Bodies In Christ - 5 Keys To Kingdom Health

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Bodies in Christ. It is time for Kingdom Health Transformation with Mike James. Good afternoon. Good afternoon. The best truly is yet to come. I'm so excited to be here today and I appreciate you all tuning in. In a few minutes, I'm going to get into we have a special guest in the studio.

I'm excited about that. But I'm going to touch a little bit on what we talked about last week and then give you all kind of an opportunity to get some information as it relates to the subject matter. Last week, I talked about five keys, five biblical keys to your best health ever and five keys to Kingdom Health, which are basically the same thing. So I want to touch base on those keys again and you can get details on these keys that I'm talking about in a little downloaded booklet that you can get at www.5keys.live.

So if you want to download that information that I'm talking about now, you can do that online at 5keys.live. So yeah, we got into it last week. The first key I talked about was having a vision. Definitely having a vision for your health. And then being in prayer and meditate about that vision so God can work with you on exactly where you can be as it relates to your health.

Because again, I don't believe some of the things that we've accepted as normal is normal for the kingdom as it relates to health. So we definitely want to carve out that vision. And then that second key was being committed to the vision commitment. Can you commit to the vision? Not can you, but commit to the vision, right? Because faith without works, as we know, is dead. So it takes that commitment and then commitment is going to be shown by what you do.

Not what you say, not saying I'm committed, but commitment really is wrapped up in action. So what kind of actions are you taking as it relates to your commitment to health? And all of this, again, is we wrap this in scripture and you can, as I mentioned, get the information online. And then two, what is God's plan for your health, right? When we think about our health and we think about God in general, we know God is a good God. So what would God, what would his plan be for our health? How would he want us to operate? And what type of health would he want us in, you know, as a loving God? So now we know he wants us in kingdom health, the best health possible. So all we have to do basically is agree with God in that and then pursue what God has already ordained for us.

So again, what is God's plan for your health? Now, the other thing is, because so much of the world comes at us every day with commercials, with Burger King and Big Macs and fries and all of this other stuff that they sell us all the time. You know, we get everything we watch on TV, sporting events, whatever it is, there's something food wise that's not necessarily the best for us. So now we start seeing that all the time and we know faith comes by hearing and whatever we hear the most, that's what we're going to have the most faith for. So we end up having faith for those things that are not necessarily the best things for us. So now it takes renewing the mind, right?

That's what we have to do to break free and then move in a different direction. So the that other key is renewing of the mind and then to the fourth and the fifth and final key is God's eating plan. What is his eating plan? And he put it in, he put it clear as day in the Bible, the first book, Genesis 1 29. He gave us the blueprint, which I call the fountain of youth.

He gave us the blueprint. So now how do we renew our mind? Put us in a mindset to where now we can walk in a different way and eat according to God's eating plan. I know eating is something that, you know, we do a lot, eating is associated with a lot of different things. Celebrations, you know, we eat when people graduate, we eat when people are born, we eat when people are, when they die, you know, around celebrations and things like that.

So there's a lot of emotions tied to eating. So now, speaking of emotions, I have someone with me today that's a guest. And she's also a sponsor of this program, Choice Behavioral Health, which I'm thankful to Crystal Nickerson for joining us on this journey and feeling like it was important for us to get this message out to the body of Christ. So, Crystal, how are you? I'm well.

I'm well, Michael. Thank you for having me. Absolutely.

Absolutely. We appreciate you being here. Now, I know there's a couple of things I definitely want to ask you.

I would definitely want you to just be comfortable and share with the audience kind of who you are, what you do. And then, too, what's your calling? And I know you operate in the mental health space, as I mentioned, you know, eating can be emotional and that kind of thing.

But let me ask you this. Why did you decide to partner with us to get this message out about health in the body of Christ? Michael, I feel your message is a salient message.

It's timely. And we in the body are going to have to pay more attention to our physical health. And we know that we take care of our spiritual health. And for the most part, we do pretty well with that. But we tend to overlook our physical health and how we eat. We don't have the best practices in place in this fast paced society. We're running.

