Health & Beauty - 1. Get A Diary

This is the first of 10 articles that appeared in ConXion magazine's Health and Beauty Section in 2010.

You see the ads everywhere you turn: in the shopping centres, on television, on the internet. Everyone is looking for a quick way to get thin. Lots of people are looking for convenient ways to get fit. Some people want to look like their favourite celebrities. But what Jenny or Tony don’t advertise, is that there is no quick or easy way to lose those unwanted kilos or build up those flabby muscles. It takes hard work and determination.

But wait, don’t skip over to another page just yet! Each month in Conxion we will share with you a simple yet effective tip to get you started and help you stay on track for a healthy life. And for those of you worried this will turn into a ‘Christian Womens Weekly’ or a ‘New Christian Idea’: fear not! – “for physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come” (1 Tim 4:8). And so, realising the great importance of shaping up spiritually, and the parallels between physical and spiritual discipline, allow me to share with you the overview for this Column.

1. Get Organised
2. Get Honest
3. Get Out

And our first of ten points we will cover this year is… Get A Diary.

Not very profound, but it may be just what you need to start. There is no way you can be disciplined in the physical or spiritual aspects of life if the rest of your life is disorganized. I have tried desperately to disprove this theory by struggling to accomplish everything while being disorganised but it only leads to stress and failure.

You need to set time aside for important things, and be able to look back and evaluate how you spent your time. It is vitally important you set aside time to exercise, and even record your diet or your weight, but it is essential for the health of our soul that we spend time with our Heavenly Father each day. It’s a great resource to look back over what He has taught you, how He has helped and grown you, and what verses His Spirit has highlighted to encourage or challenge you.

I feel much saner with my diary because I am able to write down the tasks or concerns occupying my mind, and I feel the same way when I start the day in prayer to God. I can share all that is bothering me, concerning me, or just busying my mind, and when I allow Him to put them on His ‘to-do’ list I am able to go out into my day tackling one task at a time.

It’s the perfect time to get a diary – it’s the start of a year, it’s a great time for new-years resolutions, and the diaries are on special! What are you waiting for?