Today, Dr. Z walks you through 1 Corinthians 14:33 and the truth that God is not a God of confusion but of peace. You'll also learn what the Greek words for confusion and peace reveal and how God's peace restores order to body, mind, and spirit.

If you feel scattered or unsettled, this episode is for you!

Read today's devo: BibleHealth.com/daily-devo/clarity-not-confusion Browse the full Daily Devo archive: BibleHealth.com/devos Get Bible Health Daily sent to your inbox: BibleHealth.com/newsletter Go deeper & stay connected with us on Substack: BibleHealth.Substack.com Ready to walk it out with us? Join the Inner Circle: BibleHealth.Substack.com/subscribe This podcast is for encouragement and education and is not medical advice.

Hey y’all, and welcome to Monday Manna!

In the summer of 2025, we were visiting family in Michigan and had plans to spend the day with some close friends who live about two hours away.

We were already on the road when they canceled at the last minute, because they had gotten the dates mixed up. Just like that, the day we had planned was gone.

We had a choice to make in that car, and it’s the same choice every family faces more than once between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve.

And this week, we’re turning to a habit that changes how the rest of the season feels…

Joy Isn’t Seasonal

In the summer of 2025… while visiting our family in Michigan, we made plans to see some close friends and while we were driving to their home two hours away, they canceled at the last minute because they got their dates mixed up. So we took a turn north, and made the best out of the situation…

That’s the Mackinac Bridge behind us. We ended up enjoying the Great Lakes, had a wonderful picnic under the bridge, went swimming, and found joy in a moment…

We could have turned the car around and spent the afternoon disappointed. Instead, we turned north, toward a day none of us had planned.

The joy that day didn’t depend on our plans working out. It came when we stopped grieving the day we lost and started receiving the day God gave us.

We’re telling you this now because the holidays are full of canceled plans. Here are a few you might see before January:

• A flight gets delayed, or a snowstorm closes the road to Grandma’s house

• Someone runs a fever on Thanksgiving morning

• The relatives you hoped would come can’t make it, or the ones you didn’t expect show up

• The turkey takes two hours longer than the recipe promised

Most of us treat joy like the weather. When the forecast is good we’re happy, and when the plan falls apart, our mood falls apart with it.

The Bible calls us to something sturdier than that:

“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.” — Philippians 4:4

Paul wrote those words while he was in chains (Philippians 1:13), with every travel plan he had made out of his hands. He commands joy twice in one sentence anyway, because his joy was anchored in the Lord and not in his circumstances.

In our last Manna we told you we’re done just surviving the holidays, and over the past week we started living that out, in our homes and in our marriages.

First we published Holiday Stress and the Bible, which lays out the conviction behind everything we’ll publish through New Year’s Eve: the holidays are something to enjoy with God, not something to survive without Him.

Then we turned to marriage, because the holidays put extra pressure on a husband and wife, and we shared the 11 lessons we learned almost too late.

Underneath all of it is one simple truth, and it’s the reason we can celebrate at all. Joy isn’t seasonal, because the One who gives it isn’t:

“These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” — John 15:11

Jesus said those words on the night He was betrayed, with the cross only hours away. Notice He calls it My joy, a joy that held on the hardest night any man has ever faced.

If His joy could hold that night, it can hold through a canceled flight and a crowded table. And He wants that joy in you, full, not rationed out for the good days.

So how do you get that kind of joy to hold? Scripture keeps pointing to the same doorway:

“Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise! Give thanks to Him; bless His name!” — Psalm 100:4

Thanksgiving is the gate, and joy is what you find on the other side, in His presence (Psalm 16:11). Give thanks first, even on a day when the plans fall apart, and the joy follows.

So this week, with Thanksgiving almost here, we’re turning to thankfulness.

And we’ll close the Holiday season together with a prayer for a grateful heart.

Walk this out with us

YOUR DAILY MANNA

“Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits.” — Psalm 103:1-2

Notice who David is talking to, because he isn’t preaching to a crowd here, he’s preaching to his own soul.

The Hebrew word for bless, barak, shares its root with the word for knee. To bless the Lord is to bow before Him with everything you’ve got, in worship and in thanks.

And David holds nothing back: all that is within me. That’s his mind, his emotions, his will, and yes, his body, all of it bowing before the God who made it.

And he has to, because forgetting is our default. We remember the burned rolls and the hard conversation, and we forget the quiet mercies God gave us the very same day.

Israel had the same problem. They watched God part the Red Sea, and here’s how the psalmist sums up what came next:

“But they soon forgot His works; they did not wait for His counsel.” — Psalm 106:13

That word soon is the warning, because three days after crossing the sea they were grumbling about water (Exodus 15:22-24). So David doesn’t leave it vague; he names what God has done:

“…who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.” — Psalm 103:3-5

Look at that list: forgiveness for your soul, healing for your body, rescue for your life, and good things that renew your strength. David painted a whole-person picture of health thousands of years before anyone called it wellness.

Gratitude starts with remembering, and sometimes you have to tell your own soul to do it.

So here is your one thing this week.

Every night at dinner, have each person name one of God’s benefits from that day. Write them on a list and keep it on the fridge, so by Thanksgiving your family has a page full of reasons to give thanks.

Your soul forgets what your mouth never says.

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Bible Health Daily

Every morning, Bible Health Daily gives you one verse and a few minutes with Dr. Z, so the Word gets into your heart before the world gets into your feed.

Listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or right here on Substack. And if it blesses you, would you take ten seconds to rate and review it on Apple Podcasts?

It helps more people find it.

Here are a few of our latest episodes:

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Featured Posts

Everything we’ve published since Manna #27, all four pieces, right here. We’re wrapping up our marriage series and starting a new one for the holidays…

Inner Circle

Founding & Inner Circle Members: we’re on our holiday break from live studies, but every replay from the 41-Day Nervous System Reset is waiting for you in your Bible Health Vault.

If you missed the final live day, you can catch it below.

We’ll keep checking in with you this season, and our Home & Body Detox study kicks off in early January.

From Natural Living Family

Bible Health is where we teach the why. Over on Natural Living Family this week we taught the how. Here are three favorites worth your five minutes…

• DIY Hand Soap + Burn Cream + Cassava Root + Energy Protein Smoothie

• DIY Pain Roll-On + Oils for Inflammation + Sciatica Relief + Gluten-Free Dinner Rolls

• Smell a Sewer in Your Laundry Room?

The world will keep knocking. Let’s make sure the Word answers the door.

If you are just joining us, start here. It’s where this whole series began…

Upgrade and learn what God’s Word says about every area of life
and how to live it. That’s what Bible Health is all about.

Walk each 6-week live group study the day it opens.
Get the Blueprint and every weekly Swap.
Follow Jesus, not trends, in every area.

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As always, our hope and prayer is that you experience the abundant life.

~ Dr. Z & Mama Z

Today, Dr. Z walks you through Psalm 121:7-8 and the promise that the Lord will keep your going out and your coming in. You'll also learn what the Hebrew word for keep means and how trusting God's keeping presence lets your whole person rest.

If you're walking through uncertain terrain, this episode is for you!

Read today's devo: BibleHealth.com/daily-devo/kept-by-the-lord Browse the full Daily Devo archive: BibleHealth.com/devos Get Bible Health Daily sent to your inbox: BibleHealth.com/newsletter Go deeper & stay connected with us on Substack: BibleHealth.Substack.com Ready to walk it out with us? Join the Inner Circle: BibleHealth.Substack.com/subscribe This podcast is for encouragement and education and is not medical advice.

Early Black Friday deals are the new normal in early November, and with Halloween behind us Christmas decorations are popping up everywhere.

The Holidays are in full swing, and NOW is the perfect time to take a quick pause and ask:

When was the last time you walked into the holiday season with peace in your heart instead of a knot in your stomach?

If you’re like most of the Christians we talk to, it’s been a while.

This week we wrote about Holiday Stress and the Bible, and how so many Christian homes have traded the joy of Christ for the pressures of the season. We sing about peace while running ourselves ragged, and then January comes and we promise ourselves next year will be different.

Then in 5 Holiday Sugar Lies Christians Need to Stop Believing, we tackled the holiday table itself. God made the sugar cane and called it good, which is why we’d rather live by “all GOOD things in moderation” than by the old line about everything in moderation.

Both of those posts point to the same problem, and it runs deeper than the calendar or the cookie tray.

The good news is that the peace we keep chasing in December was never supposed to come from a perfect holiday. God promised it long before the first Christmas, to a people walking in darkness…

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder, and His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” — Isaiah 9:6

Isaiah wrote those words about seven hundred years before Bethlehem, to a nation surrounded by enemies and bracing for hard years ahead.

Notice that God didn’t promise them a calmer world or an easier year, because He promised them a Person, and He gave that Person the name Prince of Peace.

