It’s that time of year! Whether you turned on the Christmas music November 1st and have your list and shopping all done before Black Friday or you prefer to wait for the exhilarating rush of getting it all done on Christmas Eve, you’ve likely got a list of loved ones you’re looking for gifts to give! And some people on that list may be harder to shop for than others.
What do you get for the crunchy Christian on your list? You know, the friend or family member who loves Jesus and also loves all things alternative health, natural, and organic.
As a crunchy myself, I’ve pulled together my favorites this year to give you twelve gift ideas for your crunchy loved one (or gifts you want to ask for yourself), everything from big ticket items to stocking stuffers. And you can check out the 2016 and 2017 crunchy Christian gift guides and my favorite Christmas gift for even more ideas!
Crunchy Christian Gift Guide
1.) Healing Frequencies Music
Del of Healing Frequencies Music has multiple albums of therapeutic music recorded at A = 432 and A = 444 tuning. These tunings are important because they impact our bodies differently than the standard A = 440 tuning that most music is played and recorded with. 432 is considered the natural tuning, it’s what we sing with when we don’t have external influence telling us to change tune. And 444 is considered by some the tuning of heaven, an elevated sound that’s more nurturing to the body and soul than our standard 440 tuning.
Some of the albums she offers are specially panned to be used as EMDR music for even great therapeutic effect. These songs are listened to with headphones to get the benefit of the panning back and forth between left and right hemispheres of the brain. This back and forth stimulation mimics the state our brains are in with REM sleep and aids in the integration of memory and processing out trauma.
2.) Captive Thought Therapy Workbook
Take every thought captive with the tapping exercises in this workbook. The struggles we face affect us body, mind, and spirit; the solutions must holistically address all parts of us as well. Captive Thought Therapy is a mind-body inner healing protocol developed by me, Leah Lesesne. It combines elements of TFT & EFT tapping, declarations, and inner healing prayer to help you take your thoughts captive and find greater breakthroughs in emotional and spiritual health.
Each exercise gives you a set of body points to tap in sequence as you focus on a specific emotion. By focusing on specific thoughts and emotions while engaging the body in the process, we encourage the body to release physical memories of that emotion as we submit each thought and emotion to the authority of Jesus and allow his truth to reign over our minds, souls, spirits, and bodies.
The workbook includes exercises for twenty different emotions as well as exercises for working on forgiveness and getting our heads and hearts to agree on truth. To learn more, check out the Captive Thought Therapy website with a free exercise for releasing anxiety. Individual emotions are also available as digital downloads if you don’t need the whole workbook.
3.) WP Films from Darren Wilson
Darren Wilson makes films about the moves of God throughout our world. He started as a skeptic, simply filming and investigating claims of the supernatural and miraculous, but quickly saw that God really does still do miracles today and that we can be a part of them. His films are free flowing, not scripted, and in many cases just turn the camera on to see what will happen as his guest stars just go about life in the spirit.
If you’ve ever needed a reminder that God is real and actively at work in our world these films will inspire your faith and encourage you with their testimonies. I highly recommend getting the entire collection of films.
His newest film, Finger of God 2 is not out yet, but will be in time for Christmas. I got the opportunity to see the film early during it’s release tour and absolutely loved it. I think a better title would have been “He’s Worth it All” as the film shows through multiple stories that Jesus is worth everything, all of our devotion, all of lives, all of our everything. The DVD releases December 4th and will be available here when it does release. I’m really looking forward to watching it with my family over Christmas.
** All the WP Films will be 50% on Black Friday on their site, including pre-orders of Finger of God 2! **
4.) Permaculture Playing Cards
The perfect stocking stuffer for the gardener in your life! Informative and fun these permaculture playing cards will teach you about 52 different permaculture topics and key people in the permaculture movement. Everything from bees to rocket stoves, these cards wouldn’t be a bad idea to take camping either as they provide fun and helpful ideas all at the same time.
I have a feeling I’ll need to play solitaire if I want a chance to really read these as I use them, but in my dreams I have a group of fellow plant ladies to play spades with while we pause each turn to read the information on the cards.
5.) Non-Toxic Nail Polish
This year I cleaned out my nail polish collection and have been rebuilding it with non-toxic options. It’s kind of shocking how much our bodies can absorb through our nails and so important to be careful what we put on them. The main concerns with nail polish is that several of their common ingredients are endocrine disruptors.
Some of the ingredients you want to watch out for are DPH, toluene, and formaldehyde. Non-toxic nail polishes will typically call themselves 5-free, 7-free, or 9-free based on what toxins they don’t include. I’ve tried several different brands and have a few favorites.
Zoya is great if you want tons of color options and online (aka Amazon) availability. Ella + Mila is also great for color selection and is widely available in stores (I’ve struggled to find them easily on Amazon). Defy and Inspire is Target’s in-house brand and I’ve really loved their color selection as well. And Piggy Paint is a great water based non-toxic nail polish for little ones, it’s available online and widely in stores.
6.) Hebrew Calendar
I started following the Hebrew calendar back in 2016 and now offer my own version that follows my Healing in the Hebrew Months book series. The calendar has the standard Gregorian dates and layout but also has the dates for the Hebrew calendar and Jewish holidays. As a Christian you may wonder why the Hebrew calendar is important, but connecting with this different way of counting time and has made scripture come alive to me, especially accounts in the Old Testament about Israel.
