The Spiritual Diet (How to build a spiritual routine in 3 steps)

If I were to ask you, what is the one major thing that you gained from this Lockdown, what would you say?

A few pounds I will admit proudly. People who are seeing my pictures after months will exclaim and advise, do some crunches Hepza, eat your veggies, take some pushups, and go for a walk. Yeah yeah, I get it, "But the Camera adds ten pounds" I wanna reply. (Ignore me, I am in my fat Monica phase 😜)

So Watcha saying girl, Only If I have a flat stomach, clean underarms, and shaved legs, I am pretty?

NO, That's not what I am implying at all. In fact, Beauty is not only skin deep. But That is a blog post for another time.

So why are we here? Oh yeah coming back to that. The Lockdown impacted our lives in so many ways. One of them would be, that it totally ruined our daily routine. Physical Obesity is not the only thing we caught on to during that time.

In the hurry of adjusting to the new normal, our spiritual routine also came crashing down. Speaking for myself balancing my daily tasks and my spiritual habits was the toughest thing I had to go through. Being obsessed with the things that I had to do daily and packing my day with busy schedules, I was barely giving God the attention that he deserves.

But luckily, I got help. So, if you are trying to build back your spiritual routine and grow closer in your relationship with God, you are in the right place. Cause that's What I am gonna share with ya today in three not-so-simple steps.

Before we jump into that, a Disclaimer. These are not commandments or rules. These are some hacks that God taught me along the way. it helped me to keep up my relationship with him. Hope it will do the same for you too.

So, let's dig in, shall we?

1. CUT DOWN THE JUNK FOOD

I read a quote that said, "If you are not hungry for God, maybe you are full of yourself" and that hit me hard. Sometimes we can be so full of the world that we don't even realize that we are missing out on God.

So same as the physical diet, you have to examine the things that are eating up your day most. I am not talking about your work, studies, or anything else that you had to do but you are not fond of. Because God can use you for His kingdom despite your profession and the field you are studying. Again, That's a story for another time.

Except for the above, what are the things that are munching away most of your time? more than God. Some Series you are obsessed with? Sleep or some kind of Addiction, or even your partner? that, THAT is what should be reduced to manage your obesity.

It's not that God doesn't want you to have your me-time or don't want you to have fun. But when that 'Fun-Time' exceeds your time with God, you should be concerned about it.

Even you should be concerned about who you hang out with. After all, you can't find God, where he is not present. So, you can't be around the wrong people and exhaust your soul then complain to God that you can't feel him. That's not fair.

A wise man once told me, "You should be careful about your inputs", Yes, I would suggest, you take that seriously. A thought can link you to God and a Thought can limit you from God. It matters what you see, hear, and consume on a daily basis. Because what you take into your head affects your feelings and how you feel determines how you behave. it is a vital equation.

Thoughts = Feelings = Actions

Allow me to explain, you are watching a very sad movie and out of the blue, you start to feel so down and want nothing but to cuddle with your pillows albeit you are all excited and jumping in joy just 2 hours ago. You get the picture, right?

So be mindful about what are the things that enter your thoughts that make you feel full. That makes you assume that you don't have time for the creator of time. Sit down and think of the day-to-day activities that consume your day. Figure out which is not spiritually healthy for you. And try to change it.

Trust me it's not gonna happen overnight. You have to pray on it and practice it. Don't be so hard on yourself. Take it one day at a time and let God be your accountability buddy.

Find people who can point you in the right direction towards God. Be it a single person who happened to be your best friend or a support group. Share your faith and stories with them. Hey, I have my crazy bunch. Because even though you are Peter -The Rock, you need a John in your life.

2. REPLACING THE CARBS:

Okay, you decided to cut down on your high-calorie habits. Now what? You can't keep going like this. You'll starve. Then obviously will be tempted to go back to the things that you are fighting hard to get rid of.

Usually, in diet plans, experts suggest replacing bad fat with Good fat in order to keep up your energy. The same goes for your spiritual diet too. Without your unhealthy habits, you'll have an amount of free time. So you need to find alternatives to spend that time that will draw you one step closer to God. In fact, I can hook you up with some of the things I use.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled ~ Matthew 5:6

Things like bible reading and researching it or a Bible study with a friend will help you grow spiritually. for that, Apps like Bible project, YOU Version bible will come in handy.

