the place that God dwells

As many of you may know, I currently am working in a women's gym here in my hometown. While I was excited about this new job, I had no idea how much I would grow to love Empower and the many ways it would change my life- physically and otherwise. The past [almost] three months of working in the gym has given me a chance to learn about the importance of taking care of my body, it has sparked a fire in my heart to find out what God thinks of all of this, and to daily be surrounded by amazing women who inspire me to live fully and love deeply.

This blog is so very different from my typical writings, but I feel it is important. The difference I have noticed since I began taking my health and fitness seriously is blowing my mind.

A few years ago, I remember hearing about The Daniel Plan and various other diets that took got the attention of church goers everywhere. While I believe this is hugely important, I'm wondering why it faded away so quickly. Im sure there are a list of reasons- people weren't catching on, we finished the series, or time ran out. Please don't hear judgement, these are honest questions that I have.

I have begun looking for my own answers to the questions, and am learning that God does care. I am sure all the Christians reading this post can say they have heard the verse stating that, "Your body is a temple" used many times, but what if we took that, among many other things Jesus says, seriously?

"Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own. You were bought at a price. Therefore honour God with your bodies." 

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 

Dictionary.com defines a temple as, "any place or object in which God dwells". When people disrespect our churches, we are offended. We take care of the building, we decorate it, we invest in those places. A church is a place where God dwells. But why are we not taking that offence at the disrespect of our own bodies? The Holy Spirit lives in me. He lives in my earthly body.

Last week Ivan and I were cleaning our house. I was upstairs and he was cleaning the kitchen. There's something fantastic about having a clean home. It struck me that I had spent more time cleaning my house than I had spent with Jesus that day. I had spent more time tidying than I had spent taking care of the body I've been given. The body Jesus died for. I understand that we are souls living in earthly bodies that will grow old and fade away, but why have we decided that means we can treat this temple with little respect when it is the place where God dwells?

Exercise has been proven to improve mental health, boost your immune system, improve self confidence, prevent heart disease and diabetes, reduce stress, and give you energy. Are you hearing this!? Why aren't we doing this?! I'm not saying you have to run out and join a gym for a year. Go for a run. Invite a friend over and make a healthy meal together. Get accountability in the areas where you know you're weak. I know that there are no step by step instructions in the Bible on working out or eating healthy, but the Bible was written in a different time than the world we live in here in 2017. In our house, we have decided to not eat anything that either has ingredients we cannot pronounce or that we cannot say with certainty what it contains. Believe me, I understand that eating healthy is expensive, but there are ways to make better choices. If it's important to you, you'll find a way. If it isn't, you'll find an excuse.

"Its not about the mirror, it's about the One we are trying to mirror." 

-The Daniel Plan

Faith, like muscle, only grows if you use it. Our bodies are gifts that God lends us so that we can bring Him glory. May we honour Him in the way we care for ourselves.

Let's take care of our bodies- it's the only place we have to live.