Episode 6: Body as a temple

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Hi, mamas.

We're so glad that you are here with us today.

We just have a really good topic that we're going to discuss today.

And it's something that's just core and foundational to our health and well-being.

You know, as you know, our platform is about encouraging mamas in their health and their faith.

And so today, we're bringing some biblical insight into just this idea of our body as a temple.

And, you know, it's so core to understanding why should we take care of ourselves?

You know, what's at the heart?

And what's the motivation behind why we should care for ourselves?

And God speaks into this, you know.

He is the beginning and the end and the source of all knowledge.

And he's also just a heart of love towards this topic.

And so I just wanted to introduce the verse, Corinthians 6, 19 through 20.

You've probably heard it before.

It's a pretty familiar verse, but it reads, 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.

And some of you may be hearing that verse kind of maybe cringe a little bit because sometimes that verse has been used as a way to bring on more guilt or shame about what you're not doing.

But I just want to encourage you today as we discuss this, just know that God's mercy is right there with you.

God says his mercies are new each and every day.

And so as we discuss this a little bit, I just want to just encourage you mamas, just to just be in a posture of receiving from the Lord, like he is ready and wanting to speak to you.

And so something that we're going to touch on today is even when it comes to our own self-worth, the way that we view ourselves, and how that affects the way we go about approaching our health.

So we're going to just be discussing that a little bit today.

And Danielle has a really good analogy that we wanted her to share.

So Danielle, I'll hop over to you.

Awesome.

Yeah, thanks for sharing that, Kathleen.

That is just such a good foundational verse for us to have just as Christians and believers.

And we're just going to talk about why do we care about our bodies.

And an analogy that I really wanted to share was, I always pose this when I think about this verse, because sometimes, at least for me, this verse can feel a little removed.

And so I like analogies to make things real.

And I just always pose the question, what if God said to you audibly, I'm going to give you a car for your whole life, and you get to choose any car you want, but you have to take care of it, and you're going to use it, and you're going to be my witness, and you're going to go love people, and what car would you choose?

And I've gotten so many responses with that.

I've had some people say like, I want a Lamborghini if there's no price limit, right?

And then I actually had somebody say like, I want a 15-passenger van because I want to bring others along.

And I was like, that's so brilliant, right?

And I've had so many responses, but it's always usually like a newer car and like a nice car.

And then I just posed the question, what would you do with that car?

And would you put soda in it for fuel or water in it for fuel?

Or would you actually put gasoline in the right type of gasoline and maybe even like the highest end gasoline?

Because you know it's your only car to get around this world for your whole life.

And for me, that's just a picture of our bodies, right?

It's like God gave us this gift of our bodies, and they are to be used to go witness to people, to help people, to love people, to show his love to this world.

And it's like, how are we fueling that vehicle that he's given us?

Like it's literally like we're a vehicle for him.

And so what are we putting in that vehicle to make it last as long as it can to be able to go wherever he's calling us and to do that in a healthy way?

And so for me, it helps to think of it like that, where it's like, okay, my body's not my own, right?

It's a gift.

And then how am I using my knowledge, my wisdom, my skills to help my body last, right?

To put in it what I need to put in it and to keep it functional, right?

As long as I can, not that we can live forever, but just really like how do we take care of ourselves so that we can do whatever God's asking us to do.

That's so good.

I think going right alongside that, kind of thinking, you're talking about glorifying God with our body and using our body, that concept of really being in-dwell with the Holy Spirit is something that kind of stands out with these verses a bit to me.

Makes me think of Romans 8, 11, which says, and the spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living with you.

And just that first part is like, wow, that's so powerful, a miracle happened, that Jesus was raised from the dead.

And that's why we have a hope and a future of being in heaven with him someday.

And that same spirit is actually living within us.

And we're called to steward this gift of this body in a way that brings more into his kingdom.

And then the other piece of that verse is just kind of jumping to the ends is also give your life to mortal bodies because of the spirit who lives in you.

So it's just talking about, those are the two same things, right?

Like the spirit who raised Jesus is the exact same spirit who, as we become believers, lives and dwells within us, who should be the one driving everything that we do to bring him glory.

And so if our bodies aren't functioning and being stewarded well, then it ties into the spiritual aspect as well of how we're stewarding that.

Yeah.

I was just going to share on the back of that, Christiana, that's so good, because I think there's been a school of thought for a while, like at least in the body of Christ of like, well, our flesh is just temporary.

