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At Young Living, we are committed to uniting ancient traditions and modern science to promote health and longevity.
Charlotte Cole is an Independent Distributor of Young Living Essential Oils. If you would like more information click the image to take you to her website to view products.
Featured Articles and Blog Posts
January 21, 2012
Put Your Mask on First! Valuable Lessons From Cancer
Day one of my cancer diagnosis, involved hypothetically clearing my overflowing agenda. Immediately the whole family rallied, ultimately removing all of my obligations, that did not first and foremost promote my health and longevity. While it was a welcome relief, I was not seeking personal gain; like most mothers, I sacrificially made changes for the sake of my family, as I had done so many times before. “I must forgo my comfort, for the sake of my family” was the inaccuracy that I, like so many others, clung to. At that stage in the game, I still felt indispensible to my husband, my children and various other areas of my life. If I was going to go the distance, a U-Turn was required; I needed begin seriously caring for myself, even if that meant a temporary disconnect from a lot of responsibility. As I shifted gears, my lifestyle morphed into a world that was foreign to anything I had ever experienced. I thought, “No wonder I got cancer, no one in their right mind should as
January 12, 2012
Not What I Hoped
Here’s what I had hoped to get from my second opinion, “After getting to know you, and factoring into account the measures you are taking to implement a healthy lifestyle, I can see that this chemo regimen is appropriate for most people, but is overkill for you. I think you should celebrate what you’ve done thus far, make an appointment with your surgeon to get your ostomy reversed and get back to life.” The reality was she spent over an hour with us, sincerely listened, and handed me a box of tissues, as I cried when she concurred with the previously prescribed protocol. She agreed that I should go ahead with the next seven rounds of chemo.
January 6, 2012
Seeking a Path That Works for Me
As a woman whose heart is passionate about alternative medicine I am keenly in tune with my body. I know when I have a germ, and I take the appropriate measures like sleep, going to the chiropractor, drinking extra water, laying off sugar, using essential oils or an oral remedy; 99% of the time I stay healthy. The majority of society is different, they wait until something knocks them out, causing them to stop, before they address the needs of their bodies and then end up doing what they know best, going to the doctor’s office and getting drugs. My family has been free of antibiotics for years, that’s amazing since we have four kids; our pediatrician barely knows us. We show up for sport physicals and the nurses see we haven’t been in a year and wonder if we are really patients; no one ever stops to ask what we do differently. So few people take the time, energy and effort to care for the needs of their bodies that serve them so well. I love to call myself a Born-Again-Chri
December 31, 2011
God Help Me!
If you are close to me, you are all too familiar with the sight and sounds of my tears this week. I hate chemo! I am literally horrified that I have seven more treatments to go. I cried my way to the hospital Tuesday and have sustained the waterworks every day since. What a contrast from Monday, I was whizzing down a zip line, screaming at the top of my lungs as the thrill of the ride sent me worlds away from everything else I know. There I was flying through the Pennsylvania sky, high above the beauty of the earth, securely cradled in a harness, I couldn’t have asked for more. However, it was like slamming into a brick wall the next morning when we returned from our mini vacation and I was expected at Johns Hopkins for my biweekly dose of poison.
December 24, 2011
What’s so Merry About Christmas?
What is Christmas for you? Is it stressful shopping trips to the mall, complete with elevated crime, bumper to bumper traffic, parking nightmares, and impatient, pushy crowds? Perhaps it is pulling down boxes of decorations that you dread putting back away in a few weeks. There's always the overblown spending issue, racking your brain about what to get your distant family that you really don’t want to see right now. Christmas could mean you are expected to add a ton of extra things to your already overloaded plate. Speaking of plates, it gets to be quite the job to resist the ever appearing plate of sweets. For many, it is a reminder of how much you miss a loved one or wish you were not still single, barren or spending another holiday in a painful marriage pretending “it’s all good” again this year. You look around at all the glitter and happy facades and you’re reminded of a void that just gets illuminated in your heart over the holidays. Maybe you are thinking about v
December 19, 2011
2011: A Year In Review
It’s hard not to start a 2011 letter with the cancer diagnosis, but there was life before July 1, 2011: It started off as an excellent year; I was convinced it would be one of the best years in recent history. In February I set off for my annual breakaway to Denver, where I attend the Christian Writers Guild’s, Writing for the Soul conference and where I heard clear direction from the Lord about my writing. Ever since He revealed my gift, and called me to this ministry, I have been trying to beat the system, jump into the big league without paying my dues. That is a huge leap for a girl who coasted through school on her personality and neglected some pretty rudimentary education as a result of serious, undiagnosed ADD. However, the Lord’s message was sharp for me, it was time for a change, personality alone was not what He what He had in mind, He called me out of my comfort zone. I was to go back to the basics wit h my writing and start from square one, with the promise that
December 7, 2011
Something Has Changed
Something has changed! My chemotherapy is technically in place as a preventative measure, in case the cancer unknowingly spread yet I am beginning to feel so different that I am beginning to think perhaps the preventative measure was necessary; perhaps the cancer had spread and is doing its job. Since the chemo began I have wanted nothing more than to quit; I have been certain I don’t have cancer in my lymphatic system. However, I can tell after 3 of the 12 rounds that something has changed! Although it wipes me out beyond words, I am experiencing a feeling of health that I can’t explain. This is leading me to believe that just as I was wrong when I insisted my former bowel issues could not possibly be cancer (yet actually were a bit greater than stage three rectal cancer) I now believe that I was possibly wrong about the cancer being isolated to my former rectum. I am beginning to think I might need the chemotherapy. I am grateful for the medical research and protocol that I
November 24, 2011
A Glimpse of God’s Plan
As my yoga class ended, I found myself welling up with intense emotion; something powerful had just transpired in my heart and my understanding of God’s love though my suffering. It was through the challenge and the accomplishment, the stillness and reflection, the prayer and thankfulness, and ultimately the acceptance and perseverance through poses that did not feel good that my eyes were opened. I often liken one’s approach to life like their tactic to scaling a rock wall; perhaps they are slow and steady, strategically mapping out each step, or maybe they are too tentative to even try the wall at all, so they stay below and watch. For me it’s always been: rush up without a care in the world, panic just before I finish and call for Tom to bail me out. Just like my trip up the wall there isn’t a lot of finishing hard tasks in my life; many things are tried with a lot of zeal and passion but goals aren’t set and there is little accomplishment in a finished piece.
