The Importance of Knowing (and Understanding) Your Blood Pressure

Knowing your baseline measurements for blood pressure, resting heart rate, weight and body circumference measurements and resting breathing are pillars you’ll build on as you proceed in your health and fitness program. Each of them is critical to knowing how fit you are now and how fit you want to be, and they’ll also help gauge whether or not your fitness program is working for you. Today we’ll look at the significance of blood pressure to good health and learn what’s considered to be normal. You’ll be able to take the measurements you took from last Wednesday’s blog post to lay more sturdy bricks on your exercise and health foundation.

Let’s get started!

BLOOD PRESSURE

What exactly does blood pressure mean?

In a nutshell, blood pressure gives you an idea of how hard your heart is functioning or working both when it pumps out blood to the body and when it’s in its “resting” phase. Pump-rest-pump-rest-pump-rest… It also gives you an idea about the potential health and resiliency of your blood vessels.

The reading you get with the blood pressure cuff tells you two things: 1) the output of blood in millimeters of mercury when the heart contracts and forces blood out of it through the aorta to be circulated through the body; and 2) how hard your heart—in pressure output—is working at rest, or in the relax phase of its pumping. The top number pressure (pumping) is known as the systolic pressure. The smaller, or bottom number (resting pressure), is called the diastolic pressure.

So what’s normal blood pressure?

The American Heart Association (AHA) considers normal blood pressure to be above 90/60 and below 120/80. But only one—not both—of these numbers has to be high or low for your blood pressure to be considered out of the normal range.

For example, if you have a 130/80 reading, that would be considered in the pre-high blood pressure range. If you had 120/90, that would also fall in the pre-high blood pressure category. (At the end of this post, I’ve provided a link to a United Kingdom site that provides a great blood pressure rating graph you can download.)

Factors influencing blood pressure

Many factors affect blood pressure, including smoking, illness, age, exercise, genetics, food, and weight. (Yes, certain foods can tweak your blood pressure. Beets are a popular food item right now because they have been found to lower blood pressure.) Lower blood pressure indicates you have less risk of stroke or heart disease. But blood pressure usually goes up as you age. The “average” blood pressure reading for a 60-64-year old is 134/87mmHg.

Why does it go up? As we age, our vessels lose some of their elasticity—their ability to bounce back to normal shape—so the heart has to work harder to keep the pipes properly filled and the system oxygen-plenished.

And did you know that 1 out of 3 people in the United States has what is considered to be high blood pressure? That’s a whopping 30% of us!

Best time to take your blood pressure

The best times to take it are first thing in the morning before eating or taking medication and then again in the evening before bed. If you take it while lying down, it will likely be lower because your heart does not have to work as hard while you’re in the lying down position. It also goes to its lowest point when sleeping and then begins to go back up again a few hours before you wake up. Then it continues to rise during the day until peaking in the afternoon and heading back down.

The importance of the pulse difference

Another important number to consider is what is called the pulse difference. That’s the number you get when subtracting the bottom number (diastolic pressure) from the top (systolic pressure).

Let’s say you have a 120/90 blood pressure reading. Your systolic pressure (output at work) looks good, as it’s at the high end of what is considered normal.

But what about that number 90 for the resting phase? It’s at the high end of pre-high blood pressure. A tick over to 91, and you’ve entered the high blood pressure range. Rather than a 40-point pulse difference, like you would find in a 120/80 reading, you now only have 30. That means your heart has to work harder than it should in the resting phase. In other words, it’s not getting to relax as much as it needs to.

Another term exercise physiologists and doctors use is stroke volume, the amount of blood pumped from the heart in one beat. A lower systolic number means not as much blood is being pushed out in that one stroke. But when you start exercising, the amount of blood being pumped out in one stroke increases, while the resting pressure remains about the same. That resting pressure may even decrease somewhat due to the vessels themselves dilating in size. The resistance of the vessels to blood flow also decreases, allowing for more blood to flow. So you can see that the pulse difference gets larger during exercise, which is normal.

