Getting up when life knocks you down is a skill to master. Have you ever lashed out at a loved when life gave you bad news? Or found yourself struggling to work your job or business when crisis crops up? When you are feeling badly, do you cope by indulging in things that are bad for you?
When we are overwhelmed by life’s circumstances, many of us unintentionally lash out at those we love, struggle with our work, and give in to temptations that are bad for our health. We have frequently faced these issues ourselves. #BeenThereDoneThat
While we cannot avoid crisis coming into our lives, we can take action to reduce the risk of engaging in negative behaviors when things are not going as we had planned.
In this podcast, we’ll discuss practical steps that you can take to handle “crisis management,” including what to do at the moment when you want to overreact. We’ll share strategies you can use to help you ride out challenging times without surrendering your health. And we’ll share what we do when we are faced with overwhelming circumstances in our business or lives.
You’ll learn the benefits of living a fasted, toxic-free life and how to make changes so that you can maintain a healthy life and walk with the Lord. We even share a life-transforming testimonial that may encourage you to move ahead into the abundant life even during difficult times. These practical strategies have served us well through difficult seasons. Listen to learn how!
If you missed the first part of this important topic, listen here.
Table of Contents
Listen Here
Episode Highlights
- Topic Intro and what’s in our diffuser (2:21)
- Announcements (4:10)
- Testimonials and a prayer for those who need love & support (8:56)
- Handling crisis and reaction especially with your children (12:31)
- Having crisis management systems in place (19:29)
- The role of discipline in crisis prevention (24:30)
- Honoring your self-care practices away from home (36:23)
- Essential Oils Diet 60-Day challenge life transformation testimonial (44:05)
- Living a fasted life unto the Lord (52:19)
- Living a toxic-free life, organized life (1:02:59)
- Natural living tip and episode wrap (1:09:30)
Quotable Quotes
“Part of helping you get up when life knocks you down is to have processes and systems in place that get you through.” – Dr. Z“You are not a victim of your circumstances. It doesn’t matter what happens in life because God is above all. ” – Dr. Z“Make sure you keep to your schedule so that life’s challenges don’t throw you off. ” – Mama Z
“We’re talking about focusing on the basics, knowing what is good for you and doing things that are healthy for you, rather than falling back into habit-forming, unhealthy behaviors.” – Dr. Z“Children need to fall down until they learn how to walk and learn how to run. It’s the same with us: God is teaching us how to walk and run in the Lord so that we can provide support for our brothers and sisters in Christ.” – Dr. Z
Resources We Mention
READ TRANSCRIPT
The contents of this presentation are for informational purposes only and are not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. This presentation does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.
[0:00 – 1:19] Prelude to Getting Up when Life Knocks You Down (Part 2)
Mama Z: You can go in and go out of this door. But I guarantee, if you pray that God opens the door for you to minister to someone, that is there. We were in Michigan, and Eric texts me and he says, “Are you okay? Your mom and I are really worried about you.” Well, you know, it just so happened to be that every place I went, different people needed prayer or opened up, or just different stuff happened.
Dr. Z: That’s why you need to set up an auto-responder on your text that says, “Hey, I’m sorry. I can’t respond. I’m ministering to someone right now.” But seriously, you’ve got to give a dog a bone.
Mama Z: If I knew how to set up an auto text, I probably would. But I don’t know how to do that. You’re my tech support.
Dr. Z: That’s exactly why I called you my old lady after that. Have you guys seen that face app thing? I love it. A new face app. Go get face app on your phone.
Mama Z: You took a perfectly amazing picture and made me crusty.
Dr. Z: It was awesome. Hey, you’re looking great. You’re going to look great when you’re older. And you look at this face app, you can make yourself look younger, make yourself look old. I put it up there on my Facebook, on my personal page. I’m like with my old lady.
Mama Z: Instead of retouching like most people do, he’s like de-touching the picture.
Dr. Z: Oh, you look great. I look good, too.
[1:20 – 1:59] Intro for Getting Up when Life Knocks You Down (Part 2)
Dr. Z: Hi! This is Dr. Z.
Mama Z: And Mama Z. And welcome to episode 31 of the Natural Living Family podcast.
Dr. Z: Each week we invite you into our home to talk about how you can master the art and science of natural living. And we share the same tips our family uses each and every day to enjoy an abundant life. And you’re going to love today’s topic.
Mama Z: So, come on in and get comfortable. After all, you are one of our family, our natural living family.
Dr. Z: But before we dive into all the fun today, we’re excited to share a special note about today’s sponsor.
[2:00 – 2:20] Sponsor Spotlight: Thrive Market
Mama Z: As a special gift to our Natural Living Family podcast listeners, Thrive Market is giving you twenty-five percent off your first order.
Dr. Z: Plus a free thirty-day trial. Simply go to NaturalLivingFamilypodcast.com to find the special link so you could redeem this deal on the show notes from today’s episode.
[2:21 – 4:09] Diffuser Reveal
Dr. Z: Yay! Hey there everybody! Welcome to the show. Today is part two of a two-part, maybe three-part series of “Getting Up When Life Knocks You Down.” The last episode, episode 30, we talked about setting the spiritual foundation, pressing into the Lord, setting yourself up for happiness, finding the right support, having just great things to do with your friends and family like gardening.
And one thing I touch base on, which is what I’m going to cover more today, is really getting out of crisis management mode, and specifically, how to make crisis management mode something that you fall back to to help you get up, because you need essentially a life preserver. But before we talk about all of these great things, what’s in our diffuser?
Mama Z: So, I only made one little modification to the one that I did before, because you have to admit, it was like your perfume. It was really good.
Dr. Z: Well, what about the people who didn’t listen before?
Mama Z: I’m going to tell you what’s in it.
Dr. Z: Imagine there’s someone, the first time ever in the history of the world listening to this podcast, episode 30, they’re like, “Who are these people? What are you doing?”
Mama Z: Okay, so Cocoa Love.
Dr. Z: We like to brag on our diffuser blends, right?
Mama Z: Right.
Dr. Z: Mama Z is a diffuser maven.
Mama Z: “Cocoa Love” was a drop of copaiba, rose, jasmine, cocoa, vanilla, and ylang-ylang. But we spiced it up with one drop of peppermint in there.
Dr. Z: Oh, I like it, a little bit of pick-me-up, because this is actually our second podcast that we’re filming and recording today, and this is the second one. It’s kind of you need a little pick-me-up.
Mama Z: Yes, so we spiced up the Cocoa Love.
[4:10 – 8:55] Announcements
Dr. Z: Yea! Well, any announcements?
Mama Z: Well, yes.
Dr. Z: What’s today?
Mama Z: Today is, let’s see here, it is the nineteenth.
Dr. Z: Well, you’re officially not even here today. Where are you right now?
Mama Z: I’m not. I am at Mrs. America.
Dr. Z: Where?
Mama Z: So, hopefully you’re praying for me, because it is a day before my interview.
Dr. Z: So, today is August 19.
Mama Z: Yes.
Dr. Z: And talk a little bit about this.
Mama Z: It’s so exciting.
Dr. Z: Drawing it out of you is like, I feel like—
Mama Z: Oh, my goodness! You opened up Pandora’s box now.
Dr. Z: Come on! This is like a big announcement. You’re competing
Mama Z: I’m competing in the Mrs. America contest.
Dr. Z: I’m about to be Mr. America.
Mama Z: Yea, and the funny thing is, we just got back, and then I went to Mrs. America from California. And we got to dress up what we want to be when we grow up.
Dr. Z: And we went to our special community event that we go to with other health influencers online.
Mama Z: Yes. So, the cool part is that I got Dr. Z the Mr. America banner, and then I got the Mrs. America banner. So, what we do want to be when we grow up?
Dr. Z: If you see, look at the muscles. Yea, baby!
