An Update

Greetings, readers! 

I know it has been a while since I have written last, but be not dismayed. ..The Red Jeans project is still underway.   I have been delayed in writing because I have been busily working on another project that is very important to me…and has consumed a great deal of time.  I have been finishing the pre-final draft of my D.Min. thesis, and I am pleased to say that I have submitted it for final approval.  Lord willing, in a few weeks I will be able to submit the final draft and graduate this spring!  It is quite a feeling of accomplishment to get to this point in my study journey.  It has been a long road – I began working on the doctorate back in 2006. 

Not only is this pre-final draft a big personal accomplishment for me, but it also represents an area of study that in near and dear to my heart – the connection between spirituality and wellness.  The thesis describes a blueprint for a 40-day spiritually-focused wellness pilot program that I led about a year ago at the church in which I grew up.  In the project, I fleshed out the concept of “stewardship of the body,” which involves both good physical care of one’s body along with the nurture and strengthening of one’s spiritual life.  This concept is based upon a passage from 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, which states, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you were bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body.”  The gist of this passage is that God created human beings with bodies and spirits—both are intended to work together to glorify God.  Human beings are called to be stewards over the creation, and this includes being good stewards of their physical bodies.   We cannot separate our physical wellbeing from our spiritual lives.  We are whole persons who must nurture both bodily health and spiritual vitality for optimum wellness. 

For me, taking care of my physical body is as important as nurturing my spiritual life.  When I don’t feel well physically, my spirituality suffers, and vice versa.  When I lived an unhealthy life physically, there was a great disconnect between my body and my spirit.  I didn’t think it mattered what I did with my body, and so I didn’t take care of it.  Over time, I came to realize that my whole person was suffering when I wasn’t taking care of myself physically.  As I started to develop healthier habits, I noticed that my spiritual life improved as well.  As one area of my person began healing, the rest of me got better as well.  This personal realization led me to study the connection between spirituality and wellness, so that I could help others nurture this connection and achieve holistic wellness in both body and spirit. 

I’ll keep you posted on how my doctoral work goes.  Hopefully soon, you’ll be able to call me Dr. Red Jeans…but until then, take care and may health and wholeness be yours in abundance. 

Sincerely,

Miss Red Jeans