Loving yourself healthy

…freedom

“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” Galatians 5:1

What image does the word bondage evoke in your mind? …shackles around someone’s hands…chains around their ankles…locks…prison bars holding someone in a cell for an extended period of time… These are images of physical bonds that keep a person captive. But did you know that we can experience spiritual bondage as well?…inner bondage…a bondage that only we ourselves can feel and experience within…one that others can’t see on us…

This bondage comes in many forms but I think the most common form is addiction…The dictionary defines addiction as “the state of being enslaved to a habit or practice or to something that is psychologically or physically habit-forming to such an extent that its cessation causes severe trauma”. Interesting that even the dictionary uses the word enslaved to define it.

Can we become addicted to the idea of being skinny just as much as we can get addicted to food, drugs, alcohol, or (you fill in the blank)?…Can we become so obsessed with the idea of “being skinny” or “being in good shape” that we lose sight of our purpose?

In my own journey of health, I know how much bondage I have felt from food, eating healthy, not eating healthy, never being satisfied with who I am…the list goes on and on…this bondage has been so frustrating and has caused me anger and sadness for much of my life.

Does anyone get what I’m talking about? That this state of dissatisfaction with the person God created us to be can become a form of bondage and can steer you off course from your ultimate purpose: to praise and worship the Lord, and glorify Him through your body.

Are you praising the Lord when you go on restrictive diets to improve your vanity? Are you worshiping him when exercise is the only thing on your mind every minute of every day? Are you glorifying him when you binge on all the “bad” foods you haven’t let yourself eat?? In all of those cases, we allow food, exercise, or “healthy eating” rule and reign in our lives rather than acknowledging the power of the One who loves us so much and would rather us live in freedom.

Doesn’t freedom sound so much better?

Now what kind of images come to mind when you think of freedom? Personally, I think of running through a gorgeous sprawling meadow with the sun beaming down, kissing my cheeks with its rays… I think of wide-open spaces without a cloud in sight….but, most of all, I think of peace…

When we feel free, we feel peace…we can break off those chains of bondage and finally come to a place of being satisfied with who we are!!

That’s the place we want to be right? That’s where true freedom lies…

So allow the Lord to help you get there! Ask Him to speak to your heart. Allow Him to show you how worthy you are of that freedom. After all, it is for FREEDOM that He has set us FREE!

Here’s my prayer for us today:

Father God,

Thank you for these wonderful bodies you have given us. Help us break the bondage that vanity and poor self-image have over our lives. And help us come to a place of inner-peace and satisfaction so that we can carry out Your work, Lord. Love you!

In Jesus’ name, Amen!

Much love and blessings!!

-Christa ;-)

…watch your words

“Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be. Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter?” – James 3: 10-11

In the past few weeks, I have noticed an uprising in the spirit of the importance of taming the tongue. There are 3 pastors I can think of specifically that have addressed this issue in their sermons. Over and over, I keep hearing the same thing, “Watch your words…they will guide the course of your life…they will bless your life or curse it…”

I think we all know this as truth, but do we really think about the impact that words have on our lives? James is saying that we have the ability to bless or curse our lives simply by what we say.

Now what impact do you think our words have on our health?? If you think they don’t have any impact on your health every single day…I’m sorry to burst your bubble but, that ain’t right! Our words can literally make or break our health…our words set the course of positivity or negativity in our bodies.

I remember when my sister was in high school, she had to do a science project that involved feeding negative words and positive words to plants. To one plant, she would say positive affirmations every day…”You’re beautiful”…”You’re perfect”…”I love you”…to the other plant, negative words…”You’re ugly”….”I hate you”…”No one likes you”…watching her do this project seemed a bit pointless to me at the time… I honestly didn’t think that the words would make much difference…

But, you want to know what happened? The plants felt the effects of the words spoken to them and were physically changed by the words. The plant that received the positive affirmations looked beautiful and strong…it stood tall and was the most beautiful shade of green…the other plant looked so very sad compared…it drooped and just kind of hung there…it was not as beautiful and vibrant as the other plant…

Do you see where I’m going with this? If words can do that to a plant…a living thing with no soul or spirit…what do you think they do to us?

