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
The Importance of Sleep to Fulfill Your Calling
Your body was crafted for sleep. When God knit you together, he fashioned your systems in such a way that they need deep rest in order to function properly. Without sleep, breakdown begins. Don’t take it from us; with every passing year, more and more scientific evidence emerges to underscore the importance of quality sleep. Study after study shows that … Read More
The Bottom Line for Good Health
Healthy living is something easy to overlook, especially when you are young. The sooner you decide to live a healthy life, the better off you will be and the more effective your ministry will be. All the books you can read about healthy living boil down to two essential keys: exercise and a healthy diet. If you decide that you will … Read More
The Voice In Your Head: Listening to Your Internal Dialogue
One of the main things that separate us from animals is our ability to think about our thought life, to note an individual thought passing through our minds, analyze it for its truth and worth, and then act accordingly. God gave us this unique ability when he made us in his image. But so often, we let our thoughts run … Read More
How to Strengthen Your Personal and Spiritual Foundation
When you’re feeling out of sorts, you may need to strengthen your personal and spiritual foundation. There are two main categories to consider when doing this: public activities and private disciplines. When you are feeling emotionally drained, anxious, or depressed, lean even harder on both. Make sure to be intentional about the following: Your connection with your church. Stay connected … Read More
Good Stress vs. Bad Stress: Understanding the Difference
Yes, there is such a thing as good stress. Small amounts of good stress keep you focused and motivated. You grow through certain levels of stress. The stress gravity exerts on you makes your bones denser and your muscles stronger. When you exercise, your endurance rises as a result of the stress you impose on yourself. When you decide to … Read More
Help Your People Use Their Spiritual Gifts to Serve Others and Experience Significance
You were born with unique gifts and talents; you need a place to make sure those gifts and talents are being put to their highest and best use. The local church provides an environment in which you can use your gifts and talents for the benefit of God and others. This is part of God’s plan for you to experience … Read More
How Are You Sleeping? 5 Questions to Ask Yourself
Even when you understand the importance of prioritizing sleep, gauging whether we are getting enough can still be difficult. We are so conditioned to get by on too little sleep that we are not always the best judges of whether our needs are being met. To begin determining if you are getting enough sleep, ask yourself these questions: How much … Read More
Thinking Clearly: 3 Reasons Stress Triggers Can Go Undetected
Finding clarity in the midst of a crisis is not an easy task. But it’s vital that we do it. We need to take time to become clear about the real stressors we face–often those stressors aren’t readily apparent. They may even deceive us at first. This happens for a number of reasons: Sometimes we are too close to a … Read More
The Essence of Faith for Pastors Too: Keep a Positive Outlook
As pastors, we can’t allow negative, anxious thoughts to overwhelm us–at least not for long. After all, we serve a big, amazing God who is greater than all our troubles. When we focus on everything that’s wrong around us, we can become defeated. But if we keep our focus on the things that are going right, we might just see … Read More