Sacred Vessel Restoration

Speaker 1 00:00:00 Today's broadcast. We're talking about recognizing holistic wellness as a part of the Faith walk. A couple things I need you to listen in for are a Bible verse that resonates with you, and where you are in your health and wellness, how stewarding the body well looks in real time. And then what is the power of me? And do we actually have any power? Hey beautiful! My name is Angelica Artis, and in this podcast we're focused on bringing together wellness and God's will to create a strong foundation for every aspect of life, body, mind and spirit. I know that all health and wellness doesn't come from a biblical lens. So today we're going to start with some Bible. Okay, I am picking verses. Yes, I understand that the Bible needs context. Context is what makes the Bible amazing. But I'm using a couple verses from different areas today. because I do want you to have an understanding of where I'm coming from. we are using the NLT version today. new Living translation. It's the one that works for my brain.

Speaker 1 00:01:32 If that's not the one that works for your brain. Find another translation. Okay. We all need Bible. So this first verse is going to be coming from Isaiah 58. It's verse 11 and it says, the Lord will guide you continually, giving you water when you are dry and restoring your strength. You will be like a well-watered garden, like an ever flowing spring. Okay, first things first. Health and wellness. guys, the Bible mentions water hundreds of times, so we're gonna start with some hydration. I have my one of my favorite cups here. This is going to be your reminder to drink water should you decide to, to take the task on. when I drink, you drink the healthy version. Let's stay hydrated. Our bodies are so much water that if we aren't properly giving our bodies what they need, they are not functioning as they could. Your skin suffers. Your organs suffer. Your muscles suffer. Nobody likes cramps. So we're going to take today to get together, get acquainted.

Speaker 1 00:02:51 and just have a good time. So the next scripture is coming from Hosea. It is chapter four, verse six, and it says, my people are being destroyed because they don't know me, since my priests refused to know me. I refuse to recognize you as my priest, and since you have forgotten the laws of your God, I will forget to bless your children. So what I understand from that is understanding God in his design for us, for our lives, for this walk in, in Christianity and in faith. We also have to understand his design for us. If he designs something, it serves a purpose. So as we are seeking the purposes that God has placed inside of us, we're gonna switch over to James and we're going from chapter one, verse five, and it says, if you need wisdom, Ask our generous God and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. Once again, understanding God, understanding the design he had in mind when he created each of us individually.

Speaker 1 00:04:15 Everything is in something we get from social media. We have to go back to God. We have to go back to the word. so that's where we're starting right now. I think most of us understand that we weren't given the spirit of fear. but I have Bible for it. Health can be super scary. a lot of us didn't grow up where being mindful of our wellbeing was a priority. Eating well, resting well. There is so much that we have to do to care for our bodies Is properly. And we can't always think that because we don't know something, we shouldn't look for the answers. Okay, so God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, love. And my version says so. Discipline, which also means we're mindful of what we put in. And that Scripture is from second Timothy and it's verse seven. So we're being mindful of what we put on our bodies. We are choosing to submit to God and ask him the questions because he is all knowing, all powerful God right now, the whole podcast, the entire thing is centered around understanding that God's design for us is for us to be well.

Speaker 1 00:05:53 So this scripture comes from third John, and it's verse two. one of one of the best reminders that God's intention and the intention for our design is for us to be well. So John says, dear friend, I hope all is well with you, and that you are healthy in body and strong in spirit. You can't have one without the other. Our last scripture for today. I know I'm giving you a lot of Bible, but that's the starting place for this whole thing is revelation. And it's coming from chapter 12 and verse 11. For they have defeated him. Him is the accuser or the devil in this verse by the blood of the lamb and by their testimony. And they did not love their lives so much that they were afraid to die. The best and worst part of choosing Christianity is that we are required to die daily. Okay, and the words of our testimony. I'm here to share some of the things that I've learned. I'm here to, share things that I wish I'd known sooner.

Speaker 1 00:07:25 That's the testimony. Let's talk about it. Let's get into it. So I am a licensed massage therapist. I've been a massage therapist for almost five years now. Nope. I take that back. It's been four years. I was licensed in August of 21, and the exposure with massage therapy to have access to so many different walks of life, so many different people is amazing. And you can get lost in the swamp of the power of me. Right. And as a believer in Christ, I understand that I have no power on my own. Everything that I do, everything that I am, comes from God. So we go back to him. We go back to the designer, to the person who created the blueprint. And we say, hey, what was this thing for? How do we use it? Right? And that's not always as easy as it sounds, but, we we do our best. So when I say the power of me, I mean understanding that that my will is no higher than God's.

