Product Review: Baby Foot Original Exfoliant Foot Peel

Warning:  If pictures of feet gross you out, you don't want to read this. 
If pictures of gross feet transforming by means of a chemical peel would freak you out, you REALLY don't want to read this. 
But if you're curious about how Baby Foot works or you're looking for a product that will REALLY do what it claims to help soften your feet, read on!

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A few weeks ago a friend of mine posted on Facebook about a product she'd bought online to help with her dry feet.  I am always on the look out for products like this, but have found that most of them fall into the same category.  That is, they are all creams/lotions/body butter type products & if you use them regularly (EVERY NIGHT) they will work.  That's where I lack in product success.  I have good intentions, but I forget to use them after the first few days.  And bam....crusty hooves.

That's not just a funny name I just came up with.  It's what my husband has called my feet for the last couple decades.  Isn't that sweet?  Thank God he loves the rest of me! 


Here's the thing.  I grew up in the country.  I live in the south.  I'm a barefoot girl.  I pretty much go barefoot 24/7 in the summertime.  I only put on shoes if I'm going somewhere.  And during the school year, I wear shoes all day but take them off the second I get home.  To this day, if anyone in my house has on shoes, they get asked where they're going.  It's like putting on shoes equates dressing up.  ha ha!  So years & years & years of barefoot walking means my entire foot is basically one big callous on top of an older callous.  Layer upon layer of hardened skin.  I know....lovely mental image, right?  {Hang in there....I'll show you the actual thing in a second.  Scary....}

So when my friend posted about Baby Foot I had to look into it.  Anything that I've been told about personally by someone I know & trust is worth a look.  I googled it and was SHOCKED and WOWED by the pictures.

Pause reading this for a second.  Take a minute and open another window.  I'm serious.  It'll blow your mind.  Do a quick google search for baby foot before and after photos.  It's really shocking.  And disgusting.  In the most satisfying way.

Before I continue, I should scare you to death, errr...I mean, show you my "before" pictures.  I should apologize ahead of time.  It's frightening.  Make sure the kiddies aren't around.  They might cry.

See what I mean?  I NEEDED this stuff!!

So this is Baby Foot.  You can buy it from their own website for $25 plus shipping.  I found this one on amazon for about $23 including shipping.  It comes in a box like this.

To use Baby Foot, you first have to soak your feet in warm, soapy water for 15-20 minutes.  Then dry thoroughly and get ready for the process!

You slip on these lovely little plastic bag booties.  They're about the size of a gallon ziploc bag.  They come with little tape strips to fold over & tape down.  This will hold them in place on your feet.  They are filled with a lotion/gel stuff.  That's the magic stuff!!

And here's the fun part.  Sit or lie down.  For an HOUR.  You really have to sit still & let the gel/lotion/goo inside the booties to work.

After an hour, wash the remaining gel off your feet thoroughly & go back to life as normal.  For a few days, you'll feel like the stuff did not work, but then the wild part begins.  I read online that some people had a lag of as much as 5 days after use before the peeling began.  But for me, it started on about day 3.

First it was just a little peel.

Every day for the next 4-5 days, I peeled a little more.

I know.
GROSS.  Shudder!  Good grief!
But...wow!!!!!

By about 8-9 days after the initial treatment, I was pretty well done peeling.  Every place that peeled left SOFT pink, fresh new skin.  While it looks red/pink in the after pics below, it was NOT inflamed or painful AT ALL.  That's just what healthy, fresh skin looks like!  Plus the lighting in my house is not the greatest so it probably looks a little pinker than it really is.

But LOOK!

The cracks were SO deep that you can still see them, but they're smooth to the touch.  I will probably do this again soon but the process is so ugly & gross (all that peeling skin!!) that I hate to do it during the summer when people will see my feet in flip flops & sandals.  The box says to wait about 5-10 days at least between the end of peeling & doing a 2nd treatment.  I still need to keep up the softness with regular lotion/cream/pedicures, too!!

If you're considering using Baby Foot, I highly recommend it.  It truly does work exactly like it says it will!!  And it is painless!!

Sermon Notes

Nearly 2 years ago I got a new journal notebook for sermon notes. It has 200 pages in it and it is nearly full now.  As I flipped through the pages during church this morning I realized how much of a treasure this notebook is and how many things from it I want to share.  So much truth, beauty.  So, enjoy a brief scroll through some of the high points from the past 2 years of sermons in my life. The sermons have come from various preachers at various churches as well as some speakers at conferences.  This is in no way a compilation of everything written down, but just a sampling of some of the powerful things that have affected my soul.

from sermons/lessons given by Robert Burkett & Tom Terry @ Grace Fellowship Church, Flint TX:
*We should live as champions, but we may not always see victories. {Luke 9:58, There is no EARTHLY security. If you count on it, you will be disappointed.}

*Faith sometimes requires waiting.

*God always goes before us. He knows what you're facing. There is no where in the Bible where God retreated.

*When God's at work, we often have to move out of our comfort zone. You will never experience victory in Christ until you step out.

*When you walk in faith, do you expect something from God?  He will never ask you to do something that you can't do WITH HIM.

*How often do we not see our Jericho walls fall because we quit trying on the 6th lap?

*We cannot be defeated by Satan unless we throw up our hands in surrender.

*Death is just a sign that there was LIFE.

*Don't be in bondage to the past.

