Oftentimes the discussion around living a godly wife lifestyle has a lot to do with ensuring you're studying scripture and learning God's instructions and expectations.
This is the most important thing to do!
You can't become a godly wife when you don't know what you're supposed to be doing. Read the instructions (aka The Bible).
Likewise, it's very, very easy for us to fall back into sin when we aren't feeling well.
When we experience:
- fatigue
- exhaustion
- headaches
- sleeplessness
- irritability
- inability to concentrate
Despite knowing that we *should* submit to our husbands, and we *should* show them respect, we can often snap at them (or our children) when we're experiencing anything from the list above.
There are several tools related to this area of physical, mental, and emotional wellness that I have found to be extremely helpful.
1. MightyPro
This is a pre- and pro-biotic, technically formulated for kids, but I love it so I take as well. Gut health is HUGE. When our gut isn't healthy, it can throw everything else out of whack, like our immune system so we get sick more easily, it affects our emotions, brain function, everything.
It tastes like a Pixie Stick, so my 2-year-old loves it as well. He can't quite "shoot" it like a Pixie Stick, so my tip for little ones is to put it in a shallow bowl or cup and let them get it on their finger and lick it off.
2. NingXia Red
Ningxia Red is a powerful antioxidant supplement drink made from wolfberry puree that packs such a punch, you only need a tiny 2oz serving each day. This is another one that my little guy loves because it's delicious! NingXia provides total body wellness. Here are just a few of its benefits:
- Supports a healthy immune system
- Helps us be proactive against all the germs coming our way
- Provides energy support
- HUGE source of antioxidants
- Support brain and joint health
- Supports healthy hormone levels
- Supports healthy blood sugar levels
- Can help curb sugar cravings
- Whole-food, nutrient dense supplement full of vitamins, minerals, amino acids and polyphenols
3. Super B
Super B is a B complex supplement that is great for maintaining healthy energy levels, supporting mood and cardiovascular and cognitive function. Our current lifestyles often leave our adrenal system (our fight or flight response) on overdrive, and B vitamins are a great way to support that system!
NingXia Red and Super B work so well together to help with regulating all the body systems and having natural energy. If your energy is depleted, it's so much easier to get irritable and impatient.
4. Exercise
This is a HUGE factor. Exercise not only helps our body to maintain the movement it was designed to have regularly, but it also helps our organs and muscles to be challenged. Regular exercise ensures that our bodies burn calories, which is a natural function of the body. It helps us to increase energy, strength, stamina, sleep better, reduce stress, and just feel better.
If you don't yet exercise regularly, please check out BodyFit by Amy on YouTube. Her channel is full of FREE workouts that you can do at home, many of them with no equipment so you don't have to purchase a single thing. She offers modifications not only for beginners, but also for pre- and post-natal moms, as well as experienced exercisers who need to up-level.
God created plants, fruits, and trees with so many different functions, all for our benefit. Scripture speaks of using plants as medicine.
When choosing oils, you want to be sure they are of the highest quality and purity. This is why I choose Young Living. They are the only company that owns their own farms and is involved in the process from choosing the soil to packaging the product. They ensure quality the entire way through with their Seed to Seal Promise, never leaving anything to chance. They perform rigorous testing, using third parties, and will often allow an item to go out of stock simply because it doesn't meet their high quality standards. You get what you pay for, and in order to ensure the health of my family, I will gladly pay for the quality, purity, and expertise I know goes into each Young Living product.
Here are some oils I would recommend for us with helping to regulate emotions:
Valor (helps with anxiety)
I recommend diffusing in your bedroom nightly to help with getting restorative sleep each night.
The most important thing is to take care of your health with good food, sleep, water, exercise, and ensure you are studying God's Word every single day.
The other measures won't mean anything if you aren't plugged into Him as your source of power.
They are simply tools that He has created in order to help you in your journey.
I am so grateful for these tools and will gladly accept them from Him! Will you?
