Stepping Stones to Health and Wholeness
I wanted to take a moment to share with you my most recent passion project. Never did I ever think I would write a book, but God put it on my heart and so I did it. Toward the end, I remember saying to my husband something to the effect of, “I have no idea what I’m going to do with it. I just know I have to finish.”
My big step of faith came when I was given the opportunity to use what I wrote as part of a women’s study at my church, which I titled, “SOAR – Sisters Off and Running.” A friend in our study asked me if I could send a copy to her friend in another state. This got me thinking about ways to share it with friends and family. Within a few weeks, I loaded a very imperfect copy of my book onto Amazon to share with my mom. As mothers do, she began to share it with others, and I am so grateful. The recovering perfectionist in me would have waited until it was ready (in which case it might never have reached anyone’s hands). One thing I have learned over the years is that God wants to use me just as I am – an imperfect work of progress. I will never be perfect enough to represent God, but God doesn’t need me to be perfect in order to work through me, His vessel.
Since it was first published, I’ve made a few changes and corrected quite a few typos. Hopefully, there aren’t too many more. So, if you are pursuing health and wholeness and are seeking help along the way, I encourage you to check out my book. Here’s the Introduction:
Introduction
It is my heart’s desire that through the pages of this book you will develop a deeper understanding of what it means to be healthy—body, soul, and spirit—and that you will be encouraged, empowered, and equipped to move in the direction of your personal health goals. I invite you to walk with me for forty days, forty decisions and forty steps. Please don’t stop at simply reading each chapter. If you read it purposefully, prayerfully, and intentionally, you will be led to a decision, a response, and a next best first step. I will offer ideas, suggestions and prayer prompts at the end of each reading, but the decisions are yours and will be as individual as you are. Once you make a decision, don’t stop there. Before you move on to the next chapter, confidently and courageously take that step! I believe that you will need courage because you are swimming upstream in a culture that in so many ways wants to pull you downstream to places you either don’t want to go or wouldn’t want to go if you knew how it would impact your future life and health. Every step you take matters, and even the steps that may feel tiny and insignificant to you have great potential. For with God as your foundation, your steps will become leaps, and your leaps will become jumps as you move from strength to strength in the direction of health and wholeness.
Though by God’s perfect design your spirit, soul, and body are intricately and intimately woven together to form you, for practical reasons I’ve divided this book into three sections. The focus of section 1 is your spiritual health, or your relationship with God. The focus of section 2 is the health of your soul (your mind, will, and emotions) as you relate to yourself and to others. The focus of section three is your physical health, or your relationship with your body. You may choose to start in any section that you wish, or even to jump around between sections as you feel led. This is your journey, remember.
At the end of each reading, you will be given space to reflect on what you have read, and to respond by deciding what your next step will be. There is a place at the back of your book where you can record each step. It’s there to help you keep track and to remind you to celebrate each step. Whether you are working through this book independently or as part of a group or class, I encourage you to share your reflections, your decisions, your struggles, and your accomplishments with others. Remember, we’re better together.
So, without further ado, let’s start stepping!