JANUARY 2017 MIAMI for web

HEALTHY SOUL
GETTING
FIT IN
2017
The start of a new year is the perfect
time for making some commitments
about fitness. Need to take off a few
pounds? Need to be more frugal in
spending and more zealous about saving?
Need to do some things to enhance your
business and family life? Want to end 2017
with more spiritual muscle?
Making a few changes in your life can really
make a big difference in your savings and
retirement. As 2016 draws to a close, for
example, most financial advisers are telling
their clients about a higher contribution
limit for 401(k)s that goes into effect for
2017. If you discipline your financial life to
add the extra $500 the law permits – that’s
$42 per month – it can help your retirement
prospects.
Then there are basic suggestions about
improving your health most of us think
about at the turn of a new year. If cigarettes
and alcohol are still part of your lifestyle,
save yourself the fiscal, health, and social
problems they cause by eliminating both.
The same goes with the excessive junk food
that tempts us all.
For your life as a leader in your business,
this is the time to review last year and to
focus for 2017. Does your company have
a mission? One that people can recall?
Articulate? Maybe this is the time to sharpen
your communication.
What about your family? Are you finding
yourself making too many apologies for
being absent from family events and
unavailable to the people you love most? Are
you feeling alienated from your children?
The start of a new year is a good time to
reset priorities with your family. And just
sitting down with them to say out loud what
you are doing – and to ask their help – may
help heal some wounds.
Then don’t forget your spiritual life in
framing a fitness plan. I once heard a lady
express admiration for a Bible teacher she
respected. "I'd give half my life to know the
Bible so well!" she gushed. "That's about
what it would take," a bystander replied. I'm
not sure she got the point. Do you?
We'd prefer instant Bible knowledge from
a pill or potion. Most of us would pay well
for self-control, peace of mind, or power
in prayer. But spiritual life is like physical
health or fiscal soundness in one critical
way: All the positive steps you take, even the
smallest ones, make a significant difference
over time.
The art of change begins with a plan. Even
the things only God can change in us depend
on our plan to be open to the work of his
Holy Spirit. Pounds, pennies, and prayers —
success with all of them begins with a plan.
MAY YOU
LIVE
WITHIN
GOD'S
DAILY GRACE
IN 2017
AND HAVE
A HAPPY
NEW YEAR
By Rubel Shelly
HEALTHY MIAMI / 7