Happy Wellness Wednesday, Garden Fam!
It’s Mental Health Awareness Week, so I wanted to use this episode to offer an alternative perspective to what is often shared in the mainstream. Enjoy and be encouraged! 💕
Focus Scriptures
2 Timothy 1:7
John 14:12-14
Isaiah 61:1-3
Episode Transcript
First, let me start off by saying that I am an advocate for taking care of your mind just as much as, if not more than your body. Mental Health is super important as it is one of the aspects of life that strongly affects the rest! I believe we must be intentional about what we are taking in, such as content and food, and should be intentional about implementing healthy practices overall in order to maintain good mental health. I believe in saying ‘no’ when needed, taking breaks when needed, ensuring we are maintaining healthy relationships and environments, and implementing healthy practices that help us to operate at our best. I DO NOT believe in overriding or suppressing what is going on within, and I think it is super important to address when things may be off within us instead of just pushing through and hoping it goes away.
There was a time when mental health was not much of a thing… when going to therapy and caring for your mind and emotions was taboo, or even thought to be for the weak or faint at heart. That certainly wasn’t healthy and definitely led to the stigma towards mental illness and even remedies for mental health. As someone who has had my own struggles with depression, I was very happy to see the shift take place when the world began embracing and promoting the importance of mental health. It is something that I’ve always held in high regard, even if I didn’t necessarily call it by that name. Our minds are one of our most valuable assets, so obviously we should be caring for them. However, I’ve begun to see another shift taking place, and though it seems ‘fluffy’ and ‘feel good’, I actually believe it is a disservice and detrimental overall…
What I see is that in our efforts to normalize mental health, we’ve actually normalized mental illness. In our efforts to destigmatize mental illness, we’ve embraced it as a normal part of life. Instead of instilling hope and offering curative solutions for mental health struggles, we’ve kinda set up shop here and accepted that mental illness is just something that happens and that we’ve just got to deal with it, potentially for the rest of our lives…
In a world that’s constantly telling you that it’s totally okay and totally normal to be depressed, anxious, bipolar, autistic, or to have attention deficit disorders… In a world where there is heavy emphasis on long-term treatment options instead of prevention and the availability of a cure… In a world where sickness (mental and physical) is celebrated and embraced as a badge of solidarity, while you continue to suffer day-to-day…
I want to take today to offer you a different, more hopeful perspective.
Though no one should feel shame for struggling mentally or emotionally from time to time, or even for receiving a diagnosis for a mental illness for which you've been told there is no cure, I want you to embrace the idea that this does NOT have to be your reality for the rest of your life! I’m going to share a little bit of my own deliverance experience with you and I want you to know that I’m not special. The same healing is available to you and I need you to know that! I pray that you don’t take away from this any shame, discouragement, or stigmatization, but rather hope that if it happened for me, that it can also happen for you!
[listen for my story]
Now, after hearing that, you may be thinking a few things, like “well, yeah, that was just you,” or maybe, “I’m not depressed though..” or potentially even, “what I’ve got going on is a lot worse than a little depression.” To you, I still say, it is possible for you to not suffer for the rest of your life. I know a man who holds the cure to EVERY illness you may ever encounter. This may sound cliche or like something you’ve heard before, but stay with me until the end anyway! I say it now with the experience to back it up and not just from the place of my own belief: Jesus CAN and WILL heal you from any illness, seen and unseen if you ask Him and welcome Him to do so!
If you don’t yet know Him, I encourage you to try Him. Call out to Him today, and see that He will respond. And to those who know Jesus, but don’t yet believe that He can cure your illnesses, mental or physical, I want to encourage you that He can AND that He has given your the authority by His Spirit to heal the sick, cast out demons, and do even greater works than He did while on the earth.
Again, I pray that each of you would be encouraged and that you leave this podcast with even a glimmer of hope that mental HEALTH can be and IS your portion, and that you don’t have to struggle with mental illness, whether acute or chronic for the rest of your life. There IS another way! Know that you can pray for healing for yourself and others and if you believe, they shall be healed, in Jesus’ name! I will leave you with a devotional from my Bible that was super encouraging to me, and I pray that it is for you as well!
