Have you forgotten that your body is now the sacred temple of the Spirit of Holiness, who lives in you? You don’t belong to yourself any longer, for the gift of God, the Holy Spirit, lives inside your sanctuary. You were God’s expensive purchase, paid for with tears of blood, so by all means, then, use your body to bring glory to God! 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 The Passion Translation

Tender Warrior ~ Great Encourager

Hi Bridegroom Café Readers! Sometimes I like to share some things God puts on my heart in an open and vulnerable way. As you can see, today I was at the Gym. My husband has put me on a “Maintain” exercise routine, making sure I get my heart rate up twice a day and using two to three weight machines to work out my legs and upper body muscles. I am being held accountable by my hubby and He is a mean task master. Not really, he just loves me and knows at my age, I need to exercise to maintain my body. My husband is my number one supporter in this life, he is a “Tender Warrior” and this is the best kind of man to find and I am so grateful to God, that our life path’s collided in that God divine appointment kind of way. I am so grateful for the encouragement my husband has been to me throughout all my changing life seasons.

For by Him all things were created in heaven and on earth, [things] visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities; all things were created and exist through Him [that is, by His activity] and for Him. And He Himself existed and is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. [His is the controlling, cohesive force of the universe.] Colossians 1:16-17 Amplified Bible

Discipline Yourself ~ Make The Right Choice

I sit a lot during the day as I write for my blog, https://thebridegroomscafe.com and do some chat hosting for Seacoast Church for their online services during the week. I am also writing another book, this one is for Marine Moms, it is going to be very encouraging. A lot of my day is on a computer, typing, so this is why I need to discipline myself to get up and move and exercise my body at least twice a day. Younger or older, the key to a healthy body is movement. Also, I have learned that key to a healthy spirit is also movement, followship of God, who is always, purposefully, on the move maintaining what He has created. You know, all of us, every single one of us were created in His Image. Pretty cool. Huh? God’s got us, He is able to take care of us, and will always purposefully make our way for us. He is an amazing Way-Maker God and will Providentially Care for us with His purposes in play for our good and for His Glory.

‘I will go before you and make the crooked places straight; I will break in pieces the gates of bronze and cut the bars of iron. I will give you the treasures of darkness and hidden riches of secret places, that you may know that I, the Lord, Who call you by your name, I Am the God of Israel. Isaiah 45:2-3 New King James Version

A Dead Dream ~ Started A New Life

A long time ago, I used to be so into my body. I was a gymnast for 9 years. Oh, I learned discipline at a young age, I also learned a bad habit of thinking I was just a body and also a bad habit of isolation. Being a gymnast, I was in the gym every day working out. I was never at home, never with my friends, only with a small group of gymnasts. I learned a lot from that time in my life, but I also got some bad habits. The good thing I learned was discipline, the bad thing I learned was that I did not need anyone, I could be strong in and of myself, therefore I pushed myself so hard to achieve my gymnastic goals. Yet, for such a young age and for many years, I missed out on a lot of things that were going on outside of the gym, like relationships with my family and friends. God burst that “I can do anything” bubble, crushed it. I sustained an injury in my gymnastic career after nine years, that ended it all. This was a dark season of my life and then God began to straighten out the crooked places in my heart and change it up for me. God showed me the heart treasures that could be found in the dark times and changed it up in my heart, in my life.

