Your Body is the Temple of the Holy Spirit.

    1st Corinthians 6:19 "Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God and you are not your own?"

    It's a familiar verse to many. Recently the Holy Spirit reminded me of the important truth behind this verse. I have known this verse for most of my life but never really thought about all the implications surrounding it. One of which is the need to care for my body and seek medical attention when needed and not simply ignore my body telling me it needs servicing.

    Hubby and I were chatting with someone after church a few weeks ago and the principle of our bodies being a temple and being considerate of what we eat came up and that we should be mindful of what we eat.

    There are many different aspects to this Bible verse. The one that hits home the hardest now is my need to care for my physical health better. I'm the person who blatantly ignores my "check engine" light and says, "I'll be fine." A few weeks ago, I woke up on my sister's couch on my way home from my parent's house after a week-long visit. I chose the couch instead of a bed because the couch was closest to the front door and I wanted to sneak out at 3 am and finish the drive home. So I got up at 3 am and was back on the road by 3:30 am. I discovered a knot in my shoulder blade. I thought little of it other than it was funny because my sister mentioned having a knot in the same shoulder the night before. It's not the first time I had a knot there so I ignored it and finished my drive home. About an hr and a half from home, I started to feel a pain in my chest. By the time I got home, taking a deep breath was very painful. I ended up calling in sick to work on Monday because I was still in pain and didn't know why. Later that day I thought that I had a series of knots ranging from my shoulder blade, under my armpit and my chest. I was avoiding making a massage appointment for the knots because a) I'm stubborn and b) they are expensive. A week later, during the long weekend, the pain changed and it now felt like the pain I had experienced years ago when I popped my rib out. I didn't think it was my rib originally because I didn't feel a pop and because the first time it happened there was an obvious pop, so I assumed that ribs always make a popping motion when they come out of place. Turn out they don't and I should stop assuming things. The pain changing was the nerve becoming inflamed and angry. Ironically I tell people not to assume and yet here I am doing just that.

    I finally made a chiropractor appointment and got it put back into place. Then I accidentally popped it out that night. I had already booked a follow-up appointment at the end of the week and with everything going on with hubby and his rash I left the rib out of place for another week and waited for my next appointment.

    Friday finally arrived and I got it fixed again and then spent the weekend figuring out what movements to do and not to do. I started practicing actively listening to my body. When I felt the need for rest and a heating pad I took a break and when I felt the need to move I moved. My chiropractor said I would be in pain for a while because there is a nerve that runs along the top of one of the ribs that I popped out of place. Because it was out of place for an extended amount of time the nerve was inflamed and angry. Monday morning came along and my ribs still felt tender, but as the day went on I could feel the rib and nerve calming down and settling back into their respective places. By Wednesday I had all but forgotten to watch the movement of my torso and the nerve pain was almost gone.

    The moral of the story. Is that if I hadn't been so stubborn, I could have avoided three weeks of pain. On Wednesday I felt something in my back where the rib popped out in the first place, I wasn't sure if it was a knot or the rib coming back out of place, so I quickly made an appointment for this coming Monday. I'm practicing listening to my body and taking care of God's temple properly.

    Rereading this verse has reminded me of all the other ways God calls us to care for our bodies and renewed my perspective on my health. Particularly in regards to food and exercise and that on the days when I don't want to make the "right" choices, by making the right choices, I'm honouring and blessing God and myself.

    How about you friend? Are you honouring God with your temple and listening to your body when it tells you what it needs? I pray that you are or that you start now like I am. I pray this blesses and encourages you today.

Happy Saturday friend.

God Bless

~Hannah

The Spirit of Overwhelm

    It has been a rough week. On Tuesday, hubby discovered a rash on his finger that spread to spots on his arms and legs. At the time we didn't know what it was which made him concerned, especially about it spreading to me, which meant that we started going through much more bedding and towels than normal, which meant that the laundry pile was growing faster than I could wash it.

    Enter overwhelm. I quickly started feeling very overwhelmed by all the laundry. I would go to work and do my job. then I came home and did laundry for the evening. Thankfully that only lasted two nights, but between those two evenings, I did six or seven large loads of laundry. I also didn't know how long it would last. We hadn't seen the doctor yet so we didn't know what the problem was, or how to fix it. Would the pile maintain its size for a week or would we be fine and it would end after seeing the doctor? Needless to say, we were both anxious for the answer. I was so overwhelmed that I wasn't able to think or do anything else. Hubby was equally stressed because he didn't know what was happening to his body.

    For two nights I went to the shop and did several large loads of laundry. Work kept me distracted during the day, but as soon as I arrived home the feeling of overwhelm would hit me like a ton of bricks. No, I was never mad about the excess laundry. I was upset that I had to care for hubby but that's a whole other issue. I was simply overwhelmed by the pile. Thankfully the pile did come to an end after the dr apt. Looking back it was only two nights of endless laundry and overwhelm, but when you are in the middle of it and have no idea when it will end, it's hard.

