appy New Year!
Can you believe we’re nearly through the first week of the new year?
Did you make new year’s resolutions? I don’t really make them so much any more…because I know I’ll break them.
I’ll start out strong and motivated as we all do…
“I’m going to get in shape for real.”
“I’m going to the gym every day.”
Is there a family member who likes to verbally jab you?
Are they passive-aggressive or outright mean to you?
Do they manipulate you or try to guilt you into doing things their way?
Do they try to make you feel guilty or bad for what you’ve accomplished or lay a guilt trip in order to coerce you into doing things you don’t really want to do, or don’t have the time, money or energy to accomplish?
Summer is winding down and most of us are transitioning from busy summer to busier school year, so I wanted to share five things you can do for yourself today that will foster a happier, healthier, more peaceful you (and me). Self-care is so important and we need to take care of ourselves first so we can care for others. That’s often a far away concept for many of us. Caring for me first feels so…selfish. But it’s not. It’s healthy and it’s okay, even though it feels backwards and indulgent. Here are five things you can do for yourself to encourage peace and well-being in your life.
Take Time Off
I’m not talking a full-on, get-on-a-plane-and-go vacation, although who wouldn’t love that? But take some time off, even if it’s thirty minutes a day, and just be you. Do something you want to do. Read a book. Catch up on a TV show. Take a nap. Call a girlfriend. Read a magazine. Take a bubble bath. But set aside those precious minutes to clear your head and relax. Lock yourself in the bathroom if you have to. I’m telling you, it refreshes you and gives you that pause you need to emerge and be recharged for what’s next.
What do you think of when when you hear the word “boundaries” in regards to “relationships”?
Do you think of walls going up to keep people out? Or that keep you in?
Do you wonder what “relationship boundaries” even means?
Boundaries in a relationship was once a foreign concept to me too. When I was in the midst of my abusive marriage, a pastor-friend recommended a book about boundaries to me and it was a surprise that such an idea even existed. Since that marriage, I’ve learned (the hard way) that boundaries have to be set in every type of relationship in life: work, marriage, parents and children, siblings, and friends. There must be clear lines for every person you have a relationship with in your life. What this doesn’t mean is that you’re putting up walls and being unforgiving. Absolutely not and quite the opposite, in fact. God calls us to forgive. He calls us to act in love. But He doesn’t call us to be doormats and to allow and enable disrespect and abuse in our lives. After all, God tells us to treat our bodies as if they’re temples; we need to take care of them. Is there anything more special and unique about our bodies than our hearts and feelings?