organic meat. When buying chicken and eggs – you want pasture-raised. This will be the healthiest and most beneficial to your body.

Shopping doesn’t have to be hard, but unless you do a little research and have some resources you can turn to – it may be a part of your weekly routine that you dread. Get informed, be proactive and shop easy!

• GreenPeace PDF Guide to NON-GMO companies – click here
• GMO-Free Foods from Nourished Kitchen – click here
• NON-GMO Companies by Healthy Family – click here
• NON-GMO Shopping Guides and Tips Downloadable – click here

A couple quotes to think on:

“As far as genetic engineering for food, that is the great experiment that has failed. They literally have the entire world market against them. All those dreams… the blind will see, the lame will walk… has turned out to be science fiction. They are basically chemical companies selling more chemicals. They’ve been able to spread these herbicide-promoting plants around because it is more convenient for farmers who can just mass-spray their crops. But they’ve given absolutely nothing to the consumer while causing more chemical pollution and contamination.” – Lawyer, Andrew Kimbrell, executive director of the Center for Food Safety (USA)

“Any scientist who tells you they know that GMOs are safe and not to worry about it, is either ignorant of the history of science or is deliberately lying. Nobody knows what the long-term effect will be.” – Geneticist, David Suzuki, giving the 2008 Commonwealth Lecture in London

How will you be proactive when it comes to avoiding genetically modified foods?

The post Understanding GMO’s and What They Mean To Us appeared first on Day2Day Joys.

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We like to do all of those I just mentioned, but one of my favorite traditions is writing up a Christmas letter each year. It’s a keepsake I love taking out when the holiday season approaches, adding to, and reading through all the past letters each and every year. 

The past 2 years I have used printables from a lovely blog called Stonegable. This year I decided to borrow her layout and create my own. 

I decided to go with a white background so it’ll use less ink and/or I can print them out on some nice stationary like this. In our letters, I like to discuss our children, put in a blurb about my husband and I, what the top 5 events of the year were and what we are looking forward to next year. 

How to use this printable?

There are a couple of ways to use this printable. You can print it out and write on it or once you download it, go to PicMonkey, upload it and use their free editing tools. You can use each of the spaces to meet your needs and what you want to discuss in each section. Then print it out and share it with your loved ones. Here’s a great tutorial on how to use PicMonkey’s editing tools. 

**note: for PicMonkey you need to download the image below. 

———>Download the 2014 Year in Review Pdf Here or Image Here<———-

What is your favorite family tradition? Do you write Christmas letters?

The post Christmas Letter {2014 Year in Review Printable} appeared first on Day2Day Joys.

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But while we are blessed with clean water coming through indoor plumbing, are you aware of some of the environmental contaminants that are frequently found in that water? Traces of heavy metals like mercury and aluminum, pesticide residues, and volatile organic compounds can be found in our drinking water!

This is why the bloggers of Positively Real Media are so excited to be teaming up to bring to you a Royal Berkey 3.25 Gallon Stainless Steel Water Purifier giveaway sponsored by United Environmental Solutions!

About The Berkey

Berkey water purifiers are truly unique water purifying systems. According to UES, they are able to remove red food coloring from water while still allowing beneficial minerals to remain!

As free-standing units that put the power of gravity to use, the Berkey systems don’t use any electricity. This makes them excellent systems to have on hand while camping or during power outages.

While whole house filtration systems can be fantastic solutions to the problem of residual water contamination, they are simply out of the budget for most families. However, a Berkey system is a fraction of the cost and can filter 4 gallons of water per hour, making it a great fit for families!

If you want to ensure that your family’s drinking and cooking water is as clean and pure as it can be, a Berkey may be just what you need!

Win A 3.25 Gallon Royal Berkey!

The bloggers of Positively Real Media, a network of naturally-minded Christian bloggers, are thrilled to be able to offer one of our readers a 3.25 Gallon Royal Berkey Stainless Steel Water Purifier, valued at $300! Many thanks to United Environmental Solutions for providing this fantastic prize to one blessed reader.

