I recently received an issue of Writer’s Digest that built the whole issue around lists of ten. Ten best ways to stimulate your writing. Ten ways to approach an editor. It got me to thinking about the value of pushing ourselves with such lists of ten in our own profession. By making a list of ten, we push ourselves beyond the surface reflections and begin to delve beneath the surface.
Try it first on something physical. List the ten ways that a pastor can maintain his or her physical health while responding to the demands of the ministry. I phase it that way because I think we always need to maintain the perspective of being called by God to this ministry even as we seek to take care of ourselves.
When I begin to make a list of ten ways to take care of myself physically, the first few are easy to list even if I don’t always follow them.1.I can get some regular good physical exercise. 2. I can eat well balanced meals and avoid junk food. 3. I can strive to get sufficient sleep. That one is not as easy as it first seems. Doctors say we should average eight hours of sleep a night. I rarely did that during my forty years of ministry. At the same time, I did try to pay attention to getting an average of six and occasionally increased it to eight. 4. I can recognize the importance of having a few good relationships that nurture me. In my case that begins with my wife, but for others it may mean some good friends that you regularly meet with for conversation. 5. I can pay attention to my emotional thermometer and be honest with myself about how I am feeling at various moments in my life. The last two begin to merge into paying attention to my emotional health but they also affect my physical health. 6. I can get regular physical checkups and pay attention to what the doctor tells me. 7. I can find a fun hobby that involves some physical exertion which combines fun and physical exercise. Now it begins to get more difficult. Try it yourself and push for the ten. Tomorrow we will take a different category.
