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4 Easy Ways To Simplify Your Health

May 17, 2019/0 Comments/in Current Events, Encouragement, Everything, Faith /by Heather Gillis

This week is a guest post from Jen Roland, who is owner/blogger of Faith Fueled Fitness. I love faith and fitness and am excited to have Jen guest post and share her insights of making health simple and easy. Make sure to check out her recipes and fitness workouts! Have a great week!

In Him,

Heather

4 Easy Ways To Simplify Your Health

There are two words that every new mom dreads.

Bathing suit.

While not explicitly stated, when my sister-in-law asked me to be a bridesmaid – in Florida and by the beach – those two words were exactly what I heard. Holding my one-year old on my hip, I envisioned stuffing my post-pregnancy belly into a strapless bridesmaid dress. The mental image was less than flattering.

I needed a way to simplify my health especially with a baby.

But, I was determined. I vowed to lose the rest of the baby weight, get in amazing shape, and do whatever it would take to get my pre-pregnancy body back.

For the next five months, some might say I was a little “obsessed.” I worked out for over an hour a day and followed a strict meal plan. I cut out all refined sugars, eliminated caffeine, and passed on the pizza at parties. When her wedding day arrived, I received lots of compliments about how “amazing” I looked. My husband must have agreed, because I came home from that trip pregnant with baby number three.

Two weeks later, after experiencing heavy bleeding, I was diagnosed with a subchorionic hematoma, deemed a high-risk pregnancy, and directed to halt all physical activity. At 33 weeks, I went into labor, was hospitalized to stop the contractions, and sent home on strict bed rest for the remainder of my pregnancy.

When I was given the green light to exercise three months after my son was born, I was starting from ground zero. This time, God showed me that I needed to approach taking care of my health differently. He taught me that if I wanted to change my habits, I would need to start by changing the way I think about them.

It began with renewing my perspective from fitness and nutrition as vehicles to achieve the perfect body to fitness and nutrition as opportunities to glorify God by caring for the body He gifted to me.

As I started to view my body as a temple of the Holy Spirit, I began to treat it that way, focusing on life-giving foods that helped me operate at my best without counting every calorie that went into my mouth.

God revealed that in letting my thoughts and actions revolve around when I would work out or what I would eat, I had made my body an idol. I needed to break free from the obsession so I could focus more on Him. As I put Christ at the center of my health journey, it became less about perfecting myself and more about living to please Him. This shift in mindset has had a tremendous impact.

In the words of Beth Moore, “The ultimate goal for most of us, however, is freedom from obsession so that God rather than the body can be glorified. This goal is most often realized through recapturing the lost art of moderation. This means learning to do what we need to do (to keep ourselves healthy) and then getting on with living.”¹When we seek our self-worth, personal fulfillment, or happiness in something other than the Lord our God, we’ve allowed that thing to take an inappropriate position of power in our lives that should be reserved for Him.

1 Corinthians 6:12 tells us “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.”Click To Tweet

We have the “right” to eat anything we want and we have the “right” to exercise. However, while something may be permissible, it may not be beneficial. And while something may be beneficial, it may be unnecessary – even unhealthy – if taken to extremes.

Caring for our health shouldn’t feel like a burden – it should feel “free.” We can choose to let go of the diet mentality and focus on life-giving choices. We can choose to let go of obsessing over every bite of food, becoming slaves to a number on a scale, and constantly chasing perfection. Doing so is an obsession and is actually unhealthy.

4 Easy Ways To Simplify Your Health:

Have a strong WHY for improving your health that is about more than physical appearance. Consider how positive lifestyle habits will allow you to operate at your best so you can give your best to God and others.
Exercise regularly, but not obsessively. Start small with a few minutes a day and build from there (download my FREE GUIDE for short, simple workouts). Focus on progress, not perfection and consistency over performance. As you build new habits, focus on what you will do, not what you cando. Daily wins build momentum and fuel you to keep going!
Focus on consuming nutrient-dense, life-giving foods (not pre-packaged or highly processed). (Download Living Giving Foods List.)
Adopt an abundance mindset that is focused on the benefits of a healthy lifestyle, such as more energy, decreased chance of disease, a closer relationship with God, and improved quality of life. Shifting our focus to what we are gaining and our health as an opportunity to glorify Him sets a foundation for sustainable change.

