[Better Health Challenge – Week 3]
INTRO
Remember the book of Genesis tells us that once God finished all of Creation, He rested on the seventh day. We should consider His example as good for each of us today. Let us work to produce results and then rest from our labors.
Consider this week your time to begin enjoying the fruits of your labor. Whenever you take a moment to relax, maybe look around at what your Awesome God has entrusted into your care.
Rest is so incredibly important and well worth setting aside some time for recovery. Allowing your racing heart to calm down. Giving your muscles time to prepare for their next usage.
ASSESS
When do you get to rest? At home or work or church… Maybe on the commute from one place to another. Perhaps on your day off (unless you work even harder trying to get caught up on your own priorities).
How often do you sit down? Do you ever monitor how long you are standing on your feet? Your workplace may not allow It, but possibly you could sit at least a few minutes for every hour you are standing on your feet.
Rest should include sitting (at certain times). Perhaps even more important is your sleep. How many hours do you actually sleep? Or, do you feel you toss and turn most of the time worried and stressed?
CONSIDER
A good goal from this challenge could be to get more rest (time relaxing in a chair and sleeping better at night). The real concern that I want you to ponder is that we do not want you to collapse of exhaustion.
Over the next week or so, would you be okay with becoming the more refreshed you? And are you willing to proactively make a few adjustments (at your discretion)? Planning an extra hour of relaxation and/or sleep this week.
Maybe at the end of seven days you could be feeling more alive and energetic. Of course, we cannot make any promises. From experience, I can say that lack of rest, relaxation and sleep have negatively impacted my health (several years ago).
EVALUATE
So, let us take a moment right now and plan when you will set aside some extra time this week for rest (relaxation and sleep). Once home from work, maybe you could perform at least one task more relaxed or reclined.
As a second consideration, could you get to bed a little earlier than usual? Maybe just ten or fifteen minutes. I hope you feel that allocating sufficient time for sleep is important for the new you. Remember, you are just trying this out for a week.
Likely the best advice that I can provide you with for the ultimate success is to begin tracking your progress. Writing down what you are doing different each day, and then ask yourself if you feel any better at the end of the week.
Under the Shadow of the Almighty” (Psalm 91:1),
Shawn Episcopo