That’s still how He works in a crowded December: He rarely clears the schedule for us, yet He always offers us Himself right in the middle of it.

And Isaiah kept going in the very next verse, with a promise about how long that peace would last…

“Of the increase of His government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore.” — Isaiah 9:7

No end means the peace of Christ doesn’t run out on the third party of the weekend. It doesn’t stay home when you walk into a crowded kitchen full of relatives who have opinions about your plate.

Here’s what that kind of peace can look like in your home this season…

• Saying a kind no to the event that would pull your family in five directions

• Setting your gift budget before you shop, so your generosity doesn’t follow you into the new year as debt

• Bringing a dish you made to the party, so you’re not standing hungry at the dessert table

• Guarding one day each week for worship, rest, and unhurried time together

• Reading Luke 2 out loud as a family before anyone opens a present

Every one of those choices gets easier once you’ve settled, before the first invitation arrives, Who sits at the center of your season. Peace rarely shows up by accident in a season this full, so it helps to decide ahead of time what your family will protect.

Jesus talked about a peace the world can’t hand out, and He said it to His disciples the night before the cross…

“Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” — John 14:27

The world’s version of holiday peace depends on everything going right, from the turkey to the travel to the toddler’s nap. The peace Jesus gives holds even when the pie burns and the flight gets delayed.

That’s the peace we want for our home this year, and it’s the peace we’re praying over yours.

You don’t have to earn a peaceful holiday, because you get to receive one from the Prince of Peace Himself.

So before the first invitation, the first grocery run, and the first string of lights, let’s bring the whole season to Him.

Find a quiet spot and pray this out loud with us. A whisper counts.

“And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.” — Colossians 3:15

Pray this with us: 🙏

Heavenly Father, You see the season ahead of me more clearly than I do. You know the calendar I’m already worried about, the gifts I haven’t bought yet, the tables I’ll sit at, and the conversations I’m dreading.

Thank You that You sent Your Son, the Prince of Peace, into a world that was anything but peaceful. Thank You that His peace has no end, and that it doesn’t depend on my holiday going perfectly.

Lord, I come to You today ready to make You the center of this season again, instead of squeezing You in around everything else.

Help me remember what we’re celebrating. Help me keep Jesus at the center of our table, our tree, our calendar, and our conversations, so my family sees a home where He is the reason and not the decoration.

Help me say yes to what matters and a kind no to what doesn’t. Help me give generously without spending what I don’t have, and help me rest when You tell me to rest.

Holy Spirit, when I feel the pressure rising, remind me Who I belong to. Let the peace of Christ rule in my heart, and make me thankful.

Your Word says You give a peace the world can’t give. I can’t manufacture that kind of peace on my own, so fill me with Yours.

Bring Your peace to my marriage and my family. Where the holidays usually bring tension, bring patience, and help us choose each other over the to-do list.

Bring Your peace to our gatherings. Give me grace for every relative and every opinion, and let my words point everyone around the table to Jesus.

Bring Your peace to our finances. Help us plan our giving before we shop, and keep us from the kind of generosity that follows us into the new year as debt.

Bring Your peace to our table. Thank You for every good gift You made, and give me the wisdom and self-control to honor You with what I eat, without judging anyone else’s plate.

Bring Your peace to my body. Where I’ve run myself ragged, give me rest, and help me care for this temple so I have the energy to love the people You’ve given me.

Bring Your peace to my mind. Quiet the lists and the what-ifs, and let my first thoughts each morning be about You.

Lord, help me avoid letting the calendar, the crowd, or the shopping list push You to the edges of celebrations that are supposed to be about You.

I am not a slave to the calendar. I am not a slave to other people’s expectations. I am not a slave to the credit card. I am not a slave to the dessert table. I am not a slave to comparison. I am not a slave to the pressure of a perfect holiday.

This season does not get to steal my peace.

I belong to Jesus.

Teach me to walk in the peace You’ve already given me.

Not a peace that depends on everything going right, but a peace that holds when the pie burns and the plans change. Peace in my heart. Peace in my home. Peace that has no end.

Today, I trade my hurry for Your rest, and my holiday pressure for Your abundant life.

I receive Your peace. I receive Your rest. I receive Your wisdom at every table. I receive joy in the good gifts You made. I receive Your presence in every gathering this season. I receive the abundant life You came to give me.

Amen.

Upgrade and learn what God’s Word says about every area of life
and how to live it. That’s what Bible Health is all about.

Walk each 6-week live group study the day it opens.
Get the Blueprint and every weekly Swap.
Follow Jesus, not trends, in every area.

LIVE IT OUT - Unlock Full Access

As always, our hope and prayer is that you experience the abundant life.
~ Dr. Z & Mama Z

P.S. Before the week is over, sit down with your calendar and pray over every event between now and New Year’s. Then pick one night to keep for nothing but family, and protect it.

Today, Dr. Z walks you through Romans 12:9 and Paul's call to let love be genuine. You'll also learn what the Greek phrase "love without hypocrisy" means, why genuine love rejects evil and holds fast to good, and how hidden resentment drains your peace and health.

If you want your love to be sincere and healing, this episode is for you!

Read today's devo: BibleHealth.com/daily-devo/love-without-hypocrisy Browse the full Daily Devo archive: BibleHealth.com/devos Get Bible Health Daily sent to your inbox: BibleHealth.com/newsletter Go deeper & stay connected with us on Substack: BibleHealth.Substack.com Ready to walk it out with us? Join the Inner Circle: BibleHealth.Substack.com/subscribe This podcast is for encouragement and education and is not medical advice.

Today, Dr. Z walks you through Luke 6:31 and the Golden Rule, and shows you that Jesus calls us to proactive goodness, not self-protection. You'll also learn how kindness and forgiveness affect your body and relationships, and why each act of kindness can become an act of worship.

If resentment or strained relationships are weighing on you, this episode is for you!

Read today's devo: BibleHealth.com/daily-devo/kindness-is-golden Browse the full Daily Devo archive: BibleHealth.com/devos Get Bible Health Daily sent to your inbox: BibleHealth.com/newsletter Go deeper & stay connected with us on Substack: BibleHealth.Substack.com Ready to walk it out with us? Join the Inner Circle: BibleHealth.Substack.com/subscribe This podcast is for encouragement and education and is not medical advice.

Today, Dr. Z walks you through 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 and Paul's prayer that God would sanctify you completely: spirit, soul, and body. You'll also learn what it means to be sanctified and why the God who calls you is faithful to keep you whole.

If you're striving for balance and wholeness, this episode is for you!

Read today's devo: BibleHealth.com/daily-devo/whole-and-kept Browse the full Daily Devo archive: BibleHealth.com/devos Get Bible Health Daily sent to your inbox: BibleHealth.com/newsletter Go deeper & stay connected with us on Substack: BibleHealth.Substack.com Ready to walk it out with us? Join the Inner Circle: BibleHealth.Substack.com/subscribe This podcast is for encouragement and education and is not medical advice.

Date night, almost twenty years in, and smiling like we just met. It hasn’t always looked like this, and there was a season when we weren’t sure we’d make it. Nights like this one are what we’re fighting for now, because a marriage doesn’t drift apart in a big moment. It drifts one ordinary conversation at a time.

You can tell a lot about a marriage by the last three conversations two people had. If all three were logistics, like who’s picking up which kid, what the account balance is, or whether anyone remembered the thing on Thursday, then you already know what we’re describing.

Nobody is screaming and nobody is packing a suitcase. You’re running a functional household with a competent partner, and somewhere along the way the two of you turned into staff.

That kind of drift is quiet. It happens one tired evening at a time, through the conversation that gets postponed, the prayer you stop praying together, and the week when the kids, the bills and the phones get your best while your spouse gets whatever is left.

We know because we lived it, and for us it went further than drift.

We had already been through lean years, broke enough at one point to be on food stamps. But the season that almost ended our marriage came in 2016, when we discovered toxic black mold in the basement of the house we were renting.

Dr. Z ended up with pneumonia, and Mama Z and three of our children got sick too. For months our bodies were breaking down, and our marriage started breaking down right along with them.

We were exhausted enough to stop being kind and far enough apart that we were each privately building a case. Nobody at church would have guessed, because we were good at the version of ourselves that showed up on Sunday.

God didn’t fix our marriage by making life easier. He started by healing our bodies, and as the physical healed, the relational and the spiritual healed right along with it.

Almost twenty years and seven children later, these are eleven lessons that came out of that season, and most of them cost us something before we learned them.