If you are constantly saying to yourself…whether out loud or in your mind…”You’re too over-weight” “You’re not good enough” “You’re ugly” “You aren’t as skinny as so and so” or other negative thoughts or feelings…those words are affecting you…whether you like it or not, they are…do you ever feel good after saying something like that to yourself? I’m going to guess that you’re shaking you’re head “no” right now…You’re body doesn’t feel good either and I promise you that your words absolutely change your physical body because they have a huge impact on your heart and your spirit.

I wonder what would happen if we started just saying positive things about ourselves and our bodies…don’t you think that would make us actually feel good about ourselves?? I bet you it would!!

So today…together…let’s choose to speak about ourselves in the way that God sees us…”You’re beautiful” “You ARE good enough” “You’re perfect in your individuality” “You deserve to be celebrated”…Maybe even look at yourself in the mirror and tell yourself these things!! It might feel odd at first, but it’s worth it! Then just wait and see the impact it has on your heart and on your body. I promise you this…you will see the beauty that comes with speaking God’s truth (which is the only truth) over yourself….You won’t be disappointed in the results. ;-)

Much love and blessings to you all!!

-Christa ;-)

…compassion

“Learn to do right! Seek justice; encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.” Isaiah 1:17

“But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.” Psalm 86:15

Have you ever seen those people who are just completely at peace with themselves? Those that aren’t phased by criticism or gossip and who literally radiate humility, love, and confidence? Those people who are just plain healthy…in there body, in their mind, and in their heart…I have had the honor of coming across a few of these people in my life and their lives have had a lasting impact on mine….I would call these kind of people truly beautiful because beauty radiates from the inside out of them. I would call them truly healthy because they have realized that inner health must be resolved before outer health can come to fruition.

But above all and most importantly, I would call them compassionate. When they communicate with others…when they listen to others…how they help others and even just how they exist day to day all just overflow with compassion.

It might sound a little off-base to this blog’s purpose, but I believe that the most important ingredient to a healthy life is compassion…as love is the resounding theme in this healthy-living blog, compassion is just love in action…it is love that actually makes a difference…love in the process of being selfless, courageous, and effective. This is love that brings healing to others but also to you.

Something my mom always says is, “When you’re feeling depressed, stressed, or just plain down, get out of yourself and go help somebody else!” And she’s absolutely right! Compassion and selflessness are the cures for whatever ails you…when you’re focusing on someone else’s wellbeing instead of just your own, do you really think you’re going to be solely focused on your negative body image, those last 5 pounds you can’t lose, or the sugar addiction you are trying to get rid of? I guarantee that you won’t!

Think about it this way…a person full of angst, bitterness, hatred, selfishness, stress, etc., is literally creating a toxic environment in their body and in the bodies of those around them…that’s not only spiritually true but it’s physically true as well…staying focused on just yourself and your own problems will only create bigger health problems for your body and your mind…

So make the decision today…no matter what is going on in your life…no matter what stressful or depressing situation that you are facing…to be compassionate…call a friend and pray for them…open the door for a stranger…apologize even when you really don’t want to…lay down your pride and tell that family member that you love them…then just wait and see how much better you feel! Your health will be blessed as you reach out to bless others!! ;-)

Much love and blessings to you all!

-Christa ;-)

…make a change

“This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalm 118:24

Every time I see this Scripture verse, I can’t help but burst out in that joyous hymn: “This is the day. This is the day. That the Lord has made. That the Lord has made. I will rejoice. I will rejoice. And be glad in it. And be glad in it.”

It’s so easy and fun to sing…but when you really think about what it’s saying, it’s not always easy to actually do. Rejoice in today…be glad in it…I believe this verse is telling us to live in the moment right now…to today decide to be happy and decide to rejoice.