Knowing what your normal blood pressure is important for a variety of reasons. What’s normal for you may not fall in the “normal” range, and you need to be able to convey that to your health care workers when necessary.

Case Study

A couple of weeks ago, I ended up in the emergency room of one of our local hospitals with what was later diagnosed as a severe episode of vertigo. It was difficult to diagnose because it didn’t come with the classic symptom of the room spinning in circles. Instead, I kept veering off to the left when trying to walk a straight line. When I arrived at the urgent care facility, my blood pressure zoomed in around 138/80. That didn’t set off any alarm bells for the doctor and nurse, but it set them to clanging like gongs to me.

Why? Because I have VERY low blood pressure. Since high school, my number has hovered around 90/58. On a bad day, it may creep up to 98/60. It’s so low they won’t let me give blood because they’re afraid I’ll faint after donating. It also poses a problem in our skin-shriveling Southwestern heat, and I need to drink more water than the average person to keep the blood flowing well through the pipes.

When I arrived at the hospital (where the doctor sent me), the physician’s assistant wheeled her little office chair around to look at me and say, “Wow. Low blood pressure. You must exercise a lot!” After hearing it still hovered around 138/80, I told her that was way too high for me. I knew something wasn’t right, but they had me categorized as “normal” for a sixty-year-old woman. And I didn’t feel anxious, which can raise the pressure. I felt sick! And I felt sick for a couple days. For some reason, my heart was in high gear. No one seemed to know why. All of the heart and blood tests for a possible heart attack came back normal. But that high number told me something important: I needed to take a break and give it a rest. That meant I pretty much lounged around that night and the following day.

Three days later, when I checked in with my regular doctor, my pressure was back to my normal. Something had been going on, but I had to continually point out that what they thought was normal, wasn’t.

Know your vitals in the area of blood pressure and resting heart so you have a normal baseline measurement for you.

Homework

For this next week, enjoy some exercise, strenuous physical work or gardening and see how your blood pressure changes. Pay attention to both numbers and note if the pulse difference changes. Also see what happens after a meal, especially a big one. Note the differences in your journal. You may see a pattern occurring. And you may start getting an idea of what you need to change to get closer to normal. We’ll talk more about this tracking in later posts.

Until next Wednesday, enjoy your beating heart! We’ll look at heart rate next week.

Blessings,

Andrea

May you prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers (3 John 2).

Photo courtesy of Google Images

Blood Pressure Chart UK: http://www.bloodpressureuk.org/BloodPressureandyou/Thebasics/Bloodpressurechart

What Are the 3 Fundamental Questions of Life? (And How Would You Answer Them?)

Have you ever asked yourself the three key questions that confront the mystery of your existence? The major questions philosophy students usually dig into. Like:

Who am I?
Why am I here?
What’s the meaning of life

Worldview

How you answer those questions depends upon your worldview, the lens through which you look to answer life’s big questions, make life decisions, and respond to socio-political issues. Worldview is your particular philosophy of life.

Your worldview is the template upon which you live your life.

Why ask those questions?

Asking those questions and grinding out the answers to them helps you focus on how you view life and function in it. If you’re secure in your answers, you have a firm template upon which to live your life well, live it balanced, and live it intentionally.

Surprisingly, though, most people cannot tell you what they believe, and their beliefs may waffle every day. Because they’re not firm in their beliefs and understanding of them, they vacillate. As my husband, the engineer, likes to say (with flowing, side-to-side arm movements to punctuate his statement), they flow back and forth like sea kelp—whatever direction the water or tide happens to be going, they follow.

It’s not a particularly pleasant or effective way to live life, following the crowd or most popular view. Living life that way gets frustrating and exhausting.

The deadly question

But then we encounter a tougher question: Why do you believe what you believe?

Even fewer people can answer that question and stumble all over their answer. Their “why” may be that they read it in some new book, or they’ve acquired someone else’s opinion about life and claimed it as their own. Or they’ve assembled such a hodge podge of ideas they end up with something akin to a worldview smorgasbord.