The thread running through all eleven is this: a strong marriage isn’t built by avoiding hard seasons. It’s built by bringing every part of it, the money, the calendar, the children, the arguments, the bedroom and the future, back under the Lordship of Christ…

1. God Doesn’t Just Come First. He Comes First in Everything.

“And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.” — Colossians 1:17

Most Christians know the list: God, spouse, children, work, everything else. We used that list for years, but it can quietly turn God into the first appointment on the schedule instead of the Lord over the whole schedule.

God isn’t first the way Monday is first. He’s first the way a foundation is first, holding up the money problem, the argument you keep having, what happens in your bedroom, and how you talk to each other at 6 p.m. when everyone is exhausted.

When God was Lord over our church attendance but not the rest of our marriage, the parts we held back stayed broken. Things began to change when we stopped asking Him to bless the marriage we were building and started asking how He wanted it built.

“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” — Matthew 6:33

2. Prayer and the Word Are the Glue

“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” — Psalm 119:105

There’s a point in every hard marriage season when you run out of words. You’ve said the true thing, the kind thing, the angry thing and the thing you regret, and talking more isn’t fixing anything.

That’s where prayer stopped being one more discipline for us and became part of the structure holding the marriage together. Some nights it was the two of us sitting on the edge of the bed, still frustrated with each other, praying badly out loud because we didn’t know what else to do.

That kind of prayer will humble you, because it’s hard to keep rehearsing everything your spouse is doing wrong while asking God to search your own heart.

And a lamp doesn’t light up the next twenty years. It shows you the next step, and some nights the next step was simply to apologize, forgive, stop talking and start listening.

3. Your Health Matters More Than You Think

“Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” — 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

Some marriage problems are relationship problems. Others get much worse because two exhausted, stressed, physically depleted people are trying to solve them.

We learned this in 2016. When our bodies were sick, the whole house tilted, patience got shorter, and small irritations turned into big ones.

That’s why Bible Health refuses to separate physical health from relational health. Your sleep affects your patience, your stress affects how you talk to each other, and your schedule decides whether you have anything left to give.

Clean living won’t save a marriage on its own. But when your body isn’t fighting you all day, you have more to offer the people God put in your home.

4. Children Are a Blessing, Not a Burden

“Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward.” — Psalm 127:3

Our culture tells us to fit children around the life we really want, but Scripture speaks very differently. We have seven children, and they have never been an interruption to what God was doing in our marriage.

More often, they were how He did it. Each one exposed selfishness we didn’t know was there, patience we didn’t know we lacked, and a capacity for love we didn’t know existed until somebody needed us at 3 a.m.

Children put real pressure on a marriage, but pressure doesn’t have to destroy intimacy. There’s a particular kind of closeness in looking across the room at the only other person who knows exactly how chaotic the day was, and laughing together anyway.

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“I’m grateful to be here, receiving encouragement, recipes, and whole-body transformation. Even after trying times, I trust you and Mama Z. The spiritual aspect completes the system: body, soul, and spirit.”

— Ellen D.

5. Grace Is Always Enough

“My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.” — 2 Corinthians 12:9

We don’t tell our marriage story as an accomplishment. Almost twenty years isn’t a trophy that proves we were wiser than couples whose marriages didn’t survive, and we know too many good people who have walked through heartbreaking endings.

What we know is that there were seasons when we had nothing impressive to bring to God. Grace filled the gap between what our marriage needed and what we were able to give, and then it kept meeting us there long enough for us to change.

Grace never pretends destructive behavior is fine, and it doesn’t skip repentance. Grace is what makes repentance possible, and it means your hardest season doesn’t have to be your final chapter.

6. Your Spouse Is a Covenant Partner, Not a Roommate

“The LORD was witness between you and the wife of your youth… she is your companion and your wife by covenant.” — Malachi 2:14

Every one of your children is being raised to walk out the door someday. When that happens, the person across the table will either be someone you’ve been building a life with, or someone you’ve been quietly ignoring for eighteen years.

Marriage can turn transactional without either spouse choosing it. Groceries, bills, practice times and emails are necessary conversations, but logistics can’t become the whole relationship.

We had to protect things that look unnecessary on a task list, like affection that wasn’t leading anywhere, praying together, and asking “How are you really doing?” and staying in the room for the answer.

“What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” — Mark 10:9

Sometimes separation doesn’t start with divorce papers. It starts with drift, and drift is dangerous because nothing dramatic has to happen.

7. Submission Is a Posture of Love, Not a Chain of Command

“Submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.” — Ephesians 5:21

Few marriage words carry more baggage than submission. But before Paul says anything to husbands or wives individually, he sets the posture for the whole passage.

Nothing in Ephesians 5 gives either spouse permission to be selfish, domineering or manipulative. The husband is told to love his wife as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her, which is sacrificial love, never selfish authority.

In our marriage, the healthiest question is rarely “Who gets to win?” The better question is “What can I lay down for the person I covenanted to love?”

8. Sex Is a Gift, Not a Weapon

“The husband should give to his wife her conjugal rights, and likewise the wife to her husband… Likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does.” — 1 Corinthians 7:3-4

We’re going to be direct here, because being vague about this has hurt a lot of Christian marriages. Notice that Paul speaks in both directions, and that mutuality is the point.

Sex in marriage was never meant to be leverage, punishment or something withheld to control behavior. And the same passage can’t be used the other way either, because pressure, guilt and treating your spouse’s body as something owed on demand break the very mutuality Paul describes.

Real marriages go through real seasons, like pregnancy, postpartum recovery, illness, pain, hormonal changes, grief and plain exhaustion. Those seasons call for compassion, patience, honest conversation and sometimes professional help.

A hard season won’t destroy a marriage by itself. What does the damage is letting silence, resentment or shame become the permanent language of the bedroom.

“Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled.” — Hebrews 13:4

9. Balance Doesn’t Mean Perfect

“Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary.” — Luke 10:41-42

With seven children, work, ministry and a household, plenty of our days end with unfinished lists. For years those unfinished tasks created a low-grade tension between us that had very little to do with the tasks themselves.

Whoever felt more overwhelmed got shorter with the other, and we’d end up arguing over a dishwasher when the dishwasher was never the real issue.

Jesus didn’t tell Martha her work was imaginary. He spoke to what the work was doing inside her, because there will always be another load of laundry, another email and another bill, but this evening with your spouse only happens once.

Walk this out with us

“Thank you so much for everything you all do, and especially today for the Scriptures. I really needed those today.”

— Mary G.

10. Trials Don’t Break You. They Reveal What You Built On.

“And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.” — Matthew 7:25

Every marriage gets weather, and ours had a stretch long enough that we seriously wondered whether we’d come out the other side.

Jesus described two houses in the same storm. The storm didn’t create either foundation, because all it did was reveal what each house was standing on.

Hard seasons show you what your marriage is built on, whether that’s chemistry, money, the kids, convenience or Christ. We found out that some things we thought were foundational couldn’t carry the weight we were putting on them, so we rebuilt.

God didn’t remove every storm. He changed what we were standing on when the storm came, and that’s the only reason there’s a twentieth anniversary coming this December.

11. Flexibility Is Faith in Action

“The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps.” — Proverbs 16:9

We’ve made a lot of plans, and God has redirected many of them. That verse used to sound frustrating, but now it sounds like relief, because the outcome never rested on our ability to predict the future.

Jobs change, bodies change, parents age, callings shift, and children change everything. Rigidity can feel like conviction from the inside, and sometimes it is, but sometimes it’s fear wearing a firmer expression.

The test is what happens when the plan breaks. Fear spends all its energy forcing life back onto the map, while faith asks, “Lord, what are You doing here?”

Where This Goes

If nothing changes, drift continues, and it’s possible to spend twenty years as respectful co-managers of a household and wake up beside someone you hardly know.

But another version is possible. It looks like two people who keep telling each other the truth, fight about the real issue instead of the dishwasher, pray together badly, still laugh, and raise children who grow up watching a marriage worth wanting.

We’re not writing this from the finish line, with a house still full of children and plenty left to learn. What we can tell you is that our marriage almost ended, and it didn’t, because of what we finally let God become Lord over.

“A threefold cord is not quickly broken.” — Ecclesiastes 4:12

A Prayer for Your Marriage 🙏

Father, thank You for the covenant of marriage and for the person You have placed beside me. Show me where pride, distraction, exhaustion or simple neglect have created distance between us, and give me courage to own my part first.

Teach us to speak truth with love, forgive freely, serve without keeping score and seek You together. Restore friendship where life has become logistics, and restore prayer where we have relied on ourselves.

When storms come, keep our marriage anchored to Christ, and let our children see a covenant marked by grace, repentance, laughter and enduring love.

Be Lord over every part of our marriage.

Amen.

“It has truly been amazing for me and my family as we find natural and Biblical ways to improve our health and wellbeing in our home.”

— Wendy J.

