It’s summer in Chicagoland and everything now green! Everything, that is, besides that one yellow, crumpled leaf that fell to the ground from the big, beautiful maple tree that has a canopy of green leaves that provide shade for our backyard deck. That crumpled yellow leaf got my attention. Funny how God knows exactly how to speak to me based on what I am experiencing and what I can best understand. Yes, that crumpled yellow leaf got my attention because it was such a contrast to the green all around me. After doing a little Google research, I learned that leaves turn yellow and fall to the ground during the summer due to lack of nutrition or water. Because of poor nourishment and hydration, that yellow leaf fell off the branch and could no longer serve its purpose of providing shade during the time of year when shade is most needed. That yellow leaf and I have a lot in common at the moment... When it comes to our health-related efforts, we often put our focus on outcomes. What was the number on the scale today? What was your time on that 10K race last week? How many sizes did you go down on that diet you tried? And it is not surprising - that is how the world works. The world focuses on outcomes. In fact, achieving a specific outcome is the basis of almost every single health improvement program that is advertised in the media.
There is nothing wrong with desiring a specific outcome. Goal setting is a good thing. But when we forget that the outcome we seek is merely a result of our daily behavioral choices, we can run into problems. Becoming obsessed with an outcome can quickly cause us to lose perspective and head down some paths that will, ultimately, not get us to where we want to be. This is why, as a wellness coach, I encourage people to – Good Health for Good Works is taking the month of October off to embark on an October Odyssey - a trek across the pond to visit distant relatives in a foreign land. Families are funny in that there is always that bond that transcends separations whether they are physical, mental, emotional or spiritual. I'm looking forward to spending time with my aunt, uncle and cousins and learning about who they are, what they have experienced and what our family history means to them. What about you? Have you ever taken a deep dive into your own family history? One of the greatest gifts we can give our descendants is information and context about our family health history. A great place to get started is with the Family Health History Initiative developed by the US Department of Health and Human Services. To make it more personal, why not write a letter to your future descendants about your family's health history, including strengths to imitate and weaknesses to avoid? For each descendant, give a short description of their health habits (smoking status, eating habits, activity levels, coping skills, hobbies and leisure time activities) as well as their accomplishments (physical endeavors, mental toughness, spiritual strength) and struggles (substance abuse, anxiety/depression, disabilities, chronic health conditions). Then end the letter by explaining what all this information means to you and what you hope it means for your future descendants. What kind of health legacy do you want to leave to your descendants? May the Lord say of us what He said of Abraham as we leave a legacy in the way we manage our health and every other area of life. I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just... (Genesis 18:19) See you in November! If you have a question or comment about this blog post or any other information on this website, please click here.
When it comes to making improvements in our health, I find that most of us, including myself, want to “leap tall buildings in a single bound.” We have Superman-sized desires and want to see big results from a few action steps taken in the heat of great enthusiasm. Mahatma Gandhi once said that “It is health that is real wealth…” and I think most of would agree that our health is very valuable to us for a variety of reasons. Health, just like wealth, is one of our most valuable resources. Given the connection between health and wealth, let’s consider how the following proverb about attaining wealth might apply to attaining good health as well: Dishonest money dwindles away, but whoever gathers money little by little makes it grow. Proverbs 13:11 (NIV) Or as another Bible translation puts it - Wealth gained hastily will dwindle, but whoever gathers little by little will increase it. Proverbs 13:11 (ESV) Wealth that is gained hastily or through dishonesty is wealth that has not really been worked for. Those who take the shortcut to wealth do often get a good result, but it is only temporary, and the good result often dwindles or is reversed. Contrast this with the person who, by the consistent daily practice of hard work and wise money management accumulates wealth little by little and watches it increase and grow over time. Health can also be gained hastily by taking some shortcuts. Consider about every fad diet that you have ever heard of. The story is nearly always the same and it almost always involves either enthusiastically taking a drastic action (cutting food groups out of your life forever) or a desirable shortcut (lose weight by consuming chocolate flavored high protein shakes and energy bars). The result is a quick loss of many pounds and the result is most often temporary. Why? When something is accumulated little by little over time (knowledge, skills, money, good health habits), learning takes place. As we build or accumulate in the daily ups and downs of life, we learn many things. We learn:
