I want to share my thoughts with you about this idea that’s been on my mind with the direction I want to proceed in. It all begins with one word – touches, and one scripture – Philippians 4:8.

Philippians 4:6-9 Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life. Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies. MSG

I’ve included this whole portion of scripture because the context is full of wonderful content. But let me start with “Touches”:
I have been on an accelerating journey of improving my health for quite some time and in this most recent leg of the journey I began to see how everything relates to everything else, or to put it another way, how everything touches everything else. Specifically how my hypothyroidism affects every cell in my body and can result in a gamut of different symptoms. And not just that, how stress contributes to the worsening of symptoms and how prayer contributes to the healing of symptoms. I began to understand that we cannot separate our parts – body, soul, and spirit. Each part touches the others. And as a Christian, we cannot separate ourselves from God’s Holy Spirit or the Body of Christ. We function best in wholeness.

This is where I find it gets a little tricky. I find myself discovering wonderful information from people practicing a holistic approach to health. I don’t want to offend anyone’s beliefs and I don’t want to reject something just because it has fallen into enemy territory. So what is a Christian to do? For me some practices I will not do. These things regard the spiritual realm. I am a citizen of heaven and the kingdom of God, so if you are talking about the spiritual touches we are called to be holy, set apart. But if it is something that originates in truth, I think it’s time to lay claim and give the credit back to our Creator.

This brings me back to Philippians, I have been coming back to this verse over and over in the past year or so. This is a good place to reclaim “meditation.” This is a source of healing that resonates through our whole being. Worry brings stress and anxiety, beauty brings peace and gratitude. If you take the time to read this scripture in different translations, each one will speak to you in a new way, bringing out something alive in the moment.

So back to my idea – I want to start an online magazine called “Touches”. It will have all these things that fit in the description of Philippians 4:8. Things like a devotional, photos, art, poetry, recipes, products, health information, and more as it develops. I can’t wait to see what the Lord will bring. I want to utilize other peoples gifts in a way that honors God and brings wholeness to people. With this in mind, I beg your prayers for guidance as I seek to put this all together, and I pray God will bring to me those whom he wants to participate with me in this.