Archive for the ‘health’ Category

7 Oct

Exercise for the Soul

Posted by Zachary P. Hubbard in advice, Bible, Choices, fitness, Freedom, health, peace, Prayer, Religion, Self-discipline, Simple Living, spiritual. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , .

Exercise

I’m not a big fan of reality TV, but there is one show I really enjoy.  The Biggest Loser is about helping morbidly obese people lose weight and regain their health and vigor. The contestants, all of whom are obese and suffering from multiple weight-related ailments, live at an isolated health compound and work with world class trainers throughout their stay.  It’s fascinating to watch the amount of work Biggest Loser contestants need to correct years of behavior problems like overeating and under exercising.

One phenomenon that is readily evident to viewers of the show is how former athletes—those who at one time were accustomed to vigorous exercise and discipline—seem to progress much faster than those who have never routinely exercised or disciplined their bodies.

Besides weight loss, The Biggest Loser delves into the psychological struggles waged by each contestant. Some succeed, while others never quite make it.  Now in its 10th season, the show has generated a Biggest Loser fitness movement across the country.

Many Americans are dedicated to physical fitness routines. Yet a 2013 study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicated that 80 percent of American age 18 and above do not exercise sufficiently to maintain good health.

Far fewer practice a discipline of exercise for the soul.  What a shame we can’t seem to find a way to generate a spiritual fitness movement across our country!  For Christians, exercise for the soul is more important than physical exercise, because the Holy Spirit dwells within our bodies, which St. Paul calls, “the temple of the Holy Spirit.” Left neglected, either by sin, complacency or getting buried in the business of day-to-day life, the Holy Spirit cannot speak to us.  Our bodies require daily attention on both the physical and spiritual levels. Prayer must be at the center of attention. Personally, this is an area I’ve struggled with lately.

Popular evangelist and church pastor Rev. David Jeremiah has said, “Prayer is the hard-work business of Christianity, and it nets amazing results.”  German Lutheran pastor and theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer was very specific in promoting the benefits of prayer, saying,

“The entire day receives order and discipline when it acquires unity. This unity must be sought and found in morning prayer. The morning prayer determines the day.”

 Having practiced morning prayer for many years, I appreciate its importance to a Christian’s well being.

St. Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuit order of Roman Catholicism, was a Spanish knight who lived from 1491 to 1556.  As a young man, Ignatius kept a journal of his quest to grow in unity with God and discern God’s will in his life.  As his experience grew, the journal evolved into a well-defined set of prayers, meditations, reflections, and directions that are known today as the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius.

These exercises are grouped into four stages, described as weeks but not literally seven-day periods, which are designed to be led by a director, or guide.  The Spiritual Exercises are intended to serve as a sort of lesson plan for the individual leading the exercises, not as a guide for individuals.

However, even without a director many aspects of the Spiritual Exercises can be useful to individuals seeking spiritual growth and greater commitment to serving God. This is particularly so for the way the Spiritual Exercises approach prayer through meditation and contemplation.

Meditation involves praying about the good and bad words, images and ideas that guide our lives.  Contemplation is emotion-driven, rather than thought-driven.  It focuses on placing ourselves in scenes from the Gospel and trying to imagine how it might have been.  Contemplation is praying through scripture rather than studying scripture.

One of the key elements of the Spiritual Exercises is the discernment of spirits.  According to St. Ignatius, the human spirit is influenced by three forces: an inward focus on self and selfish desires; Satanic power and suggestions; and God-inspired power and suggestions. Ignatius called these the “spiritual motions.”  The purpose of discernment is to discover the source of each spiritual motion in our lives, so as to help us help make good decisions.

Many contestants on The Biggest Loser reach so-called plateaus—a weight they just can’t seem to get below.  To overcome this barrier, they change their daily exercise routines, doing something different to restart the weight loss trend.

The same approach can be applied to spiritual exercises.  I do a fair job of exercising my body, but lately I’ve felt like my prayer life has slumped—I’ve hit a plateau.  I have difficulty concentrating and find my mind wandering when I pray. In the remaining days before the beginning of Advent, I plan to try a new prayer regimen built around the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius Loyola.  Have you hit a prayer plateau?  Perhaps it’s time to change your exercise routine for the soul.