Just use the Rafflecopter form below to get your entries in!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Our church is going though a marriage series titled, I Still Do” which couldn’t be more fitting since we celebrated 10 years of marriage a couple weeks ago and remembered the vows we exchanged. Something I’m continuing to learn is that marriage isn’t about making us happy but making us holy.

Well, we definitely have had some unholy arguments as well as treasured, happy moments AND I’m so glad that God had a plan when he crossed our paths because HE knew that us together would point us to HIM and we would be able to live out the calling HE has on our lives.

Well, I’d love to share with you his (well, more like our) gift I “gave” him. I know, I know I used my blog to share with him his gift, but you’ll see, it was the best way to do it!

Jake, I love you!

Today marks 10, yes TEN years for you and I as a married couple.

It doesn’t seem that long ago that we first met as young college students. And look how far we have come! We’ve went through rough times, poor times, times of hurts but the most special are when we were in those valleys and rose to the mountain tops where we’ve experienced blessing and victories!

Since we are celebrating 10 years I thought it would be fun to get you (us) 10 gifts but I didn’t know what to do. I could get things that most likely would get lost or forgotten as years go by so instead I thought what about 10 cheesy gifts that we’ll remember forever!

I did a Google search and lo and behold a site came up that we once came across late one night…Fiverr, the wold’s largest marketplace for services starting at $5.

So here are 10 gigs celebrating 10 years!

*In no particular order

A book cover representing our love story

If our love story was a book, the tagline would be…A Story where Love begins on the first page. Two meet, become a family and take you on an adventure of a lifetime, defeating the odds all while trusting in God along the way.

*This lovely book cover was done by top_deziner.

A short story of how it all started

This story is written from an outsider looking in on how we met at a Lee University basketball game almost 13 years ago.

*This short story was written by carrieblogger.

A comic graphic from when we were dating

You probably remember this photo, it’s from the first summer you visited Arizona and my family went to Mexico. We had so much fun!

*Artwork done by olivermarcetic.

A song about “You and I”

A song titled, “A Life of Our Very Own” talks about our journey. 

*Song written and recorded by uri_avi

Lyrics:

It was hot that day, 10 years ago
You made me your wife, It was the happiest day of my life
And after Mexico, we went to South Carolina, you were in school
It was oh so hard, but it was oh so right

Just you and I, such beautiful days of my life
We prayed to God and we waited on God to show us the way, show us the light
and how he’s blessed us, how he’s blessed us with three of our own
Three beautiful little kids

When I close my eyes, I can’t imagine a better life, a better life, the man of my dreams
A better life, a better life, I can’t imagine

Anything but you and I
Going, going on together forever

We got a home of our home
You got a clinic of your own
Making a life of our very own

A piano composition generating feelings of a beautiful love story

I know how much you want to learn to play the piano so I had a musician compose an original piece of music thinking about something touching and beautiful, with different sections and moments, trying to show all the periods of our relationship over these past 10 years.  It’s called Beautiful Things Last Forever

Plus one day maybe you can learn to play it.

Here’s also a slideshow of pictures from our 10th Anniversary trip to the Biltmore accompanied by the composition.

*This composition was created by damianshima.

A family tree

We’ve been building our family since 2004 and I cannot wait to see what our tree looks like on 50 years! To view this bigger, check out this PDF of our family tree.

*Beautiful artwork done by helendesignct. 

A love rap

I thought this would be a fun way to think back on where we were and now where we are. Zet broke it down for us!

