Christian Healthy Lifestyle 

Mimi Kroger 0:00
It's really important to know that God is interested in our healing and that he is interested in us overcoming what the enemy or what the world has brought against us to really stop us from fulfilling the destiny and the call that we have. We have access to continue to hear from Jesus. Right. And so that's the beauty, that the Holy Spirit is called our advocate, our counselor. If he's not speaking to us, then how is it that he's our advocate and our counselor? Right? I always say this, that the one who has been with you through every footstep of your life, he knows how to heal the hurts that came from them. And we need to know that those hurts are affecting us mentally, emotionally and physically at times.

David Sandstrom 0:51
Welcome to the Natural Health Matters podcast where it's all about maximizing your health potential, so that you can look and feel your best at any age. I'm your host, David Sandstrom, naturopathic doctor and biblical health coach, and this is episode number 112. In this episode, we're talking about the spiritual component to health. If that concept sounds strange or foreign to you, stick around, I think you're going to be blessed by this episode. Today we have in the show, Mimi Kroger. Mamie is a healthy weight loss coach with a heart for helping others heal through biblical principles. So they can live joyful, healthy, and destiny fulfilling lives. She's a best selling author and speaker and behavior change specialist. Me. Welcome to Natural Health Matters.

Mimi Kroger 1:34
Thanks, Dave, for having me. I'm excited to be here with you and your audience.

David Sandstrom 1:38
Looking forward to our conversation. I know you we are very like minded. And we've got we both have books out that are talking about health and spirit in mind. And I think we're gonna have a great conversation. So why don't we start off with just telling us a little bit about yourself what you do and how it is that you got into doing what you do today?

Mimi Kroger 1:58
Okay, yeah. So Dave, I am a personal trainer, I'm a nutrition guide. And I'm a behavior change specialist. And so the Lord has really called me into kind of an all encompassing approach to wellness. So spirit, soul body healing. And that started really with my own journey. I had been diagnosed with lupus, many years ago, and the doctors told me that there was no cure. And I actually struggled for a long time with that diagnosis. And the Lord eventually healed me that a diagnosis culminated into a kidney transplant, my immune system started attacking my kidneys. And really, it wasn't until I learned how to come into intimate relationship with the Holy Spirit, so that he could literally pinpoint areas in my life that needed his cleansing that needed his truth. And so I also run a ministry called Three John two ministries, and that Scripture is that you will be in health and prosper, even as your soul prospers. And that word soul is interchangeable with the word spirit. So you will be in health and physical health, financial health, relational health, any kind of health, and prosper, even as your soul, your mind, your will, and your emotions and your spirit prosper. So that there's a connection between the two, and that in order to live a healthy and home life, we need to address every area of our lives.

David Sandstrom 3:34
Yeah, that's great. I love that verse. And it's one of the most powerful verses in the Bible that speaks to the idea that we are trichotomous as beings, we are spirit we have a mind and we live in a body. And we can't afford to ignore any part of a human being, if we want to maximize our health potential. So yeah, that's great stuff. Another verse that comes to mind that's similar to that one is First Thessalonians 5:23. May the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely. May your whole spirit, soul and body be made whole and complete. So that's another one and God cares about the whole person, right? Is that just just the spirit is not just the mind. It's not just the body, it's the whole person. That's right. That's the way God works. So talk to me a little bit. I know a big part of what you do with people is helping them get in touch with the Holy Spirit and hear from the Holy Spirit. Can you speak to that a little bit?

Mimi Kroger 4:29
Yeah, you know, for years, I had been a Christian and I actually got diagnosed with lupus. Right at the time that I became a Christian. And I actually knew a lot of the word right in from the beginning, I had read the entire New Testament. I had started reading the Old Testament, I had read The Bible all the way through, and yet I had this diagnosis of lupus and I was dealing with joint pain and just migraines and just a bunch of other physical things. things. What lupus is, is it's an autoimmune disease. And so my body was my immune system was attacking me. And ultimately, the Lord showed me the connection between really a lot of things that I had been through in my childhood that caused me to have low self worth. And then there was actually a trauma that the Lord brought back to my remembrance something that had happened, that actually got confirmation of later, that really affected how I saw myself. And what I discovered was that my body was actually reacting in like, to what my belief system was about me based on what I had been through. And so my body was attacking me, just as my thoughts were attacking me that I wasn't good enough that I needed to be perfect, and that I kept failing, or that I just wasn't the person that I should be. And so the Lord, as he revealed these truths to me, I finally got well, and I no longer have lupus. And that's something the doctor said wasn't possible, but it is possible. Yeah.