 “Prayer is exhaling the spirit of man and inhaling the spirit of God.”

                                                                                       Edwin Keith

An English text of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius Loyola is available online at: http://www.jesuit.org/jesuits/wp-content/uploads/The-Spiritual-Exercises-.pdf.  The Website “Ignatian Spirituality,” a service of Loyola University Press, was the primary source for this blog entry (www.ignatianspirituality.com).

28 Nov

Beyond Thanksgiving

Posted by Zachary P. Hubbard in advice, Bible, Christianity, Fear, Gifts, health, Hope, joy, Prayer, Religion, Simple Living, Thanksgiving, Unemployment. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , .

Army field worship service

Read:  Job chapter 1.

Tomorrow millions of Americans will gather with friends and family to give thanks for the blessings of the past year. Thanks will be voiced for many things—family, friends, gifts, wealth, and acts of kindness by others just to name a few.

Sometimes personal adversity makes it is hard to give thanks though.  Death, job loss, divorce, failing health and many other adverse circumstances can rob us of joy.   Yet we always have the assurance of Romans 8:28, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”  Even when our personal lives become chaotic, we have the assurance that God remains in control.  According to St. Paul, we suffer, “…that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.”  (2 Corinthians 1:9, NIV).

Regarding the promise of Romans 8:28, John Piper has observed, “So the rugged hope of the believer is not that we will escape distress or peril or hunger or slaughter, but that Almighty God will make every one of our agonies an instrument of his mercy to do us good. ‘You meant it for evil,’ Joseph said to his brothers who had sold him into slavery, ‘but God meant it for good.’  (Genesis 50:18-20) And so it is with every calamity of those who love God. God meant it for good!”

While it might be difficult to see the good in today’s circumstances, someday it will be perfectly clear. During our lives we have an imperfect understanding of divine things. But as 1Corinthians 13:12 promises, “For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.”

Even when our personal circumstances are tough we should always give thanks to God for the cross—that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.  Jesus became sin for us and in our stead suffered the punishment we all deserve.

Beyond mere thanksgiving though, God is worthy of our worship.  Worship is an act of awe and reverence done in recognition of God for whom and what He is, not what he has done.  We can follow the example of Job, who remained blameless before God even as his personal world was caving in around him:

While he was still speaking, yet another messenger came and said, “Your sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother’s house, when suddenly a mighty wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on them and they are dead, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!” At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship and said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.” —Job 1:18-21 (NIV)

King David provided another example for us to follow. When his infant son grew ill, he fasted and prayed to God throughout the night to spare the child.  But, when he learned that the child has died, rather than having an emotional breakdown, David arose, bathed himself, put on clean clothes and then went to the Lord’s house to worship.   (2 Samuel 12:15-20).

In John 16:33 (NIV), Jesus tells us, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”   In John 17, Jesus’ prayer reminds us that his followers are not of this world, even as He is not of this world.  We will all suffer at times during our lives, but we need look no farther than the cross to find peace amid life’s tribulations.

“There is no pit so deep that God’s love is not deeper still.”― Corrie ten Boom

 

18 Feb

Discipline in Everything

Posted by Zachary P. Hubbard in advice, discipline, Faith, health, Lent, Patience, Prayer, Self-discipline, Unemployment. Tagged: , , , , , , , , .

Cupcakes

Developing discipline is neither easy nor pleasurable. Anyone who has tried to diet knows this! For most people, dieting is a struggle between the desires of the body and the needs of the spirit.

Like dieting, a good job search also requires strict discipline. The best approach is to develop a strategy and stick to it. Your strategy must be proactive. It should include networking, personal branding & marketing, lots of research and a double dose of patience and perseverance. Approach your job search like a fulltime job until you find employment. At the same time, use your period of unemployment as an opportunity to improve yourself: try to shed a few of those extra pounds; develop a fitness routine to improve your physical condition; work on acquiring some new job skills that will make you more marketable and current in your field; reach out to help others around you; and work on disciplining yourself spiritually.

Taking just a few minutes of quiet time each morning to pray, study the scriptures and reflect on the day ahead will add clarity and purpose to your day. Christians could learn a lesson from the followers of Islam. Muslims stop five times per day to pray–morning, noon, afternoon, sunset and evening. Periodically pausing for prayer throughout each day is guaranteed to help you cope with stress and worry, two challenges that you will encounter daily while unemployed.

Mark 1:35 (NKJV) tells us that, “Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He (Jesus) went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed.” If this is the way the Lord began his mornings, how can we do otherwise? If you don’t currently start the day with some quiet time with God, I challenge you to give it a try during this season of Lent. A blessing awaits you.

Psalm 84, the blessedness of dwelling in the house of God
How lovely is Your tabernacle,
O LORD of hosts!
2 My soul longs, yes, even faints
For the courts of the LORD;
My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.
3 Even the sparrow has found a home,
And the swallow a nest for herself,
Where she may lay her young—
Even Your altars, O LORD of hosts,
My King and my God.
4 Blessed are those who dwell in Your house;
They will still be praising You. Selah
5 Blessed is the man whose strength is in You,
Whose heart is set on pilgrimage.
6 As they pass through the Valley of Baca,
They make it a spring;
The rain also covers it with pools.
7 They go from strength to strength;
Each one appears before God in Zion.[b]
8 O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer;
Give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah
9 O God, behold our shield,
And look upon the face of Your anointed.
10 For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand.
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
Than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
11 For the LORD God is a sun and shield;
The LORD will give grace and glory;
No good thing will He withhold
From those who walk uprightly.
12 O LORD of hosts,
Blessed is the man who trusts in You! 

Today’s Lenten Prayer: a prayer for self-discipline
Lord, give me the wisdom to see
No good life comes without right discipline.
Give me the grace to impose it upon myself
Lest others do it for me.
Help me to discipline my tongue
That I may be clear rather than clever
Sincere instead of sarcastic
Help me to discipline my thinking and actions
To do what is right
And not what is easy
Let me get on with the job on hand
Doing the best I can
And leaving the rest to You. Amen.

Today’s Reading: Oswald Chambers – the Discipline of Spiritual Perseverance

The Discipline of Spiritual Perseverance

7 Jan

Life’s Balancing Act

Posted by Zachary P. Hubbard in advice, Choices, health, peace, Time Management, work.

You shall not go out with haste, . . . for the Lord will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your rear guard —Isaiah 52:12

If you’ve been to a circus or watched one on television, it’s likely you were entertained by a tightrope walker performing amazing stunts while balancing on a thin wire suspended between two large poles.  It’s an incredible feat and most of us can’t imagine doing something requiring such skill, concentration and coordination.  Unfortunately, the older you grow the more likely it becomes you will have to perform an even more difficult balancing act–maintaining balance in your life.

As a management consultant, the “Wheel of Life” illustration at the head of this post is something I use frequently when conducting time management seminars and coaching.  How can you tell when a wheel is badly out of balance on your car?  You might feel a “shimmy” in the steering wheel.  Your life is like a wheel, constantly spinning as you go and go.  If  a part of your personal wheel of life is out of  balance, it tends to affect all of the other parts on the wheel.

      FAMILY – PHYSICAL – MENTAL – SPIRITUAL – CAREER & FINANCIAL – SOCIAL

Science had shown that trying to keep the six areas on the outer perimeter of the “Wheel of Life” in balance will lead to a higher quality of life.  It will also make you more efficient and content with your life in the workplace and at home. This doesn’t mean you should devote an equal amount of time to each area on the wheel.  At certain points in life you will have to devote a lot of time to one area over all of the others.   Those caring for aging parents, raising young children or dealing with serious health concerns know exactly what I mean.

However, it’s a certainty that if any area on the wheel is neglected for too long it will have a serious impact on many or all of the others. For instance, if you fail to pay attention to your health and let yourself become morbidly obese, it’s fairly clear this will affect other areas on your wheel.

