Evening Wrap-up
Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.”
JAMES 4:13-15
Even with the most extensive planning, we cannot know where the journey will take us. This passage from James reminds us that we cannot count our plans as guaranteed. Sometimes plans change and paths wander in unexpected directions. But this should not halt our journey. Instead, it should drive us to be ever more dependent on God’s grace along the way.
Guiding God, thank You for the journey that You have laid out for me. Help me today to embrace the journey, whatever direction it takes me. In the name of Your Son, Amen.
Day 30:
God with Us
Morning Reflection
As we continue on the journey to wellness, we will inevitably have a variety of new experiences: new foods, new ways to move, and new habits. This is a part of the journey. These experiences can be exciting, terrifying, exhausting, or all of the above. What we must always try to remember is that God is with us as we have those experiences. In a word, God is with us on this journey.
Faith Life
Today each time you eat, give thanks for the food that God has given you. Try to pause, even when you have a small snack, to say a prayer.
Medical
An important aspect of overall health is oral health. Today make sure that you have a dentist appointment scheduled. You should have a checkup and teeth cleaning every six months.
Movement
Today spend fifteen minutes doing abdominal strength exercises. Standard sit-ups and crunches are a very good way to strengthen your core. Make sure that you do not strain your neck or back as you do those crunches!
Work
Instead of going out to eat or getting lunch out of a vending machine, bring in a lunch made from your leftovers from last night’s dinner. It is almost guaranteed to be healthier, and it is much less expensive!
Emotional
Give yourself a rest today. Spend a half hour doing something you really enjoy. Read a book, listen to music, watch a television show, or take a bath. Just take care of yourself without worrying about the things that you “have to do” for thirty minutes.
Family and Friends
Do you have friends or family who are somehow involved in this journey with you? If you do not, make a list of potential friends or family members who might partner with you as you continue on the journey.
Nutrition
Some fats are necessary for balanced nutrition. Healthy fats can be found in avocado, seeds and nuts, olive oil, and fish. Today prepare a meal using mostly healthy fats. (No fried food or butter.)
Evening Wrap-up
I sought the LORD, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to him are radiant. . . . Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.
PSALM 34:4-5, 8
As we form these new habits and have these new experiences, we need to remember many things. Among them is the knowledge that we are making gradual changes that are meant to end in lifestyle changes. But the changes that we are making are not all-or-nothing and they are not all-at-once. Instead, they are one new experience at a time, repeated until the new experiences become habit. As we go through these changes, we can taste and see the goodness of God, recognizing that in the midst of any new experience, we can take refuge in God.
Lord God, thank You for the gift of new experiences. Help me take refuge in You when I feel overwhelmed by the newness. In Your holy name, Amen.
Day 31:
The Seasons
Morning Reflection
On our wellness journey, we encounter many different times and seasons. That is simply the nature of the journey. Just as our seasons change, we will experience periods of feeling very good and seasons of feeling not-so-good. But it is important that as we travel through these seasons, we do not give up on the journey altogether. Instead, we must recognize that seasons require patience and perseverance. Today we will concentrate on the seasons that make up the journey.
Faith Life
What is your favorite season of the year? Spend five minutes writing about your favorite season. Then spend five minutes writing about your least favorite season. Can you find God in both your favorite and least favorite seasons?
Medical
Today when you brush your teeth, time yourself. You should brush your teeth for about two minutes, spending thirty seconds brushing each quadrant (upper left, upper right, lower left, and lower right).
Movement
Remember that you can walk outside whatever the season. Today go for a walk outside. If it is cold, wear a coat. If it is hot, wear shorts and a T-shirt. Try to enjoy the seasons that you experience.
Work
Most workplaces have periods that are busy and periods that are slower. Whatever your work environment is like at this moment, find five minutes to breathe and stretch a little.
Emotional
Are your expectations that your lifestyle changes will be all-or-nothing? Today take five minutes to write in your journal, reminding yourself that setbacks and individual “failures” are just seasons. If we persevere, they pass.
Family and Friends
Ask one of the family members or friends on the list you made yesterday to be your “wellness buddy.” Walking this journey without a partner can make a difficult journey even more difficult.
Nutrition
Variety is the key to a balanced diet. Today prepare a meal that includes as many colors as you can fit into the meal. To easily add some variety, offer some raw, cut vegetables (such as carrot sticks or sliced red bell pepper) in addition to a cooked vegetable.
Evening Wrap-up
He changes times and seasons; he deposes kings and raises up others. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning. He reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with him.
DANIEL 2:21-22
God has built times and seasons into creation. Change is simply a part of the world that God has made. But that does not necessarily make the changes that we encounter easy, even when those changes are welcomed. We know that God can break through any resistance to change that might dwell deep in our psyche. After all, it is God who “gives wisdom to the wise.”
Loving Lord, help me make healthy changes in my life as I move forward. I pray that You would break down the barriers in my mind, body, and spirit that keep me from being well. In Your holy name, Amen.
Day 32:
Sounds
Morning Reflection
Our wellness journey consists of not just differing seasons, but also of many different sounds. Because the journey to wellness is about changing our entire lifestyle, it is only natural that some of the sounds that we hear on a regular basis will change over time. We may even find ourselves speaking differently about wellness and our bodies. After all, Kathy never expected that she would hear her friends cheering her on at the finish line of a race, but that is where her journey led her.
Faith Life
What is your favorite sound in the world? Today write for five minutes about that sound. What does the sound remind you of? Where does God fit into that sound?