David Sandstrom 6:16
That's great. That's really good stuff. You know, that that speaks, the idea of there is a spirit mind body connection, you know, the mind body connection has been well established in the medical literature, everyone, everyone knows about the placebo effect, when the pharmaceutical companies trying to get a new drug approved, they have to prove that it's works better than placebo. Because about a third of the time, if someone's given a sugar pill or a saline solution, they actually experienced the desired results. So in order to get FDA approval, the drug company has to prove that their their a drug is more effective than than the placebo. So you know, there's a well established mind body connection. But a lot of people are not too familiar with the spirit, mind body connection. So you just mentioned it, you kind of touched on it. But could you go a little deeper in that maybe on how how spiritual health will ultimately impact our physical vitality?

Mimi Kroger 7:08
Yeah, I'd love to talk about that. That's my favorite subject, actually. So here's the deal. We can self affirm all that we want, right? Like the Bible even encourages us, it tells us, you know, to renew our minds, and how important that is. But the truth is, is that we need a heart revelation, we need something that isn't just here in our head. But that goes to our heart. And the spirit is really that is what encompasses our heart. And so we can, you know, do the positive thinking as much as we want, we can rehearse the scriptures even. That was the point that I was getting at earlier that I probably didn't complete. So this is a good opportunity for me to complete that thought. When I was a new believer, I had memorized all the scriptures, I knew what they said, Psalm 103, Bless the Lord, oh, my soul, and forget not all His benefits, who forgives all our iniquities and heals all your diseases. Yes. So that there is it's a package deal. It comes with the atonement, it comes with what Christ did for us on the cross, and his subsequent resurrection. Right. So that I had I knew all the scriptures, you know, I really did. And yet I was dealing with this disease. And that was even my frustration as a believer, knowing that God was true that God was real, that His Word is true. And yet, I wasn't experiencing it here in the natural in my physical body. And so I just got with the Lord and started really working more on intimacy. Like even in Psalm 27:4 where it talks about that, we want to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in His temple. And so when I realized that it was actually okay to inquire of the Lord and ask him questions, and have the faith that he would respond to me, that changed everything. And so what happened was, I began to receive Rhema words from the Lord. So I talk about this a little bit in my book, Holy Spirit helped me heal, overcoming disease and dysfunction through spirit connection and soul healing. I always think it's important for me to kind of, say the subject line because it's really important to know that God is interested in our healing and that he is interested in us overcoming what the enemy or what the world has brought against us to really stop us from fulfilling the destiny and the call that we have. And so in the book I talk about the Word of God being that word word of God is translated in many different words in the original language, but mostly it's considered either the logos or the rhema and the logos is the actual written word of God. So that is like the the pages, the Bible itself. And the rhema word of God is a word that the Spirit, the Holy Spirit speaks to you directly, that actually causes an impact, or a change in your heart because you're able to receive it. And that happens in connection with the Holy Spirit that happens in, at least for what I do with clients is I bring them into the space where we give the Holy Spirit room to speak directly to different areas in our lives that need His truth and need his wholeness and that need those rhema, that rhema word to come in and really change everything because we don't just mentally ascend to it, but we actually believe it from a heart level.

David Sandstrom 10:51
Yeah, yeah, that's really good stuff. You know, I don't I believe that at least most of the Christians I know, have not experienced that. And the first time you ever heard anybody talk, the way you just did was I went to a conference, it was a Wild at Heart Conference that John Eldridge put on, he's got the wild heart podcast, and the slip back in something like 2003. And John and the team were talking about, well, I asked God, this, and he told me that and, and I was doing this, and God spoke to me on that as this is, this is strange language to me. I've never heard this before I, I was going to a Presbyterian Church. And those, they basically felt like, Hey, you want to know what the word of God is? Just read the Bible. That's enough. You don't need any more than that. And this team was talking in a very different language. And I asked John, that question, you know, in one of the q&a sessions, so you know, I've never experienced that. Now, I would guess that most of the guys in this room haven't. And he's like, yeah, that's, that's common, but you know, it is available. And you know, you look in the scriptures, and you see Moses talking to God, and then God said to Moses, and then Moses objected, and, you know, same thing with the prophets, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, and all of them. They're having conversational intimacy with God. And I don't believe that's gone away. I think it's just in our modern world, we, we feel so informed, and really in our pride, we're not in a position to hear God's voice, but he's there and he is speaking.

