A healthy Lifestyle: Your Living Sacrifice

A HEALTHY LIFESTYLE: YOUR LIVING SACRIFICE is a faith-based book on healthy living. It provides you a Biblical approach to understanding health and well-being. Mary engages you in a scriptural perspective of a healthy lifestyle. By drawing inspiration from the Bible, she takes the reader on an unforgettable trip through a healthy journey. The book covers important topics that scientists have discovered to be connected to longevity and living a healthy life.

This book is part of Mary’s series on Christianity and Lifestyle. Get your copy here. You can also buy directly from Amazon using your country’s Amazon website.

In this faith-based book on healthy lifestyles, Mary discusses topics such as eating healthy, avoiding junk food and overindulging, exercising on a regular basis, caring for your mental and emotional well-being, relaxation, and making investments in your health and well-being, among others. All discussions are supported by scriptures.

As we seek to grow in our walk with God, we should also desire to have good health. Mary’s approach to understanding health from biblical stance is to motivate you to make the decision to take control of the factors that influence your health and well-being. Mary encourages the reader that the love of God is irrespective of size and shape, who you are, how you look, where you come from and what you have done in your past. But, to live and glorify God even in the flesh, is an intentional journey focusing and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. As you read this book, be prepared to change your lifestyle to incorporate healthy patterns. The book highlights a few actions you can take to live a healthier life.

This book does not create a meal plan or exercise routine for you. The book uses scripture to explain how God wants us to care for our health and well-being. There are either questions or suggested action steps at the end of each topic to help the reader develop practical steps to maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

About the Author

Mary E. Agronah (PhD) is a wife, a mother, a Christian content writer, a counselor, an academic, a prolific writer and a devout follower of the Lord. She is a disciplemaker who wants everyone to have a good relationship with God. She is passionate about God-centered lifestyles that promote physical and mental well-being. She creates intriguing masterpieces by combining linguistic mastery, creativity, and faith.

Fearfully and wonderfully made

A healthy mind, they say, lives in a healthy body. Our perception about our physical appearance goes a long to affect our attitudes toward ourselves. If you perceive yourself as a Very Important Person (VIP), you definitely give yourself a VIP treatment. However,  if you have low self-esteem and lack confidence in yourself, you are likely not to give any special attention to yourself. We need to show love, care and importance to ourselves. It is not evil to practice self-care. Afterall, God spent His time to ensure that you were created uniquely. No two people on this earth are the same. There are definitely unique traits and even identical twins are never completely the same. You are special, a limited edition person, you are different from everyone and you carry a unique assignment on earth. 

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. (Psalms 139:14)

Uniqueness could also reflect in our general appearance. While some people are tall, others are short; while some people are slim, others are stout etc. Genetics also contributes to our general appearance and uniqueness. No matter how you look differently than others, you have to understand that you are fearfully and wonderfully made. King David identified this and he praised God: “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well” (Psalms 139:14). You are a wonderful person and no matter how others see you, there is none like you. When manufacturers produce limited edition products, these products are usually different from the mass production. Each human being is a limited edition person,  crafted fearfully and wonderfully with love. There is none that is a complete version of you.

When we understand our uniqueness, we develop an attitude of gratitude. Appreciating God for crafting us differently from all others also demands that we take care of ourselves to ensure our physical well-being. No sane person buys a limited edition product and smashes it. In the same way, we should handle ourselves with care because we are “fragile” and lack of care can lead to total brokenness caused by sickness, pain and other avoidable mental illnesses. Further, knowing that we are different should encourage us to work on ourselves daily to reflect a healthier version of ourselves. We have been called to reflect Christ (totally) and that should be our focus. Christlikeness is a lifestyle that includes good stewardship over our bodies. 

Reflecting our uniqueness should motivate us to take care of ourselves. God has given each person an assignment and we can fulfill these when we operate with a healthy body. Let this mindset encourage you to commit to reflecting Christ in your health and well-being. 

To read more of these, grab my book A HEALTHY LIFESTYLE: YOUR LIVING SACRIFICE here.

