Stoke the FIRE!
Do you ever feel behind in your day even before it officially starts? Do you feel, too busy, too exhausted, too stressed or too scheduled? Or do you feel that your life is a toxic mix of the above making you impatient, irritable, or unfocused?
I think many of people could answer yes to those feelings at some time in life; especially now coming off the pandemic and all the changes we’ve been forced to make. Add in the fact that we live in a microwave and drive-through society with constant distractions from electronics and social media; we all feel that need to encourages this feeling and quenches our fire. We need or feel we need to always being “connected;” God forbid there’s a Wi-Fi dead zone or no phone service! Why do we seem to ask people, “How was your weekend followed by what did you do?” Why can’t we rest on the seventh day like the Good Lord told us to do? He so strongly knows our human nature that he had one of the Bible superhero’s named Moses put His command in stone…it’s called the fifth commandment…remember the Sabbath day, and keep it holy. What’s that mean? It means God put a rest day into our lives for a reason; we are to have a Sabbath or rest day and keep it holy or set apart. Why? It seems so counter intuitive. To spend time with God and rejuvenate a weary soul. Don’t believe that stuff? Well, are you tired, stressed and longing for true peace? Maybe there’s something to those words from ages ago we need to put back into our practice of living life to get that fire back…
I read a great article by Derek Deprey on LinkedIn about managing your energy and not your time. I loved the focus change or is it change in focus? Instead of looking at and over-crowded schedule and then trying to squeeze movement into your schedule, he encouraged busy people to add movement to their schedule. We all have 24 hours in a day, and we all need to prioritize our time. Adding rest doesn’t seem right, but it is. Sleep deprivation is a torture used around the world so why intentionally torture yourself with a 25/8 lifestyle? Why not stand and talk on the phone, or stretch at a meeting, or do calf raises standing in line? You have the time…you just need to prioritize it. Trade in the screen time for movement time…do a fast of electronics for a week and see how much time you waste on meaningless distractions that you could have “free” to use in a way that is good stewardship of your time and the treasure of the one body God made for you.
Derek talked about poor eating habits he developed as a child – eating candy bars, Burger King and visiting a candy store frequently. He also said after spending over 10,000 hours in my life enjoying tasty treats, 10,000 hours in the gym because of these poor childhood habits and 10,000 hours as a health club leader, “I’ve developed the following acronym and formula to help improve energy levels: FEW (Food + Exercise + Water = Energy). Stop complicating wellness and start simplifying it. Always plan the FEW fundamentals and you’ll be on fire every day.”
Basically, what he is saying is, be a good steward of your body. Garbage in = garbage out. We are what we eat…eat crap; look feel and be crap. If you view food as fuel for your body and not entertainment – eating clean and what your body needs – my plate eating; then add movement AKA exercise and proper water intake (up to half your body weight in ounces of water is a good rule) you will have energy. You will maintain a healthy weight and great numbers baring any family history that may need some additional intention. Add rest to that formula and you have the recipe for well- being that we all crave. Simple…yes, simple.
Don’t tell me you don’t have time to eat healthier…there are fast healthy foods, so don’t give me the “I don’t have time” excuse…fruit is wrapped by the good Lord and is a grab and go food, so are many veggies. Chips and pizzas are expensive – put that money towards healthy foods …it’s not “too expensive.” Hard boil a few eggs while you’re taking a shower as a time savor and you have a grab and go source of protein that’s easy and pre-packaged. Put together some overnight oats or chia pudding for the week in the frig and have a power packed breakfast to kick start your busy day that is grab and go to eat in the car, for kids on the bus or when you get to work…when there’s a will there’s a way.
If you want to be on fire every day, stoke that fire with good “wood” AKA fuel using the “FEW” principles from Derek plus God’s command for adequate rest and time with Him to restore the soul. Life can be simple and enjoyable…today is your day to start living well and enjoy rest as God intended by tapping into the eternal source of power and fire, Him.
