There are many things that could go into this blog post. We are currently living in a state of unknown as we process what a national state of emergency looks like in the midst of a worldwide proclaimed pandemic. One quick look on social media (I just checked) provides everything from info-graphics, prayers, opinions, and of course, fear based ridicule of our neighbors. So I thought that I would take this space to give fact based support on why we are doing what we are doing at Crossroads Family Chiropractic – what we do EVERYDAY: Chiropractic and Nutrition!

Each of these health support techniques serve our bodies as the BEST ways to prevent disease and support the body when dealing with any type of stress. Each of these do not cause harm or have side effects. Each of these remind us that caring for our temples with our hour to hour decisions can set us up for strong constitutions – in mind, body and spirit. With that being said, I took the time to search for well researched links so that you can be reminded that what you are choosing is good for you!! And if you have friends who doubt your commitment to a conservative, natural health oriented lifestyle, feel free to pass this on 🙂

Chiropractic

To put it in layman’s terms, chiropractic improves the immune system by aligning the spinal joints, which in turn takes stress off of the nervous system. When the nervous system is working optimally, the rest of the body follows suit!

Decrease antibiotic use

Quality of Life

Immune System

Nutrition

I do not have enough time to highlight all the things you could be doing nutritionally to support your immune system, so I decided to focus on items that specifically are antimicrobial. However, decreasing your amount of processed foods and sugar intake is the FIRST line of defense when it comes to supporting your immune system.

Apple Cider Vinegar 

Honey

Supporting respiratory illness

I will take the time to add Essential Oils to this portion of the post. There are soooo many things to say about the use of essential oils in building up and caring for the immune system. Here are two on Oregano Oil to get you started!

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25266989

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28613267

I could keep going with the benefits of acupuncture, massage, and exercise. But I will have to save that for another blog. In the meantime, rest, meditate, go for a walk with your family and enjoy the life you have been given. We are praying for you during this uncertain time, and will remain available to care for you and your family.

There are so many things I want to say in this blog post. But, if I am brutally honest, it’s 9:42pm on Sunday night, and this blog is “supposed” to be in a newsletter that arrives to your inbox in approximately 9 hours.

I would love to tell you that you are enough. If you are a mom to any amount of children, I would tell you that those dishes in the sink are okay, and that pile of unfolded laundry on your couch (even if you got that far!) are MORE than okay. I would encourage you to stop doing things and start focusing on the relationships around you.

I would tell you that instead of writing a blog today, I took my kids to a state park and hiked!

I would tell you that my word for the year is ABIDE. As a follower of Jesus, that means that I stop striving to do things that I think I need to do. Instead, I am focusing on being present where I am, and doing my best to to enjoy that space. I am working on being thankful in every circumstance, and praying continually in every situation (for me that looks like slowing down and breathing between the tasks on my to-do list).

But instead of writing a fully coherent and well thought out post, I have decided to let this song do the work. Take a moment by yourself, or maybe grab your spouse, a kiddo, a coworker, and invite them to share this moment with you. This song is one of my favorites, and I am declaring it as the Crossroads Family Chiropractic “song of the month.”

So join us this month as we practice being kind to ourselves. If we are to love our neighbors as ourselves, then we must start with extending mercy and grace as we look in the mirror, in our self talk, and in our day to day movements.

1. Food became part of worship. Our culture tells us that food is about us. We choose what we eat because of our desire to affect our body – to decrease or increase our size, to improve our health, to increase our energy or to give us comfort. Those are not necessarily bad motivations, but the focus is on us.  The effect of this self-focus is that food and all issues related to it loom large in our minds. Food becomes a source of anxiety.

   When I choose my food based on the liturgical calendar, the focus shifts. Now food has an object outside myself – Jesus; it becomes part of how I worship. Food also becomes a smaller concern. It is only one of the many ways that I can worship and there is much flexibility in how I use food in that worship. St. Augustine defines virtue as loving things with the kind and degree of love which is appropriate to it. I feel like the liturgical calendar is moving me towards virtue by properly ordering my affections for food.

2. I realized that food is not evil. Our health food culture also tells us that some foods are “good” and some are “bad” and these assertions are so common that it’s easy to write them off as unharmful. Sugar is obviously, bad, right?  But in the course of the liturgical year, there are no foods that are completely off limits. During feast times we feast and during fasts we fast.  Most days we just eat foods that will nourish our body so that we can do the work that God has given us.  It was this difference in perspective that clued me into to another way that the liturgy points us back to Christ.

   In Genesis 1:11 we read that God created “seed-bearing plants and trees that bear fruit with seed in it. In the next verse he declares that this plants are good and in verse 29 he gives these plants to us for food. Later on in Genesis he gives us the animal foods. In Acts, Jesus speaks to Peter and removes the restrictions on foods that were impure under the Jewish law. These are just a few of the examples in Scripture in which God demonstrates that is is His prerogative to decide which foods we may eat.  If we let someone other than God dictate what foods are Good and Bad, then we are letting them be God to us. By adjusting our eating to the seasons of the church year, we bring our hearts and minds and body back under the Lordship of Christ.