Mama Z: It’s so fun.
Dr. Z: I’ve been training.
Mama Z: So have I.
Dr. Z: Yea.
Mama Z: I mean of course! I mean I haven’t posted every single workout, because I don’t want to bore people. Because if people saw how much you work out, especially as you’re getting close to the Mrs. America pageant, there’s a whole protocol I do for all that. But you probably know that if you read our book.
Dr. Z: Yea!
Mama Z: So, anyway,
Dr. Z: And what’s that book called?
Mama Z: The Essential Oils Diet.
Dr. Z: Please pick it up.
Mama Z: Yep. It’s part of our lifestyle.
Dr. Z: Pick it up. We actually talk about how Sabrina trains for these pageants, and all the great little things you need to do. And we’re actually going to cover several things from The Essential Oils Diet today, because this is about more practical things to do to help you when you’re getting up when life knocks you down.
Mama Z: Right.
Dr. Z: We’re going to cover a lot about this, because, again, we know that life, like the Bible says, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart. I have overcome the world.” So, we’ve got a lot of cool, fun things.
Mama Z: Yes!
Dr. Z: So, please keep Mama Z in your prayers.
Mama Z: Yes!
Dr. Z: Because this is the week. This is right now.
Mama Z: The week, this is the week!
Dr. Z: And we will be, of course, letting y’all know how it goes.
Mama Z: Absolutely!
Dr. Z: You know, I’m not as nervous as I thought I would be.
Mama Z: Well, you have been training very hard.
Dr. Z: Well, you know, I am your arm candy. Without a mister, there ain’t no Mrs., right?
Mama Z: Right. But you’re also like spiritual protection.
Dr. Z: And you’re Mrs. Georgia.
Mama Z: You’re all kinds of things.
Dr. Z: Amen!
Mama Z: So, it’s all important, all important, the spiritual and the physical and the mental and all of the other areas of competition that you practice for. It’s all important.
And so, how it works, basically, is we have our preliminary competitions. So, we compete in interview. And then for the preliminary night, we compete in all the areas of competition. And then the finals night they call up the top finalists. And then they compete for the title.
Dr. Z: That’s on the 24th. That’s Sunday.
Mama Z: Yep, at 5 p.m, Las Vegas time. 8 p.m. Eastern. And we will post the link. It’s televised, but a lot of people don’t really have cable and stuff anymore. So, like I know even us, we bought the live link to watch the pageant the last few years. And sometimes, if you can’t make it out to Las Vegas, that is an excellent way to see the pageant.
Dr. Z: It goes towards to a good foundation.
Mama Z: Yes.
Dr. Z: It’s a gift to charity. And keep me and the kids in your prayers, because we’re taking the trip out to Vegas. And it’s going to be fun. We hope to get a chance to go to actually the Grand Canyon.
Mama Z: And make it an educational trip.
Dr. Z: Yea! Make it a little family fun time.
Mama Z: So, we’ve already got approval from school.
Dr. Z: Yea, we did. It’s awesome. We’ve got lots to share. So, thank you so much, y’all. And thanks for all your support. And we have a whole list of sponsors in addition to Thrive Market, who sponsors this podcast. They’re also a sponsor for your pageant.
Mama Z: Absolutely.
Dr. Z: We have several sponsors. We can’t name them all. But, hey, go to Mrs.Georgia.org.
Mama Z: Yes.
Dr. Z: I’m super proud of that website. That’s something that the team and I have been working feverishly on for Mama Z for the last few weeks. Go to Mrs.Georgia.org to find out all about my precious Mama Z.
Mama Z: Yay!
[8:56 – 12:30] Testimonial Time! (Plus Prayer)
Dr. Z: And before we dive into the meat and potatoes of this part two of “Getting up When Life Knocks You Down” podcast, what kind of fun little testimonial do we have from one of our listeners?
Mama Z: Yes, it says, “My Mentors,” five stars. Thank you!
Dr. Z: Oh, we love five stars. We love four stars. We even almost love three stars, too. But we really love five stars.
Mama Z: Yes, yes.
Dr. Z: Thank you so much for you love and support.
Mama Z: “This is the first podcast I ever listened to. And it quickly became my favorite. I love hearing this couple discuss important topics and encourage their listeners to take charge of their health and lives. Because of this podcast, I have plunged deeply into Dr. Z and Mama Z’s world and really admire how they are living and serving Jesus. My mom died when I was little, and my gram died eight years ago. So, now I’m a new mom in desperate need of a role model. Mama Z is here to guide and encourage me as a more experienced mama, with valuable insight to share. Truly life changing.” Rachel Kuch.
Dr. Z: K-u-c-h.
Mama Z: That’s so sweet!
Dr. Z: Rachel Kuch.
Mama Z: Apple podcast.
Dr. Z: Awesome!
Mama Z: That is so sweet! Well, thank you!
Dr. Z: That’s precious.
Mama Z: That’s my goal. I really thrived from learning from so many other mentors and women. And it’s great to be able to be on the other side of that as well. So, it’s an honor.
Dr. Z: I resonate with Rachel here, because some of my great mentors in Christ have been long dead for many, many years. And they mentored me through their books.
Mama Z: Yes.
Dr. Z: And we actually see that. We see Christ Jesus literally mentoring all of us through the red letters of the Bible. And we see the prophets of old. But pick up a book, whether it’s C. S. Lewis, or R. A. Torrey, or some of these great men and women that have long been past, their message that they shared can really mentor you for today. And also try to find a living mentor, too, someone that you can rub shoulders with.
And I want to pray. I want to pray for Rachel. But I want to pray for everyone in that situation right now. It’s kind of been on my spirit. It’s like, hey, let’s pray. Let’s pray for Rachel. Let’s pray for people that need a little love and support. Awesome.
Well, Father, God, we just thank you for Rachel. We thank you for her sharing her heart and leaving that testimony, and for the realization that she is not left alone. And Father, you promise as the God of all comfort to comfort those in need, so that when it’s our turn, we can comfort those people that are around us. And Father, I just pray your wonderful guidance and wisdom on Rachel and upon any other person right now that is looking for help and support, looking for someone to speak into their lives, someone to mentor them, guide them, and bless them.
And Lord, may this podcast reach even more people to mentor people in Christ, to be healthy and strong and live their best life now for Jesus. And thank you for the hearts of the fathers and the hearts of the mothers, the spiritual fathers, the spiritual mothers, to be poured out to the younger generation, and that the baton will be passed, Father God, so that the younger generation will not feel like they’re orphans. They will feel supported, they will feel encouraged. So, thank you for all that is being done in the body of Christ. And we just speak unity and peace and that more and more people find the help that they’re looking for. Amen.
Mama Z: Amen!
Dr. Z: Amen!
[12:31 – 19:28] Are You Cherishing the Time with Your Kids?
Mama Z: You know, part of a Bible study I was part of many years ago, one of the moms shared something that I think is really important to remember, especially if you’re a younger mom. The days are long, but the years are short.
Dr. Z: Yep.
Mama Z: So, remember that your kids won’t be little forever. And it goes really fast. It feels like a picture popped up in my memories of you and me and Esther on our bed when we took her baby pictures when she was two days old. And she’s changed quite a bit since then, like almost eleven years.
Dr. Z: Almost eleven, our little baby girls.
Mama Z: I know.
Dr. Z: No longer a baby girl.
Mama Z: No, it’s like the blink of an eye. It really is. So, even though the days are really long, the years are really short.
Dr. Z: You know, I’m trying to pull something up really quick here, because there’s something that I posted to the Dr. Eric Z Facebook page a while back. And it was just a picture of this cute little girl, you know, a meme. A picture of this cute little girl, old school, from like the 40s or 50s, black and white. Her eyes were as big as saucers. And she just did something that was naughty. She just did something not good. And you could tell she was like, “Oh man, I’m going to get in trouble.”