Many of my clients have such busy schedules that they feel like there’s insufficient time in the day to stop and plan out their actions.  They live each day in full “reaction” mode, bouncing back and forth between whatever task demands the most attention at the moment.  They start work early, stay late and constantly feel tired and swamped.  Worst of all, at the end of the day they have no feeling of accomplishment, which leads to frustration and unnecessary fretting.

Periodically taking time to stop and evaluate the situation is guaranteed to give you clarity and make your life simpler.  I advise my business clients to spend 10-15 minutes at the beginning of each day reviewing their calendars and organizing their daily tasks.  This helps ensure that they focus on the most important tasks on their “to do” lists.

The same principle applies to everyone.  Taking just a few minutes of quiet time each morning to pray, study the scriptures and reflect on the day ahead will add clarity and purpose to your day.  Christians could learn a lesson from the followers of Islam.  Muslims stop five times per day to pray–morning, noon, afternoon, sunset and evening. Periodically pausing for prayer throughout each day is guaranteed to help you cope with daily stress and worries.

It seems that I’ve spent a good deal of my life in a hurry.  My mother was always telling me to slow down. It took me years to figure out what she meant.  As we begin a new year, it’s a great time to reassess how we spend our time.  As we move forward in 2012, let’s proceed with the power of knowing that the God of Israel goes before us and clears a pathway for us, if only we will follow Him.

21 Sep

Do you sometimes find yourself bouncing off the walls?

Posted by Zachary P. Hubbard in advice, Bible, health, peace, Simple Living, Time Management.

“Simplicity is an act of the will to reduce the fracturedness of life by centering life around a singleness of purpose.” — Ann Hagman

Do you sometimes find yourself bouncing off the walls–unable to focus on anything? Do you wake up at 2 am with your mind racing, unable to fall back asleep? Do you find yourself sometimes only half-listening to people because you’re more interested in what you have to do next than what that person has to say? If you answered yes to any of the preceding questions, don’t fret. You’re not alone! Many people have a “to do” list hanging over their head like an executioner’s axe.

In today’s fast-paced world, you’re probably in the majority if you feel like there aren’t enough hours in your day. You need to wash the car, mow the lawn, trim the hedges, do the laundry, drive the kids somewhere, and if you’re really lucky you might catch a ball game on television—and this is just your Saturday schedule! On Sunday, grasping for a spiritual straw to cling to, you drag yourself from bed, drive to church and put on a happy face as you meet and greet. You allow your mind to meander as the sermon is preached and afterwards reluctantly agree to join yet another working group or committee.

With church checked off the list, you return home to finish those tasks you didn’t get to on Saturday. On Monday you go back to work, caring for the kids and house or suffering through the trials of a long commute because you can’t find a good job nearby. Throughout your day there are emails, voice mails, text messages, phone calls and a seemingly endless string of meetings or appointments. If you’re lucky, at the end of an arduous day you’ll find temporary refuge in the smiling face and gentle charm of a spouse or significant other and, for a time, you’ll be restored. But this fragile moment of peace will eventually be interrupted by unwanted phone calls, endless junk mail, stacks of business correspondence demanding your attention, and a depressing lack of time to get it all done before you collapse into bed. Then, after grabbing a few hours of restless sleep, you’ll have just enough energy to rise the next morning to begin a similar day.

Far too many Americans suffer through similar routines each day. I hear complaints from friends and colleagues all the time. Such routines propel us in directions God never intended humans to travel. The Maker’s grand design doesn’t include the chaos that confounds so many people today. His creation brought order out of chaos, light out of darkness. Man was designed to exist in harmony with God, as His child and companion. But we live in a fallen world where many people struggle to discover God’s purpose in their lives and far to many never stop to consider what God’s purpose for them might be. They simply muddle through each day without giving a thought to what it all means.