A clean heart

As we discussed in our previous blog, we need to make a conscious effort to allow things that will not harm our hearts to have access to our hearts. However,  sometimes we entertain so much impure thoughts that they tend to reflect on our lives. We cannot blame our hearts for the wrong done. Afterall, the whole body is somehow involved: the eye sees the evil, sends signals to the mind, the heart desires it and sends signals to the hands and feet whichever needs to move. We move to the location of evil, we stand there,  walk around it and ultimately take a seat. No wonder Psalm 1:1 is significant: “Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers.” What do we do when we fail to guard our hearts and as a result we bear negative fruits?

When we fail to guard our hearts and as a result fall into lifestyles that are not God-glorifying, we need to return to our Maker for help. David overlooked a naked woman until he ultimately committed adultery and murder (2 Samuel 11). Gehazi desired the gifts of Naaman until he received the leprosy of Naaman (2 Kings 5). Similarly, our attitude towards our health is a matter of what we consider to be important. If we see our bodies as God’s temples, we will be conscious to take care of them. But, if our hearts fail to acknowledge the importance of maintaining a healthy Christian lifestyle, we tend to mishandle our lives. We fail to guard our excessive cravings for things that are harmful. We consume whatever we desire without being mindful of the consequences it may bring. 

Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. (Psalms 51:10 NKJV)

When David was notified about his actions, he was remorseful and prayed this prayer: “Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me” (Psalms 51:10 NKJV). It is important for us to desire a clean heart (free from evil). We can always go back to our Maker. If you have tried to take care of your health and well-being but you are unable to dismiss the bad lifestyles, pray to God to create in you a clean heart. Ask God to renew a steadfast spirit within you. God is interested in you and He desires that you live in good health. He desires that we live a fulfilled Christian life. God’s standards for life are not just God-satisfying but ensure that we live healthy and longer lives. If God warns us to be mindful of what we eat, it is because He wants us to live healthy lifestyles.  

Desires in the hearts, reflect in our lifestyles. Ask God to work on your heart even as we consciously work on ourselves to filter what goes into our hearts.  

Guard your heart

The heart is the remote control of the body. Even if the whole body is strong but the heart is weak, the entire body is affected.  It is therefore important to guide our heart as much as we can. Beside sicknesses that affect the heart, we could also create an environment that causes the heart to be affected. If we fail to put barriers around our heart, we allow everything to enter the heart and some of these ultimately contaminate the heart. No one should desire to walk with an unfiltered heart. We are leaving in strange times and if we fail to control what goes into our heart, we lose control over our own bodies. How do we ensure that we operate with a heart free from all vices that contaminate it? 

Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. (Proverbs 4:23)

The book of Proverbs presents different ways to keep the heart safe. Proverbs 23 gives advice about getting wisdom at all cost. If we operate in wisdom, we secure our heart from things that are not relevant. We are admonished to guard our hearts at all cost: “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it” (Proverbs 4:23). What we allow to enter our hearts hold the key to the issues in our lives. The NKJV version states that, “Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life.” We are responsible for regulating what goes into our hearts. If we allow bad thoughts and impure ideas to enter our hearts, they stay in there and regulate our actions. If we allow good thoughts to enter our hearts  they stay in there and bear good fruits. Even our health is largely dependent on what we allow to enter our hearts.

When we understand that our hearts are the remote control of our lives, we will be considerate with whatever goes into it. Depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, sinful actions etc. begin with what we allow into our hearts. Our actions are a reflection of a much bigger picture: pouring out what is in our hearts. If we allow good things into our hearts, we reflect goodness in our lives. If we allow bad things to enter our lives, we reflect evil. Whether we live healthy lifestyles or unhealthy lifestyles is a reflection of what goes into our hearts. Whether we live cheerfully or bitterly is a reflection of what goes on in our hearts. Whether we get happy for the progress of others, or we get jealous that others are advancing in life, is a reflection of what goes into our hearts. Paul in his letter to the Phillipian church made these profound statement:

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” (Philippians 4:8)

Make a conscious effort to allow things that will not harm your heart to have access to your heart. 