Like with Christ, it's like, we'll live forever.

So why should we even care about our sinful flesh here on this earth?

There has been a train of thought with that, I know.

And sometimes that started like way back even in like, with monasteries and just like kind of they almost mistreated the body because they treated it almost as this like, just sinful flesh that they, it was the weak flesh and it was just trapped, like the God spirit was trapped inside this weak flesh.

And when you look in the scriptures, God doesn't see it that way.

You know, you think about the verses that said like that, talk about like training your body, like it's an athlete.

And it's like, well, obviously God cares about our bodies because it is the temple of his spirit.

And so it matters that like if we strengthen our body, it's going to be strong to carry his spirit within us, wherever he wants us to go.

And you know, I grew up running and I did cross country and always those verses about running the race set before you, you know, those were always really significant and I could understand those from the perspective of being a runner.

But realizing that like if I didn't fuel myself well, if I didn't sleep well, if I didn't take care of these details, then I couldn't run the race well.

And part of I think even that verse that talks about throwing off the sin that so easily entangles and running the race set before us, sometimes that's mindsets and sometimes that's even physical barriers that are holding us back from actually running after the call that God's put on our lives.

And so this is actually, it's not about guilt, it's about empowerment and saying, God, would you help me to like throw off the sin that so easily entangles?

Would you help me to have a healthy perspective towards eating well, towards nourishing my body, getting enough sleep?

And especially as moms, like this is so important because we so often meet everyone else's needs before our own.

But we're not going to run the race well if we don't take intentional steps towards helping ourselves become better.

And so that's why I'm passionate about this because even since we've started Beauty of Better, I've been thinking about things in my own life.

How can I make a little change here and there so that I have more strength for the tasks that God has before me for raising up these little ones, for loving my husband, for friendships, all of these things.

And yeah, and the purposes God has on my life and our family's life.

And just thinking through, okay, there are some things that are hindering, and God, would you come speak into those so that they're not holding us back?

But did you gals have any thoughts to share on that?

Yeah, you know, I also feel like along with that mindset, I'm surprised, but for some reason, I feel like a lot in churches, there's a lot of emphasis on spiritual growth.

And like you go to church on Sunday and you learn.

But I feel like we don't talk about physical health, even though it's all through the Bible, and like what we eat and what we drink and resting, right?

It's all biblical.

And I even like that verse, 1 Corinthians 10, 13, where it just says, whatever you eat or drink, whatever you do, do it for the glory of God.

And sometimes I feel like even thinking of our previous podcasts on nutrition, that sometimes food gets thrown into the mix of just like mundane, like you either don't think about it, or it becomes like an obsession and you think about it too much.

And it's like, some people just eat to just eat, right?

And it doesn't mean anything.

And then some people like focus too much and like count every single calorie and every ounce of everything, and it becomes an obsession.

And it's like, how do we live in that middle ground of like, whatever we eat, whatever we drink, whatever we do, it's for the glory of God.

It's not even for us, right?

It's like not about us.

It's not focused on us.

It's about him.

And I think as you were talking about wanting to be strong, I was just thinking of my own motivation with this and just perspective shifts.

And I travel a lot working in global health.

And one of my thoughts is always like, when you sit on a plane for 16 hours, like that's totally like it takes a toll on your body.

And then like to jump into work and to just being with people and being on all the time, it's like, man, I want I know that I'm called to these places.

And so like, I want my body to be physically strong enough so that I can go anywhere in the world where I'm called, whether it takes 55 hours to get there.

That was one of our trips.

It took 55 hours to get somewhere.

And it's like, I want to be strong and ready to do that.

And so how do I do that on a day-to-day basis to prepare for what God has for us?

So I feel like it's that mindset, too, of like, your body's not your own, but then what steps can you take?

And I feel like even the grace within that, because we're not striving for perfection, like we're just looking for, how do we take one step today?

Like, how do we take steps together?

How do we encourage each other so that we can live in this like middle ground of freedom where we're not obsessing and we're not neglecting, right?

Of just like, here are our bodies.

We want to be strong and healthy.

Yes.

Yes.

That's so good, Danielle.

Should we, well, unless, Christiana, you want to say something?

Yeah, I was just going to add on that.

I think it, giving those examples of travel and wanting to be strong so that you can really be used for God's kingdom is really powerful.

