12 Habits of People Who Look and Act Younger Than Their Age

Habits for Life

Reader's Digest recently posted an article on their website entitled, "12 Habits of People Who Look and Act Younger Than Their Age."  In a society where physical fitness and trying-to-look-younger-than-you-are is emphasized, many will want to know these habits.  After all, who of us wouldn't like to be a little more physically - and mentally - fit?

Here are the 12 Habits (with a few editorial comments):

1.  Get organized.  People who live well-organized lives tend to live longer than less careful types, perhaps because they look after their health better and avoid risky behavior.  (Oh no!  Please, don't look in my office!)

2.  Shop 'til you drop.  Social contact, better physical fitness, and greater mental agility are the key factors.  (I hope my wife doesn't read this! )

3.  Have some curry.  Curry may boost your mental abilities, according to research out of Singapore.  (Does eating curry several years ago during a mission trip to India count?)

4.  Sing together.  A study done among a group of adults found that singers in a group were in better health, used less medication, were less lonely, and had fewer falls after a year than a similar group of non-singers.  (See Ephesians 5:18-20.)

5.  Log on.  Search the Internet to keep your brain active.  (I don't think many in the younger generations will need any encouragement in this area.)

6.  Play with grandchildren.  Benefits include giving you the chance to pass on family values and traditions and to teach practical skills.  (The Bible has taught this for centuries.  See Deuteronomy 6:1-4, for example.)

7.  Don’t retire young.  Researchers have found that many long-lived, successful professionals worked (at least part-time) well after retirement age.

8.  Love your age.  Think positively about your time of life and you’ll live longer.  (That sounds like being content in every circumstance, Philippians 4.)

9.  Embrace thick skin.  Psychological hardiness (mental resilience in the face of stress, anxiety, and depression) is crucial for survival, especially as we get older.

10.  Don’t assume you need less sleep.  It’s a common myth that we need fewer hours of sleep as we age, but evidence suggests this is not true.

11.  Go for walks with your dog.  Dog ownership can provide a physical and emotional boost. Walking together will improve your fitness and protect against feelings of loneliness.

12.  Have faith.  Research shows that positive emotions associated with attending religious services - such as hope, faith, forgiveness, joy, compassion, and gratitude - can help to reduce stress and regulate the body chemicals that protect us against it.

Faith in God -- a trusting, active faith -- is good for much more than your physical health!  Without it, it is impossible to please Him (Hebrews 11:6).  It is the appropriate response to the great love of God who gave His Son to die for our sins so that we can have eternal life (John 3:16).

In order to be saved from our sins and receive the gift of eternal life, we must place our faith and trust in Jesus (Acts 16:30-31), turn from our sins in repentance (Acts 17:30-31), confess Jesus before men (Romans 10:9-10), and be baptized (immersed) into Christ for the forgiveness of our sins (Acts 2:38).  Then, we must - by faith - continue to walk in the light of His Word, for as we do, the blood of Jesus continues to wash away our sins (1 John 1:7).

The 12 Habits are helpful.  We should make the most of life now.  But the greatest thing we can do is to accept God's prescription for eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Won't YOU? 

– David A. Sargent

* http://www.rd.com/health/wellness/habits-of-people-who-act-young/.  Many thanks to Sandy Hall for sharing this article with me!

Instructions for Genesis computer program

The company I work for uses a computer program called Genesis. It operates the cash registers, inventory searches, customer data bases and much more. The problem I've had in learning this program is there doesn't appear to be any manual or even basic instruction forms. If you learn something on the program it is because someone has shown you how to use it. I've asked everyone from my manager on down and no one knows anything about any instruction manual.

I have been taking notes and writing codes and keystrokes down in a small note pad I carry with me with intention of putting it into a better form sometime. So, this afternoon things were a little slow and I started compiling my few notes into a written basic instruction file. I titled the page, "Notes on Genesis".

Here's what surprised me at the end of the day. I have a coworker who has been there a few months longer than I and we have talked about this problem. So at the end of the day I shared my notes with him and his reaction surprised me (a good surprise). He said, "I saw that title when I walked by and thought you must be working on a lesson for your church."

Isn't it a great thing when people see you doing something and assume it must be a spiritual or Godly thing! Far too often it seems that people assume the worst, they really don't think of us in terms of spirituality.

What do folks around you think about you? Do they recognize the priorities in your life? But then, maybe that's the problem, they do recognize the priorities in your life and they aren’t what you thought they were. Maybe you wouldn't be proud of what people recognize as your priorities if you knew what they thought.

That may fall into the instructions of Jesus in Matthew 5:16 where he says: "In the same way, let your light shine in front of others. Then they will see the good things you do. And they will praise your Father who is in heaven."

--Russ Lawson

Children in church

THE REAL PROBLEM

Have you ever noticed how rowdy and rambunctious young children can be?  They certainly introduce a disruptive element into the Sunday morning services of most congregations.  Sometimes it is hard to concentrate and listen to the sermon because of the distracting sound of crying babies.  Little ones crawl on the pews, over the pews, and under the pews, making it quite difficult for those sitting around them to maintain a worshipful mood during the weekly communion service. Furthermore, the rattling and clatter of noisy toys can easily become the source of unwelcome irritation when sincere Christians are trying to focus their thoughts in prayer.

But, while all of the above might be true, that is not the real problem.  The real problem is when there are no little children in the congregation whatsoever.  The only thing worse than crying babies and running children is no babies and no children.

Several years ago, I preached in a meeting for a twenty-member congregation in rural Oklahoma.  It was a congregation composed exclusively of senior citizens.  They were so pleased on the last night of that meeting when my wife and children were in attendance.  Two elderly ladies cornered me after the final prayer.  One of them asked, “Do you know what my favorite part of the whole week was?  After it was all over…it was wondrous to have children running in the building again!”   The second lady began to cry as she said in a trembling voice, “It was so good to hear a baby crying in the auditorium.”  After an emotional pause she concluded, “It has been so long”.

 

The real problem is not noisy or unruly children; the real problem is when there are no children in the congregation. If you are part of a vibrant congregation brimming with energetic children, then, please try to be more patient and strive to communicate to young families that children are a welcomed presence in your assemblies.  Go out of your way to praise mothers and fathers for their hard work instead of criticizing them too harshly when their newborn babies and young toddlers find it difficult, if not downright impossible, to sit still for an entire hour.  Most importantly, strive to see precious little boys and girls for exactly what they are, the future life of God’s church and the rich resource of eternal blessings.  The Psalmist says it best:

Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, The fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, So are the children of one's youth. Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them; They shall not be ashamed, But shall speak with their enemies in the gate. (Psalms 127:3-5)

-Tim Lewis