Speaker 1 00:08:47 Like, I have to submit myself to God, and that includes my flesh. So back to self discipline. I have to choose to submit. Gluttony is not just in food. It is in lust. It is in perversion. So we have to be mindful of the things that we allow into our bodies, right? So a lot of the things we see today are you can do what you want. You can go where you want. I'm going to be true to myself. And the fact of the matter is, if you are not tuned in to the Word of God and his design for your life, you will convince yourself that it felt good so you can keep doing it. Whether that's overeating, choosing not to exercise. Maybe we need these things for our health and wellness. let me take this moment to be friendly. Reminder. God created plants, right? And those that believe that God is all knowing, all powerful, God, father, son, and the Holy Spirit. We have an understanding that he doesn't waste anything.

Speaker 1 00:10:08 Okay, so if in the very beginning or since in the very beginning plants were a part of the design, we should be using them more often. That doesn't mean every plant fits every situation. But let's talk about eating more vegetables. I know somebody roll their eyes at me because they don't like anything green. vegetables have so many vital nutrients that your body needs to function. So the next time you think I don't really want a vegetable. remember that the design of the earth is a lot of greenery. I know we see a lot of spaces where the plants and the vegetation don't exist, or they've been cut back, but the original design was all greenery, and we were living amidst the beautiful greens and yellows and purples of plants and vegetables and fruits. So take a little time to get back to some health. Okay. just because the music presents itself to us doesn't mean that the music is good for our spirits or our energy level. so we're taking the time to realize that what you put into your body has an effect on your body.

Speaker 1 00:11:41 Right. I, got some flack from a friend. A dear friend that loves me very much, that I loved because I stopped watching certain TV shows. If the scenes are too graphic and you can't handle that, and you live an unmarried life. Yeah. Lust is. Lust is a problem. We don't choose to continue to walk in sin. That grace may abound, right? Or to continue to sin or open our gates to sin or I. Gates. What we hear, what we see. Knowing that God's grace will protect us. Because, yes, mercy is new every morning. That does not mean we keep doing stupid stuff. Yes, I said stupid. We are here together. I have done this stupid stuff too, I promise. Okay, but that doesn't mean that we keep exposing ourselves to things that we know aren't good for us. And how do we know what's not good for us? We go back to the word. There is a basis for it all. I am learning, I am growing, we are learning and growing together, friends Because I get.

Speaker 1 00:12:57 I get convicted of stuff that I thought was okay last year. I'd be like, oh, it's fine. And then it very clearly is pointed out to me by God through prayer, through fasting, through a conversation with another believer, another trusted friend that, you know, maybe that behavior, maybe that thing is not it's not actually good for me, right? So we are taking the moments to be intentional. Now, I know that we've mentioned fruits and vegetables, but what are you doing other than eating well? Are you exercising because movement I, I know we've all heard it right. An object in motion stays at motion, while an object at rest stays at rest. If you are not using your body, exercising, moving, you're going to feel a lack of energy, right? Your girl has just now. And when I say just now, I do mean in the last four months. Started exercising. And the first time that I went to the gym, I was like, I, I do not strong on the do not want to be here.

Speaker 1 00:14:19 But part of the health and wellness journey is realizing that everything that's good for you doesn't necessarily feel good, right? but now that I've been going for four months and I've been relatively consistent, we're, we're we're we're shooting for growth here, not perfection. Right. Just because I failed to go three times this week doesn't mean that I'm not going to shoot for three times next week. That does not mean I always make my my goal right. But it does mean I'm recognizing that that's something I need to do for my health is something I need to do so that my knees don't hurt as bad, y'all. Because why? Why did a doctor say, okay, being mindful here? Whose report will we believe we're we're believing the report of the Lord. Okay, but why does doctor tell me that I have arthritis in my knees? I am 29. Like arthritis is for senior citizens. But not in my case. According to what the medical professionals say. Right. So now I'm having to choose between pain medication, which is a very real option.

Speaker 1 00:15:38 People take pain meds all day, every day, or finding healthy alternative ways to care for my body so that I can live a happy, full, energetic life. Because you're getting to know me now, okay, but the people that know me know I stay on energy. Okay? But being forced to reevaluate how I move when I move because my knees hurt. Maybe I only have kids yet. So what am I supposed to do when I have kids? And then you know certain payments you can't be in while you're pregnant. So, so we're taking the time at this good old 29 to figure out what works. so my, my biggest thing is right now, and I am not a medical professional. I am a licensed massage therapist, not a medical professional. So take all of this with a grain of salt, okay? Talk to your doctor. But there are a few things that I've started doing that I'm being more consistent with is walking on the treadmill. That doesn't hurt me. the rule of thumb is, if it hurts, don't do it.