Taking drastic actions and short cuts may get big, quick and dramatic results, but it bypasses the learning process. And because nothing has been learned, the result will not stick once a challenge is introduced. The difficulty of focusing on accumulating good health habits little by little is that is forces us to focus on the small, going against our desire for big, quick and dramatic results! It’s just not the American way! Here are a few examples of very small good health habits that I have learned and accumulated over the years:
All of these are small steps that have made a big impact on my health while being not particularly big, exciting or dramatic. In observing myself and working with others, I have learned that, rather than focusing on leaping “tall buildings in a single bound”, it is better to focus on small changes that can be learned and implemented slowly over time so that they will stick in the face of the challenge called stress. This goes against almost everything in our human nature and our culture. But, in my experience, it works! How about you? Are you willing to trade your Superman-sized desires for small steps? Are you willing to slow down and take the time to learn so that the good health habits you accumulate will stick when they come up against the stresses of life? What small step could you focus on today? Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin… Zechariah 4:10 If you have a question or comment about this blog post or any other information on this website, please click here.
In the city where I live stands an amazing structure – a bell tower which houses a carillon which was built to commemorate the third millennium in the year 2000. It is an iconic landmark of our city and a great deal of fundraising and work went into building and dedicating the structure. The fundraising, building and dedicating of the tower was quite exciting. But dealing with the finishing touches, maintenance and repair of the structure has been a source of controversy. It turns out that:
The situation with the bell tower reminds me a lot of the situation we often experience when it comes to our health improvement projects and goals. This is what our experience often looks like: 1. We get excited about starting a health improvement plan or strategy. 2. We enthusiastically dive in and make sacrifices to invest time and resources to carry out the plan or strategy. 3. We are encouraged as we see ourselves making progress and we celebrate when we get to the completion of our endeavor whether that is achieving a fitness milestone, losing a specific number of pounds or stopping smoking. 4. We then discover that what we have achieved also has to be maintained and maintenance is not nearly as exciting. 5. We learn that maintaining consistent healthy lifestyle behaviors is a daily, long-term proposition and that the costs can be high. 6. When faced with the high costs, we must then decide whether to adjust our health improvement plans so that they can be sustained for the long-term or just demolish them all together. When it comes to building a bell tower or building our health, it really is all about how we define the endpoint or what we really desire to accomplish or attain. The goal of building the bell tower was not just to complete the building of the structure by the year 2000, but to build and maintain a structure that it could be enjoyed by the people of our city for years to come. The failure to adequately consider the cost of maintenance of this project threatened the achievement of the long-term goal. The goal of beginning a new health improvement strategy or plan is not to just complete a fitness event, attain a goal weight or break an addiction, but to achieve and maintain a level of health that will equip and enable us to have the energy and vitality to live an effective, engaging and enjoyable life for the rest of our days. The failure to adequately consider the cost of maintaining our health improvement plans or strategies threatens the achievement of the long-term goal. When we think about and pursue health improvement strategies and plans, it is important to count the cost before beginning and to realize that part of that cost almost always involves maintenance! What we attain must be maintained. This is because good health is not achieved by planning and executing a few healthy behaviors, but by planning and executing multiple healthy behaviors each day for the rest of our lives! Consider what Jesus said in Luke 14:25-35, as He spoke about the costs associated with every commitment, including the commitment to become His disciple. Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, “This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.” Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples. The achievement of any goal involves counting the cost. The achievement of a health goal involves counting the cost knowing that maintenance is a very large part of that cost given that healthy decisions must be carried out on a daily basis in order to produce the desired long-term result.
