Physical Burnout Restoration

"He said to them, 'Come away by yourselves to a remote place and rest for a while.' For many people were coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat. So they went away in the boat by themselves to a remote place...." Mark 6:31-32 (HCSB)

As we are meditating over the need for restoration in a burned out life, we looked at emotional restoration. Today, Dr. Swenson encourages us in physical restoration. In his book, Margins, he lists 29 prescriptions that can help to relieve the stress and burn from our daily lives. Again, I will share just a couple. I encourage you to seek out a copy of this book to see all the ways that a person can be restored in burnout.

This is a hard one for most folks. In this area, we must take personal responsibility and learn to change our habits. We must value the importance of sleep and develop healthy sleeping patterns. A good way to help induce a good night's sleep is to add exercise to your daily regimen. 

To help restore physical balance we need to seek to fix our nutritional part of life. I have personally learned to watch and develop a healthier eating lifestyle. Decrease the amount of sugars, avoid overeating, and seek a balanced diet. This means a definite change in eating styles. A number of great websites are available to help you determine the proper percentages and sizes of meals. Your doctor will be more than glad to help you develop a healthy eating regimen. [I know, this is meddlin', but I have learned and have changed into a healthy eating lifestyle - it works].

Another balance is exercise. This helps with your general health and also with weight loss. Check with your doctor and develop a healthy exercise program. One of the very best is walking - just 10 minutes a couple of times a day can make a major difference in how you feel and look. In all these areas, be realistic - it took a long tome to get where you are, and it will take some time to see the difference in your life.

Muse over what changes you (or your friend) can make in these areas of emotional and physical margins to begin the restoration process from burnout. And, don't just think about them - apply what God is leading you to do.

* Material used this week is from Margin: Restoring Emotional, Physical, Financial, and Time Reserves to Overloaded Lives. Published by NavPress:Colorado Springs CO. 1992

Emotional Burnout Restoration

"He said to them, 'Come away by yourselves to a remote place and rest for a while.' For many people were coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat. So they went away in the boat by themselves to a remote place...." Mark 6:31-32 (HCSB)

A good book dealing with restoring ourselves from burnout is by Richard Swenson. MD. called Margin.* He teaches that we need to find the space between our load and our limits. We need to put ourselves in God's hands and find out the space He desires for us to rest in Him. Today, let us muse over our emotional restoration.

In his book, Dr. Swenson lists 14 prescriptions, as he calls them, to take to restore this balance in life. I will mention a few, and I encourage you to seek out this book and read it if you are struggling with burnout in your personal life.

The first I would state is that we need friends. We need those whom we can go to for support. Sometimes this may mean that we need to reconcile with others. Having someone to connect with, talk with, seek encouragement from can help us through a troubling time.

We also need to follow Paul's advice in 1 Corinthians 13:13 - "Now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love." We need to be rich in faith - "Now faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen." (Hebrews 11:1 HCSB). We also need to hold fast to our hope - read what Paul says in Romans 5: 2-5 today. And, finally we need to grasp the truth of love. Love heals completely and as Paul admonished us in 1 COrinthians 13:13 above - "the greatest of these is love."

Muse over the truths developed in this short time today. How can you apply them to yourself? How can you help someone around you with these truths? 

* Material used this week is from Margin: Restoring Emotional, Physical, Financial, and Time Reserves to Overloaded Lives. Published by NavPress:Colorado Springs CO. 1992 

An Epidemic of Burnout

"He said to them, 'Come away by yourselves to a remote place and rest for a while.' For many people were coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat. So they went away in the boat by themselves to a remote place...." Mark 6:31-32 (HCSB)

Because of our culture's "pursuit of excellence," we have developed an epidemic of people who are burned out. Burnout is a stressful state characterized by physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion, chronic fatigue and lethargy.* In 2007 nearly 54% of Americans fought with people close to them because of stress. 

Burnout is often felt by clergy, doctors, police, and others who work with people in the helping professions. People can put excessive demands upon those who are seeking to help - demands on their time, energy and resources. I have talked with caregivers who also are displaying symptoms of burnout. 

People in burnout can feel cynical and have a strong desire to escape from life. They can experience a false sense of failure, succumb to depression, and endure illnesses brought on by this stress. They can become hypercritical and experience negative feelings toward others.

Some steps that can be taken are: take control of your own schedule, learn to say "no," understand that God will never lead us into overwork, consciously slow down, and learn to set priorities in your life.

Ponder today, do you or someone you know exhibit some of the classic signs of burnout? Over the next couple of days we will talk about developing margins in our lives to help us restore the proper balance that God desires. Muse over your own situation, and pray that God will help you begin to balance out what He wants in your life. Meditate upon what Augustine of Hippo is quoted as saying -"You [God] have created us for Yourself, and our heart cannot be stilled until it finds it rest in You."

* From The Quick Reference Guide to Biblical Counseling by Tim Clinton and Ron Hawkins. 2009. Baker Books:Grand Rapids, MI. page 54.

Sunday Prayertime

Precious Father, today we have moved our clocks back one hour. In this time of year we fall back from Daylight Savings Time. While we may move our clocks and change the times, we can be assured that all time is in Your Hands. You are consistent, You change not. You set the sun, the moon, and the stars in their courses - and they remain constant. You have our time set - our birth and our death. You know our good times and our bad times. Today, help us keep our focus upon You. Upon Your guiding Hand. No matter how man may change the clocks, Your steadfastness continues forever. In Jesus' precious name, Amen.

Saturday Prayertime

Dear Father in Heaven, Please work in me today to ripen the fruit of the Spirit. Help me to bear this fruit in my life...to show and share love, joy, and peace; to be long-suffering, gentle, and good; to have strong faith; to be meek and temperate, slow to speak and quick to listen. I want to walk in the Spirit so that my life will be pleasing to you and a light in the darkness, that the world may know that you are God. With praise and thanksgiving, in the name of Jesus. Amen