Body and Soul by Clayton Shankland

My mother had a saying that intrigued me. When asked how she was doing, she would say, “I’ve been able to keep body and soul together.” What did she mean by that? Was both her body and soul healthy? How did she keep both glowing with health?

Well, I can testify to how she kept the body healthy. She was an excellent cook. She had a “huge” recipe book, about 8” x 10” by 1 /4” thick. It contained blank pages into which she had written recipes. They contained items like this: a pinch of salt, butter the size of an egg, beat with a fork until well blended. My sister, Zetta, still has the book. My mother didn’t know about cholesterol, she didn’t have any coupons to clip, she simply cooked the old-fashioned way. And she kept her body healthy.

And how did she keep her soul healthy? She had a strong faith in her Lord Jesus and she practiced it daily. She lived to be 88, at which point she could no longer “keep body and soul together”, but she sent a healthy soul on its way.

How are we doing in keeping our body and soul together? It’s almost impossible to do without coupons. We had a weekly ritual at our house. We clipped the coupons from the Sunday paper and filed them according to subject matter. Neither Merle nor I would dare buy a box of cereal or soup without a coupon. And we read the labels on other things to make sure it had low salt and low cholesterol and low fat. We did what we could to keep our bodies healthy.

How about coupons for the soul? We have a whole book of coupons. It’s full of previous promises for the body and the soul. I clipped a couple just to demonstrate. Listen to this:

One on provisions: “But my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” Philippians 5:19

One for wisdom: “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraided not; and it shall be given him.” James 1:5

One on peace: “Be careful for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4: 6, 7

In the Bible, there is a coupon for every situation in life. Clipping them is crucial to the health of our soul. We do a lot of clipping here at Lakeview. And I believe this is what mother had in mind when she said, “I’ve been able to keep body and soul together.”

We have a coupon for you to fill out here at Lakeview. It will get you membership in a wonderful Christian fellowship known as the Lakeview United Methodist Church.

Please redeem this coupon and give us an opportunity to love you. Amen