24 Point self check

So if you read about our garage door trauma yesterday, you know God used Tommy the repairman to get us back to garage door health. God used it to help me realize I need to do a better job of taking care of my own frame, my physical self. 

Last week, ABC News reported that 38% of people in our country are sleep deprived, so I know I'm not alone when it comes to needing to take inventory of my personal well being.  


Just like our garage door, if we ignore our needs, we're ultimately unable to do what we're meant to do. I don't want to find myself "there," so it's time to listen to the "scraping sounds" I'm making, address the needs, and get myself Fit 4Faith. Tomorrow I'll tell you how it's going to work and share a really cool resource with you to make it easier!

It's not a diet or a schedule or exercise routine. I find those don't work for me for very long, and worldly reasons meant to motivate me to change habits usually only work for a little while. Can you relate? As a follower of Jesus, I need a "REAL Reason" to take care of myself. 

I know this:  My body is like an earthly tent (2 Cor. 5:1-3), but it's God's temple (1 Cor. 6:19-20), and I'm supposed to honor Him with it.

If we ignore caring for ourselves, we'll find ourselves unable to embrace opportunities God gives us or calls us to. God's Word has much to say, and I'm excited to look into it together to see what God desires for us physically and why it makes a difference.
 
In preparation for getting Fit 4Faith, here is a "24 point check" to help us identify our needs and how we're doing meeting them. Why 24?  That's what Tommy did for our door, and it worked. ;)


24 Point Self Check for Fit 4Faith

1. Do you often wake up and think, "I can't wait to go to bed tonight" or "I hope I can take a nap"?
2. When you hear how much water we should drink daily, do you count coffee, Diet Dr. Pepper ;) & tea?
3. Does your diet include all of the food groups, and not just in "shake" form?
4. Do you find yourself eating often from the "fast food" food group?
5. Would you describe your breathing as deep and even, short and tight, or panting and panicked? If you answered the 2nd or 3rd ... go lay down! :)
6. When was the last time you had an hour to do something that rested your body, mind, and spirit?
7. Look at your planner (do you use a planner?); when is the next time you see a time to rest? (You can't go into 2012. :) )
8. How many times in a month do you go for a walk? Shopping doesn't count. :)
9. Have your tennis shoes lasted longer than two years? A decade?
10. Would you describe your posture as strong and straight or tense and tight? Relax ... :)
11.  Do you often eat while driving, standing up, or walking around (grazing)?
12. Would someone watching you say your shoulders are more hunched over or pulled back?
13. Do you spend most of your grocery shopping time in the inside or around the outside of the aisles?
14. Back to the water question ... are you trying to count what you inadvertently drink in the shower? ;)
15. When you go to the doctor for an annual exam and have to answer if you exercise, do you say something like, "My whole life is exercise!" (My doctor doesn't accept this anymore.)
16. Have you been to the doctor for an annual exam? 
17. As you read God's Word, do you let yourself reread passages, think, and reread again?
18. When you pray, do you get up and feel refreshed?
19. Do you find yourself stuck in a chair long enough to need to apply new lipstick or warm up your coffee?
20. How do you decide what you're going to eat? Coupons? Leftovers? Cravings? Beat the kids to it?  
21. When you look in the mirror, do you ever wonder who that exhausted woman is looking back at you?
22. Do you feel like you have to pray to God in morse code or short hand? 
23. After reading God's Word, does it go in one ear and out the other, or does it linger in your mind and come back often?
24. Is your idea of a well rounded meal accomplished by visiting the sample station at Sam's Club? 

As you can tell, this is a very scientific 24 Point Self Check. :) Sometimes we just don't stop to consider how well we're caring for ourselves, especially as women. It's like when the dentist asks me two times a year if I'm flossing. ....... Being asked helps me be accountable.  It reminds me of the value of doing better and the cost of blowing it off.  Well-being is a lot more than appearance.  


This Self Check is meant to help us think about how we're taking care of our tent, of God's temple. Are we honoring Him with it?  Am I?  I can.  I should.  I must. 


So how are you doing?  What did the 24 Point Check show you?  Could you use some encouragement and help to be more Fit 4Faith?  I sure can, and I hope you'll join me. If you have a friend who could use some inspiration, email her the link for this post and invite her to join us. Tomorrow we begin! 



4 Thoughts. 21 Days. A resource to help us, and a reason to take care of our tent. If only for His honor, we can be Fit 4Faith.