If typical self-care routines have ever left you feeling empty, this episode is packed with soul-refreshing truth and practical guidance. Together, we'll explore the four pillars of Christ-centered self-care—physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being—and how tending to each of these areas helps us build a firm foundation rooted in Christ.
✨ In this episode, you'll discover: 🌿 Why self-care isn't selfish—it's stewardship of the mind, body, and soul God entrusted to you. 🌿 How Christ is the missing "Who" in so many wellness routines—and why everything shifts when you put Him at the center. 🌿 The truth that your dignity comes from being made in the image and likeness of God—not from achievements, perfection, or performance. 🌿 How daily, sustainable habits create rhythms of care that let you serve from abundance instead of burnout.
When we honor our whole selves—body, mind, and soul—we're equipped to bloom into who God created us to be and bear lasting fruit. 🌸
📣 And don't miss next week's episode, where we'll get practical and walk through how to create your own daily self-care plan—one that's realistic, Christ-centered, and sustainable.
Join The Nourished to Bloom Community: www.community.karatrochta.com
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The Nourished to Bloom Podcast Show Notes: www.podcast.karatrochta.com/shownotes
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So last week we laid the foundation for our
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Self Care series by asking an important question.
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What's missing from the way we usually approach health and wellness?
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We discover that the answer really isn't a what, but a who.
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That for most of us, it's Christ himself that is missing from our health
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and wellness and well being efforts. We talked about how
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self care in the light of our faith is really about
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stewardship. Being able to care for the gift of our bodies, minds and
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souls so that we can love God and others more fully.
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So in today's episode, we're going to continue to build upon this
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foundation as we talk about the pillars or the categories
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of Christ Centered Self Care. These are the practices that help us
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steward our mind, body and soul every single day. From
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physical health to emotional resilience, mental clarity to
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spiritual depth, these pillars work together to create
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a life for us that's rooted in peace, joy and
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purpose. So if you've ever felt stretched
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then, or unsure how to really care for yourself without
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feeling selfish, then this conversation is all about giving
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you a framework that's grounded in faith and one that
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equips you to flourish and serve from abundance, not
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burnout. Welcome to the
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Nourish to Bloom podcast where your faith meets your health.
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I'm your host, Kara Trochta, a registered dietitian and certified
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Catholic coach, and I'm here to help you cultivate a deeper connection with your
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body, your spirit and the nourishment that sustains them both.
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In a world filled with noise and confusion about food,
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health and body image, this podcast offers truth and healing from
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a Christ centered perspective. Together, we'll untangle the deep
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roots of diet, culture and and discover what it means to truly care
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for ourselves through joyful nourishment of mind, body
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and soul. We're here to dive into the transformative power of
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intuitive eating coupled with the rich teachings of our Christian faith.
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With every episode, I'll be cheering you on, offering insights,
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inspiration and practical tools to help you heal your
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relationship with food and embrace the beauty of your body
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as a temple of the Holy Spirit with confidence and
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courage that can only be found in Christ. Join
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me as we journey together towards a more holistic approach to wellness, one
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that honors the wisdom of your body as God's creation, the
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teachings of our faith, and the unique purpose you're called to fulfill.
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You were made to bloom, to come into
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full beauty and health in order to bear good fruit for the Lord with
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your life. So if you're ready to nourish your body, feed your soul
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and bloom into the best version of yourself, then you're in the right place.
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And I'm so happy you're here. Welcome to Nourish
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to Bloom, where every day is a sacred invitation to
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thrive. Hey there.
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Welcome back to the Nourish to Bloom podcast. So happy to be
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spending some time with you here this week. I hope that your week
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is off to a really great start. So
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last week we began our Christ Centered Self Care series
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and we really talked about the foundation by
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asking, why does self care really matter to us as Christians?
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And today we're going to continue to build upon that foundation by really looking
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and exploring what the pillars of Christ Centered Self Care are.
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They're really the structure that helps us to live in alignment with God's
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design for our mind, body and soul. And it gives us
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kind of a direction for, for what stewardship looks like
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as well as helping us be intentional with how we
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are caring ourselves and
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the gifts and talents and resources that
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God has gifted us. So just a quick recap from last
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week, we really looked at these three kind of guiding truths from the church.
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The first one is that we are made in the image and likeness of God.