Answering the big questions

Let’s take a brief look at how you might initially answer the philosophical questions.

Who am I?

This really goes beyond the idea of “finding yourself,” which often doesn’t give you a firm, useful answer you can do anything constructive with. People trying to “find themselves” are usually floating around, trying and tasting everything life has to offer. While they might enjoy something for a time, they usually get bored and move onto something else. They have life Attention Deficit Disorder.

Maybe you answer it by saying: I’m a daughter or son, a sister or brother, a wife or husband, a mother or father. Or you could qualify your training or profession and answer: I’m a teacher, doctor, or housekeeper. Or choose the physical aspects of your life by noting you’re an invalid or athlete. And you could claim several of those identities simultaneously. With each identity comes different expectations and responsibilities.

Why am I here?

Sadly, many people have difficulty answering the Why because they think they’ve been arbitrarily plunked down on earth at this time in history, rather than being fearfully, wonderfully, and deliberately made for this particular time. Knowing and believing there is a point to your life will be the foundation for life having the meaning you desire it to have.

What is the meaning of life?

Your answer might go all different directions. But let’s take the example of the writers of the Westminster Catechism, who wrestled with this way back in the year A.D. 1647. Because they had a distinctive Christian worldview, they reworded the question as “What is the chief end of man?” which sort of rolls all three questions into one. And the answer they arrived at?

“To know God and enjoy Him forever.”

A six-word sentence packed with meaning and purpose. If we unpack it, we get more questions.

But we’re not going to unpack it today. Before we unpack it, we need to become philosophy—and archeology—students. We need to get an overview of all of life’s major world views (philosophies) and see where we fit into them. Then we need to dig in further to establish our beliefs. To further build a strong, balanced life foundation.

For the week

I invite you to spend some time meditating on those questions this week. How would you answer them? And why would you answer them the way you do? And if you feel like sharing, I’d love to know what your answers are! Just head over to the “Blog” page and leave a comment.

Next week Monday we’ll embark on Worldview 101. I promise it won’t be dry and boring!

Thanks for joining me for this Meditation Monday. I hope to see you Wednesday for the health and fitness post!

Blessings,

Andrea

May you prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers (3 John 2).

Welcome to Free-for-All Fridays!

Becoming What You Read, Watch and Hear—It’s All About Worldview

What will you be reading, watching and listening to this weekend? What magazines do you subscribe to? What Book of the Month Club or Goodreads selections do you make? What television shows, or movies, are on your must-watch list?

Does it matter?

I proclaim a resounding “Yes!” It does matter. Very much.

What you read, watch and listen to are just as vital as the spiritual and physical components of a well-balanced life. Why? There are several reasons.

The brain functions like a big camera with permanent film and cataloging capacity. The images you show it are imprinted on the brain. And those images can produce chemicals that cause mood changes, stimulation, and brain chemical alterations. That’s one reason pornography is so insidious and addictive. The images get imprinted and can flashback at any time. And, if responded to, can cause the need for more and more stimulation. Like a drug.

Along the same lines, the brain also functions like a big memory bank for words and music. Music is a powerful one that can alter brain chemistry at the moment of listening. That memory is stored. When the music is heard again, sometime later, those chemicals are dumped into the system again, and the reaction is repeated. That’s one of the reasons music can trigger so many past memories and emotional reactions (like melancholy). Scientists know that repeated, methodical drumming and pounding can change the brain, for the worse. That kind of music really is brain-deadening.

Reading triggers complex thoughts and brain chemical reactions too. What woman hasn’t read a revealing romance novel without having some kind of physical and emotional response during the sex scenes? One thing leads to another, and soon she’s lamenting how her husband isn’t as manly or romantic as the character. Then resentment might creep in, resentment severe enough to affect how she treats her spouse.