Mimi Kroger 12:15
Absolutely. And think about Jesus, you know, Jesus, he was with the disciples, and He spoke to the disciples. But then when he was getting ready to go out to be with the Father, again, to do what he needed to do to give us our salvation, spirit, soul body salvation, He told them, it's actually better for me to go, because when I go, I'm going to send you the Holy Spirit to live inside of you. And that means we have access, we have access to continue to hear from Jesus. Right. And so that's the beauty, that the Holy Spirit is called our advocate, our counselor, if he's not speaking to us, then how is it that he's our advocate and our counselor, right. And even just as I mentioned, Psalm 27, four, and that's bringing a New Testament, right? I think that's important for people too. But in my book, I also write you know, that the Holy Spirit is actually I would argue, the most neglected person in the church, which is really sad, because he is our lifeline. He is our direct communication line with the Father. And I always say that it's important to have that connection with the Father, because then we have connection with the manufacturer of this body, who literally knows everything that we've been through. And I always say this, that the one who has been with you through every footstep of your life, he knows how to heal the hurts that came from them. And we need to know that those hurts are affecting us mentally, emotionally, and physically at times. Now, I also tell people, and this is why I do nutritional guidance as well. You know, sometimes you have diabetes, because you're drinking five Dr. Peppers in a day. You know what I mean? Sometimes it's just a physical thing. But sometimes there is a spiritual connection. And I, David, I would love to share a story with you about, like a Holy Spirit, soul healing encounter that I had with the Lord, that might maybe put your audience a little bit into more of an understanding of kind of how it works. Would you like to hear that

David Sandstrom 14:29
Please do; absolutely, yes.

Mimi Kroger 14:31
So when I kept having this, you know, I think I told you a little bit about my background about just not feeling like I was enough. And even years later, I finally just went to the Lord and I was like, Lord, I know that I'm your beloved. I know the word. I really believe it. I know I've chosen, you know, you've made that very clear in my life. But why is it that I still feel like there isn't enough or that I'm not enough, you know, and that's the thing is that so Sometimes there's layers to our healing, right. And so, the Lord in that moment, he brought a memory to me something that actually happened when I was a child. And I was at my, it was a family member's home, and I was out there home, all the cousins were out playing, we were in the backyard, and he came out and slit open a mango. And I don't think I had ever had a mango before in my life. I mean, I'm just a kid, I had, like, you know, picked out like braids in my hair. And I went up to get some mango, just like everybody else. And I was like, Oh, my gosh, this is delicious. And I ate it. And then I was running around. I'm watching this almost like a movie happening in my mind as I'm asking the Lord, this question. And then I went back for some more. And when I went back for some more, the person that owned the home that had opened up the mango, said, What are you doing, that's for everybody. And the Lord showed me in that moment, that is when I began to believe that maybe there wasn't enough or that I wasn't enough that I didn't deserve another piece of mango. And as I was thinking about this with the Lord, I saw Jesus just come down, it was like a vision. And we were sitting together, I still had those pigtails, those braids, we were sitting at a plastic picnic table, drinking out of tea cups, and he was smiling, super big looking at me. And then all of a sudden, I see him reach behind his robe, and he hands me a mango slice. And then he hands me another one, and then another one, and another one. And it just spoke to my heart, like, oh, my gosh, I am worthy of as much mango as I want. And look at who Jesus is looking at me with all of this worth and value. And then here's the thing, this is super important. Because we always need to go back to the Word of God that when we get a rhema, right, that was a rhema word to me an experience. And the Lord has done many things, even with the lupus that has he's given me experiences in the natural that really speak to a heart matter. And that's really important to get to the place where we can prophetically look at our lives and see what God is doing. Because he's always speaking I always say, you know, like, the Bible says, In the beginning was the Word the Word was with God, and the Word was God. In other word, he's the word that means he has plenty of words that he wants to share with us. Because he loves us. And because He wants us well and healed and happy. John 10:10 I came, you know, the enemy comes to steal, kill and destroy, but I came that you would have and enjoy your life and have it in abundance, and to the full until it overflows. That's the Amplified Version, meaning overflowing unto other people that we actually walk in the gifts and the callings that He's given us not because we're trying to strive for God's love, but simply because God knows that as we walk into the very thing that we're created for that it brings joy to us. But going back to making sure that the revelation that we get lines up with what the Word of God says, Who does God say he is he says that he is Jehovah Jireh, right. So he is provider. So it lines up with that. Another name of God is He is El Shaddai, which means he is God Almighty. But if the literal translation is that he is the all breasty one, so that he comes to us like a mother who gives sustenance to her children. And if you think about that, that sustenance is always available. In fact, as a mother who has breastfed before, I know that when my baby cried, I was instantly ready to give my son exactly what he needed when he was a great illustration. Yeah, and in fact, it was painful for me if I couldn't give it. And part of that is, you know, like, if a baby is crying, they can't latch on and they can't receive. And so that's kind of a whole nother talk about just really coming into the peace of God in order to receive from him. And that's where behavior change coaching comes in, is that I really lay out an atmosphere where we come into a place of peace, of peace, and there's teaching along with it, so that, you know, learning things like this so that we can renew our minds, and allow the Holy Spirit to really come in and bring truth to us just as he did with me in that situation.