And I want to read it exactly. Ah, I’ll find it. I’m scrolling right now. Essentially, those precious, beautiful eyes, that child looking at you, looking into her soul. Ah, here it is, good. See, you stall enough and then. Hey, that’s a secret for those people who do public speaking. Don’t say, “Um,” or “the.” Just kind of stall. Tell a story that kind of captivates people, and then you find what you’re looking for. Alright, here it is. I love it!
Mama Z: If you’re a good storyteller. If you’re not, tell a joke.
Dr. Z: Yea, this is awesome. You can go to Dr. Eric Z Facebook page. Go to the photo section and scroll down like a bunch of scrolls. You see this cute little girl with beautiful little pigtails, dark brown eyes. And here is what Rebecca Eanes says: “When the milk is splattered all over the floor, and those little eyes are looking at you for your reaction, like, ‘Oh, what did I do?’ remember what really matters. It takes five minutes to clean up spilled milk. It takes much longer to clean up a broken heart.”
And you know it, I’ve been guilty of that, more times than one, to like get angry, to get upset, to yell, and over something that is really so trivial. But in that moment, why are we talking about this? Because when life knocks you down, you know how about getting up again. When life knocks you down, and you’re on edge. So, I want to plant the seed. Here’s why everyone needs to tune in to the very, very end of this podcast, because we’re going to cover a lot of practical things to help you deal with these, like practical physical things.
Last episode we talked about a spiritual foundation and setting yourself up for happiness and having a support group. And that is the first thing you should do. And then as you do that, what practical things can you do? Like if life has knocked you down, and if you’re battling anxiety, what does that look like? Like how can you physically manage the symptoms related to stress, anxiety, overwhelm, burnout? Because what happens is you become on edge, and you get a very short fuse.
And so, like that beautiful meme that is being shared on social media shares and talks about, you need to recognize the moment that you’re in, when something happens, and it will happen. Because you do not want to make that a breaking point for someone else. And how many times have we, very openly with everyone, not to air out our dirty laundry here, but how many times have we been on edge with our own stress? And then the littlest thing, whether I put the spoons the wrong way in the dishwasher.
Mama Z: You do put them in the wrong slots regularly.
Dr. Z: Or whether you’re ten or fifteen or maybe twenty minutes late to a meeting. And when these little things, which are really little, become huge to us and they become a point of contention, that could lead to days, weeks, months’ worth of issues.
Mama Z: Okay, now making sure that you get the spoons in one, the small forks, then the big forks and the big spoons, it saves me so much more time. Because who puts the dishes away in the dishwasher? Is that a magical question? Does it just magically get back in the drawer? Me. So, thank you for doing that.
Dr. Z: I try my best.
Mama Z: Okay.
Dr. Z: But when someone doesn’t do things in the right way, or someone makes a mistake, and especially with the kids. I mean Elijah just did something stupid the other day, and I got upset.
I was like, and then I stopped myself before I pursued it. But my reaction was, because I was really stressed. And I’ll tell you just in a minute about what I’m going through.
But I’m kind of going through a crisis management mode right now. And partly it was because of the stuff that we’re doing with our business. And I realize that actually by God’s grace, I have a crisis management system in place. I know who to contact. I know what to do. I know the team members to go to. Because if someone on the team isn’t able to fulfill a function of the job or they have a personal issue or they drop the ball because of you name whatever reason, what do you do when you have a task that needs to be done?
And we run a business. I mean that’s how we provide for ourselves, right? And I found myself going through a really, really tough day or two because things weren’t being done. And the pressure of the world was weighting on me, because we have responsibilities and deadlines. And we have things that we’re dealing with. And then I knew exactly what to do. And I called the two people I needed to call. We set up an emergency meeting. And I was in “crisis management mode.”
And in this time period, though, Elijah did something. He did something stupid. And he knew he did something stupid. And I snapped at him. And I was like, “Oh, Lord, I’m sorry.” And I caught myself. But you know what? I’m not going to beat myself up. I’m not going to go to therapy with him. We don’t need to go to counseling. I said, “I’m sorry.” I go, “Daddy is really stressed out right now. I’m sorry.” And he apologized, because he realized what he did was dumb, wrong.
And I even forget what it was. But it was something he knew and knows he shouldn’t have done. It was “naughty.” And it didn’t warrant my reaction. And I got a look at those beautiful eyes. And he’s got those beautiful blue eyes. And I looked into them, and I’m like, “Hey, it’s only going to take a few minutes to fix what he just did. And I don’t want to have to take years to repair relationships. I don’t want to break it.”
[19:29 – 24:29] Having Crisis Management Systems in Place – an important part of getting up when you’re knocked down.
Dr. Z: And so, part of what you do, part of getting up when life knocks you down, is having processes and systems in place. Again, we already talked about the spiritual peace in episode 30. Having the people, this is in addition to the support. Yes, you need support. But what happens if you get knocked down in an area of life like business, or whether it is like, “Hey, what do you do?”
Mama Z: And when you’re in a building period, like we are, where we’re doing a lot of things, we’re getting a lot of things ready, there’s just a lot of extra prep, other than when we’re in a different season. And it definitely lends itself for a lot of extra stress.
Dr. Z: So, what happens when your babysitter calls in sick, or your kid can’t go to daycare because he’s got an earache? And now you’re stressed out because you have the biggest meeting of your life at work? Or what if all these things, right? I mean, this stuff happens all the time. So, what do you do?
You have to have a lifeline, in a sense. This isn’t the lifeline we talked about last episode, about having someone to talk to, essentially cry on someone’s shoulder. This is a physical, practical lifeline, like the next-door neighbor you could call. I mean like, “Hey, I got to leave right now. Some emergency came. Can you watch the kids?”
Mama Z: Yea.
Dr. Z: Or, when you go out of town, “Hey, can you watch the dog? I’ve got to be gone for two days. Mom just got diagnosed with cancer, and she’s sick in the hospital.” Like when crisis comes, when life knocks you down, getting up is something you do because you have those things in store. So, for our business, and we get knocked down in my business, in our business, like any business. Like there are a lot of things coming at us. And I’m sure you. Look at the ups and downs of all the different major companies of the world. No one is immune to any issues, right?
Mama Z: Right.
Dr. Z: And so, you have to have the contingency plan. You have to have the crisis management mode. You know what to do. You know how to follow it. And it kind of reminds me of, this was more important back in the 80s and 90s, when we still had like actually house phones. No one seems to have house phones anymore.
Mama Z: My mom does.
Dr. Z: She does still. But your mom, though, I noticed. You know why I’m saying this? Because it reminds me, behind the cupboard, like right above the cupboard, right above your mom’s phone?
Mama Z: Yea.
Dr. Z: You open it up, and what’s on the side of the cupboard? Emergency phone numbers, neighbors’ names and phone numbers. And it reminded me, do you have those names and phone numbers of people on your refrigerator and your cupboard so that the babysitter knows what to do in case something happens. Like people don’t usually think about that stuff. Like that’s crisis management mode. Like, “Oh my goodness! What do I do?” You know what to do.
And that’s a big piece of this. It’s such a practical part. And you forget, like, “Oh, wow! I should have done this.” Well, yea, you might have not prepared yourself this time. But make sure you’re ready for next time because like we mentioned in the last episode, the next time is going to come. This isn’t a matter of if; it’s a matter of when. It’s a matter of when life will knock you down.
And to kind of set context, then I’ll let Sabrina share what she wants to about exercise and making sure you’re firm in your commitments to yourself and your discipline in your schedule, because that’s key. Giving up when life knocks you down is not letting it derail you from your schedule. And Sabrina is going to share about that with her exercise.
