January 5, 2015 SHARE: Estimated reading time: 3 minutes The Wellness Wheel Indulge me for a moment, would you? Set the alarm on your phone to go off a couple hours from now, at a point in your day when you have a little quiet time, a free moment or two. Hey, thanks! Yesterday my granddaughter spontaneously gave my leg a hug. Nice. I needed that! A moment ago I was given a cup of coffee and a huge smile on a dreary, rainy day. Everybody needs a small blessing once in a while, a moment of affirmation, care, love, concern. I want you to have a moment like that when your phone alarm goes off in a couple hours. (You didn’t really set your alarm, did you? That’s okay. You will in a minute!) We all need daily reminders of God’s love The heart of wellness for the children of God comes from His undeserved love for us in Jesus Christ. For many of us, our dear Father first poured out that blessing on the day of our baptism. I was given God’s forever promise of grace at Good Shepherd, Portland back in 1955. Right now, my head is wet from running into the coffee shop on a drippy day. The wet feeling is reminding me that this moment is a holy moment. I’m having a renewal of my baptism as I reflect and remember God’s promise to me back in ’55 that He’d be here with me, loving me, forgiving me, right here today as I sit in St Louis typing and sipping my decaf mocha. I think that’s what Dr. Luther had in mind in the Small Catechism when he explained the significance of baptism with water. By daily contrition and repentance and daily rising to new life in Christ, I believe brother Martin was talking about a lifestyle, not an event. The refreshment of dying and rising to new life in Christ is more than a morning ritual; it’s a privilege and joy for a sin-stained, stressed out sinner/saint like me throughout the day! This blog is intended to bring you a weekly grace note My intention with this blog from Grace Place Wellness is that once a week you would welcome it as a reminder of how much our Lord Jesus loves you and have a little tiny Grace Place Wellness Retreat in your day. I’ll be sending along a simple thought each week, based on The Lutheran Wellness Wheel, offering a simple, practical tip for living the balanced, healthy life of grace and joy that the Lord intends for you. It would be a pleasure to send it to you as a reminder that you are in my prayers and covered with God’s kindness and love! Create mini-retreats as a Place of Grace for personal renewal In most moments of most days, a mini-retreat like that would feel pretty good. It’s a great gift to me right now. I’m experiencing an embrace of grace, a holy moment, a blessing from my dear Friend and Savior, Jesus. Yesterday wasn’t my best day of obedience and service. Today has been far from perfect, and it’s only 10:00 am! I expect by 2:00 I’ll be ready once again for a hug from the Lord. Just like you, I didn’t set my alarm before either! But I stopped typing a moment ago and set it to go off at 2:00. What to do when the alarm goes off When it does, I’ll pause and remember that no matter what is going on, “This is a holy moment. Jesus is loving me, right now” (see Ephesians 3:16-18). You’ll need a touch of His grace a couple hours from now, too. So go ahead. Set your alarm. And let me know if I can enjoy the privilege of sending you another (shorter!) note next week. Thanks for reading. Darrell Zimmerman, VP/Program Director Interested in attending a Grace Place Wellness Classic Five Day Retreat? Check our calendar of upcoming workshops.