A Little More About Allie
My name is Allie, and I have been filled with wonder about Jesus since my freshman year in high school. Although I was raised in the church, it wasnt until I was 14, after having chased many other things to satisfy that desire to be filled with true wonder, that I really met Jesus.
A lot of the joy in my life right now comes from my family my husband of 9 years , my sweet children , and our doggie . Life is rich with them, and I learn a lot about who God is in my role as a wife and mother. I am the author of the I Wonder blog, where I create space to wonder and reflect on God and the Gospel.
I am a stay-at-home mom, a writer, a Bible study leader, a private tutor to elementary students, and an introvert to the core. I am happiest when I’m in the mountains, among dear friends, and losing myself in a delightful book. I am glad youre here, and I’d love to connect more with you as we sit together in wonder and awe of our wonderful God.
Sharing Your Faith With Grace And Purpose
You can confidently and lovingly share your faithyou just need to learn some new tactics to do so! In this Focus on the Family Daily Broadcast, apologist Greg Koukl outlines the Columbo tactic of asking questions, the self-defeating argument tactic to find holes in your opponents arguments, and other specific methods for engaging in faith-building conversations with others. Greg pulls from his over 30 years of experience debating atheists and agnostics to help you share your faith with grace and truth.
The First Step Of Self
You may be nodding along with me so far, thinking you need to grow in this area. If thats you, I am glad you are here! Maybe 2020 has you hanging on by a thread, knowing some things need to change. I hope self-care is one of them. I also hope you are prepared to do hard work. Not what you were expecting? I get what you mean. Self-care sounds like it should be fun, relaxing, and maybe even a little lazy. At least, thats what the world around us might say. But just like all other areas of the Christian life, truly embracing rhythms of self-care takes discipline and self-sacrifice.
Lets talk about work, for instance. Do you love your job? Do you love to feel needed in your role? Is your email app the last thing you see at night and the first thing you see each morning? Do you end up working on your day off by your own choice? Alternatively: do you ever decline an invitation, knowing that you need time away and that its best for you?
Self-care, as defined by the Lord, is choosing to believe the hard truth that you are not God. Its choosing to trust the God who made you is sufficient and that you were made to rest. Self-care means that you establish boundaries in your life and schedule to actively say to your soul God will take care of this. In other words: saying no to yourself is often the first step of self-care.
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Bible Verses About Rest
Yes, God delights to give us rest
- Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
- And he said to them, Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.
- It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil for he gives to his beloved sleep.
- And he said, My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.
- Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
- Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
- So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered Gods rest has also rested from his works as God did from his.
- Six days you shall work, but on the seventh day you shall rest. In plowing time and in harvest you shall rest.
All of the verses above make it exceedingly clear that we were created to work hard, and then to enjoy sweet rest. And what a blessing it is!
But I believe that rest and self care are two different ideas that were never meant to intertwine.
The moment we decide to marry and start a family, life ceases to be about us.
We were created to serve.
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What Does The Bible Really Say About Self
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When you hear the term self-care, what comes to mind?
Does it sound selfish, extravagant, new age, or for women who have a lot more time on their hands?
Is self-care all about pampering and me-time activities?
What if I told you self-care was so much more than a desired list of activities but rather more about true soul-care, filling our cup from the inside out?
What if I went a bit further and told you that we have the perfect example of One who believed in the value of pouring in so He could pour out?
Would you believe me?
I used to be right there with you, thinking self-care was something I could try and squeeze into my schedule every once and a while, but I had more important things to do first.
But over the past year and a half, God took me on a wild ride that truly opened up my eyes to just how important taking care of my body was, and also how important it was to take care of my heart as well.
He reminded me that filling my cup through true, life-giving soul-care was a necessity in my life.
And guess what?
Its a necessity in your life too.
Here is a fact we need to drill into our brains:
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Discover the amazing work our PRCs Directors, Nurses, and Volunteers are making in their communities! Youll see firsthand testimonies of a PRC in action, and that there are other options outside of abortions! Youll also discover how your family can support your local PRC!
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Yes, I Promise to Pray for the Pre-born and Their Moms!
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Yes, I Promise to Pray for the Pre-born and Their Moms!
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Why God Cares About How You Care For Yourself
I write this article because I have encountered many faithful, inspiring, powerful men and woman of the Lord who for some reason do not believe that caring for themselves matters to God. For years, they have functioned under the belief that they were last on the list of people to care for because this what was righteous or godly. Unintentionally, often times, the church sends a message through its preaching and by the example of others that caring for yourself is ungodly and selfish. When carried out this common belief can lead to health issues, anxiety, depression, job burn out, relational distress, and much more.
