Love the Lord with all your heart...

I'm sure that as I do, you know that "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength"* - is the 1st & greatest commandment.

Have you ever wondered why when giving this commandment, God** and then Jesus*** started with the heart? I believe it's because the issues of life, and life itself, flow out of our hearts.****

Therefore it goes without saying that we need to first fully and truy love our hearts...in order to love with our hearts or even put it to any other use.

So I decided to share 5 tips on how we can and should do that:

H - Have regular spiritual & physical check-ups.*****
E - Exercise physically & spiritually******
A - Attend to your weight spiritually & physically - don't take things heart so they don't fill you up with bitterness and weigh you down. We also need to watch our food intake...it has a way of showing.
R - Rest & relax so you can be refreshed*******
T - Take God's word seriously and live by it daily.  
Proverbs 3: 5-8  - ⁵Trust the Lord with all your heart, and don’t depend [rely] on your own understanding. ⁶Remember the Lord [Know him] in all you do [on all your paths], and he will give you success [keep your roads straight]. ⁷Don’t depend on your own wisdom [be wise in your own eyes].  Respect [Fear; Hold in awe] the Lord and refuse to do wrong [turn away from evil]. ⁸Then your body will be healthy, and your bones will be strong [refreshed]. ********

Proverbs 4:20-22 - ²⁰ Dear friend, listen well to my words; tune your ears to my voice. ²¹ Keep my message in plain view at all times. Concentrate! Learn it by heart! ²² Those who discover these words live, really live; body and soul, they’re bursting with health.*********

Love your heart so you're here to love the Lord with all your heart, soul, spirit and strength.
This is key because we need that heart health in order to love everyone else.**********

References:
* Mark 12:30 - And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength. (NLT)

**Deuteronomy 6:5 - Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. (NIV)

*** Matt 22:37 - Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind (NIV)

**** Proverbs 4:23
- Keep vigilant watch over your heart; that’s where life starts. (Message)
- Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. (NIV)
- Guard your heart more than anything else, because the source of your life flows from it. (GWT)

***** Psalm 26:2 Put me on trial, Lord, and cross-examine me. Test my motives and my heart. (NLT)

****** 1 Timothy 4: 8 -
Exercise daily in God—no spiritual flabbiness, please! Workouts in the gymnasium are useful, but a disciplined life in God is far more so, making you fit both today and forever. (Message)

[For] Training your body [Physical exercise] helps you in some [or small] ways, but serving God [godliness] helps you in every way by bringing you blessings [since it holds promise] in this life and in the future life, too. (Expanded Bible)
******* Psalm 23: 1-4 - The Lord is my shepherd; I have everything I need [will lack nothing]. ² He lets me rest [makes me lie down] in green pastures. He leads me to calm [quiet] water. ³ He gives me new strength [renews my soul]. He leads me on paths that are right [righteous; or straight] for the good [sake] of his name [reputation].

******** Expanded Bible - emphasis mine
********* Message - emphasis mine

********** Mark 12:31 - The second command is this: ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself’ [Lev. 19:18]. (Expanded Bible)


For further reading on Heart Truth & Heart Health:
"Cardiovascular disease (heart disease and stroke) is a leading cause of death for Canadian women, and yet many are not aware of this threat."
(http://www.heartandstroke.on.ca/site/c.pvI3IeNWJwE/b.3581757/k.DA04/Heart_Disease__Women_and_heart_disease_and_stroke.htm)
"Heart disease is the leading cause of death for women in the United States."
(http://www.cdc.gov/dhdsp/data_statistics/fact_sheets/fs_women_heart.htm)