Health and Daily Living – Page 26 – REACHING HURTING WOMEN MINISTRIES

heart health

Generally, women don’t talk much about heart attacks. After all, it’s a man’s disease, right? Not any more!

According to the American Heart Association: 1 in 3 women have some form of heart disease and Cardiovascular Disease is the #1 killer of women!

WE MUST PROTECT OURSELVES!

5 Simple Steps To Prevent Heart Disease:

QUIT SMOKING
EXERCISE 30 MINUTES MOST DAYS OF THE WEEK
EAT HEART HEALTHY: More Fish-n-Veggies; Less Meat-n-Dairy
WAIST MANAGEMENT: Women 32.5″ Men 35″
GET REGULAR HEALTH SCREENINGS

Significant symptoms prior to heart attack include:

Unusual fatigue
Sleep disturbance
Shortness of breath
Indigestion
Anxiety, feelings of impending doom or unusual nervousness

Significant symptoms during heart attack include:

Shortness of breath and/or inability to catch your breath when waking up
Weakness
Unusual fatigue
Cold sweat, clammy sweat
Dizziness
Nausea, vomiting
Chest pain, could also include back pain and/or deep aching and throbbing in one or both arms
Fluttering or rapid heartbeats, palpitations
Feeling of heaviness, such as pressure-like chest pain between the breasts that may radiate to the left arm or shoulder

Let’s not allow poor health to sneak up.

What good is it to have a spiritually healthy heart if our physical heart is in poor health? We won’t be around to enjoy the abundant life Christ died to give us. It’s a sad witness to Christ, if we can’t take care of the body we’ve been given!

Let’s be proactive… together!

Some of you were my friends and/or trainees when I was a trainer at Curves in Katy, TX. Well, this week I’m going back to Curves because I know it works – I lost almost 30 lbs in 2006. So before that lost weight creeps back on, I’m getting back in the program as a trainee this time! I encourage you to find a friend and get started. It’s more fun that way!

Guard your heart above all else,

for it determines the course of your life.

~ Proverbs 4:23 NLT

As humans, most of us depend on different things to make it through the day…

We depend on caffeine to give us energy because we stayed up watching TV and eating late night snacks instead of getting our required sleep. We find ourselves stressed out because we’re not eating right, not getting enough sleep and drinking too much caffeine.

We may be going through family circumstances that are less than pleasant. To help us cope, we numb our feelings to slide through it easily. Television, itself, numbs us so we don’t have to deal with our real world. But many depend on other substances to make it through tough life situations… smoking, drinking or drugging to calm nerves in times of stress.

Even if we can recognize them, we’re unable to stand in our own feelings without crumbling. Our emotions are crippled, usually due to some kind of trauma.

Like someone with a broken leg, we depend on ‘crutches’ to walk through life when we should be trusting God to carry us.

As a recovering addict, I understand this all too well. Honestly, I still struggle. There are days I find myself picking up an old crutch. When I do, I have to stop and recognize it for what it is, immediately repent and ask for God’s forgiveness.

There’s nothing inherently wrong with watching television or even having a glass of wine for that matter. But when we are using these things instead of allowing God to help us, it becomes a problem that will stunt our spiritual growth and maybe even our physical health.

Are you walking with crutches today?

Ask God to reveal things that are out of balance. He will honor your request and give you the needed strength to change.

Let God Carry You…