David Sandstrom 19:44
That's great. Thank you for sharing that story that I think it's really good. I'd like to add just a couple of things to it. And really what you're talking about is what what psychologists today would call is childhood trauma. No one avoids it, or we were all raised in imperfect homes. We live in an imperfect world And we all you know, as children, we don't have the capacity to process many of the events that happen to us, particularly if it's traumatic. And when we do when we fail to process well, we might form a belief system that we carry into adulthood, and those faulty beliefs are stress producing. And Jesus said, He came to bring us peace, peace of transcends all understanding. And when we're living with a in a chronic state of stress, our body is less capable of healing, because our bodies do their healing when the parasympathetic nervous system is, is elevated. And that's what we refer to as the rest and digest side of the nervous system. And that's what our bodies prefer to do their recovery and their healing. If we're stressed out with the sympathetic side of our nervous system jacked up all the time, because of some faulty belief, or maybe multiple, faulty beliefs, this causes stress hormones to, to remain elevated, we call it a cortisol drip in the naturopathic world. And when you're when you're constantly pumping stress hormones in your body and other catecholamines. This inhibits your body from functioning the way it was designed. And that can bring on dis ease. And we can bypass all that by simply surrendering to God's goodness, inviting him into those broken parts of our lives, and asking him to make us more whole and bring healing. And that's a huge, huge part of what it means to nurture the spiritual component. I have more to say, but I don't want to I don't want to take up the whole episode I want I want to hear from you.

Mimi Kroger 21:42
Well, I love that David, I say the same thing about disease, you know, what is disease except to dis ease. And I think that that's really powerful. And I love that you come from the medical side. And that's the thing, you know, God, He reveals things to us that the world, it's like the world says this, you know, and it just matches up with what God has been saying all along. Right? You shall know the truth, and the truth will set you free. And so he is just so faithful to always give us what we need when we need it. And that story that I shared. I mean, that's not even something that I like remembered, right. And that's the point that the healer, Jehovah Rafa, he's the one that comes in and pinpoints the areas and says, Hey, that's when the lie began. And that wasn't a big traumatic incident, I have had traumatic incidents. In fact, when the lupus started, that was a result of a real trauma that occurred not that that other one wasn't a trauma. But when we're children, everything is big to us, you know, and we just oftentimes will just suppress those things, we know that it maybe just didn't feel right. But like you said, we're not ready to deal with that. But that doesn't mean that it doesn't remain. And what the enemy does, is he comes in throughout our lives and reinforces that same lie. So he knows, you know, you were hit then and just year after year, he'll just bring other incidences to kind of confirm that belief system that was created. And it's really up to us to renew our minds and to renew our hearts to really get those rhema words from the Lord. Now, I do want to say this, because I always, I want to make sure that we're always in the timing of God, because God knows what we can handle. And that's why, you know, I also say that oftentimes, it's layers, you know, even just as our experiences in life, they tend to be layers that kind of make a stronghold, as the Bible would say, in our minds, which is a false belief system that we actually live out of, that harms us and oftentimes harms other people, you know, when we trigger with other people, and they're kind of like, Whoa, that was a serious overreaction. But you're really reacting to a belief system of certain things that have happened. And so just so important for just peace in our lives, not just with ourselves in our bodies, but with other people to go ahead and deal with this stuff. But what I was wanting to say was this, to not go on a digging expedition for these things, it's important to always return to joy. And so that's what I do in my coaching is I make sure that we come into a place of joy at the end of a session, or and teach really how to do that on a daily basis, because joy is our strength. So if you're kind of inundated with just looking at your past, then the Bible says that the joy of the Lord is our strength and we need to keep up our strength. So it's important to not make your inner healing an idol to always be putting the Lord first. Even as you know, we're instructed to do like rejoice. This is the day the Lord has made I will rejoice and be glad in Be glad in it. Yeah. And so there's really it's, it's important to not overwhelm yourself to not, because that's dis-ease again and God and again, we receive from a place of peace and a place of rest. And so that's super important because I just don't ever want people to get into this. Because the enemy loves to do that, too. He loves to come in and say, Okay, now, I'm going to just set you up on a different kind of misery, which would be like this digging expedition of things that maybe the Lord is not ready to, to, or knows that you can't handle it right now. But you can trust the Lord to give you exactly what you need, when you need it. And trust that He wants your healing more than you do. Because he loves you. He loves you so much that he died on a cross that you want to have healing. Yeah,

