[Part 5 of a series of posts on keeping your heart healthy. If you haven't already, read the introduction to this series of posts here...]
Habit Number 4: Rest
As important as it is to our physical health to physically get away from the office, it is equally important for my spiritual health to unplug as well. To escape the office isn't just a practice that will keep your body from breaking down - it will keep your soul from breaking down as well. When I seize moments to be quiet and still before God it quiet’s my soul. When I unplug the TV and spend an evening with God it fills my cup. When I stop listening to all the noise and all the other voices I so often tune in to and give careful attention to God’s voice I find that I come away refreshed. Truth is, I rarely her God speak unless I shut everything else off.
There is a reason that God commanded us to keep the Sabbath; it is a discipline for our own spiritual health every bit as much as it is for our physical health; but it won't do my heart any good unless I seek it out. As a leader, I've learned that no one is readily offering that time to me. No one else is protecting my Sabbath. No one else is pushing me to take a day off to be alone with God. That is something only I can do. Unless I fight for a day away, my schedule will demand that I keep going.
So how do you effectively take a day of rest when everything and everyone is asking you for more? Here are a few practices I've embraced:
- Schedule a quarterly "white day" out of the office. A "white day" is a day dedicated to thinking, praying, looking forward and taking stock of where you've been. No cell phone. No laptop. No intrusions. Schedule it early or it won't happen - something will come up that you feel you 'just have to be at.'
- Turn off your email. You don't need to check your mail every 5 minutes on the weekend. If you've committed to be with your family, be with your family. It is completely possible to be present and absent all at the same time. Don't do that to them. If you need to stay connected, schedule 1 time a day to look through your inbox on the weekends.
- Drive noise free. From time to time I need just to sit with God. Often times the car is the only place I can't be touched, but so often I spend that time listening to junk. Use your commute to reflect and pray. Fast from the radio for a week and ask God to meet you in those moments.
- Seize your best moment. I'm not a morning person, I'm a night owl. I think best at night. Often times, just to be with God or address some nagging issue or thought I'll tuck everyone in for bed and then go pray, read and reflect. The stillness of my home at midnight is beautiful. For you it may be the morning. Whatever it is, seize it and use it to be still.
So what are you doing to keep your heart healthy? There are countless opportunities to be coached, fed and encouraged but ultimately keeping your heart healthy depends on you. Perhaps its time to make a change, start a habit or even kill an old one in order to get yourself healthy.
I'm certainly not there yet, so please seize this moment to let me know what you do to keep you healthy.
[Part 4 of a series of posts on keeping your heart healthy. If you haven't already, read the introduction to this series of posts here...]
Habit Number 3: Exercise
Last time I talked about the necessity of eating right for your heart. I confess, I live in a land saturated with great restaurants and so I don't often eat well... uh, wait... was that a metaphor for great churches or actual restaurants? Okay, so the secret is out, I don't eat well physically or spiritually. But I digress.
In much the same way that I often fail to eat well, I also often fail to exercise adequately. Just as my physical heart needs to be pushed and stretched, so too does my spiritual heart. I need to wrestle with my faith; not simply to study and think and be challenged but also to exercise my faith through service and missional opportunities. It does me no good to sit on the couch (aka, the pew) and think that I am getting exercise simply because I'm surrounded by like-minded people. Getting up and going to church on a rainy Sunday morning doesn't count as 'spiritual exercise.' Don’t get me wrong, everyone needs to be coached and challenged by those more mature than we are; but when it comes right down to it we have to remember that even though coaches are important their job is not to do the work for us. We must embrace the disciplines personally and get out on the field ourselves.
Disciplines like:
- Missions Excursions (get out of your bubble),
- Justice (caring for the poor, the oppressed, and yes even the alien),
- Service (washing feet and meeting needs),
- Generosity (not just throwing something in the offering plate),
- Confession (I consider it exercise because its hard; it stretches me),
- Sacrifice (giving at great cost because He did)
I grow out when I eat. I grow up when I serve. Each of the two are necessary, but eating is often much more fun to do. We must be sure to work out our faith. Doing so will keep us healthy.
One last habit yet to come...
[Part 3 of a series of posts on keeping your heart healthy. If you haven't already, read the introduction to this series of posts here...]
Habit Number 2: Healthy Eating
Any heart doctor will tell you that how you eat and what you eat are key to keeping healthy, and the same is true spiritually. If you want spiritual health then it only makes sense to watch what you eat - and what you eat is extremely important to your heart.
