Do you ever feel like this bear when it comes to healthy habits in your ministry and personal life? Sometimes it feels like all the pressures and deadlines keep tripping us up. We might feel like we are ‘running’ well for a few days, but then something comes up: A ministry deadline, a busy week, a dispute with someone at church, our own motivation… and we are flat on our face again. This has been true for me many times.
The truth is, our ability to manage a sustainable ministry is tied to how well we are living out our lives in health, emotions, mental challenge and of course, our spiritual depth. We cannot get away from the fact that our effectiveness is tied to discipline and good habits.
As we start the new year, I’m going to share my plan and progress with establishing healthy habits in my life. Here’s how it looks:
A few months ago I read a book called ‘The Power of Full Engagement’ by Loehr and Schwartz. There a four key areas they maintain must be worked on together to help us to be ‘fully engaged’. They assert that if one area is not being invested in, it is likely that other areas in our life will be impacted. The areas are:
1) Spiritual Growth (although these guys don’t claim to be Christians, they do understand the importance of spiritual growth in our lives.
2) Physical
3) Mental
4) Emotional
During the next week I am going to take some time laying out what I do and am going to do this year to keep healthy habits and healthy balance.
Today on December 31st, it’s a good opportunity to look back as see how well I did in those areas and make a plan for the next year. Remember, nothing happens unless it is intentional. Discipleship for tomorrow always starts today… Are you ready?