David Sandstrom 25:47
you know, maybe I'm really glad you mentioned joy, because what comes to mind is Proverbs 17:22. A joyful heart is good medicine. spirit dries up the bones. Yes.

Mimi Kroger 25:57
And that's exactly why I named my company healthy, happy and heavenly. Like there is really I love that scripture, there is so much to joy and even science, David, perhaps you can speak to this probably more eloquently than I can. But that when our joy, you know, when we're low enjoy, we actually our relational circuits are turned off in our brain so that we can't actually react to people the way that we want to, we can't actually because there's literally certain parts of our brain that just shut off completely when we're in this place of being triggered. And that's why it's important to like, step away for a moment and take a few deep breaths, that whole mind body connection that we actually breathe in and breathe out so that we can come to a place of being in our right mind, again, so that we can really deal with the reality of the situation instead of what the past lies are telling us.

David Sandstrom 26:57
Yeah, well, you know, I my response to that is really not from a scientific point of view, but from a spiritual point of view. And in my, in my estimation, in my, it's my contention, that our spiritual component is all about love relationships, it's about our love relationship with God, our loving relationships with our one another's, and the love relationship we have with ourselves. That's the spiritual component to health. And, you know, a lot of people out there in the natural health world, when you say you're into natural and holistic health, they think, you know, Eastern religion, or, you know, some guy popping LSD in, you know, going on a trip and saying, I had a spiritual experience, or, you know, it took some Quaaludes along with it, and I smoked a couple joints, and I had a really spiritual trip, man. Now, that's, that's not what I'm talking about at all. What I'm talking about is just understanding God's goodness, and surrendering to that goodness, and understand that when he, he knows us better than we know ourselves, and he loves us with a greater love than we can fathom. And he even knows the future. And He can be trusted because he doesn't change. So when we, when we come to that realization, we know that when God tells us to do something, it's for our benefit. And if he tells us to avoid something, it's for our protection. Yeah, there's never a time when those two truths don't apply. And you know, the enemy comes along and tries to throw a lot of confusion in that area, and cause us to not trust God and lean on our own strength. You know, I'm reminded of Proverbs three, seven and eight. What does it say? lean not on your own understanding. Trust in a God where all your heart Yeah,

Mimi Kroger 28:37
In all you ways acknowledge Him

David Sandstrom 28:41
and He will make your paths straight. That's three, five and six. But then seven, and eight says, Do not be wise in your own eyes, fear the Lord, in turn away from evil, it will be healing to your body, and refreshment to your bone.

Mimi Kroger 28:54
Yeah, so good, David. Because, you know, oftentimes, sometimes we're creating our own mess in our lives, right? The Bible says, Submit yourselves to God, resist the devil, and he will flee, right? So there's this submission, there's the surrender, not because we have to, but because we want to not because God is really needing anything from us or that he's going to, you know, punish us in any way. God is light and he cannot partner with darkness in any way. But we do allow access to the enemy when we partner with his ways. Amos three three says how can two walk together unless they be agreed? And so we have a choice. We can agree with God and His ways, right? Forgiveness, love all of the things and then we'll reap the benefit of walking in his ways. But we can we also have a choice we have freewill. And so we can partner with the ways of the enemy, bitterness, whatever it is, even you know, just physical things that that really aren't good for us. And then we Get the consequences of that as well. Now we can come to our loving father and repent and turn from our ways. And he works all things together for good, even the things that we have done. There's a scripture, Isaiah 61 Seven that says, For your former pain, shame and disgrace, I will give you a double recompense. And David, that's not talking about even sin that someone else caused upon you that's specifically addressing the Israelites when they were sinning against God. So do we believe that God is that good, that what Jesus did was enough that even when we do something, we get a double recompense, as we submit ourselves to God, as we resist the enemy from now on, as we repent and turn from that, that there's reward for that, that God really does do what He said in Isaiah 53, and Isaiah 61, that He gives us beauty for ashes, that He gives us the oil of joy for morning, all of the things that God said he did through Jesus, they're true. But we're the ones that have to walk in the ways of the Lord and trust that when we don't, He's big enough, and he's in the Bible says he's faithful, even when we're not. And then I always go back to you know, even in Romans, it says, well, so then do we sin so that grace may abound? No, we don't. Because we want the fruit of walking with God, and not with the ways of the world. And so it's beautiful to be in perfect alignment with the Father and His ways, because there's health and wholeness in that.