I regret to say that my spiritual eating habits are often times no better than my physical ones. I too willingly settle for fast food. I eat cheaply instead of deeply. As a Christian there is no substitute for eating well. Getting into God's Word is critical. "Fast food" feedings and "drive through" devotions will not keep you spiritually healthy.
Snacking instead of feasting is also a problem. I know a lot of Christians who snack but never eat. The truth of the matter is that many times I sample snippets of Scripture or try to survive off of scraps that I collect from sermons or from books instead of digging into something solid. It's tempting to look to others to feed me instead of doing the work of getting into God’s Word myself. It's fast. It's easy. Sometimes it's more convenient for my schedule. But it's simply not healthy over the long haul.
When it comes to healthy eating for my spiritual health I live by a few simple "diet do's and dont's":
- DO: Feed myself from the source each and every day. Eating once a week spiritually is about as smart as eating once a week physically.
- DON'T: Rush a feeding. Not only do you feel better when you take the time to eat well, but you also get more nutrition out of the meal.
- DO: Plan out your meals. Don't just open the Bible randomly and expect a steak dinner. Think about what you're doing. Read intentionally. Use a Bible reading plan or go choose a book of the Bible you will stick with for a season.
- DON'T: Accept scraps from someone else's diet. Accountability groups are great; discussion groups are beneficial; and listening to what a friend is learning is awesome...but none of those things count as your personal time with God. Also on that note...
- DON'T: Expect your pastor to feed you everything you need. Sermons are like eating out on the weekend: it's fun and really good but it can't and shouldn't carry you all week long. Again, nothing beats cooking for yourself... get into God's Word!
- DO: Get the right cookware. Find a Bible you can read and get a journal or whatever else helps you study, understand or reflect on Scripture well. The right tools are essential to feeding yourself well.
These are just a few of the things I keep in mind to help me with my diet. They are by no means all of the things to consider, but the jist of it is this: Eat well. Watch what you eat. Don't compromise or skimp. Your heart needs the proper nourishment and without it you'll be more prone to getting run down.
I'd love to hear your additions to the diet do's and don'ts...
They say a watched pot never boils. I'm beginning to think that the same may be true of package delivery.
Ever since Amazon invented the "Track My Shipment" feature I've been hooked... especially when I'm waiting on a new toy. I recently ordered some new gear and I can't wait for it to get here. I check the delivery status every couple of hours. I know, I'm pathetic. Even more pathetic is that I also cross check it with the delivery service. I'm truly OCD.
But alas, just as a watched pot never boils, so too a watched package never delivers.
I'll check again in an hour.
[If you haven't already, read the introduction to this series of posts here...]
Habit Number 1: Prioritize
The truth of the matter is that many of the problems that led to my physical unhealth are the same problems the plague my spiritual life – and yet I continue to ignore them and fail to change how I live. One of my biggest problems? I work too much. This isn’t just a problem physically; it’s a problem spiritually. I find myself distracted from God because I’m so focused on what I’m doing here and now. I sacrifice time with Him and time in community because I allow my work schedule to interfere with my spiritual life. When I forfeit time with God in the morning because I “have” to get into the office early I sacrifice a discipline designed to keep my heart healthy.
For me, staying spiritually healthy demands staying focused on a few key priorities:
- Face-Time with God. If you are a Christian, spending time with God isn't optional; it's foundational. No relationship can survive without face-time; time connecting, time communicating, time 'relating.' If face-time with God gets pushed aside then you will have heart issues. For me, this means time with God in the morning - yes, that's right, before work! There's no point putting your armor on after you get home from the battle.
- Face-Time with Key People. Everyone needs a Paul in their life. (If you don't get that reference, you probably don't have one in yours.) We all need someone who knows us and can hold our feet to the fire when we need it. Having someone to speak truth to us is critical to staying healthy and mis-prioritizing this is dangerous.
- Spiritual Community. You can't do it on your own. One of the biggest mistakes I see people make is taking Sunday off when things get busy or hard. If life is killing you, don't skip out on the one place designed to build you back up. (Oh, and if you don't have a place - call me.) My LifeGroup and my church are essential to my heart's health. I need these people and these moments of study, worship, and connection with them. Cutting back here is not an option.
It takes intentionality to let people in, to pursue conversations with others and to pursue time with God. If you don't plan it, it won't happen and if it doesn't happen it will come back to haunt you. Maybe not now. Maybe not next week. But it will hurt your heart. Do yourself a favor, do what I do and put these things on your calendar. Live and die by them. When you need to take a break, skip something else but not these - never these.
Next post, habit number 2...
