How Can I Practice Self-Care This Summer Without Breaking the Bank?

Summer should be a time for rest, a time for rejuvenation and enjoying God's blessings. But does a thought of self care feel like just another expensive to do list for you?What if you could prioritize your well being without breaking the bank? Well, stick with me today and let's talk about exactly how to make that happen.This is Financially Confident Christian, your daily dose of gospel grounded insight and faith driven tips to help you break the cycle of financial shame with confidence. Hey there. Welcome back to Financially Confident Christian. I'm Ralph and I am so happy you are joining me again today.This is the show where we answer that question and that's how can I become a financially confident Christian? Now yesterday we had a great show. We talked about a digital detox to help you save money and hopefully bring you some peace.And if you missed it, I'm going to encourage you to check it out. You can find all of our shows@financiallyconfidentchristian.com well today we're going to go in a completely different direction.We're not going to detox anymore. We're going to now we're going to embrace self care. We're going to talk about self care from a spiritual perspective and a financial perspective.And maybe when I say self care you are already starting to think, well, maybe that means I need to book some spa days. Great idea Ralph. I'm ready to do that. Or maybe for you, you conjure up images of a luxury vacation sitting on an island somewhere.Or maybe you think about joining a boutique fitness program. Yeah, I'm going to go join this fitness program. Or maybe for you, hey, it's just some simple retail therapy.Now all those things on the surface feel like those are great things to do. They're great way to create some self care for yourself. Hey, who wouldn't like a nice luxury vacation?But if we're not careful, the outcome can be something completely opposite of that. It can bring on emotional strain. You might feel guilty, you might start comparing yourself to other people and it might just be exhausting.The other side of that is it could lead to some financial stress.I'm talking about bills and overspending and if we're being honest with ourselves, emotional strain of financial stress, hey, that defeats the whole purpose of self care. But let's look at the Bible and see what the Bible says about this. First principle I want to talk about today is a principle of Sabbath rest.Let's look at the Book of Mark, chapter 2, verse 27 says this. And he said to them The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.And I think this is a great place to start today because God created rest for you. And I think you really need to embrace that right now. Rest is a gift. It shouldn't be a burden. You don't have to earn it.You also don't have to overspend for it. So let's start there. And he said to them, the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. And it's okay to rest. It's a gift.It shouldn't be a burden. Let's look at faith principle number two. That's what I use on the show all the time and that's contentment. Look at First Timothy, chapter 6, verse 6.It says this, but godliness with contentment is great gain. If you listen to the show every day, you know what I'm getting ready to say next? Just like I talk about stuff, true rest doesn't come from stuff.It doesn't come from joining the spa. It doesn't come from taking that luxury vacation. It comes from God centered peace. And that's what we really need to be striving towards.So that's our second principle for today, contentment. We also want to look at this. And that's my third faith principle for today. And that stewardship of the body.Let's look at the book of First Corinthians, chapter 6, verses 19 and 20. It says this. Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own.You were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies. See, a lot of people when we start talking about self care, they start thinking, oh, that's selfish, Ralph.I shouldn't do that. I can't take care of myself. But listen to me right now. Self care is not selfish. It's just not its stewardship. Yes, you heard it right.It's stewardship. It's worship when it's done wisely. But here's the thing I want you to understand. Self care doesn't require some lavish spending.You don't have to spend a mint to get to a point of self care. But what it does require is intentional rest and a renewal with God being at the center of that.So today's action step is going to be pretty straightforward. I want you to just pick two or three simple self care practices.But I want you to focus on things that are affordable, on things that are life giving and things that are spiritually grounding. Let me Give you some examples of those right now. Maybe self care means for you getting out in nature and taking a walk.I know when I'm having a stressful day sometimes around here on the farm, I just get out and walk a little bit and take in some of God's creation, some of the beauty that God's already created for us. It's amazing how much care that leads in into me getting back in touch with myself.Hey, maybe I take some time and just pray while I'm out walking and enjoy the birds singing and the sunshine. That's one idea. Another one is reading or journaling.And I never really been a big reader, but as I'm starting to embrace this, I'm