Hey y’all, and welcome back to Monday Manna.
Today’s issue has a week that would have wrecked us 25 years ago, a Scripture we can’t shake, a roundup of everything we’ve published in the last 3 weeks, and an invitation to come live with us tomorrow (Tuesday, April 21) at 2pm Eastern here on Substack.
Grab your matcha latte. This one has some meat on it.
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SIX KIDS, A BROKEN DIFFERENTIAL, AND THE LAST SUV IN TOLEDO
Here is what Spring Break looked like for us.
We drove up to Midland, Michigan, where Mama Z grew up, to spend a week helping care for her father. Many of you read last week’s piece about her dad forgetting her name. Papa has frontal lobe dementia and his decline has been fast. Mimi is carrying most of it on her own as his caretaker while still recovering from her own recent knee replacement. She is walking one of the hardest roads a wife can walk: watching the love of her life slip away while her own body is in its own recovery season, and doing it alone in the house they built together. Please pray for her.
Dr. Z drove up with the 6 older kids. Mama Z flew with the baby. All 9 of us do not fit in one vehicle, so this is how these trips work for us until we can afford a 10 seater van or something.
On the way up to Michigan, our car broke down with a flat tire. Thankfully, we were able to stay at a hotel and get it fixed at the local Walmart. This only cost us a half a day’s drive. Such a blessing that it didn’t break down in the middle of the Tennessee mountains or somewhere where we’d be stranded.
On the way home, the car broke down in Toledo. Dr. Z and the kids sat in a brake shop for 5 hours only to be told the front differential was cracked, the part was discontinued and no dealership had one in the entire city. We scrounged up cash, towed the car back to Midland, and found the last available SUV rental in the whole Toledo area right before the counter closed to find our way back to Mimi and Papa’s instead of being stranded in some Toledo hotel for a week with 6 kids. A friend at the local Midland dealership was able to track down a refurbished part and got us back on the road a week later. That whole sequence felt like one godsend after another wrapped up in a series of crises. Maybe you can relate...
While in Michigan, we found out that the basement ceiling was dripping water back home in Georgia. A copper pipe had developed a pinhole leak while we were gone. Evidently, our city’s water contains an extreme amount of chlorine, which is “still safe for people to consume,” but wears down copper piping prematurely. Interesting how that happens, huh? Our home is only 25 years old, and we were told we have to replace all the copper piping in the next year.
If you had told us 25 years ago that we would walk through a week like this, a parent in decline, flat tire, an impossible car repair, a ceiling leak waiting at the door, back to back with no rest in between, we would have told you we would be flat on our faces by Wednesday. Fried. Spiraling. Falling into every bad habit we used to run to when life got loud. That is exactly how we handled stress before. Alcohol, cigarettes, sugary comfort foods.
That is not where we are today. Thank the Lord!
And it is not because we finally got tough. It is because God has spent 23 years building something in us that stress cannot break. The fruit of the Spirit is the first layer. Love, patience, kindness, self-control, that is God doing His part. Underneath it, the second layer is our commitment to God, to each other and to our lifestyle. The way we steward our bodies. The way we nurture our marriage. The way we prioritize our walk with the Lord. The 3 non-negotiables we are going to talk about tomorrow. And these are the reasons our bodies had the resilience to absorb two weeks like this without collapsing.
This is the heart of Bible Health.
And this is why we are not teaching you from a podium. We are teaching from a brake shop floor in Toledo, from a basement with a leaky pipe, from a kitchen in Midland where Papa does not always remember Mama Z’s name. The lifestyle works. Not because we are special. Because God designed the human body to function best when you live the way He told us to live.
That is why we are going live with you tomorrow.
Non-Toxic Essentials for a Healthier You
Pro Tip: Start with the everyday products your family actually uses, then make cleaner swaps from our non-toxic essentials list on Amazon. Shop here.
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TUESDAY AT 2PM ET: COME SIT WITH US LIVE
Here is what is on our hearts to teach this week.
Most health advice today paints the picture of a better, healthier tomorrow, and we are all about that. We live a cancer-fighting, anti-inflammatory lifestyle that has been proven to drastically reduces our risk of developing heart disease, Alzheimer’s, and obesity. These are great benefits, and they are worth every bit of the effort. But one thing people don’t talk about enough is how you feel today.
We need quick wins. People need to see the fruit of their labor today. Not in 5 or 10 or 20 years from now.
That is what we are going to teach tomorrow, Tuesday, April 21 at 2pm EST (watch the replay here). The Three Non-Negotiables: 3 lines we draw in the sand for ourselves and for our 7 kids. These are the lifestyle that held our family together through the week we just told you about. Three things that, if you do them and nothing else, will change how you feel this week. Not in 5 years. This week and even today.
