You can probably think back to what health and wellness classes were like when you were in school. I remember learning about health from a physical education, government issued food pyramid, safe sex, and just-say-no to drugs point of view. However, I don’t quite remember learning about health and wellness from a natural, holistic perspective.
If you’re anything like me, then you’re most likely an anti-vax, clean eating, natural product using, modern yet alternative-seeking mama. I believe what drives our decisions to be opposed to what Western medicine suggests and endorses could be the very foundation to the kind of health and wellness we teach in our homeschool.
Sure, you may have questions of where to start, when to start, and what to use… so, keep reading – I answer all those questions, and some!
Where to Start
This is honestly and totally up to you. I recommend starting with your current (or even past) lifestyle. If you haven’t always lived a natural kind of lifestyle, that can be the very starting point. It would help your children better understand what a natural lifestyle actually looks like if they have something to compare it to.
Talk about the not-so-good-for-you foods that you used to eat. Discuss personal hygiene products you may have used, taking a close look at the ingredients. And if you’re super “crunchy”, then you could probably talk about why you don’t use plastics, a microwave, certain cleaners, or disposable diapers!
Simply put, start with the changes you’ve made personally and what you’re currently doing now.
When to Start
Again, I can’t be the giver of a definite “start date” for you, but my suggestion is the sooner the better – in all aspects. If you have young children, believe it or not, they can understand much more than we give them credit for. They may not remember the big words or technical terms, but they’ll have memories of “mama making a rub in the kitchen that took away the boo-boo” or the mindset game that helped through a tough time.
Those are the types of stories I miss so greatly about my older relatives who have now passed on. My great-great aunt used to tell me about rubs and tinctures that at the time I couldn’t quite understand. Now, I get it! Stories of how they pulled things from “beyond the trees” now resonate to my core, and it’s these practices that my husband and I both want to teach our children.
When should you start? Start now.
What to Use
The type of natural, holistic health and wellness we’re talking about in this post is one you won’t find in many (if any) curriculum or textbooks. Although the big curriculum companies have done outstanding jobs on creating resources for us to use, sadly, a lot of it still looks like public/private school materials.
If you want to get traditional in the sense of getting back to the “roots” of natural living (no pun intended), I suggest starting with your public library. Those places are the hubs for books that date back further than dust (okay, maybe not that old) – and they’re free. Another source is Amazon, although some of those herbal and natural remedy books can get pretty pricey (but worth it).
Google is another option, but you’ll want to do some extensive searching to ensure you’ve landed some good resources that haven’t sold out to the .gov, CDC, or FDA perspective of health. Good resources are out there though! One you should definitely consider is the Earthley Herbal Club. It’s free, comes in form of a printable download (PDF), and has all the information you need for teaching!
How to Start
They layout provided in the Earthley Herbal Club printable is the perfect way for introducing lessons that pertain to natural and holistic health and wellness. In a nutshell, you would:
Introduce a topic/concept by discussing what it is and why it’s important.
Expand on the topic/concept by providing information about how it works and how/why you use it (or not).
Deepen the learning with hands-on application (if possible).
The hands-on approach not only deepens understanding but it also puts the good ole “STEM” term to use. Imagine your children being able to create salves and teas right alongside you or work naturally through what would be a sabotaging mindset. Not to mention, there are lots of topics within the natural health and wellness field that you could use for teaching:
The list could go on! These are definitely great topics to start with and give plenty of information to start with. And you never know… you may have little naturopaths, psychologists, and health coaches on your hands by the time it’s all said and done!
CHIME IN: What are some ways you teach health and wellness in your homeschool? Let me know in the comments! I’d love to hear from you.
2020 is upon us. We’re entering into a new decade now. It’s the time of year when many are setting new goals, resolutions and making their plans for the New Year.
Many of these will include health & wellness goals for the year of 2020. This is great! I believe we all need to be working towards becoming more of who we’re truly meant to be. This includes continually improving upon our health & wellness.
But! Before you set your 2020 health & wellness goals in stone, I implore you to consider setting your goals and intentions from a Biblical perspective.
