Energy and God’s temple

As I’ve mentioned before there are 5 key components in the way I live my life that enhance my ability to stay sober and live effectively one day at a time.  I use the acronym P.E.A.C.E to keep it simple for me.  The 5 ingredients include Planning, Effort, Attitude, Community, and Energy.  I ask for the Holy Spirit to fuel these components each and every day and for the most part my days are productive.

A couple of months ago I wrote about the importance of Planning (Sept. 21, 2008 “what’s your PLAN?).  Having goals and creating a Plan to accomplish the goals is a sure-fire formula that leads to effective living.  I’ve rarely seen a person succeed in recovery and in life if they do not know where they are going.  Althouth Planning is at the foundation of making P.E.A.C.E work it is hard to carry out plans and accomplish goals without Energy.  It is through Energy that we are able to make the other 4 pieces in this acronym work.  

The other day I was at the gas station fueling up when a friend approached me and said “Jay what can I do to get more energy?”  I said “get some rest, exercise routinely, eat the right foods and pray to God for energy.”  She looked at me and laughed and said “I don’t have time to do all of that.” I told her “I don’t have time to NOT do all that.” 

Without Energy we can kiss our Plans good bye.  Without Energy it is difficult to put forth maximum Effort in accomplishing our Plans.  Without Energy it is virtually impossible to maintain a positive Attitude in order to accomplish our Plans.  Without Energy it becomes extremely difficult to work with others (Community) in order to accomplish our Plans.  Energy is the keystone to effective living and effective living means we are doing the right thing for God in all of the roles we are involved in.

If you are feeling run down and unable to accomplish your plans take a look at how much time you are devoting to supplying your body with what it needs to have energy.  Are you sleeping at least 6-8 hours a night?…(one thing that helps me is I try to get 50 hours of sleep each week and I often find myself using the weekend to “catch up” to that goal)  Is your diet well rounded?  Do you eat a healthy breakfast?  Are you staying away from fats and sugars (this is the tough one for me) are you exercising at least 3 times a week for 30 minutes?  But most importantly are you including these vital objectives on your weekly Plan? 

If you struggle with doing any of the above…try writing them down as a part of your plan.  If you feel the best when you get 8 hours of sleep, then make a plan on how you are going to accomplish it.  If you have trouble staying disciplined with your diet then write out your eating plans every week.  if you have trouble sticking with a routine exercise program, make a plan for how you will get it accomplished on a weekly basis.  You will be amazed at how you suddenly find time to get these things done once you include them in on your weekly plan.  Then you will be amazed at how much more you will get done every week because you have energy.  I only write from personal experience.

One last thing…Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 6:19 “Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God?” Hmm…an even more important reason to treat our body right is because it is God’s temple.  The Holy Spirit in me works endlessly when I am treating my body as God’s temple.  Suddenly Energy becomes a gift from God.  If this last paragraph confuses you, that’s OK it took me a while to understand this truth but when you finally do, you will understand why doing the things you need to do in order to have energy not only helps you accomplish your Plans but it is more importantly a responsibility you have as being a follower of Jesus. 

P.E.A.C.E