I will link a blog in the description that lists all of Jesus’ recorded healing miracles. Read them and know that there is NO case that is too hard for the Master Healer, and know that it does not have to take years, months, weeks, days, or even hours for your healing to take place. God can heal you in an instant if you only have the faith to believe Him!
Even if you don’t yet believe, I want you to declare everyday this week, or more if you need to: “My mind is sound, in Jesus’ name!” If God gives you instructions on what to do next, make sure you follow through!
I love you so much and I will be praying for you to be free from whatever has had you bound mentally! I look forward to hearing your healing testimonies!
Have a healthy and wholesome week!
It’s time to TAKE THE TERRITORY!
God gave me a dream last month, which I share in more detail in today’s video.
I instantly knew what it meant: The season has changed and the wilderness has ended.
It is now time to prepare and go forth into the promised land!
Watch today’s video and review the notes below for some insight from Joshua 1 about what that means and how to apply it to your life and journey into God’s promises for you!
Also, join us for this series as we unpack each chapter of Joshua and explore the Isrealites’ journey from commission to Canaan!
Until next time, have a healthy & wholesome weekend!
Love you bunches 🍇
Focus Scriptures
Joshua 1
Proverbs 28:1
Video Notes
The season has shifted and things are about to be a lot different!
The wilderness has ended, or soon will for you, and it’s time to take the land God promised you!
Be reassured
God is with you and will NOT leave you along the way (Verse 5)
Be Bold as a Lion
ONLY be strong and very courageous (Verses 6, 7, 9, 18)
Cast out all fear and doubt
Proverbs 28:1
Constantly Meditate on God’s Word and Promises
Observe and obey God’s commands (Verse 7)
Be reminded of the promises along the way (Verse 3-4, 8)
There will be work to be done in order to settle into Canaan.
Know that you will SURELY be successful as long as you continue honoring and following God’s commands, written and spoken. (Verse 9)
Shift your Mind!
Manna season is coming to an end (Verse 11)
Continue trusting God at the same level (or even more so), but now, prepare to implement what He has shown or is showing you. These are preparation instructions for entering your land of milk and honey!
Do what needs to be done to prepare for the next part of the journey
If you don’t know what those steps are, go on a focused fast and ask God for guidance on what to do next (Jeremiah 33:3)
Know that there will be time and work between now and being settled in your ‘land’.
Prepare for this time by:
Asking God for supernatural grace and stamina
Getting even more serious about your health
Vitality will be needed to push through to Canaan
Start or continue working out (getting fit physically)
Get more selective about your food choices
Guard your heart with all diligence by filtering what you are taking into your ear and eye gates
Get adequate rest… but DON’T oversleep!
Do whatever else the Holy Spirit instructs you to do concerning your health
Living a fasted life and make sure your prayer life is on LOCK!
Don’t lose your connection to God
Keep your flesh in submission!
Getting a few scriptural affirmations to recite daily
Keep your mind set on the task at hand and to keep your spirit charged up!
Need a little more guidance and support? Check out a few of our previous videos:
A New Season of Restoration
Cultivating Space to Hear from God
Taking Our Health Seriously
Trusting God in the Wilderness
Be B.O.L.D.
“Keep your Knees Bent”
Stress Awareness Month Series
It's time to COME UP HIGHER when it comes to your health, sis!
Check out today's podcast episode or the transcript below for some encouragement on how to do so!
Episode Transcript
Hi there, Welcome back to the Garden of Epiphani, A Women’s Health and Wellness Oasis. I’m your host, Rhaven Epiphani and I am so glad you decided to join me for another episode. On wellness Wednesdays, we talk about topics concerning our physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health from a holistic perspective, and today is no different!
Today’s episode will be a quick one, because I want to leave you with something to think about afterward. I had the privilege of attending a WONDERFUL Kingdom Business conference this past weekend and MY GOD was it life-changing. It’s always a blessing to be amongst like-minded people who love the Lord and are called according to His purpose. I can’t say that I had a favorite speaker per say, because every single speaker was super impactful and left me with insight and homework that I brought home to begin implementing! However, I was pleasantly surprised by Coach Rochelle T. Parks’ session.
She focused on the importance of health, specifically on minding what we are putting into our bodies. Many of the things she spoke about were things that I already knew, some I’ve lightly touched on here, but hearing her talk about them did a few things for me.
