Last week I interviewed Michael Haldas for the next My Beautiful Advent.  We talked about overcoming the voices in our head that hold us back. (I know you’ll love the upcoming interview!)  Today in her daily devotional, Sr. Vassa mentioned how we can be used to feed others just as the disciples did.  Based on Luke 9:12-13, God told the disciples to take care of the 5000 people, even though they felt ill equipped and unable to do it.  They didn’t realize that He would make it possible.  And this is where two topics, seemingly unrelated, came together for me.

On our own, we can feel so limited, but God still uses us in ways that are beyond our understanding.  You may be able to insert your own name in here…

“Cynthia, you are not that kind…others are kinder” And yet, God uses me to show His kindness to others. 

“Cynthia, you are not that loving…others are more loving” And yet, God uses me to show His love to others. 

“Cynthia, you are not that generous…others are more generous”  And yet, God uses me to extend His generosity to others. 

“Cynthia, you are not that educated…others are more educated” And yet, God uses me to teach others what He wants them to learn.

Before I speak privately or publicly, or before I write, I pray that God massage my words to be what the person listening or reading needs to hear.  Because, left to my own devices, I will just sound like blah, blah, blah.  He enables the listener to hear and understand despite me.

We are unstoppable if we get out of our own way and allow God to use us as He wills. That should bring us all comfort!  He has equipped us for great works that only He makes possible.  Our culture tells us that it’s about us.  Our culture tells us that it’s impossible to feed 5000 with 5 loaves and 2 fish.  But we know that nothing is due to our power or even within our power.  It’s all Him…all day!

Today I saw a quote by Seneca that said:

“Life is long if you know how to use it”

Lord I want to use my life to nurture and love your people.  Thy will be done…beyond what I think my capabilities are.

The post God Created Us For His Use – Despite What We Think appeared first on Holistic Christian Life.

At the end of last week’s blog post, I mentioned how everything that happens to me gives me an opportunity to help others. Not only do I say this in my posts, but also when I lead retreats, during interviews, and on Podcasts. I am embarrassed to say that I am tempted to stop saying it at this point. I’ve started feeling as though I’m just inviting trouble. Sounds like superstition doesn’t it?  I’m not proud of this.

Last weekend, I reached a low point.  Alone in my hotel room, on the way to the Ancient Faith Writers and Podcasters Conference, I broke down. I finally admitted to God, and to myself, that I was scared, and I let the tears come. In His mercy, he had arranged for me to room with Presbytera Stacey Dorrance when I got to Antiochian Village. She was the first person I admitted to that I feel like I’ve reached my limit and I am scared. I’m embarrassed about this, because we all know that God is in control and has us covered, right? She helped get me on track again. How did He know that I would need someone like her at exactly that time? Of course He knew.

When I was becoming Orthodox, I was amazed at how many times a certain verse would come up three times in one week. I always took it as a sign that I should pay special attention, as I felt the Holy Spirit was trying to tell me something. In this case, in the past, my spiritual father has told me to pray Psalm 69 (70:2) whenever I feel helpless and weak.   Something short, when it’s all that I can utter.

Oh God, make haste to help me.

Presbytera Stacey also talked to me about this. And then this weekend, Sister Vassa, through her Reflections with Morning Coffee, also brought up the same Psalm. Why is it so hard sometimes? Why is it that even though our soul knows that God is in control, and that His Will being done is truly what we want…somewhere in our head, we try to take back that control, flail about miserably,  and end up crying into our pillow in a hotel room in the middle of Ohio? 

Presbytera Stacey asked if I had reached out to ask for your prayers. I said I had not, because I feel like I need to be strong for you. Your fearless leader or something to that effect. But here I am asking for your prayers. For strength, for God’s healing, for the wisdom of my doctor, and my humility when it comes to admitting that I may not be as strong as I sound at times.

In the coming weeks, I will continue to share my journey with you. Step nine will be about nutrient deficiencies including firsthand knowledge of what IV therapy is like, why some people may need it, and how to find out. I will also be adding a 10th step, which will include mold poisoning, mycotoxins, and the similarities with Lyme disease, chronic fatigue, and fibromyalgia.

Please pray for me. I do feel stronger now since my “breakdown” last weekend. Thanks be to God in all things…and today especially, I thank God for you!

Please let me know if I can ever pray for you.

Your sister in Christ,

Cynthia

The post Timeout for a Prayer Request appeared first on Holistic Christian Life.

That being said…I don’t think my friends even know what I do.  After a tennis match the other day, we were all having lunch together, and the conversation turned to self defacing remarks about needing to lose weight, not getting around the court like we used to, and medical issues.  That’s when one person orders an egg white omelette, and another person says “They say that egg yolks are good for you now.”  For almost three decades, it has been proven that egg yolks do not raise cholesterol and that they are good for you.   However, the first person’s doctor told her to eat only the whites.  This stuff can make me crazy.