In many ways, because women are so word and speech-oriented, I don’t think romance novels or graphic erotica novels are much different for women than pornography is for men, who are visually oriented. Women can replay that detailed, written sex scene in their minds and get the same chemical response as when they first read it.

Taking stock of spent time and how you’re feeding yourself—

Don’t think twice about spending $10 of your hard-earned money to watch an hour and a half of a lame movie, or one rife with sex scenes that would have garnered an X rating thirty years ago? If so, have you ever considered that you’re really just paying someone (the theater, and production company) to be a legal voyeur? A Peeping Tom? If you sneaked a look into someone’s bedroom while they were enjoying intimate relations, you’d be arrested. Why do we think it’s okay, and gratifying, to pay to do it? And sit there with a bunch of strangers watching at the same time?

How many hours do you waste reading magazines about famous people? What they’re doing, how they’re living and treating themselves and one another? Why do we care so much, anyway? Are we that bored with our own lives? Are we trying to live vicariously through them, keep up with them, be like them?

Really why it all matters—

The core reason all this matters is because everything you read, watch or listen to shapes your worldview. And your worldview specifically affects how you live your life—the decisions you make, the way you interpret life and world events. (If you’re unfamiliar with what worldview is, you’ll want to keep reading my blog because we’ll be getting into that specifically in a Meditation Mondays post this month.)

There’s a reason the Apostle Paul wrote:

“Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you” (Philippians 4:8-9, NKJV).

I LOVE how Eugene Peterson puts this in The Message.

“Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work into his most excellent harmonies.”

Sadly, I think one of our greatest problems is that we’ve compromised so much with our lives, given others way too much of our precious, priceless time. We have become so willing to allow ourselves to be fed ugly, worst, un-praiseworthy things that we’ve become immune to the ugly and forgotten what the beautiful is.

Weekend Challenge

Make a deliberate, conscious decision to be really selective about what you read, watch and listen to this weekend. Try turning off the political radio talk shows and turn on some good music.
Better yet, shut off your phone, television and radio and go outside to listen to and watch nature. It’s amazingly entertaining and invigorating. Good for brain, emotional, physical and spiritual health.
Close the magazines and do the above. Don’t even ruffle through the ones at the store checkout lane.
Start counting the hours you read this kind of stuff, in print or on line. You may be surprised at how much of your precious time it steals.

A final word

Before I sign off, I’d like to leave you with a quote from the author Annie Dillard, found in her book The Writing Life.

“The writer…is careful of what he reads, for that is what he will write. He is careful of what he learns, because that is what he will know” (page 68).

Isn’t that true for all of us, no matter what our profession or status. We will know what we have learned, and we will write what we’ve read about.

Choose the best, and watch your life change for the better!

Have a great, inspiring weekend!

Leave a comment on the blog page and let me know how you spent it.

Blessings,

Andrea

May you prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers (3 John 2).

Photo © Andrea A Owan

Welcome to Workout Wednesdays!

When you hear the word “workout” what goes through your mind, and body? Excitement? Ambivalence? Dread? Do your hands sweat from excitement, or fear? Are you instantly transported via a PTSD flashback to your ninth grade physical education class where you loathed putting on those classy polyester gym shorts and block-shaped exercise top and got relegated to the worst team in the class because you were a bona fide “klutz” and couldn’t coordinate the timing of basketball dribbling or manage to get your foot to make contact with a slow-moving kickball to save your life?

I won’t tell you I can relate, because I can’t (except for the ugly gym shorts and top). Coordination (to precision) was my forte, and I oozed competitive spirit. I hated being shown up, and I seethed internally if I lost. (Although my hand-eye coordination with a tennis ball and racket was horrible, I was determined to overcome that failure and showed up on the tennis court every day one summer to learn how to play with the guys in doubles.)

And I was strong. Stronger than some of the guys in my class. Even guys who took me on in arm wrestling in college were stunned when I slammed their arms to the tabletop.

But as a coach and physical education teacher, I took a completely different approach.