Easier said than done right?

Well it doesn’t have to be. I am discovering that one of the most important parts of living in the moment, of being happy every day is simply this: don’t wait until tomorrow to do what will make you happy today.

I believe this especially (ESPECIALLY) applies to health. It’s so easy to put your health off…”Oh tomorrow I’ll start exercising…I’m too tired today”…”Tomorrow I’ll stop bingeing and purging…I need to look really skinny in that dress tonight”…”Tomorrow I’ll stop burying my emotions in too much food…I had a really rough day”…”Tomorrow I’ll eat more vegetables” “Tomorrow I’ll stop smoking” “Tomorrow I’ll stop speaking so badly about myself and my body…I really looked bad in those jeans so I deserved it…” Tomorrow…Tomorrow…TOMORROW…

The thing I’ve noticed about tomorrow is that most of the time it never comes. If you put off goals or changes until tomorrow, it’s really another way of saying that you are putting it off indefinitely. Because if you can’t make that change today…why would it be any easier to make it tomorrow?

The best way to make a change is to start today…start small, don’t overwhelm yourself…every small change that you make will have a definite impact and is a step in the right direction. ;-)

Here’s my prayer for us today:

Father God,

Thank you for these beautiful bodies that you have given us. Please help us accomplish our goals and make healthy choices for them every single day. Forgive us for being afraid of change. Thank you for being with us every step of our journey to health! Love you Lord!

In Jesus’ name, Amen!

Much love and blessings to you all!!

-Christa ;-)

…reject the lies

“For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him;” Psalm 103:11

When we were little kids, there were people in our lives that we looked up to…whether it was our moms, dads, grandparents, aunts, uncles, family friends, etc….little girls wanted these people to approve their femininity…to tell them they were pretty, they were cute, they had perfect bodies…little boys wanted these people to approve their masculinity…to tell them they were strong, they were handsome, they were “buff”…because when you are young, these people’s opinions seem to be the only opinion that matters…

But, what if you grew up with negative opinions about yourself?…what if some of these people you looked up to were harsh critics and made you question yourself from a young age??

I grew up with one particularly harsh critic in my life…I’m not going to say who it was because I’m not here to bash anyone or judge anyone in this blog…what I will say is that this person’s opinion really mattered a lot to me.

To them I was never called beautiful but instead “unique looking”… I was never called thin or perfect but instead “muscular” or that I “could stand to lose a few pounds”…although these were not blatant insults, as a little girl who took everything that people said to me to heart, it hurt me to the very core of who I am…

I realized recently that I’ve carried around the burden of this pain for my whole life…I had chosen to believe these lies that told me I wasn’t good enough…and choosing to believe that has drastically affected my health and my heart. As you have seen by my struggle with being overweight, underweight, being addicted to food, not eating enough food, and on and on…

So I made a new decision…to reject the lies… because anything that anyone has ever told you about yourself that makes you feel: beaten down, not good enough, even stupid or inadequate…those are all LIES.

When you feel all those lies…when you start to even believe them about yourself a little bit, you lose your sense of self…and when that happens your mind and your body are completely out of balance.

I truly believe that THE most important first step we can take on the true journey of health is to reclaim our sense of self… To reject the lies that those we looked up to, our family, our friends, our enemies, or even the media has led us to believe about ourselves and to receive the truth, which is: we are good enough, we are beautiful, we are perfect in His sight, we are capable of living in health, we are worthy of feeling confidence and we do not have to put up with being beaten down by other people’s pain.

Because honestly, that’s why people do that…they have pain so they project on to you…maybe because they don’t know any better. But, my friends, you don’t have to receive that pain…sometimes the best thing to do is distance yourself from that person and pray for them until you feel that they can find the strength in themselves to not project their insecurities on to you. Because you deserve better…you deserve to not be hindered at all in your journey to health…you deserve to live your life to it’s fullest and feel that self-confidence every day.

And most importantly…you are worthy of feeling loved and worthy of loving yourself…just as our verse says today…God’s love for us is GREAT…far beyond and bigger than any love that we could ever hope or dream of…and He wants this love to radiate in our lives…in how we love others and how we love ourselves.

Remember dear ones…you ARE good enough…you ARE loved…you ARE worth more than you can even imagine. Now it’s just time to start treating yourself that way…release the pain and reject the lies.

Here’s my prayer for us today:

Father God,

Thank you for these beautiful bodies you have given us. Please forgive us for believing the lies that other people have said about us that tear us down. Renew our minds and renew our strength to reject these lies and receive the truth that You have said about us. Love you Lord!

In Jesus’ name, Amen!

Much love and blessings to you all!!

-Christa ;-)

…diet is a four letter word

“Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” –Matthew 11:28

Have you ever experienced such exhaustion…such weariness from a certain thing in your life that you have just wanted to throw your hands up in the air and say, “I give UP!” ???

It could be about anything…from choosing a career…to going through school…to dealing with the challenges of growing kids…to finding a good relationship…you get what I’m saying…

In my life personally, I have gone through this with my journey to find true health. As I’ve already told you…I’ve been on so many deprivation diets and done all the weight loss fads and have ended up frustrated and confused every SINGLE TIME. Sometimes it has felt like a roller coaster…up and down and up and down…until I’m so sick and tired that I end up just completely “falling off the wagon”.

I remember after one particularly awful diet plan (it’s limit was like 1,000 to 1,200 calories a day and pretty much ZERO carbohydrates or fats…crazy right?)…I really fell off the wagon…the last day of the diet was about a week or so after Easter last year and I was waiting to crack into some Easter candy I had stashed…boy, did I crack into it! ALL OF IT!! The truth is I scarfed down at least half of that candy that day (and in turn got a great big stomach ache :-/ ).

Since I had been SO deprived on that diet, I had no concept of slowly incorporating those kinds of foods back in my life…so after that diet I gained all the weight back that I lost…every single ounce…

After this frustrating and exhausting weight loss venture I literally threw my hands up in the air and said, “I give UP!!”

Because what is the point, really? What is the point of being completely miserable to lose a couple pounds and then eventually just put them back on??

On my new journey to health, I’ve realized that if I don’t allow myself to have at least a little bit of the food that I love (like chocolate or french fries), then I am one miserable person! Why do you think skinny and emaciated models look so angry all the time?! They never let themselves have chocolate!!! ;-)

But bottom line ya’ll, before you can experience true health, you HAVE to find true rest…just like our verse says today…

God is commanding us to rest…stop being so burdened all the time and find peace in Him! Stop letting diet fads and weight loss trends run your life…instead write your own story of health and find your place of rest in that.

I truly believe…to the very core of who I am…that you will not find true health until you come to a place of peace within yourself…until you come to a place of true self-acceptance and true self-love and grow from there…

Diet is a four letter word that should NOT be in your vocabulary…just the very word can strike images of a food plan that consists of only celery sticks and kale salad…which are great foods but shouldn’t be the only thing someone eats…that’s just unrealistic!! And it’s enough to really psyche a person out…

Don’t let yourself get to that point! Don’t let yourself get psyched out! Food is not the enemy…it’s what we do with it that can be bad…

Today, before you do anything about your health…choose to strive for peace, to strive for rest and I promise you, true health will be right around the corner. ;-)

Here is my simple prayer for us today:

Father God,

Thank you for these wonderful bodies that you have given us. Forgive us for choosing chaos and unrest in our health. Please help us find that place of peace and rest in You! Love you Lord!!

In Jesus’ name, Amen!

Much love and blessings to you all!!

