Stoke Your Fire

2 Timothy 1:6 For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you...
James 3:5 ...Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark.

While these scriptures don't specifically refer to metabolism, the principle is the same. In reading and meditating on them, I was reminded how important it is to use the correct fuel and to be vigilant to keep the fire burning steadily.

Think about the similarities - you can't start a fire with wet wood. The wood has to be nice and dry. In the very same way, you can't ignite your body's metabolism with cookies, cake and processed, synthetic junk foods. It won't work. They are not fuel. They're wet wood. They will not burn. They'll simply gum up the works.

In the first scripture, Paul urges Timothy to "fan into flame" the gift. We also must fan the flame. The very best way is with exercise. We can run, walk, jog, bounce on a rebounder, lift weights, use a medicine ball, ride a bicycle, use a treadmill, play tennis, dance - all great ways to get our hearts pumping which turns up the flame. There's a second component to exercise that's critical and that is increasing oxygen.

A fire deprived of an oxygen source will not burn. In the very same way, the more oxygen we process by exercising and breathing deeply, the more fat we burn. You kind of kill two birds with one stone with this one!

Finally, weight training builds muscle which also burns fat. The more muscle we build, the more fat we burn. As we build muscle, we enable our "furnace" to burn continuously, just as fanning a flame encourages it to burn more brightly.

The objective is to do those things that create a consistent, continuously burning flame. Both in our faith and in our metabolism. Father really does know best!