If you have questions any any or all of these, please reach out and let me know. One of my goals is to make sure that we are being good stewards of our finances, and that means helping you save money. Please reach out to me so that I can help you place your first order and get the best deal possible for you and your family.
Which of these areas do you struggle with the most?
Fatigue, irritability, focus, something else?
Share in the comments and let me know how I can pray for you.
When you're in a difficult season, it's so easy to feel defeated.
- When your child is a prodigal.
- When your marriage is falling apart.
- When your doctor gives you a terrible diagnosis.
- When a loved one dies.
- When you lose a home, a job, or a friendship.
- When finances are tight, or non-existent.
It can be SO easy to think to yourself, "If only this would change, I could be happy. If only..."
What does God have to say about things like this?
First, we are to weep with others when they weep. When you find yourself in a season of weeping, you allow yourself to weep and work through those emotions, and you surround yourself with people who, like Job's friends, will just sit in the weeping with you.
Second, you lean into God as your source of comfort, of relief, and of your JOY.
Scripture tells us in Romans 18:18:
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us."
It's important to remember that nothing happening to us on earth can compare to the beauty and indescribable joy awaiting us in eternity.
When we get there, nothing here will matter anymore. All that will matter is being in the presence of Jesus.
Yes, it's painful to think about your child rejecting God and missing out on this glory. It's painful to walk through a divorce, or scary medical diagnosis, or a betrayal.
But when you feel as though you need your child's salvation, or your marriage to be a godly marriage, or you need to have all of your bills paid, in order to feel joy, then you have elevated those things ABOVE Jesus.
When you seek something other than Jesus for your joy, you've made that thing an idol.
Christ is sufficient for us.
2 Corinthians 5:8 tells us
And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work."
We have all sufficiency, in ALL things, at ALL times. And the reason for this is so that we can abound in every good work.
It's difficult to do good works when we're anxious, depressed, waiting on something else to bring us joy, isn't it?
Sweet friend, you don't have to wait to do good. You don't have to wait to find JOY.
Psalm 16:11
You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
James 1:2-4
Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
Proverbs 10:28
The hope of the righteous brings joy, but the expectation of the wicked will perish.
When we place our focus on Christ, and recognize His sufficiency and ability to BE our complete joy, we will have that joy in abundance - even when we aren't getting the earthly things we want or think we need.
Can you believe this today?
Can you believe Christ alone is sufficiently able to bring you all joy and peace, regardless of your earthly circumstances?
Comment below and let me know how I can pray over you today.
Can you easily stop thinking negative thoughts?
If you're like most people, the answer is no.
It's not easy - it's also not impossible.
Scripture instructs us to "take captive every thought to the obedience of Christ." (2 Cor. 10:5)
But how do I do that, and how can it help my marriage?
Here are some steps to take:
1. Recognize the negative thought.
Our feelings are a result of our thoughts. If you are feeling irritable, angry, hurt, or sad, notice what thoughts you've been thinking.
2. Once you've identified the thought, ask yourself, "Is this true? Is it factual? Is it possible that this is only my opinion or perception?"
Truth is something that would hold up in a court of law. If it's open to interpretation (e.g. obviously he doesn't care, he's lazy, he's self-absorbed), then it isn't truth. Sometimes we need to ask God for wisdom and discernment to recognize the lies, because the enemy can disguise these as truth.
3. Pray over the thought and release it to God.
Thank Him for His willingness to take it from you, and for His mercy and forgiveness. Pray over your husband, or whomever else you had the negative thought. Praying for the person who hurt us can change our thoughts dramatically.
4. Replace the thought with something that is "pure, lovely, and praiseworthy" according to Philippians 4:8.
It's not enough to try and just stop thinking a negative thought. We have to replace it with a positive one. Pray over your husband, or whomever else you had the negative thought. Praying for the person who hurt us can change our thoughts dramatically. Consider their situation and view it from their point of view. Offer the same measure of grace you would offer yourself. Seek to assign positive motives for their behavior, such as they were truly trying to help, they really didn't mean to cause harm and just didn't recognize it, or they were so busy and could probably use some understanding and support.