The reason why I’m talking about when life knocks you down is in response to my mentor, Enoch, who shared with me as a teaching lesson as a young Christian. About fifteen years ago we were talking about this. And he goes, “You know, Eric, we’ve got to realize that it is God who gets us through. And God is not responsible for all the bad that happens to us. And so, we’ve got to realize in this world, you will have trouble.”
And he quoted the Bible. And he quoted some people at church that would come up to him, or people at the store, or whatever. They were like, “Hey, Enoch! How are you doing? How’s life treating you, brother?” How many times have you said that? “How’s life treating you?” Well, Enoch’s response was always and is always, “Well, life’s treating you pretty bad, but God is good.” Or whatever it might be. It’s like, “Hey, life is throwing me curveballs. But God is with me.”
And what else is the response to do? How is life treating you? Well, what do you think life is going to do? Life doesn’t treat you good. Life doesn’t really treat you bad. Life just is life. And we know that good and bad is going to happen. So, we give God the glory. And He turned that as an opportunity to realize, “Hey, you know, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart, I have overcome.” He used that as a teaching tool, because that’s who he is. He’s an evangelist. He travels the world.
He uses that as a teaching tool to remind people that you are not a victim of your circumstances. It doesn’t matter “what happens in life.” God is above all. God is with you, and God loves you. And so, what happens when life knocks you down? What do you do?
[24:30 – 35:41] The Role of Discipline in Crisis Prevention – A Big Step to Getting Up
Dr. Z: How do you keep your schedule, Mama Z? Because you’re the best in the world that I know of. That is how you’re helping me become Mr. Georgia this week, God willing. That’s how you made me Mr. Georgia, and soon to be Mr. America, because you’re disciplined.
Mama Z: You have to keep a disciplined schedule. And yes, you’re going to have those few days where like we drove through the night to get here. Or you did, and I was your co-captain.
Dr. Z: Thanks for not falling asleep last time. You always fall asleep. This is the first time you actually didn’t fall asleep at all. And we talked. It was fun.
Mama Z: Yea.
Dr. Z: It’s usually I just put in headphones and going through it.
Mama Z: Well, sometimes I was talking to you and you did have headphones on. And then I spilled my guts.
Dr. Z: That was when Bella was screaming in the back, and Bella was—
Mama Z: Yea, I looked over. Mr. Earphones over there, he missed it.
Dr. Z: Spilling my guts?
Mama Z: So, I was like, “I just told you all the world’s secrets, and you had your earphones on.” And then I just kept going back. And you never even looked at me once.
Dr. Z: Well, you know.
Mama Z: It was so funny.
Dr. Z: Fourteen hours, it was a long drive.
Mama Z: No, it was thirteen. We made our record. It was thirteen.
Dr. Z: Well, fourteen on the way.
Mama Z: Thirteen, that is awesome with four kids, seriously, to Michigan from Georgia. Whoa! So, disciplined schedule.
So, even though we drove through the night, obviously I missed, I knew that I wouldn’t be able to make the 5 a.m. class. We got here at 1.
Dr. Z: What 5 a.m. class?
Mama Z: My workout class.
Dr. Z: Okay.
Mama Z: My exercise class, yes.
Dr. Z: Just in case someone doesn’t know, you’re an avid morning exerciser.
Mama Z: Yes. So, I had signed up for the 6:15 class, knowing to give myself a little grace. But it did take us a couple of hours to get everything unpacked and kids in and in their beds and all that stuff. So, going to bed at 3 a.m., I should have been smarter and walked my alarm clock across the room, because then it would have been just annoying. Instead, I didn’t realize this time that it went off, and I hit snooze or the button off. I actually hit the button off. So, I didn’t wake up. But I would have had to wake up at 5, and I went to bed at 3.
And I never miss. I always would call if anything happened. But I woke up at 7:30, which never happens. So, even in those situations, I got a text, “Hey, you always make it or call. Can we get you into a later class?” They texted me because they know that I’m always there.
Dr. Z: That’s cool.
Mama Z: And so, I worked out at 3:30 in the afternoon. I just reworked my afternoon schedule and made it happen, because you never want to miss a Monday when you work out. Don’t ever miss a Monday, because that’s what gets the week started out.
I used to notice in the parking lot when I worked out at a gym, every day after. And thank God for my wonderful neighbor. She took me to the gym when I was the summer before tenth grade. And in that month I fell in love with it and continued to go. And I made it part of my schedule. And so, after school, I would walk there or get a ride. And then on the way home from work, my dad would pick me up on the way back to the house.
And I noticed that Mondays, the gym parking lot was packed. Tuesday, less; Wednesday, a little less. By Friday, it was little bit of slim pickings. And then by Saturday, good luck. It was like you could bowl down the middle of that parking lot.
So, if I don’t work out on a Saturday morning, then I work out on the Sunday morning or afternoon when we go to volleyball. So, I traded up because there was an early morning class before church and stuff. But it’s part of the schedule, six days a week. And it’s just really, really important. And then I do a day of rest.
And my dad, one of the things I loved when he retired, I tried to get him to read this book. And so, for anybody that’s over the age of sixty, the book Younger Next Year. They have a women’s book. It’s pink. And the men’s book is yellow. And I had a Santa Clause give it to me many years ago, which really inspired him to get healthy. We nicknamed him “the yoga Santa,” because he does yoga. That’s his form of exercise.
And anyway, he gave me this book because he was so inspired by my talk and thought I would really align with this writer. And one of the things that it says, especially in a technical field like my dad’s, where you’re reporting to people and all that. I mean, you’ve seen his emails before. I mean, my dad gives a detailed account to everybody what he did in the garden that week. I mean, everybody knows what the weather was like, any aches and pains, and every single weed, cherries, anything that happens.
Dr. Z: The weekly newsletter to his family.
Mama Z: It’s literally the weekly newsletter to family and friends. And it grows. And some people just want his newsletter because they cannot believe this kind of person really exists. It’s like “the myth, the man, the legend, papa,” like his shirt says that we got him.
Dr. Z: Hah, hah, hah! Funny!
Mama Z: What it said is especially people who are that structured, then they need to, if they’re not at work anymore, and you see how he does in the yard. But they say make working out your new job, because of first of all you need to stay healthy. And that way you have other goals and things. And so, I watched him when he made that transition from work to retirement. And he is faithful.
Now, we joke around because my uncle says, “Your dad is the only person that we might have to have a full-scale intervention to take away his Fitbit.” Because he’s like, “I have averaged 17,800 steps the last week.” And he like reports to me. And now it’s in his emails and stuff. And he just got a brand new one, and now he can see everything like right there. So anyway, it’s a big deal for him. But the thing is that you take that discipline no matter what season of life you’re in, whether you’re in your career days.
Dr. Z: So, when life knocks you down
Mama Z: You keep to your schedule, and you don’t let it throw you off. Because I could come up with every excuse under the sun, moon, and the rainbows if I don’t work out early in the day, just because we have so much going on with everybody in the family. So, if you prioritize your health first.
I work out while people are sleeping; well, most people are sleeping. Sometimes Elijah does come down, or Isaiah. It’s so funny. It rotates in the seasons of the year. I kid you not. I have certain ones at certain times that will be up. And like right now, it’s usually Elijah. And then it transitions to Isaiah. And then it goes to Esther. And it’s very cyclical. Elijah is like the spring/summer guy. And Isaiah is like your fall guy. And Esther is like winter/spring, she’s the first one up. And it changes at my mom’s house. It’s so funny.
But working out first, so that you can check that physical box off. You’ve done something amazing for your body. It gives you more energy. It forces you, because when you get a good workout, when you get a good release like that, you automatically will be required by your body to have a little bit more sleep. And so, you’ll sleep better. And it works all the way around.
Now, the other thing is with release, you mentioned a number of things that we do as a family. But one of my favorite releases is when we all get on the couch on like a Friday night and we do our snuggle movie night. And we each have a baby on each side of us. Sometimes Bella will sit for a movie. Sometimes she won’t.