David Sandstrom 31:38
Yeah. Yeah, that's a really good word. Maybe I appreciate you sharing that. You know, there's, there's another verse that I'm thinking of in Proverbs, The connecting our spiritual condition to our physical vitality. And it's Proverbs chapter four verses 20 and 22. My son, give attention to my words, incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your sight, keep them in the midst of your heart, for they are life to those who find them and health to all their body. Yes. So you know, this is this is a message that you don't often hear, you know, I don't I gotta be honest, I've been a follower of Jesus Christ for 30 years. I've never heard what we're talking about right now preached from the pulpit. Have you?

Mimi Kroger 32:20
Um, I've preached it.

David Sandstrom 32:23
You have Okay, good. Yeah. Yeah, that's awesome.

Mimi Kroger 32:26
Yeah. So I have Yeah, I don't think that I, you know, the Lord has given me revelation, you know, this intimacy with the Father is really key. I mean, he is the one that gives us energy, not just for our health and wholeness, but for other people. And when he finds someone that's actually willing, you know, freely we've been given, you know, freely we give, so we speak out of what we've been taught, right, like, even Genesis 50:20, where it's talking about Joseph, and it says, you know, that what the enemy meant for evil God meant for the saving of many lives, you know, and so God, entrust people like you and I, with information as we seek Him that will help the body of Christ to come into wholeness so that they feel well, and so that they can do what they've been called to do. Because I always say, you know, if you don't feel well, you can't really do what you want to do. It's really hard. You know, think about even if you just have a cold, if you have a cold, you're just you're not in the mood to help anybody, you know, you're barely taking care of yourself, let alone if you have a chronic illness, or something that is really bogging you down on a daily basis, sucking out your energy and the life that God wants you to have, so that you can, you know, be fueled up and do what he wants you to do for their joy and for your joy as well. I would say that's important, because I don't ever want people to think that God is like a taskmaster that he's just using us. I don't ever like to say that God uses us I like to say that he works through us, and that there's a beautiful joy that we get as a result of that, but certainly being submitted to him and just kind of following his ways. And And having said that, The Lord literally has given me biblical principles on different areas of health, even not getting into deprivation, dieting, that it really doesn't work, it's actually you're getting under the law. And the Bible says that when you're under the law, you're no longer under grace. And so it's very important, even just as you make laws for yourself, like don't eat this, don't eat that. The Bible says about the law. It says that when we live under the law, that it actually has power over us, it entices us, it gives it more power. And so the answer to that is even just in Romans seven, where Paul is like, Oh, the very thing I don't want to do is a thing that I do, who will deliver me from this body of death, right? And so the answer is in verse 25, and he says, Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Lord, and Lord indicates that he actually has a say in the decisions that you make. And he gives that to us right through the Holy Spirit who lives within us that guides us. And so how important it is to be to have that connection, so that we can live a life that is healthy and whole. And then along with the eating thing, you know, oftentimes, if I tell myself, Oh, I can never have this, again, it entices it, and makes us want to have it more and more. And then when we fail, we end up in guilt and condemnation. And that's the answer, again, that Paul has for us, because Jesus answers that for us through there is there for now, in this moment, no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. And so that the answer is to then just get back into the presence of the Lord, receive His grace, love yourself, like you were mentioning, and then be able to just stand up again, in the grace of God, and be led by the Holy Spirit, even in your eating and drinking, just like we're talking about being led by the Holy Spirit in every area of your life. And so I've just found that so many times the ways of the world, they're really not working for us. And we're really inundated with these voices of these, you know, experts that tell us, yeah, do this, don't do that, even when it comes to eating. And we're actually hurting ourselves because we're depriving our body of entire food groups, that the that we know from science that we need, but that God is very clear that we need them all. There's a scripture that I love to share. And this was a revelation that the Lord gave me. It's in Jeremiah 31-11, through 14. And it says, For the Lord has ransom Jacob, and has redeemed him from hands too strong for him, they shall come and single out on the height of Zion, and they shall be radiant over the goodness of the Lord over the grain, the wine and the oil and over the flock of the herd. And their lives shall be like a watered garden, and they shall languish no more. My point is this in that verse where it says, the grain, the wine and the oil, and over the flock of the herd, right there, it's talking about grain, it's talking about carbs, the oil, it's talking about fats, it's even talking about a little bit of wine. And when it talks about the young of the flock and their herd, it's talking about protein. So that, you know, in this world, we're they're telling us like, don't eat this entire food group that we actually need for serotonin levels, and vitamin C, and all of these things. And we're just buying it when the Lord has come to literally set us free in every area, whether it's in our diet, whether it's in our emotional, you know, triggers, emotional places that we struggle with, he really wants us whole in every area. But we do need to renew our mind. And we need to allow the Holy Spirit to renew our hearts, that we can follow the changes, the real changes that he's instilled within us, and be able to walk that out so that we can be free, and so that we can be free to help others be free at the same time.

