Body Stewardship

“Every moving thing that lives shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.” (Genesis 9:3)

“Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” (1 Corinthians 10:31)

First of all, I want to tell you right now, in case you haven’t heard this yet: Your worth is not tied to your weight.

This is something I have wrestled with for most of my life, breeding within me so many insecurities & fears. It has prevented me from connecting to others, feeling I didn’t measure up to them. But health is just health. It doesn’t determine your worth.

Having a right perspective on health versus body image is SO important because, well, our health is important! We need to learn to separate the two: Pursue a healthy lifestyle because it is the best way to steward the body God has made for us to live in, but also, no matter your weight, it does NOT determine your value. You are still YOU, no matter what the scale says!

I hope these resources are a blessing to you on this journey of taking better care of your health. <3

(See Disclaimer below the list of resources & recommendations.)

I have always struggled knowing how to eat healthy & stay consistent & where to start… how to balance my nutrition, etc. Salads were getting boring but I didn’t know what else to do. In comes the New Life Promise Plan, a program designed by a Christian nutritionist. She plans your menus, recipes, & grocery lists for you & MOST of the meals are DELICIOUS. The meals are mainly sheet pan & skillet meals, so it makes it simple & decently quick. Her program has been a GAME CHANGER because I actually LOOK FORWARD to eating HEALTHY! Go check out her website, here!

Nutrition is important in stewarding your body well, & if you’re anything like us, we already consume more dairy & carbs than we probably should, so this cookbook has been great for us! It helps you create healthy, easy meals that don’t include preservatives, dairy, or carbs.

The Whole30 PROGRAM is meant to cut out certain food groups only temporarily, so your body can detox & then walks you through introduction of those little-by-little so you can tell which types of foods cause your body inflammation, tiredness, bloat, etc., but while we haven’t done the program itself, these recipes have been DELICIOUS for the most part & their focus is WHOLE foods, without added gunk–which is SO important for the health of our bodies!

Definitely recommend most of these recipes as they make me feel like a professional chef with little effort (always smart to check with your physician first, as I am not a doctor & can only recommend what has worked for us).

Check this one out on Amazon.com.

God has helped me grow so much on this journey to better body stewardship, but while I still have a ways to go, these tools are things He has used to help me along the way. My hope is that they will at the very least encourage you in taking better care of the body God has given you, while helping you create healthier body image along the way (ie. Your worth is not tied to your weight). Feel free to modify to fit your needs.

Coming Soon! (Projected release in 2022.)

As a disclaimer, I can never fully endorse anything except the infallible Word of God. Having said this, I want you to remember two things as you browse these materials:

1. “Take everything with a grain of salt”—While most of these materials have helped me on my own journey, they Are human-made & therefore Can contain mistakes. I believe enough of this material to be beneficial to you & me, so I have included them here. I ALWAYS recommend you seek God’s guidance for the BEST personal solutions for your specific journey–He knows you better than I (or even YOU) ever could!

2. “Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater”—This age-old quote basically means (in this context), that when you catch a mistake or a flaw, don’t throw out the helpful stuff with it. We are all on a journey of growth, so show grace & allow yourself to be grown by the helpful content, even when you see a mistake or weakness in another area.

So, how do you discern whether to listen to certain things versus others when using human-made materials? Simple! Get to know the Word of God! His infallible words, the more you are familiar with them, will guide you to having a discerning heart! Also important is to pray & ask God to guide you in that discernment!

None of us are perfect, but God calls the willing, & we are called to encourage & sharpen one another even while we are imperfect.

Keep your eyes on Him & allow yourself to serve Him & encourage others even in your imperfection. Go SHINE!