Welcome to Weekly Topic Saturdays!
Hello all, I pray that your week was filled with joy and love. Welcome back to those who have been with me here at A Golden Dream. For my first-timers, a great big hello there, if you haven't already please check out my previous posts when you get a chance.
Please don't hesitate to join the conversation, there are no right or wrong answers or questions. I'm not proclaiming to know everything, I am simply just discussing and picking topics on things that I personally have gone through and that I know would help someone.
If you put these things before the brothers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, being trained in the words of the faith and of the good doctrine that you have followed. Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.
1 Timothy 4:6-8
I've always loved this scripture. My best friend and I were in the process of planning a youth program at our church and the topic, ironically, was called Spiritual Fitness. Unfortunately, plans fell through and we didn't get to see the program come to pass but we held it close for another time. Then I thought, what better way to revive the topic than by talking about it, right? I wanted to talk about Spiritual Fitness; what it is and why being spiritual fit is so important. The scripture above tells us to train yourself in Godliness.
What is Godliness?
Godliness is the quality or practice of conforming to the laws and wishes of God; devoutness and moral uprightness.
-Dictionary.com
Not only does it tell us to be Godly but it also says that bodily training or physical training has some value. Key word, some value but Godliness is of value in all things. Then it tells you why, because it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.
Are you Godly?
Do you need training in that area?
For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ
2 Peter 1:5-8
I mentioned in my previous post Your Body Is An Investment, that we should have great stewardship over our bodies. It is important to manage our bodies well so they can be used according to God’s will. So these questions still remain, what does that look like? How do I start?
If the goal is to be godly, then we must do a couple of things to get to that goal. Being physically fit is half the battle. Being spiritual fit means to strengthen your belief system, your prayer life, activating your faith and trust in things you can not necessarily see but knowing it will all work out according to God's plan.
Let’s dive deeper. If you are anything like me, you are the type of person that needs steps to follow or a plan just to get you started. Don’t worry I got you, we can do this together, let’s go!
1. Establish a plan
Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap
Galatians 6:7
What helped me was creating a plan for myself. Knowing the direction that I needed to go was all the determination that I required to jumpstart anything I set my mind too. Don’t forget about what we discussed in Get to Work, and The Action to Start Somewhere. Establishing a plan was my brainstorming phase. I knew what I had to do and what it would take for me to get there, but following through with it was extremely hard for me. I knew it was all in my mind and that if I could will it in my head then I could will it in reality and actually do it.
Establishing a plan looks like this: This year for my Self Evaluation (download yours today), I wanted to work on making new goals for myself. Working on those goals until they were completed. This is what I did:
1. Make sure your goals are S.M.A.R.T Goals!
2. Does my goals or plans meet the S.M.A.R.T goal criteria?
3. What actions are required in making your plan a success?
4. Develop a schedule!
5. Follow that schedule!
6. Give Yourself Credit where credit is due!
7. Make some mistakes. It is okay! If you do something wrong, just try your best to learn from it and see what you can do better the next time around!
Creating a habit looks like this: On average it takes 21-28 days for a habit to develop. During this time you should be doing everything within your power to make every day count leading up to your 28 days. This is a skill that takes determination, endurance, stamina, and commitment. Do you have it?!
With creating a healthy habit you can choose to use S.M.A.R.T goals. I find myself using S.M.A.R.T. goals in everything I do now because it helps me to put things in perspective and in order. Here are some other tips I used with helping me set a habit.
Make your mind up and DO IT!
Visualize yourself doing it and also visualize yourself feeling better after you do it!
Tell others to keep you on track!
Keep a record of your progress and give yourself credit for making it thus far!
Visualize yourself at the finish line. Keep this visual tucked in your conscious and your Subconscious Mind so that it can be a constant reminder. Remember your subconscious mind plays a vital role in What Drives You each day
2. Establish a Healthy Diet
Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation,
1 Peter 2:2
So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
1 Corinthians 10:31
One key element in making sure our bodies are in proper shape is by eating well. We all should know by now how to eat properly or what we need to eat to eat properly. Most diets or meal plans suggest you to eat loads of fruits and vegetables alongside whole grains. Eating lean meats, controlling portion sizes and also drinking enough water. But what if I were to say, establishing a healthy diet doesn't necessarily mean food persay. What if I said a healthy diet should consist of other aspects of your life as well as eating healthy. Let me explain.
Diet what you listen to. What you hear will affect you. A couple of months ago, this melody to a song was in my head practically all day. I couldn’t remember the lyrics nor the name of the song nor artist. I was determined to find it. I eventually found it and played it over and over again hoping I would get the song out of my head. Upon listening to the song, I noticed the lyrics and began reading the whole song in its entirety.