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And because of that we have inherent dignity. It is not performance
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based love. It is not based off of the things that we
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do, the things that we have that we have dignity and
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worth simply because we are children of God and we are made in
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his image and likeness. And then the second one was about
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how life and health are gifts that God gifted us these
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things to, these things to us. And so we're called to be stewards,
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to, to manage them, to care for them, not try
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to control them or manipulate them. And then the
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third kind of guiding principle for our series on Christ Centered Self care
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is that true health is holistic, that
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it's integrated, that we are an integrated being, body, mind and
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soul all working together. And so that's that foundation
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we're going to build on this month as we continue with each episode. And today
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we're going to explore those pillars of Christ Centered Self Care and how they guide
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us in everyday sustainable ways to help us
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take really great care of ourselves. And I just kind of want
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to lean into stewardship just a little bit more because
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it's really, I think we have to kind of rewrite this
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narrative about self care that the way it's been
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presented to us, it makes it seem selfish, it makes it seem.
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Seem unattainable, or that it's only for the select few. And I
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really want to Remind you that self care isn't selfish, it's simply
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stewardship. And that this is important because scripture reminds
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us that the greatest commandments are to love the Lord your God with all your
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heart, soul and mind and to love your neighbor as yourself.
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And I think it's important that we kind of look at that last part. And
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I do this often, I come back to the scripture a lot with, when we
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talk about things here on the podcast about taking care of ourselves
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and our health and wellness and, and why the scripture is important
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because we are usually so, so good and so
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focused on being able to care for others and those around
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us. But that often comes sometimes at the expense of
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caring for ourselves. So I just wanna remind you of that
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last part to love your neighbor as
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yourself. Cuz if we're neglecting caring for ourselves,
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it's going to become harder and harder to really pour into
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others with joy. Now yes, of course God's
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grace sustains us when we are, are weary or
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exhausted. But it's also important to have these daily
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rhythms of self care because it really allows us to serve from
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above, abundance rather than exhaustion and from
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joy rather than resentment or obligation.
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So you can think of the old saying, you can't pour from an empty cup.
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And stewardship just really means filling that cup
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not for our own glory but that we
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can then love God and our neighbor more fully. Because we
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are overflowing. Because we've, we've
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gone to the Lord with our needs and gone to
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take care of these needs and having them met. And so our cup is
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overflowing. And I think it's important
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to just kind of call out that. I really think the way that our culture
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and society looks at self care and kind of the way
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it's, it's sold to us is that it's just, it's a luxury
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that it's something simply to kind of just
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make us feel better. It's almost used as a way to kind
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of mask a emotions or struggles or problems that we
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have. But the reality is, is that when we do this and we just do
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these things to make us feel better, it doesn't actually
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help us overcome these problems or these emotions
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or struggles and it definitely doesn't create true solutions.
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It's really kind of this thing about just like propping ourselves
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up but it's often short lived. It doesn't give the,
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give us lasting or sustainable,
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you know, nourishment and care and not to mention the
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things that are sold to us as self care these days are usually
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Pretty expensive. And so I just want to stop and come back to kind
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of this, this basic, of what is the definition of care?
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And if you look it up, it's the provision of what is necessary
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for the health, welfare, maintenance and protection
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of someone or something. So I
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don't know about you, but that self care that we're being sold doesn't seem to
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focus on these necessities. And so that's why I want
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to propose something different. That's what I want to
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offer up. When we talk about Christ centered self care, that
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it's really focusing on caring, meeting
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needs that are necessary for your health, your welfare,
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your maintenance and your protection. And it's focused
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on you as a whole person, every
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part of you, mind, body and soul, to create lasting and
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sustainable states of health and well being.
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When we're talking about self care, self care here on the podcast, we're talking
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about daily self care and that this is essential
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and really what it is. It's basically these habits that you
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have in place for how you are caring for yourself.
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Most days it's about learning to pay
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attention to your physical, mental, emotional and spiritual
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needs and then being able to get them met.
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And this is important because this allows us to build
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a firm foundation. This allows us to have
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these things in place so that we can
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be, be strong of mind, body and soul to
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then live out God's calling.
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And if we think about this as a firm foundation, we can look at Matthew
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7:24 through 27 when Jesus tells us in the parable
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that a wise person builds their house on the rock, not
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sand. And this is true for
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self care for wellness and our health.
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We have to have this strong foundation and that's what self care
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allows us to have. Because what many of us are doing is that
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we're jumping straight to trying to optimize our health
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or we're chasing these big goals, we're chasing
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perfection, we're chasing quick fixes. But without
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the foundation of daily Christ centered self care
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habits, those things are all going to crumble. They have
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nothing to stand on because nothing has been
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firmly built. There's nothing sustainable to, to,
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to grow off of, to bloom off of, right? And so
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you can kind of think about this self care in the terms of Maslow's
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hierarchy of needs. If you look at that, there's those, those
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basic needs that are met and then things get
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more expansive,
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more, I don't know,
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like, it's like a higher pursuit, right? We can't focus on those higher
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pursuits like our mission our vocation and
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long term spiritual growth if our basic needs are
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not constantly being met. And self care
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is that foundation because it gives us stability so we
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can bloom into who God created us to be.
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And so we really have kind of these four pillars, these four
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categories of self care. And we can look at them
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separately and there are different activities that kind of fall under
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each one of these pillars separately. But the
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reality is, is that they are all integrated. You
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can think of it as just as we are many parts, we are all one
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body. The same is true for self care, that getting
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our daily needs met and each of these pillars helps us
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to create a stronger mind, body and soul.
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So it's important to also remember that we were each created with a
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unique design. It's
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unrepeatable. You are unrepeatable. I am unrepeatable. God
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created us individually and uniquely.
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So it's natural that our self care needs would be unique to each one of
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us. So let's take a deeper look at each of these
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categories of self care. Our first one being physical well being.
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So God created our bodies as temples of the Holy Spirit
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and caring for them is a form of stewardship.
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Physical self care isn't about trying to
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change your body, fix it, viewing it as a problem. It's
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not about restriction, punishment, or chasing perfection, but
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it's really about honoring the gift of your body. So
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the way that we can support this is by nourishing your body body intentionally.
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So instead of obsessing over what to cut out, what to
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eat, try focusing on foods that fuel your energy and bring
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satisfaction. And practice mindful
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eating, savoring flavors, paying attention to hunger and
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fullness cues, and enjoying food without guilt. Because food
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is a gift, it's not an enemy.
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It's also important to hydrate and rest. These basics matter.
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Keeping water nearby, prioritizing your sleep, and
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remembering that even Jesus rested. And rest
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really strengthens our foundation so you can pour out
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into others with joy. It gives your body that
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chance to rest, to recharge, to repair and restore.
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And then finally, joyful movement. Movement
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isn't about punishing yourself for what you ate. It's about
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really praising and having gratitude for what
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your body can do. So whether it's a walk outside,
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dancing in the kitchen, or just stretching before bed,
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movement can be an act of gratitude and worship. Being
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thankful for what your body has allowed you to do that day and each
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and every day. Because we each live in a physical body,
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we each only get one body to live in. And unfortunately,
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so many of us are at war with our body. So I
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challenge you to take care of it. Don't fight
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against it. Because taking care of it is so important.
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Because it allows us to serve others and it allows us to
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literally be the hands and feet of Christ.
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Okay, moving on to our second pillar, we have our mental
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well being. A clear, focused mind allows
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us to better discern God's will and to be able to live with
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intention. Our mental self care is really about
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creating space for peace and wisdom instead
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of being being consumed by busyness or noise.
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So the way that we can really promote our mental well being are things like
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setting boundaries, knowing that you do not have to do everything
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or please everyone. Instead prayerfully decide
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what God is telling you matters most and then being
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able to let go of the rest. When you have good
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boundaries in place, you're free to say yes to what aligns
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with God's call for your life.
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This also bleeds into
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simplifying where you can, y'. All.
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We make life so overwhelming and complicated, but it doesn't
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have to be that way. Look for ways to streamline
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routines, delegate tasks, y'. All.
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Sometimes I think we look at kids chores as, I
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don't know, like we're mean. I don't know, I don't know if your kids say
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that. My kids say, oh, these my friends don't have to do chores. You're so
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mean. Because I have to do this and I've really had to work through that
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by seeing it as by delegating certain tasks to my kids,
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I am teaching them life skills so they can be fully
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functioning adults one day. Right? But we have to
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simplify where we can so truly trying to find ways to reduce
00:16:22
unnecessary stressors in your life and then practicing
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gratitude, writing down things that you are grateful for
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each day really helps you shift your perspective from this
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scarcity mindset that you don't have enough, you aren't enough
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to abundance and reminds you and
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shows you all of God's goodness in your life.