What does this look like from a practical standpoint? It comes down to a few very simple questions. Before getting excited about and embarking on a health improvement plan or strategy, it is wise to ask these questions:
If after doing our homework, praying for wisdom and honestly examining ourselves, we can confidently answer “yes” to these questions, we mostly likely have a health improvement plan or strategy that will lead us to our desired endpoint or goal. What about you? Are your health improvement plans and strategies crafted with maintenance in mind? Are they wise and sustainable for the long-term? Will you be able to maintain what you have attained using your health improvement plan or strategy? If not, will you demolish them or make the necessary adjustments that will lead you to your long-term goal? If you have a question or comment about this blog post or any other information on this website, please click here. “Health is the real wealth and not pieces of gold and silver.” Most of us are very familiar with this quote spoken by Mahatma Gandhi. And for most of us, it rings true. Because we know that good health is valuable, most of us pay attention to the daily, weekly, monthly and yearly health decisions that we make to attain and preserve good health for as long as we can. Making good health decisions requires wisdom. To what sources of wisdom do you go to when you need to make a health-related decision? Almost any good Christian would say that the first place they go with any health concerns is directly to God. After all, we all have heard that part of Psalm 139 that describes how we are “woven” and “knit” together by a God whose works are “wonderful.” For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. Psalm 139: 13-16 This passage of scripture highlights several important truths that, if accepted and applied, would have a great impact on why and how we make our health decisions. Truth #1: God created you. You were His idea from the very beginning. Truth #2: God created you and put your together. Your body was woven and knit together by God. Truth #3: God created you and put you together in a purposeful way. He created and put you together with the full knowledge of the days that were before you. He knew every detail of the potential of who you might be and what you might do. Truth #4: God created you and put your together in a purposeful way with unimaginable creativity and skill. His works are wonderful, and you are fearfully (awesomely) and wonderfully made! Compare these truths with what the world tells us about how we should make our health-related decisions: Deception #1: Your worth is based on the attainment of the current standard of health and fitness. “My New Year’s resolution is to lose weight, so I can fit into those size 2 skinny jeans that I saw in that magazine.” Deception #2: Your evaluation of your health and fitness begins by comparing yourself to the current standard or to others. “I’m going to start that new intense exercise program because, when I look in the mirror, I want to see thin hips. I want to look like Lisa. She looks so cute in her skinny jeans." Deception #3: Your progress in your health and fitness is dependent upon looking outside yourself to find the next new plan, strategy, product. “My last diet plan didn’t work, but I’m confident in Dr. X’s plan to drink two shakes and four dietary supplements each day, eliminate two food groups from my diet and eat two specific super foods each and every day without fail.” Deception #4: Your ultimate goal in the pursuit of health and fitness is your own satisfaction and sense of fulfillment. “If I run in that marathon, I will feel like a winner!” According to Romans 12:1-2, we will be able to make and carry out God-centered decisions when we fully offer ourselves to God and align our thinking with the truths of His word. Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:1-2) Just as in every other area of the Christian life, our health decisions should be made according to the wisdom of the Weaver (the One who has woven and knit us together) rather than according to the ways of the world (its pattern of thinking and behaving). If we really want to live out the beautiful truths of Psalm 139:13-16, then our health decisions will be rooted in:
Gratitude – we will acknowledge and seek God as a master craftsman whose works are wonderful! Our health decisions will come out of a place of gratitude rather than dissatisfaction. Respect – we will acknowledge and seek God as our Creator, Maker and Subject-Matter expert when it comes to our bodies. When making health decisions, we will first seek God’s wisdom and engage the mind He gave us before we run to the internet to find the next new promise or product. Submission – we will acknowledge and seek God as the One who does His work with a purpose in mind. Our health decisions will be primarily aligned with fulfilling God’s purpose for our life rather than fulfilling our own personal desires. How about you? Where do you find the wisdom that you need to make good health decisions? Are you making your health decisions according to the ways of the Weaver or according to the ways of the world? If you have a question or comment about this blog post or any other information on this website, please click here. When it comes to being a model of the accomplishments that are often associated with good physical, mental and spiritual health, there are a lot of things that I am not.