Here are the lyrics:

This mans from the counrty while shes from the city
two opposites attract, who else can agree?
It isnt plain to see love has no mask
Dont let it pass, make sure your loved ones within your grasp

Meeting in college while they were young
they werent dumb, just picked up the love gun
and pulled back,
aimed at one another at the basketball game
this is real love, not one of these games

Getting lost on the first date on college campus
Regardless of status, still took the chances
having the ups and downs left to right
these past 10 years gave them a reason to survive

Putting their trust in God, giving it all to him
He who holds the power within
Feeling the victory, no longer the misery
who else will conquer the battle of loves mystery

Who would’ve known you’d have 3 kids later
Under a roof, happily, told you there’d be no failure

*Rap written & recorded by rap_music

A movie trailer

Here is our very own movie trailer, synced with the new to us song we both have fallen in love with, All Of Me.

*Movie trailer created by aaronarnold

A unique love song

Here’s another song “I Couldn’t be Happier” written especially for us.

*Song and slide show by Kianav

Here are the lyrics:

Chorus: Thank God that I found someone like you
If I ever was without you, i don’t know what id do
Our beautiful kids, you and me have three
Any happier than this, i don’t think i ever could be
I love you

Verse 1: Hey baby this is for you and me
Celebrating our 10 anniversary
Staying strong through the thick and the thin
you bring out the glow i have within

Pre chorus: I never want our love to end
I am so happy that you’re my best friend

Verse 2: Our love story is like no other ever made
God helped us through every time that we prayed
Its true that when one door closes, ten more open
we have victory, we might be bruised but not broken

Pre chorus: Time fly by fast when you are having fun
Our love story continues on…the best is still to come!

And lastly, a graphic showcasing our commitment to each other

This represents our 10 years together and the blessings to come.

*Artwork done by mojokumanovo

I love you sooooo much Babe! Can’t wait for the next 10 years! 

*note: This post was not paid for by fiverr. I bought these gigs from each seller listed above. I did enhance some of the gifts by choosing more gigs increasing the price to more than $5.

What unique gifts have you given your spouse?

The post 10 Gifts for my Husband appeared first on Day2Day Joys.

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Community: a feeling of fellowship with others, as a result of sharing common attitudes, interests, and goals.

As women, and as Christians, we are called to be in constant community with one another. We are to be in fellowship with other women, always growing, always learning, always serving. As homemaker’s and Christian women, we should be striving to exemplify the Titus 2 model:

”Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, 5 to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled.” ~ Titus 2: 3 – 4

Introducing the Christian Homemaking Community

As a blogger, one of my main goals is to connect with other women. I love that I can hop online and find other like-minded Christian women that I can learn from and grow with! So I’m very excited to share that we are introducing an all new Christian Homemaking Community on Facebook!

21 bloggers have come together to create a place where we can chat, learn from each other, grow, and find fellowship among other Christian Homemakers.

You can request to join our private Facebook group Here.

You will also get to connect and chat with your favorite homemaking bloggers including:

• Young Wife’s Guide – Jami Balmet
• Joyful Thrifty Home – Ashley Roe
• Katie Kimball – Kitchen Stewardship
• Richly Rooted – Elsie Callender
• Your Thriving Family – Sara Shay
• Redeeming Childbirth – Angie Toplin
• Day2Day Joys – Rachel Marie- that’s me
• Little Natural Cottage – Kristy Howard
• Good Old Days Farm  – Alina Joy Dubios
• Organize 365 – Lisa Woodruff
• Domestic Serenity – Daniele Evans
• Thankful Homemaker – Marci Ferrell
• Authentic Simplicity – Anne Simpson
• Raising the Barrs – Anjanette Barr
• Accidentally Green – Hilary Bernstein
• The Humbled Homemaker – Erin Boyd
• Joy Dare – Amber Ravatsaas
• Intoxicated on Life & Breastfeeding Place – Trisha Gilkerson
• Jaimie Ramsey
• A Diligent Heart – Marlene Griffith

Why Join Our New Community?

Each week you will have access to all the latest posts, articles, videos, and discussions from all your favorite homemaking bloggers! No more having to hunt through Pinterest or Facebook for good things to read. You will find encouragement, motivation, tips, recipes, photos, and more!

