I have fallen in love with sweet orange essential oil.

I just can’t get enough of it lately. Maybe it’s because it’s early spring, and I am ready for sunshine and balmy breezes to replace the gray, chilly days of late winter in Indiana. Or perhaps it’s because of the uplifting properties of orange. Whatever the reason, I’ve been using orange a lot lately in my synergies and products for clients.

More Than an Aroma

While there’s no denying the lovely aroma of sweet orange, this essential oil doesn’t just smell good; it’s also a valuable addition to aromatherapy products because of its main therapeutic properties:

• Anxiolytic (anti anxiety)
• Antidepressant
• Nervine

Historically, sweet orange has been used for the conditions of  anxiety, depression, agitation, challenging behavior, and disturbed eating patterns. So it’s not a stretch that this essential oil is known for being warming, happy, uplifting, and cheerful. Honestly, it smells like sunshine in a bottle.

3 Ways to Use Sweet Orange

Let’s look at some ways sweet orange can brighten up your life.

1. Sunshine Whipped Body Butter. One of my favorite ways to use sweet orange is in a whipped body butter. I recently made a whipped body butter for a client using sweet orange and lemon essential oils. It’s a bit of a process to make, but, oh my, the results are well worth it. This body butter looks and smells like the lightest, most luscious whipped cream frosting you’ve ever seen. I could barely refrain myself from sampling it! Here’s a picture as I was whipping it in my mixer. I make mine with a mango seed butter, coconut oil, and jojoba seed oil base. I then add the essential oils, including lemon essential oil for its uplifting and immune-enhancing properties as well. The orange and lemon complement each other nicely and create a heavenly aroma.
2. Keep Calm Inhaler. Inhalers are such a convenient way to take aromatherapy with you wherever you go — they’re actually one of my biggest sellers. Compact and unobtrusive, they slip easily into a purse or pocket, yet they deliver a powerful dose of aroma whenever you need it. Inhalers are easily customized to whatever condition you’re trying to address. When you’re feeling uptight, make up this blend of sweet orange, vetiver, and ylang ylang. Its a simple process:
   • Get an empty inhaler and add 2 drops of vetiver, 8 drops of ylang ylang, and 15 drops of sweet orange to the cotton insert. Cap it and you’re ready to go! Here’s the simple recipe. If you’d rather not make it yourself, you can order one at my online store.
3. Diffuser. Sweet orange makes a lovely blend with many other essential oils to diffuse for a quick pick-me-up. One possibility it to diffuse 4 drops of sweet orange with 4 drops of lavender and 4 drops of bergamot for an uplifting home fragrance. Keep in mind that if you use the water type of diffusors, orange oil may stain the water reservoir a bit. I have found that adding about half water and half vinegar to the diffusor and running it for a few minutes cleans it up. Also, take a Mr. Clean Magic sponge and that does the trick too.

Sweet orange is a versatile essential oil and can be used in myriad ways. Use my ideas as a starting point and let me know what you come up with in the comment section below.

Contraindications

Important: Always keep essential oils out of the reach of children as they can be dangerous and even fatal if ingested in large amounts. Treat essential oils as you do medication: safely stored away from little hands.

Some citrus essential oils are phototoxic, especially the ones that are distilled, rather than being extracted through cold expression. Be careful of sun exposure if you are using citrus oils dermally.

I hope you fall in love with sweet orange as I have. It is a cheerful addition to any home. If you don’t want to experiment with the oil yourself, you can order from my store. Products are available for both shipping and local pickup if you live in the Indianapolis area!

Escentually yours,

I sat on the couch sick again from vertigo, an unending cycle of debilitating illness the doctors could not control. My health had literally been progressively spinning out of control for the last few years. I was sick and sinking into depression over how this disease was changing my life.

It was during this unlikely time that God birthed a dream in me, a dream to start a website. I remember thinking “But I know NOTHING about technical things, Lord, and am barely able to use my own computer.”

To which He replied “You have plenty of time on your hands to learn.”

I’ve learned a few things since that day nine years ago—one lesson in particular I am still growing into: God  wants to do much bigger things in our lives than we imagine, and when we work in tandem with Him, He shows up in big and little ways that always exceeds our expectations.

How about you? Have you ever felt totally inadequate to a dream or calling God has placed on your life? Then you’re in a good place, a place where God can move.

So let’s dive in and look at this process of partnering with God in your dream or calling. To be clear, this blog post is for the person who has already gone through the initial steps of establishing that dream or calling. If you’re not there yet, first work through this post 4 Steps to Starting Something New. Then come back here.

What Was I Thinking?!

But once you’ve started and are into the process, it is an exhilarating, scary place. The enemy will try to fill your head with doubts and at some point you’ll probably wonder “What was I thinking?!” God, however, is more than equal to the the task.

