Mark 12:29-31 “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”
The last two sermons in our series on The Biggest Winner: Six Steps to a Better You in the New Year are Adding a Healthy Lifestyle (strength/body) – the last of the four ways to love God and Adding Self-Love (the second Great Commandment to love your neighbor as yourself). I would like to invite us all to add something to our lifestyle that will honor God and honor ourselves as we seek to love others as we love ourselves. The final word in loving God is strength – that is our body.
How are we treating our bodies? All too often we neglect this part of loving God, at least I do. Here is my challenge over the next eight weeks (February and March) leading up to Easter, during the Lenten season, what can you add to your life that will strengthen your body.
Let me share what I’ve been doing that has been helpful. I call it the “two Y’s.” I’m trying to eat better and for me it started with eating Yogurt in the morning and, taking the advice from one of our ushers, Hardee McAlhaney, who shared a while back he lost weight by cutting back on the whites – white bread, white potatoes – in essence, his carbs. Cutting back has helped me.
The second Y is Yoga or the YMCA. I started going to the “Y” to take yoga after Rick Pfeifer shared that he had been doing yoga and that it has helped his back and general fitness. I try to go several times a week. What a workout! I have a long way to go, to honor God with my body but adding the two Y’s has been helpful.
I’m starting this blog for you to share what has worked for you in strengthening your body. This will allow us as a community to learn and grow together in loving God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength/body.
The blog can also include not only what physical strength and dieting has helped, but also what has helped you love God with your heart, soul and mind. This may be a little new for many of us; it is to me. But let’s give it a try and let’s celebrate as we grow in our love of God with all of who we are.
