More Than Bubble Baths and Manicure: What Self-Care Really Looks Like with Ben Espinoza!More Than Bubble Baths and Manicure: What Self-Care Really Looks Like with Ben Espinoza!
Anchored by the Sword
Gina Fox talks with pastor and author Ben Espinoza about how his stress collapse during the Covid-19 pandemic led him to rethink self-care from a Christian perspective. They discuss God-focused rhythms, mental health support, sabbath, boundaries and why bubble baths alone are not enough.
33:58•7 Apr 2026
More Than Bubble Baths: Ben Espinoza on God-First Self-Care
Episode Overview
- Self-care for Christians starts with a daily rhythm of Scripture, prayer, worship and gratitude rather than external treats alone.
- Unaddressed stress can show up physically, and paying attention to those signs can be a key turning point toward healthier choices.
- Therapy, coaching, medication and community support are presented as God-given tools that can sit comfortably alongside faith.
- Practices like sabbath, solitude, play and clear limits around work and technology help resist hustle culture and constant productivity pressure.
- Defining a clear mission for each season of life makes it easier to delegate, say no, and invest in relationships that draw you closer to Christ.
“"If Jesus needed limits on his ministry, then I think we do too."”
How do people cope with the challenges of staying spiritually and emotionally healthy when life will not slow down? This conversation between host Gina Fox and pastor–author Ben Espinoza looks at what self-care actually means for Christians who are overloaded, anxious, or still feeling the shockwaves of 2020.
Ben shares how a perfect storm of good things – a new leadership job, finishing a PhD, a new baby, moving states, and the Covid-19 pandemic – led to physical symptoms like stress bumps, eye twitches, pain and severe insomnia. A doctor eventually told him it was extreme stress, which forced him to admit, as he puts it, that he had "no idea how to take care of myself" despite being in ministry and achieving a lot.
Out of that breakdown came his book *Good News About Self-Care: How Nurturing Your Soul, Your Self, and Your Sanity Honors God*. He and Gina gently pull apart the idea that self-care is just "bubble baths, the manicures, the jacuzzi, dark chocolate" and talk about why those treats are good but incomplete. Ben lays out his four-part framework of self-care: relationship with God, with self, with society, and with other people.
He argues that Christian self-care has to start with Scripture, prayer, worship, and gratitude, then move into physical and emotional health, playfulness, and wise limits around work, technology, and relationships. As he says, "If Jesus needed limits on his ministry, then I think we do too." The pair also talk openly about mental health, therapy, medication, and how Covid helped chip away at stigma.
Gina shares her own anxiety during daily pandemic briefings and how stepping back and seeking community calmed her body and mind. This is a grounded, faith-filled chat for anyone who’s tired of hustle culture, curious about God-first self-care, or just worn out from holding everything together. What might change if your self-care started with your relationship with God?
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