Celebrate You!

"The best gift you can give your family and the world is a healthy you and you cannot be healthy without celebration being a regular part of your life. You can change the entire atmosphere in your home simply by giving yourself permission to lighten up." This quote is from Joyce Meyer's new book Eat the Cookie, Buy the Shoes.



The book talks about reasons to celebrate life. Women, especially, have issues with taking time out for themselves. God made us to be the nurturers, caregivers and to make sure everyone is taking care of. A good example is the description of the virtuous woman in Proverbs 31 in the Bible. It describes how the virtuous woman makes sure her family has food, clothes and a nice home. The virtuous woman also clothes herself in fine linens as well. Clothing ourselves is the part a lot of us tend to miss.

We get so caught up in caring for others that we forget to take care of ourselves. Sometimes when we finally do care for ourselves we feel guilty about it so we do not do it any more. That is why Joyce Meyer wrote the book she did to let women know it is okay to go treat and celebrate yourself as long as we stay in God's will. Staying in God's will means to find a healthy balance because we should not over indulge. We are to be good stewards over everything. Going on a shopping spree once a weak when your family is behind on bills, for example, is not a good way to celebrate yourself. Buying one thing for yourself to celebrate working hard to pay off a bill is a good example. Going for a stroll in the park by yourself to get some quiet time is OK. Your family and/or other responsibilities will be fine for a couple of hours. When we are rejuvenated we have the energy to continue to care for everyone else. As the quote says above we set the tone for the environment. I have heard many husbands say that when their wife is happy, everyone in the house is happy.

I have taken notice of this in my own family. When I am bubbly and happy sure enough everyone else is too, including my husband. It is awesome that God blessed us with that kind of power. We should make sure we do right with the gift from God to have a joyful atmosphere by celebrating ourselves and not feel guilty about it.