Tag Archives: wellness

JOURNEY TO WELLNESS

I have been thinking a lot about what it will take for me; as a Christ-Follower, to get to a point where I have whole-being wellness. As I walk my life journey, I find that I am craving this whole-being wellness and I have a desire to share what I discover with others that have an interest in the same. Whole-being wellness encompasses; first and foremost, spiritual wellness, then mindful (mental & emotional) wellness, and physical wellness. This topic of whole-being wellness is a library’s worth of research, information, and application plans; however, I want to mind dump today on a piece of this that has occurred to me recently.

As a Follower of Christ, I have noticed and experienced that there are different types of battle that I have encountered; all of which I need to suit up with God’s perfect Armor that He has provided for me. In my humanness, I tend to wear my own faulty armor with all of it’s battle holes, dents, weaknesses, and shortcomings; and then wonder why I am struggling so much with life stuff. I have experienced battles in my spiritual life, battles in my mind that impacts my emotions and mental state, and I have experienced battles in my physical body; which, by the way have been related to the spiritual and mindful battles. The best plan of action for all the battles I face is to put on God’s perfect Armor that He has provided for me. This armor includes surrounding myself with God’s Truth and living in His Truth; putting on Christ’s righteousness that He has provided; linking arms in Faith with other Christ Followers (there really is strength in numbers); walking in and sharing Christ’s Peace with others; covering my mind with thoughts of the Salvation; and all that it entails, that Jesus has provided for me; and becoming one with the sacred Word of God so that I can verbalize it in times of battle with the enemy.

In considering other aspects of whole-being wellness, the thought of my body being a ‘temple of the Holy Spirit,’ came to mind so I looked at the passage in Scripture that talks about this.

” “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but I will not be mastered by anything.  You say, “Food for the stomach and the stomach for food, and God will destroy them both.” The body, however, is not meant for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.  By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also.  Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never!  Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.” But whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit.

 Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body.  Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;  you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.” (1 Corinthians 6:12-20 NIV)

This passage; most obviously, is referencing sexuality; however, in considering this passage, I have begun to see that it could potentially be related to other areas of life. While being sexually connected to a person makes ‘two become one flesh,’ I can see that when I connect or accept as Truth something from the world (evil), I am joining in my mental state and my emotions with the world and becoming as one with it. Also, if I accept worldly spiritual things and connect with them, I am becoming one with them which impacts my spiritual life with the Holy Spirit because I would then be trying to worship God and other gods at the same time; which doesn’t work well, as we read in the Ten Commandments. Becoming one with the things of the world; even in thought, can; and probably will, derail my efforts in becoming well in my whole being. As is also true if I become one with the world in a physical sense.

How does all of this come together? I am thinking through this; however, I can see a couple really important aspects that I HAVE to be consistently persistent on if I am going to continue to pursue whole-being wellness. First, every day must begin with putting on the perfect Armor of my God and Creator. And second, I must reject worldly things and become one with only the things of God.

As you consider these thoughts for yourself, I would really like to hear your feedback; in a positive manner, please.

soulcarecoach.amy@gmail.com

#wholebeingwellness

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SEASONS: THE JOURNEY OF PERPETUAL CHANGE

On my walk today, I began to consider wellness and how it relates to the seasons. Currently, the leaves on the trees have turned from vibrant green to multiple shades of yellow, orange, and red. It occurred to me that the trees are transitioning to let go of their leaves and prepare for the coming winter season. Fall seems to be a season of transition; just as spring is a season of transition. Fall transitions into the stillness and chill of winter and spring transitions into the vibrancy and warmth of summer. Fall is one of my favorite seasons; I love the colors, the smells, and the warm coolness of the air. What I usually don’t like about fall is the reminder that it brings, of the fast approaching winter that seems to last entirely too long. Don’t get me wrong, I love the holidays that we celebrate during the winter season; I also love looking out at the majestic beauty of the snow glistening on the trees and the warm blanket that I would probably be snuggling under to keep warm. The parts of the winter season that are difficult for me are the sense of death that I see in the trees as they stand without their covering of beautifully colored leaves, the brisk coldness in the air that keeps me from my regular nature walks, and the emotional down-ness that is caused by my lack of fresh outdoor air. In considering these ‘obstacles’ for the quickly approaching winter season, I decided that it’s time for a new take on an old thought. As nature prepares to transition into winter, so can I. I can start taking small steps to ensure that this winter; and the coming winters, will look differently with a wellness perspective instead of a perspective of dread of what’s to come with the obstacles of snow, cold, and ice. Burrrrr!