This is the only universal God, the One who makes all people whatever their nationality or culture or religion. This God made us in all our diversity from one original person, allowing each culture to have its own time to develop, giving each its own place to live and thrive in its distinct ways. His purpose in all this was that people of every culture and religion would search for this ultimate God, grope for Him in the darkness, as it were, hoping to find Him. Yet, in truth, God is not far from any of us. For you know the saying, “We live in God; we move in God; we exist in God.” And still another said, “We are indeed God’s children.” Acts 17:26-28 The Voice

Put Your Identity Wholly-Holy In Christ

In my young adult years, everything was a diet. That is all I did was diet and exercise. I wanted to look thin and fit. It was all about my body. I was so out of balance. I did these fad diets that really messed me up more than it helped me. When I was 19, my husband introduced me to Jesus Christ and I accepted Him and in doing so, Jesus changed so much up in my life. Heart transformation began the day I gave Jesus Christ my life and He has not stopped changing me for the better since then. With my identity, wholly-holy in Christ, I realized I was more than a body, I had more to give this world and the people in it, than a body. I understood that I was the “temple of the Holy Spirit” and I needed to be careful what I did with my body, but I also realized with Christ in Me, I could do more, I could be so much more. I learned that I could add value to every single day, to every person I met, I could add value to their lives because God had shaped me, uniquely gifted me in ways I could be used to add lasting value to others.

I know what it means to lack, and I know what it means to experience overwhelming abundance. For I’m trained in the secret of overcoming all things, whether in fullness or in hunger. And I find that the strength of Christ’s explosive power infuses me to conquer every difficulty. Philippians 4:13 The Passion Translation

80 – 20 Percent Life Style

So yes, I do exercise and keep my body fit. I do exercise my self-control and say no to so many things that I would LOVE to eat. I have realized at my age, the weight comes on quickly and dissolves very slowly. Therefore, I keep 80% as my goal for good choices for my body, with my exercise and my eating, and then I have a fun 20% of the time, where I don’t exercise and I do have fun eating some of the foods I love, like chocolate, need I say more? As for my spirit, will, mind and soul, it is 100% all in with God, there is no area of my life left where He is compartmentalized out. Over the years I have torn down all the walls, all the places in my heart that were compartmentalized, I am open-hearted before God, and my heart is undivided. God has total access to me and I stay in a constant conversation with Him, alert to His Presence in my life from every moment to every choice I make.

Engaged With God 100 Percent ~ Equipped By God 100 Percent

I was encouraged by God to be more than a body, to engage with Him, to make it personal with Him in that heart-2-heart way and when I stepped out and did this, He followed through by equipping me by the power, teaching and guidance of and from His Holy Spirit, so I learned to be more than a body. I can be all things through Christ Who strengthens me. I have learned that at the core of my being, my identity needs to be wholly-holy in Christ and I need to give Him total access to my life. I am experiencing daily how a vital-vertical relationship with God is such an amazing learning and growing thing. Every day is a God Adventure, where you never know what kind of divine appointment, God’s Holy Spirit will set up for you. Every day is new and we can be used by Him to add value, wisdom, hope and His compassionate caring to our sphere of influence, to everyone we God purposefully collide with on our life path. I strive to keep my heart undivided and stay wholly-holy aligned with God’s way, truth and life, and I don’t do it mainly from duty, I do it because of love. His love is amazing and being reciprocal is a good thing when it comes to God’s abundant love, and it makes for a very joyful life and an inner strength like no other.

In conclusion, Yes, I am more than a body, I am a spirit, will, mind and soul and I am fully engaged with God, He has total access to my life and my YES is on the table with Him. I live, breathe, walk and talk in followship of His Holy Spirit, and I don’t regret it. I don’t hesitate to listen up to the impulses of His Holy Spirit and immediately obey them, no matter how inconvenient or uncomfortable they may be. Much more than once, I have said to God: “You want me to what???” And then I say, okay Lord, equip me, lead me and grow me through this. I want to be more than a body, I want to be a person, a whole person who adds value to the lives of others. This is my joy. Jesus, Others, You = Joy = Strength.

God bless you Much, KimberlyMac and thank you for coming into The Bridegroom’s Café. I hope you enjoyed this meal of encouragement at The Author Table today. I highly, highly encourage you to purchase my book, “The Bridegroom’s Voice”, it will be such a sweet journey for you and Jesus, to learn to listen up to His Voice and be connected to Him, heart to heart.

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