As we begin to make small steps toward a healthier lifestyle, we must not neglect the importance of regular quiet time for our emotional and spiritual well-being. (Check the Resource Guide in my 7-Day Jump Start Plan for some suggestions to get started.) We can commit our plans to the Lord, asking Him for the strength to keep going when we’re lacking in motivation. Then we place our eating, exercising, and everything we do before God as an offering, honoring Him through caring for the body He has given each of us.

“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” 1 Corinthians 10:31 Click To Tweet

Properly fueling our body, mind, and spirit is a means to live with purpose to pursue God’s plan for our lives. When we keep that perspective, we can rest in the fact that our priorities are well-aligned. We can stop obsessing over things this world says make us happy and focus on the one thing that brings true fulfillment.

Call to Action: Download 12 Strategies to Simplify Your Health. Choose one habit that is doable in your current season of life and which would have the greatest impact on your health. Share it below or in our private Facebook group, along with your WHY. Why is this habit important to you? How will it allow you to operate at your best so you can give your best to God and others?

Additional Resources:
FREE 7-Day Jump Start Guide
Life Giving Foods List
FREE Recipes, Meal Plans & Workouts

To learn more about Jen and her mission of faith and fitness Click Here.

References:

1. Moore, Beth. (1998). Living Beyond Yourself: Exploring the Fruit of the Spirit. Nashville, TN: LifeWay Press.

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Have You Ever Felt Like An Imposter?

March 1, 2019/13 Comments/in Christianity, Encouragement, Everything, Faith, God's Love, Real life, Struggles/Trials, Uncategorized /by Heather Gillis

^“Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.” Genesis 4:25 NIV

Come out, come out wherever you are. Remember the game of hide and seek you used to play as a kid? The seeker would count to 100 and say, ‘ready or not here I come.’ The object of the game was to find the best hiding place, turn out the lights and not be found by the seeker. If the seeker found you then you became it having to go find those in hiding. If you couldn’t be found then the seeker would say…..

“Come out, come out wherever you are.”

Have you ever felt like an Imposter?

Like you were playing a game of hide and seek only it wasn’t a game, it was your reality? At one point in our lives we all hide from something, whether its to cover up gray hair (to appear younger than we are) or a pesky blemish on our face. We all try to cover up our imperfections.

There have been so many times in my life where everything from the outside appears like its straight out of story tale when in reality I’ve been so desperately hurting on the inside. From a distance it looks like I have everything all together but really feel like any moment the life I’ve built is going to crumble and fall apart. I feel like one of those imposters who doesn’t expose their mess in front of others but instead keeps it hidden so no one will know.

At any moment someone is going to discover I don’t have it all together, nor do I have it all figured out. Can you relate?

Why do we hide?

I think the very nature of our genetic makeup predisposes us to hide. When Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden, God gave them one command, Do not eat from “the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die” Genesis 2:17. Well, we know how that all went down. Once Adam and Eve ate the fruit from the forbidden tree, they became ashamed of what they did and hid themselves from the presence of God among the trees in the garden when they heard God walking in the garden (Gen. 3:8).

The next part amazes me, God then calls out to them and asks them a question which he already knew the answer to–“Where are you?” Genesis 4:9. God was the one who created Adam and Eve, giving them life, did they really think they could hide from God? God is God and knows all things. There is no where we can hide that he doesn’t see us. There is nothing we can keep hidden from Him that he doesn’t already know.

