Secrets of the Health Universe 😉

Despite my bold title, I’ll just say here are some things I have discovered through years of various fatigue, autoimmune, weight, and sleep issues. I hope they help someone out there!

1- I have found that eating snack-size meals every 3 hours is best for me. All the food groups are included, except gluten causes me to have terrible acid reflux so I don’t eat gluten. My plan here is that if my needs are met, I won’t binge or overeat, and it’s true. Snack-size is like what fits in one or maybe two palms: ¼ c of granola, or a banana with a ¼ c of nuts, a protein shake, or 2 eggs. I find my metabolism is revved with this plan, and I just don’t think about food very much as I am never hungry/hangry. This has eliminated the guilt from overeating or what I call “storm-eating”! If I do eat a large meal sometime, it is no big deal because the next time I eat I’ll be back to my mini-meals and it all works out. Also, my metabolism is revved with lifting weights. Because of my back, I am only using 5 lb weights but seeing all the benefits I used to see before surgery even with much heavier weights. Always have weights in your workouts and get a good sweat every day!! Mini-meals every 3-4 hours and working out 30-40 min a day with both cardio and weights WILL change your body, period! At least 5 days a week. 😃

2- Shakeology vegan protein shakes have changed my life. They already have all the probiotics, prebiotics, and enzymes I need so I don’t have to buy or add anymore. They also have the antioxidant and adaptogens I need for stress management, much like you would find in cortisol manager supplements. My adrenals are happy. The fact is that nutrition is feeding our actual cells, and our cells make up our body and our life. We have to think about eating for our cellular level. We need a lot of living food, like fruits, veggies, meat, nuts, whole grains and not dead things that have been sitting on shelves for weeks after processing. While nutrition is vital, digestion and absorption is even more so, that’s why the pro/prebiotics/enzymes are so important. On that same topic, sugar messes up the bacteria balance in your gut (which is now called the second brain!)…as well as causing inflammation and insulin resistance, which leads to heart disease and diabetes. No, thank you. ❤️

3- You gotta sleep. Maybe you’ve gotta sleep more than other people; it’s okay! But really, think about how much sleep you are getting and probably you need more. You shouldn’t need coffee every morning or sugar mid-day, and if you use these things when tired, your adrenals pay for it. When we give our bodies substitutes for what they really need, we are crippling them and their natural ability to work well. P.S.Naps are very Christlike. 😂

4- Lastly, inflammation in your body means things like pain, swelling, infection, allergic reactions, itching – and these outward symptoms are just a glimpse of the chaos going on inside our blood vessels, our histamine levels, our cells, etc. Whether or not we have high levels of inflammation matters on a heart and lung level, and autoimmune disorders/inflammation go hand in hand. There are alot of cool things people are doing to help their inflammation levels, but one thing I know for sure is this small list of supplements. Because of Shakeology I don’t need many supplements, if any, but when I was in pain because of my back (which resulted in a microdiscectomy) I took Boswellia, vitamin C, and Omega 3s/Fish oil. Here’s my testimony: The surgeon made me go supplement free for 2 weeks before surgery. I couldn’t take anything. Those 2 weeks are when I was truly in stiff, terrible pain. By the night before surgery, I could not sit, lay, stand, anything, without pain. I had had no idea what a blessing those supplements had been! Now I know that if I have stiffness or those weird hotspot feelings in my leg or even bad allergies (I have some high markers for autoimmune disorders but have not been diagnosed) I can immediately begin taking this regimen of anti-inflammatory supplements. Also, for stiffness or sore muscles, I cannot recommend a quick foam rolling session after each exercise session!

5- It’s so important to change the narrative, the self-talk, and truly think about what you’re thinking about! We need to preach truth of God’s Word to ourselves, and reframe our circumstances with faith, gratitude, and praise. As children of God, we have to see our sins as things holding us back from a full wonderful life, rather than what we can get away with…! We need to know we are not meant to walk in guilt, shame, regret, and feeling less than, but instead that we are more than conquerors and if God is for us, who can be against us? We need to let go of obligations and responsibilities that were never ours, and we need to only do what He says matters and believe what only He says about us! 

These are all things we can gradually try and gradually change. When you begin to feel better, it gives you strength and excitement to do more. Although there are seasons of pain and difficulty, I really do believe that God wants us to thrive even in the middle of them. Find what gives you joy and endurance, and then share with others your “secrets”!!!

Exchanges

Life in Christ is all about exchanges.

He exchanges our sin and failures for right standing with God.

