The Aroma of Christ

Have you ever thought about what it would mean if you were the only person who could smell like Jesus in a room?

Candace and Annie F. Downs continue Season 18 with a conversation about the one life each of us gets, and what it takes to build physical, emotional, and spiritual strength inside of it.

A Listener Question About Food and Emotional Eating

A listener named Kate writes in after a season about the body and a season about shame, saying the podcast has helped her be honest with herself about food binging and emotional eating. Candace says acknowledging the unhealthy connection is the first step, and that food cannot be avoided the way a substance can, so the goal is finding a healthier place for emotional need to land. She shares two things her counselor taught her: to ask why before reaching for food, and to stop being secretive about it. If a trigger food comes into her house, she tells a trusted friend she has it, because secrecy, not the food itself, is where the trouble starts.

Physical, Emotional, and Spiritual Strength

Candace talks about wanting her body to outlast her calling, and about a fitness goal she set for herself around turning fifty after admiring a strong, muscular build her whole life. She says the goal was never about vanity, but about finally pursuing something she had quietly wanted for years. Annie describes how walking everywhere in New York reshaped her relationship with her own body and gave her a new sense of what she could control.

Both women talk about building spiritual strength through daily devotionals, church, and scripture, and emotional strength through friendships that have earned the right to speak honestly into their lives. Annie recommends finding a counselor when that kind of friend feels hard to find, someone who can offer wisdom in complete privacy.

The Together Community

Candace talks about the Together community app as a place built for exactly this kind of support, a small, intentional group where people can pray for each other and receive biblical wisdom without the noise of social media. Annie connects it back to a conversation she once had with John Mark Comer about why growth matters at all, and his answer that a growing life produces fruit that feeds everyone around it, not just the person growing.

Being the Aroma of Christ

Annie explains a phrase from the writer of 2 Corinthians describing believers as the aroma of Christ, the same way one perfume smells different on every person who wears it. She says when someone holds themselves back out of fear or something stolen, killed, or destroyed, the world misses out on the particular way that person carries Jesus into a room.

She tells a story about a woman crying in a Dairy Queen, and how she almost walked out without saying anything before turning back to check on her. Candace shares her own story of being asked, in a room of new friends, what her biggest regret was, and feeling led to offer to share the gospel instead of answering the question as asked.

Courage in the Everyday

Annie points to the writer of Matthew's account of Peter walking on water, noting that Peter worked on that same sea every night. Courage, she says, usually does not show up as one massive invitation, but as something a little braver inside the ordinary life a person already has. Building that kind of courage works the same way physical strength does, a little at a time, until it can carry more.

A Question About Ongoing Hard Seasons

A listener named Janice asks how to hold onto faith when health issues keep coming, and she is not doubting that God is bigger, but is struggling with why it keeps happening. Annie encourages her to remove the shock, since this world reliably includes hard days, and to hold onto the promise that Jesus has already overcome it. Candace points to endurance, drawing on James 1 and Romans 5 and the life of Paul, and says character is built in the people who keep going rather than giving up before the end.

What's Ahead

Candace and Annie close by inviting listeners back next week. A free quiz from Annie's book is available at candace.com, along with a place to sign up for email and text updates. The Together community at candace.com/together offers a place to ask questions, encourage each other, and join a discussion group.

Sponsors mentioned in this episode: 316 Financial (bank316.com), CrowdHealth (joincrowdhealth.com, code Candace), International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (ifcj.org/candace), Grand Canyon University (gcu.edu), Nelló (drinknello.com, code Candace), and Candace's Together community (candace.com/together).