August 18: NEW START! (part 1)
Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers. 3 John 2
The apostle John’s prayer applies to every generation. Many Bible believers were reminded during the covid epidemic that practicing a Biblical lifestyle safeguards the immune system. A working immune system not only protects us from unwelcome bacteria and viruses, it decreases inflammatory overreactions which are misdirected alarms that cause cellular damage and premature aging.
Just three weeks of NEW START practices can become lifelong habits that will energize your body, sharpen your brain, and increase your ability to successfully resist disease.
Nutrition: Eat as if you live in the Garden of Eden, enjoying more fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts, and whole grains as they come from nature.
Exercise: Begin by walking at least 30 minutes a day. Mildly brisk walking is most effective. You can gently build up a longer time span. You may add resistance training and stretching, but do not substitute these for the walking.
Water: Drinking more water will help to “recreate” a healthy thirst for the best drink! Many have lost the healthy sense of thirst. They are chronically dehydrated yet do not feel thirsty, due to the volume of soft drinks and coffee they consume. Not only will drinking more water reduce exposure to additives and toxins, it will accelerate your body’s ability to flush them out. Healthy cellular activity is essential for proper absorption of nutrients which in turn promotes proper expulsion of waste. Water facilitates all of this and more!
Sunlight: It is well known that adequate time in the sunshine triggers vitamin D production within our bodies. Another antioxidant, melatonin, is formed within our bodies in the darkness of night. It’s helpful to understand that an early morning walk in the sunshine also triggers the production of mood-boosting serotonin, the precursor to melatonin. All three of these antioxidants are showing up in studies as stress reducers and cancer fighters. But the same effect is not gained with supplements. While it is wise not to have too much sun exposure for obvious reasons, it is unwise to avoid the sun completely thinking supplementation will make up for it.
More to come… Meanwhile, challenge yourself to memorize and soak in the following amazing statement from the LORD to His rescued people after their captivity in Egypt (remember that Egypt is symbolic for worldliness and godlessness):
“If you diligently heed the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the LORD who heals you.” Exodus 15:26