Here is what I am: I am a typical middle aged American who is swimming upstream against the current of time and culture to maintain a level of physical, mental and spiritual fitness so that I can respond energetically and effectively when God says, “So now, go! I am sending you.” God hears the prayers of His people and He is at work in the world. And for some reason, which seems puzzling to us at times, He calls us to be participants and partners in the work that He is doing. Consider, for example, how God responded to the oppression of His people as slaves in Egypt for over 200 years: …”I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey… So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.” Exodus 3:7-10 Notice the points of God’s response, as said to Moses:
Just like to Moses, God often says to us – I’m going to do something and I’m going to do it through you! Thankfully, God does not require our perfection. Just like Moses, we have insecurities and weaknesses that God will gladly work through to accomplish His will and bring glory to Himself. “Who am I that I should go…?”, “What if they do not believe me or listen to me…?”, “I have never been eloquent…I am slow of speech and tongue.”, “…please send someone else.” (Exodus 3:11, 4:1, 4:10, 4:13) But God does ask that we participate and participation involves active engagement of our body, mind and spirit. This summer, I have been experiencing some “So now, go!,” moments. My 90-year old mother informed me that she had decided to move her and my disabled brother out of our family home of 50 years and into a retirement community. The call was clear – “Go!” But that “Go!” required some things of me. It required:
As think back on that week, I am very grateful. I am grateful for every single investment I made as a typical middle aged American swimming upstream against the current of time and culture to maintain a level of physical, mental and spiritual fitness so that I can respond energetically and effectively when God says, “So now, go! I am sending you.” I was grateful for the promptings and the strength God gave me to:
All of these seemingly insignificant, daily investments helped me to be able to respond energetically and effectively when God said “So now, go!” How about you? God is at work in the world and, at some point, God is going to ask you to get up and go. It may be to participate in a work of God that is miraculous and historic, like Moses. Or it may be to participate in a typical milestone of family life, like my mother’s move. Either way, are you praying about what God might want you to do or invest in so that you can be prepared for your next assignment? Are you making good and consistent investments in your physical, mental and spiritual health so that you can respond energetically and effectively to God’s next assignment for you? If not, what needs to change? For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Ephesians 2:10 If you have a question or comment about this blog post or any other information on this website, please click here.
We are now two weeks into 2018 and many of us still have on our minds the things that we feel led to start or accomplish or change this year. Not that there is any special magic about the New Year or the associated resolutions. We can start down the path of accomplishing or changing something at any time in response to God’s leading. But, for whatever reason, at the dawn of a New Year, many of us feel led to take stock of where we are at health-wise and devote ourselves to make some changes. And given that health-related achievements or changes are so related to the daily routines of life, a perceived “New Year New You” fresh start can be very helpful. In last week’s blog, we talked about getting back to some simple basic health routines that are part of the cost of achieving and maintaining good health. How are you doing with these? I personally am falling short in the area of getting to bed on time in order to get at least 7 hours of sleep each night. Please pray that I would get that routine in place this coming week. Today, I want to discuss the opposite side of the coin – things that we may need to let go of, rather than resume, in order to have success in the health-related accomplishments or changes that we feel God leading us to pursue in order to be more effective servants for His kingdom. The prophet Elisha gives an excellent example of what it looks like to “let go” in order to take on something that we believe God is leading us to do. …He [Elisha] was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen, and he himself was driving the twelfth pair. Elijah went up to him and threw his cloak around him. Elisha then left his oxen and ran after Elijah. “Let me kiss my father and mother goodbye,” he said, “and then I will come with you.”