Freshology

Refreshing the mind, the body, and the spirit

Do you ever find that when you get up in the morning and start your day, there are the things you know you should do and the things you would prefer to do instead of those things? You might say, "I'd rather go for a run in the mornings" or "I'd like to go downstairs before anyone else and make myself a cup of hot coffee and sit in my chair as I read the headlines in this mornings paper." I think if each one of us was asked what his or her's perfect morning would be, we all might answer this question slightly different from the other. I know for me a morning exercise of some sort (perhaps cycling or kaiaking or lifting), reading my Bible and the latest news report complimented with a cup of coffee with coconut cream and if possible on the shore over looking some calm water sounds copacitically benign. I know some of you, like Jamie (my fiancée), are probably thinking something entirely different, like sleeping in! Waking up early in the morning, going for a run, and reading are the farthest things from your mind when you think of your perfect morning I understand. But however you like to spend your morning, remember to take time at some point in the day to refresh.

Among a lot of things that fill our day or the long list of things that we would prefer to do, don't forget to eat. Now all the same, you never forget to eat at some point in the day, so don't forget to read, pray, and give thanks for the living daily bread that we have by the gospel in Jesus. 

From our physical bodies to our minds and to our spirits we need to take time to refresh ourselves. You might be thinking, "Well, I don't have time to read my Bible or do any extra curricular activities. I barely have time to eat." I understand, believe me. But if you don't soon begin to make time, you will run short of time. Physically if you refuse to eat, no matter how busy you are, your body will shut down and eventually die. The same is said psychologically, as well as spiritually. Really all three of these tightly intertwined elements of our lives are insurmountably bond, so that if one fails or is depleted it will soon look to the others for support. 

And when you are depleted and you can't find that extra "unff" that you are so desperately looking for, you will begin to compromise and soon forget who you are, because its been so long you've forgotten where or what your identity is in. This is how people reach points of "burnout" or physical collapse or divorce or loss of identity in anything other than what they are exerting all their energy towards. So at some point today even, make time to do what you forgot to do this morning and begin today to go into the quiet places of intercessory prayer and ask Jesus to help you refresh - to help remind you where your identity is and where it ought to be. Only then will you find peace, when you are able to refresh yourself in Jesus; mentally, bodily, and spiritually.