I need to warm-up. Words I would never speak. Now I do. I need to cool down. Words I would never speak. Now I do. There are many other words that I would never have spoken. Now, I do.
These are more than spoken words. They were put into practice. It is mostly because I need to warm up. I do it before exercising. I do it before speaking or preaching.
I would have never warmed up before I started my day. Never. I warm my brain up by reading first thing in the morning. I warm up my body by stretching most mornings before I get started. It is mostly out of necessity, not because I am motivated or special.
I find the days I warm up by stretching I feel more flexible. I feel more aware. I feel more present. I feel healthier.
While I was listening to the Holy Spirit this morning, I kept getting the sense I must warm my spirit up too. Over Advent, the Holy Spirit has me amping up my gratitude. I continue to write a personal Psalm of thanksgiving each day.
This morning, I felt some heaviness in my spirit. Some of the heaviness was brought on by things outside of my control. As I wrote the Psalm, I experienced the heaviness release, and my day went well. God used a conversation, several podcasts, readings, and quiet time with him to encourage me to amp up my gratitude for the situation out of my control. I found myself writing out my thankfulness for the situation and those involved.
I also found that God is encouraging me to enter the situation. And to do it with thankfulness. I’m still not ready but I’m close.
How do you warm up spiritually, physically, and emotionally? Or are you?
If you aren’t, don’t feel guilty. Ask God how you can put this into your daily rhythms. Start small. Small rhythms grow into life transforming rhythms.
I encourage you to start by amping up your thankfulness.