When you change your thoughts, you change your feelings. When you feel more positive, you will treat your husband more positively. It sounds simple, but this can have such a profound effect on your marriage!
We hear all the time that we should take our thoughts captive, but the practical application and how-to are often missing.
My prayer is that these four steps will be helpful in arming you to battle against negative, false, and harmful thoughts that do not serve you, or your marriage.
Sweet friend, how can I pray over you and your marriage today? Share in the comments or email me directly!
In the midst of the thickness, it can be very difficult to grab a hold of truth. We have to train our brains to take every thought captive and choose instead to focus on things that are "true, pure, lovely, and praise-worthy".
Here are three truths for you to focus on in those times.
1. God is GOOD.
It's important to remember this first, because everything else flows out of it. Everything God does is out of His goodness and love. He IS love. He created love, He created goodness, and He embodies them entirely. Every decision He makes, every situation He allows, is because He is GOOD. Just because you don't agree with what's happening, just because it might be painful, does not mean He isn't good. You can't possibly know what the alternatives were that the enemy was attempting to throw at you. Trust in God's goodness, that what He gives you and allows is so much better than any alternative.
2. God is WISE.
We'd like to think we have all the answers and know what's best, but God knows better. He knows HOW to fix everything. Although sometimes it seems like He's not fixing things, or at least not at the speed we'd like, we have to look back at the first point - He is GOOD. Yes, He knows the WISE choice for every situation, and He knows the GOOD choice for every situation.
3. God is STRONG.
Sometimes we can know that God is good, and we know He is wise, but we lack belief that He is strong enough to pull it off. Friend, God created strength. He IS pure strength! Not only is He wise enough and good enough to know what the best decisions are for us, but He is STRONG enough to carry out any task that is necessary. HE CAN DO IT.
If we can focus our hearts on these three things when we're struggling, our faith will grow and we will be able to watch miracle after miracle take place in our lives.
Friend, which of these three truths are you struggling with today?
Which one is the easiest for you to believe?
Let me know how I can pray for you today!
Do you need a miracle right now, in some area of your life?
Are your finances in disarray, is your marriage in shambles, do you need a situation to be turned around completely?
In 2 Kings 4:1-7, we read about a woman who needed a miracle. Her husband had died, and a creditor was coming to take her two sons as slaves. She had nothing.
What can we learn from her story?
1. Seek godly counsel.
This wise woman sought counsel from the prophet Elisha. She didn't just go vent to her friends, or complain on the internet about her creditors and how cruel they were. She knew there was a man who knew God who could guide her in a righteous manner.
2. Obey.
When Elisha told her to go ask for a bunch of jars from her neighbors, she didn't ask why. It seemed an odd request, when all she currently had in her home was one single jar of oil, to gather a bunch more, "not too few" as he instructed. She did as he asked, and made sure her sons obeyed as well. She was an example to them of diligent and immediate obedience. There was no hesitation or questioning. {Side note: always, always weigh counsel against the Word of God - if you're being asked to sin or do anything that contradicts scripture, this is not godly counsel.}
3. Watch and wait.
As she poured into the jars, one after another, she saw them continue to fill with oil until she ran out of jars - not oil. God provided as much oil as for the amount of jars the widow collected. No more, no less. And once they were filled, she was able to pay off all of her debts and live on the remainder with her sons - after she did additional work of selling the jars of oil.
Miracle accomplished!
Notice that God didn't just grant her request in a split second, the way we'd like sometimes.
Her obedience was necessary for the miracle to be carried out.
Friend, what miracle do you need today? Have you asked God what it is He wants you to do in order to carry out His will?
I would love to cover you in prayer. Please share with me how I can pray with you, either in the comments or sending me a message.