… So Elisha left him and went back. He took his yoke of oxen and slaughtered them. He burned the plowing equipment to cook the meat and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he set out to follow Elijah and became his servant. (1 Kings 19:19-21) The throwing of the cloak symbolized a divine calling. Elisha knew that, through this action by Elijah, he was being led by God into a new direction. The slaughtering of the oxen and burning of the plowing equipment indicated his full commitment to follow God’s leading. These were the implements of his current profession and, in doing away with them, he purposefully made it impossible, or at least very difficult, to backtrack. Elisha’s example can be applied to our life in many ways as we are called to follow God’s leading in many different areas of life. Today, some will be led to believe and follow Jesus, some will be led to step into a new role in work or ministry, some will be led to confess and renounce a sin, some will be led to speak some difficult truths and, yes, some may even be led to improve their health as an act of worship of and service to God. Just like Elisha, if we are going to be serious about following God’s leading to go in a different direction when it comes to our health, then we also, will have some implements from our current way of living that we must let go. Here are a few examples to start your thinking about how this concept may apply to your specific situation: Do you need to “let go” of your TV in your bedroom in order to avoid the temptation to stay up later than you should and not get enough sleep at night? Do you need to “let go” of your social media account in order to make the time to invest time to grow a significant face to face relationship? Do you need to “let go” of your favorite chips and cookies that you have stashed in the back of your pantry in order to avoid the temptation to snack rather than prepare a healthy meal? Do you need to “let go” of your Starbucks rewards card in order to not consume calories when you are not hungry for the sake of earning a free latte? Please apply this one to almost any rewards card! Note that Elisha also saw the need to “kiss my father and mother goodbye.” We don’t know the details or implications of this separation, but we do know that some degree of separation took place. Is there any relationship or environment in your life from which you may need to seek some degree of God-honoring separation in order to follow God’s leading to improve your physical, mental or spiritual health? I pray that all of us, myself most of all, would follow the example of Elisha. May we “let go” of our implements or seek some degree of a God-honoring separation from relationships and environments that encourage us to maintain the current status quo and hinder us from being fully committed to following God as we are being led in a new and healthier direction. And may we, like Elisha, do that to the extent that it becomes difficult, if not impossible, to backtrack. If you have a question or comment about this blog post or any other information on this website, please click here.
I care about my health. So, I invest a reasonable amount of time in my life to grocery shop for nutritious foods, cook at home, get at least 7 hours of sleep and some exercise most days of the week, invest time in relationships and hobbies and check in with my doctor every year and when I have a problem. The result of all this is that I have the energy and ability to fulfill my God-given responsibilities and callings and I feel good most of the time. But still, I often wonder and ask myself, Am I healthy enough? Most of the time, I ask myself this question after hearing about the thoughts of very health-conscious people in person or in writing. After I hear their thoughts, I realize that there are so many things that I am not doing. For example, I do not:
And when I consider all that I am not doing, I feel overwhelmed because, if I do need to do all those things in order to be healthy, it would require a great deal of energy, time and money. Everything on this list can be a good thing in the right context, and I do many of these things, but not all of them and not exclusively. In fact, if I let it be so, a very big part of my life could easily revolve around this long list of healthy living practices. And even if I did all these things, how would I know when I have done enough? So, the question remains – “What do I need to do to be healthy enough?” It’s funny that I don’t remember my parents or grandparents asking that question. Perhaps that is because their choices were more limited than mine. But could it be that we have made being “healthy enough” more complicated than it needs to be? Could it be that we have looked to other people, the media and marketers to answer that question? In my view, the resource called health is no different than the resource called money. God gives us the ability to earn money so we can survive and thrive, help others to survive and thrive, do what He has called us to do and enjoy our journey along the way (1 Timothy 5:8, 1 Timothy 6:17-18, 1 John 3:17, Ephesians 2:10). So, we manage our money (earn, give, save, spend and invest) so we can do these things. Money is simply a tool that allows us to obtain what is needed for ourselves and others and do what we are called to do. But for some, money becomes more than a tool. Instead it becomes something for which it was never intended. It becomes a source