Dr. Z: You put a big bowl of popcorn on her lap, she’ll sit.
Mama Z: Yes.
Dr. Z: She just turned three. So, she’s fun.
Mama Z: And Dr. Z here, he makes the best organic, non-GMO popcorn in our popcorn maker of anybody. And then we’ll put sometimes nutritional yeast on it and coconut oil, a little Himalayan salt. It’s really awesome. That was a good purchase you got at Kroger many years ago. I kind of doubted it when you first got it.
Dr. Z: That’s the gift that keeps on giving on that one. You can get those on Amazon for forty or fifty bucks.
Mama Z: Yea, he burnt out the first one from Kroger and we had to get another one.
Dr. Z: We used it.
Mama Z: Yep. You got us doing these things.
Dr. Z: It’s setting, and here’s the thing. Let me kind of summarize here.
Mama Z: Well, I have a few more points.
Dr. Z: Traditions.
Mama Z: Yea.
Dr. Z: So, we’re going to break. We’ve got to break for our sponsor break quick here. But just kind of recap. We’re talking about getting up when life knocks you down. This is the second part of this. We have a two, maybe a three-part, depending on where we end up here.
We were talking last episode was about setting the spiritual foundation and pressing into the Lord. And what’s the first thing you do? You need to pray. The second thing, get into the Word. Get God’s perspective on the situation. This will help you. It’s like almost and should be an immediate booster. If not, don’t worry. God’s Word will not return void. It will come back in a way and a season that will be perfect for you.
This episode we’re talking physical, practical things you could do that can give you an immediate boost. Like exercise is an immediate endorphin rush. We didn’t talk about it, but things like emotional release. And go back to a couple of episodes ago where we talked about emotional detox.
Sabrina has talked about discipline, setting yourself where you’re not going to fail. Even though all hell might be breaking loose around you, you’re working out, you’re still doing your stuff, you’re still following your schedule. You’re not being a victim of your circumstances. We could have easily changed the title of this to “Not Being a Victim of Your Circumstances.” It’s getting up when life knocks you down.
In the next half of the show, we’re going to talk about more of Sabrina’s discipline tips, schedule tips. I want to cover quick wins, focusing on the basics, and doing really cool practical things like using essential oils and living a certain natural healthy-living lifestyle to help set you up where you feel better, even though around you nothing changes in your circumstances. But before we do, a quick word from our sponsor.
[35:42 – 36:22] Sponsor Spotlight: Thrive Market
Dr. Z: There’s nothing like hearing the doorbell of the delivery person, letting me know that a Thrive Market package has landed on our doorstep. It’s like Christmas time every time we get a package.
Mama Z: Yes, from ingredients to snacks, it’s so awesome. And the kids go nuts.
Dr. Z: We love Thrive Market, the convenience, the price, and just the movement, because we know that every dollar spent goes towards a more sustainable, healthy, natural world. So, if you haven’t joined, then what are you waiting for? You’re going to absolutely love it.
[36:23 – 44:04] Getting Up when Life Knocks You Down – Honoring Your Self-Care Practices Away from Home
Mama Z: Well, awesome. I’m excited to jump back in here. And so, we’ve talked about discipline and schedule and exercise. But discipline and schedule can mean other things, too. It can be your eating habits. It can be your daily habits, what you do, how your schedule is run. But some people say, “Well, what if I’m traveling?” That doesn’t matter. It’s so funny. I had people call me while we were in Michigan. And we had an extremely busy schedule while we were in Michigan.
Dr. Z: Yea, it was tough.
Mama Z: But the thing is that I’m driving around our car different places. You are, too. It says Mama Z on the background. Many years ago, someone told me, “If you’re going to drive around and you have something that tells who you are on your car, then your car better look the part.” Well, when you’ve traveled as many miles as we did, your car maybe needs a little help.
So, I have a car wash membership in Georgia. You almost have to because the pollen is so crazy for so many different seasons that your car is literally yellow or green. And sometimes it’s yellow and sometimes it’s green. When we’re in Michigan, and this is one thing I miss here, is they don’t have people that sham off your cars. And they do that in Michigan. So, someone called me.
Dr. Z: That’s an extra VIP tip.
Mama Z: I love it! I just love it, I love it! So, I’m at the car wash. And someone calls me, and they’re like, “Oh, what are you doing?” And I said, “Oh, I just exercised and I’m washing the car.” “Wow! You do the same thing when you’re at home. Are you at home?” “No. I’m in Michigan.” And so, you keep to that schedule even when you’re gone. So, I find a place to work out, if they don’t have something like I’m used to, like an Orangetheory or a Twisted Cycle, that kind of thing there. And in Midland, it was Seung Ni.
And it’s cool, because twenty years ago I actually was a teacher when I first started in group fitness. And so, it was just awesome, almost like a
Dr. Z: Has the place been around that long?
Mama Z: Yes.
Dr. Z: Under the same name, or did it change names?
Mama Z: Yea. It was Seung Ni. It was actually at a different location.
Dr. Z: I didn’t know that.
Mama Z: It started out as a martial arts center in Saginaw. This was the Midland version. And then that one closed. And then when they ended up opening another one in Midland, it was completely not just like martial arts and fitness. It was completely designed around fitness. And so, anyway, this one happens to be closer to my parents’ house, just right down the road. And they change up all their classes every day. Like I change up my schedule. It’s built in their schedule that this day is this, this day is this, yada yada. So, it’s just a great way to work out when you’re not there.
But you keep your schedule even if you’re on the road, because it’s really important. I mean the kids’ schedule didn’t change, if you noticed. They were a part of camp. Their camp was about the same time-frame as it was here. It’s the summer. It keeps them out and moving and active and socializing with people. And then they get time with grandparents and parents and all that stuff. So, keeping that, I encourage you to do that while you’re on the road.
Another thing that I think is important, and we’ve mentioned this before, is definitely having a top twenty to twenty-five encouraging Scriptures, quotes, things that motivate you, depending on the season in life. And sometimes that can change. And so, many times I’ll change those Scriptures every year, or if I’m in a new season, or whatever. But it’s important to have your motivation, because when you’re driving down the road or whatever, you’re thinking about things. So, have it be these thoughts that are on the cards. And it really helps.
Another thing that helps is having a coach or somebody who motivates you and inspires you to good works. And iron sharpens iron. So, it’s really important. And I’m blessed to have a few different people in my life that really help coach me in different ways. And we could go to the gym all we want and do our own workout at our own pace. But a lot of times people ask me, “Is that the best thing for me?”
Well, you can always do ten to fifteen percent more than you think can. That’s why it’s important to have a coach. And a group fitness setting is one of the best, most cost-effective ways that you can do that. Because you’re getting a coach, it’s benefiting a variety of people. You’re getting comradery. And it’s important to be together while you’re working out. Plus, if you miss a bunch of classes and you’re a regular somewhere, people are going to be like, “Where were you?” And then you’re going to have people asking about—
Dr. Z: Accountability and support—
Mama Z: Accountability.
Dr. Z: There’s care, there’s compassion.
Mama Z: It’s support, it’s care. And it’s going to make you do things at a higher level. You know, some people are into the trainers that are virtual and stuff like that. I’m telling you, you can write a program all day long. I can write a program all day long. But being next to somebody, as you know, while you’re working out, they are going to push you harder, faster, stronger. They’re going to encourage you, and they’re going to challenge you.
And you need that to be able to grow. And you need that to be able to grow in all your areas of life. So, it’s important to make sure. Every successful person has had a coach in different areas, or somebody who pushes them. And that’s why when the kids and I pray at night, we pray for all their teachers, their leaders, their coaches, and their guides, because there are so many of them in our lives. And we really need to do that.