Dance with all your might

I love pressing the praise button once in a while. Sometimes, we get so involved with many things and we tend to lose sight of praise. All work and no play, they say, makes Jack a dull boy. I believe a Christian lifestyle without praise makes one a dull person. God’s praise should be part of our lifestyle including our health and well-being. Dancing is one way we praise God. Dancing itself is a form of aerobic exercise as it improves our flexibility and raises our heart rate. The higher the dance tempo, the better. 

Wearing a linen ephod, David was dancing before the Lord with all his might (2 Samuel 6:14)

In 2 Samuel 6:14, David shows his praise moves with dance. The verse states that, “Wearing a linen ephod, David was dancing before the Lord with all his might.” David was indeed moving all his body including hands and legs. To dance with all of one’s might will not be nodding just the head, or tapping the feet. It would be all-encompassing. His dance was so spectacular that his wife Michal, despised him for dancing like any vulgar fellow: “As the ark of the Lord was entering the City of David, Michal daughter of Saul watched from a window. And when she saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, she despised him in her heart” (2 Samuel 6:16). David was a praiser and dancing was one of the ways in which he praised the Lord. 

When we praise the Lord by dancing with all our might, God gets the praise and we get our bodies active. Why don’t we try to press the praise button this weekend with a dance unto the Lord.

Do not dwell on the part: Start investing into your well-being

Whenever I look at the pictures taken during my marriage ceremony, I beam with a smile. I  always compliment my very cute self and hold on to the fact that I have been very cute before. Certainly, my body has undergone different changes in the past few years. Age and childbirth have been instrumental in these changes. However, if I desire to have a glimpse of my cute self, I should work towards that. Admiring my photos alone will not change anything. If you are looking forward to maintaining a specific weight, do not be content just looking at the past. It doesn’t change anything. It is important to know that not everyone is able to maintain the same body appearance for years. We need to understand that genetics, age, and other factors play a major role in our physical changes. However, as much as we can, we should be intentional about investing in our health and well-being. 

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.(Isaiah 43:18‭-‬19)

Memories of the past should inspire us to strive for the best. We are not past dwellers! In fact, our faith proclaims newness. God is from the past, in the present and in our future.  He moves in each dispensation but He still remains the same. He does not just want us to dwell in the past. He does new things each day and so must we! In Isaiah 43:18-19, God encourages His people with these words: “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” Dwelling on the past alone stalls growth and progress. If you have tried to take care of your health in the past and have failed, do not dwell on that to determine another failure. Consciously let go of the former lifestyles that caused you pain and weariness. Motivate yourself with the word of God that your newness will spring forth and people will perceive it.

Don’t allow others to discourage you. Your past should not cause you to doubt your ability. Neither should you just dwell on past glory and fail to take action to ensure a future success. Start from somewhere: take baby steps to your health and well-being and you will notice a dramatic change in your life. You cannot change the past, but you have control over the future. Don’t be quick to give up on yourself. You are fearfully and wonderfully made to reflect the presence of God. Remember that our health and well-being is important to God. We will give account to God for how well we took care of this flesh. Start investing into your well-being and you will reap the benefits. If you know people who are struggling to let go of the past and take charge of the future, encourage them that God is interested in doing new things in their lives. Let’s bear one another into healthy lifestyles. 

Striving for excellence: A holistic approach to health and well-being

The measure of the quality of our lives is dependent on different factors. Today, let’s consider healthy lifestyles. Everyone desires to have a blissful future with good health and success. I am not sure that anyone who is sane will desire a future with a frail body. Even people who are active in sports have health care for emergency purposes. It is very important to strive for a sustainable future with good health. Definitely, only God knows the future but we should not take that for granted and neglect our health. If we refuse to give attention to our health, God knows that we will be operating with weak bodies in the future. We should consider a holistic approach towards our health and well-being. We should be considerate with whatever goes into us. Food does not make us unrighteous (Matthew 15:11) but food can contribute to adverse health problems. 

