168: From Chaos to Order
Our bodies are a creation of order. We are fearfully and wonderfully made and not meant to live in bodies in a state of chaos. Poor health comes from disorder in the body. When there is disorder, there is disease. A state of ill-health can be looked at as a state of chaos- the absence of God’s order. It is being out of alignment with the way He made us. There is some element of His Presence or His Provision that is missing.
We can establish peace and order in the body by following the order in which God established Creation. He deliberately ordered the foundation of the universe which mirrors the foundational needs of our bodies. This is the essence of The Genesis Prescription. Everything we need to know for good health is revealed to us In the Beginning.
Come listen as we discuss the 8 essential elements of good health and how to restore order to the body. And come join us as we apply them this summer in The Genesis Prescription program. More info here.
EPISODE 168: From Chaos to Order
Show Notes
(0:00) Intro
Hello my friend, welcome back to the club. How are you today?
This is the last podcast I’m doing before I go on my little summer break so I’m a little nervous but excited. Nervcited as my daughter would say.
We are wrapping up 10x Stronger this week which was so awesome.
(3:00) From Chaos to Order
Our next challenge is The Genesis Prescription and it is the foundation - my foundational program - of taking the body from chaos to order.
This is by far, the most calming, holy spirit led program that I have. The Lord showed me that everything we need to know for good health is revealed in the Beginning, in the Creation story when God turned chaos into order and established the world.
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep.
And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Genesis 1:1-2
In the beginning, The Bible tells us that the earth was without form and void. Some translations use words like empty, desolate and shapeless. The Hebrew phrase for it is tohu vavohu which essentially means chaos.
Creation is all about the way God established order from chaos. He took unformed, barren space and spoke structure and harmony into existence.
For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful,I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.How precious to me are your thoughts, God!How vast is the sum of them.Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand—when I awake, I am still with you. Psalm 139: 13-18
Our bodies are a creation of order. We are fearfully and wonderfully made and not meant to live in bodies in a state of chaos.
Poor health comes from disorder in the body. When there is disorder, there is disease.
For God is not a God of disorder but of peace. 1 Corinthians 14:33
We can establish peace and order in the body by following the order in which God established Creation. This is the essence of The Genesis Prescription.
For I the Lord do not change. Malachi 3:6
Creating better health is a matter of creating order, God’s order, in the body. We humans often return to chaos by making choices that are out of alignment with the way God made us. But we can restore order when we use the guidance given to us In the Beginning.
All things should be done decently and in order. 1 Corinthians 14:40
The Genesis Prescription is all about reestablishing order by committing to the foundations of health. Each week you focus on one Genesis Prescription goal at a time, using Scripture to guide and inspire you along the way.
(8:44) Week 1: Water
Drink half of your body weight in ounces of water per day to stay hydrated.
The body is about 60% water, it is the most critical need of your body - we can go without food for quite a while but we can’t go without water.
So many people do not get enough - sugary and dehydrating drinks like coffee and alcohol do not count. Liquid is not the same as pure water.
(9:36) Week 2: Sun
Get 10-30 minutes of natural sunlight each day.
Ideally, get morning and evening sunlight exposure and direct-to-skin light in the afternoon. This will improve Vitamin D, cortisol regulation and melatonin production (for better sleep).
(10:22) Week 3: Earthing
Spend 10-20 minutes a day with your bare feet or hands in dirt, grass, rocks or sand for better energy, sleep and decreased inflammation.
We want to pick up electrons from the natural surfaces of the earth to help reduce inflammation and oxidative stress, recharge our mitochondria and to restore the balance of the electricity in our bodies.
It is one of the most restorative, healing, calming activities you can do for your body.
Swimming in natural bodies of water like the ocean counts too for your earthing.
(12:02) Week 4: Plant Foods
Our foundation goal is to eat at least 4 cups of plant food each day (preferably more vegetables than fruits so we’re keeping sugar low BUT summer is the season of more carbohydrates including more fruit.
Part of the beauty of fruit is that it’s so hydrating. So, going back to our water goal, eating fruit does help fulfill a bit of that hydration.
Now, during week 4 of The GP, participants have the option of participating in the additional challenge of the 3-day plant-based Summer Detox which involves ONLY eating vegetables, fruit and plant fats for three days.