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Our mental care is really about integrating wisdom into our
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daily lives and it's helping us steward our time and
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attention toward what truly matters. Okay. Our
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third pillar is emotional well being.
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I love this one because I think it's often
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misinterpreted because God created our emotions as signals,
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as cues to help us be alert to
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something is going on that we need to address. So caring
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for your emotional health means acknowledging your feelings and processing
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them in ways that can really move you towards healing
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instead of potential harm. Because you're just Turning to
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something that's going to mask it and not actually create
00:17:30
a solution. And then you're just building that same
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kind of hurtful pattern over and over and over again. So
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ways that we can do this is naming your emotions,
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identifying what you feel. We have a really
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terrible emotional language
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vocabulary. We look at it as simple things as
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I'm mad, I'm angry, I'm happy, I'm sad.
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But there's so many layers to our emotions, there's so many
00:17:59
better words that if we just can expand our
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emotional vocabulary, we can really do a better job of
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identifying what we are actually feeling and then
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being able to find coping
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mechanisms that will help us with really being able
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to have clarity and
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consistency and being able to process those emotions.
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Because it's important to find those healthy outlets. Things like journaling,
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prayer, creativity, talking with a trusted friend
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can all help you process what's on your heart and then
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not forgetting to ask for support.
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Community is God's design. We were not called to be alone.
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We are called to live in community. So we shouldn't
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hesitate to lean on family, friends, or our church
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when we need encouragement. Our emotional
00:18:55
care is really about the integration of our heart into self
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care, reminding us that we are those whole persons,
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body, mind and soul, and that it is all integrated
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and that we are called to live in relationship with others.
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And this brings us to our final pillar, our spiritual well
00:19:15
being, y'. All. This is the cornerstone.
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Without tending to our spiritual life, all of the other self care
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efforts lose their grounding.
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Christ is that firm foundation on which every other pillar
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rests. So it's important to make time for prayer and reflection.
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Even just a few quiet minutes with scripture or
00:19:38
silence in God's presence has the ability to
00:19:41
completely reorient your day. Putting it on a complete,
00:19:44
completely different trajectory and then also
00:19:48
being able to cultivate a holy headspace,
00:19:52
inviting God into our ordinary moments, being able to
00:19:57
understand his truth. See, when the enemy is
00:20:01
coming at us with lies about our
00:20:04
inadequacy, about what we are doing right.
00:20:08
We have to be able to invite God into our lives and
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all of our ordinary moments and everything that we are doing.
00:20:16
Pray without ceasing. And then
00:20:20
living liturgically, being able to anchor your routines to the
00:20:23
rhythms of the church through prayer, through the sacraments,
00:20:27
through small spiritual practices that help keep you rooted in
00:20:31
Christ. Because spiritual care is really our anchor and
00:20:35
our foundation. It's that cornerstone. It reminds us that
00:20:39
all self care flows from our relationship with God,
00:20:43
that He loved us first. We are called to love
00:20:46
him and one of the ways that we show him that love is by taking
00:20:50
care of ourselves. All of these areas of our life
00:20:54
are interconnected and that if we neglect one, it's going
00:20:57
to affect the others. So paying attention to them is not
00:21:01
an indulgence, it's really allowing us to align with
00:21:05
how God designed us and it helps us to be intentional
00:21:08
and focused on what truly is important to living a life of
00:21:12
holiness. Incorporating daily self care
00:21:16
really helps us to be holy as we focus on
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being good stewards of our minds, bodies and souls as
00:21:23
well as building that firm foundation to help us stand on as
00:21:27
we continue to live out our unique and individual
00:21:30
callings. I
00:21:34
hope that you have found some little nugget
00:21:38
of hopefulness in today's podcast. Just a little bit of
00:21:41
clarity on what we are talking about when we are looking at Christ centered
00:21:45
self care and how it is not this overwhelming
00:21:49
thing but it's just really taking the time to orient and
00:21:53
align the way that you are living on a daily basis, the things that
00:21:57
you are doing to allow you to be a good steward of
00:22:00
the gift that you are. So next week we're going to take this one step
00:22:04
further and we're going to talk about how we can create a daily self care
00:22:07
plan. This rhythm of care that is
00:22:10
realistic, Christ centered and sustainable.
00:22:14
So I hope you continue to have a beautiful and blessed week. Remember,
00:22:18
beauty held is the seed, beauty shared is the flower. It is your
00:22:22
time to bloom. I'll talk to you soon. Take care.
00:22:25
Bye.