“Am I a God at hand, declares the Lord, and not a God far away? Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the Lord. Do I not fill heaven and earth? declares the Lord.” Jeremiah 23:23-24 NIV

It’ s so amazing time and time again we think we are safer or better off if we hide instead coming into the presence of God in the first place. We try so hard to hide behind fake facades, perfectly manicured lives, masks of whom we think others will accept. And yet we are so weary from trying to keep up with an image that doesn’t even matter.

In my professional life I wear a mask for a living to help maintain the sterility of the room I’m working in. If one person enters the room without having the proper attire or their mask up to cover their face, there is a breech in the sterility of the room. There are days I’m thankful I get to hide behind my mask so people don’t know whether I’m smiling or having a bad day. Just as these masks protect the sterility of the room, our imposter masks protect us from others getting close to us and seeing the real version of ourselves.

These personas we hide behind aren’t really who we are at all. The imposter masks may help protect our fake image but in the long run only end up falling apart.

The masks we wear don't make it better, they enable us to live as imposters in Fakeville.Click To Tweet

“Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.” Ephesians 4:25 NIV

It’s scary right? Exposing yourself to others, letting them know your flaws, your deficits, your imperfections? What if you let others in and they discover who you really are and they don’t accept you?

These are valid concerns and fears. We must surround ourselves with people whom we trust. Pray for God’s wisdom and discernment of who you should share your struggles with, whom you can trust.

Where are you?

When God called to Adam and Eve to come out of hiding, Adam told God he hid because he was naked. God then responded, “Who told you that you were naked?”

Who told you?

Who told you, you must be ashamed?

Who……. told………… you?

'But everything exposed by the light becomes visible--and everything that is illuminated becomes a light.' Ephesians 5:13 NIVClick To Tweet

Have you ever felt like an imposter?

Our struggles, our burdens, our trials are not meant to go through alone. The enemy wants us to feel shame so he can isolate us and keep us hidden in the dark with our troubles. He wants to whisper lies for us to believe we’re better off hiding. When we bring our struggles into the light the enemy has no power over us and sets us free from the darkness to be able to live in the light of our flaws, deficits and imperfections they way God created us. God never meant for us to hide behind our flaws but for them to be apart of who we are.

Have Can I Pray For You?

God does his best work in the light. If you are going through a tough season or trial have you asked someone to pray for you? Have you told a trusted individual? Let another person come alongside you and walk with you in your struggle.

Did you enjoy ‘When You Feel Like An Imposter?’ Please share with others! Want more encouraging messages sent right to your inbox? Subscribe to my blog and receive a FREE E-Book “The Jericho Prayer,” and a weekly Monday Message. Like my Author Facebook page to catch the latest posts.

I would love to hear from you! Leave your comments below! Have a Blessed Week!

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Why Does God Allow Bad Things to Happen?

July 21, 2017/3 Comments/in Christianity, Everything, Faith, God's Love, Real life, Struggles/Trials /by Heather Gillis

Have you ever asked yourself the question, “If God is good, then why does He allow Bad things to Happen in this world?”

This is a very loaded question and will take more than this one blog post to answer. The truth is we live in a broken world, that dates back to Adam and Eve the very day they ate the fruit from the forbidden tree. But God is a loving God who created us and desires a relationship with us. Yes, looking at our world we live in, it is corrupt, there is evil and devastation. However, God allowed us to have free will and make our own choices. God doesn’t make us do bad things, we choose to.

God’s love is a holy love. One that forgives and selflessly gives eternally forevermore. One that never leaves us. There is never an end or amount of God’s love. But sometimes God’s love doesn’t feel very loving does it? Let me explain.

Six years ago my husband and I endured the biggest tragedy parents could ever go through—the loss of our son. He was born with an undetected kidney disease that was incompatible with life. He lived only two short weeks on this earth before he went to heaven. When he died I couldn’t believe God didn’t heal our son.

We prayed so hard for him to be healed, didn’t God hear our prayers? If God loved us then why didn’t He heal our son?

As time went by, I went before God with this very question and His response was “I did heal your son just not in the way you asked me to. He indeed is healed and living a life that is free from disease, pain or sorrow, he is no longer suffering.” Wow, God was right, He answered every single one of my prayers just not in the way I imagined.