I don’t want to look at this with the thought that I am going to be ‘healthy.’ The word healthy always leads to the thoughts of “I have to eat good-for-me foods and exercise like a mad woman.” No, I am going to start with a thought; and maybe a question. In my desire to reach wellness as a whole person; body, mind, and spirit, I know that my behavior starts with a thought so I want to focus on how I think about God, myself, and others. In the transition from the warm vibrancy of summer to the cold stillness of winter, this fall I am going to focus on a few Scripture verses that bring life to my mind and my heart. I have chosen Psalm 46:10, Romans 8:28, Proverbs 3:5-6, and 1 Corinthians 15:57. My nature walks are difficult in the winter because of the cold; however, for my body, mind, and spirit to be well it is vitally important that I spend at least some time outside in nature; I will commit to do this as the weather permits. For the part of focusing on others, I have began to set up times to spend with friends. For most people this doesn’t sound like a big deal; however, for this extreme introvert, I assure you that it takes much intentionality for me to do this because my natural self is quite content to stay in my own home, in my own little bubble. Please don’t get me wrong, I love people and I enjoy being with them; it’s just not part of my natural bent to always be with others.

In a world where we are always running 90 miles an hour with our hair on fire, you may think that there should be a list of steps that I will take beyond what I have already shared. Well, I was tempted to go that route because I am a task-oriented person; but Holy Spirit in me says, “No.” Baby steps forward are much better than giant steps forward only to fall backwards because I am trying to do too much too quickly.

I pray for you whole-being wellness!

Psalm 46:10 NIV

 He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
    I will be exalted among the nations,
    I will be exalted in the earth.”

Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV

 Trust in the Lord with all your heart
    and lean not on your own understanding;
 in all your ways submit to him,
    and he will make your paths straight.

1 Corinthians 15:57 VIV

But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Romans 8:28 NIV

 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

#BabySteps #TransitionIntoWellness

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WELLNESS

Through my life I have had seasons where I was focused on mental health, seasons where I was focused on spiritual health, and seasons where I was focused on physical health. In my current season of life, I am focused on the health of my WHOLE being; and the that of others. God created us as WHOLE people; we are not compartmentalized, we are WHOLE beings. For the true health of any of us human beings, there needs to be health in our body, our mind, and our spirit. This focus that I have on our WHOLE beings has led me to explore and journey down some pretty interesting paths that seem to continually led me to the same thoughts; we really need to seek the health of our body, the health of our mind, and the health of our spirit. This isn’t a revolutionary thought, I know that many people have spoken the same thing. For me, I am on a journey to discover how God will use all of this for my wellness and the wellness of others.

I have struggled with the separation and compartmentalizing of our beings; because if any part of our being is not well, it impacts the rest. If I have a headache, I struggle to read my Bible to learn more about my God and I am certainly not thinking clearly mentally. This is just one example. If I am not spending time with God and therefore weak in my spiritual health, my thought processes aren’t clear and my body can suffer from bad choices. Likewise, if my mind health is poor I will feel it in my body and likely find something blocking my relationship with God. Of course these are very vague examples, I hope what I am saying is clear though. In my much younger years, I struggled with bouts of depression; not severe but depression none-the-less. In these bouts of depression, I would make decisions about how to make myself feel better that would only lead to more depression and/or regrets. During these seasons, I would self-medicate with alcohol, shopping, or talking trash about other people. My spiritual health was circling the toilet bowl with my choices. And it was during these seasons that I dealt with some unexplainable health issues. In my late twenties God got my attention; and since He captured my heart, the roller coaster ride of my bouts of depression have mostly gone away except for the ones that seem to crop up with difficult life experiences that usual lead most people into some kind of a depression. I am talking about the loss of my parents and my son; for example.

As Holy Spirit has been molding and shaping me into the masterpiece that God created me to be, I have witnessed the health of my WHOLE being improving. With God setting me free of many fears, healing my heart from wounds, and His teaching me more about Him; I have found my mind being so much more clear and healthy. With a healthier mind and spirit, I have found that I am better able to make healthier choices for my body; I get exercise and feed my body foods that help it to work well and not rebel on me. Of course I have treats sometimes; however, I don’t focus on junk food like I used to. When I feed my body good stuff, it rewards me by feeling better and I have much more energy and my mental state is better and clearer.

God created our bodies as ONE WHOLE being, not separate entities; I believe that we are to treat it in that way. Our body, our mind, and our spirit make up our WHOLE being. I pray that you are enjoy health in your WHOLE being! I am praying for that very thing. Please contact me if there’s a specific way that I can be praying for you or if you want to talk.

“May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.” (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 NIV)

#BodyMindSpirit=WholeBeing

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