He exchanges our focus on this fleshly life for a focus on what really matters, a Matthew 6:33 life, where we are seeking His Kingdom and His righteousness first, allowing the “other stuff” to be taken care of by the Father according to His perfect timing and love.

And He also exchanges our daily sadness, confusion, and weariness for Joy, Clarity, and Strength.

Let’s talk about that for a minute.

There is a time to grieve….a time to question, think, sit…and a time to rest, do nothing, let go.

These are necessities for growth, just like off days when you work out hard: You have to give muscles the chance to stretch back out after tightening, tearing. That’s how they grow.

But then your weakness is exchanged for strength.

Our training as believers, spiritually, is to keep going through pain, fires, trials, conflicts, disappointments, personal struggles, yet each time learning to come with them to Jesus and go through the process of an exchange!

We can experience trauma without becoming victims.

We can experience loss without becoming empty.

We can experience stress and pressure without becoming numb, hopeless, angry, and sick.

This is the power of Christ in us.

This is one of the benefits of seeking first His Kingdom, and living – in our hearts – already in His family, His Kingdom, not necessarily with our eyes on Heaven (like as in the “sweet by and by”) but on JESUS, the Author and Perfecter of our faith who endured the cross and sat down at the right hand of God the Father. He is reigning, He is loving, He is giving daily manna, for those in the Kingdom – even though our earthly lives are set in a disturbing, ever shaken, ever darkening place.

But this is the power of His exchange. This is where we have light in darkness. This is where we have peace in chaos.

We have to choose whether or not we will make the exchange.

Each day, I feel like Jesus says, “You can do this or You can let Me live and love through you. You can continue to just survive this job – relationship – time of healing – or You can fall into my arms and we will do this together. You can keep your eyes on the problem, or you can put your eyes on Me. I can be your obsession, your waking thought – My strength, My wisdom, My Word – or you will be obsessed with your own process and progress…It is your choice.”

Life is hard. Marriage is hard. Singleness is hard. Parenting is hard. Not parenting is hard. Work is hard. Not working is hard. Health is hard. Money is hard. People are hard. Not having people is hard!

But through Philippians 4:4-6 and Colossians 3:1-17 and James 1 and 2 Peter 1:3-11, actually the entirety of God’s Word, we see we have an opportunity for a continuous exchange of our thoughts for His, our perspectives for His, our goals for His, our wisdom for His…

And as He once gave His life for us, we give it back to Him.

Yes, we give up a lot in this exchange, relatively speaking…

But I can’t help but say, on the other side of the exchange that I made at one time and that I daily make, there is no true, real, abundant life without forsaking my life to hide myself in Him.

When I give Him my pain, yes, I may also be giving Him my freedom to do what I want with my life – but how was I planning to make it through life lugging that pain around anyway? How far was I going to get?

When I give Him my anger, yes, I may also be giving Him my money and what makes me feel safe and what I expected out of a relationship – but those three things were always an illusion and I’m better off without living my life trying to control them.

One of the methods of exchange – practically speaking – is worship and thanksgiving. When I give God my praise, in the midst of the battle, in the midst of the sorrows or questions, He goes and does something miraculous.

We can cast our cares, our sins, our failures, and everyone else’s, too, that are weighing heavy on our minds and hearts, clogging our avenue to peace and joy. We can lay them down…We can bless His Name…We can cling to His living Word…

We can come, and keep coming, for the joy of the Lord is our strength.

Weakness

One thing I have learned as an adult – a truth I actually really love – is that it’s okay to be weak.

Those A’s don’t matter in the long run.

That trophy will end up in your mom’s basement.

How long it took to run that mile isn’t really that interesting to anyone besides us.

How many times we had to take the CPA exam or whatever scary test of brilliance we personally have endured is quickly old news.

For me, it’s the fact that I finished college as Homecoming Queen and Miss Campbellsville University only to move to Africa and be so sick I had to come home.

For me, it’s the fact that I started to get my Masters upon coming home, but never got farther than the acceptance letter because I needed so much sleep and healing.

For me, it’s also realizing right here and now at 44 years old, that I have no real credentials that the world would give me any recognition for at all. If I wanted a full time income right now, my resume would be unimpressive despite the life experience of the past 20-something years…and not only all of this, but if I wanted to work full time, I would probably collapse of exhaustion on week two! That feels pretty weak when so many around me are pulling it off (somehow!)

So here’s the thing.

