Often when I am reading a devotion such as My Utmost For His Highest, I flip to the different scriptures that are referenced in the text. As I was reading Utmost, this morning, I was led to a passage in Luke 8:1-3. Here, I found a quote I had written in the margin:
” Our hearts are the soil and the seed is the Word of God.” Warren Wiersbe. (5/16/1929- American pastor best known for his series of 50 books in the “BE” series: Be Real, Be Mature, Be Joyful, etc.)
The longer I live, the more I have realized that LIFE is all about the HEART. Some days, I have to be more intentional than ever about a change of heart.
Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. Proverbs 4:23
Both the physical, beating heart, and our inner, soulful heart. Now age 60 + couple of months, along with being a first-time Grandmother, a continuous change of heart is one of my greatest desires: to keep my physical heart as healthy as humanly possible, and to keep my inner heart engaged, honest, connected to my God, and linked with others. Note: Our daughter’s family added their first born, a son, Tripp on August 24, 2018, while our son and his wife welcomed a little girl, Elizabeth on September 7, 2018. Needless to say, our hearts are delighted.
I shared here in my recent post 10 Things That Organized People Do, that in the past, off and on, I have used the Weight Watchers Program to give me some assistance with my health goals.
Once I was in a meeting and I was forever inspired by a woman about my age who shared that she had been in a wheelchair for the past three years, and just that week had completed her first fitness walk!
Inspiration is everywhere when we are looking for it.
Though I am not currently working the WW Program, I have come to realize that this program is emphasizing the inner heart, more and more. Not just a number on the scales. Encouragement is given to the participants to really look after him or herself. In fact, the tag line on their planning guide is:
LOSE WEIGHT
GET HEALTHIER
LIVE HAPPIER
If losing weight is your primary goal, it is important to know that the Weight Watchers Program, if followed pretty closely, promises 1-3 lbs of loss per week. This is consistent with the results I have seen whenever I have taken the program seriously.
Lately for the TLC I give my physical heart, I have been doing the following: emulating my husband’s intentional and consistent example of jumping on our Peloton Bike 3 times a week. Fitting in some strength training. Eating more frequently with smaller portions of more of the right, best foods. Oh, and drinking more water…except for the occasional, irresistible cookies and cream Chick-fil-A milkshake <smile BIG>.
Life-style change and a healthy state of
well-being is what I am going for.
If you still have children and/or grandchildren in your weekly life, consider Kitchen Twins. Emily and Lyla have a mission to get the family in the kitchen together cooking healthy foods. But, this post is not just about weight loss. It’s about our hearts!
Did you know? Our hearts, both inner and outer, need daily attention, just like many other things do.
What? “Something else needs my attention???” While I did not get the speaker’s name, I recently heard a radio show and I liked this idea of checking in daily with your inner heart:
“As you drive along in your car, stopping at stop lights or in traffic jams, notice when the car stops, therefore stopping your body, allow your mind to stop, as well. Just for that couple of minutes, do some deep breathing, allowing your mind to rest. Your inner heart will reap the benefits.”
As you practice this daily, be sure to silence that inner critic voice that tries to rear its ugly head. Read an earlier post, Fire The Bad Boss Inside, by clicking here.
The best person on this earth to take care of us is ourselves!
I am quite sure you have heard the oxygen mask story, but it bears repeating. Click here to read it.
According to The American Heart Association, our physical hearts can benefit so much from 30 minutes of cardiovascular fitness a few days a week. Here are a couple of articles to get us moving: Identifying Your Fitness Goals, Breaking Down Barriers To Fitness, and Making A Commitment To Fitness. With Summer upon us, we are at the perfect time to set some goals for an early morning daily walk before the new day heats up.
An integral part of keeping my inner heart in tune is reading and meditating on scripture often. Click here for some of my go-to verses that reference our hearts.
How is your heart today?
Previous Posts You May Have Missed:
Solitude: Seven Ways To Find It
Every Beating Heart Has A Story
Give: It Will Be Given Unto You
Friends and Fitness Make The Difference