Evil thrives in chaos. Chaos breeds destruction. Years ago I witnessed this played out to its fullest in Somalia. After the Somali central government collapsed in the midst of a civil war, marauding groups of bandits raided the villages of neighboring clans, leaving a locust-like path of destruction and death. Entire clans were left isolated and struggling to survive. Although daily life is not usually played out so vividly in our society, chaos in American lives is also a breeding ground for evil.

What are the trademarks of social chaos? Just watch the evening news. Murder, violent crime, divorce, unchecked abortion, spousal abuse, child abuse, drug abuse, depression, suicide, a rash of children born out of wedlock, and constant fear are just a few. God has a better plan. He wants us to enjoy life to the fullest. But how can we hope to discover His purposes when so many of our lives are filled with chaos and distractions?

It might be impossible to reduce the “to do” list that’s making your daily routine chaotic, but there is a way to avoid the negative effects such a routine can have on your life. The solution is spelled out clearly in Matthew 6:33: “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” Start by adding one additional task to your the top of your “to do” list. If you’re not doing so already, make a quiet time with God part of your daily routine. While you can’t always eliminate the temporal chaos of life, God has provided a way to eliminate spiritual chaos. Achieve this and life’s daily challenges will no longer seem so important.

Oswald Chambers said, “Even the very smallest thing that we allow in our lives that is not under the control of the Holy Spirit is completely sufficient to account for spiritual confusion, and spending all of our time thinking about it will still never make it clear. Spiritual confusion can only be conquered through obedience. As soon as we obey, we have discernment. … But when our natural power of sight is devoted and submitted in obedience to the Holy Spirit, it becomes the very power by which we perceive God’s will, and our entire life is kept in simplicity.” I encourage you to strive to begin each day spending quiet time with God. Study the scriptures, pray, seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit and most important of all, listen intently for His still, small voice.

3 Sep

Life is tough…there must be a simpler way!

Posted by Zachary P. Hubbard in advice, Choices, health, Simple Living, Time Management. Tagged: .

“I believe that a simple and unassuming manner of life is best for everyone, best both for the body and the mind.”     –Albert Einstein

The rolling hills of Indiana County, in western Pennsylvania afford visitors scenic beauty and serenity rivaling anyplace in America.  From atop any of the high hills one can see large barns and farmhouses dotting the countryside.  Drive down a road and eventually you’ll come upon a horse-drawn buggy moving slowly, but steadily along.  This is Amish country, a different universe than the one I live in and probably different from yours.  Yet it lies only a few miles from my home.

Having rejected the modern world, these plain people, the descendents of German Anabaptists, struggle to maintain an 18th century existence in fast-paced, 21st century America. They till the soil.  They build their own houses and barns and heat them with stoves fired by wood and coal.  They have neither television, radio, cell phones, computers, cars nor tractors.  Stout work horses pull their plows through the fertile fields. They educate their children in one-room schoolhouses. They know their neighbors and help them when needed. They revere God!

When I consider their world, I can’t help but envy them. No, I’m not ready to give up my car, my television or most of the other conveniences of life, but I envy many aspects of the simple Amish lifestyle.  I long for simplicity in my own life.  Deep inside I yearn for a simpler existence, something that seems quite elusive.

Several years ago, just a few days before Christmas, my wife and I visited the tiny town of Smicksburg, which is situated in the heart of Indiana County’s Amish country. In a gift shop I found a small Christmas ornament.  It is a hand-painted, miniature wooden plaque bearing one word, “Simplify.” At that moment, awash in Amish culture, I experienced a sort of revelation.

I returned home determined to reduce the chaos in my daily routine. I’ve since enjoyed some success and some glaring failures.  The ornament now hangs in a prominent place in my home, providing a daily reminder to keep me focused on the road ahead.   Having thus set the stage, let the journey begin. I invite you to join me in exploring ways to cut through the chaos cluttering our lives, so we may more easily discern how to make daily living “simply divine,”  as God intended.

You’ll find that much, if not most of what I have to say is shaped by my Christian beliefs.  If you’re not a fellow believer, please don’t be put off by my religiosity.  If you visit now and then, I believe you’ll find something here to interest you and brighten your life.

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