My greatest desire was to instill in all of my students a love of the complexity of the human body and human movement. I wanted them to appreciate physical health for the sake of being physically healthy, not for the sole purpose of competing or beating someone else. I wanted them to develop a lifelong love of fitness. Not necessarily “exercise” in the traditional term, but general, overall fitness. So instead of grading them on what they could do, (because, frankly, some of them would have failed the class if I had stuck to a traditional can-do grading system), I graded them on how much they improved from the day they walked into my class to the day they exited it for the semester or year. And I also tacked on some brownie points for good behavior and honest participation.

And you know what happened? Some of those kids, who entered my class with their arms clamped across their chests and an I’m-not-going-to-do-anything-you-ask-me-to-do look on their face left the class feeling pretty proud of themselves and their accomplishments. They had fun. They ended up being able to pass a soccer ball to a teammate, which meant they were able to participate in the shear fun of doing that. They had strikes in bowling after weeks of rolling gutter balls. I actually cheered and cried with one of my students who never thought she could accomplish anything remotely related to physical education or movement.

And that’s what we’ll do with our Workout Wednesday time—help you change your outlook on fitness and develop a program that works for you. One you can adjust as you desire or need based on your current fitness level, future (improved) fitness level, age or physical capacity.

Not just for the body

Why is exercise important?

I’m sure you know the standard answers: Reduces your risk of heart disease and stroke, cancer, and other major debilitating and death-causing diseases. But do you know what scientists have discovered the most important side effect of exercise is?

Your brain health and function. Neuroscientists say that when you exercise, so does your brain, and it probably benefits the most from it, by forming new neuron connections. In short, exercise helps keep you young and sharp!

But there are important tips to maximizing this effect. And we’ll cover those.

And we’ll explore connections like:

Exercise and sleep
Exercise and Mood and Mental Health
Exercise and Sex
The Importance of Flexibility, Balance and Mobility

We’ll also explore nutrition and the latest diet trends and fads. And we’ll learn how to identify food sensitivities and allergies that affect your overall health and mood.

Fair Warning!

Let me warn you ahead of time: I’m not a big fan of some of the extreme, “elite fitness” programs, which I won’t name here. I think a lot of you know what they are. And in succeeding posts, I’ll tell you why. I was a highly trained, competitive athlete for YEARS, and I’ve worked collegiate athletes and Olympians, so I know the mindset. I understand the obsession. But you could say I’m a recovered athlete. I’ll explain that in another post too.

But first, we need to get started and prepared for next Wednesday.

Getting started

Just as you do for the spiritual component of your life, you need to lay a good foundation for the physical. And that means getting some baseline measurements and assessments recorded. That way you know where you are, better decide where you want to go, and then track how you’re doing getting there. So, before next Wednesday, I invite you to do the following:

Buy yourself a fitness/workout journal. One of my favorites is BodyMinder: Workout & Fitness Journal. It’s got great grids in it to record cardio and strength workouts and dietary notes. I’ve provided the link for you at the end of this post.
Another great journal is the HealthMinder: Personal Wellness Journal. This helps you identify the health of nearly every part of your body. It’s one of the ways I was able to identify some of my food sensitivities. I can’t recommend it highly enough for tracking your overall health!
Finally, the DietMinder: Personal Food and Fitness Journal is also great to have handy.

Next, you’ll need to learn your:

Blood Pressure—Before you get out of bed in the morning, record your blood pressure. You can find a good cuff at your local drugstore or online. Wake up, take a few breathes, slap on the cuff and take your blood pressure while you’re still lying down.

Blood Pressure Again—Then sit up and take it again. Women will likely see a drop in their pressure. Wait another five minutes and take it again. It should have stabilized. Note both of these readings, both the big number (known as systole) and the smaller number (diastole). I’ll explain what each of these mean in the next post.

Resting Heart Rate—Now, if your blood pressure cuff doesn’t have the capability to measure your resting heart rate along with the BP, then you’ll need to do it manually. You can do that by placing your index and middle fingers on your neck to the side of your windpipe. You can also place these same fingers over the inside of your wrist. DO NOT use your thumb! It has its own pulse and will throw off your count. Now for the proper counting. While many medical office personal will take your pulse for just ten seconds and then multiply it by six for a minute count, I don’t recommend that method since it’s not as accurate as measuring it for a full minute with your fingers.

Weight—Then, hop out of bed, step on the scale and record your weight. This should be a first thing in the morning weigh-in, after you’ve emptied your bladder. Go ahead and disrobe for this. Record it in your journal with the date.

Body Measurements—Get out a measuring tape and measure the circumference of your chest, waist and hips. The waits measurement should be around the belly button area, or just slightly below it. Also record the circumference of your thighs and upper arms. You’ll probably need help for the arms.

Resting Breathing—Next, lie on the floor and breathe normally. Place your hand on your tummy to see if your abdomen moves up and down. Breathe deeply and check it again. Breathe in through your nose AND out through your nose. (I know, breathing out through your mouth was the standard for years.) Do the tummy check with your hand. Is your breathing smooth or jerky? Does your chest, and not your abdomen/tummy rise when you breathe in? We’ll be addressing proper breathing techniques too.

Looking ahead

That will be enough for us to get started next Wednesday. But do think about one more thing.

What kind of exercising do you like to do? What would you be most likely to stick with?

Reference/Journal Links:

Here’s the list of links for those journals, but any regular journal will do. These just make it easier to jot numbers down in the right columns and trigger your brain in all areas of fitness.

By the way, I don’t get anything from Amazon or the publishers for recommending these books. I just found them years ago in a Reno, Nevada medical facility I was visiting with my dad. Snatched them up. They’ve been around for 16 years and have great ratings.

BodyMinder workout journal

www.amazon.com/BODYMINDER-Workout-Exercise-Journal-Fitness/dp/0963796844/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1522802240&sr=8-1&keywords=bodyminder+workout+and+exercise+journal

HealthMinder Journal

www.amazon.com/HEALTHMINDER-Personal-Wellness-MemoryMinder-Symptoms/dp/0963796879/ref=pd_bxgy_14_img_3?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0963796879&pd_rd_r=J8BT3Q9KV0VSPJ53WXJH&pd_rd_w=WIgnS&pd_rd_wg=pOM4P&psc=1&refRID=J8BT3Q9KV0VSPJ53WXJH

DietMinder

www.amazon.com/DIETMINDER-Personal-Fitness-Journal-Exercise/dp/0963796836/ref=pd_bxgy_14_img_2?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0963796836&pd_rd_r=J8BT3Q9KV0VSPJ53WXJH&pd_rd_w=WIgnS&pd_rd_wg=pOM4P&psc=1&refRID=J8BT3Q9KV0VSPJ53WXJH

I hope you’ll join me here again Friday for Free-for-All Fridays. We’ll cover a variety of topics, including recreational ideas, current news and recommended articles, stories and books to read having to do with balanced living!

Until then,

Blessings!

Andrea

May you prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers (3 John 2).

Photo Courtesy of Andrea A Owan

Welcome to Meditation Mondays! Prepping for Spiritual Success

Welcome to Andrea’s Meditation Monday blog posts! I can’t tell you how thrilled I am to have you join me for this journey.

Every Monday we’ll explore the deep questions of life and spirituality. Not religion, per se, although I may do some history and basic theology overviews so you can see how similar many of the religions are, and how different.

But let’s get our feet wet today in preparation of stepping into the river of life next Monday!

Devotions or Digging Deeper?

You may have a daily devotion book you use. That’s wonderful if you do. It’s a way for you to learn how others are doing on their journey with God, how their experiences relate to yours, and how their experiences speak to your heart. You will likely find peace and encouragement through your daily devotions. So I want to assure you that we’re not going to set aside the devotion, if you like to use one.

What I’m inviting you to do, though, is to simplify. And go deeper.

What do I meant by that?

Maybe you—like I—sometimes find daily devotions a bit tedious, or that they sometimes only skim the surface. That’s often because a devotion piece is supposed to be short and concise, without time to dive into the deep end of the passage or focus. They just give you a sample or hors d-oeuvres-sized taste. And maybe you feel as though you’ve become a slave to “doing them,” or “getting them done.” I hear people ask, “Did you do your devotion today?” as though it was a chore, and they’re you’re devotion police.

Or maybe you miss one or two, berate yourself for that neglect, and then feel as though you’ve failed at your personal spiritual-self-improvement-program. You might promise yourself you’ll go back to those missed devotions, and dutifully mark the pages to read them. But soon your go-back-to devotions pile up. If you’re the super achiever type, or coerced by guilt, you do read them—all in one sitting—and, while you’re relieved you could now get your gold star (from God, or the devotion police—which may be you) for accomplishing that feat, you don’t get any spiritually productive (soul changing) kernels out of that marathon read-fest.

Or maybe you’re like me. I sometimes like to sit down every day to a familiar devotion book. But more often, I go in waves. Sometimes the devotion tide and interest is out; and sometimes it’s in and high. But most of the time I’d rather have an idea or thought a week to really chew on.

That’s what I mean by simplicity.

And then you can take that thought or idea to a deeper level, with more introspective, exhaustive questions.

That’s what we’ll do together on Meditation Mondays. Really dig up and till the soils of our hearts and souls. Get out some soul fertilizer and enrich the spiritual soil.

4 Steps to Prepare for Success

But first we need to prepare. Because anything worth doing well requires good preparation!

For next Monday there are some things you’ll want to do to give your meditation the best chance of success.

First, locate your Bible. Any version will do. Use whatever you’re comfortable with. If you’re using an online Bible, make sure you can bookmark the pages or highlight passages.

Second, get a journal you can use a pen or pencil to write in. While you may not be the journaling type, I can’t encourage you enough to give this journaling thing a shot. The actual process of writing (not typing) helps you slow down, focus and remember your thoughts and impressions. Even doodling or drawing pictures will engage the brain, rev it up, promote thought and creativity, and trigger the development of new neuron connections. Your brain’s superhighway will enlarge!

And it doesn’t have to be a fancy journal. One of those lined paper, spiral type notebooks you bought for a high school or college class will do.

Then, decide on a day and time you can commit to reading the post and writing in your journal. Pick a time that’s best for you, one you’re most likely to stay with. I recommend at least reading the post on Monday or Tuesday so you have all week to think about and meditate on it. But you may select an entirely different day to make journal notes. If you’re in your home or a building, make yourself a “Do Not Disturb” or “Occupied” sign to hang on the door of the room you’ll be sitting in. Be intentional. (I recommend a quiet place inside, or outside, for this. Not some hip coffee cafe where people and activities (and loud, fingers-raking-a-blackboard espresso machine noise) can overwhelm the brain and senses.

Finally, I invite you to find the following verse in your Bible, read it, commit it to memory, and use it to pray for yourself frequently throughout the week. Call to the Creator of the universe, to do what He promises to do. Doing that will prepare your heart and mind for whatever it is God wants to teach you. He has a word to speak specifically to you, a truth He wants to reveal. For your benefit and His glory!

“Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and might things, which you do not know” Jeremiah 33:3. (NKJV)

If you like The Message, Eugene Peterson’s rendering of this verse is great!

“Call to me and I will answer you. I’ll tell you marvelous and wondrous things that you could never figure out on your own.”

I cannot begin to tell you what truths were revealed to me once I started using this verse as a focus. God is faithful, and He will faithfully answer your prayer for revelation if you call to him with all your heart.

Expect great things from our gracious and generous God!

Looking forward to seeing you back next Monday, when we’ll start exploring several of the most important questions in life!

AND I hope you’ll also join me this Wednesday, for our first Workout Wednesdays!

Blessings,

Andrea

May you prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers (3 John 2).

Photo Courtesy of Christopher P Owan