“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? (Luke 14:28)

In order to live a purpose-driven life, we should purposely consider efforts towards a sustainable future of good health. Accidents do happen but we can control the least accidental situation. Eating unhealthy foods is not an accident. Refusing to exercise the body is not an accident. Not having time to invest in your health is not an accident. We have to intentionally strive for healthy lifestyles. It is a cost we have to bear if we want to live a purposeful life. Jesus asked His disciples in Luke 14:28: “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it?” Have we counted the cost of attaining a healthy lifestyle? Are we ready to make sacrifices to stop eating unhealthy foods because of the implications they have on the body? Are we committed to glorifying God with healthy lifestyles?

We cannot present what we do not have. You cannot preach that Jesus saves when you need to be saved from the clutches of addiction. Imagine waking up to find the preacher in your church in the news for drunk driving. I am not sure, if he gives a sermon on “Living to please God” you will be pleased. Imagine yourself in the court of God and you need to defend yourself about being a good custodian of your body. What will be your defense? An excellent Christian lifestyle is a holistic approach to ensuring both spiritual growth and maturity,  and physical well-being. God wants us to prosper in all we do. He will not do for us what He has entrusted us to do. No amount of grace will cause God to exercise for you. No level of Spirituality will cause you to escape the general needs of the body. If we want to have a fulfilling Christian life, we should be good stewards of our lives. 

There is a time to invest in your health and well-being!

We all have 24 hours in a day and how we apportion time for the things that really matter is important. You cannot blame God for giving others more time than you. Whether you live in Africa or Oceania, everyone has access to 24 hours in a day. It is therefore worthwhile to learn to manage our time effectively. This blog post might be of help if you need help with time management. One comment that most of us make daily is “I don’t have time” and this has become part of our daily struggles. I understand the complexities of life, the load of work and the time we spend each day to make sure our families enjoy a good life. We can be lost in all these things and forget to actually take care of ourselves. More specifically, those of us who migrated from developing countries to the West can be consumed in so much work to satisfy our families back home. We tend to forget our existence. We pay huge amounts of money to take care of family members, invest in properties, help friends but hardly make time to even consider our own health and well-being. 

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens (Ecclesiastes 3:1)

The preacher states that: “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens” (Ecclesiastes 3:1). This includes a time to invest in your health and well-being. We need to be intentional about this and make a conscious effort to make that investment. What happens if you work so tirelessly to buy the most expensive house but spend the rest of your life confined on a hospital bed? You made time to work yourself out, but you never made time to work on your health. If we daily complain that there is no time to take care of our health, we will miss the opportunity to make sure that we are fit. Remember that there is “a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance” (Ecclesiastes 3:4). If you fail to have time to take care of your health, friends and family will make time to weep over you when you are no more. In fact, people will take time to attend your memorial service. 

When we understand that God has made us custodians of this physical body, we should be mindful to make time to keep fit. You don’t need a gym membership to be fit. There are basic human activities that contribute to good health. Walking, running, skipping, swimming, dancing, cycling etc. are activities that are good for our well-being. We should also consider investing in age-appropriate physical activity. If you have the resources, you can join your local fitness centre, get a treadmill or get yourself any of the computer assisted training programs. There are countless free online resources for health and well-being. Make time to build yourself a good and healthy lifestyle. As we grow older, there are certain lifestyles we should avoid. If you still have a daily hangover at 50 years, you should see a therapist to assist you with alcohol addiction. 

Remember that we all have 24 hours a day and how we spend it, can have a direct relationship with our future. There is “a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot” (Ecclesiastes 3:2), but while we are alive, there is also a time to invest in our health and well-being.

Physical changes: The new is here!

Over the weekend, we had a picnic at church and I used the skipping rope for the first time in a few years. It was not a pleasant experience. I felt so tired and jumping back and forth was quite challenging. Skipping was one of the easiest training exercises I could do in the past. Now, my body has gone through changes. Since I had not been using the skipping rope for a long time, my body is yet to adjust to using it. My resolution is to continue exercising with the skipping rope until I get used to it again. Changes in the physical body are inevitable. Growth is the key factor that propels change. When we are younger, our bodies are able to do certain rigorous activities, as we grow older, we cease to be physically strong as we were in the past. The body therefore needs certain types of activities to keep the muscles active.