Seek Our Creator First, Not Man
Unfortunately, many Believers don’t truly seek our heavenly Father’s wisdom when it comes to the area of health & wellness. We seek Him for many other things but tend to turn to the “experts” when it comes to our health. Many get caught up with all the fad diets, jumping from this diet to that diet to the next diet.
Many tend to forget true health & wellness is actually more than just diet. Also, many misunderstand what diet really means; this contributes to continually trying new “diets” far too often. Over time this damages the body in a variety of ways.
It’s unfortunate many Believers decide to go with the popular choice of the day rather than choosing the Father’s diet plan. He intelligently created this plan for us. And truthfully, for many, we don’t need another “diet” we need a lifestyle change.
It’s time to choose to trust & believe that the beginning of true health & wellness is following our Creator’s eating plan and His way of living.
Interestingly enough, our intelligent Creator has laid out very plainly a way of living. This way of living includes a diet plan, as well as blessings or curses depending on if we follow His ways or not.
The Blessings & Curses of Health & Wellness
One doesn’t need to look far to see the numerous health concerns out there today. There’s a plethora of autoimmune diseases, 3 types of diabetes, and numerous mental concerns. Obesity, heart disease, infertility, PMS, and cancer are on the rise. And sadly, there’s much more that could be added to this list of growing aliments.
And things are really only getting worse.
The thing is, for Believers, we’ve been warned about this at the beginning of our Bibles. Our Creator tells us plainly in His Word what will happen if we choose to follow or not follow His ways.
Below are 7 verses which share these blessings and curses:
Blessings & Curses in Scripture
{Emphasis mine}
See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse – the blessing, if you listen to the mitzvot (commandments) of Yahweh your Elohim (God) that I am giving you today; and the curse, if you don’t listen to the mitzvot of Yahweh your Elohim, but turn aside from the way I am ordering you today and follow other gods that you have not known.”
Deuteronomy 11:26-28
IF you listen closely to what Yahweh your Elohim says, observing and obeying all this mitzvot which I am giving you today, Yahweh your Elohim will raise you high above all the nations on earth; and all the following blessing will be yours in abundance – if you will do what Yahweh your Elohim says:”
Deuteronomy 28:1-2
BUT if you refuse to pay attention to what Yahweh your Elohim says, and do not observe and obey all His mitzvot and regulations which I am giving you today, then all the following curses will be yours in abundance:”
Deuteronomy 28:15
IF you will not observe and obey all the words of this Torah that are written in this book, so that you will fear this glorious and awesome name, Yahweh your Elohim; then Yahweh will strike down you and your descendants with extraordinary plagues and severe sicknesses that go on and on. He will bring back upon you all the diseases the Egyptians had, which you were in dread of; and they will cling to you. Not only that, but Yahweh will bring upon you all the sicknesses and plagues that are not written in this book of the Torah – until you are destroyed. You will be left few in number, whereas you were once as numerous as the stars in the sky – because you did not pay attention to the voice of Yahweh your Elohim.”
Deuteronomy 28: 58-62
Therefore, observe the words of this covenant and obey them; so that you can make everything you do prosper.”
Deuteronomy 29:8
I call on heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have presented you with life and death, the blessing and the curse. Therefore, choose life, so that you will live, you and your descendants, loving Yahweh your Elohim, paying attention to what He says and clinging to Him – for that is the purpose of your life!”
Deuteronomy 30:19-20a
Intentional Self-Improvement Journal
Helping you THRIVE – not just survive from the INSIDE OUT!
This is a faith-based journal resource created for the sole purpose of helping you thrive in life through intentional self-improvement. The prompts, affirmations, and words of encouragement are all Scripture-based.
Take Him at His Word, Especially for your Health & Wellness
Unfortunately, far too many don’t take our Creator seriously when He shared with us if we choose not to follow His ways we will suffer curses, many of which are health-related. I highly encourage you to go and prayerfully read Deuteronomy 28-30; seeking His wisdom while you read it.
If we truly believe our heavenly Father is the Ultimate Source of wisdom, then we need to choose to take Him at His Word, trusting in His intelligent design.
When it comes to our health & wellness goals of 2020 may we all see the intelligent wisdom in our Creator’s dietary food laws and the value of following and obeying them.