3. I am no longer good or bad based on what I eat.  Another reason that food is anxiety inducing subject is that by subscribing to our culture’s definition of which foods are good and bad we place ourselves under a law. The problem with that is that this law only condemns; it does not offer a path of atonement or justification. If we believe that sugar, or chocolate or wheat is bad and then we eat that thing, then we become bad. We don’t consciously think about it that way, but I think it does actually create quite a lot of psychological stress. Conversely, if I view all of my eating as part of the service and worship that I render to God, then I do have a path back If I actually commit a sin. If I commit gluttony, then I can confess that, along with the emotional sin that probably went along with it, repent and then receive grace to go forward without sinning.

Hello Crossroads Family!

There are a lot of new developments happening at Crossroads in the New Year. Today, I want to share with you some exciting developments in my personal life and humbly ask for your support.

I have had a deep interest in nutrition and holistic wellness since my personal health journey kicked off at the age of 13. Over the past 10 years of learning and doing my best to live out my newly acquired knowledge, I’ve realized two principles to be true regarding health &wellness:
1) Perfect nutrition will never dismiss the need for regular exercise.
2) True health involves more than just a healthy physical body – it involves the body, mind and spirit.

Sadly, my personal health journey began from a place of self-disgust and insecurity. And while I managed to lose 45 pounds and reach my goal weight in my own strength, it wasn’t long before I realized my mind and spirit were still “overweight.” Through the guidance of many mentors,
authors, and sisters in the faith, I learned to invite the Lord to partner with and guide me in my health journey and it made all the difference! Since finding this freedom in my own health, my heart has burned to share this message of hope and freedom with others who feel defeated and ashamed in their health as I did. In His great faithfulness, the Lord has led me to an opportunity through Revelation Wellness that will allow me to do just that!

Revelation Wellness is a fitness ministry and discipleship training program that equips individuals to become “Fitness Teachers, Gospel Preachers.” As a certified Revelation Wellness Instructor, I will lead group fitness classes and small group Bible studies centered around the Word of God and holistic wellness. I have felt the Lord pinging my heart to pursue Revelation Wellness Instructor Training (RWIT) for several months, but continually excused these promptings due to limited time and financial resources to invest in the 9-week Instructor Training Course. Yet the Lord has persisted in inviting me to this opportunity in a number of ways, so I am giving Him my “Yes” to become a part of Revelation Wellness Platoon 24! Instructor Training will begin in February and consist of an 9-week intensive, online study program that will culminate in a week-long training retreat in Arizona.

First and foremost, I would like to ask for your prayerful support as I step out of my comfort zone to pursue this ministry opportunity. My participation in RWIT will require a total investment of $2,400 (which includes the cost of the course materials and required texts, meals and lodging for the training retreat and airfare to/from AZ). If you feel led to support me financially, there will be a giving jar collecting donations toward my RWIT at the front desk in our office for the next several weeks. Donations can also be given online through GoFundMe (link provided below) or mailed to our Crossroads Family Chiropractic office directly (Made payable to Laura Mullen, Memo: RWIT).

As a small way to say thank you for sowing into my discipleship training program, I’d like to share with you 10 of my favorite healthy recipes to inspire you in your own health journey! Please be sure to include your email address so that I can share the recipes with you! For more information on Revelation Wellness Instructor Training and the driving mission of the ministry, check out this informational video.

Link to give through GoFundMe:

Thank you for your support!
In Health & Peace,
Laura Mullen
Patient Advocate
Crossroads Family Chiropractic

It is the time of year that many of us find ourselves inspired by all the new possibilities it brings! If you are a New Years enthusiast, you are likely busy dreaming about the new opportunities that the year 2020 will bring. At Crossroads Family Chiropractic, we certainly are!

What new developments does 2020 bring to Crossroads?

Dr. Keen will be practicing at the highest level upon the completion of her Advanced Level Nutrition Response Testing Practitioner program. Dr. Keen has invested a great deal of time and resources into her education and is excited to apply her newest discoveries in a clinical setting. In addition to being able to use Nutrition Response Testing to uncover common stressors such a foods sensitivities, immune challenges, chemical and heavy metal challenges and scars, Dr. Keen has learned new methods and strategies to dig a little deeper into resolving more complex cases.

Laura, our Patient Advocate, will be expanding her role at Crossroads by beginning to practice as a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner, NTP. In this new position, she will work with our patients one on one as a nutritional consultant, offering guidance in areas such as meal preparation, label reading, macronutrient balance, and supporting the foundations of health that make up a nutrient-dense, whole foods diet. Laura will also begin taking on Nutrition Response Testing patients of her own as she continues to progress in her education following the footsteps of Dr. Keen.

Beginning in January, Dr. Kristi Church will be a chiropractic preceptor in our office available to see patients. Dr. Church is in her 9th trimester at Logan University and is excited to learn more about adjusting pregnant women and children. She will be a wonderful addition to our Crossroads team and shares our heart to combine conservative care and holistic wellness with a love for Jesus and desire to see the body of Christ healthy!

Lastly, don’t forget that we now have TWO massage therapists practicing at the office. The beloved Wendy Godwin offers a variety of massage services and specializing in prenatal massage and Healing Touch Therapy ™. Additionally, April Woollard, who joined our Crossroads team towards the end of
2019, will continue to be a valuable resource to our patients. April is a gifted massage therapist, specializing in Cranial Sacral Therapy ™.

We are excited about all the new developments in store for the New Year at Crossroads and look forward to serving you and your family in your pursuit of true wellness!