Hope is Good for the Heart

People who have a generally negative view of the world have a hard time enjoying life. If most people are out to get you, if things probably won't work out, if you are stuck in a situation you can't do anything about...the life goes out of your eyes.
On the other hand, if you feel you have been incredibly blessed, if you believe the best about others, if you can see a way out of your troubles...there's a sparkle in your eyes that reveals life within.
It's not to say your life has to be going very well for you to have a hope-filled heart. In fact, many people I know who have had very difficult lives and who are in very difficult times are shining examples of hope, joy and inner vibrancy. And vice versa, many people who have very 'blessed' lives, who have relatively few troubles, are dead within, hopeless in a dark world.
Learning to manage your outlook in such a way that you keep it authentically renewed and positive goes a long way towards having a healthy, fully alive and functioning heart.

Grow In Stature

We don't want to keep growing physically after we are about 20 years old, but we can keep on growing in the way we take care of our physical health. Our bodies are given to us to steward. We are whole beings and our physical health affects every other part of our lives, mentally, emotionally, relationally and spiritually. We face temptations better, we love people better, we think better, and we are better able to manage our emotions when we are well taken care of physically. You are a steward of your own body. How is that stewardship going? Let's be careful to realize it is every bit as spiritual to get proper rest and eat healthily as it is to pray prayers or attend church. Separation of sacred and secular has created a warped view of life. God created all of life and set it all apart as sacred. What can you do this week to honour God with your physical health?