Who are “They?”

In this case the “they” were right, but you would not believe what I hear.  Are we talking Dr. Oz?  Whoopie Goldberg?  The New York Times?  Self Magazine?  Mayo Clinic?  The Heart Association?  Who do you trust?  Do “they” even know what they’re talking about, or are they just looking for content from anyone who sounds legit?  Personally, I don’t trust any of the above, and Dr. Oz was one of my teachers.  I trust him in private, but I’ve noticed that he allows information to be shared on his TV show that I don’t think he even agrees with.

When I was in school, we learned over 100 dietary theories.  And, surprise!  Many of them dis-agreed with each other.  My teachers were all well respected doctors, scientists, and researchers.  Some were of celebrity status, many were not.  Some were fanatical about they way they believed everyone should eat, almost like it was their religion.  Others were matter of fact.  This is where I came up with my philosophy. 

You have to know who you trust, and I trust God. 

I believe God made food the way we should eat it.  First it was plants, then He added animal products.  I eat mostly plants, with animal products on the side.  That is, when we are not eating as Adam and Eve did in the Garden during our fasting periods.  And I eat clean, meaning organic and without added toxins.  And guess what?  Doctors, scientists and researchers all say that this is good.  The feasts and the fasts are good.  These are the people I take seriously and get my continuing education from.

In this, the Information Age, bad information that sways people to believe the wrong things is being gobbled up. 

What if the people in the New Testament had access to television, radio, newspapers, magazines, and internet like we do?  “They” said that He wasn’t the Christ.  These people were highly educated, looked up to, and had the ability to sway people.  “They” would have been everywhere…taking out Facebook ads, and doing guest appearances on The View.  I know…scary. 

So today, I just want to lead you in the right direction if I can.  We need to guard our hearts, our souls and our health.  We have to know who to listen to and who to tune out.  It’s a noisy world, but you owe it to yourself and your family to be informed by the right people, and to make informed decisions on who the right people are.  This is where Functional and Integrative Medicine Doctors come in.  This is where Certified Health Coaches come in.  You can go to The Institute For Functional Medicine as a start if you are looking for a doctor, but there are other resources out there, and doctors who stay up to date on the latest in research.  If you have questions, ask me!  That’s what I’m here for.  A Certified Holistic Health Coach helps people meet their goals, by leading and supporting them to be the healthiest that they can be.  We help navigate and prevent disease, manage weight, improve sleep, stress, and energy which is the tip of the iceberg.  This takes into account your entire lifestyle including relationships, work and what you do during your downtime.  We talk and teach, but we mostly listen.

The post Who Are “They” – Just Wondering appeared first on Holistic Christian Life.

I was invited to speak at a retreat recently, and afterward was approached by someone who mentioned that whenever I said “passion,” she had an automatic negative reaction to the word.  She was most helpful, and I thank her for her candidness.  Indeed, when we speak of our passions in the context of our Faith, they are most often related to sin.  It turns out that she is not the only one who has this reaction.  It’s caused me to pause and consider my use of the word.

If you have been reading my blog posts, and following the programs coming out of Holistic Christian Life, you know that I say I have a passion for health and wellness and for helping Orthodox Christians get healthy.  I truly believe this passion is from God, and I use the terms “passion” and “passionate” quite freely.  It is being used for good (I hope!) and for love for His people, so I’ve attributed this passion as coming from God.  I’ve even heard people say that they have a passion for God!

The first time I thought about passions with a negative connotation was about 25 years ago when a friend told me that she wished that God would just take her.  That she wanted to be free from her passions, because they were tormenting her, and she didn’t want to be a part of this fallen world any longer.  To her, the word “passion” meant a sinful nature.  It took me a while to figure this out.  I think we can all relate to struggling with the sin in our lives, and wishing that we didn’t have to struggle.  During my Evangelical Christian walk at the time, the word “passions” used for sinful temptations struck me as odd.  The only connection I could make with a negative connotation was when it’s used in a sexual way, and not within the sanctity of marriage. 

This caused me to do further study into the word, and into the Word!

A short synopsis of Merriam-Webster’s definition of passion includes:

All of the scripture verses I found use the word passion in a sinful, negative way.  Indeed, the Orthodox Christian use of the word goes back to the Greek root, which is path, or “to suffer.”  The Hebrew word for passion means…well…passion.  So not very helpful.

After all is said and done, I’m thinking I will change the word I use.  After all, I am talking to Christians about their lifestyle and living in a way that pleases God.  I’m not addressing the secular world about “living with passion” or other modern turns of phrase.

Mr. Google gave me “20 Words to Use Instead of Passion,” and upon careful consideration, I’ve chosen to skip “possessed” and “rabid” and will probably settle on “inspired” or “determined.”  I’m happy to take a poll…

The post Passion – Good or Bad? appeared first on Holistic Christian Life.

Today I am rather reflective.  In two days I turn 55.  Three years ago I was unhappy and unhealthy.  These things go hand in hand by the way, but I won’t go into detail on the issues and how things changed, in case you have already read The Holistic Christian Woman. 

The point of today’s post is, God willing, to inspire you. 

If you would have told me when I was unhappy and unhealthy that in three years I would be a published author, professional speaker, blogger, and creator of programs that people around the world have said touch their lives and make them better…I would not have laughed.  Instead, I would have been irritated that someone would have the gall to make up things that were definitely not going to happen, and hope that they would stop.  I’ve wondered since then, why the negative response toward someone who only wanted me to be my best? 

Because it would have taken four things that I didn’t have:

1.  The Knowledge of what I wanted to do, or what my Big Purpose was.
2.  The Energy to do the work that it would take to make something happen.
3.  The Courage to take a gamble…becoming passionate about something only to possibly waste my time and money.
4.  The Humility to face the fear of failure and embarrassment.

The change started with a spark of excitement about something health related, and a realization that I had not acknowledged this life-long interest as one of my hot-buttons. 

Lesson One:  God gives us that excitement or interest in things that we may take for granted.  These things can lead us toward our Purpose.

Lesson Two:  Find out what you need to do to learn more about what you love, and how to incorporate it into your life on a daily basis.

Just start.  Just take a step.  God opened doors for me that went beyond what I knew I could do.  The key is, I had to approach the doors.  A door didn’t appear to me while I was watching TV.

Lately I’ve been putting together a puzzle.  Each day I find one or two pieces that fit, while my inner voice tell me that this is hard, I’ll never be able to complete it, and if I do, it’s going to be cluttering my kitchen table for months.  Negativity…get behind me!  It’s half way done now.  A little each day.  And, we have the bonus of utilizing our under used formal dining room each night.  

Perseverance and silencing your inner negative voice will help you take the steps needed each day, puzzle piece by puzzle piece, as God watches and waits for you to continue down the path to His plan.  The perfect plan that you may have never known about if you didn’t take the first step.  Remember it’s the journey that makes a life a life, not the outcome.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord,

“plans to prosper you and not to harm you,

plans to give you hope and a future.”

Jeremiah 29:11

The post Your Life – Is This All There Is? appeared first on Holistic Christian Life.

“So how bad is it I have a really hard time paying attention in liturgy?” my 13-year-old asked as we were driving to Church a few Sundays ago. “Oh babe,” I said, “I am so right there with you. It’s hard for me to stay focused as well.”

Me being notoriously absentminded (Thanks, dad, for the wireless key locator!), this admission wasn’t so much shocking to her as it was comforting, because what’s more disheartening than struggling alone?

It is extremely difficult, all of it! Growing up, parenting, salvation…

I want my kids to go ahead and embrace that irrefutable fact instead of wasting precious hours or even years on agonizing over their setbacks and weaknesses. Nor do I want them, or myself for that matter, to spurn what is challenging, humbling, demanding.

An addiction to ease and surface level comfort, well it’s like choosing to eat birthday cake instead of whole grains and vegetables for every meal: insanely delicious at first but hardly fortifying. You have to train and retrain your palate through making deliberate healthy decisions about what you put in your body to love and crave what is truly nourishing.

Thus despite the struggle, I keep on showing up for Church services, reigning in my wandering thoughts every five seconds or so that I might lay aside all earthly cares and receive the King of All. I keep on working at my faith, stumbling frequently but assured of God’s patience, because on the other side of my efforts lies access to a mysterious oasis of inner rootedness and calm.

When else in my busy, over stimulated life do I tap into stillness? The Divine Liturgy removes from me all the noise and distractions that keep me from contemplating the state of my soul. The fight to pay attention strengthens my spiritual muscles making me better prepared to restrain myself from giving in to the impulses tempting me to speak when I should be quiet, to judge when I should repent, to gorge on worldly pleasures, and to despair when I should cling to God by simplifying, seeking first after His righteousness, and serving my neighbor.

The Kingdom of God is not a fluffy pillow or a down mattress. It is found by the nun sleeping on a board, or the elderly woman suffering in her hospital bed. The Kingdom of Heaven is a spiritual condition that no earthly situation can overcome. The nun sings songs, and the afflicted woman offers pure prayers. They both go through hardships that draw them closer to Christ.

You may ask yourself, “How can I suffer as they do?” You need not live in a monastery or a hospital to experience this growth; you can participate in the same perfecting journey by unconditionally loving and serving those around you. Do you hear bad things about someone? Then pray for them! Do you have a disagreement with someone? Then humble yourself and apologize! Loving your enemies and being modest are difficult tasks, yet they are perfecting works.