November 12, 2011
Who’s To Judge? When Good Intentions End Up Bringing Pain
I’m not Jesus and she certainly isn’t some Samaritan, whose shame leads her to go draw her water from the well when no one else is around, but with the way the Evangelical Church is acting today you’d really never no the difference. “We’re a gay couple,” she said. I could hear the baggage. I could envision what it might have been like as a young girl to feel different, to feel like something is wrong when she was amidst other girls. I could imagine the response of family and friends, doctors and neighbors. Perhaps there was a line that was drawn somewhere in her young life and she had to step outside of it, if she was going to be even moderately true to her heart.
November 10, 2011
This is The Day The Lord has Made Let Us Rejoice and be Glad In It!
After months of trusting God, without being able to feel Him, I finally feel Him again! It’s been tough not to feel His love, I’ve been fully reliant on what I know is true, and while it’s been enough, it certainly hasn’t felt good. This week changed, not only have I felt Him, but also He’s been lovingly in my face increasingly throughout the week. I can sincerely say I feel good! (I know this is answered prayer, thank you so very much.) Feeling God again reminded me why I love Him so much. I have a renewed sense of purpose. I realize He put me on this path and I am going to quit resisting it. I’ve been willing on one hand to walk the road He laid out for me, but in a far larger since, I have been fighting Him instead of trusting Him, I am ready to surrender! (Chemicals and all)
November 8, 2011
Breaking the Darkness
I had a major setback this weekend. Awhile back, with high hopes of putting something on our calendar, Tom graciously got our family amazing tickets to see my favorite band Third Day. It’s been on the calendar almost as long as I’ve known I had cancer, I knew, Lord willing, my surgery would be distant enough that I could go and really rock out! (Spoken like a real mom!)
November 5, 2011
Chemotherapy
I hate to admit this, primarily because I don’t want to discourage anyone else on this path, but for me personally chemotherapy has proven to be the scariest, darkest and most depressing phase of it all. It has just begun and I am certain, like the rest of it, I will adjust, but as of now I really hate it. I started off on the wrong foot, I had a mental image of what to expect on day one, but what took place caught me completely off guard. Days before, I went to have a port surgically put into my chest so that the chemo could come home with me in an infuser for 48 hours. What I didn’t realize was that my trip home, only happened after I did three plus hours of infusion in the hospital; that didn’t begin until two hours after I arrived to have my blood evaluated to have the meds mixed properly. I mistakenly thought I could go by myself on my first day, but I had a near panic attack, on the way to Hopkins (praise God I called my sister in tears for a pep-talk and she launched
October 31, 2011
A Glimpse of God’s Purpose in my Suffering
In the days before my surgery I had a day at Hopkins for some intense scans. My pain was at a premium and my bad beckoned me as I got a PET scan and an MRI. What I wasn’t prepared for on that dark day was a miracle, a complete change of heart, as I caught a glimpse of God’s plan through my suffering. I have been blessed with so many caring friends and relatives who have graciously reached out to me in love, that list included a distant cousin, Linda. A long list of unreturned calls lay in my path, but as I passed time between scan appointments, the Lord prompted me to return Linda’s call. My day was transformed as she told me about a group of women that she works with in a Sober House, she had shared my story with women who were fighting the beast of addiction. Amidst their own trials, they were lovingly following my journey and rooting for me; finding this out altered the cry of my heart!
October 29, 2011
Back and Better(ish) Than Ever
If you saw me right now you’d be amazed at how awesome our God is. Not only am I gaining momentum in my life but also I have my joy, my hope, my enthusiasm and most of all I have my faith back. I never quite lost it, but I’m back to realizing I can ask God for everything (in His will) and expect an answer. When I joined you in pleading for the pain relief and God saw fit to let me suffer for that season, I lost the confidence that I could turn to Him for all my needs and burdens. I got so caught up in the conflict between God’s choice and timing, and the fact that it didn’t match up with mine, that I lost sight that what He was doing through my pain was just one slice of a big pie. I can still call on Him for everything and just because He ordained that painful growth spurt doesn’t mean He won’t address my other concerns; I just quit asking because that was Satan’s plan. However if you know the slogan Jesus beat the Devil with a Big Stick…or if you know what hap
October 26, 2011
Phase III: Chemotherapy
Awesome news, I am doing tons better. My attitude towards my bag improves daily and I can say I am fully ready, and dare I say excited, for chemo! (A week ago I was crying about both) I haven’t written in a few days because I’m struggling with cohesive orderly thoughts so if you bear with me, I’ll let my ADD shine and I’ll just spew. I’m bursting at the seams with information, where to start? Monday I went to Hopkins where I made the rounds. I need to add that though my dear husband has a huge work event this week, he was by my side the whole time. A man of honor, a man of great faith and someone I value so incredibly much.
Charlotte’s Heart Wordle
Wordle
