It's What You Put In

12:15 PM

"Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul." 3 John 1:2


Over the past 4 years, I have been slowly crawling towards a lifestyle of healthy eating and a toxin free home (so much as it depends on my choices anyway). I don't really remember what sparked this interest, other than just wanting to make good decisions and feeling a prompt to take care of my body and my health...and my husband's.

This post will share space with Bible verses. As a Christian, I have realized more and more the positive influence reading the Bible has on my life. As a teen, it was so easy to stay on top of reading my Bible and learning from the wisdom inside it. As an adult, it always feels like there is a push-back against reading it. Some love the Bible, some don't. Most have never even read it. The night I turned to the Bible as a 15 year old in distress and found a peace that delivered all my fears, the book changed my life and continues to change me. Like any written word, people can take things wrong or use their own motives to corrupt the original intent of the text. I use the Bible to love stronger...to be more at peace in my soul and to learn the ways of God, which are good and loving and right. If the Bible causes someone to hate, that person already has hate in their soul and is just skimming for ways to justify their sins. My Bible makes me better. If you have never read it, I suggest starting in Proverbs, Psalms, or Matthew of the New Testament and read through. There is a Bible app with tons of translations for free which is super handy to have on your phone. There is a verse of the day that you can even start with if you are not much of a reader.

Anyways, so we feed our souls (hopefully) with good stuff but we should also look at wellness on a physical level too. What we put in our bodies matters. I have never been a person to diet. The vanity behind dieting says that what matters is the outside. Any good change you experience should be birthed from the inside of you and work from the inside, out. Cutting something for a short period of time to fit into a bathing suit for a trip is a temporary choice without lasting benefits. It also bothers me to place your self confidence in how you fit into a bathing suit, and worse still, how others receive you in a bathing suit. Yo-yo dieting is one of the worst things you can do to your body.

My radical push towards wellness follows this slogan: love your body well. If you loved your body, you would eat well. Not out of fear or shame but out of freedom to care for yourself and do what is best for your health. I was a very insecure person growing up. I felt controlled by the media's messages and hated myself in the mirror. I had a growth spurt at 13 that caused me to get some serious stretch marks on the inside of my thighs. I wouldn't wear shorts unless they hid them and always cringed in a bathing suit, assuming everyone was staring at my stretch marks. I felt like wolverine had gotten to me. Now, 15 years later, I literally care 0% about my stretch marks. For real. They are a part of my body. I either need to be at peace or be distressed and I choose peace! What women need are more examples of women who do not let other's opinions control how they feel about themselves. You will never feel good enough until you decide you are good enough. No one else can decide for you.

When I started coming around to loving my body, I didn't stop caring about my health. No, in fact,  I cared more. You see, when you hate yourself to the point of eating everything in sight or eating nothing at all...your lifestyle is still rooted in self-hate. When you love yourself, you have discipline to take care of yourself. I am so thankful for my body. With it, I can do miracles. I can laugh, play, adventure, push it to hike hard or canoe, sleep in forests, climb hills, roll down them, love and serve people, run my business, care for my home, and hopefully, make children. My body is a miracle. So is yours. It was made with love, for love. When you hate it, you close the door to more miracles: peace, kindness, wisdom, joy, gentleness, understanding, and discipline. 

So, in an effort to love yourself, you need to figure out what your body needs that you aren't giving it. Kindness is always a good place to start...but once you are in a good place and ready to change your lifestyle, I would start with what issues you are dealing with and how diet may help you. For myself, I deal with endo, ovarian cysts, migraines, acid-reflux issues, horrible bloating, lower back pain, and fertility issues. For my husband, he deals with lack of energy, hypothyroidism, IBS, and unwanted weight gain. A great way to be aware of where you are at is to get blood work done. Tell your doctor you want to know if any of your levels are too low or high so you know what vitamins to be taking and if your diet is lacking in anything major.

I recommend reading up on the major vitamins and supplements just to see if any of them sound appealing to you and your situation. In Canada, I believe everyone should be taking Vitamin D through the winter. I also think Omega 3’s are a must. You can’t go wrong with a good multivitamin.

For Scott’s thyroid issues, we are doing a Norwegian Kelp (iodine) supplement, as well as Vitamin B12’s, veggie drink, protein shakes, Vitamin D, Fish Oil, and Selenium. For essential oils, he has a rub I made him with Peppermint, Lemongrass, Frankinscence, Endoflex, and Mister in a coconut oil base that he applies on his thyroid and on his feet. He also drinks Lemon or Citrus Fresh in his water.

For myself, I am doing Vitamin D, Milk Thistle, Selenium, Fish Oil, and the veggie drink. I add in other things at random - Vitamin C, B, E, and eventually a Prenatal Vitamin. For essential oils, I use tons depending on the day and my needs. My most commonly used oils are the ones in my homemade deodorant and face cream and then I regularly use M-grain, Progessence Phyto Plus, Endoflex, Peppermint, Digize, Lavender, and Thieves. I drink Lemon or Grapefruit in my water everyday. 


Since using essential oils, our lives have changed. Vitamins are always on and off around here, but we are finally getting a routine of keeping them as a daily thing. In the past we have been bad at forgetting to take them. I have been dealing with a lot of my own stuff through essential oils but Scott is trying to be off a lifetime subscription to Synthroid, a synthetic thyroid prescription, so he really needs to be taking all his vitamins and supplements to get his thyroid working.

Emberly House is not just about fixing up a house that was not maintained properly but also the bodies that house us, which were also not maintained properly. We are learning so much and enjoying every step of the way. If you want to feel well, choose wellness. Dieting and self-hate will never produce what you want in life. Our physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health are all closely linked together and intertwined. They each deserve our discipline and attention.

For those of you wondering “What does the Bible say about health and wellness when it comes to eating and our bodies?” I have a few verses to share with you guys:

And on the banks, on both sides of the river, there will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither, nor their fruit fail, but they will bear fresh fruit every month, because the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for healing. Ezekiel 47:12

Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things. Philippians 3:19

Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless. 1 Thessalonians 5:23

Man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart. 1 Samuel 16:7

I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is God's gift to man. Ecclesiastes 3:12-13

Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. And as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything. Genesis 9:3

Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him. For God's temple is holy, and you are that temple. 1 Corinthians 3:16-17

And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. Genesis 1:29

So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. 1 Corinthians 10:31

To end this post, I want to say that many of you know the verse, "Love your neighbour as yourself." What people miss is the "self" in that verse. If you hate yourself, how can you possibly love others? Everything you do is an overflowing of what you hold inside you. What you put in will come out. If you put hate in, hate will come out. Love yourself well, and you will learn to love others well too. And above all, love the Lord - the source of love, who teaches us to love ourselves and others.

Do you have a favourite verse or quote that helps you on towards wellness? I would love to hear it in the comments :)



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