Farewell Hair Health Harmony

This will be the last blog post I'll ever write on Hair Health Harmony. I started this blog about a year ago with the intention of inspiring my readers via natural hair tricks and product reviews, health and fitness advice, and spiritual encouragement. Well, over the past few months I've realized that I want to change directions.  I still LOVE beauty and health...but I want to do more hands-on outreach.  I also feel that God is calling me to do something bigger and bolder when it comes to encouraging women in Christ and helping them to see and believe in their inner and outer beauty.

Sooooooo, with that said I introduce you to ...

YAYAYAY!! I'm crazy excited about this next chapter in my life and sharing the love of Christ all over the world!  You'll still get all the fun beauty and health content that I'm obsessed with, but I'll also be talking waaaaay more about how to honor God by being the most beautiful you He created you to be! 

Thank you for supporting Hair Health Harmony since the start and I look forward to keeping in touch via the new blog...which is up now!

I'm still in the very beginning stages of getting this ministry up and running, so stay tuned for more updates, a new website and an exciting launch event I'm planning for the summer! 

xoxo!
Nicole

Four Easy Steps to Start Studying the Bible

Reflecting back on 2012, the best new habit that I developed has been studying the Bible every day.  I can honestly say that this one task has totally changed my life for the better. I've grown closer to God and developed a stronger understanding of what He has called me to do and who He has called me to be simply by taking in His word on a daily basis.

Like many young Christians, I grew up in the church and never had any doubt about who I considered my Lord and Savior. (#TeamJesus, what!)  It wasn't until earlier this year that I realized that although I consider myself a Christian, I wasn't doing anything on a daily basis to feed my Christian growth.  Just like our physical bodies need food and water every day, our spirits need to be fed, too.  Church for a few hours on Sunday just wasn't cutting it for me. I was hungry for more of Him.

To be quite honest, the Bible itself can be intimidating and overwhelming. Especially, if you have one of those old school, leather cover, Kings James Bibles with the metallic gold edges and built-in tabs.  Ya'll know the ones I'm talking about! When I first started my daily studying over the summer, I had no idea where to start.  Now, I look forward to my daily Bible study!  I usually study for a full 30 minutes while I'm on the bus heading to work. Then, I will also read over my morning notes at night before bed and write in my prayer journal (pictured below).

Alot of people ask me, "What Bible study plan do you follow?" Here are the steps I used to create an easy plan that I could do every day.

1. I have this book I got from my grandmother called The Bible Promise Book.  It's $3.00!  It has Bible verses for every subject under the sun from anger, anxiety, fear, faith, happiness, etc...  You can click here to see the table of contents.   So at the end of each day, I will study that emotion that I am dealing with or feeling that day.  Lately, I've been studying discipline and commitment because I have so much going on and I feel stretched too thin. I've been studying what does the Bible say about taking on more than I can bear and learning how to stay committed to what I need to get done.  

OR

I download free podcasts from TD Jakes, Joyce Meyer and Joel Osteen on iTunes...sometimes I will just play them aloud in the house while I'm getting ready for work and if I hear them preaching on a topic that interests me, I will write down the scripture for my Bible study time that night.


2. Once I find a scripture using my Bible Promise Book or podcasts, I will look it up and read the whole chapter.  I use the YouVersion App on my iPad which is awesome for quick reading on the go and because it has nearly every Bible translation you can think of.  I also use the Life Application Study Bible, NLT translation which is great because within each passage, it gives you additional study notes to read which are VERY insightful and interesting! 

3.  After I read the whole chapter, I will write out the scripture verbatim and then put it into my own words. Then I write down other important highlights from the chapter and how it applies to my life.  I just write and write and write and pour out whatever I'm feeling at the time.  Like I'm writing a letter to God....and after a while, I will "hear" Him talk back to me and help me through the dilemma.  True story.

4. Lastly, I repeat the scripture a few times to myself and then pray about it.

That's it!  There's no specific formula or plan that I follow.  I kinda just made this up because it was easy and it's something that I will want to do every day, even if just for 15 minutes if I'm crazed and running around.  But I really try to aim for one hour each day because God deserves it! He's more important than Facebook or TV or whatever else we fill our time up with.  #RealTalk.  This year, I'm going to develop a more intense study plan so I can learn more about the historical aspects and characters in the stories of the Bible.

If your desire is to develop a stronger Christian walk in 2013, make daily Bible study one of your New Year's resolutions.  Start with just 30 minutes a day. I know you can do it!  It will totally feed you mentally and spiritually in ways you could not imagine. Your life will feel...lighter. And more full. And more peaceful.  I'm a witness...because it happened for me.

xo,
Nicole 

The Salad Jam Challenge!

If you follow me on Instagram, you may have noticed the resurgence of my obsession over salads.  I call it a resurgence because I've always been a huge salad eater. I was probably the only person in my college dorm who owned a salad spinner at the ripe age of 21.  Over the past month or so, I found myself having little time to make healthy meals at home, so I decided to forget about cooking altogether...and just started throwing together a big, raw salad every day.  After about a week, I started to have more energy and was so excited about finding new salad concoctions to try! I posted a few pictures on Instagram and suddenly my followers wanted to join in on the salad-making fun, and *** Wha-lah!*** #SaladJam was born!