Speaker 1 00:16:51 And if it hurts, talk to a medical professional. Right. So I'm learning that walking on an incline on my treadmill has helped with my knee pain significantly. Okay. I also started taking collagen. I'll keep y'all updated on how that goes, because right now, I think it's effective. We'll see. and I have had to readjust the way that I exercise in life. So one of my favorite things is their StairMaster. If you know, you know, the whole low body, be like, please help. We send help. We are in pain. Okay. StairMaster was one of the exercises that my particular medical professional said I should stop using, and that's fine. That's great. We love it because, once again, things I wish I'd known before turning 29, when your knee is bent at a 90 degree angle. It's almost three times your weight being pushed through that joint. I'm sorry. What? So you're telling me every time I pick my knee up and put some weight down, I'm tripling the force.

Speaker 1 00:18:07 My knee has the work. Tripling the work my knee has to do anyway. Yo. So we're learning. We're living and we're growing together. Okay. It has been such an amazing year so far, and I am still figuring the things out. Okay, now I know I'm talking about exercise here, but another very important part of caring for your body is practicing stillness. Right now, I know that meditation in a quiet room don't work for everybody. Your brain is like, can we please have some loud noise? Or I'm going to think about the entire world is that of meditating quietly. Now the Bible has a verse in there. I don't have this verse. I kind of wish I did, but it says there was meant to meditate on the Word of God day and night. Right? So the way my stillness looks more often these days is worship music. Or I will have scriptures playing in the background and I will literally lay on my floor. Now, I do understand I'm 29. There are some folks who, laying on the floor may not be comfy.

Speaker 1 00:19:28 Lay on your bed, sit in your chair, do something to sit. And yes, I know sitting still is both uncomfortable and in the society we live in, it feels wrong because hustle culture like what do you mean? Sit still, I get it, I hear you And I'm telling you that if you don't give your body rest, it will take it. And when the body takes rest, it usually takes it in a pretty violent manner. I'm talking like heart attack. high blood pressure, fainting spells. I think that maybe, just maybe, it's smart to give your body what it's going to take one way or the other, right? So even if laying still is not your thing. Okay, let's let's have a quick moment to talk about yoga. Yeah. Said it. the Christian community is largely or let me rephrase that, the community of people that I affiliate with. They hear yoga, and they immediately some of them turn their ears off. So the There are multiple foundations of yoga.

Speaker 1 00:20:56 But for me, for my practice, knowing that the Lord God Almighty, ruler and Redeemer is the person that I spend my time praising and worshiping. I incorporate yoga through movement and breath. That is the basis of yoga. So if you can't get behind yoga and vinyasa and all of those things, cool movement and breath. When's the last time you stretched? When is the last time you put an arm across your chest and stretched a shoulder? When is the last time you did a lunge? Do you understand how important it is for you to utilize the balance that you have to use the joints, that you have to support the muscles you have. The older you get, the more you lose balance. And most of the time, the reason that the elders are losing their balance is because they don't use their hips. Guys. Hip mobility. I now my social media is racked okay, full of movement and exercise classes. That's just the stuff that goes through my feed because that's what I like to see.

Speaker 1 00:22:25 It gives me ideas for my workouts and for my stretching at the end of the night. But seeing hip mobility stretches, they're like really easy. And you can do it all in five minutes, right? If you spend five minutes a day focusing on loosening your hips, moving them through the full range of motion, you would be Amazed at the benefits. You'd be amazed at how much better you feel, how much more energized you are. Okay, so, guys, we're gonna do it this year. You know, this and this. Good old. Oh, by the way, I'm not actually 29 yet. Things I wish I'd known before. 29. Because 29 is around the corner. Launch day says 29 is two days away. But the things that we are doing to care for our bodies now are going to have such important impacts later on. Okay. If you find that stillness does not work for you. Maybe, maybe in this moment you need to check in with your mental health, right? Because a lot of us are so wrapped up in life and being busy.

Speaker 1 00:23:48 When is the last time you truly sat down and were like. Am I okay? Okay. Are you okay? And if you're not. Why are you not okay? And if you don't have the answers for that, or you need somebody to talk through that with, guess what? Mental health professionals are waiting. They got into the industry because they love to help people. You have options. Okay. There's no reason that a community of believers should be so bogged down with anxiety or depression. I know the church doesn't talk about it a whole lot. We like to be very quiet on these things, but they are serious illnesses, right? Serious conditions that we have to address. And so no, I am not a mental health professional, but I know a couple and they're pretty cool people. Okay, take the time to check in on your health and wellness, your mental health, your physical health. Have you had enough water today? I know it's been a minute, right? We haven't had any water.

Speaker 1 00:25:05 This is your water break time. Okay, I'm going to take my water break. All right. That was a wonderful water break. So we kind of talked about yoga earlier and I mentioned breathwork. Here's the fun part about our nervous systems. They are built on breath. You don't function if you aren't breathing okay. Take a moment okay. So there's this technique. There's this technique called box breathing. And if I'm remembering correctly you breathe in for four seconds. You hold it for four seconds, you exhale for four seconds, and then you hold for four seconds. Right? I know that you're thinking that sounds pointless, baby. Do it 2 or 3 times and tell me how you feel afterwards. Matter of fact, please do a nice deep breath. Do a box breath here and and leave a comment. Tell me how you're feeling. A little series of box breaths and you would be surprised at how much stress melts just because you need oxygen. Your body functions best when you regulate your nervous system, and deep breaths help to regulate your nervous system.