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Today, Dr. Z walks you through John 14:27 and the peace Jesus gave His disciples the night before the cross. You'll also learn how His peace differs from the world's and why you must choose to receive and guard it.

If fear keeps stealing your rest, this episode is for you!

Read today's devo: BibleHealth.com/daily-devo/the-gift-of-his-peace Browse the full Daily Devo archive: BibleHealth.com/devos Get Bible Health Daily sent to your inbox: BibleHealth.com/newsletter Go deeper & stay connected with us on Substack: BibleHealth.Substack.com Ready to walk it out with us? Join the Inner Circle: BibleHealth.Substack.com/subscribe This podcast is for encouragement and education and is not medical advice.

No, this isn’t from Christmas last year. Back at the Atlanta Botanical Garden for a Fall Festival Family date night last Monday.

Yes, it was a school night, and yes the kids went to bed late, but it was worth it…

Sometimes the best memories are not the big, fancy, perfectly planned moments. They are the simple ones.

A walk outside. Fresh air.

Holding hands. Laughing about life.

Remembering how blessed you are to have someone beside you through every season.

Those little moments of connection matter more than we realize.

Life is better together...

We celebrate the Prince of Peace. So why do the holidays bring so much stress into Christian homes?

From Thanksgiving to New Year’s, we’re celebrating God’s provision and the greatest gift the world has ever received: the birth of our Savior, the night heaven announced…

“Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.” — Luke 2:10

Yet somehow we’ve turned the season into a marathon of shopping, spending, decorating, cooking, traveling and trying to make everyone happy.

We sing about peace while running ourselves ragged. We talk about gratitude and generosity while worrying about the credit card bill, and we celebrate family while becoming too exhausted to enjoy the people God has entrusted to us.

Then January comes.

We take down the decorations, catch our breath, and promise ourselves that next year will be different.

But what if the problem isn’t that we’re doing too much? What if we’ve forgotten what we’re celebrating in the first place?

The short answer: holiday stress in Christian homes usually comes from letting the world’s expectations, pace and spending replace God’s purpose for celebration, which is worship, gratitude, generosity, fellowship and rest.

We’ve been thinking about this as we prepare for another holiday season with our 7 children.

We love this time of year, from the Thanksgiving table to Christmas morning, and we’re not trying to make the holidays smaller or less joyful.

Quite the opposite.

We want more of what makes them worth celebrating, because Jesus didn’t come so we could spend six weeks every year exhausted and just trying to make it to January.

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” — John 10:10

That abundant life doesn’t disappear when the holiday season starts.

So this year we’re challenging ourselves, and inviting you to join us, to look honestly at seven ways we’ve traded what God intended for what the world demands…

1. We Forgot That Celebration Was God’s Idea

Long before there were Christmas lists and holiday parties, God told His people to celebrate. He put appointed feasts on Israel’s calendar and told them exactly what the goal was:

“For seven days you shall keep the feast to the LORD your God at the place that the LORD will choose, because the LORD your God will bless you in all your produce and in all the work of your hands, so that you will be altogether joyful.” — Deuteronomy 16:15

Those feasts were commanded to Israel, and Scripture never commands Christians to keep Thanksgiving or Christmas. But they show us God’s heart for celebration, and it looks nothing like a season to survive.

Israel’s feasts were built on worship, remembrance, gratitude and generosity, and they were shared with the widow, the fatherless and the stranger (Deuteronomy 16:14). God wanted His people to rejoice before Him, together, over what He had done.

Live it out:

• At your first holiday meal, have everyone share one thing God did for your family this year.

• Read a psalm of thanksgiving out loud before you eat. Psalm 100 and Psalm 136 are perfect for the table.

• Set one extra place for someone who won’t have family nearby, the way Israel’s feasts made room for the stranger.

2. We’ve Let the Calendar Replace Our Convictions

“So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.” — Psalm 90:12

Most of us say we want to slow down and focus on Jesus, and then we say yes to every party, program and exchange that comes our way. Our calendars end up preaching a different sermon than our mouths.

The issue isn’t a busy schedule. It’s what the schedule reveals about our priorities, because the things we never say no to are the things we’ve decided matter most.

Live it out:

• Sit down as a couple and pray over your calendar from now to New Year’s, asking of every event, “Does this bring us closer to God and each other?”

• Protect one anchor night each week with nothing on the calendar but family.

• Practice a kind, simple no: “We’d love to, but we’re keeping that night for family this year.”

3. We’ve Turned the Holidays Into a Performance

“Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.” — Matthew 6:1

Jesus was talking about giving and prayer, but the principle reaches straight into the holidays. The perfect Thanksgiving spread, the matching pajamas and the photo-ready tree can quietly become a show for an audience that scrolls past in two seconds.

Social media didn’t invent comparison, but it put it in our pockets. Every feed has a better-decorated house, a more creative tradition and a family that seems to do the holidays without a single meltdown.

Performance is exhausting because it never ends. Celebration simply looks at what God has done and says thank You, whether anyone is watching or not.

Live it out:

• Choose one tradition to do just for your family this season, with no photos and no posting.

• Mute or unfollow any account that leaves you feeling behind instead of grateful.

• Ask your kids what they love most about the holidays, then do more of that and less of what they never mention.

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“I’m grateful to be here, receiving encouragement, recipes, and whole-body transformation. Even after trying times, I trust you and Mama Z. The spiritual aspect completes the system: body, soul, and spirit.”

— Ellen D.

4. We’ve Confused Generosity With Consumerism

“The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is the slave of the lender.” — Proverbs 22:7

Giving is at the heart of the season because God gave first (John 3:16). But somewhere along the way, buying more started to feel like loving more.

When the gifts go on credit, the stress doesn’t end on December 25. It shows up in the mailbox for months, and generosity that turns you into a servant of the lender isn’t the kind God asked for.

Stewardship is generosity with wisdom. Your children will remember your presence long after they’ve forgotten your presents.

Live it out:

• Set your gift budget before you shop, and give from what you have, not from what you’ll owe.

• Give at least one gift to someone who can’t give anything back, like a widow, a neighbor or a family in need.

• Try a simple gift rule for the kids, like something they want, something they need, something to wear and something to read.

5. We’ve Let Other People’s Expectations Steal Our Peace

“The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is safe.” — Proverbs 29:25

The holidays have a way of turning grown adults back into people-pleasers. We go where we’re expected, stay longer than we should, and agree to plans that pull our families in five directions at once.

Loving people doesn’t require pleasing everyone. Jesus loved perfectly, and He still withdrew from the crowds to be with His Father (Luke 5:16).

Boundaries spoken with kindness aren’t unloving. They protect the peace of the home God gave you to steward.

Live it out:

• Decide together what your family’s yes and no will be this season, before the invitations arrive.

• Plan visits with a clear arrival and departure time, so you can be fully present while you’re there.

• Pray for each person you’ll see before you walk in the door, especially the ones who are hardest to love.

6. We’ve Confused Feasting With Neglecting Our Health

“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” — Romans 12:1

Feasting is Biblical, and so is caring for the body God gave you. The problem isn’t the holiday table; it’s treating six weeks of the year as a break from stewardship.

Bible Health has never been about earning God’s approval through what’s on your plate. It’s about honoring Him with the body He gave you, so you have the energy to love the people He gave you.

In our home, the pies, cookies and cinnamon rolls are homemade, and our kids enjoy every one of them. Stewardship and celebration were never enemies.

Live it out:

• Plan your holiday table now, so the feast is built on real food your family loves.

• Make one favorite treat at home this season, so celebration and stewardship sit at the same table.

• Take a family walk after the big meal, and use it to talk about what you’re thankful for.

Walk this out with us

“Thank you so much for everything you all do, and especially today for the Scriptures. I really needed those today.”

— Mary G.

7. We’ve Made Room for Everything Except Resting in Christ

“Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” — Matthew 11:28

The holidays are when most of us need rest the most, and rest is usually the first thing we give up. Even our Sundays fill up with errands and catch-up.

Jesus didn’t invite the weary to a better system. He invited them to Himself, and the rest He offers runs deeper than a nap or a day off.

This season celebrates the God who provides and the God who came near. We miss Him when we never sit still long enough to notice.

Live it out:

• Guard one day each week this season for worship, rest and unhurried time together.

• Give God the first few minutes of each morning, before you pick up your phone. Bible Health Daily gives you one verse to start with.

• End each evening with a few quiet minutes and a short family prayer, even on the busiest days.

What We’re Reclaiming This Year

Here’s the conviction we’re carrying into this season, and we’d love for you to carry it with us:

• We’re done treating the holidays as something to survive.

• We believe celebration, rest and feasting were God’s ideas first.

• We want generosity without debt, fellowship without performance, and feasting that honors the body God gave us.

• We want our children to see a home where Jesus is the reason, not the decoration.