And I think just going alongside that, that's something that you've built up over time, right?

So the ability to have the energy to engage with people requires monitoring when you sleep and when you don't sleep and how much you sleep or how little you sleep.

And we also talked about eating and moving.

And so I think when we're setting goals and trying to make those small steps towards getting better, one of these areas might stand out to you more than others.

And so even just thinking of a small goal in that area can add towards this overall strengthening your body as a temple.

And we need to celebrate those small successes because that is ultimately what builds to us being able to be used more and more.

And so I don't think it has to be like a large conversion of habits, but those tiny shifts are the things that we're really kind of emphasizing as important and going to lead towards a big overall change for you.

Yeah, I just jump in for a second.

I just feel like along with that, it's so important to understand that we have our daily routines in our lives and some of us work, and some of us work at home, and some of us have a mix.

And I just feel like everything is important.

And so I want moms out there who stay at home with their kids to understand, like, your job with your kids is so important.

And even having strength and energy for that, and that is your call in this season.

And I just always think of, like, beyond what we can see in our days, like, what you're investing in your kids now, like, what if they grow up to be a world changer or, like, their kids do something, like, crazy incredible for this world?

Like, it's just thinking beyond ourselves and, like, what we're investing in and what we want to be strong for.

So even though I travel a lot, and that's one of my motivations to be strong, it's like, I also want to be strong for my kids.

And it's like, what am I investing in my kids?

So whether you're a working mom or a stay-at-home mom or a mix of those, it's like, there is something valuable in your life you'd be stronger and healthier for.

And hopefully today, you can get a small encouragement to taking one of those steps.

Kathleen, did you want to add?

Oh, sorry.

Yeah, I did.

Yeah.

Well, I just wanted us to touch a little bit on just the idea of self-worth.

We had talked about that a little bit of we all live in Orange County, and there's definitely this kind of image that women should look this way, or it's called the land of plastic.

And at the core of understand your body as a temple of the living God, we have to address what is our internal dialogue?

How do we see ourselves?

And like Danielle, you talked about oftentimes our self-worth is wrapped up in what we do, because that's culturally the message that we are constantly bombarded with.

And so whether you're a stay-at-home mom, or you're out in the workplace, like mom guilt is real, like no matter what the Lord has called you to, like learning to battle and fight that guilt, and realizing like, okay, we live for an audience of one, what is the Lord called you to?

And I mean, I'll speak honestly, like the Lord has called me to a prolonged season of being primarily a stay-at-home mom, and my natural slant is like, oh, this feels like dying to myself.

And when I start looking at comparing myself to other moms or the world around me, I start to get down and discouraged, and that affects my health and my well-being.

But if I start to listen to the Lord on my work, like, Lord, how do you see me?

How do you see the work that I'm doing?

The endless loads of laundry, the dishes, the potty training, all the things that are just so challenging and unseen by the world, and listening to His voice.

And like you said, Danielle, nothing is unimportant, and God sees it all.

And so it's like, but we have to learn to listen to the right voice.

And so for me, in this season, being healthy and strong looks like I need energy to be with toddlers all day.

So if I don't get up and get a little head space, like some exercise, I'm going to be a little bit more of a frazzly mom that day.

And so it's like, okay, I need to train my body well, I need to strengthen my body well.

And there's a lot of elements that you can't control in that.

Like your kid maybe doesn't sleep well that night.

Okay, she didn't get good sleep that night.

Let's try again the next night.

But what I can't control is like, okay, let's get outside for some fresh air the next day because staying inside the household day will not be good for me.

So it's like realizing there's a lot of uncontrollable variables, but like what can you control as far as making sure that you're just getting what you need to feel healthy and strong and respecting your body as a temple of the living God, like in the season that you're in.

So yeah, I don't know if you ladies wanted to share on that, but just even around that idea of like our self-worth and kind of the way we look at ourselves.

Yeah, I would just say that's an encouraging thinking of the mom piece.

You know, God has entrusted us with our kids, and he knows what, like Danielle said, that they're going to be doing decades and decades from now.

And so I think this call to be an example to our coworkers, but yet also our families and our children, who has a mix of probably believers and unbelievers, like showing them the stewardship and showing them that stewarding our body is a priority, but yet not always perfect and easy, like we've talked about too, will hopefully encourage and strengthen generations.

And we don't always get to see that impact, right?

