Arbordoun's Calendula Cream and Silky Day Lotion

Silky Day Lotion and Calendula Cream by Arbordoun is a line of handmade all natural skin care products. The Silky Day Lotion comes in an 8 oz plastic bottle. The foundational ingredient in the lotion is shea butter. The other ingredients in the lotion are distilled water, apricot kernel oil, extracts of calendula, burdock root, witch hazel, wild carrot seed; saint john’s wort infused in apricot kernel oil, xanthan gum, rose hip seed oil, vitamin e, lecithin, and lavender oil. The lotion is designed to be used daily over the entire body including the face. The Calendula Cream comes in 1 oz, 4 oz, 9 oz, and 16 oz glass jars. The ingredients are in the cream are olive oil, purified water, herbal extracts of calendula, Oregon grape, comfrey, aloe, vegetable glycerin, beeswax, vitamin e, lecithin, lavender oil. The price for the 8 oz lotion is $29.95. The prices for the creams are 1 oz for $10.74, 4 oz for $20.34, 9 oz for 39.54, 16 oz for $53.40. 
 
Both products can used for skin of all ages. The products, being that they are all natural, are non-toxic and even edible. Arbordoun does not promote eating it! The water-based ingredients are readily absorbed into the skin. I suffer from migraines and strong smells can easily give me a migraine. These products have very subtle scents. The scents are also very pleasing. The Calendula Cream is not thick and doesn’t leave a greasy feel. A small amount of the cream goes a long way. The herbs in the cream have historically been used to promote skin healing and they also have antibacterial properties. I no longer have little ones, but it is said that the cream is great for diaper rash. Those that have used it have said that after only two applications diaper rash has completely disappeared. I sure could have used this with mine years ago. My daughter suffers from eczema, and she has been using it on some of her stubborn spots. The cream has helped soothe and keep her eczema from getting worse. I tend to have very dry skin and this cream has greatly helped to lock in the moisture after showers and keep my skin not as dry and itchy. It works great to apply after washing your hands. With Covid still around I am washing my hands all the time. A pea size amount rubbed into your hands and your hands remain soft. Using this cream after shaving your legs makes them baby soft and smooth. The cream is a bit like a mini spa treatment for your skin. The Silky Day Lotion supports and balances your skin. You need to shake the lotion very well or the oil tends to not mix with the shea butter completely. The lotion is oilier than the cream. Both leave the skin very soft and smooth. I am drawn to both products due to the use of all natural ingredients.
 
I prefer the cream over the lotion. For me the drawback to the lotion is the need to really shake the lotion to get the oil to incorporate. Even after shaking vigorously when squeezing out the lotion the oil and the shea butter was still separated. Being a busy mom, it is nice to just open the jar of cream and swipe the amount out that I need and close the jar back up. No need to shake a bottle or worry if I squirt out too much. I also did not like the oily feel and look that the lotion gave. This is just my personal preference.
 
I would recommend both products to my friends and family. These products would be great gifts. 

 

-Product review by Jennifer Ladewig, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, November 2021

Be Thou My Vision

I will have to be honest that I clicked on this book for review via downloadable pdf format before I read the full title. I was drawn to the book by the beautiful cover and the title, be thou my vision. I knew I might disagree with the use of liturgy as well as denominational views held by Jonathan Gibson. Liturgy according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary means - a eucharistic rite, a rite or body of rites prescribed for public worship, a customary repertoire of ideas, phrases, or observances. Many denominations such as Catholics, Lutherans and many others set their services around the use liturgy. I am by no means here to judge denominations. There are many parts of this book that I think are great. I attend a Calvinistic Bible based church. My children from a very young age started learning the Westminster Shorter Catechism. We do start our service with Doxology. Okay, back to the book. 

 To Start, I think that it would be helpful

for you the reader to read through the 

structural formant of the Daily Worship.

This will give you great insight into how this

31 day daily worship devotional works. 

We know that throughout the Bible we are taught how to pray. "Pray continually." I Thessalonians 5:17, "Do not use vain repetition." Matthew 6:7. Now of course there is useful repetition such as when young children are learning their catechism, or when praying we thank God for His grace, mercy, patience, sending His Son so that I many have forgiveness of sin. So to an extent some repetition grows our faith, helps us learn, brings us closer to the Lord. What one needs to be careful about is mindless repetition that can easily happen with liturgy. When one has grown up in the church and has memorized the denominational liturgy and weekly find themselves merely saying the words as if reciting a poem back in your literature class in high school. This is a red flag a warning! In my opinion, a daily devotional would consist of reading a short scripture passage, a very short written devotional that would tie into the scripture, maybe a thought provoking question, possibly a Bible verse to meditate on for the day, followed by personal quiet time in prayer. The set-up laid out in this book is rigid, formal, filled with too much liturgy, and way too long. Of course, these are just my thoughts and opinions. 

I would like to add that Jonathan Gibson wrote this devotional during the Covid-19 Lockdowns. He said, "It inspired me to think about how I might structure my own personal or family devotions more like a mini church service, with elements of a call to wor- ship, adoration, confession, assurance, creed and catechism, Gloria Patri, prayer of illumination, Bible reading, intercessory prayer, and the Lord’s Prayer." I applaud Jonathan for seeing a need within his walk with the Lord, his desire to ensure that his family remain in God's Word, and ultimately reach the world with something tangible in writing and publishing, be thou my vision. Even though this book was not the right fit for me, I am sure that many will be blessed beyond measure by the words found between the pages of this beautiful book.