We're on the go. And we're not paying attention to everything that goes in our mouth. So we just really have to be intentional about our health and how we're eating because our brain, we're feeding ourselves, but we're also feeding our brain. And if we put good nutrition in, our brain will function well. If we don't put in good things, our brain will not function so well. And that affects our mood, our sleep and everything, every other aspect of our lives. Therefore, it's important to eat a balance and a healthy diet. And when we do so, we'll see that our mood swings.

We're having fewer of those. Our mental health is better as well as our physical health. That's interesting.

So you're telling me that not only is good nutrition, eating right, good for us physically, but also it affects our mental as well. Absolutely. All right.

All right. So now, Crystal, I know you have run an organization. You've been in business for quite a while.

You're the director and also the owner of Choice Behavioral Health. Tell me, how did you get into that line of work? I know you feel like it's a calling and I know it is. So share with us kind of what you do and how you ended up in this place.

Okay. It is definitely a calling. As a child, my oldest sister was in school studying psychology and I saw how that, it seemed to bring her joy. And as little girls, my sisters and I, we would always study people. We would study their behaviors and we would just have questions like, why did they respond that way? Why aren't they just kind to people?

Why didn't they just smile, you know? And so all of my life, I've had a quest to learn more about why we do what we do. And I've also had a genuine regard for just loving people and caring about people. And so my journey with school began at UNC Chapel Hill. I studied psychology with a biology minor. And then after that, I went on to complete my master's degree in pastoral counseling at Liberty University.

And so I knew that, I knew that God would use my journey to the mess in my life to help me help someone else. Okay. Okay. So my journey without having a father in the home, being raised by my mother and my maternal grandparents, those were the things that I dealt with as a child. And so I had to learn coping skills around not having a father, you know, being the tallest girl always in the group and maybe not having a date because I'm so tall or maybe having dates, but they were too old for me.

So just, you know, dealing with the special issues that I had to deal with and having friends who had dads who were there and where my grandfather couldn't be, when he couldn't be there, just learning to cope and deal with those kinds of things. Okay. Okay.

So you, like you said, you took what you consider your mess and made it a message. Right. Absolutely. Absolutely.

That's a blessing. So now who do you serve? Who are the type people or, you know, who are you called to as far as your organization?

Who do they serve? My organization serves people who have intellectual and developmental disabilities as well as mental health diagnoses. And we support people in learning coping skills, learning adaptive daily living skills, learning life skills, learning social skills, learning how to communicate effectively. And so those are the kinds of goals we work on.

There is some behavior management techniques we use also. And then we, in addition, we employ people in our office who have these disabilities to work. And so we help them to have a meaningful life as well and contribute to society. My calling as a pastoral counselor, I believe I am called to work with everyone.

And so anyone who needs help, I feel I'm called to work with that person. Now, mostly I see myself working with those who we call the least of these. But I've learned, you know, the Bible said the least of these are those who are homeless, the hungry, the sick, those who are imprisoned. But when you think about it, any of us could be the least of these at any time. And especially if we're persecuted for serving Christ.

Okay. So now with pastoral counseling, and I know you said, you know, you're serving the least of these, who you feel like you're called to serve. So now when you think about pastoral counseling, what type of issues do people generally have that you're able to help them with?

In general, everything you can think of, most of them are relational. So marriages, you know, marital issues. We see young people dealing with body image issues, sexuality issues. And so issues of abuse, neglect, exploitation, abandonment.

So you just see the whole gamut of life issues. Okay. Okay. So now I know you have your master's in pastoral counseling. Is that something that you're doing more of? Because I know from your core business, from what I understand, you know, you're doing the mental health part of it.

But then, too, how are things going with the pastoral counseling? Are you doing more of that? Are you seeing a bigger need for that?

I see a great need for it, but I, in this season, am doing less of that. Okay. But I'm also going back into parenting, and I'm helping to take care of my niece. Okay. And so right now she is a top priority. And so I feel if I'm going to counsel someone, it's going to be her.

And I want to focus my attention on her and so forth. Okay. Okay.