Come on over and jump into daily discussions such as what is the best way to clean out your fridge, how to do freezer cooking, favorite recipes, and more! You will also have exclusive homemaking content not available anywhere else – and the best part? It’s totally and completely FREE! Join our Facebook group here: The Christian Homemaking Community.

Our Free Gift To You

In celebration of launching our new community, and as our free gift to you , the 21 homemaking bloggers have come together to offer you an amazing eBook: Sweetly Summer ~ Beat the Heat with Yummy and Refreshing Treats – totally FREE! Just join our private Facebook group and you will get instant access!

You will get instant access to some amazing summer treats including: ice cream recipes, how to make whip cream, smoothie recipes, yummy sides, energizing snacks, sweet treats and more!

Enter to win an Ice Cream Maker

Also in celebration of our new community, we are giving one lucky winner the chance to win an amazing Ice Cream Maker ($80), adorable apron (style and color of your choice – $35), and the Just Making Ice Cream recipe eBook ($12)! This entire bundle is worth more than $120!! Enter to win via the rafflecopter form below.

Also, before entering the Giveaway, get your free ebook for day2dayjoys subscribers!

Click here to subscribe, then receive your free ebook in your inbox

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

The post Encouragement for Women {+ a Sweet Summer Giveaway} appeared first on Day2Day Joys.

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No, I don’t mean that we’re going to be singing the song, but the 12 days of getting to learn about awesome businesses & products and getting a chance to WIN them. Woot! 

This year I have some wonderful businesses participating with products including jewelry, hand made clothing, essential oils and soaps, personalized gifts, natural non-toxic products, fertility aids, and fun videos we all know & love! And much more!

Let’s take a sneak peak ->

In no particular order, here are the businesses participating this year:
Veggie Tales
1 Oil for Life
Holly Lane Designs
Kisses from Above
Mamaw’s Many Blessings
Peace and Carrots
Krown Kreations
31 Gifts by Tiffany
T-Tapp- At Home Fitness
Bloom Naturals
Lilla Rose by Kristen
Amazon Gifts

Well, there you have it! Don’t these businesses sound wonderful?? 

This year since I am nearing 26 weeks pregnant, I have asked a few of my wonderful contributing writers to help me with all these reviews but be confident I support and love all of these businesses & products!

Be on the lookout for November 26th, the 1st day of the 12 Days of Christmas!

Which business are you looking forward to learning more about?

The post Coming Soon…12 Days of Christmas Reviews & Giveaways 2013 appeared first on Day2Day Joys.

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We’ll be doing similar but we’re going to be “postponing our celebrations until early next year.” You may be wondering what in the world is she talking about?? Doesn’t she know Labor Day is just once a year??

While those thoughts are true, we’ll be celebrating a special kind of “labor day” sometime around March 2nd because then we’ll be meeting a new addition to our family.

Because…

Yep, we’re expecting! Yesterday I entered the 2nd trimester at 14 weeks.

After 2 losses last year, it’s still hard for me to grasp the fact that this baby really is growing in my belly and that God has indeed blessed us. I’ve had a whirlwind of emotions ranging from joy to worry, from unbelief to relief and understanding that the testing the Lord was doing in me wasn’t for Him but for me to surrender to His will and be okay with whatever He decided. Which I am so excited He choose to bless our family once again!

“Children are a gift from God.”Psalm 127:3

Thank you for all of you who have prayed for us while waiting!

So, Labor Day next year for us won’t be in September but sometime late February or early March. We look forward to having a homebirth where we’ll meet our new one in the comfort of our home, Lord willing.

How did you announce your pregnancy?

The post We’re Postponing Labor Day Celebrations Until Early Next Year appeared first on Day2Day Joys.

As you can see (if you came to the site) it’s redesigned! Over the years I’ve been making some changes along the way, like when I had my first redesign but this is the biggest yet.

