Don't Give Up

Emotional and mental self care are vital to living a healthy life. God tells us over and over again in scripture to protect our minds. How do we go about doing this? I'll be honest, it's hard at first, but if you stay consistent in your efforts, you will feel so much better. I'm going to share some scripture with you and I want to encourage you to go seek some for yourself.  Get that journal ready and let's dig in. Speaking the Word over yourself, especially your mind, is a powerful way to protect your mental health. Knowing who you are in Christ and believing it are key factors in maintaining your mental well being. Isaiah 54:17 17 No weapon formed against you shall prosper, And every tongue which rises against you in judgment You shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, And their righteousness is from Me,” Says the Lord. 2 Corinthians 10:5 5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take...

Today marks 7 days of (if you’ve been in since day 1) of Self-Care God’s way. I’m so excited that you have joined me this far and I am pumped up about sharing next week's self-care devotions with you. Today is all about reflection. Do you have a journal? I hope so. If not, I encourage you to get one. It is a therapeutic way of destressing and a great thing to come back to and encourage yourself on how far you have come in the Lord.  Let’s go over what we read this week. And as we revisit each day, write down something that really resonated with you. On the days that you are struggling, it’s always nice to have something positive to circle back to. Day 1 - We defined biblical self-care. Day 2 - We covered, is self-care selfish? Day 3 - We learned how to rest in God. Day 4 - We learned how resting in God is an act of faith. Day 5 - We discovered bible verses to read when we feel burned out. Day 6 - We focused on guilt free self-care. 1. What have you learned this week about biblical ...

Boy oh boy! Have I got a word for you - You are not perfect… and everyone knows it. Shewee… doesn’t that feel amazing. Let that weight just lift right off of your shoulders. You know the one… the one you carry every single day trying to be perfect for you and everyone around you. Somehow we’ve mixed being perfect with neglecting ourselves to put everyone and everything first. Let me stop you right here… neglecting yourself is not from God. Every morning that we are given the gift to open our eyes we are being extended a dose of God’s grace. Because of God’s very nature, His love for us abounds in ways we cannot even fathom. We receive undeserved favor, mercy, compassion and love every single day. And the payment… Jesus. Because of Jesus, we can live each and every day freely, knowing that a perfect Savior died for our imperfect selves. It’s a free gift. It cannot be earned, it must be accepted. Ephesians 2:8-9 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from y...

Have you ever been so burned out that you just wanted to quit everything? I know you have… this is a safe space… go ahead and let it out. You’ve thought about leaving your spouse, dropping those ungrateful kids off at grandmas and not going back, walking out on your job because they don’t appreciate anything that you do. You’ve sat alone and sobbed until you had no tears left to cry and just sat there gasping for breath. And in the midst of it all, you probably cried out to God… “make it go away”. Here is the greatest news you will hear today. He hears you. He sees you. He loves you. Now… Here is the part you might not want to hear, but you probably need to hear. Have you done this to yourself? Hold up - don’t leave - this is a safe space, remember. I know you didn’t intentionally set out to overwhelm your life and to take on more than you can handle. We never do. Burn out starts with the best of intentions but it doesn’t mean that we don’t bite off more than we can chew (sometimes). T...

Hebrews 11:1 King James Version Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. How many times have you prayed about something, said Amen, only to come back and pray about the same thing over and over again? Having faith in God means trusting Him. And trusting Him while you rest in Him are crucial to taking care of yourself. Remember what Matthew 6:27 says: Can any of you add one moment to his life span by worrying? Worrying does nothing for your health. Resting does so much. Rest is something we do through our faith because it requires surrendering control, acknowledging our own human limitations, and trusting in God’s provision for us rather than depending solely on ourselves. By choosing to rest, we are putting our faith into action, saying that we trust God to sustain us and meet all of our needs.   Christian burnout is a real thing. And it is such an oxymoron. I want to challenge you today to recognize your dependence on God. Allow God to ...

If you are like me when you hear the word rest, you think about taking a nap, or when it’s time to go to bed at night. However, resting the biblical way is so much better. In our last devotion we talked a little bit about how we are supposed to rest in the Lord. This one focuses a little more on “why we rest”.  Taking a time out to rest with God is essential to living victoriously and taking care of ourselves. Jesus Himself did this and showed us why. Jesus took time out to connect with His Father before making big decisions, he went off to be alone with God after preaching to large crowds and He prayed continuously to gain the strength He needed to fulfill His purpose. How could we possibly think that if Jesus needed to rest in God that we can live a healthy life without doing the same. Luke 5:15-16: "But the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed...