Welcome to Fitness Fridays Blog Carnival #4. The idea is to connect people who are seeking to live a fit life. It’s no easy task alone and humans were wired to work together to accomplish life goals. So here’s the deal: I’ll share a post on a topic related to health and fitness, then you can either add to that topic on your own blog or in the comments section below. Then promote it! share this link on facebook, tweet it out, or send up smoke signals – not because what I have to say is golden, but because we need each other to help gain and remain fit!
My topic this week: Channeling Stress
A few days ago, we were experiencing a wave of rain storms. The church where I serve as Minister of Worship, First Baptist Church, began to feel the affects of this rain in some negative ways. We drove in one morning to see that part of the hillside supporting our driveway had begun to wash out and even exposed the conduit containing power lines and other utilities. A quick investigation up the road found the source of the problem. The developer building a new neighborhood of houses on our road was trying to solve their drainage issues. Unfortunately for us, their solution brought destruction to our property and almost led to our driveway caving in! The developer did correct the problem and everything is OK now.
The point here is that water from our neighboring property was channeled in a way that led to destruction. Water is a formidable force of nature. It can take a rock and make it beautiful and smooth or bring destruction to everything in its path. The fact remains that water is a part of life. We have to channel water as best we can so that it doesn’t destroy.
Stress is like water. It is a part of life. We have to channel stress as best we can so that it doesn’t destroy.
I am not a good manager of stress as witnessed in my physical condition. I am, however, making huge strides in trying to understand stress triggers in my life and how I can channel stress in a healthy way. In keeping with the sense of community in this series of blog posts, I have asked Jimmy Page, National Director of Fellowship of Christian Athletes Health & Fitness, to contribute by answering the following questions:
BP: Like water, stress can be a destructive force if not channeled properly. What are your top five ways to channel stress so that it will not be destructive?
JP:
- BREATHE! Focusing on getting a few good, deep breaths can relieve a lot of tension and calm us down!
- PRAY! Focusing on God’s power and giving our cares over to Him really works!
- READ! Proverbs 4:22 tells us that God’s Word brings life and health to our whole body!
- SERVE! Doing something kind for someone else will bring you joy!
- STOP! Instead of a TO-DO List, some of us need a NOT-TO-DO LIST! Cutting something out to free up time in your schedule is huge! You can’t do it all!
BP: What advice can you give to someone who allows stress to cause addiction, be it food, drugs, alcohol, etc.?
JP:
First, we have to reconnect to God in a significant way – a 5 minute quiet time isn’t going to do it. I am talking about abiding – getting away in solitude before the chaos begins – connecting like John 15 to the vine.
This connection is the only thing that allows us to be filled with His Spirit each day, to walk humbly, to actually trust Him and cast our cares and anxiety on Him.
Then we need to read volumes of His word – not a cute story or devotion – chapters of the Bible – Galatians, Philippians, Ephesians, James, Romans………you get the idea. His Word must come alive in us to overcome addictions / stress.
We need to deny the flesh – start to put up boundaries so we don’t indulge in everything that we crave…this also has life changing spiritual affect.
We also need open, honest, accountability – someone that wants the best for us to be there and hold us accountable to our commitments we’ve made to Christ.
BP: What does the Bible say about stress and how to manage it in healthy ways?
JP:
Philippians 4:6 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Memorize these scriptures that that specifically build confidence in God’s power
Thanks, Jimmy, for sharing with us this week. Be sure to check out Jimmy’s resources on his website at http://www.fcahealthandfitness.org/. You can also hear his podcast, Fit Life Today, on that website, as well as locally (Baltimore/DC) on WRBS, 95.1. I’ve also added Jimmy’s podcast as a sidebar widget to the right. Thanks to Mike Alley of WRBS for getting me in contact with Jimmy.
OK – Your turn! Let’s live fit and conquer stress.
Looking forward to your contributions,
- BP
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DISCLAIMER: PursuingYahweh.net and it’s authors, Bryan & Amy Patrick, are not responsible for the outside content posted on the Fitness Fridays blog carnival. We are not medical professionals. We just share what works for us. It may not work for you. ALWAYS CONSULT YOUR FAMILY PHYSICIAN OR MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL BEFORE BEGINING ANY WEIGHTLOSS, FITNESS, OR EXERCISE PROGRAM.
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22. May 2009 at 2:29 PM
Wonderful insights, Bryan — thanks! And I really appreciate what Jimmy Page had to say. I love catching him on WRBS.
Many times when I’m getting tired of exercising, or am tempted to eat something I shouldn’t, I hear his voice in my head saying, “C’mon. You can do this!”
22. May 2009 at 2:29 PM
Great article, Bryan!
22. May 2009 at 5:03 PM
The natural, human inclination is to take the path of least resistance. We get stressed and we often turn to destructive items: food, alcohol, sex, porn…anything for a “quick fix” because that’s our flesh’s nature. Whatever is the microwave way to fix the problem.
Stressers help reveal our maturity level. As Jimmy indicated above, our focus should go towards God and seek His counsel and His relief. How much better off we would be in moments of stress if we took a deep breath and whispered internally or aloud, “God, please help me.”
These mini prayers throughout the day are like tweets to God.
Best of all, He’s “following” and always responds.
From a health perspective, I have to prepare for battle each day. When hunger starts to come on in the morning or afternoon during my “shake time”, it’s better to throw water on it (making sure I get my min. of 64 oz/day) than to try and appease the hunger with solid food. That approach may not be for everyone but it works for my system.