Have you ever thought about casting a godly vision for your marriage? Perhaps you’ve never even heard of the term before, and in that case – don’t worry! This post will explain what it means to cast a Godly vision for your marriage and how to do it! Where does the principle of vision castingContinue Reading
3 Ways to Be a Healthy and Whole Woman
Do you remember the days before you were married and before you had kids? I do. I remember the hours I would spend on hair and make-up, exercising, attending Bible studies, and having fun nights out with friends. It didn’t take me long after I had my first baby to see that the days of spending hours on myself were over. I realize now that all those hours were a bit selfish and I really could have spent less time on myself and more on serving others.
If you are a mom and/or a wife, you know the physical, spiritual, and emotional demands those roles place on you, which is why it so crucial to make sure we continue to take care of ourselves. As we take the time to refuel ourselves it gives us more to pour out onto our spouse and family.
While I don’t believe we need to begin spending hours on ourselves, I do believe we need to spend some time on ourselves to be the best mom and wife we can be. It is crucial to not go to the other extreme and spend NO time on ourselves. It is so tempting to put everyone before ourselves that we completely stop taking care of our own bodies.
The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 6:19, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?” After I had my first baby I had a lot of weight to lose, which made me feel frumpy, grumpy, and let’s just be honest…not too hot in the bedroom. You can only imagine what distance that brought into our marriage when I didn’t want to embrace myself, let alone allow my husband to embrace me. It was in that moment that I had to make the decision to take care of myself again. To pick myself up, dust myself off, and set healthy habits for my mind, soul, body, and spirit. Here are some simple tips that are not new revelation but more of a “green light” for you to begin taking care of yourself again in that area:
Make time for the Word of God.
We all know we need to read the Word of God, but it can be so hard to follow through with that when you are juggling a million things at once. One thing that always held me back from spending time in God’s Word was the belief that if I couldn’t spend an hour a day reading the Bible, I was a loser and shouldn’t try at all. I now realize that was the enemy getting me to believe lies. The truth is that God knows what season you are in. He knows when you are in a season where getting to read one Scripture would be a miracle.
Let me encourage you with this today: Ask God to show you pockets of time in your day that you can get in His Word. There was a season for me when I had nothing but toddlers and babies and the only moment I had was when they were all buckled in their car seats. So I began to listen to the Bible on CD (back when CDs were popular). 🙂 God knows where you are and He will give you pockets of time to get in His Word.
Make time for your body.
This is a huge one for me because even though I have my bachelor’s degree in exercise science, I didn’t truly find fitness until I had kids. Because I had so much weight to lose I knew I needed to exercise and eat healthfully to take my body back. This is another area that is so easy to dismiss if you are a busy mom and wife. I learned to work out smarter, not longer. Instead of spending 2 hours in the gym, I now spend 20-30 minutes at home and get even better results. I highly recommend TABATA and interval training. You can see some examples and learn a little more about them on my blog post “Fit Friday: Gut & Glutes Tabata”.
When you take time to exercise you will lose weight, but more importantly your mood will lift because of the endorphins released, which makes you a happier wife and mom!
Make time for YOU.
This one is a little trickier and may not happen daily, but it should be something we strive to get in as often as possible. What do you love to do? Is it coffee with a friend, reading a good book, going for a walk, going to Target with no kids? Again, ask God to show you creative ways that you can still do those things from time to time. If a sitter is not an option, find a friend who would be willing to swap babysitting kids so you can each get refreshed and refueled to be the wife and mom God created you to be.
I always love to think about the Proverbs 31 wife of noble character:
She gets up while it is still night; she provides food for her family and portions for her female servants.
What a great reminder that we are called to wake up FOR our family, not TO our family. When we wake up a few minutes earlier, or stay up later, I believe our entire family is blessed by intentional planning and preparing of our hearts and homes.
Ask God which of these areas you have been neglecting. He will show you how to bring life to those areas that may seem dead right now. As you take care of YOU, your marriage and family will be blessed!
Rachael resides in Texas, with her wonderful husband, Matt, and three beautiful children, Ellie, Olivia and Zeke. Matt and Rachael own Back & Body Chiropractic in Lewisville, Texas. When she isn’t at the clinic or home with the kiddos, you can find Rachael in the gym, teaching group fitness classes for fun. Rachael is passionate about pulling women out of their shell and helping them discover who God created them to be. Follow Rachael at www.lifeoutsidetheshell.com and www.facebook.com/