-Christa ;-)

…your balance

“A false balance is abomination to the LORD: but a just weight is his delight.” Proverbs 11:1

Have you ever stopped to notice the gorgeous colors that exist in food?? That bright red pop of a red bell pepper…the brilliant yellow of a perfectly ripe banana…the gorgeous pink of a freshly caught salmon…even the creamy beige color of a steamy bowl of oatmeal… God truly worked a masterpiece when he painted food such delicious colors…and He meant for us to eat all of them, in perfect balance…like a rainbow of color in your life every day, we should eat all different types of food every day. Because another miracle about those colors is that each one contains a nutrient that your body needs to be healthy. That’s why deprivation was never supposed to be in our vocabulary. Our body needs all of those vegetables, fruits, proteins, carbohydrates and fats to function at its prime. That’s why eating a BALANCED diet is so important.

As we wrap up this week talking about balance, I hope that God has spoken to your heart about what balance you may need to add to your life, because everyone’s balance is going to look different since we are all so uniquely created. Because your life and your health are so vitally important. And YOU are so important so always remember that true balance begins in your heart.

LOVE YOU ALL!!!

-Christa ;-)

…balance to the second power

“Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own,” 1 Corinthians 6:19

As I sit here in my living room writing this blog, pondering this week we are talking about balance, I’m just about to get ready for my daily exercise…I feel a flutter of excitement…today I’m doing cardio, weights, and some core work…

“Hold on Christa, you’re one of those annoying people who actually LIKES to exercise?!”

I haven’t always been, that’s for sure! I used to dread it like none other…I used to just get through some form of exercise, partially exerting myself…and hating every minute of it. But then…I started to look at exercise in a different way.

First of all, I noticed that when I did the kind of exercise my body wanted to do…I actually enjoyed it. For example, I’m the type of person that loves to constantly switch up my workout routine…so I do a lot of circuit training, cardio, and well dancing!! Some days I just dance to my favorite music for a nice little afternoon workout…and ya know what, I love it! That’s the key…finding a workout routine that you love and sticking to it not because you have to but because you want to.

It can be as simple as taking your dog for a walk or as hardcore as joining a cycling class. Whatever you do, as long as you’re MOVING, you’re doing your body good. Start small…don’t overwhelm yourself with something crazy (like training for a marathon)…and you will build up to being more and more fit and more and more successful.

The most important part to realize, though, is how GOOD exercising makes you feel. Oh sure, most of the time we are exercising to look a certain way but do we really think about the good that exercise does for our body, our mind, and our life?? Because it does SO MUCH GOOD! And it makes you FEEL SO GOOD! For example, have you ever ended a workout and not felt proud of yourself?? Proud of yourself for doing something so good for your health. ;-)  Isn’t that feeling worth a little bit of sweat??

When you start to eat and exercise based on how it makes you feel rather than the weight or dress size they get you to…well that’s when you find true success…that’s when you’re on your way to true health and balance…body, soul, mind and spirit.

We all know that exercise is good for your physical heart right? But, did you know it is even more important to exercise your spiritual heart?? If you aren’t doing those exercises, then you’re definitely out of balance. Let me show you what I mean…

We’re all familiar with this wonderful passage: “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Oh LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.” Psalm 19:14

Did you know that reading Scripture awakens your soul? It pumps life into your heart?? And if you let it, it guides your life???

When we do our spiritual “workout” every day, by meditating on the Word of God and allowing it to CHANGE our lives, our hearts become stronger and stronger. The words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts become pleasing in His sight. Because what is in your heart is what’s gonna come out of your mouth.

The greatest example of this is exactly what I’m talking about…it’s the whole purpose of this blog. Speaking the TRUTH over our bodies rather than the lies that the world tells us to believe. Rather than accepting the lies that you’re not perfect enough…not skinny enough…not unsatisfied enough with who you are…rather than all those things… we should choose to accept the TRUTH that we are perfect in His sight…we are made in His image and that image is BEAUTIFUL…and we are truly satisfied with this truth because HIS opinion is the only one that truly matters.