of status and security. And when this happens, the goal is to accumulate money rather than to manage and use our money for the purposes that God intended. The focus is on accumulation because the word “enough” is rarely associated with status and security. Therefore, there is never an endpoint or “enough money.” The tool becomes more important than the purpose for which it was intended. I sometimes see this happen to people with regard to their health. They see their health as more than a tool to help them provide for themselves and their families and do what they are called to do. They see it as a source of status or security. Or as Wallis Simpson (who married Edward VII and became the Duchess of Windsor) once said, “You can’t be too rich or too thin.” The goal becomes to do things to be healthy in order to become ever more healthy rather than to fulfill our God-given responsibilities and callings and enjoy our blessings. There is never a point of being “healthy enough”, but only the pursuit of another thing to do or buy to be more healthy than I am now. Becoming ever more healthy becomes more important than the purpose for which God gave us our health in the first place. So, am I healthy enough or do I need to continually pursue doing and buying more things to be more healthy than I am now? Where is the endpoint? Consider these questions – Do my health practices enable me to function effectively, fulfill my God-given responsibilities and callings and bring me some enjoyment along the way? Will my current health practices enhance my ability to do and have these things as I get older? Do my health practices enable me to help others to function effectively, fulfill their God-given responsibilities and callings and have some enjoyment along the way? Will my current health practices enhance my ability to give these things to others as I get older? Am I regularly seeing my professional health care provider to assess my health status and discuss any possible problematic issues? Am I successfully managing health issues that my physician and/or loved ones are concerned about because they could have a negative impact on my well being now or in the future? If you answered “yes” to these questions, then there is a good chance that you are “healthy enough.” If you answered “no” to these questions, then doing more may be wise. If you have the ability to improve your level of healthy functioning and enjoyment, then it is a good idea to pray for guidance and invest time, energy and money to learn and apply new information and ideas that may help you to improve your health. If you do not have the ability improve your level of healthy functioning and enjoyment, there is a provision for you and it is called grace. When God calls you to fulfill your calling with any type of health-related weakness, you can pray for healing and relief and also rely on the same promise that He gave to Paul in a similar situation – “…my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9). Wherever you are, it is important to remember that your health, like money, is important and should be managed wisely. But, at the end of the day, it is only a tool. Our health is a tool or resource that God gives us to manage in order to enable ourselves and others to survive and thrive, do what He has called us to do, and enjoy our journey along the way. If your health enables you to have and do all these things, then you are probably healthy enough! If you have a question or comment about this blog post or any other information on this website, please click here.
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About the AuthorHello! My name is Ginger Hill and I am a Christ follower and a n employee wellness professional. I am passionate about helping myself and others to live a healthy lifestyle and I believe that good health is essential in helping us to do the good works that God has called us to do. Because I am a work in progress, I write these blog posts to encourage myself and I share them with others in the hope that they may be encouraged as well.
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"But the godly will flourish...Even in old age they will still produce fruit; they will remain vital and green."
Psalm 92:12,14 (NLT)
All Contents Copyrighted © Ginger Hill and Good Health for Good Works 2017-2022. No part of this website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied, modified or adapted,
unless otherwise indicated. You may share this website by any of the following means:
1. Provide a back-link or the URL of the content you wish to disseminate.
2. Quote extracts (with context) from the website with attribution to www.goodhealthforgoodworks.org
Psalm 92:12,14 (NLT)
All Contents Copyrighted © Ginger Hill and Good Health for Good Works 2017-2022. No part of this website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied, modified or adapted,
unless otherwise indicated. You may share this website by any of the following means:
1. Provide a back-link or the URL of the content you wish to disseminate.
2. Quote extracts (with context) from the website with attribution to www.goodhealthforgoodworks.org