Exercise Regularly

Exercise releases endorphins in our bodies, which are neurotransmitters (biochemical substances) in the brain that, among other things, produce a sense of well-being. When we exercise, we not only feel stronger and healthier, but we are also better able to deal with the day-to-day stress in our lives. It helps us take life in stride.

Exercise also encourages the nerve cells in our brains to secrete other neurotransmitters-serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine—which are known to minimize anxiety. Many researchers believe exercise is the best antidepressant available. So if you struggle with depression or anxiety, gird up your mind with God's Word first. Find scriptures to stand on that will bring you peace. Then try exercising regularly. It is a natural, healthy way to combat depression.

Research also suggests that exercise may stimulate the growth of new brain cells that enhance memory and learning—two functions that are hampered by depression. Exercise is also proven to relieve muscle tension and improve our ability to relax. This is especially important when we are overwhelmed or stressed out. Have you ever gone to bed exhausted, yet were unable to relax enough to go to sleep?

Well research shows that exercisers go to sleep more quickly, sleep more soundly and are more refreshed in the morning than individuals who do not exercise. So if you're having trouble sleeping, you can stand on the promise that God will give you, His beloved, sleep (Psalm 127:2), and you can work out to help you relax. Where stress is concerned, exercise is an excellent natural remedy. It can help us achieve a sense of well-being, aid us in dealing with depression and anxiety, and help us sleep better. Now if that were all the benefits of exercise, wouldn't it be worth it to make exercise part of your daily routine? But that's not all.

There are many more benefits such as, exercise:
1. Increases your stamina and endurance
2. Reduces your risk for heart disease and stroke
3. Strengthens your immune system
4. Strengthens your bones and joints, decreasing the chance for osteoporosis
5. Increases the number of calories you burn, accelerating weight loss and encouraging weight control
6. Strengthens your heart and lungs so that they will work more efficiently
7. Decreases your blood pressure and LDL or "bad" cholesterol while raising your HDL or "good" cholesterol
8. Improves circulation and supplies more oxygen to the brain thereby increasing your ability to think and reason

Understanding the value of exercise can positively affect our attitude toward it and help us become committed to it.

My Unhappiness is Someone Else's Fault (by Janet Daughtry, MDiv, Certified Life Coach)

This is the lie that says that someone else or some external situation is responsible for my unhappiness. It is the lie that says I am not responsible in any way for my own unhappiness or misery. It is someone else's fault. It is the lie that says I have no choice in the matter. It's really the ultimate blame game and its' not a good way to live!

Well, what is wrong with this picture? The problem with this false belief is that as long as someone else is the reason I am unhappy, I don't have to take personal responsibility for my life. I don't have to take ownership of my life. I can move out of the driver's seat to the"victim" seat.

Whoa is me! What I have really done is handed over my emotional well being to someone else. After all it's not my fault- right? It may be easy to blame something or someone else for my situation but it certainly isn't any way to have any joy or live the abundant life God wants me to live. The bottom line is I really do have a choice! When I come to that realization, its liberating!!!

No one can have that much power over me unless I give it to them. Plain and simple! Healthy and mature people take personal responsibility for theirchoices and their emotions! I like the way Dr. WilliamBackus, a Christian psychologist, expresses it in his book"Telling Yourself the Truth. "People don't make you angry, sad, sick, etc. - you allow yourself to be angry, sad, sick, or whatever the negative feelings you are experiencing. Indulging in temper tantrums is learned behavior. You learned how to throw temper tantrums and you can learn to stop." Amen to that! So if the choice is yours that no one else can make you unhappy unless you allow them to, then I believe it is also true that no one else can ultimately make you happy either. That responsibility is also yours. It's a choice you make! You can choose to be happy regardless of circumstances or the people around you. Your lack of happiness is not someone else's fault! When we realize that we are in thedriver's seat, that we do have choices and are notpowerless in life, life can really be exciting. We can geta new sense of ownership about life and with that does comegreater joy and greater contentment!

Be Affectionate to One Another

In many parts of the Christian community, the level of relationship as a 'family' is sadly missing. It is unfortunate that people attend church week after week and hardly know the people they regularly sit next to in the church services. Life has become so busy with natural concerns that most believers suffer from a severe deficiency of relationships with their fellow believers. His plan was and still is to have people who demonstrate His covenant nature in their relationships with one another.

The apostle Paul talks about these types of covenant relationships in Romans 12:10 when he says, "Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another." This phrase expresses the idea of a love between friends that is authentic, sincere, tender and warm. It represents two or more friends who love each other just as deeply as if they were members of the same family.

The word "preferring" means to esteem, to admire, to highly respect, to value very highly. It represents the attitude of a person who values a friend so highly that he deeply desires the very best to come to pass for his friend - even if it means that his friend is blessed at his own expense. This means there is no room for jealousy or competition where this kind of love abounds.

Do you have these kinds of relationships in the Christian community? If so, you could count yourself very blessed, for the lives of many believers are vacant of such relationships. This is all the more reason to make sure you take the time to really express to these people whom you love as family just how deeply you love them.