Part 19 (2/2)

CHAPTER 80.

Stay Active Activity is important not only for weight control and healthy bodies but also for happiness. I believe that inactivity, laziness, and pa.s.sivity are some of the culprits behind depression and feelings of dissatisfaction. I find that if I am feeling unhappy one of the things that will help is to simply do something. It helps me get my mind off myself and gets my blood flowing. The Bible tells a story of ten virgins waiting for their bridegroom to come. Five were wise and five were foolish. The wise ones stayed alert and spent time getting extra oil for their lamps so they would not go out in case the bridegroom was slow in coming, but the foolish did nothing. They were inactive and lazy, and they did nothing extra so when the bridegroom came they were unprepared and missed their opportunity (see Matthew 25:113). You may not be able to change your circ.u.mstances, but you can change your habits. Don't let yourself live in ways that allow you to be excessively inactive. Rebel against too much convenience.

Don't let yourself live in ways that allow you to be excessively inactive. Rebel against too much convenience.

To be honest, I think Satan has put one over on us. He has made everything so easy and comfortable and convenient it's killing us. We think we are saving time and effort, but we are really losing strength and energy. Doing work, staying active, is not bad. Don't try to avoid it. We want drive-through service for as many things in life as possible, but the trouble is, there is no drive-through good health! Starting today, take steps to make your life a little less convenient and a little more active.

Here are just a few ideas for how to do that: * Take the stairs. Every time you skip the elevator and walk up a flight, you burn calories, tone some of the muscles you care most about toning, and wake yourself up too.

* Don't waste time looking for the closest parking s.p.a.ce. Purposely park so you have to walk a little.

* Walk as much as possible. Think of ways you can get in a little extra walking.

* Don't procrastinate. When you think of a job that needs doing, get up and do it.

* Choose activities that force you to move. Try gardening, sweeping the driveway, dance cla.s.ses, or mall walking.

* When you watch TV, get up and stretch periodically. Do the same thing at work.

* Sometimes try putting your TV in front of a treadmill and slowly walking while you watch. Go slow enough you aren't distracted. You'll be surprised how quickly it feels natural.

* Keep two five-pound exercise b.a.l.l.s or weights in a convenient place where you will see them. Several times a day stop and do a short routine to exercise your upper body. It only takes a minute or two and it loosens up tight muscles.

Try incorporating ways of moving more in your daily life. You'll feel better and be better equipped to serve G.o.d and others in your new life!

CHAPTER 81.

Power Up!

Whenever the word exercise is mentioned, lots of people groan. I'll tell you a secret: I used to groan too! My husband tried to get me to exercise regularly for years and I just hated it. Walking on a treadmill was boring to me, and I always made excuses of being too busy. (We should stop saying, ”I don't have the time” regarding exercise, because what we really mean is, ”That thing falls too far down on my priority list.”) One day as I was looking at myself in the mirror I sensed G.o.d saying in my heart that I needed to get on a good exercise program if I wanted to be strong for what He has called me to do. Dave telling me to exercise seemed to aggravate me, but when G.o.d told me it had a different effect on me. I went to a gym and started working with a trainer, and it has been one of the single best things I have ever done in my life. My energy level is amazing, and I lost almost two pant sizes, which would make any woman happy.

Fortunately, gyms don't have a monopoly on exercise. There are thousands of ways to get good exercise, and most don't cost a lot of money, require special equipment, or sidetrack your day. Exercise can be something you look forward to doing if you find what is right for you. Perhaps walking is what you enjoy, or golf or tennis. Maybe you prefer to exercise at home by yourself or would enjoy being in an aerobics cla.s.s. There are lots of choices, but the bottom line is we need to be active. You might wear a little gadget that measures the steps you take every day. It can become a goal to walk five thousand steps or more each day. I am convinced that G.o.d will customize a plan for you if you are willing to do it. In addition to traditional exercise, make an effort to keep your body active in as many small ways as possible.

Sometimes it is a good choice not to use every convenience offered to us. Some forced ”inconveniences” are necessary because today we use our bodies so little. We have an abundance of appliances requiring no more than the push of a b.u.t.ton to operate. Very few of us have jobs that involve exercise, and most of our leisure activities are spent with our feet up too. This is a new development, and a potentially deadly one. Human beings were made to exercise. Our bodies are fit together with joints because G.o.d expected we would be moving a lot.

Human beings were made to exercise. Our bodies are fit together with joints because G.o.d expected we would be moving a lot.

We don't read in the Bible about Noah's workout routine or Moses' Pilates session, because everything they did in life involved exercise. Before vehicles, electricity, and machines, everything in the world was run by human power or animal power. If you wanted to get somewhere, you walked. If you needed to bring something with you, you carried it. You did laundry by hand, chopped your own firewood, and ground your own grain. This physically active lifestyle may have been one of the reasons for the incredible longevity of these biblical characters.

The best walker of all may have been Jesus. He routinely walked from His home in Galilee to Jerusalem-a distance of about 120 miles! Over the course of His ministry, He must have walked thousands of miles. In Jesus' day people thought little of walking ten miles. And because they did it all their lives, they had the well-developed bodies to accomplish such long walks with ease. Once when I was in Moscow, I noticed most people were slender. When I asked why, I was informed that most of them had no automobiles and walked everywhere they went.

Even as recently as 1920, people in American towns and cities walked on average nearly two miles to and from work or school, in addition to whatever exercise they got while working. That walk alone burned about two hundred calories per day, which is worth twenty pounds a year in lost weight. When we traded in our daily walk for the convenience of a car, we didn't realize we were getting twenty pounds in the bargain.

The benefit of weight-loss and a better appearance is just the tip of the iceberg. Just a few of the conditions you can help prevent through exercise are heart disease, stroke, diabetes, cancer, Alzheimer's, arthritis, asthma, depression, and gastrointestinal ills. You'll get fewer colds, feel less stress, and look great too. Less fat, more muscle, better tone, straighter posture.

Great things happen when your sneaker hits the pavement and your heart starts pounding.

<script>