David Sandstrom 38:19
Yeah, absolutely. You know, and you really kind of hitting on the idea of our God given destiny, and I'm thinking about Ephesians 2:10, where, where it says, God created us for good works, that he created beforehand. And again, those works, or he's not a taskmaster, he's not standing there with a whip ready to a club or to beat us over the head. If we don't. We have liberty, we have free will. God preserves that in every human being. But why wouldn't we want to follow him? That's right. He knows the way and he has blessings in store for us. You know, another another point that I want to make, and it's sometimes I hear this objection when we start talking about spiritual component to health. And that is, well, are you saying that my grandmother that died from cancer she was because she was sinning? like, no, that's not at all what I'm saying, Well, are you saying that God is just a genie in a bottle? And we can just call on him to, you know, to make us perfect? No, not at all. But what I am saying is, when we pardon me, what I am saying is that when we surrender to His goodness, we put ourselves in better positions, to receive his blessings. And in it's not that we have to do these things. God preserves liberty, but if we do good things happen in why wouldn't you want to surrender to the one who knows everything?

Mimi Kroger 39:42
Absolutely. Yeah. He's such a good father. And I think that, you know, when people are asking those questions, I, my belief is that they really don't know the true nature of God. They really don't know his character of really being an unconditionally loving God. And in speaking to destiny, I kind of like to give this example of why it's so important, like you said, you quoted the Scripture about that were created for his good works, and that He created them before him that we should walk in them. But I always say, you know, if I'm I like to give examples, I'm very much a visual person. So if I was a tool, right in a toolbox, and I was just, you know, like, maybe I'm just a hammer inside of a toolbox, and it's dark and dingy in there, because the box is closed, well, what if the toolbox is then opened, and then somebody comes and grabs that hammer, I'm the hammer, it maybe puts a nail on the wall and starts bringing it into the wall, and then puts a gorgeous picture up there. Now everybody can enjoy that. And I feel good, because I'm no longer in the box, like, I'm actually doing what I was created to do. And so really changing that shift to you know, we don't have to do things for God, we get to do things for God, because it brings us joy. And, and the fruit of that is that it brings joy and health and healing to other people as well. And so just, I just think that that's just a beautiful picture that God really does gives us gifts and talents that he wants us to, to put to use, just like the parable, um, you know, where it says, you know, that the one servant actually buried his talents, right? God wants to multiply what he's given us, for our benefit for the benefit of others, and for His glory. So that, you know, people can see like, wow, look at what God made, and look at what God has done through this life through this person. And again, not to use you, but to just work through you because he wants to love his people.

David Sandstrom 41:50
Yeah, absolutely. You know, there's one more thing that I want to I want to point that I want to make before we wrap up. Sometimes, when we talk like this, we're accused of name it and claim it, you know, are you just gonna claim wellness and require God to do it? No, not at all. Exactly. In fact, the exact opposite is what my message is, and I believe your messages as well. And you know, God will will use illness and trials, sometimes to awaken somebody to get their attention. He absolutely does that as those are great scripture, you said earlier about, you shared about Joseph saying, you know, what you meant for evil, God turned into good to provide a, you know, food for many, to save many. So, God will sometimes use those trials, for good purposes. But what I'm advocating is, there are lifestyle changes that we can make, and we have a role to play in our in our wholeness in our in our wellness, and our vitality. And I would say that let's not let anything that we're doing, keep us from experiencing the blessings and cause a trial that God would prefer to spare us from. That's right, right. Yeah, every parent wants their child to learn their lessons without being hurt in the process. God wants the same for us.