The old has gone, the new is here! (2 Corinthians 5:17b)

Growing older is a blessing and we need to appreciate God for the grace to live a longer life. However, we should not take for granted that as we grow, we should be intentional about investing in our health and well-being. Growing older is a new state that we have to get used to. We need to be prepared for it and one can never run away from old age. Growing old reminds me of the verse that says: “The old has gone, the new is here!” (2 Corinthians 5:17b). Here, the old refers to our old physical state and the new refers to our current state. We should not lose sight of the changes we go through each day and we should make room for age appropriate physical training. As believers, we should approach our health with the knowledge that God wants us to live life in abundance  and this includes being in good health. 

When we come to understand this, we will make plans for our well-being. We invest for the future, which is very good. We buy houses, cars, and make sure that when we retire, we will live comfortably. But do we invest into our health and well-being? As we grow, what plans do we have to ensure that we live a good life void of avoidable health complications? It is great to have a reliable life insurance policy but it is also great to have a dedicated plan to keep fit and healthy. While we pay for premiums and monthly deductions for our investments, we should make a conscious effort to make time for our health and well-being. Being aware that the insurance alone cannot give you the quality life you need if all your limbs and muscles are aching. You might spend the rest of your retirement visiting health practitioners instead of living your best life. 

If we fail to invest into our health and well-being, we plan to spend our future on medications with adverse effects. Be intentional to prioritize your health needs. 

To read more of these, grab my book A HEALTHY LIFESTYLE: YOUR LIVING SACRIFICE here.

Gracious words: Don’t hurt others with your words

The past few blogs have focused on healthy lifestyles. We have considered different ways to maintain a healthy Christian lifestyle. Most times,  we tend to focus on ourselves so much that we miss the point that we can cause others to live unhealthy lives because of our words. Words are so powerful and every idle word has the potential to give life or cause pain. Many people are dealing with internal conflicts about their health and well-being. For some, they have tried all means possible to live healthy lifestyles but things are just not working out. These people need encouragement and support to pull through and not to give up. However, if we start making fun of them, we shoot arrows of despair at them, this could lead to discouragement or low self esteem. These effects can also cause unnecessary health issues. 

Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone. (Colossians 4:6)

Not everyone is comfortable with unnecessary jokes about their looks. A person’s weight, appearance, demeanor etc. may be attributed to different things. Don’t be quick to call people ‘fat’,  ‘big’, ‘ugly’, ‘tiny’, ‘weak’ etc. In fact, the recent cause of anorexia among teenage girls is mostly caused by some of these comments. Let us teach our children to speak words that will not hurt others. School children have committed suicide because their colleagues called them bad names. Imagine the pain such an idle word brought to the family. Paul in writing to the Church in Colossae admonished that, “Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone”  (Colossians 4:6). Salt brings taste to food and this allusion is significant. Paul is not encouraging us to be man-pleasers. His advice is for us to use gracious words. Whatever you tell others, imagine it being told to you should you be in the position of that person. 

Instead of offering pain through our words, let’s offer care and attention. Ask if there is anything you could do to help. Extend a helping hand not a hurtful word. Let’s be intentional about what comes out of our mouth. Before you speak, consider yourself in the position of that person. Many people have lived delimited lifestyles because of what others told them about their looks or appearance. Don’t stop people from chasing their dreams because you think they are not like you. As parents, we might be too concerned about our children that we may prevent them from taking part in certain games they love. Basketball, football, badminton, tennis, swimming etc. are all healthy practices. We should help our children to engage in these should they show interest.  Never say, “you are too tiny to play basketball.” You could potentially cause them to have low self-esteem. If their size is related to eating patterns, encourage them to eat well and let them know that to be a good basketball player, they need to be physically strong. 

Remember, “the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them. For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.” (Matthew 15:18‭-‬19)

To read more of these, grab my book A HEALTHY LIFESTYLE: YOUR LIVING SACRIFICE here.