Now do not get me wrong. I am not preaching to be selfish and that you are all that matters in this world. What I am trying to communicate is the idea that it is important that we understand and know that God desires for us to care for ourselves physically, emotionally, spiritually, and relationally.
Christ Jesus And Self
Most Christians don’t take time to rest and rejuvenate because they feel like it’s wrong. They feel like they should spend every moment laying down their lives and serving others.
However, even Jesus who came down from heaven to actually serve others and lay down His life took time to focus on self-care by resting and making sure he was rejuvenate.
Other ways that Christ Jesus practiced self-care ways by spending time with His Father. He made time to eat. He made time to fast. He prayed daily. He practiced gratitude. He spent time alone. He recruited help. He rested. He fully prioritized His spiritual, mental, and physical health because it mattered.
And as follower of Jesus Christ, anything that mattered to Him should matter to us. It is our duty to follow the example He has set.
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There Is A Difference In The Bible Between Selfishness And Caring For Self
It is possible to be selfless and care for oneself at the same time. I think we throw the baby out with the bath water when it comes to this concept as Christians. Since we do not want to be selfish and want to be selfless, we end up not caring for ourselves at all. The enemy has been twisting scripture to defile this idea of selflessness. Which has led to Christians not caring for themselves at all. Which results in us being ineffective for God and His Kingdom.
It is important for us to understand why God wants us to do good self care.
When we read Gods Word, we have to look at it as a whole: we must grasp the text in Biblical time period it was written, measure how different it is from our current time, find the meaning in the text, grasp the text in our own time, and then apply it to our current life situation. I think often times we only do the last part. We attempt to apply a biblical concept to our life without doing the grunt work previously.
This abbreviated attempt therefore disables Christians from reading the Bibles authentic meaning into their life. Because we as Christians have not done the grunt work on this concept in the Scriptures, it has lead to a lot of misinterpretation of the Bible as a whole on the topic of self care. Nowhere in the Bible does it command you DO GOOD SELF CARE in those exact words, BUT this concept is laced throughout the Old and New Testament.
How To Implement A Self
In creating a self-care plan, its vital to remember Philippians 2:4: Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. But also realize that as you put this plan into practice, you will have more energy to spend on others because your own cup is full!
While it may not be practical for you to set aside hours out of your day to focus on only yourself , there are a lot of small steps you can start taking as you have the time.
Remember, you cant keep pouring out all your energy and resources without taking the time to refill them!
For you, this may mean:
Do you struggle with caring for yourself the way God wants you to? Which of these self-care tips do you find the toughest to implement?
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What Is Effective Self
What I find that I need is to learn what good, quality, and effective self-care really is. I pour out so much, and I simply cant waste my time and energy on something that wont actively refill me. I am in a busy season of early motherhood and ministry, and I know that those moments to take time for myself are exceedingly rare. I dont what to squander them. My time is already so limited.
I need to discover ways to take care of myself that will tend to my actual needs, not leaving me dry and empty.
As we are going to discover, effective self-care is more about my need for God to be reestablished in my life, and less about satisfying personal desires.
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Taking Time For Solitude
The next area of self care I want to look at is that of social rest. Solitude is something that can refresh the soul, refocus our minds, and provide us with tools to cut through the noise of society.
In Matthew 6 and Matthew 14 we see specific examples of Jesus seeking solitude. He used that time to pray and to be refreshed by communing with God.
Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
Matthew 11:28-30
Notice that Jesus didnt seek solitude idly. He did it with intention and purpose to pray specifically. Intentionally seeking solitude and time away from others is restorative when done with the purpose of seeking God in prayer.
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How Do You Put Christian Self
Once you know what bible verses talk about self-care, you can do better. With a better understanding of what God wants for us, we can begin putting these better self-care practices to work.
God desires for us to serve. He calls us to good works and and to bring glory to him! He desires that we come along side him and participate in the miracles he is working everyday. We are called to be his hands and feet on this earth. He also desires us to have a rhythm of work and rest. His word encourages us to take care of ourselves as well as taking care of others.
These bible verses about self-care are encouraging words from God to remind you that he desires you to be your best self. Being your best requires you to take time for yourself and you should not feel guilty about that!
You can use these scriptures for your personal bible study time!
- Journal them
- Write them out on note cards
- Pray through them
Keeping these words of God in the forefront of your mind is key to creating a mindset that makes self-care a priority!
How are you planning to make self-care a priority in your life?
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Are There Specific Bible Verses About Self Care
While there may not be any bible verses that say specifically self-care, I would propose that the entire bible is about the best ways to care for yourself. Its a manual for how to live life well and isnt that really what self-care is about. The bible is all about wisdom for health mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual health.
We are called to renew our minds, guard our hearts, protect our bodies like they are temples, and then tend to our spirits. If this isnt the baseline for self-care, I dont know what is!
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