Mimi Kroger 43:09
Yeah, let me just speak into that a little bit. Because sometimes, you know, I think I know that we're tracking on the same page. But you know, maybe some people that are listening, maybe just don't really know, God that well yet. And so it's important to know that when we're talking about like illness that comes upon our life, and that that God is not the author of it. Again, he's light, he can't partner with darkness, but he can certainly use it. He is big enough to work all things together for good, right, just like the Bible says. And so I think that that's really important. But you're right, sometimes there are things that we're doing that we need to really get into alignment. And so even as I was sharing about the diet stuff, even though we're not to come under the law like that, the Bible also says that the law is good. And there's a scripture that says, All things are permissible for me, but not all things are profitable. All things are permissible for me, but I will not be mastered by anything. And so that some people perish for lack of knowledge. The Bible says that there are actually principles that we need to put in place, like eating well, and exercising and doing the things that we know are good for our body. And that's part of my nutritional guidance that I talk about, is really getting people what they need physiologically and it's up to us to really go forward in that and yes, having someone encouraged you accountability is huge. Getting the support that you need, iron sharpens iron or iron sharpens iron right. As you and I are just bringing forth scripture, we're encouraging ourselves in the Lord and we're building each other up. So yes, there's absolute God is interested in partnership. He's not going to do everything for us. But he is certainly going to lead us to what is going to bring us into health and wholeness because of his great great love for us.

David Sandstrom 45:02
Yeah. Excellent. Well said Mimi, well, we could go on all afternoon with this stuff. But we're gonna have to wrap things up here. So maybe if this message is resonating with someone, and they would like to work with you or learn more about your work, what's the best way to get a hold of you?

Mimi Kroger 45:16
Yeah, they can just hop on my website. It's HealthyHappyand Heavenly.com. And there's a little contact section there that they can just pop their information in, and I will get back to them.

David Sandstrom 45:28
All right, great. And before we close, what would what's something that we covered today that you would consider the most important thing for people to remember,

Mimi Kroger 45:38
intimacy with the Holy Spirit, for sure. Intimacy with the Holy Spirit, He is everything. He's again, he's our counselor, he's our guide. He's our advocate. And he's our comfort, and we need comfort in the world that we live in today. Right. So I would say probably the one thing and I think I told you this earlier, David, that it was so important for me to have the title of my book include the Holy Spirit, because I feel like, arguably, he is one of the most neglected people even within the church. And he is our direct communication with the Father. And we have to have access to the one who knows everything about us, our past, present, and even future, and to be able to tap into that communication, so that we can live a life that glorifies Him, and we can live a life that even brings him joy, because as we live in joy, I believe that that blesses the heart of God just as it blesses my heart with my son, to see when he is in health and in joy.

David Sandstrom 46:42
Very good. So say the full name of your book, again, with the subtitle,

Mimi Kroger 46:45
the book is Holy Spirit Help me Heal, overcoming disease and dysfunction, through spirit connection and soul healing. And it's available on Amazon, it was the number one best seller, so I feel I know God's on it. He's he's kind of tempting me to write another book, which is a little bit difficult, because it's hard to get me to sit in one place at once. But that's what I have out there right now. You can also get it through just you know, any of the major retailers as well.

David Sandstrom 47:15
All right, great, I'll be sure to put a link to that in the show notes. And if anyone's listening, and they would like to get in touch with maybe she does health coaching, I'm sure you do things remotely. So location really doesn't matter. And she comes at it from a obviously from a biblical perspective, which I think is absolutely crucial. If you're if you're going to hire a health coach, have that person having a biblical perspective goes so far, I've got over 100 episodes of the podcast, many of them are interview episodes. And as far as I'm concerned, the people that have the best message, the best things to say about health and wellness are followers of Jesus Christ that have a biblical worldview. And they apply what they do to pursue health through a biblical, scriptural lens. And obviously, maybe he does that. So if that's resonating with you, I encourage you to get a hold of her. Maybe thank you so much for sharing your wisdom with the natural nation today.

Mimi Kroger 48:09
Thank you so much. Thanks for having me.

David Sandstrom 48:12
For more, go to the show notes page at davidsandstrom.com/112. There you can find a video as well as an audio version of the podcast. I include links to all the resources that we mentioned, and I always include some type of a content upgrade to help you go deeper with that subject. If you're enjoying the podcast, I sure would appreciate you telling a friend about it. The number one way people find out about a podcast is a friend tells them and this information is relatively hard to come by with health and wellness being presented through a biblical lens. So if you have a friend that's like minded, I would appreciate you sharing the show with them. That's it for now. I'll talk to you next time. Be blessed.