When doubts assail you, here’s an anchor to secure your floundering self to God: “The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple,” Psalm 19:7.

Now don’t be deceived; this one tiny verse is packed with power that can help you overcome hurdles and break through confusion as your pursue your God-given dream. Let’s look at it, two words in particular: making wise.

Making Wise

When I looked up the meaning of the phrase in the Hebrew (Hakam), I was astounded at all that it includes. According to my Keyword Study Bible, Hakam means “to be wise, act wisely, be intelligent, be prudent, become wise, to teach, to be skillful.” Do you already see some ways God is going to equip you for what He has called you to? But it doesn’t end there. I especially love the insight the author shares in the keyword dictionary about Hakam.

Denotes an intelligent attitude toward the experiences of life, including matters of general interest, basic morality, prudence in secular affairs, skills in the arts, moral sensitivity, and spiritual matters. The Hebrew concept of wisdom was very different from other ancient world views. Israelites believed in a personal God who is holy and just, who expected man to live according to His principles. They emphasized the human will rather than just mere intellect. The Hebrew concept of wisdom was therefore very practical, being based on what God had revealed concerning right and wrong.

This is huge for us. God shares His wisdom with us in all areas of life: our work, whether it’s secular or spiritual; our creativity in the arts; our moral compass and minds; and of course, spiritually. God wants us to consult him about every area of our lives, work, family, calling, dreams, relationships, and spiritual matters.

So how can you apply this when you are feeling overwhelmed in the birthing process of your dream or calling?

1. Pray specifically. Set aside time each day to pray and ask God detailed questions about your situation. Whether you’re trying to meet a certain financial goal, you need new customers, or  you want wisdom on how to best serve your small group, God is in the details. And He wants to be your partner in what you are doing. So treat Him like a partner. Ask questions. Discuss perplexing problems. “Prayerstorm,” as Mark Batterson calls it. The excellent book Starting Something New by Beth Booram (see resource below) will help you work through the details of birthing your dream.
2. Listen and write down what you feel like He is saying back to you. I really caught on to this from a free teaching iBloom recently shared. It’s called How to Create a Prayer Strategy for Your Business, but the core principles apply to any area of life. I highly recommend it. It’s changed my life and the way I approach my dreams.
3. Follow through on what the Holy Spirit shows you. Obedience is key when partnering with God. He may give you some ideas on whom to contact, a class to take, someone to pray for, a blog post to write, a resource to study, and so on. As you are obedient, He will continue to bless you and entrust you with more ideas and things to do.

When you realize that God is your source of help and strength and you follow His leading, He’ll take you on an exciting dream journey that will far exceed what you would have ever been able to do yourself

He did that with me. My website has grown into a ministry called Only By Prayer that my sister Mary Kane and I manage together. God continues to bring new things to our journey and He “makes wise the simple” on a daily basis.

How about you? Where are you in the process? Share your thoughts below.

Dream on!

Starting Something New: Spiritual Direction for Your God-Given Dream By Beth A. Booram / InterVarsity PressSpiritual director Beth Booram has written this book to guide you through the spiritual process of defining and acting on the idea stirring within you. Interviews from people who have courageously embraced a God-prompted idea are included with each chapter to add further vision and insight. Carefully designed exercises at the end of each chapter will guide those in the beginning stages as well as provide practical help and support for those who are actively tending a God-given dream.

Today we are so fortunate to have a guest blogger at Only By Prayer. Brittany Jean is a nineteen-year-old college student living in the Midwest with her parents and younger brother. She is currently majoring in pre-law and is planning on using that degree for ministry.

God is always there. That’s an easy concept to believe when we have everything figured out and life seems to be going perfectly. But then, a big trial always seems to come from nowhere and shake our foundation. For me, it was a huge bout of depression brought on by a lack of finances, the loss of my car, the breakup with my boyfriend, major health challenges, and an overwhelming load of college class work.

I lost hope and stopped believing God was there because I couldn’t feel Him. But it was just the opposite; God was closer to me than ever through this. He was taking away everything else I was clinging to so that I would only be able to cling to Him.

Once I had been emptied of everything the world would say defines me, God began to draw me to Him, taking care of all of my needs and worries. I can see God more clearly now than when I had everything. I have learned that only when I have been emptied of the world’s pleasures and successes, then can I be filled with the love and nearness of Christ.

“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted, and saves those who are crushed in Spirit.” Psalm 34:18

Come back tomorrow for more from Brittany. We will post a devotional and study questions from her. Until then, pray on!

Update:  Click for Brittany’s study called When We Are Broken We Can See God’s Hand.

If you’re a high school or college student interested in guest blogging, drop me a line and tell my about yourself and what you’d like to write about: janevanosdol@me.com.