Also, it’s really important to have time with your friends. I know that we’ve talked about the story before, but sometimes when you’re by yourself for so long, you kind of end up running ideas by yourself. And not only does that not make sense, but we told the story of our friend who thought he had infection in his eye and poured a bottle of tea tree in his eye. Obviously, not the wisest decision.
But when you don’t have other people that you’re fellowshipping with or communing with or rubbing shoulders with, they kind of keep you on track, too. And it’s important, because you bounce ideas back and forth off of each other. If someone would have said, “Well, hey, I have an infection in my eye. What do you think about me putting tea tree in it?” We would say, “Uh, no!” Have you ever accidentally had clove on your fingers before?
Dr. Z: He called us after he put a drop of tea tree. He’s like, “What do I do?”
Mama Z: After.
Dr. Z: He’s like screaming, “Agghhh, what do I do! It’s like really hurting!”
Mama Z: Flush it out with oil.
Dr. Z: He goes, “I can’t open my eyes.”
Mama Z: See, that’s like damage control. Let’s not live our lives in damage control. Let’s go from the offset there. And so, I think it’s just important to make sure that we do focus on every area of life, spiritual, mental, emotional, occupational, social, financial health.
Dr. Z: You mentioned something there. This is important.
Mama Z: All of those areas.
Dr. Z: Isolation.
Mama Z: Yes.
Dr. Z: One thing that life will have a tendency to do when it knocks you down is to cause you to be isolated.
Mama Z: That’s so true.
Dr. Z: And that means—
Mama Z: Or, “I’m the only one going through this.” No, you’re not. That’s a lie.
Dr. Z: Yep.
Mama Z: It is.
Dr. Z: And what happens? You then aren’t motivated to go to church.
[44:05 – 52:18] Essential Oils Diet 60-Day Challenge: One Man’s Testimonial
Dr. Z: You know, I wish we could do it. Chris, if we’re able to do it, you can actually keep this as part of it. You don’t have to edit this out. But if we could do that new testimonial I just shared with you, that might be a nice place to put it in right here. You hear from one of the members of our sixty-day challenge who just went through the essential oils diet. And one thing that he talked about, you’re going to cry. I mean if you could watch it, you’re definitely going to cry. And be sure, because we’re going to have a link up on You Tube, Chris.
Mama Z: It was so cute. His wife handed him a napkin, a little cocktail napkin.
Dr. Z: It was this red party napkin. He was like, “Thanks, hon.” So, we shared a little bit about this testimony already. But I want to give y’all a chance to hear it for yourself.
Testimony: So, I decided to participate in the sixty-day challenge mainly because my wife wanted me to do that. My goal for the sixty-day challenge, I think, basically was just to lose a bit of weight, I suppose. But as I suggested already, it was really just to participate in something with my wife and make her feel like that I was supporting her in the challenge that she was doing.
I lost approximately eighteen pounds, which is fantastic. I’m fitting into clothes now again that I haven’t fit into for a long time. The main focus as a result of this challenge has been a healing, I suppose, as far as mental health is concerned.
But one of the things that Dr. Z brought up in one of his early videos was the fact that it’s an opportunity to get our relationship back with our Lord, something that I had not done for a while. That had been a challenge to me to do that sort of thing, to commit. And this was an opportunity, I suppose, that one thing got triggered in me was I can commit for sixty days.
So, what has been the most impactful? I wasn’t aware of where I was. I wasn’t aware of who I was. And I wasn’t aware of how I was treating my family, in particular my wife. I just wanted to stay home. I just wanted to be alone. One of the things that I was very proud of as a young father, back in my earlier years, was to get home and spend time with my children, to play with my children, to be with my children, and to have a wonderful relationship with my wife as a family.
And that’s one of the things that just didn’t really impact me at all in the last few years. I wanted to be alone. I didn’t want to go out. I didn’t feel safe. Somewhere there in the first week or two, it was just like the lights came on. I was able to see that I was not the person I used to be. I was not the father that I had been. I was not the husband that I was some time ago. But in saying that, it was like an encouragement, rather than going into a deeper depression and saying, “Oh, look how bad I’ve been.” It was like the light opening my eyes and saying, “Well, hey! We can do something about this.”
And I have since been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. I found out that it wasn’t me that was this bad person. It wasn’t me that was this person who didn’t want anything to do with anybody. It was a disorder that was pushing me in that direction. That was just covering my eyes, and I wasn’t seeing who I was. That’s changed. And I can only put it down to the attending or committing to the sixty-day challenge.
One of the questions that we’re asked is, “Has this changed my life?” Excuse me for a second. I think more so it’s just brought me back to life. Thank you, Dr. Z, Mama Z. Thank you for offering the challenge, for accepting so many people into the program above what you initially thought you were going to, for allowing us to participate, for all of your encouragement, and no doubt all of your prayers.
Dr. Z: Now, wow! Wasn’t that powerful?
Mama Z: That was so powerful.
Dr. Z: That touched my heart.
Mama Z: It’s an amazing story.
Dr. Z: And I’m so blessed that our dear friend took the time
Mama Z: Yes!
Dr. Z: To do that.
Mama Z: I was thinking, you can tell a lot about somebody’s personality. And I was like, “You know what? He’s probably a guy that doesn’t say a lot. But when he does, people listen.”
Dr. Z: And to be vulnerable like that.
Mama Z: Yes.
Dr. Z: And to open it up to the public. And that, by the way, this isn’t private. This is public. And he shared this in a public group and said, “Hey, share this as you want.” And so, thank you so much!
Mama Z: And it was so cute. His wife handed him a napkin, a little cocktail napkin.
Dr. Z: It was a red party napkin. He was like, “Thanks, hon!”
Mama Z: It was so sweet. Oh my gosh!
Dr. Z: He mentioned something, though. Did you catch what he said? He mentioned this. And the thing about it, he was talking about, he didn’t realize it, but he found himself just avoiding people.
Mama Z: Yea.
Dr. Z: And he didn’t spend time with people. And he would go shopping. He didn’t get out.
Mama Z: Yea. Get what was on his list and get out of there.
Dr. Z: And something happened when he really started to focus on his relationship with God, realizing like, “Where have I been? What am I doing?” He changed his eating habits. He did this sixty-day challenge, essential oil diet thing with his wife. And it absolutely changed his outlook on life. It made him want to spend more time with friends and family.
And here he is, not to share everything about the story, but here he is, the survivor of a lot of military service in Australia, someone who has been diagnosed with PTSD. And it took a diet program, our essential oils diet program, to bring him face to face with like, “What’s your walk with God like?”
Because that’s what we talk about.
You know, if you follow our website, if you go to NaturalLivingFamily.com, if you read my first book, The Healing Power of Essential Oils, if you read the second book, if you see Sabrina’s classes on cooking and our master classes on how to live a healthy lifestyle, all that we do is our ministry to help the world wake up, wake up, and giving you tools that you could put it in place.
So, if life knocks you down, and if you realize that you’re gluten intolerant. “Oh, that stinks.” Well, hey, don’t worry. Go to MamaZItalian.com, because Sabrina has got a bunch of recipes and things that you can eat.
If you find out like, “Hey, you know what? Something is going on with my health. I don’t know what to do. Drugs aren’t working. Chemo is not working. Radiation is not working. What do I do? How do I manage these symptoms?” Well, maybe check out some of the recipes and remedies that we have dealing with nausea and anxiety.
[52:19 – 1:02:58] Living a Fasted Life Unto the Lord
And like when life knocks you down with a panic attack, what do you do when it comes to getting up? And one thing we’re trying to help people do, and transitioning into a later part of this show, is stay clear of addictive, habit-forming substances. And I wrote this down. I have notes here, for those of you who are looking. I’ve got notes as Sabrina was talking.