Thankfully, eating Biblically clean isn’t actually hard to do. We’re told in Deuteronomy 30:11 following His ways aren’t too hard for us. Glory halleluYah! 🙌🏻
How to Follow a Biblically Clean Diet
As I just mentioned, following a Biblically clean diet isn’t actually hard. Sure we may have to give up a few things, but what’s a little diet clean-up compared to the joy of knowing we’re living a more pleasing life to our Creator?
Here are 6 simple and easy steps to start eating a Biblically clean diet:
Eat according to our Creators clean and unclean list found in Lev. 11 and Deut. 14
Avoid processed foods, added sugars, artificial sugars, flavours, and colourings
If you choose to eat grains only consume soaked and sprouted grains; avoid processed flours that are not soaked/sprouted, especially wheat
Eat a well-balanced diet: don’t over-consume one food group. Unless its veggies, eating lots of veggies is generally a pretty wise idea 😉
Avoid conventional dairy and meats. These aren’t just terrible for our health; they go against many of the Biblical guidelines of how to treat people, animals and our planet.
What about Real Health Ailments?
If you do feel you need to try out a new diet for health reasons, such as diabetes, an autoimmune disease, cancer, depression, etc., I highly recommend working with a qualified health coach/practitioner, naturopathic doctor or functional medicine practitioner before doing things yourself.
As one who studies nutrition & health-related subjects, I understand the necessity of bio-individuality when it comes to diet. I see there’s generally not one thing that truly works for every single person on earth today. And why is that? Because we’re choosing not to follow our intelligent Creator, as well as all of the toxicity and dis-ease we have here on planet earth.
I believe it is necessary for many to seek the guidance and counsel of professionals. Working with someone to help understand the root cause of the dis-ease is essential sometimes. But starting with seeking the wisdom of our heavenly Father and following Hisintelligently designed plan is the first and most important step in creating true and lasting health & wellness.
I also believe the one thing that truly does work for every person is following a Biblical diet. This doesn’t necessarily mean a “kosher” diet because while Pepsi is actually “kosher” it’s definitely not healthy or Biblically clean! A Biblically clean diet is following His dietary guidelines, eating as much fresh and organic whole foods as possible.
In Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14 these guidelines are laid out for us. I encourage you to go and refamiliarize yourself with them if you’ve forgotten some.
Health & Wellness for 2020: Beyond Diet
As I mentioned earlier, true health & wellness isn’t just what diet we’re following, it’s so much more. Being holistic beings (spirit, soul, mind, and body) we need to approach ourselves as such.
Therefore, for your health & wellness goals of 2020 I also highly encourage you to remember to include things such as:
spending daily, quality time with our Creator
meditating upon His Word
practice speaking His truth throughout the day
truly believing our Heavenly Father and taking Him at His Word
moving your body regularly
eating more vegetables
seeking His wisdom daily
becoming who you are truly meant to be in Him
let go of what isn’t serving you, such as old habits, past hurts, unforgiveness, bitterness and the like
This year my hope and prayer for you is that you pray and seek our heavenly Father and His guidance for your 2020 health & wellness goals. May you choose to make this the year you take Him at His Word, live according to His intelligent design, and trust He is not only wise but knows best.
And always remember, “AllScripture is God-breathed and is valuable for teaching the truth, convicting ofsin, correcting faults and training in right living.” {2 Timothy 3:16}}Dear friends, I am praying that everything in 2020 prospers with you and that you will be in good health, just as you prosper spiritually. {3 John 2}
Rebecca is a daughter of the Ultimate Creator, Whole Bible Believer, disciple of Yahshua, devoted wife to Ben, homeschooling momma to three, and dog-mom to one ori-pei (who’s pretty much just like another kid). She’s a reader, writer, creator and is definitely considered a “crunchy” momma but is unsure of how she feels about the term “crunchy”. She’s passionate about true Biblical Holistic Health through faith, psychology & nutrition and she writes, teaches and shares about it on her website, rebeccaschartner.com as well as on her Instagram account @rebeccaschartner. If you’re looking for more ways on how to live a more Biblically holistic life be sure to grab her free ebook, 6 Tips to Live a Biblically Holistic Life, and check out her 10 Day Biblically Holistic Reset Cleanse.
