Tag: Christmas
3 Reasons to Maintain Your Exercise Program Throughout the Holidays
When the schedule falls apart, so usually does the exercising.
And this time of year is no exception. Company parties to attend, family get-togethers to orchestrate, open houses, special events, Christmas decorating, Christmas shopping, Christmas present wrapping can all put a big snag in your hallowed workout schedule.
But they shouldn’t.
You need to keep exercising for some critical reasons:
- Exercise keeps your brain happy and alert!
When you’re exercising your body, your brain is reaping most of the benefits. You’ll think better and function better. And sleep better too.
And that’s helpful for a lot of things, including keeping your immune system in top shape for battling colds and the flu, big culprits this time of year.
- Exercise helps keep depression under control.
Not everyone enjoys the holidays or looks forward to them with eager anticipation of family celebrations. For many reasons, the holidays can be tough, and depressing.
December is always a roller coaster of emotions time for me because my beloved cousin, Jeff, was killed in a tragic car accident just a week before Christmas when we were in college, and my Dad died on December 11.
Exercising helps keep the happy hormones (endorphins) running through your body. And getting outside to exercise is even better for you. So make a point to keep up your exercise routine and also try to head outside for some deep breathing and walking.
- Exercise helps manage stress.
There can be an overload of stress during the Christmas season, and exercise helps you burn that off. It can also keep your distracted from the stress swirling around you. Again, exercising to crank up those happy hormones is a stress-reducing benefit.
BONUS:
Keeping to your exercise program will also tamp down the guilty feelings after you’ve nibbled on one too many treats at a holiday party. So maintain your program, pat yourself on the back, and head into the New Year on track!
Until next week, keep that body and brain happy!
Blessings,
Andrea
May you prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers (3 John 2).
Christmas: The Gift of Love
Although there are many Bible verses associated with Christmas, like Old Testament passages about Jesus being called Immanuel, and New Testament verses about bringing peace to men of good will, I think the best passage to give full perspective to Christmas is:
“For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son,…” (John 3:16a).
Loved.
The thing we all crave. To be loved. And who could love us better than the One who created love and is love?
The story is simple:
You have God, who created humankind.
He gave mankind some rules, to protect us. Keep them innocent, happy and shrouded in peace and protection.
But they rebelled, broke the rules and lied about it to their creator, and laid bare their progeny and all mankind (all of us) to the ugly ramifications of their sin.
With the snap of His powerful creating fingers, God could have scrapped them and started over; or shook his head and given up. Spent the rest of eternity with his angels.
But He didn’t. He immediately devises a redemptive plan. A plan for death and destruction to be overcome, to have no power over life. A plan that wouldn’t come to fruition for thousands of years, but a plan that would come to fruition because He ordained it so.
And it did. A little over two thousand years ago.
And that’s what we’re celebrating at Christmas, really.
A love so deep and so wide and so unfathomable that it’s impossible for us to fully wrap our minds around. To comprehend it.
God sends His spirit to be joined to the seed of a woman to form a baby—His Son—to live a fully human life while simultaneously being fully God.
This son’s purpose is to experience life as a human—child and adult—and embark on a ministry of healing and teaching and leading people to a better life. A redeemed life.
To show people the Father.
To show them what real love looks like.
And believe. And follow.
And then pay the ultimate price of sacrificing Himself, to bring the redemption tory full circle.
To redeem mankind.
“…so that whosoever should believe in Him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16b).
The story of Christmas is that Heaven gave the supreme gift of love. Of life.
So we could stop perishing.
“Love,” God says. “I give you unconditional love. Because I know you don’t have the power to do this yourself, to redeem yourself. I’ll do it, so we can be properly reunited to spend eternity together.
“So I’m going to do it for you.
“That’s my gift.
“The gift of Love.”
This is the start of a season of love that begins with a gift and culminates in a death and Resurrection. Both gifts of life. To you and me.
This month—
In the next several weeks, we’ll look at just how powerful love is and what effects it has on us physically, emotionally and spiritually.
The power of Love.
Are you ready to give it?
Are you prepared to receive it?
Until next Monday, prepare your heart to be a love-receiving and love-dispensing vessel.
It’s what Christmas is all about.
Until then!
Blessings,
Andrea
May you prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers (3 John 2).
Black Friday OptOut(side)
It’s Black Friday.
‘Tis the season to stand in line for hours and go nuts at the malls.
Did I need to tell you that?
What do you plan to spend the day doing?
Shopping? Eating leftover turkey, stuffing, potatoes and pie?
How about an alternative option. One that has health and wellness and saving money written all over it?
Skip Black Friday shopping and do some playing outside!
Yup. Get out in the great outdoors for some creation viewing and inhaling!
Breathe fresh air.
Break a sweat.
Sunbathe.
Go canoeing or kayaking. Hike. Run. Grab a bunch of friends and play soccer in the park. How about Frisbee with your dog? Riding a bike along a bike path. Going to the dog park. Enjoying a café con Leche al fresco with a friend.
Take a stand and rebel against the same old, against the world’s marketing giants.
Source of my rebellion—
The Camino. That’s what did it. And this is yet another example of how that journey changed me.
I haven’t done the Black Friday shopping bit for years, but I have perused the websites online, the ones that tease me to get in on the cyber action three days early, so I can be a savvy shopper. So I can feel good about the bargain I scored.
On The Camino I rejected news, marketing and teasers. I focused on my purpose and spiritual journey.
I spent most of my day outside in the caressing sunshine and sweet smelling (or sometimes dust-cloaked) air and realized how much I missed being outside. How good it made me feel physically, (there are extreme health benefits that come from being outside), emotionally and spiritually, untethered from my computer and household work.
Let’s go back to the spiritual benefits—
Isn’t that what we kicked off yesterday? Christmas? The most celebrated spiritual season of the year?
So why not focus on it? Why lose yourself in the shopping hype and drain your bank account? Why drive around endlessly looking for a parking spot at the mall?
Be a trendsetter. A rebel.
Choose to OptOutside!
Join REI as they celebrate their Day in. Day out. Celebrated on Black Friday when they’re closed for business, to encourage outdoor recreation.
Four years ago they had the gumption to change their status quo business model and decided to close their doors, and still pay their employees! On Black Friday.
Imagine. Some conscientious capitalism.
As they say on their dedicated website:
“It’s about the routines—the ones we need and the ones we need to rethink.”
So how about joining them in the rethinking.
For more on the benefits of going outside, head to their special website.
And spread the word!
#optoutside
NEXT WEEK:
What does depression look like? Could you recognize it in a co-worker or loved one?
In this season of making merry, we need to remember that for some it is the most profoundly depressing time of year. We can’t assume that our friends, fellow churchgoers, and co-workers are doing okay in this area just because they’re showing up and participating and getting the job done.
Next week I’m going to give you a great info graphic, courtesy of my friends and professional psychologists at BetterHelp.
It will give some great information on identifying functional depression and tips on the getting the help functional depressants need.
Until then,
Blessings,
Andrea
May you prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers (3 John 2).
First photo by Dieter de Vroomen on unsplash
Second photo by Sabina Ciesielska on unsplash