At Pastor Keith’s request, I am a guest blogger on my church's blog this week! Here's what I shared.
Galatians 5:22 - 23
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control…
Six years ago I got serious about my health. I saw a health coach twice a month, started exercising, completely changed the way I ate, and without trying lost 33 pounds over a 6-month period. I never felt better in my life!
I was so encouraged at the results that I studied and became a certified holistic health coach. I love encouraging people in their health goals and watching as they “get it” in their own journeys.
The word holistic scares some people, especially in the Christian community, but holistic isn't anything weird or some kind of voodoo. Holistic means looking at every aspect of a person's life - the whole - to see where health may need improvement. Career, relationships, your walk with Jesus, physical activity and the food you eat all work together to create your health - or lack thereof.
When looking at a person's health goals I come up with a plan, which will include a diet change. That is always the hardest part; we like our comfort food and convenience food. It's hard to change a lifestyle we grew up with and is such a habit that we barely think of it at meal time.
This is where the fruit of the Spirit of self-discipline comes in.
Self-discipline can be hard. It can be a struggle. We might even be afraid of it.
But self-discipline also brings peace and joy. (More fruits of the Spirit!)
When a tough change is made in our lives and we start to see results, it motivates us to keep going!
The past few years I've gained back more weight than I care to admit - especially as a health coach! I feel frumpy, I'm easily irritated at little things, I'm sluggish, I can't concentrate, and I crave sugar.
I've lost self-discipline.
Enough Is Enough
As my weight continues to climb and my hormones are a wreck because of poor food choices, I've decided I'm not going to live like this anymore.
So a couple of weeks ago I started to eat salads more frequently, I'm making a conscious effort to get my daily recommended amount of water, as well as 10,000 steps per day. And while I believe more in focusing on nutrition than what the scale says, I'm down 3 pounds.
That's motivating to keep going! (Especially when cookies or pizza are calling me!)
Self-discipline is Hardest at the Beginning
It’s hard to start.
Sometimes we just don't know where to start so we do nothing.
I encourage you to pick one thing you want to change and change it for 10 days. That's all. Anybody can do anything for 10 days that will make a difference in their life and health.
Walk 10 minutes a day. Drink 48 ounces of water every day. Eat 5 - 7 servings of vegetables every day. Maybe it's reading a book on how to budget money or how to pray.
Ask God what He would have you do and to give you the fruit of the Spirit of self-discipline to do it.
Sometimes our miracle comes when we step out and take action.
Our healing comes when our food choices change. Our finances are blessed when we begin to tithe. Our relationships are restored when we choose forgive.
In what area do you need self-discipline today? If you're brave enough, share in the comment section and let's encourage each other!
Read my previous post: How To Drink More Water