Excellent. So back into parenting. Parenting, that's a whole different game. As a matter of fact, my youngest is 19.

She's on her own, but still she lives about a half a mile from me. So we're still parenting, right? But, yeah, so that's interesting. So we're going to get back into some of the things that we're talking about as relates to health and then also mental health. Right now we're going to go into a break here in a minute, but when we come back, we'll get back into some of the things that we were talking about. So keep your doubts right there.

We'll be right back in about two minutes. Are you or your loved one facing challenges of intellectual and developmental disabilities or mental health diagnosis? We understand and we're here for you. Crystal, owner and director of Choice Behavioral Health and Consultative Services has been called by God into the role of pastoral counseling. She believes that the right relationship with God can transform lives, fostering right relationships with one another. Call her today at 336-218-5176, where faith meets compassionate care. Are you in need of relaxation and rejuvenation? Look no further than Gifted Healing Massage and Body Work, owned by Anjureka Artis. A licensed massage therapist since 2021, she sees her abilities as a gift from God meant to be used for healing and edification.

Experience the benefits of consistent massage therapy, reduce stress, relieve pain, and support the body's natural healing processes. Call Anjureka Artis at 336-448-3511. Kingdom Builders Associates KBA was established in 2018 out of a heart to build trust and value for each client's experience and with the mission to advance the kingdom of God. One reason Kingdom Builders exists is to set precedent for and create the standard of excellence in the construction industry. That's excellent customer service through excellent craftsmanship by skilled craftsmen managed by highly qualified professional project managers.

Visit them online at www.kbabuilders.com. Are you tired of living with pain? At Crawford Chiropractic Clinic, we've been serving the Greensboro community for over 30 years, helping patients recover from accidents and promoting overall health. Our compassionate team is here to support you and your journey to wellness. With us, you're not just a patient, you're family. Remember, at Crawford Chiropractic Clinic, we've got your back. Visit us and experience the difference.

Call 336-373-8344 or online at CrawfordChiro.com. All right. It's great to be back. And so, yeah, I'm here in the studio with Crystal Nickerson with Choice Behavioral Health and just sharing some things and having a conversation.

And it's great to kind of hear where she is and what God has called her to do. Let me ask you this, Crystal, as it relates to health, because, you know, one of the things people see, you mentioned earlier that you're tall, but also you look fit. So kind of help us understand why is it important for you, do you feel like, for you to stay fit and kind of what's some of your routines that you do? Well, my routines, honestly, are a little bit off, but I am called to be fit because the Scriptures tell us that our bodies are the temple of God. So if my body is God's temple, then I certainly want to take the best care of his temple as I can.

So it's important for me to not just study the Word, but to also have some exercise in my life and eat well every day. At least if I'm going to have a not so healthy meal, I'm going to put in fruits and veggies, but I'm going to try my best. If I'm eating somewhere that doesn't have a lot of good choices, I'm going to find the good choices.

So if it's all hamburgers and fries and there's fish on the menu, I'm going to find the fish and I'll leave the rest off. So it's just, we just have to really be intentional about taking care of this temple because it is God's plan for us to be in good health. And we're only going to be in good health if we take care of our body every day, every hour.

That's good. And one of the theme scriptures for bodies in Christ is 3 John 2. It's eye-opening because he said, Beloved, I wish above all things that you prosper and be in health even as your soul prospers. So we know it's God's will for us to be in good health and you being a business owner and having a lot of hats that you wear. This is the thing that I really want to share with the body of Christ is that we have to have the vital energy to carry out the mission. See, I mean, you know, and like you said, our bodies is the temple of the Holy Spirit and just being mindful of that. And what our call is, you know, as it relates to God, because he said we are not our own, that we've been bought with the price. So therefore glorify God in our bodies and in our spirit, which belongs to who? To God.

To him. Absolutely. Absolutely. So that's that's awesome that you would say that. And then to one of the things I like that you mentioned earlier, but just not just like, but it makes sense that your mental health is affected by your physical health. Right. So you talked about like having the proper nutrition, eating the right meals and things like that and how it affects your moods.