I want to be careful how I say this. Stay clear of addictive, habit-forming substances when life knocks you down, in the moment, because you’re going to be drawn physically, what we call in the church your natural man, not your spirit man. Your natural body, your physical body, is going to draw towards those things that make you feel good. And those are often times habit-forming.
Mama Z: Like coffee.
Dr. Z: The first thing I was going to say, coffee; sugar; actual drugs, whether it’s marijuana, whether it’s nicotine, whether it’s cocaine; opioids, pain killers, taking that extra anti-depressant, that extra anti-anxiety med, that extra whatever drug it might be; whatever food; whatever liquid like wine or whatever you want to say is “healthy” for you. Don’t go to anything that’s habit-forming during that time.
Mama Z: Can I sum a little bit. It’s living a fasted life.
Dr. Z: So, in the book, The Essential Oils Diet (amen to that!), we talk about focusing on the basics. And so, when life knocks you down, you focus on the basics. You really tighten up your diet. You don’t allow yourself to fall into like getting that Ben and Jerry’s or Haagen-Dazs.
Especially this happens all the time. You know, you just get the divorce papers. You break up with your boyfriend or girlfriend. Something happens. You sit in front of Netflix. You binge on Netflix for four or five hours at night, and you’re eating ice cream. And then you wonder why you’re twenty-pounds overweight. Like that happens. That’s life. That’s a real story. And we all deal with that at one point or another.
Don’t even allow yourself to do that. How? Do what Sabrina is talking about, being disciplined, focusing on the basics. Make sure you, “You know what? I’m not going to do that right now.” You know, maybe a cup of coffee when I’m in a healthier spot is good. But coffee gets really dangerous when you’re in an unhealthy place. That’s the problem with coffee and sugar and all these other addictive substances. They become a crutch, and they become an idol.
Mama Z: Right. So, I mentioned living a fasted life-style.
Dr. Z: Living a fasted life. I’m making that note.
Mama Z: Yea. And not being bound by anything, because God wants us free. And “whoever the Son sets free is free indeed.”
Dr. Z: And that will help kick-start, jump-start, boost your break-through.
Mama Z: Absolutely.
Dr. Z: And that’s what we’re looking for. Hallelujah!
Mama Z: Hallelujah!
Dr. Z: There you go.
Mama Z: Okay, when you’re getting up and life knocks you down, the other thing you need to do is serve others. And it’s really important, like you mentioned from the testimonial, you can go in and go out of this door. But I guarantee, if you pray that God opens the door for you to minister to someone, that is there.
We were in Michigan, and Eric texts me and he says, “Are you okay? Your mom and I are really worried about you.” Well, you know, it just so happened to be that every place I went, different people needed prayer or opened up, or just different stuff happened.
Dr. Z: That’s why you need to set up an auto-responder on your text that says, “Hey, I’m sorry. I can’t respond. I’m ministering to someone right now.” But seriously, you’ve got to give a dog a bone.
Mama Z: If I knew how to set up an auto text, I probably would. But I don’t know how to do that. You’re my tech support.
Dr. Z: That’s exactly why I called you my old lady after that. Have you guys seen that face app thing? I love it. A new face app. Go get face app on your phone.
Mama Z: You took a perfectly amazing picture and made me crusty.
Dr. Z: It was awesome. Hey, you’re looking great. You’re going to look great when you’re older. And you look at this face app, you can make yourself look younger, make yourself look old. I put it up there on my Facebook, on my personal page. I’m like with my old lady.
Mama Z: Instead of retouching like most people do, he’s like de-touching the picture.
Dr. Z: Oh, you look great. I look good, too. I look like my grandpa actually.
Mama Z: So, anyway, it’s interesting, because right before we left for Michigan, I flew because I took the suitcases. And I ended up having a migraine headache, which doesn’t usually happen to me. It used to happen very frequently. Now it’s one to four times a year. And the last time I had one was last August. But I got one from being on the airplane when I was going to one of my best friend’s funeral.
So, it was interesting. I thought to myself, “Oh, man, my stomach is still a little queasy. I’m not going to want to get on the plane.” So, I prayed. I’m like, “God, if this is not your will that I fly this early, come up with something, because I’m not feeling a hundred percent. And I’ve got Bella with me.”
So, we get to the airport. And the plane is overweight. And we were allowed to have two suitcases each, which is how we planned it, so we could take all of our whole family’s suitcases with us. And if I would have only had two, then we could have gotten on the plane. But the plane was already overweight. So, we couldn’t. So, we found out the options. And my dad was like, “Yea, just come later, whatever.”
So, I ended up doing errands with my girlfriend, who was actually going to be running errands for me for the pageant. And we went all over the place. But gosh, I’ll tell you, it was certainly the chicken soup for the soul, so to speak. I went to so many places that day and got to pray for people. I had a lady share her heart on something that happened in the middle of Whole Foods. And I got to pray with her. And I bought her lunch. And there were just different places.
And I thought, “Gosh, you know what? If I hadn’t been able to stop at these multiple places, I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to pray for each one of these people.” And it all worked out. Everything worked out perfectly. And even the flight there, Bella had one of her best flights. I think it was her twenty-eighth flight, or something like that.
So, serve other people, because sometimes when you’re going through something, you really need to get out of your four walls so to speak, and really sow into somebody else’s life, whether that’s volunteering at church, getting active in your community. But being able to minister to other people truly helps.
Dr. Z: Living a life to serve others will get you out of a funk like nothing else, because there’s a moment where you’re filled with the Holy Spirit, where your body is just like, “You know what? Forget about my body. Forget about my needs. Forget about anything.” It’s a very spiritual experience where you very much become Christ-like.
And we see Christ. He lived his whole life to serve others. We see Christ who did miracles. We see Christ who transfigured on the Mount, in shining bright clothing, and they could barely see Him, because He was as bright as the sun. Like there’s an element where you become one with the Lord when you’re just being used as a vessel. And there is no more crisis anymore.
Mama Z: You might have to, like we have said, throw your heart over a bar and your body and your mind and your soul will follow.
Dr. Z: But when you’re there, when you’re in the moment—
Mama Z: But when you do that as a natural way of how you live your life, you look for opportunities of ministry.
Dr. Z: Yea.
Mama Z: It’s not going to just happen. I mean, it does sometimes. But I mean not many times do you have someone come to you in the middle of Whole Foods and ask for prayer. You know what I mean? But if you are searching for opportunities to minister God’s love, those doors will open. God will open doors that no man can open.
And the other thing that you need to do is you need to recognize that “the joy of the Lord is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10). And you need to expect God to move on your situation, whatever that is. Just like “Facing the Giants” movie, I love how they talk about the Scripture, really preparing. I know we talked about this is another podcast, but preparing your fields for rain. Because if we don’t think that God is going to move, we know “hope deferred makes the heart sick” (Proverbs 13:12).
But if we are just, “Oh, I’ll just see what happens.” No, we expect. We know that God is the author of miracles. And where things are impossible with man, all things are possible with God. So, not limiting God, and expecting that He’ll move in those situations of our life. And He will, every single time.
Dr. Z: Amen! Amen! There are one or two more other things I want to share.
Mama Z: Go ahead.
Dr. Z: And there’s our natural living family tip, that I feel really inspired to share our citrus lover’s anxiety inhaler from The Healing Power of Essential Oils.
Mama Z: That’s awesome.
Dr. Z: And also, it’s in The Essential Oils Diet book, one of the few recipes that we feature twice, because it’s that important. Because someone who has gone through anxiety and panic attacks, when life knocks you down, maybe your tendency is to get angry. Maybe your tendency is to get slothful. Maybe your tendency is to isolate.
Mama Z: Maybe your tendency is to not eat or overeat.