When God sees our struggles to put aside our ego, He will grant us strength. When He sees us acting on our desire to enter into the Kingdom of His love, then He will help us in our time of need. No one shall ever perish from seeking after God.

-Metropolitan Joseph

What gives witness to God’s Kingdom in this hurting world more than mere words and arguments (especially heated ones) ever could?

A soul at peace, a heart overflowing with mercy, and eyes fixated on goodness, light and beauty!

I am what I consume. Give me more and more and ever more of Christ.

The post I Am What I Consume appeared first on Holistic Christian Life.

Hippocrates

I offer you…A Prescription With a Christian Focus…

Get out the door within an hour of waking. This has a huge impact on your hormones and your brain.

Try to remember to look around you and not at the ground before you.

Give thanks to God who gave you your body, and the ability to walk.  Briefly knowledge that there are many people in this world who cannot walk, either because of physical limitations or living conditions.

Listen to the sounds of nature around you. Appreciate the sound of birds, rain, wind.

Acknowledge and be grateful that God created all of this for your enjoyment, peace and well-being, as He created the garden for Adam and Eve.

Stop at some point, about 10 minutes into the walk, raise your arms up over your head and stretch. 2-3 deep belly breaths, and when you exhale, let out a sound of relief.

Once again, give thanks to God for the air He has given you, and the benefits of oxygen for your blood, organs and brain.  Pray for the strength and knowledge to treat your body as the holy vessel that it is. Respecting, caring, and nourishing it as you would your children’s bodies. For in fact, you are one of His children.

Ask for strength over cravings and passions, and the ability to get up when you fail or fall.

With each person who comes to mind during your walk, give thanks, and pray for them.

At some point during your walk, this ancient prayer of Saint Philaret’s may come to mind.

Lord grant that I may greet this coming day in peace,
Help me in all things to rely upon your Holy will.
In every hour of the day reveal Your will to me.
Bless my dealings with all who surround me.
Teach me to treat all that comes to me with peace of soul and with firm conviction that your will governs all.
In all my deeds and words guide my thoughts and feelings.
In unforeseen events let me not forget that all are sent by You.
Teach me to act firmly and wisely without embarrassing and embittering others,
and help me to bear the fatigue of this coming day and all that it shall bring.
Direct my will, teach me to pray, and yourself pray and me.
Amen

Thank Him for allowing you to wake this morning, and that you have a bed to go to for sleep.

After 30 minutes, proceed to go about your day knowing that your lymphatic system was given a chance to release toxins from your body, that you were able to allow the beauty of His creation to relieve stress that can create inflammation in the body, hormonal imbalances, and lead to cravings, anxiety, and a life that does not reflect your faith.

And go in peace.

The post A Prescription for Walking with St. Philaret appeared first on Holistic Christian Life.

It is time to think of ourselves as God’s creation also. From an embryo, He created us mind, body and soul. Our life is a gift. But what are we doing with it? Unlike receiving a package at Christmas, this one still belongs to the Giver. As St. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 “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? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.”

When we look around us, and at the statistics today, the number of people who are miserable and living with disease is astounding!  Is this the way He wanted us to live?  What if I told you that almost all disease can be prevented by lifestyle changes?  In fact…they can even be turned around!  What if I told you that your genes can be manipulated to turn off or on by lifestyle choices?  That’s exactly what the study of epigenetics is proving.  We can get back to living that full, abundant life that Christ wanted for us in John 10:10.

I think what Eve needed is what we need…discipline, obedience, submission, and thinking of God even when we put food in our mouths. It’s funny how these words…discipline, obedience, submission…tend to have negative connotations. However, let’s look a couple words that describe their opposites.

Discipline – Negligence
Obedience – Rebellion
Submission – Resistance

And what proceeds all of these? I offer to you…pride. My way or the highway.  And the end result?  Well, we all know the story of what happened with the apple.  It started with food, which I find is a good place to start here.  Are we eating as God intended?  That will be one of the many areas we will be covering in future posts.  We’ve been led astray and lost our way when it comes to knowing how to care for our bodies.  Our mission is to guide you back to health.

At Holistic Christian Life, we believe in the whole package. In serving God with our whole selves and not compartmentalizing our physical health as something that is not a part of our faith.

What we think about, blog about and teach about here is caring for the whole person. The gift, which is YOU! The gifts of our family, our friends, and all of our brothers and sisters in Christ. Living as God intended, and being the best YOU that you can be, while keeping our focus on Christ.

Join Holistic Christian Life as we journey together and encourage each other to live a life aligned with God’s calling for our mind, body, and soul.

“Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.” 3 John 1:2

The post The Whole Package appeared first on Holistic Christian Life.