Yes. So now can you talk a little bit more about, you know, nutrition and how it relates to the mental health aspect of things? Yeah, I just want to say, for instance, if you're if you're putting in sugars, for example, we all know that sugar is going to break down.

You're going to have a spike of energy. But then we see it all the time. We go to a party, we eat cake, we eat ice cream. We feel good for a few minutes. And then we hit that low. And that's that's really what's going on with our mood is that the food that's not so nutritious puts us in a low.

And and it can, as we continue to eat like that daily, it can cause us to have mood swings and also bring us into depression. Wow. Wow. So that's good to know. So now when I think of what happens when we do something, you know, for every action, there's an opposite and equal reaction. Right. So if eating like that can put us in a bad mood or put us into, as your words, depression, then what happens when we eat the opposite?

Right. When we're eating fruits and vegetables and and nuts and raw foods that are whole foods. So if that can happen, you know, foods like you talk about the sugar and things like that can put us in a bad mood. Even if we continue to eat like that can even end up in depression.

So what happens when we eat the opposite of that? Of course, you'll get the reverse. You'll get more of that. You'll have joy. You'll have joy. You'll be vibrant and you're going to feel better.

You're going to have energy to, like you say, carry out the mission of Christ. If we're eating our vegetables and our fruits and getting our proteins, you know, a balanced diet, we're going to be able to do the things that God has called us to do. And that's what it's all about.

Yes. You know, and that's what this is all about when we're talking about, you know, bodies in Christ and, you know, what we're about and what this radio program is about. It's really about the mission. This is just a part of it. But see, the thing with in a lot of places and churches that there's not a lot of talk about nutrition and taking care of the body.

There's not extensive teaching on it. But, you know, the word also says, and you heard me say this before, is that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. So we have to hear, hear and hear before we can have faith for something.

And then once we have faith for it, we can move and act in that area. So, yeah, it's important and I appreciate, you know, you coming on as a sponsor and really, you know, helping us to to build this movement, as I call it, to help us build this movement. And speaking of builders, I want to shout out one of our sponsors, KBA Builders, which they are a renovation home remodeling.

They can really do it all. But the main thing about KBA is that they really are about integrity. And that's what they want to bring back to the home construction industry is integrity. The owners, that's that's a big deal as KBA stands for Kingdom Builders Associates.

So when they put Kingdom on something, then, you know, it has to be done in a certain way. So I definitely want to thank them for being one of our sponsors as well. But now back to our conversation, you know, mental health and how important it is to get the proper nutrition. Now, even with some of the clients that you serve, do you see that help helps them if they're eating better? It does.

It does. And I also see because I work in this space with a lot of the people that I support. And I see them making the poor choices some, you know, some days.

And I can tell when I engage with them. I saw someone drinking a Starbucks coffee, eating a donut and then a hamburger later. And then next thing, I don't feel like working today. You know, I need to go home early. I have a headache. My stomach hurts.

My back hurts. So it's just a compilation of eating poorly daily, day after day after day, eating poorly day after day. And we're starting to see the effects of it in our interactions with others. Right. So definitely, yes. Yeah. So again, it behooves us all to look, not that anything, not that everything is going to change overnight because it is a process of, you know, changing the way we think, changing our behavior is not something that's simple.

So we don't try to act like it's a simple thing. And as I mentioned, for those of you out there listening, as we talk about, you know, just how to transform again, again, you can go to fivekeys.live and get the free booklet that outlines those five keys. And then also there's a free masterclass around that as well that we do every Monday.

And you're welcome to enroll in that as well to kind of start your journey. Well, look, Crystal, it's been a blessing. And let us not be conformed to be to this world, but let us be transformed by the renewal of our minds. There you go.

You've heard it. Well, look, we look forward to seeing you guys the same time, same channel next week. Beloved, I wish above all things that you prosper and be in health even as your soul prospers. Tune in every Thursday at 3.30 p.m. and Saturday at 9.30 a.m. for a Kingdom Health Transformation with Mike J. on the light. This is the Truth Network.