*Faith will lead to works -- not the other way around.

*You can't draw water from a dry well.  Fill it with the Word.

*Let the mind of the Master master your mind. Then you'll know the mind does matter.

*I find that doing the will of God leaves no time to dispute His plan.

*Joy busters: unsatisfied expectations, unresolved conflict, unconfessed sin

From Larry, when he filled the pulpit at a few different churches:
*Weak faith is better than no faith. God can work with weak faith.

*How God deals with another person & their sins is none of your business.

*God's heart has always been in tune with those who are outsiders, less than, ones who can never repay grace extended.

*If you want to be closer to God, go where the poor are. They can never repay.

*God can handle things -- He does not need our help!

From Kim Beckham & Dan Sala, Central Baptist Church, Tyler TX:
*You influence your children more by the way you live than the words you use to teach them.

*What you teach your children to love is more powerful than anything they learn in systemic education.

*God has compassion for us in our frailty.

*Forgiven people should be forgiving people.

*Discontentment:  We will never run out of things to see that we want!

*Society constantly changes what it values.

*When hearts get hardened, doubts come.  You can ALWAYS go back to God.

*When you see someone struggling:
1.  pray--discernment & wisdom
2.  talk to them about your own experience if you are done dealing with it emotionally, spiritually, etc.  Speak truth in LOVE.
3.  physically walk the journey with them.

*Make relationships when things are good so that you have an avenue & a voice to speak to people when things get rough.

*Ministry means being willing to be interrupted.

*1 John 4:20:  If you claim to love God but hate a fellow man, you are a liar.  You can't love God & hate sinners.  We can't choose who to extend grace & God's love to.

*Submission:  love/service/honor given out of respect for another person, even when they don't deserve it.

*It is hard to share the joy of Christ when you are in a hurry to grab everything the world has to offer you.

*You guard what is of great value or importance.

*To determine the status of your heart, examine what's coming out of your mouth.

*No matter what we, Christians, are going through in the world, it sure beats Hell.  -Mark Lowry

*If we could hear the screams of the damned in Hell, we'd become more missionary-minded.

*If you want to make an impact on someone, you must be willing to serve them.

*Sincerity is not the magic ingredient that makes something true.

*Genuine love is not a sugary sentiment that denies truth.

*Why does God allow interruptions in our lives?
1.  Sometimes He needs to redirect our focus.
2.  Sometimes He needs to realign our priorities.
3.  Sometimes He needs to reclaim our attention.

MOSES:  grew up in the palace, God interrupted to lead him to the the wilderness w/ the Israelites
JOB:  God took a man who loved Him completely & interrupted his safe, happy life -- but Job's allegiance never faltered
JONAH: swallowed by a whale as a result of disobedience to God
MARY: her whole life was interrupted to carry Jesus

God sometimes uses an interruption to perform the miraculous.

*What we believe about God impacts our view of the world:
1.  I am not the same.
2.  I don't see things the same way.
3.  I am not seen in the same way.

*When we grow impatient with God, Satan is always quick to answer us.

*Out of your deepest misery flows your most powerful ministry.




*Sin & shame are powerless at the Cross.

*You cement your right to lead by learning how to follow.

*There is no healing in your spiritual life until you come to terms with what you've done.  The Lord delights in showing us where real power comes from.  The greatest victories come with the fewest resources. When did we stop trusting in God's provision?

*When the Spirit is leading your life, the fruits of the Spirit are evident.

*We all approach Scripture through the lens of our own life experiences & biases.

*We can't base our salvation on the memory of the day we got saved, but on the daily experience with Christ.

*True faith is transforming faith.  When you meet Christ, it's revolutionary.

*Becoming a Christian doesn't do away with your past -- it buys you a new future!

*God uses common people & asks them to abandon everything & find their hope, security & identity in Him alone.

*He uses our sin & struggles to reach others.

*The nature of forgiveness is recognizing someone has done something wrong, then surrendering your right to hold it against them & retaliate.

*Forgiveness is the 1st step toward reconciliation.

*If your gospel is not touching others, it hasn't touched you. -Curry Blake

*Don't waste time getting caught up in theological arguments. Spend that time loving others & reaching people for God.

*The same way that a physically dead person doesn't respond to physical stimuli, a spiritually dead person won't respond to spiritual stimuli.

*How much of God's power would be unleashed in the Church if we let Him cleanse the parts of us that we keep from Him?

*When life is so full that we are scheduled to the max, we leave no time to be a blessing to others.

*What would the world look like if we acted out an accurate depiction of the Church?

*Prayer means being vulnerable in the presence of God; being deeply honest with ourselves & with God -- kind of silly since He already knows; letting down our guard is powerful & intimate.

*Salvation is not a matter of God's law, but God's love.

*We don't celebrate enough when Christ sets someone free of sin.

*We spend so much time climbing the ladder of success only to reach the top & discover it was leaning against the wrong wall.

From Jake Murphy, Central Baptist Church Tyler, TX:
*During consistent sin struggles:
1.  pray every day
2.  get into the Word
3.  worship
If you're doing #1-3 when you fall, you're that much closer to Him when you get back up.

From Christine Caine @ a ladies event, July 2015:
*Where there is absence of light, darkness prevails.

*Some of us have rationalized God out of His church.

*Don't stop trusting God because He didn't do it in your timeframe.