Dr. Z: Yea. Maybe your tendency is to get anxious, sleep or not sleep, right? So, you know your tendencies. And you need to know your natural weaknesses, or you can call them areas of opportunity. And you need to figure out, okay, when stuff happens, you need to have your own, you could call it, first-aid kit for when crisis comes. And you need to be able to do those things that will give you immediate relief.
And so, stay tuned. In just a couple of minutes we’re going to cover, and I’m going to speak specifically to anxiety, because that is one area that I’ve realized a lot of people go to.
[1:02:59 – 1:09:29] Getting Up when Life Knocks you Down- Living a Toxic-Free, Organized Life
Dr. Z: So ultimately, folks, just to kind of wrap up here in this little two-part series of “Getting Up When Life Knocks You Down” is we’re talking about walking by faith, not by sight. It’s living a fasted lifestyle. It’s focusing on the basics, knowing what is good for you, doing things that are healthy for you, not falling back into habit-forming, unhealthy behaviors, and doing things that you know are not good, hanging out with people that you know are toxic.
It’s about essentially living a toxic-free life, spiritually, emotionally, mentally, every area of life. And one thing I wanted people to remember is something you haven’t talked about, which is part of your family’s life more than mine, are lists, and having lists to help you stay focused.
Mama Z: Right.
Dr. Z: Because if there’s one thing that happens when life knocks you down, it’s a huge distraction. But also, for many people, it derails you.
Mama Z: Oh yea!
Dr. Z: It gets you off your schedule.
Mama Z: And those lists are so important. And it was funny. Samantha remembered telling us, and then they would always give us a quick win on our lists when our parents would write our lists. It would be like hug mom.
Dr. Z: So, your dad would give you a great big list. You never told me that.
Mama Z: I forgot about that. I write lists all the time.
Dr. Z: It’s so sweet.
Mama Z: Lisa, my Mrs. America manager, and there’s a whole story behind that. It’s really cute. But she and I have a book that’s the Mrs. America book of all of our lists for different things. And we even have another book that has all of our outfits and all of the things that we do for each thing that we do. And lists are so important. And even when our handyman comes, he has a list. And I have a list for my helpers when I have helpers.
And it’s just so important because you’ve got to do things when it’s brought up in your remembrance. And the Holy Spirit is very faithful to bring things to your remembrance. And it’s always like amazing, because every detail is always covered. But you’ve got to go on that. When those things come to your remembrance, you need to write them down, or you need to do them, or whatever it needs to be so it gets done.
And so, anyway, lists are so important. But I forgot about those quick wins. And when my sister mentioned it when we were having dinner with her, I forgot about that. Yea, always having quick wins on there. Give your husband a kiss. Or if my dad writes himself a twenty-item long list, my mom sometimes will write in there, “Give your wifey-poo a hug,” or something like that. It’s like really cute.
Dr. Z: He’s like, “Oh, man! I’ve got to cross it off my list, or it can’t be complete.”
Mama Z: Give yourself some quick wins. And give your family some love.
Dr. Z: So, folks, this is not a message of condemnation. This is not negative. It’s not a matter of if; it’s when. Life knocks you down, you get up. And I want to remind us of what Proverbs 24:16 says. Again, this is Proverbs 24, verse 16: “For though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again; but the wicked stumble when calamity strikes.”
It’s a matter of when. It’s not a matter of if. Calamity strikes, something knocks you off your horse, and it’s like something just essentially sucker-punches you. And the wind just gets sucked out, and you’re like gasping for air. Things happen. And typically, we see them as traumatic experiences, deaths of the family. We see them as nagging things, like that boss that just won’t let you go and just hounds you.
Or it’s a situation where you have a wayward son or daughter, which I know has weighed heavily on some of our friends’ hearts that serve the Lord, and now they’re in the world, living a very sinful life. That kind of stuff, that knocks you down. That takes the wind out of your sails. But just realize, the righteous will fall.
And falling, though, doesn’t mean it’s a sinful act. It doesn’t mean you screwed up. It doesn’t mean you need to repent. No, no, no. Sometimes you’ll just fall. And we see it in our children. And remember how children need to fall down until they learn how to walk and learn how to run. God is teaching us how to walk. He’s teaching us how to run in the Lord, so that we can be a great, stable, just stalwart for our brothers and sisters in Christ.
Mama Z: One other thing that really was brought to my remembrance was, “You don’t know my situation. This person or that person has done this to me.” And thing is, you need to forgive them, number one. And number two, Proverbs is pretty clear when it says the ditch you dig for somebody else, you’ll fall in it. So, you need to pray for the people who are hurting you.
And I remember in The Power of Positive Thinking, the original, I had the original series. Now they’ve condensed it quite a bit. I don’t know if they sell the original books on tape like they used to. It’s all condensed. I hope they do. Maybe the book is still long.
But one of the things he said is, one of the simplest prayers you can pray is, “May the love of God for this person that hurt me fill my heart. And may the love of God for this person flood my soul.” And just to have that be one of your prayers that you say just to really concentrate on love for that person and pray for those people who hurt you or have hurt you in the past. It’s really important.
Dr. Z: Amen.
Mama Z: Have it be clear from your balance sheet because forgiveness is not just for that person. But it’s also for you. And you’ve got to get it off your balance sheet. It’s really important. So, if you haven’t read or haven’t seen The Power of Positive Thinking by Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, it is available. You could even rent it at any library or books on tape where they have the audio versions on iPhones and stuff like that. But it’s powerful.
[1:09:30 – 1:11:12] Natural Living Family Tip: Citrus Lover’s Anxiety Inhaler
Mama Z: And to wrap up today’s show, we have a special natural living tip for you.
Dr. Z: So, when life knocks you down, if you have a tendency to get anxious, of if you battle with panic attacks, that can complicate getting up I completely relate to that. That’s why I came up with this recipe that I put in my first book, The Healing Power of Essential Oils. What you want to do is you want to have equal drops of orange, bergamot, sandalwood, and ylang-ylang.
And what you could do is create an inhaler. You can get a precut organic cotton pad and an aroma therapy inhaler on Amazon for just a couple of bucks. And what you do is give five drops of orange, bergamot, sandalwood, and ylang-ylang. You soak the cotton pad with the essential oils. You put the cotton pad into the aroma therapy inhaler and secure the cap. Store the inhaler in your desk drawer, your purse, or glove compartment, so you always have it handy when a panic attack hits, or when life knocks you down.
If you feel stress, simply open the inhaler and take a few deep breaths, and breathe. And think about what God is going to do to change the situation. Take this as an opportunity to stop and meditate on the Lord and get into His Word. And allow the essential oils to stop that anxiousness and that panic and that stress at a neurological level. So, now you have the freedom and the peace to be able to pray and read the word and do the things that we talked about on the past two episodes.
Mama Z: Amen!
[1:11:13 -1:11:55] Sponsor Spotlight: Thrive Market
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Dr. Z: Simply go to NaturalLivingFamilypodcast.com to find the special link so you can redeem this deal on the show notes from today’s episode.
[1:11:56 – end] Getting Up part two Episode Wrap-Up
Dr. Z: Well everyone, thank you for listening today. We hope you enjoyed the show. And as a reminder, you can find all of the Natural Living Family podcast episodes, show notes, and transcripts on NaturalLivingFamilypodcast.com.
And while on our website, please don’t forget to sign up for our weekly podcast newsletter, which includes a personal invite to join our private Facebook group, so that you connect with Mama Z and I one on one and meet thousands other natural living lovers just like you.
And don’t forget. Please subscribe to our podcasts and leave a review. We love hearing what you have to say about our show.
Mama Z: Awesome!
Dr. Z: And as always, this is Dr. Z.
Mama Z: And Mama Z.
Dr. Z: And our hope and prayer are that you and your family truly experience the abundant life.
Mama Z: Amen!
Dr. Z: God bless!
Mama Z: God bless!
Dr. Z: Bye.
Mama Z: Bye.