On this particular morning as I was thinking about this blog post about “Enter In”, I started asking for God’s guidance with my words and what did He want? His answer was direct but interesting and here’s what happened.

In order to enter into the presence of God it requires us to still our minds, to focus on Him and allow Him to speak to us through the many ways He chooses to do that. Sometimes it’s internally and sometimes through the word and sometimes it’s by what’s going on around us.

As I’m listening for God’s voice I begin hearing the robins and the phoebes and all the other songbirds signing their beautiful songs. I’m thanking the Lord for speaking to me through His creation when all of a sudden there is a blue jay, alerting the forest of some impending danger that we all need to know about. Then after the blue jay, I began hearing what I thought was two trains. Sometimes we have trains pass at the back of our property, one waits while the other passes by. This day it seemed like they were both moving as I could hear them honking their horns at both of the crossings not too far from our property. I thought the horns sounded odd and they kept doing it incessantly for some reason.

I’m beginning to have to strain to hear the small birds sing as the train horns drown them out. As I’m walking away from the tracks and getting closer to the road the runs by us, I begin hearing the noise from the road as well as the trains, so it’s getting so noisy I can barely hear anything else! Also, we happen to have neighbors that own a dog kennel and it was just about the time I was nearing their property line that the dogs were let out and of course all their barking just added to the noise of everything else going on around me.

This whole analogy wasn’t lost on me. I saw what God why trying to tell me. It’s those times when the world is blowing up around us that we truly need to press in to be able to hear from Him. How can we enter into His presence when the world is so loudly trying to get our attention? Does He speak to us through the noise? How can we clearly hear him if we are so distracted by what is going on around us?

God speaks to us in a still, small voice because He wants our undivided, undistracted, full focus and attention completely on Him. He requires us to quiet ourselves in order to hear from Him, it’s what He wants us to do. So, it might take time, effort, and sacrifice.

As sure as those trains eventually pass, and it becomes quiet again around me, so it is with the noise of our life and whatever circumstances we’re going through, will also pass, we just have to hang on and press in to hear the voice of God.

Now, I wish I could say that this was the end of my story but when God wants to make a point, He makes it! As it turned out, it wasn’t trains on the tracks after all. As made my way to the back of the property for my second time, I was hearing more and more noise and wondered what in the world is going on? Then I realized it was not trains, but railway work vehicles of every kind and sort you could imagine. I’m assuming that some track work is going to take place somewhere west of us as I can’t even begin to tell you how many track vehicles there were! I’m out walking for an hour or so each morning and the noise continued for the better part of my walk. It seemed endless, there was one after another, and just when I thought it was over, a new bunch would run through. Kind of like the trials in our life can be sometimes. Just when you thought everything was quietening down something else comes up that requires your attention.

Even after they had all come through, I could still hear them in the distance, toot, toot, tooting away, clamoring for my attention. But, the one thing I noticed is, once all the vehicles had passed through, and I could hear them off in the distance, the birds were so much louder. The fact of the matter is; they had never stopped singing; they were there the whole time. Just like when we’re going through something difficult and we feel like God isn’t there. He never leaves us. It’s just that what’s going on in our life is so loud that unless we stop and really try to hear Him, we won’t be able to.

There’s going to be noise in this life that makes it difficult to hear the voice of God. What do you do? You stand firm, and you keep listening you keep waiting, you keep doing the next right thing and eventually when the noise stops you will be able to hear His voice clearly again. Doesn’t mean He’s not there. Sometimes, like how God spoke to me on this day, He’s trying to show us something and we need to understand that He is God and even when we don’t see it He has everything under control.

The post Enter In (if You Can) appeared first on Green Bird Candle Co.

The first step in cleaning out a candle vessel is to remove any remaining wax. There are many ways to do this but let me tell you some of the best. Being a candle maker, we have to test A LOT of candles. Nobody wants to throw away the candle jar after each test…that just expensive! So, we’ve learned some really good ways to clean out vessels once they’re used up.

Sometimes we test well over a dozen candles at a time. If we need to clean up multiple jars at once, we put them on a cookie sheet and place them in the oven at about 200 degrees until they’re completely melted. I take them out one at a time and dump the remaining wax into the garbage. I use a butter knife to remove the wick and paper towel to wipe out the rest of the wax. I simply use a cloth and hot, soapy water to clean up the jar inside and out and then it’s as good as new. I realize most people don’t need to clean out multiple vessels, but you can use the oven method for as little as one candle.

However, if you only have one vessel to clean and don’t want to use your oven, you can use one of these methods instead.

This method is especially useful if you can no longer light your candle…use a candle warmer. Simply place your spent candle onto the warmer and allow the wax to melt fully across. Follow the same steps as above to get your candle jar squeaky clean.

Another method to clean the wax out of your candle jar is the hot water method. This is my least favorite of the methods I’m sharing with you because it takes the longest and it’s somewhat messy. You simply pour very hot water into your candle jar and allow the water to melt the wax and loosen the wick. The wax will harden on top of the water as it cools, making it easy to break it up and remove it. I pour out the water and wax mixture onto a paper towel in my sink not allowing any wax to go down the drain. Then I simply clean it out like the other methods.