But these small things are just can open floodgates to encourage and help other people being like, hey, I witnessed this person take these small steps and choices, and now I'm going to try to emulate the same, or I just think that the potential is really profound.

Because if it's of God, then we're living into his call.

If he can multiply bread and fish, like he can multiply these efforts in impacting the world around us in a way that sees him in a fresh and new light, so both in and outside of our home.

So good.

Yeah, I just feel like in this culture, especially in Southern California, you know, the land of plastic, as you said, Kathleen, like we just see it everywhere in just fake facades, even in the church sometimes, right?

And it's like, with Beauty of Better, how do we create this community for moms where it's real life?

And we talk about just steps to get better and not perfection.

And just really shifting the perspective on like, how are we living together in community and encouraging each other to take these steps instead of comparing like one mom to the next mom, because it's like, we all have different gifts.

We all have different calls.

We all have different paths.

We all have different strengths.

And so how do we call those out in other people?

And how do we live in community as we're trying to treat our bodies as a temple, right?

And grow and be stronger and healthier together.

So Kathleen, did you want to like add to that or pray for us?

Or?

Yeah, yeah, I did just have that on my heart.

You know, with this episode of just like, you know, we talked about inviting God into this conversation about our health and well-being.

And, you know, that was something that I didn't really think about for a long time.

And until like when I started getting more into nutrition, I felt like the Holy Spirit, you know, the Bible says he is our counselor.

And so I felt like him talked to me about like, why don't you talk to me about these things?

Or, you know, I've always been interested in health.

And I thought, okay, why don't we like our first protocol be to ask the Holy Spirit to like speak into situations in our lives?

And, you know, I, I'll just share one quick story.

But, you know, I used to lead little small groups through our church in Northern Ireland, where my husband is from.

And one one guy came to the group and he was struggling with, like, you know, eczema and and had, you know, struggled with depression.

And we just prayed and asked God, Lord, would you speak into like what he can start incorporating in his life to get better?

And he felt like for just a period of time, the Holy Spirit highlight like sugar was a real issue for him.

And so he reduced his sugar dramatically for a period of time.

Just and he saw he was ended up getting off his depression medication and got into exercise.

He ended up winning our men's triathlon at, you know, at our church.

And like, there was this huge transformation.

And with the skin issue, he and this isn't a prescription, but what he heard, he felt like God speak to him about eating more yellow bell peppers and horseradish.

And I don't know where he found horseradish or how he ate it, but he started eating that and his skin was like starting to clear up.

And so that's not like a, you know, it's not like a recipe for like, you must do this if you have a skin condition.

But what it's about, it's an invitation of like, God wants to know us.

And in every area, he wants us to seek him in whatever is bothering us, whatever is weighing on us.

He says his yoke is easy and his burden is light.

And so when we invite him into these things that feel like heavy burdens on us, that's where we can learn to lift them off and hand them off to him.

And so I want to encourage you mamas in your quiet time that you get, even if that's five minutes in the car driving, just pray and say, God, would you start to help me have a healthy self-worth?

The way that I view myself, would you come and speak into that?

And just trust maybe God will speak to you in his word.

Maybe he'll speak to you in a dream.

There's lots of different ways that God speaks to us.

But just the first step is just to pray and invite him to speak into an area of your life that feels heavy and burdensome.

And he will speak to you.

But so I'm just going to pray a blessing real quick over you ladies.

And yeah, so I'll just pray here.

So Father, I just thank you for each one of these mamas that's listening.

I thank you that you say your mercies are new each and every morning.

And I just pray right now that they'd fill your grace, just wash over them for whatever is weighing on them.

Lord, I just pray that you would come and speak to them.

I just pray, Lord, that the real weights that they are carrying, Lord God, that you would lift those off, Lord God, that the things that entangle us, that keep us from running the race set before us.

Well, Lord, that you would speak in to those things and that you would lift those off of us, Father God.

I just pray now that where there is guilt, Lord, that you would just replace it with your grace.

And I just pray for grace to take steps into being healthier and better for ourselves and for our kids and for the future generations, Lord Jesus.

So I just pray that you come meet mamas now, and we just bless them.

Keep them, make the light of your face shine upon them, and give them your peace, Lord.

We pray that in your name.

Amen.

Well, ladies, thank you so much for listening today.

It's so good to just meet in this space, encourage each other, talk about these important topics.

And I hope you enjoyed this podcast today.

We'll see you again next time.

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