Being more aware of the Hebrew calendar has really opened my eyes to the spiritual significance in each season. There are things God did with Israel in certain months throughout their history, the seasons of harvest, planting, or going to war. For example, the month of Elul is known as the time when “The king is in the field” meaning that the king is open and accessible, you don’t have to be invited for a special visit and go to him, he’s come to you and is waiting in places you already go. The prophetic significance in these months so beautifully points to the foreshadowing throughout the Old Testament of Jesus the coming messiah.
7.) Flower Essence Gift Set
According to some, Freedom Flowers’ flower essences are the epitome of crunchy Christian 🙂
This gift set has everything you need to get started with flower essences and learn all about them. You get a cute felt travel case, your pick of three sample size flower essence blends and Seneca’s book, Flower Power, that tells you everything you need to know about what flower essences are, how they work, the scriptural basis for them, how to use them, and what essences are good for what issues. I’ve partnered with Freedom Flowers several times before with an essence kit to go along with my book Healthy & Whole and co-authoring one of my other books Body Coaching. I love Seneca’s heart and spirit led approach to healing and how her essences often provide the tipping point to breakthrough my inner healing clients need.
8.) Natural Clay Face Masks
Bentonite clay, or Aztec healing clay as it’s sometimes known, is a powerful cleanser and detoxifier for your skin. It’s made from volcanic ash and contains a number of great minerals like calcium, sodium, iron, silica, magnesium, and potassium. It’s great for healing blemishes, clearing blackheads, eliminating pimples, and tightening pores. You can buy just dry clay and make your own mask or get pre-made facial masks. Either way, you don’t have to worry about it staining anything or smelling bad like some other face masks do.
9.) Selenite Lamp
Move over Himalayan rock salt lamps, there’s a new crunchy lamp in town! I still have and love my rock salt lamps (five of them scattered throughout the house actually), but I discovered selenite lamps this summer and they definitely deserve a place in the crunchy home as well. They give off a soft white glow instead of the red/orange of the salt lamps which is nice for rooms where you want whiter light.
While Himalayan salt lamps work as natural air purifiers, selenite helps protect the area from EMFs and the other technological smog we’re bombarded with from wifi, cell-towers, and just the general modern life. Even if you’re not looking for the health benefits, it makes a beautiful natural piece for decoration.
10.) Organic Cotton Weighted Blanket
Weighted blankets help provide deep pressure touch simulation, which in simple terms means they feel like a good hug. This deep pressure helps calm the nervous system and the sense of security and warmth they provide encourages the body and mind to relax.
They are great for those struggling with anxiety, insomnia, ADD, autism, PTSD, or any other sensory processing issues as well as numerous other conditions. You don’t have to be formally diagnosed with such issues to feel benefits of a weighted blanket. There can be a bit of an adjustment period getting used to the weight, but there are no risks or side effects of using a weighted blanket. However if you are physically weak or have any kind of issues with tight spaces weighted blankets are not recommended.
If you’ve ever found yourself loving the weight of multiple blankets but hating all the extra heat, this breathable organic cotton weighted blanket provides the best of both worlds and is great for year round use.
The weight comes from glass beads that are evenly distributed in quilted pockets. You can use the blanket as is, or it also has tabs to secure it inside a duvet cover to help reduce how often you need to wash the actual blanket.
A weighted blanket should weigh about 10-15% of your body weight to provide the right amount of deep pressure.
11.) MUSE Neurofeedback Headband
Neurofeedback helps retrain your brain toward healthy wave patterns through positive reinforcement. It has been around since at least the 80s but never really gained traction despite numerous tests showing it’s effectiveness. Unfortunately the pharmaceutical boom that started around the same time overshadowed neurofeedback as more profits stood to be made from medications.
In the past neurofeedback has been cost prohibitive for many. Specialized equipment and training was needed to administer the treatment. Amen Clinics are one well known center that offers neurofeedback therapy, but even then at only a few of their locations.
Now with MUSE you can get some of benefits of neurofeedback at home! The MUSE headband tracks EEG waves (brain waves) and converts that data into auditory feedback of weather sounds. It encourages your brain to produce healthy waves by rewarding those types of brain activity with soothing, pleasing, sounds.
It works along with a meditation app for your phone that lets you choose what type of distressing patterns you want to work on retraining and track your progress as you use MUSE. (Even without the MUSE headband, meditation apps are a great way to help calm your brain patterns!)
12.) East Creek Environmentally Sustainable Candles
Allison Westbrook of East Creek Candles makes the most amazing soy candles and lotion bars! I’ve had the pleasure of knowing Allison and her husband for about 10 years now and her sweet spirit shines through in her wonderful products. I’ve loved seeing her business grow and her product line expand!
All of her candles are handmade with the highest quality clean burning soy which is environmentally sustainable, and safe for a healthy home. Her scents are delightfully unique and yet comfortingly familiar. She even has a Man Candle line with more masculine scents so the men on your list won’t be left out either!
The Egyptian Amber lotion bar is my favorite of her products. The lotion bars are perfect for non-greasy moisture and the Egyptian Amber scent makes for a great subtle perfume. Body heat from your hands metals just enough of the solid lotion bar to get what you need without any waste. And all the lotion bars come in a metal tin for storage which is perfect for keeping in my purse without worrying about lotion spilling everywhere!