Most music today will trap your mind with a nice beat, verse, and or melody, but once you pay attention to what they are singing, rapping, and chanting, it’s a whole nother story. I won’t name the song or artist but this song was talking about depression, deep sadness, and sucide.
Unbeknownst to me, I thought the song was good until I read the lyrics. I immediately stopped listening to it. Thinking a song was good but ignoring what they are actually singing about.
How many people can attest to this?
Therefore consider carefully how you listen.
Luke 8:18
Monitor and guard your mind. The enemy is after your mind. The mind is powerful and once the enemy gets in your mind and takes over how you speak, think, and feel it’s hard to unravel and undo those bad habits. But it can be done under the care and protection of Jesus Christ. That's why we have to wear the Full Armor of God and put on the Helmet of salvation, Without proper covering it leaves us exposed when battling spiritual warfare.
When the scripture says do not conform to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, it means just that. Transform means to undergo transformation or to make a through dramatic change.
Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light, but when it is bad, your body is full of darkness.
Luke 11:34
Diet What You See. You have to be mindful of what you are watching. In a run of a day we look at and see a lot of things. I find it critical to purge a lot of the things that I see on all of my social media platforms. If it doesn't benefit me or positively feed my soul then I delete and block it. People included. PERIODT! We must get to a place where we filter our distractions and replace it with positivity and encouragement.
What you watch on TV can and will affect you. I love love love horror movies. I’ve always loved them. Once I started this journey of getting closer to God and protecting my peace, I’ve noticed my desire for watching horror movies has decreased. I now find them disturbing, and sometimes having that in my spirit or in my thoughts no longer serves me. It took a long time to get there but I’m slowly weaning myself off them. I filter what I watch on TV as well. Really, quite honestly, I hardly watch TV most days. AGD and having a full time job fills up my day, which is fine by me.
How can you filter what you see?
Diet What You Speak: Like we discussed in Speak Life In Everything You Do, we shouldn’t be speaking anything negative. Not towards others and especially not towards ourselves. The bible tells us that life and death are in the power of the tongue and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof. Proverbs 18:21 So that means, what I say needs to go on a diet. I should be mindful of what comes out of my mouth, especially bad things. Remember once you say something and it is released into the atmosphere it cannot be taken back.
The bible also encourages us to speak on things that are noble, just ,true, lovely, and of good report. If it’s not any of those things, SHUT YOUR MOUTH (respectfully) until you heal and then proceed with caution.
Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.
Proverbs 16:24
What you speak will kill and bless you all at the same time. In the same breath if you're not careful. Speaking life in dead situations and having the faith that can move mountains is outstanding all within itself. What a man thinketh, he is. That's also scripture as well. So what you call yourself and what you speak over yourself you become. Be careful how you talk to yourself. I’m not speaking to you but also reminding myself too. We are in this together, right?
Diet What You Do: Have you ever heard the saying “Actions speak louder than words.” If you haven’t let me let you in on a secret, it’s true. Sometimes what we say and what we do can be two completely different things. You have to be aware of your actions. We all know the difference from right and wrong, whether we want to admit it or not. Like we discussed in Mindfulness: Your Choices Have Power, we all make thousands of decisions each day, whether they are big or small, good or bad, it is up to us to decide what we are going to do. Doing no evil means that you are practicing self-control, helping those in need, caring for others, giving without question, forgiving, having faith, expecting the positives, not sinning, and not being hypocritical. If you are doing something that you know goes against God’s commandments then it is time to diet what you do. Remember it cost you nothing to be kind to others and do the right thing.
Questions To Consider:
1. What is one thing you can do to feel spiritually connected?
2. Do you lack in planning for your spiritual goals?
3. Am you spiritually Fit?
4. Are your goals S.M.A.R.T goals? What are your goals?
5. Does your plan for yourself spark a determined spirit in you?
6. Do you have a healthy Diet?
7. Do you have the self-control and consistency needed to reach your goals?
8. Do you have good habits?
9. Do your bad habits outweigh the good ones?
10. What is something that you can filter out of your life completely that would make a great improvement in your spiritual fitness?
With Love, please know that being physically fit is important. Our bodies are an investment and they were not given to us in vain. We all have a purpose here on earth, so please take care of what you were given. Spiritual fitness, however, carries more value. It is imperative that we be all of what God has called us to be through prayer, having Active Faith, Practicing Mindfulness over what we see, hear, speak, and do, being S.M.A.R.T., creating healthy habits, and dieting. Spiritual fitness prepares us for the spiritual warfare, tough times, doubts, and inevitable stressors that we are sure to endure in this life. Better yet, being spiritually fit prepares us for the life that God has prepared for us in heaven. How fit are you? I am trying to get back to Eden. I don’t know about yall.
~Just Breathe...A Golden Dream~
Amen.