Tomorrow we are going to walk you through all 3. What they are. Why they matter. What Scripture says about it all. What the research says. And exactly how to start today with zero budget and zero planning.
Here is how it works. The Live is free for anyone on the list. Come show up, bring your questions, and jump in the chat. After the Live wraps, the replay will live in the paid archive so our paid subscribers can come back to it any time. Free subscribers get to join the full teaching live. Paid subscribers get it on demand for life.
When: Tuesday, April 21, 2026 at 2:00 PM Eastern
Where: Here on Substack (watch the replay)
What you’ll get: The Three Non-Negotiables. Feel better this week, not 5 years from now.
Block the time. Bring a pen. Come ready to take not
More energy. Better sleep. Less inflammation. A home that heals instead of harms. The clarity to hear God’s voice and the strength to actually walk out what He’s calling you to. These are the “side effects” of Bible health. :)
YOUR DAILY MANNA
Y’all have been asking for it in the comments since our very first Live, and we are so grateful you spoke up. Fern said she starts her mornings with it. Dee said yes the moment we floated the idea.
Here is this week’s verse, and it is the one God has been using to prepare us for tomorrow’s teaching.
“My son, be attentive to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. Let them not escape from your sight; keep them within your heart. For they are life to those who find them, and healing to all their flesh.” — Proverbs 4:20-22
Read that last line again. Healing to all their flesh. Not a metaphor. Not a spiritual platitude. God’s Word is medicine for your body. The same Book that tells you how to forgive your neighbor also tells you how to steward the flesh He gave you. You do not get to split them. You do not get to live in one and ignore the other.
The Three Non-Negotiables we are going to talk about tomorrow are not arbitrary rules. They are what happens when you take what Scripture actually says about the body, test it against what the research says, and refuse to flinch from the conclusion. That is the work of Bible Health. Press in, stay honest, and let the truth do its work.
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WHAT WE PUBLISHED SINCE OUR LAST MONDAY MANNA
A lot has happened in 2 weeks. Here is everything since Monday Manna #1 so you can catch up on anything you missed.
Your living library of DIY how-to resources is live: recipes, remedies, Scripture collections, practical guides. We have been building this for a decade and we are giving it a home here on Substack.
Paid subscribers receive new easy-make DIY swaps projects each week to help you build a healthier home, one decision at a time. 52+ swap ideas per year. A completely different home in 12 months = transformation.
2. You Found Us. Here’s Exactly Where to Start.
If you’re new to Bible Health, we put together this ‘Start Here’ post to help you get acclimated. Welcome to your new home on Substack! :)
3. The Toxic Bucket: How a Thousand Small Things Are Making Your Family Sick
This one is the companion to tomorrow’s Live. We walked through how chronic disease rarely comes from one big exposure. It is 1,000 small ones stacking up in your body’s bucket until it overflows. Paid subscribers, this is required reading before tomorrow.
Mama Z shared the single hardest story we have written to date. Her dad’s cognitive decline, what the research on fragrance toxicity actually says about brain health, and what we did in our home when we connected the dots. This is one of the most-read pieces we have published on Substack so far.
5. Christian Families Are Buying the Enemy’s Groceries
One of our boldest pieces. If you have ever walked a grocery aisle and felt the spiritual weight of what is actually in the food you are about to put in your cart, this one is for you. Paid subscribers are reading this one and sharing it with everyone they know.
What We’re Loving This Week
With seven kids, we are on a super tight budget, and we know a good deal when we see one. We see your comments and your questions, and most people in our community are looking for good swaps that are budget-friendly, so when we see something like this, we can’t pass it up.
Spring Sale: Up to 50% Off Cacao Bliss - The Viral Metabolism-Boosting Chocolate That Our Readers Can’t Get Enough Of
If cravings, energy crashes, and fear about your future health are wearing you down, read this.
JOIN THE FAMILY
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A HUGE thank you to our Charter Members. <3 You got behind us when this thing was 3 weeks old and nobody was sure what it would become. Every free gift, every late-night edit, every piece of content we publish is built on the foundation you laid. We will never forget it.
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As always, our hope and prayer is that you experience the abundant life.
~ Dr. Z & Mama Z
More patience with your kids. Actually being present at dinner instead of crashing on the couch. A mind quiet enough to pray and the conviction to walk out the calling God put on your life. These are the “side effects” of Bible health. :)
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Thankful for Jesus taking care of your family and also praying for you two. Seasons with aging parents are so challenging. Also praying grace, strength and wisdom for Mimi.
BTW, I’m glad you’re on Substack! It feels more personal somehow. 😊