    On Friday morning, after arriving at work I was feeling very overwhelmed again. I don't recall if the Holy Spirit prompted me or if I thought it on my own. But I remembered how we as believers don't fight our battles on a human level but on a spiritual level. So I decided it was time to pray and send the spirit of overwhelm packing. And it did. My heart and mind felt clean and clear again, allowing me to enjoy the rest of my day. And make a grocery list and menu for the next week. Usually, that's Thursday's chore, but on Thursday my brain was in laundry mode and nothing else.

    We had an apt with a walk-in clinic on Friday afternoon where we got helpful answers and a treatment plan. That appointment relieved all of our anxiety. We still had some relational stresses to deal with that were a result of the rash. but over time they were relieved.

    It has now been just over a week since this all happened. Hubby's rash is cleared up and the treatment plan has come to an end and life has returned to normal.

    The moral of the story friend is to pray. Something I'm preaching to myself as I type this up as well. Yes, I remembered to pray on that Friday morning over the spirit of overwhelm, but we also need to remember to pray about everything that is going on in our lives on a daily basis and to remember that we are not fighting against man, but against the spiritual realm. Ephesians 6:10- 18 "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armour of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armour of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the word of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints."

God Bless

~Hannah

Hubby and I took a day trip to Goderich yesterday and enjoyed their beautiful beach.

Lucky's Bridge

    Growing up I always wanted a dog. We briefly had one when I was 10, but then she passed away. So I made do with my stuffed dog Lucky. From the age of 8 when I received Lucky and into my teen years Lucky went everywhere with me. Okay, I did not bring her to school, but everywhere I travelled she was right beside me. On long car rides my mom would lovingly use her as a neck pillow. As a child, she went everywhere with me. I would put plastic baggies on her feet, made her a harness and leash and walk her like a real dog. I would bounce her on the ground trying to make it look like she was real.

    One day my family and I were walking along a suspension bridge on a hike an hour away from home. As usual, I was making Lucky walk/bounce beside me. Lucky is a Dalmatian the size of a Shih Tzu. While walking along the suspension bridge a couple with their Shih Tzu walked up behind us. Their Shi Tzu who was on a retractable leash, so they had more freedom than a standard leash came up behind Lucky and sniffed her butt thinking that she was real. A moment later everyone realized what had happened. The owners of the dog were embarrassed and apologetic. We all had a good laugh and it made for a funny and special memory that I will always remember.

    After bringing Blessing home five years ago I decided that I needed a picture of Lucky, Blessing and I on the bridge. Which I now call, "Lucky's Bridge." It has taken me five years to get this picture because I live 7 hrs away from that bridge, I don't get that far north very often, and I kept forgetting to pack Lucky.

    A few weeks ago I was up north visiting my parents and on my way home from my visit, I was finally able to stop and get a picture with my real and stuffed dogs.

    I'm proud of myself for finally getting this picture taken. This picture represents my inner child and my adult self coming together. I'm a big believer in the concept of our "inner child." I named mine while I was in counselling years ago and am looking forward to returning to counselling shortly and working on healing some of Mini Me's (inner child) trauma. Both Mini Me and Adult Me are both proud of what this picture represents. Mini Me always wanted a dog and was content to enjoy Lucky all while knowing that one day adult me would get a dog once I was an adult and had a family of my own. And I am proud of my adult self because not only did I finally get this picture taken, but I was able to take care of Mini Me's dream of having a dog. I am also proud because I have a bad habit of saying, "I'll do it/get it next time." For example, I will be at the store doing groceries or something and see something I would like and tell myself that I will get it next time. Simply because I do not want to spend the money on it, even if I have the money to spend. I struggle to spend money on myself.

    I haven't intentionally put this picture off all these years. I mainly forgot to bring Lucky with me over the last five years when travelling to my parent's place. This time though I finally remembered to pack her. On the way up north I was thinking of taking the picture before I arrived in Sudbury, but then realized that my camera batteries were dead. So I thought I would take it on the way home. when it came time to head home I was feeling homesick and just wanted to get home. So I contemplated skipping it all together. I got into the car and put the GPS on for the bridge and decided that I would decide how I felt once I arrived there. As I approached the bridge I reminded myself that it wasn't going to add that much more time to my travel and that I would still get home on time. I also reminded myself that I don't do a whole lot for myself and needed to do this. From the moment I was taking the picture and likely for the rest of my life I will be thankful, grateful and proud of myself for stopping and taking that photo.

I pray that this memory of mine triggers some happy childhood memories of yours and blesses you today.

God Bless

~Hannah