Keeping our Bodies and Minds Strong

My precious mom said to her doctor “Doc, some mornings I just don’t want to get out of bed!” His reply? “The day you decide to do that, count on being bedridden very soon. In essence, he was saying “If you don’t use it – you’ll lose it!” These days – our minds are on overload, so much so, the opposite is true: if we overuse it – we’ll lose it!

I put my brain and my body to good use daily. I don’t want to lose them. Austin’s cooler Fall weather ignited a fire in me to celebrate this glorious new season with my Fall décor. While simply going through the tub of décor, I felt a snap in my knee area and a knife-like pain sent me reeling. The first thing I thought was “Oh no! I won’t be able to play Pickleball in the morning!” But, more importantly, I found, I wouldn’t be able to sleep that night because of the pain and couldn’t go to the Fitness Center to work out. A simple SNAP changed my day. BTW — went to the doctor and it was a hyperextension, now wearing a knee brace, using ice packs and is so much better! Whew! I’ll be back to my activities in another week! Thanks be to God!

I think my body needs a tune-up — right along with my brain that often gets overloaded with concerns and SNAPS. I had been reading up on “powering up” our brains and found out some things that can boggle our brains – one of which is all the multi-tasking that we do. While on our phones, we’ll be driving, eating, looking for a Kleenex and telling our kids to stop arguing, etc. Being focused not only saves our brain’s power (over-using it), but it also saves us from being distracted and having an accident. I just heard that a friend’s son looked down for just a second and when he did, he plowed into another car – totaling his car and the other driver’s car, as well as suffering some personal injuries. It was determined that it was my friend’s son’s fault. It sure made me rethink the times when I’m fumbling with my phone in my car or changing a radio station.

I read about a recent neuroscience research that proved the human brain is unable to consciously pay full attention to two tasks at the same time (thus my friend’s son’s dilemma). I don’t think they put into account the multi-tasking that mamas must do and they do them quite efficiently. But, this research implied that our brains need us to cooperate with them to NOT overload them.

Powering up our brains is also powering up our attitudes that cultivate good habits like enjoying life, laughing often, developing an optimistic outlook and being sure to free our minds of stress and anxiety. And above all – STOP saying, even in a “just joking” way “I’m losing my mind!” Instead, we should daily “power up” our brains by keeping our minds on God’s Word – even memorizing scriptures that help guarantee sound and healthy minds! How about a prescription from God for affirming our minds and bodies:

~ I have the mind of Christ! (1 Corinthians 2:16)
~ My mind is renewed daily! (Romans 12:2)
~ My mind is in perfect peace because it stays on God. (Isaiah 26:3)
~ Daily, I think on whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy. (Philippians 4:8)

I’m in for the long haul so rather than my mind being used “mindlessly”, I’m “powering up” to be sure I live up to the best version of me that I can be! How about you? “I refuse to give in to my fears. For God did not give me a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a SOUND mind!” (2 Timothy 1:7)