Three Questions to Talk About as a Family

• What are we doing this holiday season simply because we’ve always done it?

• What is stealing our peace that we actually have the power to change?

• What would a season centered on Christ, rather than expectations, look like in our home?

A Few Honest Questions

What does the Bible say about holiday stress?

Scripture doesn’t mention modern holidays, but it speaks directly to worry, rest and celebration. Jesus invites the weary to come to Him for rest (Matthew 11:28), and Paul tells us to bring every anxious thought to God in prayer, with thanksgiving (Philippians 4:6).

Is it wrong for Christians to celebrate the holidays?

Believers land in different places on specific traditions, and Romans 14:5 gives each person room to be fully convinced in his own mind. Scripture shows that God loves celebration centered on Him, full of worship, gratitude and generosity.

How can Christians keep Christ at the center of the holidays?

Start with what you’re celebrating. If your celebration is more about an “all-knowing” fat guy from the North Pole who puts kids on a naughty or nice list than it is celebrating Jesus’ birth, then you missed the mark.

Give thanks as a family, read Luke 2 together, keep one day of rest each week, give to someone who can’t give back, and let your calendar reflect your convictions.

Don’t Lose Sight of the One You’re Celebrating

This holiday season, we don’t need more traditions to maintain, more gifts to buy, or more expectations to meet. We need to remember Who we’re celebrating.

The world will tell us to buy more, do more, spend more and somehow make every moment magical. But Jesus never asked us to manufacture the perfect holiday; He invited us into an abundant life rooted in Him.

So set the table and decorate the tree. Invite people over, give generously, sing loudly, and laugh around the table.

Just don’t let the celebration become so consuming that you lose sight of the One you’re celebrating. The greatest gift your family receives this year may not be under the tree.

It may be a home where the peace of Christ is lived, not just sung about.

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder, and His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” — Isaiah 9:6

A Prayer for You. 🙏

Father, thank You for Your provision this year and for the gift of Your Son, the Prince of Peace.

Forgive us for the ways we’ve let the calendar, the crowd and the shopping list push You to the edges of our celebrations.

Teach our families to rest, give, feast and rejoice in ways that honor You and draw us closer to You and to each other.

Let our homes be places where Your peace is lived, not just sung about.

Amen.

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As always, our hope and prayer is that you experience the abundant life.
~ Dr. Z & Mama Z

Today, Dr. Z walks you through Isaiah 26:3 and the promise of perfect peace for the mind stayed on God. You'll also learn what the Hebrew phrase for perfect peace means and why lasting wellness begins with trust, not control.

If anxiety and overstriving are draining you, this episode is for you!

Read today's devo: BibleHealth.com/daily-devo/peace-that-holds Browse the full Daily Devo archive: BibleHealth.com/devos Get Bible Health Daily sent to your inbox: BibleHealth.com/newsletter Go deeper & stay connected with us on Substack: BibleHealth.Substack.com Ready to walk it out with us? Join the Inner Circle: BibleHealth.Substack.com/subscribe This podcast is for encouragement and education and is not medical advice.

Circa 2020 and our dinner table looks the same today…

Every holiday season our meals are garnished with gluten-free, dairy-free goodies and not one of them is made with white sugar. It’s something we figured out years ago and never looked back.

We don’t take a holiday from our Non-Negotiables, even during Thanksgiving & Christmas, and this article is about why we hold that line…

You know the moment when you walk into the church fellowship hall, the office break room, or your sister-in-law’s kitchen, and there it is: the table.

Frosted sugar cookies, fudge on a paper plate, pie with a can of whipped topping beside it, and a punch bowl that glows a color God never made.

Somebody smiles and hands you a plate, and you hear the line every Christian has heard a thousand times:

”Oh, come on, it’s the holidays...”

“Just one piece…”

“Everything in moderation, right?”

It sounds so reasonable, and it sounds so gracious. That’s exactly why so few Christians ever stop to ask whether it’s true.

Here’s what we want you to hear before the first party invitation lands this year.

God created the sugar cane, and it was good. He did not create a white powder stripped of everything He put inside that plant.

”And God saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was very good.” — Genesis 1:31

That one word changes everything, and it’s what this whole article is about.

The 5 holiday sugar lies below are worth rethinking in light of Scripture before you fill your plate.

Being Real With Y’all

No…

• We’re not anti-sweets.

• We’re not anti-fun.

• We’re not “keto” or on a carb restriction kick.

We don’t judge what other families put on their holiday tables.

And, we don’t believe eating a Christmas cookie makes you a bad Christian.

But we are intentional about what we feed our family.

We believe God’s design is better than man’s substitutes.

We believe that just because something is popular, convenient, or socially acceptable doesn’t mean it’s good for us.

We believe Biblical stewardship includes what we put into our bodies, even during the holidays.

And after nearly 24 years of living this way, we’ve learned something wonderful: You don’t have to compromise your health or your enjoyment to enjoy the holidays.

You can have your [gluten-free, dairy-free, sugar-free, but not free-of-flavor] cake and eat it, too!

Our tables are full. Our desserts are delicious.

Our kids aren’t missing out. And our convictions don’t disappear just because it’s Thanksgiving and Christmastime.

This isn’t about earning God’s approval through food. It’s about honoring Him with the choices we make, without making food an idol or judging anyone else’s plate.

So, with that, let’s tackle the 5 Holiday Sugar Lies Christians Need to Stop Believing.

1. “Everything in Moderation” Is NOT in the Bible

Holiday Lie: “It’s Christmas. A little bit won’t hurt, because everything in moderation, right?”

”’All things are lawful,’ but not all things are helpful. ‘All things are lawful,’ but not all things build up.” — 1 Corinthians 10:23

Warning: A saying can sound Biblical, get repeated at every potluck in America, and still have nothing to do with what God actually said.

Go ahead and look for it, because “everything in moderation” isn’t in Scripture. The closest verse is Philippians 4:5, where some older translations read “let your moderation be known unto all men.”

But Paul wasn’t talking about dessert. The word means gentleness, which is why the ESV reads it this way:

”Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand.” — Philippians 4:5

So let’s run the “everything in moderation” rule out to its logical end. Would any of us say a little gossip is fine in moderation, or a little bit of pornography, or a little bit of a bender on New Year’s Eve?

Of course not, because some things need to be removed rather than managed, and we look at white processed sugar the way most people look at a drug.

That’s why we changed one word in the old saying, and it’s the word that makes it Biblical: all GOOD things in moderation.

Honey is a good thing. Maple syrup is a good thing.

Grandma’s pumpkin pie, made with real pumpkin and a natural sweetener, can be a very good thing.

A white powder with every trace of the original plant refined out of it is not on that list.

2. Even Though It’s Sold at the Grocery Store, It is NOT Always Safe For You

Holiday Lie: “If it were really that bad for us, they wouldn’t be allowed to sell it.”

”When you sit down to eat with a ruler, observe carefully what is before you, and put a knife to your throat if you are given to appetite. Do not desire his delicacies, for they are deceptive food.” — Proverbs 23:1-3

Warning: The grocery store is a business, and the shelf space goes to whatever sells, not to whatever builds up the temple of the Holy Spirit.

This is hard for many Christians to accept. We’ve believed for decades that if a product made it onto the shelf, somebody somewhere must have decided it was safe for our families.

So we stopped reading labels, and we stopped asking where an ingredient came from.

Here’s the truth about white sugar. Sugar cane is a tall, fibrous grass that God packed with water, fiber, and trace minerals, and people have chewed on it for thousands of years.

Then man came along and pressed it, boiled it, filtered it, stripped out its color, and crystallized it until all that was left was nearly pure sucrose. What comes out the other end gives you calories with no vitamins, no minerals, and no fiber to speak of.

White sugar is a man-made construct rather than food the way God designed food, and Scripture calls delicacies like that exactly what they are: deceptive food.

Here’s the kicker: white sugar is rarely called “sugar” on the label anymore, which is why we built a label check into this week’s Swap.

3. A Little Sugar Does NOT Leave Your Immune System Alone

Holiday Lie: “Sugar only shows up on the scale. It doesn’t have anything to do with getting sick.”

”It is not good to eat much honey.” — Proverbs 25:27

Warning: The hours after a sugary snack may be the very hours your body is least ready for the germs going around the church nursery.

This one surprises people, and the research behind it has been sitting in a major nutrition journal since 1973.

Researchers at Loma Linda University gave healthy adults 100 grams of sugar, which is about what you’d get from two and a half 12-ounce cans of regular cola. Then they drew blood and watched how well their white blood cells could engulf bacteria.

Those white blood cells are called neutrophils, and they’re your body’s first responders against infection. After the sugar, they did their job significantly worse.