getting older, right? I'm getting into the season of my life where I'm really starting to grow myself and take care of myself.And one of the things that I found I can do is read. I can learn about better ways to do that. Hey, another side of that between reading is writing. I'm starting to learn now.For me, a lot of times it's my podcasting, it's my shows, it's my way to express myself. But maybe you don't have that same level of audience. For you, it might be something simple as journaling.Write down your thoughts, write down your fears, write down those things because listen, you got to get them out of you and onto the paper. That is so therapeutic. That is truly self care. Hey, another thing is self care. People don't think about this. Doesn't cost you a dime.Prayer, worship time. That is truly self care. Reinvesting, rejuvenating that relationship with God is so very important.Hey, how about a phone call to some loved ones that's free. Most of the time we pay for cell phone plans that are unlimited.I remember going to date myself now when you set the pay by the minute, well, we're not doing that anymore. So take some time and make a phone call with a loved one. That's self care. Might be care for them as well.Maybe for you it's music or painting or crafting. All those things. They're affordable, they're life giving and if you do them right, they're spiritually grounding.So I want to encourage you right now. Put it on the calendar. Put it on your calendar right now.Treat rest and listen, you're going to think I'm crazy when I say this, but treat rest like an appointment with God. It's things you got to do. Maybe 15 or 30 minutes makes a big difference. Block that time Honor that time.I just want you to embrace this free and simple mindset. Get hung up on lavish stuff. We get hung up on vacation to exotic places or go and buying these extravagant things.We think we're going to fill this void. We're going to make ourselves feel better. But under a free and simple mindset, think about all that God has given us. God has given us sunshine.It's absolutely free. Fresh air. Hey, laughter. Think about the value of laughter, a good belly laugh.Think about the value of stillness and think about the value of just being in his presence.One of the things I'm going to say to you right now is don't overlook the miracles in the mundane on those things that are just everyday occurrences that go on in your life. There are miracles in there. And as part of this, I just want to encourage you to practice some daily gratitude.We talked about that in the scripture about being content. Things I want to encourage you to do right now. Start or end your day with simple. Thank God. Thank you, God, for whatever those things are.Thank you God, for sunshine today. Thank you, thank you God, for rain today to water the crops. Thank you God, for my family. Thank you God, for a job.Just start by listing three blessings. I don't care how big they are, how small they are. You got to start to shift that mindset from lack to peace. That's what it's really all about.Self care in its nutshell. My big takeaway for today, self care in its nutshell is a shift in your mindset from lack to. To peace. Well, how about we pray together right now?Father God, we just thank you for your provision and for the precious gift of rest that you gave us, Lord. You gave it to us. We don't have to earn it. It's ours. And we confess that we often confuse self care with expensive indulgences.We see that stuff all around us, Lord. We just assume that's what we have to do.I just ask right now that you would help us realign with your truth that peace and renewal are freely given in you. Teach us to be wise stewards of our time, Lord, and teach us to be wise stewards of our bodies and our finances.Help us to embrace the joy of simple pleasures and the rest of worship. Just the very act of worship. Being restful may we find healing and may we find strength. Not in spending, Lord, but in your presence.We ask this in confidence. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. Listen, self care equals rest plus renewal. Not spending money you don't have.It just makes things worse and it just builds fear and anxiety and overspending. So I just want to encourage you one more time, choose one activity this week and stick to it. Put it on the calendar.Make it an appointment for yourself. Make it an investment in yourself.And while I'm talking about investments, I want to encourage you right now to share this episode with someone who's exhausted or maybe you know, someone who's burned out, who just needs a little bit of a hey, there's some hope out there for you. Just point them to our website, financiallyconfidentchristian.com you can send them a text, you can send them an email.Just say, hey, listen, I think you could use this little pick me up. Invest in yourself. Have some self care. Now tomorrow's show, we're going to talk about how to build a financial first aid kit.Yes, we're going to get practical tomorrow so that we're ready for those unexpected expenses. And we're going to do it with faith and, and we're going to do it with a plan. So I hope you catch me on tomorrow's show.Now let's all go out there today and be financially confident Christians. You can do this. I have confidence in you. Have confidence in yourself. Stay financially savvy. God bless you and you have a great day today.