If we believe this…we will speak it over our own lives…we will say things like “I love this body that God gave me!” or “I’m so thankful that I have the ability to live in health and balance!” or even “Wow my legs look great in those pants!!” Rather than saying things like “I’ve got so much flab here.” or “Gosh, I know I won’t be happy until I’m at least 20 pounds lighter!” Because dwelling on negativity NEVER helped anyone my dear ones. I promise you this: Those negative words and thoughts are NOT pleasing in the sight of God.

Here is my prayer for us today:

Father God,

Thank you for these bodies that you have given us. Please help us and show us the right way to take care of our bodies. Help us find the motivation within ourselves, Father. Forgive us for speaking any negativity over ourselves and these bodies that you gave us. May the words of our mouths and the meditation of our hearts be pleasing to You. Love you Lord!

In Jesus’ name, Amen!!

Much love and blessings to you all!!

-Christa ;-)

…balance

Sometimes I have a tough time living a balanced life…when I am busy or stressed about something, it is easy for me to solely focus on that and completely forget about all the other enjoyments or important parts of life. This past weekend, I catered an event and I spent the whole last part of last week preparing for it. Nothing else mattered to me…I became consumed with cooking…planning…prepping…I didn’t have time for my blog…or more importantly for time with the Lord. And as a result, I’m so completely exhausted from all of that emotional and physical energy I exerted.

Now I know I’m not alone in this feeling…anyone else know what I’m talking about???…there are times in life that seem so busy that the term balance is almost laughed at… We just say, “Oh balance…who really needs it?” Especially in the culture that we live in…we are almost encouraged to live an unbalanced life because “if you’re not busy then you’re not successful…you’re not really living unless your life is constantly swamped with things to do.”

Balance is important for so many things in our lives, but do you know how crucially important it is to your health?? Our minds, bodies, and spirits all rely on balance to be okay.

Okay, let’s begin with sleep. I know a lot of people who pride themselves on living every day on only about 4-5 hours of sleep. Now this may sound like a huge accomplishment since there are then more hours in your day to finish that long “to-do-list” but it is actually more dangerous than you think. Our life expectancies are actually shortened with sleep deprivation. Our bodies need that 7-9 hours of sleep every night to be refreshed and restored. So many of our body processes rely on sleep to be at their prime. One of them being our eating patterns…when we have enough sleep…we make smarter decisions for our bodies (eat better and have the energy to exercise) because we are alert enough to actually accomplish them. Also, the hunger hormones in our body are in more of a balanced state when we have enough sleep…when we are sleep deprived, we produce more ghrelin (the “hunger increaser”) and we produce less leptin (the “hunger decreaser”). See how important sleep is for your health?

Now let’s talk food. I don’t know about all of you, but when I tell myself I can’t have a certain food (such as one of my favorite things in the whole world: chocolate!)…that is all I can think about. I’ve been on some of the most extreme deprivation diets you can imagine (because I have battled my weight in many ways other than just with anorexia) and was absolutely MISERABLE on every single one. All I could think about was all of the foods that I COULDN’T HAVE. And then, when I went off the diet…guess what I did?…I binged on all those foods I deprived myself of and gained back every ounce that I may have lost.

You know why?? Because most diets these days do not teach balance. They are what I like to call “very-expensive-quick-fixes”. They “fix ya quick, but they don’t really change anything”…not REALLY…this next statement may be a bit controversial for a lot of you but hey I’m going to say it anyway…if you don’t agree with me that is your prerogative:

I DO NOT BELIEVE IN DEPRIVATION DIETS.

There…I said it.

I don’t believe in diets that eliminate entire food groups (no-carb, no-fat, etc.) because after you are off the diet, you don’t know how to healthily incorporate that food group back into your life so what do ya do? You binge on it!!!

Now this does not mean that I believe in eating anything and everything you want or crave every part of the day…because let’s be honest…that is a very unhealthy way to live. I believe in balance and a balanced life also includes a balance of that word we all love so much: discipline.

