Life is not a marathon, and it shouldn’t be looked at as one. Life is better viewed as a series of short sprints with periods of rest in between. Think about the way most professional athletes train. They expend a huge amount of energy for a season, and then they have the off-season to rest and recover. They repeat that … Read More
Two Easy Ways to Get More Sleep
Sometimes it is hard to put down what we are doing and turn out the light. We are all guilty of what sleep scientists call bedtime procrastination. That is, we don’t go to bed when we know we should because there is always one more thing to do—one more email to send, one more chapter to read, one more episode … Read More
Don’t Waste Energy Worrying: How to Fight One Day at a Time
Matthew 6:34 states, “Don’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” In this verse, Jesus encourages His followers not to worry about the future. He says, “Each day has enough trouble of its own.” In other words, you can fight against stress and frustrations only one day at a time. … Read More
The Voice in Your Head: How to Control Your “Mental Script” to Align with God’s Purpose
Every accomplishment in your life—whether it is how well you do in school, what level you hit in your professional life, or how you manage your household—is directly linked to how you feel about yourself, to whether you think you are capable and worthy of living life at the highest level. And what drives your evaluation of your abilities and … Read More
The Power of Serving: Encouraging Your Flock to Invite their Friends to Church
Serving others is good for your spiritual, physical, mental, and emotional well-being. Though helping others may not get you featured in a magazine, doing so in ways both big and small will have a significant effect on the quality of your life and your overall health. When churchgoers invite their friends who don’t know Jesus to church — including Online … Read More
Made to Move: How to Have Better Physical Health
We were made to move. Our bodies were created for physical activity. God never intended for us to sit all day, overfilling our stomachs and letting our systems atrophy. But sedentary lifestyles have become the norm. The typical American is sedentary 60 percent of their waking hours. This lack of physical activity is associated with a number of health problems, … Read More
Let It Go: How to Decompress After a Stressful Day
If we don’t develop the habit of decompressing after every stressful day, and even during each day, we will carry that stress with us everywhere. And the effects will devastate our ministries and our family lives. In order to decompress effectively, take these opportunities to decompress during each day: Alternate between high-stress and low-stress activities. Whenever possible, schedule activities you … Read More
Thinking About Thinking
Since the quality of your life is so directly tied to the quality of your internal dialogue, you must do all you can to shape that dialogue for your own good. Understanding the power of your thoughts or knowing you need to change is not enough. You have to take specific action. Here are some practical steps you can take … Read More
Energy Equations: How to Have Better Emotional Health
The Latin derivative for the word emotion literally means “energy in motion.” So emotion equals energy in motion. That is why discovering how to manage your energy well will give you the emotional (and physical) get-up-and-go it takes to become the new you. When you have more energy, you will approach life more proactively. You will want to get out … Read More
Sidestepping Stress: The Stress-Health Connection
Walking in the fullness of the new you goes beyond eating well, exercising, and getting enough rest. To achieve and maintain true health, you also have to learn to handle the stress in your life. Otherwise, it will derail your other efforts, keeping you overweight, sick, emotionally bound, and quite possibly taking you to an early grave. When you begin … Read More