How many chemicals have you put in, on, or around your body today? How many have been used in your home, church, school, or workplace? Do you know how they’re affecting you? Do you know their potential impact on others?
Commonly used products may be harming you in surprising ways and keeping a large and growing number of people out of church. Seemingly small decisions about the use of consumer goods can profoundly influence physical, emotional, and spiritual health. Efforts to create a positive environment within a home or organization are incomplete without focusing on air quality, which affects everything that happens inside a building and to the people who enter it.
Chemicals and Christians will help you understand the risks of everyday toxins, learn how to protect yourself, and determine how to make public and private spaces more accessible and healthy for all. The message in two words is this: Take care. Take care not to let everyday chemicals harm you and take care of those who’ve already developed Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS) or another illness associated with toxic exposure. Packed with information, biblical counsel, and personal testimony, the book offers both practical and spiritual help.
Reviews from bloggers:
“I think that everyone should have a copy of this book.” - Texas Book-aholic
“This book should be read by every Christian.” - Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy
“I think every pastor and church leader and school leader should read this book.” - Library Lady’s Kid Lit
“This book is a book that we all need to read.” - Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations
“I wish everyone could read this book.” - Splashes of Joy
Have you read it yet?
I’ve felt called to missionary service since I was 17 years old. I’m very grateful that I was able to answer that call and spend a decade living and working in South America. During my time overseas, however, my health deteriorated to the point that I was forced to return to the States to look for answers. What I eventually discovered was that my detoxification system had become overwhelmed (from chemical and mold exposures, Lyme disease, and genetic patterns), and that I was now reacting to chemicals found in everyday items, such as personal care, cleaning, home improvement, and pest control products. I learned that I could manage my symptoms by avoiding exposures, but that doing so was an extremely complicated challenge.
Multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS), environmental illness (EI), toxicant-induced loss of tolerance (TILT), chemical injury – whatever you choose to call it, it’s a very real and very debilitating condition, and there are a surprising number of us who suffer.
Part of the missionary task is identifying unreached people groups, and after returning to the States and becoming part of the world of the chemically sensitive, I came to see that people with the condition belong in that category. We’re largely unseen and we’re shut out of society, including most churches and Christian gatherings.
What I’ve learned from my sojourn in the land of chemical sensitivity is that healthy people and those with MCS can and should help each other. Healthy people can help the chemically sensitive by reducing unnecessary chemicals in the environment and by finding ways to provide fellowship and inclusion. The chemically sensitive can help those who are currently healthy to understand the very real dangers of ongoing exposure to thousands of untested and unregulated chemicals so that they can protect themselves. The book and associated media are my attempt to have a conversation about the issue so that the body of Christ can be healthier, stronger, and more inclusive.
My education includes a B.S. and M.Ed. in Education and English, and I’ve written professionally since 2006, with more than 500 articles published online. I live in Tennessee and enjoy outdoor activities and spending time with my two sons.