Faith & Fitness Challenge - Week 6 (Be Nourished)
Monday, July 22, 2013 at 12:06PM 
Blessings to you, friends!
This begins our final week of the faith and fitness challenge. What a journey it’s been! Thanks to so many of you for letting me know how this 6-week challenge has energized you.
As you know, each week I give away 2 copies of my book, Balance That Works When Life Doesn't to someone who posts on this blog.
Congratulations to last week’s winners, Raushanah Butler & Tracy Rud – you each win a copy of Balance That Works When Life Doesn’t! (*Email me at Susie@MyFaithRadio.com with your mailing address and we’ll get the book out to you this week).
So, we’ve implemented the following disciplines in the past 5 weeks:
Physical Disciplines:
- · Drink 8-10 glasses of water a day (or better yet, half of your body weight in ounces)
- · Stretch in the morning and evening
- · Set aside 7-9 hours for nighttime rest/sleep
- · Work your heart
- · Practice good posture (stand up straight)
Spiritual Disciplines:
- · Read the Word of God every day
- · Stretch your faith every day
- · Rest in the Lord
- · Guard your heart
- · Humble yourself before the Lord (bow low)
If you’re just joining us and would like more information, check out the posts from the past several weeks.
Here is your final discipline this week. It applies to you both physically and spiritually: Be Nourished.
Physical Discipline:
Be Nourished: When was the last time you slowed down long enough to really taste the food in your mouth? How often do you eat on the run? This week’s discipline is all about presence, moderation, and variety. Here are a few tips to help you with physical nourishment:
- · Stay away from fad diets: Think of healthy eating more as a lifestyle. If you view your current endeavor as a ‘diet’ you’ll eventually fall off your diet and may end up dealing with the self-condemnation that so often follows. One day at a time, sweet Jesus! Eat smaller portions and enjoy every bite.
- · Be present with God, with others, and with your food when you eat. Take the time to thank God for the nourishment He provides. Slow down long enough to taste your food. Thank Him for friends and family and the freedom to enjoy them. Slow down and be present in the moment. Food, friends, and family are gifts from God.
- · Add color. If you already enjoy plenty of fruits and vegetables, you’re good to go. But if not, start here: add a piece of fruit and a side salad to your daily routine. Just that first step will strengthen your health and will retrain your palette.
- · Wait for hunger pains – listen to your body. Dr. Rita Hancock suggests that unless we actually feel hunger pains at least twice a day, we’re most likely overeating. Don’t force your body to abide by an imposed schedule. Follow its rhythm and you’ll feel much better. Do what you can do accommodate your hunger in a healthy way and any excess weight will most likely melt away!
- · Budge treats. Have your treats, but plan for them! If you eat a chocolate bar while hiding in the closet, it’s still fattening. So eat a few bites out in the open, and save the rest for later!
- · Practice partial fasts. Every day, a couple times a day, say no to yourself and make yourself deal with it. Don’t give in to every hunger whim you experience. It’s good for your body and good for your soul when you exercise some kind of self-restraint on a regular basis.
Spiritual Discipline:
Be Nourished: Just as we acquire a taste for healthy nourishment, we also acquire a taste for spiritual nourishment. The more we feed on the Word of God, the greater capacity we have to be nourished by it.
- · Keep it colorful. With the exception of scripture, don’t overload on only once choice of nourishment (one musician, one preacher, one author, etc.). Jesus has equipped a multitude of His children to build up His Kingdom. When you feast on the fruit of only one of His servants, you run the risk of becoming narrow in your thinking and acceptance of how things should be communicated. Scripture says there’s wisdom in many counselors.
- · Take responsibility for your spiritual health. It’s not your pastor’s job, or your husband’s job, or your friend’s job to keep you on track. Love your life and your calling enough to dig into the Word and to listen for God’s voice, no matter what. Be so rooted in Jesus that if the whole world around you shakes, you’ll still be standing when it’s all said and done.
- · Be present with God. Scripture says that it’s in His presence the fullness of joy is found (Psalm 16:11). When you sit down for soul nourishment, pause and think about who it is you’re connect to. You’re connected to the Living God! The One who put the mountains in place knows your name and loves you deeply. Read the Word and pray as someone who is deeply loved, profoundly called, and wonderfully equipped.
[[*These tips taken from my book, ‘Balance That Works When Life Doesn’t’]]
Be nourished physically and spiritually this week. Pay attention to how you nourish your body and your spirit. Thank God for the blessings you enjoy; and walk strongly with God.
And remember, each week I’ll give away 2 copies of my book, Balance That Works When Life Doesn’t: Simple Steps to a Woman’s Physical & Spiritual Health’ to someone who posts on this blog.
Let’s do this!
May you flourish in health, both physically and spiritually!
Blessings to you this week~
Reader Comments (13)
This is awesome! I just realized this challenge was going on! So glad I found it.
Hi Susie - I am really enjoying the combination of physical and spiritual disciplines - both are so essential for a healthy, effective life here! Thank you for all of your sound advice - I am feeling better and have more energy and have a sense of peace in my soul. God bless you today!
Very encouraging and very helpful. When applying the nourishment both physically and spiritually, it not only makes me feel better on the outside but also on the inside! I really enjoyed reading this today. Thank you!! :)
I have thoroughly enjoyed your blog posts & these suggestions! Thank you SO much for doing this because it has truly been an inspiration to me.
Blessings!!
I just found this blog through your facebook posts - great post and something that really helps me where I'm at right now. I'm going to need to read back through the blog for your prior posts.
"Food for thought"-much needed today! So glad I have summertime to nourish my body, mind, and soul. However, it is also very tempting to lose sight of the way God wants to nourish me; and become lazy, and self absorbed. Once again, God has used you to speak to my heart! Thank you, Susie, and prayers for God's constant blessings on your ministry! -Gina Wills
this post has been very timely. Seriously, I just shopped last evening with the intention of selecting healthy food choices and the desire to take better care of myself. Tonight was the first I read of this particular series. There is definitely a need to balance our physical and our spiritual health! Thank you for sharing what the Lord has given you for such a time as this!! Blessings to you.
The end already? Great series. This week's challenges are ones I'm already doing, but I'll see if I can step them up in the spirit of the week. Thanks for this, Susie.
These tips are so good. Would love to win a copy of your book
I missed a week while on vacation with my extended family. Interesting that the heart was the topic that week--we had our estranged daughter with us. Yes, my heart really got a workout that week!
I love how you partner the physical with the spiritual in the guiding principles of each week. It reminds me of the "now" along with the "not yet" of scripture--we live in partial fulfillment of prophecy today in our earthly being but look forward to complete, spiritual fulfillment in heaven.
Thanks for your encouragement--you are a blessing!
Just heard about this challenge. I have been doing some good things for my body and soul this summer and glad others are also.
Hoping the gift package includes fitness shoes! If not, I may just have to buy some. Enjoying walking and it's getting easier to endure the aerobics - time to step it up some. :) I include some aerobics in my walk. Thanks for your challenging and inspiring blog posts and for making it doable.
Thank you for this challenge! It has been fun and convicting at times. It is interesting to see how much my spiritual life and physical life intersect- a fact that is often forgotten in our Western world. Thank you for doing this!