The biggest drop came one to two hours after eating, and five hours later the white blood cells were still working below where they started. On the flip side, when people fasted for 36 or 60 hours, those same cells got noticeably better at their job.

Now let’s be fair about the study, because that’s how we do research around here. It was small, it’s more than 50 years old, it measured the cells in a lab dish rather than counting who caught a cold, and 100 grams at once is a big dose.

But think about a normal day in December. A flavored latte at breakfast, cookies in the break room, a can of soda with lunch, and pie after dinner can stack up past that number without anyone ever “overdoing it.”

So imagine what your immune system looks like when nearly every meal from Thanksgiving to New Year’s includes white sugar.

No wonder so many believers catch every cold and flu going around between November and January, and then wonder why they can’t shake it.

Here’s the detail most people miss. The researchers didn’t only test white sugar, because they also tested glucose, fructose, orange juice, and honey, and all of them caused the drop at that dose.

We’re not telling you to fear honey, because this is the reason the Bible says ”it is not good to eat much honey,” and it’s the whole point of “all GOOD things in moderation.”

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“I’m grateful to be here, receiving encouragement, recipes, and whole-body transformation. Even after trying times, I trust you and Mama Z. The spiritual aspect completes the system: body, soul, and spirit.”

— Ellen D.

4. Sugar Is NOT Just “Empty Calories”

Holiday Lie: “It’s just extra calories. I’ll walk it off after the holidays.”

”Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God?” — 1 Corinthians 6:19

Warning: What you eat doesn’t only land on your hips. It lands on the trillions of bacteria God placed in your gut, and those bacteria talk to your immune system all day long.

In 2025, scientists at the Technion in Israel published a study in Nature Communications that looked at one of the most common bacteria in the human gut.

First, they went through data from real people and found that people who drank more soft drinks showed a different “genetic switch” setting in that bacteria. Then they tested it in mice by adding white sugar to their drinking water.

The sugar flipped the same genetic switch, and it changed the mice’s immune cells. It also lowered a protein that helps hold the gut lining together, the seal that keeps what’s in your gut from slipping where it doesn’t belong.

To be clear, that last part was measured in mice, not people. But it shows how fast sugar can reach past your waistline and into the systems that guard your health.

And here’s the good news: when the mice went back to plain water, those changes reversed.

That’s how God designed you. Your body wants to heal, and it starts the moment you stop feeding the problem.

”For I will restore health to you, and your wounds I will heal, declares the LORD.” — Jeremiah 30:17

5. Diet Soda and “Sugar-Free” Candy Are NOT the Answer

Holiday Lie: “I’ll just grab the diet version and the sugar-free candy, so I’m fine.”

”If you have found honey, eat only enough for you, lest you have your fill of it and vomit it.” — Proverbs 25:16

Warning: Trading white sugar for a lab-made sweetener swaps one man-made problem for another.

This is where one of the largest soft drink studies ever done gets interesting. Researchers followed 451,743 adults across 10 European countries for an average of 16 years, and published the results in JAMA Internal Medicine in 2019.

People who drank two or more glasses of soft drinks a day had a 17% higher risk of dying during the study than people who drank less than one glass a month. People who drank at least one sugar-sweetened soft drink a day had a 59% higher risk of dying from digestive diseases, the kind that hit the liver, pancreas, and intestines.

But the artificially sweetened drinkers didn’t get off the hook. At two or more glasses a day, they had a 52% higher risk of dying from circulatory diseases like heart disease and stroke.

This kind of study shows a link, not proof that soda caused every one of those deaths. Still, when nearly half a million people point in the same direction, it’s wise to listen.

That’s why our first Non-Negotiable has always included fake sugars. “Sugar-free” on a candy bag doesn’t mean God-made.

So what do we use? These are the sweeteners in our kitchen, starting with the ones closest to how God made them:

• Raw honey and pure maple syrup, the two oldest sweeteners on the list

• Date sugar, which is simply dried dates ground into a powder

• Coconut sugar and maple sugar, both dried from plant sap

• Liquid or powdered stevia and monk fruit, from plants, and very sweet, so a little goes a long way

• Allulose, a rare sugar found in small amounts in foods like figs and raisins, though what you buy is made in a facility, so we treat it as an occasional helper

Every one of those is still a sweetener, and that’s why Proverbs 25:16 is the verse for this section. Even the good things stay in moderation.

Walk this out with us

“Thank you so much for everything you all do, and especially today for the Scriptures. I really needed those today.”

— Mary G.

“All GOOD Things in Moderation”

”So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” — 1 Corinthians 10:31

We want to be clear about something before you head into the season.

This was never about being the family with the sad plate at the party, because people are usually amazed at how good a healthy dessert or a fresh gluten-free loaf can taste.

It’s not about guilt, either. If you’ve eaten white sugar every holiday of your life, you didn’t know what you didn’t know, and God’s mercies are new this morning.

But now you do know. You know the Bible never said “everything in moderation,” and you know what a sugar-loaded afternoon does to the cells guarding your family from the bug going around.

You also know the good news: your body was designed to recover, and the gifts God made are sweet enough.

So this season, we invite you to do something most Christians have never tried. Go into Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s with a plan, and with a plate you made yourself.

That’s exactly why we’re handing you Mama Z’s Holiday Survival Guide in this Swap.

A Prayer for You. 🙏

Heavenly Father, thank You for the sugar cane and the honeycomb, the maple tree and the date palm, and for every good and perfect gift You placed in creation for me and my family to enjoy. Help me not take these precious gifts for granted.

Give me wisdom at every table this season, and give me kindness, too, so I can hold my convictions without looking down on anyone who hasn’t learned what I’ve learned.

This Holiday season, please guard my body, strengthen my immune system, and let my home be full of joy, health, and gratitude from Thanksgiving through the New Year, for Your glory and for the abundant life Jesus came to give me.

Amen.

“It has truly been amazing for me and my family as we find natural and Biblical ways to improve our health and wellbeing in our home.”

— Wendy J.

Read more

Today, Dr. Z walks you through Psalm 84:11 and the promise that God is a sun and shield. You'll also learn what it means to walk uprightly and why God sometimes withholds lesser things to preserve greater ones.

If your prayers seem unanswered right now, this episode is for you!

Read today's devo: BibleHealth.com/daily-devo/no-good-thing-withheld Browse the full Daily Devo archive: BibleHealth.com/devos Get Bible Health Daily sent to your inbox: BibleHealth.com/newsletter Go deeper & stay connected with us on Substack: BibleHealth.Substack.com Ready to walk it out with us? Join the Inner Circle: BibleHealth.Substack.com/subscribe This podcast is for encouragement and education and is not medical advice.

If you were live, thank you for showing up. If you could not be, don’t worry: the replay is the same as live for you. Try to find some time this week to sit with it or play it in the background while you’re in your car or doing housework.

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Hey y’all, and welcome to Monday Manna!

Last week we told you Halloween was only the opening act of something much bigger, and that it would start this week.

Well, here it is. For the next eight weeks, from today through New Year’s Eve, everything we publish is built around one simple conviction about this season…

You Weren’t Made to Survive the Holidays

First, thank you. We braced ourselves for last Tuesday’s Halloween post, and we told you it would probably cost us some unsubscribes and unfollowers.

Instead, your comments surprised us again.

Allyson wrote:

“This is one of the best arguments against Halloween that I’ve ever read. Thank you for its succinctness.” — Allyson

Abigail didn’t grow up celebrating Halloween, and she named what concerns us too:

“I’ve been alarmed by how many Christians make excuses for it!” — Abigail

And Sunny told us what her family is choosing instead:

“We will join you and celebrate Fall Harvest and all the healthy treats our Father GOD grew for us this year!”— Sunny

That last comment is the whole point. Saying no to something only lasts when you have something better to say yes to, and Sunny’s family found it in the harvest God already gave them.

And that’s the problem with the way most of us do November and December. We spend two months bracing for the calendar, the cookie trays, the relatives, the spending and the late nights, and then we crawl into January promising to fix it all with a resolution.

That’s survival mode, and it was never God’s plan for His people:

“You make known to me the path of life; in Your presence there is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” — Psalm 16:11

Notice where David found fullness of joy: in the presence of God, and that presence doesn’t take the holidays off.

So for the next eight weeks we’re doing something different. Every post between now and New Year’s Eve has one goal: helping your family thrive through the holidays, not just survive them.

Here’s where we’re headed:

• Gratitude and the body, and what thanksgiving does to the way God designed you

• The table, and what the Bible actually says about feasting when the pie comes out

• Thanksgiving week, with a blessing to pray over your family

• Advent, with one week each on hope, peace, joy and love

• A fresh start for the new year, leading into our Home & Body Detox study in January

You’ll also hear from us more often this season, with something new almost every day, because the holidays are when most of us need the Word the most.