My favorite method of cleaning out my candle jars is to simply take my candle when it’s no longer safe to burn, (about an 1/8″ of wax remaining in the jar) place it on my stove top where I know there is no flammable material, and I light it for one last burn. I allow the wax to melt fully across and then extinguish the flame, dump the remaining wax in the garbage and proceed to clean my jar as mentioned above.

Once the vessel is clean, it’s important to dry it thoroughly. You can use a clean cloth or paper towel to dry the inside and outside of the vessel.

Now that your candle vessel is clean and dry, it’s time to give it a new life. There are many different ways you can repurpose a candle vessel, such as using it to hold small plants, as a container for small items like office supplies, or as a decorative piece on a bookshelf or mantel. You can also use the vessel to make another candle if the vessel is still in good condition.

In conclusion, cleaning out a candle vessel and repurposing it is a simple and easy task. It not only saves the vessel from ending up in the landfill but also adds a unique touch to your home décor. With a little creativity, the possibilities are endless.

The post Repurposing Your Candle Jar appeared first on Green Bird Candle Co.

Is it just me or does fall seem like a time of new beginnings? Sarah’s boys are experiencing a new beginning today. Not only is it their first day of school today…but they are starting in a new school! That means new classrooms, new teachers, new friends, new everything! That’s a whole lotta new! Do you think they look excited?

We are offering our New Beginnings candle in our fall lineup. The fragrance is a unique, warm and inviting scent that combines the aroma of fresh baked goodies from the oven, with fruity notes of citrus and hints of spice, greens and pine. A perfect combination of earthy, sweet, spicy and fruity.

We like to put scripture on each of our candles to always point the way to the One who gave us our New Beginning.

New Beginnings – 2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold all things have become new.
​
Just like Christopher and Jacob walking into their new school for the very first time – we also have a New Beginning when we come to know and walk with Jesus. 

The post New Beginnings appeared first on Green Bird Candle Co.

​Did you know that many candle companies not only use waxes that are potentially hazardous, but they also use fragrance oils that may contain ingredients that have the potential to harm your health?

In the past, fragrance companies haven’t been all that forthcoming about the chemical make-up of their products.  In recent years that has begun to change due to consumer awareness and a demand for safer products. Now, fragrance manufacturers are required to label chemicals and disclose the potential of hazardous substances in their product.

We source fragrances only from companies that exclude all ingredients listed in California’s Proposition 65 warning list and any other similar ingredients. If they’re toxic in California, then they’re toxic here.

What types of chemicals are on the Proposition 65 list you may ask?
​
“The list contains a wide range of naturally occurring and synthetic chemicals that are known to cause cancer or birth defects or other reproductive harm. These chemicals include additives or ingredients in pesticides, common household products, food, drugs, dyes, or solvents. Listed chemicals may also be used in manufacturing and construction, or they may be byproducts of chemical processes, such as motor vehicle exhaust.” (From the OEHHA website, California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazards Assessment).

When you purchase from us, we can assure you all out products are 100% phthalate-free and contain none of the following:

Carcinogens:  known to cause cancer
Mutagens:  change the DNA of a cell, and causing diseases
Reproductive toxins: increase the risk of birth defects. 
Organ toxins: can cause adverse effects or disease within specific bodily organs. 
Acute toxins:  can cause adverse effects from a single exposure. Generally, this would be accidental exposure like spillage or ingestion. 
​
It’s important to us as makers of scented candles, that we provide products to our customers that not only smell wonderful and bring ambiance to your space, but that they are safe to use and cause no harm to your families and pets.

The post What’s In A Fragrance appeared first on Green Bird Candle Co.

Why did we choose to use soy wax for our candles?
Well, there are a few reasons, maybe we will start with what was most important to us… it is non-toxic, and a cleaner burning candle compared to a lot its competition. That is a huge win for not only our birds but for us as well. It is made with no pollutants, carcinogens or toxins which would be less triggering to allergies. Also safe for our birds’ respiratory systems. They do not produce harmful by-products or black soot either, keeping your space around the candle clean.

Another positive note is soy wax has a much lower melting point compared to paraffin wax, meaning soy candles will burn slower and longer.
Lastly, soy wax is a natural source since it comes from soybean plants, that makes it a much more environmentally friendly choice for candle making ingredients!
Are you aware of what you are actually burning with your candles? We weren’t always either, now that we are aware, it’s important for us to share with you!

The post Why we choose soy candles appeared first on Green Bird Candle Co.

On my walk this morning I stopped to catch my breath and looked up and saw this; and it occurred to me that every tree was different! There are at least five different leaf shapes and I thought to myself, that we as people need to be a whole lot more like these trees. They are all lovely and beautiful and growing together in all their uniqueness…not one trying to outdo the other or think they’re better because they are a certain variety…nope…just growing alongside each other showing the rest of us how it should be done. If such harmony is found in God’s creation – shouldn’t we, as His most beloved creation exemplify that more than any?

Romans 12:16 NLT says “Live in Harmony with each other. Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know it all!”

Our Harmony Candle: 
​
The notes of salty ozone combine with the aromas of fresh citrus; then honeydew melon blends with a trace of violet all layered on top of a base of oakmoss, to give this candle fragrance a refreshing marine/spa-like scent.
Notes:
          Top:  citrus, ozone
          Mid:  violet, honeydew melon
          Base:  ozone, oakmoss

The post Harmony appeared first on Green Bird Candle Co.