Our Bodies Are a Living Temple

When I began this journey almost 3 years ago now, I never really took time to consider the fact that what I had been doing to my body was not only unhealthy but also against what scripture teaches us about our bodies.

As I stated in my post about Focusing on Yourself, we need to remind ourselves that our bodies are a temple of the Holy Spirit.  (1 Corinthians 6 vv 19 to 20)

In the Old Testament, the temple was a place of worship.  Great pride was taken in the design of it and it was crafted with care.  It took many years for it to be built.  1 Kings 6 vs 38 states that Solomon spent 7 years building the temple.  They cut and prepared timber and stone for it's crafting (1 Kings 5 vs 18).

7 years.  That is a great deal of time.  It is not like he just rushed through it and had it built in a year or even 2.  Solomon spent 7 years building the temple.

And rightfully he should have.

The temple was the place where people went to worship God.  It was a holy and glorified place.

It brings my thoughts back around to how I was treating my "temple of the Holy Spirit."  How I was neglecting it and pouring unhealthy things into it.

These days I have begun thinking of my body as something that needs to be filled up with spiritual nourishment. In order for me to take care of my body, I need to fill myself up with the word of God and allow him to work in me.

My body belongs entirely to God.  I am not free to do with it as I will.  I need to follow his teachings and I need allow myself to listen to Him and to lead where He has called me.

I guess another way to think of it is when you borrow something from your friend.  It is not something that belongs to us so we take care not to damage it or ruin it.

Why then, dear friends, can we not treat our bodies the same way?

I know that I was not purposefully treating my body poorly.  I was not intentionally treating this body that I had been given with disrespect.

In fact, I didn't even know that I was doing it!

I don't know about you, but when I see that my body is a "temple of the Holy Spirit" and that it needs to be my place of worship to God, I find myself thinking more about what I put into it then I did before.

Dear friends, I encourage you all to think of your bodies as the living temples that they were designed by God to be.  Raise your hands in worship to Him and glorify Him in your daily living.

Call on Him when you need Him and fill yourself up with spiritual nourishment.  It will only help you that much more on your own personal journey with your Heavenly Father.


"Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God."  (2 Corinthians 7 vs 1)

Focus on Yourself - It's Okay!

I am first and foremost a Daughter of a Great and Glorious Heavenly Father.

Then I am an earthly daughter, a wife, a mother and a friend.

I have so many things pulling me in all different directions.  My family, my job, my church family and my friends.  I give with all that I have to all things that I am involved in and care deeply about.

In the process, however, I slowly begin to lose focus on something equally as important.

Me.

One thing that I have been learning is that it is so easy for us, as women, to lose focus on ourselves.  We want to pour all that we have into those that we love.  We want the best for them, to encourage them, to be there for them and to guide and teach them.  With all of this outpouring we tend to put our own personal needs on the back burner.

Sometimes we look for an easy way out just so that we can feel like we are focusing on ourselves.  Call it a quick fix or simple solutions.  Whatever it is, we give ourselves credit, then, for giving ourselves some of the attention that we need.

The problem, dear friends, is that we are not pouring enough of ourselves back into our own personal well-being.  We slack when it comes to our relationship with our Heavenly Father (how many times have you caught yourself saying "I will do my devotions later.  There is just so much stuff that needs to be done in the house."), we slack when it comes to our eating habits ("I'll just grab a bite to eat on the way to my meeting."), and we slack when it comes to exercise ("I will go for that walk tomorrow.  I am just too tired today.").

We need to learn to put ourselves first too.  It is okay to say "I will take the time to go for that walk right now.  The dishes can wait."  We need to take that extra few minutes to prepare a healthy meal or snack before heading out the door.

If we continue to pour ourselves out to others and not pour enough back into ourselves we are going to reach that inevitable burn out.

It happens . . . . to ALL of us.

Now is the time to make yourself aware of it.

Maybe you are not naturally a giving person.  That is okay!  However, somewhere along the lines I am sure that you, too, have lost sight of yourself.

God calls our bodies "temples of the Holy Spirit" (1 Corinthians 6 vv 19 to 20) and he calls us to "honour [Him] with our body."  My question to you, then, is how can we honour Him with our body if we are not taking care of it?

Dear Friends, I urge you to remember to take time for yourself.  Take time to rest, take time to eat healthy and take time to encourage yourself.

Above all, take time to spend in solitude with your Heavenly Father who loves you greatly.

You will reap the rewards when you do!  And believe me, they are well worth it!

Neglecting

I have been so neglectful trying to keep this blog going.  I start off with such good intentions but find myself failing more often than not.

The sad part is, if I had stayed and continued with my blog then maybe I wouldn't find myself in the predicament that I am in now.

You see, I gained back a good percentage of the weight I had lost.  I allowed myself to crave food more than I craved God.  I allowed myself to turn to food rather than turning to God when I needed a little pick me up.  I fell back into that rut of eating whenever I felt empty.

Yesterday I found a very appropriate motivational photo that helped me realize that this will continue to be a lifelong journey.  It certainly helped me gain more perspective on things.

Wow!  I don't know about you, but that certainly made me feel so much better about myself.  It made me realize that when I do fall down, I need to pick myself back up and start again.  I need to understand that there are going to be obstacles and that there never is a quick fix.

Often I find myself wishing that I could just snap my fingers and I could be down to an ideal weight for my body and that I could be making healthy decisions day in and day out.  However, life doesn't work this way.  That is something that I need to remind myself of quite often.  If I don't, I allow myself to become too discouraged about the minimal losses and the tiny gains and I find myself in a massive downward spiral that rips apart everything that I had worked towards.

So today, my friends, I pray that you will find your motivation.  Whether it be a photo or a comment or even something that you have read.  Remember that huge changes do not happen over night.  You need to work hard at them.  Pick yourself up when you do stumble and know that you are not alone in this journey!