Okay, two things, that I have to remember and will pass on to anyone else who can resonate with what I’m saying:

  1. We are living for a different Kingdom and a different King than this world and man. Our understanding of strength and success must be different, too.
  2. We often think we are the actors on the stage and that this life, this story, is about us. But it’s not.

As sad as it may sound to some of us overachievers, our role in this story is not hero. It’s damsel in distress. It’s junkie in prison. Or worse.

The world needs to see this.

That we are the saved, not the saviors.

That we are the beloved, not the ones who loved first.

That we are the filled, because without Him, we are an empty shell.

The world needs to see 1 Peter 4:11, that we serve with the strength God provides, so that all glory goes to the Son.

The world needs to see a picture of grace and joy coming to people who have just as many problems and weaknesses as they do. 2 Corinthians 12: 9 reminds us that, truly, God’s power shows up best when we will admit utter dependency on Him, for His power is made perfect in our weakness.

So to all the regrets and failures, the pride and fear, the mistakes and times I was the weakest link, and to all the fault lines I’ll live on in the future as well:

“Thank you for reminding me I am not God and was never meant to be.

And to the Lord:

“Thank You for joyfully making a way for us to be fully reconciled and fully qualified for the most precious identity and calling we could have–to simply be Your’s.

#HowToBuild: Why We Fast

A couple of months ago, I wrote a short blog series called #HowToBuild, about building ourselves up in our most holy faith. I wrote about being in the Word, prayer, worship, and about the enemy. I cannot even tell you how attacked I was after writing that blog about the enemy! The Lord really did allow Satan to sift me, like I wrote in the most recent blog, about Jesus and Peter. I felt dazed and confused for awhile, knocked down and not knowing what hit me. I came to the Lord and His Word but in every way I just felt unable to concentrate and get anywhere. And because I saw how valuable fasting can be in times like this, when things in the physical realm are unbearable and life in the spiritual realm doesn’t feel like it’s going to be enough, I want to tag on another blog to that series…

Why We Fast.

I went through a time where I didn’t fast often at all, because I couldn’t really remember why it mattered. Honestly! I had this idea in my head that fasting was pretty much like holding my breath until God gave me what I was asking for, like “I’m not going to eat until that person is healed!” Um…I didn’t think that was quite right.

But in the sifting, in the disappointment and fear, it began to be really clear to me by God’s grace that I had to find a way to get more of His truth and power in me. Not only could I not be the wife and mom and witness I wanted to be if I did not have more of His Word and truth and love in me, but I could not survive on the inside, in the place where joy and peace was so desperately needed.

It’s clear to me now that when I am inconsistent in patience and love with my family, really the problem behind this is my inconsistency of coming and being filled by the living Lord Jesus and all His goodness.

That requires time. That requires attention. That requires setting aside escapes. That requires setting aside distractions. So for me, that requires fasting, and personally I fast from things like social media and Netflix because I know that’s where I go when I can’t handle things going on in my life. But what do I really need when I can’t handle things going on in my life, when I’m really hurting? I need Jesus, the same Jesus Mary and Martha cried to when their brother died, the same Jesus who looked with compassion on the masses. I need fellowship with Him and understanding of His parables. I need to know what I can expect from God, what happens when I pray, how to pray! I need to know He loves me, that others have suffered and made it through, and what faith really is! Sure, I’ve heard a lot of it before, but yesterday’s manna is stale. I have to gather, today, my portion.

Fasting is not about getting what we want in our prayer life.

Fasting is not about holding our breath, thinking if we take this drastic measure, He will do what we ask. He’s going to do what we ask if He wants to, I don’t think we have to fast to make it happen. (Maybe I’m wrong?)

Fasting is about prioritizing our spiritual nourishment for the marathon we are in, with great expectation that our inner and outer man will reflect the strength, wisdom, and peace we gain from Him.

Fasting is about feeding the spirit, which sometimes requires starving the flesh. It’s about focusing on the invisible, when we would normally choose the easier route: focusing on what we can see and touch and be quickly comforted by.

I’m at a place in my walk with God where I don’t have exact time frames of fasting, exact goals or beginning or ends, because then it becomes about the outer man, and my own self control. I want fasting to be about gaining a heart of wisdom, a life that chooses Him because I see the bounty there as opposed to what I would end up with if I spent that free time in another way. He wants to set our feet on higher ground, to look at our problems from a platform set up outside of the situation, rather than drowning in waves we can’t get our heads above.

Whatever it takes to get to that place, and stay at that place, oh, Jesus, give us grace to do it!