It all starts tomorrow with a manifesto: Why Christians Can’t Enjoy the Holidays. Keep an eye on your inbox.

Walk this out with us

YOUR DAILY MANNA

“This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” — Psalm 118:24

Notice what the psalmist doesn’t say. He doesn’t say “this is the season” or “this will be the year,” because he says this is the day, the one you’re standing in right now.

And notice where he’s standing when he says it. A few verses earlier he describes enemies surrounding him like bees (Psalm 118:10-12), so this is not a man with an empty calendar.

That’s how you thrive in November and December. You don’t wait for the season to slow down before you rejoice, because the Lord made the busy days too.

So here is your one thing this week.

Before you pick up your phone each morning, say Psalm 118:24 out loud, then name one thing God has already given you that day. Do it for seven days, and bring your kids into it if they’re up.

Joy is easier to keep when you decide on it before breakfast.

What We’re Loving This Week

Experts call it the “master antioxidant” for a reason…

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• Stock up before the holidays to support Your liver, antioxidant defenses, healthy cells, energy levels, and normal hormone metabolism (naturally)...

Bible Health Daily

Every morning, Bible Health Daily gives you one verse and a few minutes with Dr. Z, so the Word gets into your heart before the world gets into your feed.

Listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or right here on Substack. And if it blesses you, would you take ten seconds to rate and review it on Apple Podcasts? It helps more people find it.

Here are a few of our latest episodes:

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Featured Posts

Everything we’ve published since Manna #26, all four pieces, right here.

Inner Circle

Founding & Inner Circle Members: we did it! We wrapped up the 41-Day Nervous System Reset last week with Week 6: A Family Built to Stand, and every replay is waiting for you in your Bible Health Vault. We’re taking a break from live studies over the holidays, but we’ll be checking in with you along the way, so watch for a quick poll asking what you’d like from us this season. Our Home & Body Detox study kicks off in early January.

From Natural Living Family

Bible Health is where we teach the why. Over on Natural Living Family this week we taught the how. Here are three favorites worth your five minutes…

• DIY Antibiotic Roll-On + Antifungal Oils + Autoimmune Disease + Breakfast Smoothies

• DIY Kitchen Cleaner + Methylene Blue + Best Oils for Allergies + Homemade Chai Latte

• DIY Reusable Wipes + Antifungal Remedy + Is Stevia Safe? + Easy Healthy Lattes

• DIY Glass Cleaner + ADHD & Focus Roll-On + Fat-Burning Latte

The world will keep knocking. Let’s make sure the Word answers the door.

If you are just joining us, start here. It’s where this whole series began…

Upgrade and learn what God’s Word says about every area of life
and how to live it. That’s what Bible Health is all about.

Walk each 6-week live group study the day it opens.
Get the Blueprint and every weekly Swap.
Follow Jesus, not trends, in every area.

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As always, our hope and prayer is that you experience the abundant life.

~ Dr. Z & Mama Z

Today, Dr. Z walks you through Genesis 18:19 and God's words about Abraham leading his household in the way of the Lord. You'll also learn what righteousness and justice look like at home and why true wellness begins in your daily family rhythms.

If you want your home to be a place of peace and health, this episode is for you!

Read today's devo: BibleHealth.com/daily-devo/leading-a-healthy-home Browse the full Daily Devo archive: BibleHealth.com/devos Get Bible Health Daily sent to your inbox: BibleHealth.com/newsletter Go deeper & stay connected with us on Substack: BibleHealth.Substack.com Ready to walk it out with us? Join the Inner Circle: BibleHealth.Substack.com/subscribe This podcast is for encouragement and education and is not medical advice.

Think about how many times this month you’ve driven past the same houses on your street. Now think about how many of those families you could actually name.

If you’re like most of us, the number is smaller than you’d like to admit. Life gets busy, schedules fill up, garage doors close, and the people living fifty feet away can remain strangers for years.

Over the last few weeks, we’ve been praying through what God wants to do in our hearts. We started with a Prayer for Repentance, followed by a Prayer for Forgiveness, and most recently a Prayer for Courage.

This week, we’re turning our attention outward, toward the people God has placed right around us.

Yesterday, hundreds of children walked through our neighborhood celebrating Halloween, knocking on doors of people they likely didn’t even know. Kids knocking on the doors of strangers is a sobering picture of how disconnected our communities have become.

With Halloween behind us, Thanksgiving and Christmas are right around the corner.

For many, this season brings joy, celebration, and time with loved ones. But for others, the holidays can magnify loneliness, financial hardship, grief, and the pain of broken relationships.

Some of our neighbors will gather around tables overflowing with food and family. Others will face an empty chair, an unpaid bill, or another evening alone.

And we may never know who’s sitting alone unless we’re willing to reach beyond our own front doors.

God told His people how to treat their neighbors thousands of years ago, at a time when they were living somewhere they never wanted to be.

“But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.” — Jeremiah 29:7

God spoke these words through Jeremiah to the Israelites living in exile in Babylon. They were far from home, surrounded by people who didn’t worship the Lord, and longing for the day they could return.

Yet God didn’t tell them to isolate themselves or simply endure their circumstances until things improved.

He told them to build homes, plant gardens, raise families, and seek the welfare of the very city where they were living.

The Hebrew word translated “welfare” is shalom. Shalom speaks of peace, wholeness, well-being, and flourishing.

God was calling His people to care about the good of their community, even in a place they wouldn’t have chosen for themselves.

If God called His people to pray for Babylon, shouldn’t we be praying for the neighborhoods where He’s placed us?

We’re not called to pursue peace and abundant life while ignoring the people around us. Our faith should influence how we live, how we serve, and how we treat our neighbors.

Jesus put it in one sentence…

“You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” — Mark 12:31

In another conversation, when an expert in the law asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”, Jesus responded with the parable of the Good Samaritan.

In that story, being a neighbor meant showing mercy, crossing barriers, and stopping to help someone in need, even a stranger.

Every one of us can practice that kind of mercy right where we live.

Loving your neighbor might mean:

• Learning the names of the families living on your street.

• Bringing a meal to someone welcoming a baby or facing an illness.

• Inviting someone who would otherwise be alone to your Thanksgiving table.

• Helping an elderly neighbor with yard work or household chores.

• Praying for the teachers, first responders, and families in your community.

None of the ideas on that list requires a special ministry, an elaborate plan, or a lot of money.

Each one just takes a willing heart.

God didn’t design us to live isolated lives. We were created for fellowship, and caring for the people around us is part of experiencing and sharing the abundant life Jesus came to give.

“Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.” — 1 John 3:18

This holiday season, our communities will hear plenty of messages about love, generosity, and goodwill.

But our neighbors need more than a message about the love of Jesus. They need to experience His love through His people.

You don’t have to travel across the world to love like Jesus. Sometimes loving like Jesus just means walking across the street.

So before the holiday gatherings begin, let’s ask God to open our eyes, soften our hearts, and show us how we can bless the people He’s placed around us.

Find a quiet place and pray this with us. A whisper counts.

“So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.” — Galatians 6:10

Pray this with us: 🙏

Heavenly Father, thank You for placing me exactly where I am today. You know every family in my neighborhood, every burden being carried behind closed doors, and every person who desperately needs to experience Your love.

Thank You for loving me first. Thank You for sending Jesus to show us what true compassion looks like. Jesus showed us love through His life, His sacrifice, and His willingness to serve, not only through His words.

Father, I ask You to soften my heart toward the people around me. Open my eyes to needs I haven’t noticed and opportunities I’ve overlooked. Help me see beyond my own schedule, responsibilities, and daily concerns.

Teach me to love my neighbor as myself. Not because I have to earn Your approval, but because Your love has already transformed my life.

Help me become more intentional about getting to know the families on my street. Give me opportunities to build genuine friendships, share a meal, offer encouragement, and extend hospitality without expecting anything in return.

Holy Spirit, lead me. When someone needs encouragement, prompt me to reach out. When someone is hurting, give me compassion. When someone needs practical help, give me the willingness to serve.

Your Word reminds me to love in deed and in truth, not just in word or talk. Let my love show up in the way I treat the people around me.

Bring Your love to my neighborhood. Let our home be a place of peace, hospitality, and encouragement. Help us welcome others with the same grace and kindness You have shown us.

Bring Your love to my church. Strengthen our fellowship and help us become a community of believers who genuinely care for one another, bear one another’s burdens, and demonstrate the love of Christ.

Bring Your love to my city. Bless our leaders, teachers, nurses, first responders, and everyone who serves our community. Give them wisdom, strength, protection, and hearts that seek what is good.

Bring Your love to those who are lonely. As Thanksgiving and Christmas approach, comfort those grieving loved ones, struggling financially, or facing another holiday without family nearby. Show me how I can help.

