Top 7 Health Habits for the New Year
If you're like me, you want to start with a clean slate and do better at the beginning of each new year. With all the holidays, stresses in life and busy schedules the healthy habits you started at the beginning of last year may have gone bye bye or possibly put on a back burner (I'm talkin' the back back burner ;) See if you've already implemented these or if you need to...
FEED ON GOOD STUFF PHYSICALLY- Just like your car or truck was designed for the proper fuel and oil, your body is much more complex and worthy of so much more than the junk that most people feed it. If God created you, which He did, then it's important to believe that the foods He made for us are going to fuel our body and ward off sickness and disease. Stick to the typical healthy foods (lots of green and low starch veggies, organic meats, raw or organic dairy, healthy fats, fruits, etc). Keep processed and junk foods to a very minimum. FEED ON GOOD STUFF SPIRITUALLY - Just like we need DAILY nutrition, we also need to feed our Spirit man so it too can grow strong. We do that by feeding on the Word of God both in corporate settings and in our individual lives. Prov 4:22 says that it is life to those who find them and health to all their flesh.
EXERCISE YOUR PHYSICAL BODY - Did you know sitting is the new smoking and it's killing people unnecessarily? We have so many desk and computer jobs not to mention all the sitting that's involved in watching hours of TV! Do your very best to get moving!! Have a daily stretching, cardio or strength training time and then be sure and get up off the couch or out of your chair and jog in place, do some lunges, squats or push ups to keep yourself moving throughout the day. EXERCISE YOUR SPIRITUAL LIFE - one way we do that is by exercising our faith and by believing God and his Word for more than we did last year. If you exercised your faith for the headaches that you were having last year, how about stretching yourself and believe God for something bigger this year? What about not only believing God to provide the food for your family but how about believing for Him to help get you out of debt? The sky is the limit as far as God is concerned. God is moved by our faith, not by our problems. A big way to grow in faith is read, study, meditate and speak His Word.
DRINK WATER FOR YOUR PHYSICAL BODY - Tap water is to be avoided unless you are washing your clothes or lawn. Drink pure water and lots of it. Your goal should be drinking 1/2 of your weight in oz of water. Your body is composed of about 60% of water so keeping hydrated has a huge impact on your overall health. DRINK OF THE LIVING WATER - Only the Lord Jesus can quench our inner thirst and he does this by the Holy Spirit (see John 7:38-39). The Holy Spirit gives us spiritual understanding, empowers believers and guides us into all truth while transforming us along the way. Thank God for the Holy Spirit in our lives!
TAKE YOUR DAILY VITAMINS/HERBS - There are basic vitamins and minerals that most people need to take especially since our food supply has lost so many benefit over the years . There are also extra special herbs or vitamins that your body may need for this season in life maybe because you aren't sleeping well, need more energy, stressed out to the max, or have high blood pressure. If you need help with your herbal program please let me know and I would love to help sort that out for you. SCRIPTURAL DAILY VITAMINS are needed just as much if not more so than our regular vitamins.
Example: ANXIOUS? Take Vitamin A "All things work together for good to those who love Christ and are called according to His purpose". Read that again, meditate on it, now declare it out loud "All things WILL work together for my good because I love Christ and I am called according to His purposes!!" Now, don't you feel better already?
GUARD YOUR HEALTH - If you don't block out time to take care of YOU, then you won't be able to help anyone else out, it's that simple. You must take what time you can to eat good, exercise, and even enjoy life. There are always things demanding our attention but remember that you must spend some time taking care of you first so that you can help others, whatever that may look like for your life. GUARD YOUR SPIRITUAL HEALTH - Allowing junk food into our bodies can cause weight gain, disease and sickness, but so can feeding on the junk of this world. The things of this world that are contrary to God, won’t provide benefit to our lives. What you feed on (things you watch and listen to as well as things you participate in) will pull you either closer to God or further away from Him. Ask yourself “will this thing or these people bring me closer to God or closer to the things of this world?” Be on guard. Your future will depend on it.
TAKE TIME FOR THINGS YOU ENJOY - All work and no play is really not wise. Take time to do things that you enjoy like reading, watching a good clean movie, spending time with friends and family, taking walks to enjoy the beautiful outdoors, listening to uplifting music, taking hot epsom salt baths, etc. THE JOY OF THE LORD IS YOUR STRENGTH (Neh 8:10). Bask in God's presence. Imagine Him loving and smiling at you. He does you know. You are the apple of His eye and nothing can separate you from His love.
REST & SLEEP WELL - It's important to get to bed at a decent time and to sleep good through the night. I know that can be challenging at times but there are different reasons for that which can be corrected. Sleep is like a battery charger. It re-energizes us for the next day and does much healing and repairing while we sleep. Guard your sleep. Make it a priority so you can have a productive day when you wake up. REST IN THE LORD. (Psalm 37:7) Cast all your cares and anxiety on Him and know that He loves to help you sort out your problems. Did you know worrying is a sin? Don't do it! I have to be careful of this myself. Pray for what you have need of and then thank Him for the answer even before you see it coming. That's faith and that's what pleases God. "When you lie down, you will not be afraid; When you lie down, your sleep will be sweet." Think about that before you go to bed and have sweet dreams.
I hope you found these tips helpful and I pray that each of you will be in health and have a prosperous New Year!
Do you have any other tips to share with the rest of us?
Please contact me if there is something that I can do to help you in your health journey or if you'd like more information on my personalized coaching sessions.
Healthy hugs,
Bejé