Speaker 1 00:26:41 So take a moment and breathe. Yeah, I meant this moment. All right guys. And then lastly on the things for today we have stewardship so often in the community in the church we talk about stewardship. And we fail to mention that it's not just your finances. Okay. We've touched on all the things today. Your body, your mind, your spirit, your relationships. These are all important parts of life that we have to be mindful of and steward well. What is stewardship? Stewardship is the way that you care for something in your life. By Google's definition, because I had to get you a definition for it. Stewardship Is the act of taking care of something, right? If we are not taking care of our bodies. Of our minds, of our relationships, and yes, our finances, we cannot be. Well. Not fully well. These are all such important parts of thriving and living healthy and well lives. So there's a scripture for stewardship, and we're gonna go, we're gonna flip together.

Speaker 1 00:28:32 Or you can just sit there and wait for me to get to it, and then I'll read it to you. I promise I will read you the whole thing, keeping in mind your girl is coming from NLT, right? So this is not King James. If you want King James, you're going to have to go read on your own time. Pull up your Bible app. I know technology is great. You have it at your fingertips. All right. So Matthew 25, verse 14 through 30. Okay. again, the kingdom of heaven can be illustrated by a story of a man going on a long trip. He called together his servants and entrusted his money to them. While he was gone, he gave five bags of silver to one, two bags of silver to another, and one bag of silver to the last. Dividing it into portion to their abilities. He then left on his trip. What's that saying? He said, I know what you can carry. I know what you can do.

Speaker 1 00:29:34 So I'm going to give you all the portion of silver that you can manage well. Now, what do they do? The servant who received five bags of silver began to invest the money and earn five more. The servant with two bags of silver also went to work and earned two more. But the servant who received one bag of silver silver dug a hole in the ground and hid the master's money. After a long time, their master returned from his trip and called them to give account of how they had used his money. The servant to whom he had entrusted the five bags of silver came forward with five more and said, master, you gave me five bags of silver to invest, and I have earned five more. The master was full of praise. Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount. So now I will give you more responsibilities. Let's celebrate together. Now, I'm not going to read this whole passage, but what I want you to understand here is the person.

Speaker 1 00:30:47 The servant that was given five bags did well. The servant that was given two bags did well. The servant that buried it didn't care for the gift that they were given, for the ability they were given. They did nothing with it, right? And then when they got back, he's like. So the master is like, so why, what would why did you bury it? What was the point of that? Being scared of losing something. Doesn't doesn't mean you shouldn't do the work to care for it, right? Burying your head in the sand has never been productive. I know it feels fun, but it's not productive. So the next time you really want to bury your head in the sand, think about what happens when you when you aren't productive. Because that's all you're doing. Okay. I'm sorry, I know I love you, I mean it. Take the time to invest in your gifts. Your gift is your body. It is being in a right mind. I know the saints like to say I have activity of my limbs.

Speaker 1 00:32:03 And sometimes when people say that, I mean, as a younger person, I was like, okay, activity of my limbs. Sure. You know what I've learned this year? Things I wish I'd appreciated more before getting to almost 29. Right? So I have a client in the state of North Carolina who has Parkinson's disease. And for those of you who don't know what Parkinson's is, it is essentially where you lose motor function like your brain says, hey, hand wave. And your hand is like, I don't know what that is. I can't do that. No thank you. Right now, that's about the equivalent of sitting down to long, your legs going to sleep. And then when you want to stand up, you can't write. Your muscles don't know what you're saying. Take the time to care for your body now to appreciate the fact that you can, in fact, move your shoulders. You know there are people who can't do it who wish they could. We're stewarding well in this season.

Speaker 1 00:33:18 We're stewarding our bodies well. We're stewarding our mental health well. We are stewarding our finances well. We can get into finances on a later date because I'm still learning that one. so we're doing things we're learning together and things we've already learned. Finances. I'm still on a mission to understand, guys, but it's going to be great once I do understand it, and then I'll be able to share more. All right. So we talked about a lot today. But here are your action steps. Incorporate stillness. Take a moment here and breathe. Okay. Four seconds in. Hold for four seconds. Exhale for four seconds. Hold for four seconds. You're gonna do that three times at least. Okay. Choose a movement that feels good for your body and do it now. Have you been sitting all day? Okay. Stand up. Stretch your back. Have you been standing all day? Try a squat. Okay. Do something now that's going to benefit you later. I love you.