Maybe you are someone who has to do a12 hour shift and barely catch up on sleep or a mother that takes care of the entire family. For you, setting aside time for a specific task will be impossible. I understand.

In such cases, I can propose a trick up my sleeve. it's called 'Time Pockets'. let's just say you are driving home or riding to work. You can use that commute time to listen to that podcast you are keeping under watch later for over a month.

Or you can blast your Spotify with a new worship song you've been meaning to listen to for a while when you are doing your chores. There are now plenty of good worship music bands in this era and Thank God for the technological development you can browse it with a swipe of your finger. The internet has good things too, y'all. you only need to know where to look.

There's For King and Country, Bethel Music, Elevation Worship. And there are always some nice songs in your native language that you can turn to. (My recent time favorite is 'Tu Poder' by Tauren wells). From Rock to Hymns you can search and listen based on your interest.

If you are into music and stuff, you can learn to play a song on your guitar or Ukulele or anything else (you know your instruments). Or if you are a series freak like me, I'll suggest "The Chosen" Tv series which is based on the life of Jesus Christ and His Disciples {No this post is not sponsored by them}. This group-funded series won't fail to make you fall in love with HIM more.

To all the readers out there, my recommendation would be to start with "The Purpose-driven Life by Rick Warren". Then you'll find your way up the rack, you know you will. So that's all I got. If you have any suggestions do put them down in the comments below 😄

not mine, a random Pinterest quote I love: Courtesy : https://in.pinterest.com/pin/1077064067105438184/

The goal is to fill your day with Him as much as you can through any little time you got. Search for him I promise you'll find him. Because the One who seeks find. And most of all Glorify HIM in everything you do.

3. THE WORKOUT

Ultimately when it comes to diet workout is a must-include right? so similar to running, walking, and Cardio we need to develop a spiritual workout that will cut down your Obesity. When I was looking for one, the best thing I've been introduced to is the "Quiet Time".

What is it? It's setting aside time for God and only for him in your daily routine. but let me be clear, spending time WITH God and FOR God are not the same things. You may be doing his ministry relentlessly and still be missing out on your personal relationship with him.

How does it work? Put on your Yoga pants (Kidding !!), Grab your cup of coffee or a beverage of your preference, and Go find a quiet place, and tune out the world. No music, no fancy words, no nothing. It's just You & HIM.

Sit in his presence, organize your thoughts and LISTEN, let him talk. If you ask me, that would work like a charm. and the finest way to start your day. Even this blog was birthed out of a quiet time session.

Trust me our God is a chatterbox. he loves to talk with you. I mean Moses spent 40 days with him alone on Mount Sinai. can you believe that? 40 freaking days. So when you set aside time to just be with him, that would be the best thing you could do for a person you love.

Let it be 10 min to a few hours, it is completely based on your lifestyle and routine. Also, it doesn't have to be only in the morning. I am just saying it would be good. because nowadays morning time is different for different people (hey, I am not lazy, I was just born in the wrong continent 😛 )

If you are someone who works on a night shift, then your mornings would be different from others. so find your preferred time and set it aside ONLY for Him. No excuses. Make that a habit and build a relationship with God then every other thing will fall into its place.

Being in a relationship with GOD will be one of the cleverest decisions you would make in your life. At the start, it's not gonna be a piece of cake but soon you put that into practice you will enjoy it.

Perhaps you wanna talk to him so bad, then do it. Tell him about the mundane details of your life. He'll love it. He'll be overjoyed when you involve him in all aspects of your life like what dress you are gonna wear for the get-together or who you are gonna marry.

Somedays you have the urge to let out the stress of the day in his presence and rant about the day's events but on others, you just want to hug him tight and let the tears fall.

It's like catching up with a friend over a coffee. If you ask me He will be excited to come and talk to you every day. He'll show up before the time and wait for you in your special place. Even call and inform some of his angels that he is gonna meet up with ya like a love-struck teenager. He is that Good :)

Here I am with open hands, Counting on Your grace again.

Less of me and more of You, I just wanna see You move.

~ Available (Elevation Worship)

That's it, folks. We came to the end of this post and as promised I put out the things on the table that I learned. Hope you'll like it and use it. When you do I wanna hear all about it. don't be a stranger write me about your experience. Happy trails !!! Until next time CIAO!

~ With Love

Hepza

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