Hello Morning Blog Audition: Move

Recently on the Hello Mornings Blog, a post began: “You might think you need to keep your time with God separate from your planning time…” The post illustrated a potential benefit of linking the two; that keeping your To Do list close might actually improve your focus on scripture and prayer. Now let’s explore how you might benefit from another connection between two of the Hello Mornings components: Move and Plan. 

It’s likely there has been a morning when you’ve promised yourself, “I’m definitely going to exercise today” and never got around to it. Perhaps you put on workout clothes while getting dressed, believing your choice of apparel will help you get to the gym. Unfortunately the gym doesn’t have a magnetic connection to the outfit, physically pulling you in. You’d think athletic wear companies could make that happen with all their modern tech fabrics!

Here’s the thing: you’re busy. You’re pulled in many directions throughout the day; you have tasks and responsibilities that crop up unexpectedly, you run into traffic jams (literal or figurative), and best laid plans are laid waste. What if you challenged yourself to think of Move time as part of your Plan. If you had a dentist appointment you wouldn’t say, “I’ll go if it works out” or skip it if you ran out of time. No, with the dentist, the doctor, the client, the friend, the classroom, the fundraiser, the Bible study...you schedule it. You set the time and you put it on the calendar and you go. Why is exercise different? Most people agree that exercise is an important factor in maintaining good health, but that belief doesn’t translate to our calendars. Exercise becomes dispensable in the face of other priorities. 

You may also let exercise slip because you wrestle with questions like, “does God really care about fitness?” and “aren’t our earthly bodies temporary anyway?” Both are valid questions, so let’s look at a couple of verses commonly mentioned in discussions of faith and fitness. 

1 Timothy 4:8 states: “For while physical training is of some value, godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.” While it is important to note that scripture is clear that godliness is more valuable, it does acknowledge that physical exercise has value. 

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 says: “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” The context of this passage is Paul’s exhortation to flee sexual immorality, not a discussion of fitness. However, these verses clearly state that our bodies are not our own, they’re God’s. The command to “glorify God in your body” can serve as a reminder that God created, and cares what we do with, our physical bodies.

So how do you make it a priority? Let your Plan time beget your Move time! As you grow your “God. Plan. Move.” routine, determine whether you can lengthen your workout in the morning. If it’s not realistic for you to fit more physical activity into your morning routine, find times when it will actually work. If you work full time but get an hour for lunch, maybe you can spend half of that time going for a walk. Are you a stay at home mom whose kiddos nap? While you’re trying to squeeze all the things into nap time, can a few of those precious minutes be spent doing basic squats or situps? 

However your days typically unfold, look at your schedule critically to determine when you can realistically add physical activity. Also, give yourself grace! Your physical activity doesn’t always (or ever) need to be a 90 minute spin class if that isn’t your jam. Walk with a friend, skip rope with your littles, stream a stress-relief yoga video - there are so many options. The point is simply to create healthy habits for both your body and your time, and building activity into your schedule will help you do both.