Since so many of you also want to infuse your daily eating with raw, healthy veggies, I'm starting the Salad Jam Challenge on January 1!  Want to join?  Here's what cha' gotta do:

As a bonus, you can SIGN UP HERE to receive salad recipes, easy prep tips and more throughout the duration of the challenge!  (I will not use your email for spam, I pinky promise!)

Sign Up To Receive Salad Jam Challenge Emails!

Throughout the month, I'll be blogging about fun and easy ways to get your salad jam on at home. For starters, here are three tools I'd suggest you buy to make your salad prep a cinch.

1. SALAD SPINNER: As aforementioned, I started using my salad spinner in college and it's one of my favorite kitchen tools.  It makes washing lettuce a breeze and ensures that you don't end up with soggy lettuce.  The spinner that I have was $10 at KMart and I purchased it 7 years ago...and it's still going strong.  I couldn't find it online, but here's one that seems like it would get the job done just as well.  Art N Cook Salad Spinner, $19.99

2. DEBBIE MEYER GREEN BAGS:  If you're like me, you're skeptical of any product with an "As Seen on TV" label.  But these things really work!  I was pleasantly surprised the first time I purchased them.  My produce lasted up to one full week longer than it did in regular Ziploc bags.  Debbie Meyer Green Bags, $9.99

3.  A VEGGIE CHOPPER: I'm the queen of kitchen gadgets so I have two slicer/choppper contraptions that make cutting up veggies in bulk super easy!  My favorite is the Quick Chopper (pictured above), which I got at a garage sale for $5! I loved it so much...that I bought another one on Ebay, so now I have two.  I've had them both for over 6 years now.  If you like a lot of salad toppings like me, but don't want to spend all day cutting things up, then this purchase is for you. There are lots of similar chopper/slicer thingys that you can get at Target, WalMart, wherever.   Quick Chopper, $11.69

Don't forget to  SIGN UP HERE to receive salad recipes, easy prep tips and more via email throughout the duration of the challenge! This is going to be so much fun!

Sign Up To Receive Salad Jam Challenge Emails!

Happy Salad Jamming!
xo,
Nicole

Are You Seriously Living for Christ?

I saw this online and just had to repost it here.  It's time for us to start taking living for Christ seriously. When you really, fully, wholly and completely absorb how much love Christ has for you, your whole life will change.
The way you walk. (I'm not referring to physically putting one foot in front of the other, but your lifewalk.)
The way you talk.
The people you will want to hang around.
The men you will want to date... and the men you will want to breakup with. (HELLO.)
The shows you will want to watch on TV.
The way you spend your time.
The way you draw closer to Him daily...not just on Sunday.
The way you live.

It will all change. For the better.
Take living—truly LIVING— for Christ seriously because He takes you seriously. Very much so. 
Besides, living for Christ is pretty much the best thing ever!  Really.

My Ultimate Leave-in Conditioner All-Stars!

These are my ultimate leave-in conditioner all-stars! As a professional product junkie, I've been through my fair share of hair products...and these guys are still my hands-down favorites. Best of all—they are all less than $13 each!  Hide ya kids, hide ya debit cards, cause you won't go broke with this routine, no mama!

Here's an overview of my leave-in conditioning routine:

1. I wash out my deep conditioner with my hair still in the twists that I put in when I raked the conditioner through my hair.  This step allows my hair to maintain its easy-to-manage sections.

2. I spray on the Oyin Handmade Juices & Berries ($12, curlart.com) to my slightly damp hair.  This stuff contains aloe vera which my hair loooooves.  Aloe vera helps to seal the hair cuticle which leads to super-soft strands. Plus it's called juices and berries!  Are you having Coming to America flashbacks yet? Ok good, me too, so press play below:

 

Bwhahaha!  Love that movie....Whew! Okay, focus, focus...back to the post.

3. I mix together equal parts of Jane Carter Solution Nutrient Replenishing Conditioner ($13, janecartersolution.com) and Beautiful Textures Tangle Taming Leave-In Conditioner ($6, Sally Beauty Supply). (I usually use the cap of  my Shea Moisture Smoothie Jar since it's nice and wide and I can swirl them together for an impromptu easy dipping tray.)  Although the Jane Carter Conditioner is technically not a leave-in, my hair loves it.  I discovered it as an amazing leave-in conditioner one day when I was too lazy to rinse it out...and it stayed in for a whole week.  #DontJudgeMe

4. Lastly, I seal my ends with Eden BodyWorks Peppermint Tea Tree Oil ($10, Sally Beauty Supply). I also spray the oil directly on my scalp for its wonder-working scalp benefits and because it gives me the tingles.  Oooooh....ahhhhhh.

What's your leave-in conditioner routine? Share below friends!