What energizes your battery?

What keeps you spiritually charged? I keep a list of things to do when I’ve got writer’s block. Like take a hike, teach an imaginary crowd out loud, do some outlandish brainstorming or read something I wouldn’t normally read. Those things can recharge my creativity cells, but I need another list of activities that fights off spiritual block.

The list is different for all of us. It’s not deep meditation and prostrate prayer for everyone. It might be prayer while fishing, sailing or surfing. I like to hike, find a rock near a stream and meditate. It might be hanging out with Christian friends, listening to inspiring speakers or the Bible, or singing worship songs at the top of your lungs in the car. Whatever works for you, make a mental list for reference when you need a recharge. And schedule a recharge moment once a month. Don’t wait until you’re running low.

Contributed by Mark Reed

Author of Rehearsing for Heaven

Bouncing Back rather than Just Surviving

As Christmas programs come to an end, we can breath a sigh of relief.  Now it’s time to enjoy the Christmas holiday.

Oh wait, how can I enjoy my time with family and friends when I am drained from the Christmas programs?

In 2010, 81% of human resource managers (Workplace Management poll) agreed that employee fatigue is a growing problem, more than in years past.  Ministry leaders and staff members are no exception, especially around the end of the year; when many public employees are taking time off and ministry employees are working over time on Christmas programs.

What do we do? Dr Al Siebert, author of The Resiliency Advantage notes rebounding from fatigue is a matter of experience.    Ask yourself, “What body clues (such as signals my body tells me) scream out at me?  What inside of me says,  ”I need attention”.

Then ask yourself, “What have I done in the past to regain strength/energy?”  Or the opposite, veg on the couch and eat junk food.

Today, consider what your body is telling you and what your body needs most?

The Lord said in Isaiah 43:19b,  “I am making a way in the desert, streams in the wasteland”.

So, consider what you did in the past to recover from fatigue?  What helped you recover from being so tired, wasted?  How can you apply what you did in the past  to present day?

Finish by writing a plan down, posting it somewhere look everyday (bathroom mirror, refrigerator or computer screen) and tell someone what you are doing.

Let Ministry Care know how it helped you or did  not help you at:  gary@ministrycare.org.

Healthy eating choices are difficult these days.  With all the delicious and appetizing food commercials and TV food programs around the holidays, one can begin salivating in front of the TV.  Holiday snack food on the kitchen counter and tasty pastries on the office work room counter entices one to eat before thinking.

Below are some tips from Tibits from Tim Detmer, a St Louis based health coach and trainer  at Finish It Fitness.

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Jim got a call this morning from a church member who needed to see him.  Jim answered, “Of course I have time to see you today.”  Then, he replied, “How about 2 pm?”  After the call Jim thought, how am I going to finish this report before the elder’s meeting tonight?

Lisa, the church’s children’s director, felt encouraged when she was able to save the church money, not spending the entire ministry budget.  Then she came to find out, her budget was cut since she did not use all of the ministry funds.

You may ask

• What is the common theme in these examples?
• How does one’s time and budget affect one’s balance?

Each example either has enough or not enough space or resources available to accommodate the need.  Being able to maintain breathing room (space) within our time and/or financial resources is critical in maintaining our own physical, spiritual, emotional and relational needs.

Do you generally experience appointments that seem to go longer than expected?  Do your ministry expenses tend to exceed the estimated costs?   These concerns can be due to the lack of margin you put into your appointments and budget.

For some, there is a tendency to squeeze in another appointment in our day and/or get more out of our ministry resources (financial, volunteers, etc.).  One could say, these tendencies can be from a passionate desire to serve others. Passion is needed in ministry, though squeezing and pressing our resources can leave our self and others drained like an orange used to extract orange juice.

Accurate determinations of your time and expenses can affect your health and the amount of stress in your life.  So what needs to be different in your schedule this week?  What tasks have you over estimated or underestimated?  Experiment with one or two events within the next 7 days to see if the margin you put into your ministry makes a difference in your own personal health.

Professional bicycle tour riders believe recovery is the power behind racing.  Bicyclists who race in 7-21 day events believe recovery must start as the race begins.  Tour riders have learned over time to pace themselves each day and once the days race is over, it’s time to recover.

Riders use pieces of recovery by first placing focus and concentration on how energy is spent and how energy is gained.  All bicyclists must eat energy bars and drink plenty of fluids while riding no matter how uncomfortable their stomachs feel in order to have enough energy to climb the next hill.

Second, tour riders use team tactics such as serving as a lead rider to break the wind assisting riders behind to use 34% less energy.  Some team members ferry water and snacks from the race car to team riders.

How can you apply tour riders strategies to add margin in your life?
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A recent article told a story of a man walking a very long road from one village to another. At the outskirts of the new village he encountered a farmer laboring in his field, cutting hay. He said to the farmer, “I have walked a great distance to come to this village of yours. I have left my village looking for a new home, perhaps I will find it here. Tell me, how are the people in this village? What kind of people are they?” The man in the field thought a moment, then asked, “What were the people like in the village you came from?” The traveler replied, “They were uncaring, self-absorbed, cynical, and unfriendly. That’s why I left.” The farmer paused before replying and then said, “I think that’s how you’ll find the people here, too.” The traveler replied, “In that case, I’ll just move on and look somewhere else.”

A couple of days later, the farmer was again out in his field when another man approached him and said, “My village was destroyed and the people scattered. I am looking to find myself a new home, perhaps in this village. Can you tell me, how are the people in this village? What kind of people are they?” The farmer asked, “What were the people like in your village?” The traveler replied, “They were wonderful people. Loving, close, helpful, and I will miss them terribly.” The farmer said, “I think that’s how you’ll find the people here, too.”

