31 Days of Faith and Selfcare

Welcome to 31 Days of Faith & Selfcare! I’m a big believer of selfcare. It’s important and Biblical. My go-to Bible verse about selfcare is this:

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’This is the first and greatest commandment.And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ (Matthew 22:37-39, NIV)

Growing up, I was taught that God comes first, then others, and yourself last. Though I believe in sacrifice, the problem with always putting yourself last is running out of yourself to give before you can replenish.

The emergency procedures in airplanes tell us to put on the oxygen mask on ourselves before we help put it on children. It’s because helping ourselves first enables us to help others. If we can breathe, we can help others breathe. But if we help them breathe first, we can run out of oxygen before we finish helping.

The disciples didn’t go out preaching the Gospel, healing the sick, and driving out demons right away. They first spent time with Jesus, listening, learning, and following His example. Their spiritual lives came before those they served and sought to reach.

I don’t think we come last. The second greatest commandment is to love others as we love ourselves. We love others at the same time and in the same way we love ourselves. We cannot love others if we do not love ourselves. There were times I’ve snapped at people because I was upset with myself or something in my life.

It’s like being hangry. You’re angry because of your hunger. It’s not because someone did something wrong, but it’s because there’s something wrong with you. It’s an internal problem, not an external circumstance, that’s making you act negatively.

When we don’t practice selfcare, we’re neglecting our health. We’re expending energy without refueling our tanks. This leads to stress and burnout. It can cause anxiety, depression, or other mental health issues.

But doesn’t God honor our labor for His Kingdom? Yes, but He also calls us to Sabbath and rest. In this series, we’ll explore all that. We’ll meditate on what the Bible says about selfcare. We’ll grapple with and reconcile living by faith with practicing selfcare. We’ll also practice selfcare. I’m glad you’re here and hope you join me in this journey of faith and selfcare.

This is the landing page for 31 Days of Faith & Selfcare, which means, you can find all post links to this series below. Day 1 is this post so it won’t be linking to another post.

Day 1: Welcome to 31 Days of Faith & Selfcare

Day 2: Step One: Return to the One

Day 3: What is Selfcare?

Day 4: Is Selfcare Spending Time with God?

Day 5: Selfcare and Your Personality

Day 6: Finding Time for Selfcare

Day 7: Ideas for Practicing Selfcare

Day 8: The Hard Side of Selfcare

Day 9: You Are Beloved

Day 10: Using a Prayer Journal for Selfcare

Day 11: Signs of Stress

Day 12: How to Create a Selfcare Kit