Nutrition
Instead of potato chips and a cream-based dip (like onion dip), try making salsa and eating it with baked tortilla chips for a delicious and healthy party snack.
Evening Wrap-up
Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
ROMANS 12:11-12
Just as a difficult path can be part of the journey toward wellness, so can enjoyment. If we enjoy ourselves, we are more likely to move toward wellness and less likely to resent wellness in our lives. After all, wellness is often about feeling good. God wants enjoyment and rejoicing for us. In fact, we have been created for rejoicing! Paul tells us in his letter to the Romans to be ardent in spirit and to rejoice in hope. As we spend our energy rejoicing and enjoying the path to wellness, we will feel better about ourselves and with God.
Living God, thank You for this journey and for helping me through my tough days so far. Help me now to see You in this journey and to enjoy this path. In Your holy name, Amen.
Day 14:
Thanksgiving
Morning Reflection
At the end of another week, today we can pause and give thanks for the gifts that God has given us: wonderful food, family and friends, bodies that move and work. When we stop to give thanks, it feels good. And when we give thanks, we have to stop for a moment, take stock, and appreciate what we have. This can give us motivation to move forward on our journey toward the next thing. So today, we give thanks for the week past and look forward to the weeks to come.
Faith Life
Thankfulness comes in a variety of forms. Today make a list of everything that you encounter for which you are thankful. At the end of the day, say a prayer, reading the list.
Medical
Refilling prescriptions can be difficult to remember. If your pharmacy has an automatic refill program, take advantage of it. This way, you are less likely to run out of your medication.
Movement
If you are waiting in line today, spend time in line rising up on your toes and lowering back down. This helps to strengthen your calf muscles, which will help build walking endurance.
Work
As you work today, spend some time thinking about the things for which you are thankful. Go for a walk when you are on a break and give thanks for the time you spend walking.
Emotional
When you are feeling overwhelmed or upset, spend five minutes remembering and making a list of the things for which you are thankful. This can help you gain perspective.
Family and Friends
Today take a moment to thank your family and friends for the support they give you. Remember that they are a very important part of your overall wellness.
Nutrition
If you are a soda drinker and find it difficult to give up the habit, try drinking seltzer water for a carbonated treat. If you want something sweet, try adding a small amount of no-sugar-added fruit juice to the seltzer.
Evening Wrap-up
“Give thanks to the LORD Almighty, for the LORD is good; his love endures forever.”
JEREMIAH 33:11
The Lord is good, and for this, we give thanks! We can give thanks for each day, for the meals on our table, for the family and friends who love us. We can certainly give thanks for all of God’s blessings. Giving thanks and being thankful on the journey toward wellness, we are bound to get overwhelmed. Wellness means changing habits and sometimes giving up things that we have always done and enjoyed. Giving thanks helps us to take stock of what we have been given. If we take the time to give thanks, we may find ourselves more grateful.
Life-giving God, please make me thankful today. Help me take the time to be grateful. Help me see all the blessings in my life. In Your holy name, Amen.
Week 3
Arthur’s Story
Arthur is a public school librarian who is described as kind-hearted and gentle—but only by his wife! To other people, Arthur was stubborn, difficult, and even sometimes rude. After his wife became ill, Arthur became even more withdrawn and frustrating. He suffered from severe leg pain and hypertension and could barely walk. He also found that his wife could no longer prepare food for either of them, and that he had to learn to cook to feed himself and his wife.
With no place else to go (and no other way of learning how to cook!), Arthur reluctantly signed up for the nutrition classes at Church Health Center Wellness. He began going every morning with the intent of learning the basics of how to cook, but found himself enjoying the classes and taking better care of his health. The class instructor says that, though he started the class grumpy and complaining, his mood softened as he continued to attend.
When his wife died, the nutrition classes became a way to deal with his grief. His instructor suggested that he quit using salt, and so he filled his saltshaker with dried herbs and learned new recipes. Over some time, his blood pressure decreased. Recently, Arthur’s nutrition classmates helped him plant an herb garden in his backyard. This past autumn, Arthur reaped his first harvest and hung his herbs to dry. He continues to learn new and better recipes and care for his hypertension using those fragrant herbs harvested from his garden.
The class instructor says that, though he started the class grumpy and complaining, his mood softened as he continued to attend.
Day 15:
Balance
Morning Reflection
Managing hypertension, as with all of wellness, is about finding balance. Balanced diet, balanced exercise, and life-work balances are all very important when it comes to living a wellness-oriented life. Of course, achieving balance is often easier said than done. Arthur wasn’t able to find balance between his mood and his responsibilities at home until he found some friends at the Wellness Center. We all get busy and overwhelmed and then it is easy to fall back into old unhealthy habits and behaviors. This week, we will turn our focus to achieving and maintaining a balanced and wellness-oriented life.
Faith Life
Go for a walking meditation today. Walk for about ten minutes around your house, around your block, or even around your workplace. As you walk, make an effort to notice the wonderful way that your body is put together, and the balance that helps you to walk.
Medical
Know your numbers. Talk to your doctor about what good blood pressure numbers are for you and what your goal is for a healthy reading. Write down your blood pressure number to remind yourself when you check your readings.
Movement
There is no movement without balance. Today, spend ten minutes balancing on one foot at a time. Balance as long as you can on one foot and then switch to the other. By balancing, you will build strength in your calves and ankles, as well as in your abdomen and back.
Work
Many of us talk about finding the right “balance” between work and personal life. Today, take five minutes and write about what the right balance looks like to you, whether you have currently achieved it or not.
Emotional
Balancing busyness with downtime is very important to maintaining emotional wellness. Today, take ten minutes to sit and relax. Take some deep breaths in and out. Close your eyes. Relax.
Family and Friends
All of us can lose our balance from time to time. It is at those times when it is most important to reach out for support. Today, go for a brisk walk with a friend or family member who might help support you on your journey.
Nutrition
As with general wellness, good nutrition is mostly about balance and moderation. In particular, good nutrition includes appropriate portion size. Today, keep a log of the things you eat and include the portion size. Remember that one portion of meat should be about the size of a deck of cards.