What does your village look like to you?  How do you perceive your church surroundings, people and staff?

Our perception affects our attitude.  Our attitude affects our actions and words.  Taking time to adjust our perception often comes by resting through sensory download.  This is a fancy phrase for taking time away from ministry to surrender or ring out (like a soaked sponge) stuff in your heart and mind.  Surrendering to God painful and negative thoughts about disappointments and unmet expectations are good examples.  Then absorbing God’s Word and spiritual refreshment (peace, joy, grace, etc) brings the opportunity for a new attitude.

In your quiet time with your heavenly Father, consider several areas of opportunity (needs changing) to “ring out” from your soul.

Starting a new habit sounds easy and can be, if it includes a quart of ice cream a day or sleeping late.  Okay, beginning healthy habits are often disastrous because they are short lived and often involve a lot of discomfort.  Being healthy generally involved denying yourself something you normally have every day or doing something that you rarely do which kills any motivation to change.

Do you remember in the past, trying the latest diet or buying a gym membership?  Sometimes we depend upon our own strength to begin new a habit, without thought and prayer.  Other times, we believe in will power and a new book to bring about change.  Often, we try to conquer a bad habit in a few weeks, which is like patching a water pipe leak with duck tape.  Our attempts and solutions are often temporary or have minimal results.

For those who have found success, beginning a new habit is a process of making small changes.  No matter how much we want to eat different foods or pay money to get fit, change rarely occurs unless there are two ingredients involve.  The first is confidence and the second is motivation. As the Solomon writes in the book of Proverbs, “My son, preserve sound judgment and discernment … for the Lord will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being snared”, (Proverbs 3:20 & 26).

Taking responsibility for your health through discernment of small, attainable steps enables a person to build confidence.  Receiving support from others and grasping the importance of your results (like lowering blood pressure, increased energy level, etc) can build one’s motivation to building the healthy habit.

The truth behind healthy habits is the belief each one is built over time with the intention of being a life long habit.  Often, the development of each habit is based upon very small steps and monitoring your results.  Some find writing down their weekly steps and results help build their success (like charts or pictures on the refrigerator), others find working with a group of like minded people help completion of each step towards healthy habits.

Whatever your course or desired goal, be sure to consult your primary care physician and get the support of those important to you.  Seeking a spiritual basis for each step, along with spiritual disciplines in accordance with God’s Word will build a deeper confidence in God and motivation in building healthy habits.

Tim Detmer’s December e-letter called TidBits from Tim provides some helpful hints about holiday, party eating habits.  Here are some of his ideas.

Short Cut #1: Eat a sensible meal before the party.
You should always arrive at parties with a full stomach. I realize that this goes against the popular trend of starving yourself before a party, and that’s exactly why most people gain weight. Since your stomach will be full, you’ll have the clarity to pick and choose the treats that you really want, rather than stuffing yourself with everything in sight.

Short Cut #2: Bring a healthy dish to share.
Don’t worry if the party that you’re going to isn’t a potluck – the hostess will love you for being so thoughtful, and you’ll have a healthy option to enjoy.

Short Cut #3: Never drink calories.
Do you realize how quickly calories add up when you’re slurping them out of a cup? Sweet holiday drinks are simply packed with calories. These calories don’t take up much room in your stomach so you’re left wide open for even more calories.

Your best strategy is to avoid these beverages altogether, and stick with water. Aim to drink 2-3 glasses of water at the party.

Short Cut #4: Fill your plate, but only once.
I’m certainly not going to tell you that you shouldn’t eat anything at the party. By all means, go and fill up your plate. But only once.

That’s right, you heard me. No going back for seconds. Since you’ve already eaten a sensible meal before arriving, this rule is going to be easier to keep than you think.

Short Cut #5: Taste dessert, just a taste.
The holidays are all about sweet treats, so go ahead and partake. But just a taste. Look at desserts as something to savor, not something to fill up on.

And since you ate a sensible meal before you came, then you filled up your dinner plate once you’re probably going to be pretty full at this point anyway.

That’s it – all you need to know to not gain a single pound at holiday parties.

You can visit Tim’s site at:  http://www.timstraining.com/

What is self care?

Simply put, caring for one’s own self.  Another way to put it, loving your self the way God loves you in order to glorify God.  Self care enables your self to be equipped to serve. Then if self care is necessary for glorifying God, then why is it so hard?

Throughout our spiritual development we have taken time in silence to be spiritually equipped by reading His Word and petitioning His grace.  Though when our emotional needs are drained or cognitive resources depleted, we may ignore refueling or push on for the sake of the cause.  Later we wonder why getting out of bed can be so hard or why we resent making another call.

Ok, so we see the picture clearly, loving our self means to care for all of our needs, whether spiritually, emotionally, mentally, physically or relationally.  Since we know taking time for our health is important, let’s review the checklist below to identify your needs and the last time your took time for yourself.

1. I have seen my primary care physician in the last 8-10 months.
2. Relaxed when I ate my lunch, without reading or talking about work or my schedule.
3. Talked to someone other than my spouse about an emotional struggle, hardship or challenge.
4. Faced a conflict with my spouse, co-worker or neighbor in order to reconcile differences.
5. Had an eye examination and/or had corrective dental work; a dental exam would suffice.
6. Went out with my spouse (if married) or best friend (if single) for fun, without an agenda.
7. Relaxed while waiting in line at Wal-Mart or smiled while waiting in the car for my spouse.
8. Looked inside at what you’re feeling and thinking after hearing disappointing news about … .
9. When have you added one physical activity (exercise) to your weekly routine?
10. Told someone outside your family “no” in order have time for … .
11. Went to a worship service other than your home church for no other purpose than to worship.