One, it was confirmation of many things that I knew, but could not yet prove. And more importantly, two, it convicted me about a few things I already knew but had not yet gotten serious about implementing. See, the Bible says that “to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin,” and MY GOD did I have to repent of some things! Though I’ve come a long way in my health journey, I’ve kinda been using that as a crutch or excuse not to have to go further… and well, NOT ANYMORE!
The anchoring questions Coach Rochelle asked were, “Who wins if you win?” and “Who loses if you give up?” Those questions not only convicted and challenged me, but also charged me up to hashtag DO BETTER! If you’ve been following me for a while, you’ve likely heard me share my ‘whys’ for living a healthier life. Not only is it a command from God to steward well over my body and treat it as a temple of the Holy Spirit, but also, I know that I have work to do here in the earth. I know that I need to be healthy and well to do it with excellence and to live long enough to complete my assignments, and to enjoy the blessings God has for me in the land of the living. I know that there are and will be people depending on me to get this health thing right, so that they can too. I know that I want to raise children who are healthy and eat well, and who learn the right ways from the beginning. All of that requires me to be committed to my health NOW.
So, what am I saying? I am saying that it is time to take our health more seriously. It is not enough to be doing better than what is considered “normal.” We must come up higher and pursue a standard of health that aligns with our anointing, assignments, and aspirations. It is worth it and very possible to live a life of wellness that is absent of, or at least nearly absent of chemicals and unclean foods. Coach Rochelle, or Coach Ro, as many call her, emphasized the fact that eating God’s Food, in the form it was created, is the best way to live a healthy life, and even to defeat chronic illnesses. I could have gotten up and ran around the room on that point alone! Lol. For those who don’t know, the Garden portion of our name is in reference to The Garden of Eden, where Adam & Eve had access to everything they needed to survive, thrive, and live a healthy, fulfilled, abundant life. That’s a principle we stand on here, believing that leaning on what God created is the best way to live an abundant life. However, if I am completely transparent, I am not where I desire to be when it comes to that. Yes, it is a journey to unlearn and relearn some things, but as I mentioned earlier, sometimes, we use that as a crutch not to do as well as we really could. To be honest, certain parts of the journey don’t have to be as long or drawn out as we often settle for. There are certain things that I KNOW God has been showing me to let go of, or to start implementing to live a more healthy life naturally, and I’ve done many of them, but still slacked off or made excuses about others. I thank God for allowing me to cross paths with Coach Ro this weekend to remind me of my personal values and the purpose of this blog, and to call me to come up higher when it comes to caring for my temple. And also to speak and live what I know to be true in BOLDness.
And now, with this episode, I am paying it forward and calling you to come up higher, sis!
There are things that God has for you to do on the earth, and sickness, disease, and fatigue aren’t a part of His vision or plans for you. We talk about this often, but I am calling both you and myself to get more diligent and be more selective about what you allow in and around your body. Just because something is “normal” in the world or in your family, does NOT mean it’s meant to be normal by God’s standards. Just because something is good TO you, does not mean that it is good FOR you! In 2023, we have access to so many clean options when it comes to food, cleaning products, menstrual products, and more. And even if those aren’t desirable, we still have access to the basics, like fruits and veggies for food, and baking soda and white vinegar for cleaning. Yes, we know that much of our food in America is laced with harsh chemicals, carcinogens, and genetically modified ingredients, but we still have the choice to choose wiser! Why should we continue to make poor choices out of convenience, tradition, or laziness? Perhaps your excuse is that learning all of the necessary information is overwhelming to you… Well, that’s what we’re here for. I do my best to research natural alternatives and remedies to give you a starting point, but you DO still have to do the work to implement what’s shared, and further your research to dive deeper for what you need in your specific situation. Realistically speaking, if you don’t have time to prioritize your health, it is time to reevaluate your priorities and shift some things around! You only get one body, so take care of it, or you won’t be able to do everything else on your priorities list anyway!
Earlier this year, I shared a video asking you about your ‘why’ and I will link that in the description for those that want to go back and check it out, but today, I want you to ponder the two questions that Coach Rochelle posed to me this weekend: “Who wins if you win?” and “Who loses if you give up?”
Come up higher and don’t give up, sis!
I love you bunches and will talk to you again on Faith Friday, God willing!
Have a healthy & wholesome week!