This is one of the quarterly seasonal detoxes that we do in the CHC. We take a break from animal foods, let the digestive system reset and the body detox and recycle out some of those old proteins.
(14:58) Week 5: Animal Protein
We also had an additional challenge for this week as well. So the foundation goal for this week is to Get 60-90 grams of animal protein each day.
The way I had used the Word and The Lord as my compass for a dietary approach up until this point had been based on Genesis 1:29 - God gave us plants and Gen 9:3 God gave us meat.
Our keys to good health are right there in Genesis. So in addition to getting 60-90 grams of protein, this is the week in the GP that we also do our Track Your Macs challenge which involves tracking your macronutrients in an app to make sure you’re hitting your goals.
We calculate the appropriate number of calories our body needs - and each person’s body is different - and we adjust macronutrient ratios to fit your goals. I generally like a 25-30% protein goal, 10-30% carbs and the rest as fat which is usually around 40-60%.
(20:08) Week 6: Breath
Our goal is to spend at least 2 minutes each day in breath work. Inhale for 5-6 seconds, exhale for 5-6 seconds - all through the nose.
Then the LORD God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. Genesis 2:7
God breathed life into man through the nose, not the mouth, and we are beginning to understand the significance and importance of breathing primarily through the nose.
You get more oxygen to the tissues in your body when you breathe through the nose and I think one of the most interesting things I’ve learned is that breath is the way 84% of fat clears our body - it is exhaled through your breath.
“For every ten pounds of fat lost in our bodies, eight and a half pounds of it comes out through the lungs; that will give you some R-E-S-P-E-C-T for breathing properly.
Not breathing correctly can inhibit fat loss, the simplest way to explain it is that we breathe in oxygen - O2 and we breathe out carbon dioxide - CO2.
2 molecules go in - oxygen, 3 go out. Your exhaled breath is heavier than your inhaled breath. That is what is carrying the metabolic waste - your burned fat - from your body but the way you breathe to do that matters.
For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. 2 Timothy 1:7
Also, the rate of your breath is a good measure of stress. Shorter, more rapid breathing indicates stress - those are the breaths of fear - and we know that I have been noticing my breath a lot more lately and using it as a countermeasure to stress.
(24:15) Week 7: Sleep
And our goal is to Get 7-9 hours of sleep - good sleep - each night. We’re working on quantity and quality.
God calls us to our nightly rest and our Sabbath rest. Now, There are a lot of things you can do to help up the quality of your sleep - reducing blue light exposure, finishing your last meal at least 2 hours before bed, taking a hot epsom salt bath - you can customize your sleep routine and your sleep space to make it just what you need for rest.
Remember that our body goes into deep detox and repair processes while we sleep and if you’re not sleeping long enough or deeply enough - you miss out on those critical processes.
That’s when our hormones get out of whack, our brains lose clarity, our body holds onto weight.
All things should be done decently and in order. 1 Corinthians 14:40
(25:38) Week 8: Movement
Our last and final goal of The GP is movement. We’re specifically aiming to get at least 10,000 steps each day and, ideally, that is spread over the day.
Too many of us sit most of the day and maybe we go exercise for an hour and then we go back and sit down.
Our Biblical brothers and sisters walked a lot and moved all day long. So in week 8 of the GP we get intentional about moving more throughout the day - getting those steps in, becoming more aware of what that many steps look like - how much movement it takes to reach that goal so that we can carry it into our long term health plans.
(26:45) Closing thoughts:
And those are the 8 weeks of The Genesis Prescription. It’s a simple yet powerful approach and the way we bring chaos into order in the body.
The Genesis Prescription is designed to immerse you in the essential elements of good health while immersing you in God’s Word.
If you would like to join the group you can sign up for The Genesis Prescription by going to my website here.
The Creator of our bodies made the Perfect Provision for our bodies. He made our bodies to work in relation to Creation and when we are out of sync, when we are out of alignment, when we are out of order, there is disorder. We turn from chaos to order by turning to the Word and turning to Him.
I’m signing out for the next few months, living what I preach and being grateful for all of the blessings in my life. Including you and this good work I get to do.
(29:47) Outro & Disclaimer
Thanks for listening! Have a healthy and blessed week!