When it comes to health, we all face the tension between our ideal lives and our reality. Our ideal lives would allow room for the activities that make optimum well being possible. The pressures of life require that we make choices which challenge our resolve to make health a priority in 2023.
- How is your health today compared to this time last year?
- Did your plans get derailed (again!) by the demands of life and ministry?
- Do you feel empowered or defeated, proud or ashamed of the state of your health?
- Do you have a vague sense of what you wish to change, or do you have a solid plan in place for your physical, mental, and spiritual well being in 2022?
Putting a microscope to our own habits isn’t always an easy or comfortable task. But doing it in a safe space with other sojourners can take the edge off (and take us off the edge!). Creating a plan is the first order of business!
Here’s what one pastor recently shared about his health journey:
“If I am going to take care of people, the only way I can do that is if I am taking care of myself. Too many times pastors are at the beck and call of staff, congregants, and anyone who has a need, putting our own well being on the back burner.
When I began to give attention to my health I had so much more energy, my sleep was better, I was able to be more alert and present with people everyday.
It took me from a place of feeling mentally oppressed, to feeling like I could make a difference in people’s lives.”
Here are a few suggestions to create your own 2023 health plan:
- Discover your “why.” Why do you even care to be healthy? What difference will it make to the quality of your life and ministry? What has God called you to, and how can you powerfully step into that with your mind, body, soul and strength?
- Evaluate your current reality and discover some simple approaches to shore up areas that are holding you back and draining your energy. If you would like to take a brief assessment and schedule a free follow-up conversation with my wife Gina Reinecke, certified health coach, you can contact her at ginareinecke@gmail.com.
- Learn basic strategies to upgrade your physical, emotional, and spiritual well being. There is ample information available at our fingertips via a quick search on the internet. Ultimately, this is a great way to kick off 2023!
Throughout the month of January, I invite you to do a thorough assessment of your physical, emotional, and spiritual goals so that you can make the most out of 2023.
Photo by Pablo Heimplatz on Unsplash
