A Year of Pursuing Health

I'm just going to be honest.  Put it right out there.  I have avoided writing this blog post.  I knew it needed to be done, but I also knew that once I wrote it and put it out into the world then I had to actually do it.  This is it, this is the next installment in my Year of Pursuits.

The Year of Pursuing Health

I have such a desire to feel healthy.  I am not ill, I'm not obese, I have no major conditions besides the aforementioned mental illness (yes, panic disorder is a mental illness.  I ain't scared to say it.  And yes, I said "ain't").  BUT, I feel like an 80 year old when I hit the sack at night.  I moved furniture in my living room today and had to take Advil and lay down for a bit because my body hurt so bad.

I am only 36.  What's it going to be like when I'm actually 80?

Thus, the year of pursuing health.  I am going to run after it, strive for it, do whatever is in my power to attain it.  But not just for my body - for my heart, mind and soul as well.  I believe that our body is our main tool for ministry, and if it's not running well then we are not doing all we can (because we feel like crap), and if it breaks then we're done - possibly ahead of when the Lord intended for our ministry to BE done, just because we couldn't walk a little and put down the french fries.  I don't know about you, but I don't want to miss the Lord's will for my life over some french fries.

Heart:  If the heart is the wellspring of life (Proverbs 4:23), then I want to do all that I can to make sure what flows from that spring is glorifying to the Lord.  What determines what comes out of that spring?  Mostly what I put into it.  There are certain TV shows that I know I should not watch.  I watch them anyway.  I am entertained by things that do not please the Lord, and there's nothing right about that.  We would never condone in real life MOST of the things we see on TV, but we will sit down and relax by watching it for entertainment.  God has really been working on me in this area.  I am going to filter all entertainment through Philippians 4:8 and commit to turn off anything that is not true, noble, right, lovely, excellent or praiseworthy. Which pretty much means I am done with TV.

Soul:  I am an introvert living an extrovert's life.  My classic introverted nature means that I draw energy from being alone.  I crave being alone.  Sometimes it is in actual physical feeling.  And yet, most of the time I do not make time for this until I am on the edge of complete madness.  There is a point between 2:00 and 3:00 PM every day that we have nothing to do.  This is generally when I putter around the house doing a chore here and there or checking facebook.  In order to keep my soul healthy, from 2:00-3:00 I've decided (to the best of my ability, of course ) to be alone, resting and reading.  Silence and solitude are something I need for health, and I'm going to make it more of a priority in my life on a daily basis. 

Mind:  Well, if you've been around Pieces of Amy long enough then you know that the number one thing I will do for my mind is take my medicine!  Ha!  But other than that, I am going to learn something new every month.  Whether it is something big and major, or something small and insignificant, my brain will be stretched in at least 12 new ways this year.  Who knows what I'll be able to do in 2014!

Strength:  You'd think this one would be the easy one with my background in Wellness Management.  And it is, in my head.  Not so much in real life.  It feels like the whole world conspires against me exercising and losing those last 15 baby pounds.  The thing is, I'm completely unconcerned about the weight (wow, I feel so grown up being able to say that!), but the fact that the weight around my stomach is bad for me does concern me.  I know that without exercise and a proper diet, this machine that God built will never run properly.  My key ingredients to strength will be:  drinking the proper amount of water every day, exercising 3 days a week, and paying much closer attention to the things I put into my mouth.  No diets, no crazy proclamations of P90X or any such torture, just using common sense to take care of my body. 

And there you have it.  January 17th is the beginning, and December 31st I will be a new woman.  It has taken me 36 years to get to this point, but I'm finally where I truly want change.  Not just saying I want change, and wishing it would happen overnight, but truly desiring it enough to sacrifice for it.

Now, I'm off to crochet with my daughter, it's the first new thing I'm learning this year!  So far I stink at it, but if it keeps my hands out of the cookie jar then it is worth every minute.