Bring Your love to my family. Teach us to serve together, pray together, and care for others together. May our children learn that following Jesus means loving people, even when it requires sacrifice.

Bring Your love to my heart. Forgive me for the times I’ve become so consumed with my own responsibilities that I’ve missed opportunities to encourage, bless, or help someone around me.

I refuse to let busyness become an excuse for neglecting relationships. I refuse to allow fear, inconvenience, or the desire for comfort to keep me from loving others.

You’ve called me to love the people You’ve placed around me, even when they show up at inconvenient times.

I belong to Jesus.

Help me follow His example with humility, compassion, generosity, and a willingness to put others before myself.

Let my faith show up in how I treat my neighbors, welcome strangers, serve my church, and care for those who cannot repay me.

Today, I surrender my schedule, my comfort, and my plans to You. Teach me to recognize the opportunities You’ve already placed before me.

I receive Your love. I receive Your peace. I receive the wisdom to know when to speak and when to listen. I receive the courage to reach out and the compassion to serve.

And I thank You for the abundant life Jesus came to give, a life rooted in loving You and loving others.

Amen.

Upgrade and learn what God’s Word says about every area of life
and how to live it. That’s what Bible Health is all about.

Walk each 6-week live group study the day it opens.
Get the Blueprint and every weekly Swap.
Follow Jesus, not trends, in every area.

LIVE IT OUT - Unlock Full Access

As always, our hope and prayer is that you experience the abundant life.
~ Dr. Z & Mama Z

P.S. If you don’t know your neighbors’ names yet, pick one house this week and go introduce yourself. Then pray for that family by name before Thanksgiving.

Today, Dr. Z walks you through Acts 16:31-34 and the Philippian jailer who went from despair to overflowing joy in a single night. You'll also learn what the word believe means, how faith brought restoration to his whole household, and why joy is a hallmark of faith.

If you long for more joy in your home, this episode is for you!

Read today's devo: BibleHealth.com/daily-devo/joy-in-the-house Browse the full Daily Devo archive: BibleHealth.com/devos Get Bible Health Daily sent to your inbox: BibleHealth.com/newsletter Go deeper & stay connected with us on Substack: BibleHealth.Substack.com Ready to walk it out with us? Join the Inner Circle: BibleHealth.Substack.com/subscribe This podcast is for encouragement and education and is not medical advice.

This matcha latte recipe is already a favorite in our house, but adding a scoop of cacao is our new favorite go-to for sugar cravings. It tastes like chocolate cocoa and the kids love it!

Swap out the matcha for coffee if that’s your style, but be sure to add in a scoop of Cacao Bliss for that smooth, chocolaty flavor and added GLP-1 & craving support!

More on Cacao Bliss below…

God Designed Your Appetite

The health world is obsessed with appetite right now.

GLP-1 medications. Blood sugar hacks. Craving suppressants. Metabolism boosters. New supplements promising to make hunger disappear.

But long before any of these trends existed, God designed your body with an incredibly complex system for hunger, fullness, blood sugar, metabolism, and energy.

And Scripture has always taught us that appetite is about more than biology.

• Esau traded his birthright for a bowl of stew.

• Israel complained about food in the wilderness.

• Paul wrote about bringing the body under discipline.

• Galatians tells us that self-control is fruit of the Spirit.

But if you struggle with unhealthy cravings, hear this clearly:

It is not automatically a spiritual failure.

• Hormones matter.

• Blood sugar matters.

• Stress matters.

• Sleep deprivation matters.

• Gut health matters.

And ultra-processed food can make appetite much harder to control.

Biblical health does not force us to choose between the spiritual and physical.

We look at both.

We ask what God designed the body to do, what may be interfering with that design, and how we can cooperate with His wisdom instead of simply chasing the latest shortcut.

The Food Industry Learned How to Hijack It

There is also a battle for your appetite.

Scripture calls the devil, “The god of this world,” but be encouraged…

“… we would not be outwitted by satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs.” 2 Corinthians 2:11

For decades, Big Food has learned how to engineer ultra-processed products to hijack the brain’s reward system and keep people craving, consuming, and coming back for more.

• The sweetness.

• The salt.

• The fat.

• The flavors.

• The textures.

All carefully engineered to make another bite harder to resist.

That is not innocent.

When profit depends on keeping people trapped in unhealthy appetites, greed has become the business model.

And bondage, deception, and destruction are not the heart of God.

Jesus gave us the contrast:

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” — John 10:10

That is the hinge: satan wants bondage. Jesus brings freedom.

The enemy exploits appetite. The Holy Spirit produces self-control.

Big Food takes what God created and manipulates it into products designed to keep you consuming.

That is why people are not usually losing control over broccoli, blueberries, lentils, or apples.

The foods that dominate our cravings are overwhelmingly the “food” man has refined, concentrated, sweetened, flavored, and engineered, not the foods God made.

So we do not blame everything on hormones. And we do not shame people for lacking self-control.

We recognize the physical battle, the behavioral battle, and the spiritual battle.

But, we need the whole picture.

That is why today we are sharing three articles from our Natural Living Family sister publication that approach the issue from three directions: the God-designed biology behind GLP-1 and appetite, the Biblical battle against unhealthy cravings, and one practical drink swap that makes choosing better a little easier.

Let’s get practical.

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“I’m grateful to be here, receiving encouragement, recipes, and whole-body transformation. Even after trying times, I trust you and Mama Z. The spiritual aspect completes the system: body, soul, and spirit.”

— Ellen D.

Bible Health Swap

Don’t buy dark chocolate for sugar cravings (drink this instead)…

“Wait... dark chocolate isn’t actually healthy?”

Yep.

Short answer: the research everyone quotes is about raw cacao, not the processed bars on store shelves.

Here’s the difference.

A study in The Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry found that after commercial roasting and alkalizing, chocolate loses up to 60% of its antioxidants. Dark chocolate keeps roughly a sixth. Milk chocolate?

About 7%.

That means when you buy a “72% dark chocolate” bar thinking you’re doing something good for your body... you’re getting a fraction of what God actually put in the cacao bean.

The original bean has 63x more antioxidants than broccoli. It contains theobromine for steady, jitter-free energy. And this study in the journal Nutrition showed that cacao polyphenol-rich chocolate supports GLP-1 & insulin response after you eat.

It was a randomized crossover study, 48 healthy adults drank either water or 25 grams of cacao polyphenol-rich chocolate with water before a glucose challenge. The adults who drank the cacao-rich chocolate water increased early GLP-1 and insulin response and led to lower blood sugar after 2 hours.

From a bean.

No, we’re not saying that eating cacao-rich chocolate is like taking a GLP-1 medication. We’re just sharing the research that food, specifically cacao powder, can help the body in more ways than people realize.

That’s why we love Cacao Bliss by Earth Echo Foods.

It uses minimally processed, ceremonial-grade cacao combined with turmeric, cinnamon, MCT oil, and black pepper extract for absorption.

35 calories. Zero processed sugar. Mixes into water, coffee, or a smoothie in seconds.

And right now they’re running up to 50% off for a limited time.

If you’ve been curious about supporting your metabolism, this is worth a look.

--> Grab Cacao Bliss at up to 50% off here.

Upgrade and learn what God’s Word says about every area of life
and how to live it. That’s what Bible Health is all about.

Walk each 6-week live group study the day it opens.
Get the Blueprint and every weekly Swap.
Follow Jesus, not trends, in every area.

LIVE IT OUT - Unlock Full Access

As always, our hope and prayer is that you experience the abundant life.
~ Dr. Z & Mama Z

P.S. The 3 and 6-bag options save the most (and come with free bonus recipes). Plus every order is backed by a 60-day money-back guarantee, so there’s truly zero risk. Learn more here.

Copyright Bible Health. All rights reserved.

The information is for educational purposes only and not medical advice. Statements about health products have not been evaluated by the FDA and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Results may vary. Consult a qualified healthcare provider before using any health product or making changes to your wellness routine.

This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase through them, we may earn a commission at no cost to you. We only recommend products we trust & believe in. :)

Today, Dr. Z walks you through James 1:17 and the unchanging goodness of the Father of lights. You'll also learn why the gifts you truly need come from God's hand, not supply chains or trends, and how trust and gratitude replace anxiety with peace.

If uncertainty has you worried about tomorrow, this episode is for you!

Read today's devo: BibleHealth.com/daily-devo/every-good-gift Browse the full Daily Devo archive: BibleHealth.com/devos Get Bible Health Daily sent to your inbox: BibleHealth.com/newsletter Go deeper & stay connected with us on Substack: BibleHealth.Substack.com Ready to walk it out with us? Join the Inner Circle: BibleHealth.Substack.com/subscribe This podcast is for encouragement and education and is not medical advice.