Although there is a new design and a few things have changed, this is a little place in the blog-o-sphere that still remains the same. A place where mothers and women can connect, can talk about their experiences, their hurts, their joys, and still focus on faith, family and health.

Let’s take a look back at the old design:

This new design has an better flow and allows you the readers to connect easier. You can connect to social media, subscribe, find old posts and even comment a lot smoother. There may be a few things that haven’t been completed but they’re being worked on as you read this! 

Be on the look out for the contributing writers page to be completed but for now I’d like you to meet these lovely ladies if you haven’t “met” them yet:

Jenn from The Purposeful Mom– veteran writer here
Kelly from Eyes on the Source
Kristen from Smithspirations
Jenn D from A Simple Haven
Liz from Now Let Me Rejoice
Kim from Simple Natural Health
Nell from Whole Parenting Family
Jenny from It Is Well
Kristin from Live Simply
KT from One Organic Mama

If you are wondering who in the world did this amazing design job, the answer is my dear friend Mindy of Simply Designs and Creating Naturally. She really heard my vision and made it become a reality.

And don’t forget about this $75 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway! Click here to enter!

What do you think about the new design?

The post Welcome to the NEW Day2day joys! appeared first on Day2Day Joys.

Author Spotlights

The post Trust Your Intuition Official Launch Release appeared first on Day2Day Joys.

Although I’m “relaunching” this blog with a new design and a few things will change, this is a little place in the blog-o-sphere that still remains the same. A place where mothers and women can connect, can talk about their experiences, their hurts, their joys, and still focus on faith, family and health.

If you’ve been a reader here for long, you’ll know that my tagline has been “Finding Joy in it All” taken from the verse in James 1:2. No matter what you are going through (even if it’s hard or unimaginable) I want to encourage you that it’s part of your story, the story that the Lord is writing through you. And sometimes it is hard finding the joy in it all but my prayer is that I and you dear friend, can find a glimpse of joy in the valleys and on mountain tops.

While that verse’s theme will be carried on,  I have come up with a broader tagline that will encompass this blog’s tune more eloquently. You probably noticed it up at the top of this post.

My hope, along with all of the (new) writers is that what we write in this little space will encourage you and will help you to be a better homemaker, mom, wife or mother in the making and woman, joyfully. Be on the look out for an introduction to the new writers but for now I’d like you to meet these lovely ladies if you haven’t “met” them yet:

Jenn from The Purposeful Mom– veteran writer here
Kelly from Eyes on the Source
Kristen from Smithspirations
Jenn D from A Simple Haven
Liz from Now Let Me Rejoice
Kim from Simple Natural Health
Nell from Whole Parenting Family
Jenny from It Is Well

My dear friend Mindy of Simply Designs and Creating Naturally did a fabulous job putting up with my endless requests, all my questions (although you might think I know how to handle “techy” stuff, I do not!) and hunt for the best color combinations. Turquoise & peach have always been a couple of my favorite colors. (My bridesmaids wore coral, don’t know if they thought that was a disaster but I loved it)

Well.. now that all that’s over with, the FUN part! 

This blog has been such a blessing to me, I want to bless one of you! So without further ado, one lucky winner will receive a $75 gift card to Amazon!!

*note: this is not a sponsored giveaway, I paid for this prize and hope it blesses one of you tremendously! Must be 18 or older to enter. 

All you have to do is use the rafflecopter form below, earn more entries by completing more of the options.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

**This day2dayjoys.com relaunch $75 giveaway ends on July 21 at 11:59pm EST. 
One lucky winner will be chosen using rafflecopter and be notified by email. 
The winner will have 48 hours  to respond with their contact information, if they do not respond a new winner will be chosen.

Thanks for being a part of day2dayjoys.com whether you’re new here or have been around for a while!!!

You should see the full site over the next few days so don’t be surprised if you hop on to the website and it looks totally different.

The post Exciting Announcement {Day2dayjoys.com Relaunch & Giveaway} appeared first on Day2Day Joys.

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