Our life may have been filled with grief and pain, but there is not pain that God doesn’t already know.

God’s love is a sacrifice.

Our tragedy made me see more than ever, God’s love is a sacrifice, one that He sacrificed for us through his one and only son. The pain of our son’s death gave me a glimpse of the pain God went through when Jesus died. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

Who am I to say I want this part of God’s love but not that part? At the cross Jesus didn’t surrender half of His life for us, He surrendered all of it. His love isn’t something I get to pick and choose the parts I do or don’t like. To know God’s holy love, to know the suffering of Jesus, is to know all parts of God’s love.

At the Cross, I lay it at your feet.

Every sacrifice requires 100% surrender. Our surrender is an offering to God. The Hebrew word for offering (hiqrib) means “to present, bring near, offer.” How perfect is God’s plan, that He made an altar (the cross) for our burdens to be laid down as an offering, to bring us closer to Him? The life we once lived before our son, died along with him. The only chance we had to have a life filled with joy again, was to lay down our pain and grief at the feet of Jesus and allow God to crucify them at the cross.

I am crucified with thee.

At the cross, our surrendered burdens are crucified. They were never meant to be carried beyond the cross. Every act of obedience, every act of faith no matter how big or small, becomes a living sacrifice to God. Our surrender allows God to become more in our lives, not our burdens (John 3:30).

God knows what it takes to produce the greatest blessings ever in Him, not anything this world could ever provide for us. He knows what we need to rid ourselves of anything getting in the way of Him. Through fasting, prayer, walking away from worldly riches, making sacrifices for God’s greater good, our love becomes a living sacrifice. We become an example to the world what makes us rich and loved isn’t by what we put in our wallets, closets or garages but what God puts into our hearts.

“For where your treasure is there your heart will be also” (Matt 6:21). Our sacrifices allow God to produce His greater work with in us.

“I appeal to you therefore, brothers,[a] by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.[b] 2 Do not be conformed to this world,[c] but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Romans 12:1-2

This is where I die.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17)

Every resurrection needs a surrendered offering, a sacrifice/death, and a burial. This is how God’s holy love works to resurrect our circumstances and make us new in Him! God’s holy love is the ultimate love. He holds nothing back.

God’s holy love doesn’t mean we will be without tragedy or heartache.

At the cross lives a holy love, one that suffers, knows our pain and carries our burdens.

At the cross is where Jesus meets us in our pain and shows there is nothing we go through that he hasn’t already been through. No one knows our pain and suffering better than Jesus. His love is the ultimate sacrifice.

There will always be another storm in our life but know we can always trust in God’s promises, His goodness, and love. When our feelings get the best of us here are some great reminders.

In God’s love, we can find freedom from our burdens by resting in the truths of God’s love.

God’s love is always good and pure.
God’s love is always faithful.
God’s love is eternal and never runs out.
God’s love is perfect and always prevails.
God’s love is a relationship.
God’s love is where we can find rest.
God’s love is a sacrifice and is forgiving.
God’s love comforts us.
God’s love, loves unconditionally.
God’s love is extravagant and abundant.
God’s love paid our debt for sin.
God’s love gives selflessly.
God’s love never fails and conquers all.
God’s love heals, restores and renews.
Nothing is bigger or greater than God’s love.

Have you experienced and accepted God’s holy love?

How has God’s holy love restored and renewed you?

Jesus is my healer. His holy love makes us complete! I pray God’s holy love will abundantly fill our hearts and homes this week. You are loved!

Did you enjoy this blogpost? Please share with others! Want more encouraging messages sent right to your inbox? Subscribe to my blog and receive a weekly Monday Message or like my Author Facebook page to catch the latest posts. Have a blessed week!

I would love to hear from you! Leave your comments below!

The definition of the Hebrew word for offering was obtained from www.biblestudytools.com

A modified version of this post was first published on www.akchristianwomensministry.com.

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