I don’t know about you but I anticipate the weekends because it means I have time to do some self-care and push aside my usual weekly responsibilities.
My self-care routines usually consist of exfoliating my skin, doing my nails, relaxing, and binge-watching my favorite shows on Amazon Prime.
Self-care is my opportunity to be selfish.
The purpose of self-care is to set aside time to refill your energy and re-balance yourself.
As a Christian woman, I don’t think that self-care is wrong in itself but I do think we should focus less on self and more on Christ. I call those moments soul care.
Soul care is when you draw attention to your soul and you replenish what’s missing.
As Christians, our healing isn’t achieved through crystals or methods of the world — such as binge-watching our favorite shows while eating junk food, but through the word of God and his holy spirit. The problem with self-care as a Christian is that we don’t rely on ourselves or the superficial things in this world to fill us back up because they’re inadequate. It’s like taking an empty jug and pouring what isn’t there into another empty jug.
So how can we biblically practice self-care?
Step 1: Quietness is your best friend
There’s so much happening all around us every day. Something or someone is constantly needing our attention. Quietness becomes scarce and It becomes a rare moment to have.
Our brains are constantly going from the moment that we wake up in the morning until the moment we lie down. We’re busy trying to accomplish as much as we can through the day and check off all of the things on our to-do list.
We prioritize others but always seem to forget to prioritize God or ourselves. We give so much of ourselves every day that we constantly fight to stay filled up and energized. We are constantly pouring from empty or half-empty cups.
We want to spend time with God but we don’t have the energy or time to do so because we are so busy during the day and in our moments of quietness we can’t sit still long enough to read a scripture or rest in God’s presence.
The problem isn’t that we do not have enough time each day, the problem is that we are prioritizing the wrong things.
Our soul needs to be cared for and nurtured and as Christians, we do not allow the world to be our nourishment because the food the world offers will leave us malnourished.
But if we allow God to nourish us through reading his word and spending time in his presence we would be well fed and never run empty again.
So how do we get there? How does a Christian feed their soul?
The answer is simple, by reading the word of God.
God’s word is our food. It is our bread and our living water.
32 Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” - John 6:32–33 (NKJV):
If you can’t find a moment of quietness force it. Be intentional about scheduling moments of quietness in your life so that you can spend time with the Lord.
It does no good to open the bible in a loud environment where there are a bunch of distractions.
Step 2: Read Your bible
Read your bible every day.
The bible is more than just an inspirational book filled with cute quotes and encouragement. It is the manifested, all-powerful, living, and active word of God.
The Bible is our sword, our shield, our blueprint, and a book of endless wisdom.
If you aren’t used to reading daily then this can feel like a chore at first. It can feel very unusual but the more you put this to practice the more you will benefit from it and slowly over time you will begin to see the benefits show up in the small moments of your life.
You may be asking yourself why you should read your bible every day.
The answer is because as discovered earlier God’s word is our food it is our bread and our water. The word of God is what strengthens our spirit man and it nourishes our soul.
The Bible says that the Word was with God and that God was the Word. There is nothing on this earth that exists outside of God because he created it all.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. — John 1:1 NKJV
The Bible also says that God is our living water and if we believe in him then we will become springs of living water.
He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” — John 7:38
Would you like to be a river of living water? Would you always like to be overflowing with peace, joy, and an encouraging word for someone else?
This is possible as the Lord has promised through the word of God.
Step 3: Do something you like
Aside from reading the word of God which is healing and nurturing all in itself, you still need moments for you.
It’s okay to set aside time to do things that make you happy and make you feel good about yourself. It’s okay to cater to the feminine side and enjoy moments of rest.
As women of God it is possible to live a fun and faith-filled life and still be a woman of God who enjoys life without compromising her integrity or the spiritual values of her faith.
Here are 3 relaxing activities you can do with your girl friends:
1. Set aside time to have a movie night.
Pop some popcorn in the microwave, get some of your favorite snacks, fuzzy socks, and a warm blanket, and enjoy a movie in your home.
2. Go out with friends.
Maybe you guys have New Year's resolutions to be healthier and exercise more. Choose a day you are free and go to the park together to work out. Start small and do not overwhelm yourself.
3. Have a nail day.
Having a nail day doesn’t have to be expensive. You can save money, look cute, and nurture friendships. Invite your friends over for a fun nail day. You can have stations set up or simply set the atmosphere with instrumental tunes or your favorite playlist.
Step 4: Establish Boundaries with others
It’s impossible to have time for yourself let alone God if your time is always being consumed by others.
Why is it that we as Christians tend to always say that we don’t have time for God yet we’ll drop everything if our favorite person calls us to hang out with them or to do something for them?
It’s okay to help others and God encourages us to look after the interests of others as we do for ourselves but he didn’t tell us to become door mats or to never establish boundaries.
Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others . — Philippians 2:4 NKJV
Even Jesus had boundaries so what makes us think that we shouldn’t?
However, the report went around concerning Him all the more; and great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by Him of their infirmities. So He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed. — Luke 5:15 NKJV
It’s important to realize what has happened here.
Jesus is becoming overwhelmed by the crowd he constantly pouring into others and his fame is increasing per miracle that he performs. He’s healing great multitudes from infirmities.
He knew that eventually he would become burned out so to prevent burn out he withdrew often from the crowd to go into the wilderness.
But why the wilderness?
Because in the wilderness it’s desolate. There are no distractions because it’s quiet and it’s quiet because there are no people !
There’s no multitude of people asking him for advice.
There’s no multitude of people asking for him to heal them.
There’s no multitude of people crowded around him arguing over things that have no importance.
There’s no multitude of people surrounding him touching him and beginning him to see them.
Just like Jesus you and I need moments where we withdraw from the crowd and pray. We also need to set boundaries with others.
Step 5: Love letters to God
Over the years I’ve tried many things to help me get closer to God.
Bible plans.
Study groups.
Prayer walks.
Bible highlighting system.
Connection groups at my local church…
But the thing that has seemed to stick the most is Journaling to God. There is so many benefits to journaling but journaling to God just holds a special significance above the world’s definition of journaling.
I call my journaling time with God, writing love letters to God because these are moments of vulnerability and words that come straight from my heart to his throne.
There is no specific way to write love letters to God, you can start by simply writing about whatever is weighing heavy on your heart to the Lord. Don’t worry about grammatical spelling or making the letters aesthetically pleasing. Journal whatever comes to your mind, write as though you were speaking directly to God freely without judgment from him.
The whole purpose of writing love letters to God is to open your heart and your life to invite God in. By writing these letters you are establishing trust with God and creating moments of intimacy with him.
If you need help getting started then check out our Free resource library where we have printable PDF journal prompts to help you get started!
Incorporating Soul-care habits into your life as a Christian is essential for spiritual growth and your mental health.
Getting started is easier than you think and as you get into the habit of practicing soul care you’ll be inspired by the holy spirit to come up with your own habits to cater to your spiritual and mental health personally.