balance in ministry - exercise | Preteen Ministry Bible Lessons

Another key to balance and creativity is exercise.

Note: Read two other blog posts about balance and creativity: Breath & Contemplative Spirituality.

In high school I was on the wrestling team, which meant I had an intense 3 hour workout 6 days a week for 9 month of the year. I was in the best shape of my life for those four years. After graduation, I stopped exercising. My 20 year high school reunion (where did the time go?) is next year and up until 6 months ago I lost the motivation to exercise and paid the price.

We all know the negative affects of no exercise. Fatigue, low energy and health problems are just a few.

However, the positive affects of exercise are AMAZING! You will experience life on a whole new level. You’ll have more physical and emotional energy. You jump at the chance to play with your kids (I used to make excuses). You have the emotional energy to your spouse at the end of the day. You have more room in your life to love, serve and live. Exercise provides a healthy outlet for stress, which is something we all need. If not, the stress gets relieved in some unhealthy way – getting sick or some type of bad habit (drinking, smoking, eating poorly, too much TV, etc.). You’re more productive, creative and experience a greater sense of balance in your life. You’re more productive because you have more energy. You’re more creative because the fog that often hovers in your brain is there due to a lack of exercise. When you get your body moving, your brain operates on a completely different level. You get fresh ideas and inspiration for new endeavors. You experience a greater sense of balance in life because you create space. You can’t work while you exercise (most of us can’t at least). When you exercise, it gives your brain a break. You’re brain needs breaks, a lot more than we often allow it in our 24/7 work & ministry culture. Exercise adds another dimension to your life, and brings balance to a life often driven by productivity and work.

I lacked a regular routine of exercise for nearly 20 years. However, all that changed six months ago. And at 37 years old, I have more energy and vitality than I did when I was in my 20’s. I literally have a whole new experience of life. How did I do it?

I’ve known for years that I needed to exercise, but lacked the motivation to consistently do it. Six months ago I made a change. About a year and a half ago, we went from a 2 car family to a 1 car family. I bought a scooter as my main source of transportation. The scooter broke six months ago. I am cheap and lazy, so I started to bike instead. I immediately liked it. I only biked a couple miles a day in the beginning. Mainly because I was working out of my home office at the time (my bedroom). Since two of our kids were being home schooled at the time, I needed to get out of the house for a few hours each day. So, I biked to local coffee shops to get some work done. Then, we moved from San Diego to New Orleans. Now, all three kids were being home schooled. So, I rented an office four miles a day. Now, I bike to and from the office 5 days a week. Which means that I bike 8-10 miles a day, 5 days a week. I feel great! My next goal is to consistently eat healthy, something that is really difficult living in the south, where there is an abundance of jambalaya, gumbo, fried seafood and po-boys. Mmmmmm.

How can you get in the exercise habit?

Here are a few suggestions:

1. Ritualize. Find a routine that works for you and stick to it. Decide what part of the day you’re going to exercise and stay with the plan.

2. Enjoy. If you like being outdoors, don’t exercise in a gyn. Get some fresh air instead! Experiment with different forms of exercise and find something that you enjoy. It shouldn’t be a chore. Exercise should be an enjoyable experience. Something you look forward to each day.

3. Trigger. Finding a trigger is helpful when starting a new habit. A trigger is something you set up in your environment that tells your brain it’s time to exercise. It could be putting your running shoes by the front door in the morning. Or writing a motivational phrase on your bathroom mirror stating, “You can do it!”.

4. Start small. The worst thing you can do it bite off more than you can chew. Starting to walk 5 minutes a day is more effective than deciding to workout for an 1 hour a few days a week. Start small, then as you establish the new habit, build from there.