It is going to take me more time than this one blog entry to fully explain what my definition of a balanced eating pattern looks like (I say “eating pattern” and not “diet” because that’s a four letter word that I do not use since it is associated with such negativity and deprivation) but I will try to explain it in the simplest way possible today. A balanced eating pattern includes everything that your body needs to be healthy: fruits, vegetables, protein (the leaner the better), fats (omega-3 fats whenever possible, we’ll talk more about those in the coming weeks), carbohydrates (whole grains mostly but sometimes you just gotta have some white stuff…I understand that) and splurge foods (or “sometimes foods” as it was called in a cartoon we watched in one of my nutrition classes).

“Wait Christa…you’re telling me that I can eat carbs??? fats??? and even sometimes splurge on foods that I love???? and still get to a healthy weight????? You gotta be crazy or something!!!”

I just might be…but I know that, at least with myself…when I know that I can live a healthy lifestyle and still eat the foods that my body wants (because there is a reason our bodies want carbs and fats, they assist with normal body processes), I am a much happier person and when I’m happier, I feel healthier…and when I feel healthier I want to live even healthier. It’s like this “healthy revolving door”. And that, my friends, is a very good thing.

There is also the whole subject of exercise, which we will just have to save for another day this week my dear ones. ;-)

I have much much more to say about balance so stay tuned…we’re just getting started!

Here is our verse for today: “I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of Him who sent me.” - John 5:30

We truly can do nothing on our own…so when life seem out of balance…or living a healthy lifestyle seems like too much of a challenge…call on the Lord…because He really truly cares about every single aspect of your life!

Here is my prayer for us today:

Father God,

Thank you so much for these beautiful bodies that you have given us. Forgive us for living our lives out of balance and for putting other things at higher importance than You are in our lives. Help us to live healthy, balanced lifestyles and to find that place of peace in ourselves and in You. Love you so much Father!!

In Jesus’ name, Amen!!

Thanks for taking time to read this today! My greatest hope is to be even just a little bit of a blessing to you.

Much love and blessings to you all!!

-Christa ;-)

“More Beautiful You”

Little girl fourteen flipping through a magazine

Says she wants to look that way

But her hair isn’t straight her body isn’t fake

And she’s always felt overweight

Well little girl fourteen I wish that you could see

That beauty is within your heart

And you were made with such care your skin your body and your hair

Are perfect just the way they are

There could never be a more beautiful you

Don’t buy the lies disguises and hoops they make you jump through

You were made to fill a purpose that only you could do

So there could never be a more beautiful you

Little girl twenty-one the things that you’ve already done

Anything to get ahead

And you say you’ve got a man but he’s got another plan

Only wants what you will do instead

Well little girl twenty-one you never thought that this would come

You starve yourself to play the part

But I can promise you there’s a man whose love is true

And he’ll treat you like the jewel you are

So turn around you’re not too far

To back away be who you are

To change your path go another way

It’s not too late you can be saved

If you feel depressed with past regrets

The shameful nights hope to forget

Can disappear they can all be washed away

By the one who’s strong can right your wrongs

Can rid your fears dry all your tears

And change the way you look at this big world

He will take your dark distorted view

And with His light He will show you truth

And again you’ll see through the eyes of a little girl

“More Beautiful You” by Jonny Diaz

This song has spoken volumes to me lately so I really wanted to share the lyrics with you today. There are some days where I literally just set it on repeat because it just speaks to my heart so strongly. Especially the part that says, “You starve yourself to play the part.” That gets me so emotional because I know how many girls (and guys too) have struggled and are still struggling with that. My biggest hope is that we can start changing that way of thinking!!!

I hope this song blesses you today! Download it…play it on repeat…really let it speak to your heart today.

I’m so sorry for not blogging much this week! Tomorrow I’m going to start talking about balance so stay tuned ya’ll. ;-)

Remember, YOU are beautiful and YOUR body is perfect just the way that God made it. He wants us to start loving ourselves for who we are! Let’s do it together!!

Much love and blessings to you my dear ones!!

-Christa