One day, my daughter called my wife and asked, “How old is dad?” I was sitting right next to my wife, so I answered with a line from the movie Miracle on 34th Street: “As old as my tongue and a little older than my teeth.”We all laughed. But the question stayed with me. I can’t choose how many birthdays I get. I do have a say in how those years feel.&nbsp;<h2 id="4aceef20-7c09-4d37-b323-df36c2a27fa1" data-toc-id="4aceef20-7c09-4d37-b323-df36c2a27fa1" style="text-align: left; font-size: 24px; line-height: 1.2;">God Cares About Your Body and Your Soul</h2>As a Christ-follower, I want to be as healthy as possible for as long as possible. I don’t think that’s vanity. I think it’s stewardship.John wrote, “Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well.” (3 John 1:2 NIV)Notice that John puts body and soul together. Scripture does the same, pointing to habits that serve both:<ul style="margin-top: 0in;"><li>Ask for prayer when you’re sick. Call on your spiritual leaders to pray over you. (James 5:14–15 NIV)</li><li>Walk away from what dishonors God. What dishonors Him often damages your body too. Turning from evil brings health, and your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. (Proverbs 3:7–8; 1 Corinthians 6:19–20 NIV)</li><li>Move your body. Physical training has value, even though godliness has value in every way. (1 Timothy 4:8 NIV)</li><li>Eat and drink to honor God. Whatever you do, do it for His glory. (1 Corinthians 10:31 NIV)</li><li>Rest when you need it. Jesus told His worn-out disciples to come away and rest. (Mark 6:31 NIV)</li><li>Limit what feeds anxiety. Anxiety weighs a heart down. (Proverbs 12:25 NIV)</li><li>Feed what lifts you up. A kind word cheers the heart, and a cheerful heart works like good medicine. (Proverbs 12:25; 17:22 NIV)</li><li>Take your stress to God. Prayer and thanksgiving are built-in coping tools. (Philippians 4:6 NIV)</li></ul>&nbsp;<h2 id="c5950ef7-f2ab-477e-83ab-fc4c2f99c51d" data-toc-id="c5950ef7-f2ab-477e-83ab-fc4c2f99c51d" style="text-align: left; font-size: 24px; line-height: 1.2;">What the Research Says</h2>Longevity researchers have long suggested that genes account for only about a quarter of how long we live. Lifestyle accounts for most of the rest. Dan Buettner popularized this idea after studying communities where many people stay active into their nineties and beyond.One caution is worth knowing. A researcher at Oxford has questioned how reliable the age records behind the “Blue Zones” are, and leading Blue Zones scientists strongly disagree. So, I lean on a sturdier source as well. Harvard researchers followed more than 120,000 adults for decades. They found that women at age 50 who kept five healthy habits lived about 14 years longer than women who kept none, and men about 12 years longer. The habits were exercising regularly, keeping a healthy weight, eating well, drinking only lightly if at all, and not smoking. Only about 8 percent of the people studied followed all five. (If you don’t drink, this is no reason to start. Newer research is more cautious about alcohol.) <a target="_blank" href="https://www.popsci.com/health/do-people-in-blue-zones-actually-live-longer/">Do people in blue zones actually live longer? +2</a>Across both bodies of research, the same themes keep showing up:<ul style="margin-top: 0in;"><li>A reason to get up in the morning. Purpose can come from family, work, a hobby, or learning something new.</li><li>Family first. Long-lived people often stayed close to the family that loved and helped them.</li><li>Community beyond your family. Shared faith and shared practices kept people connected.</li><li>Regular stress relief. Think humor, a weekly Sabbath, friends, and spiritual practices.</li><li>Daily, gentle movement. Walking, gardening, and time in the sun beat an occasional intense workout.</li><li>Mostly plants, in modest portions. Stop eating when you’re about 80% full.</li></ul>&nbsp;<h2 id="907dd826-69a1-4eef-afcc-539cf60ef825" data-toc-id="907dd826-69a1-4eef-afcc-539cf60ef825" style="text-align: left; font-size: 24px; line-height: 1.2;">Start Earlier Than You Think</h2>Doctors Michael Roizen and Mehmet Oz compare aging to a bank robber rather than a mugger. He doesn’t jump you out of nowhere. He spends months casing the place. That means your defenses need to go up in your thirties, forties, and fifties, long before the trouble shows.Buettner makes a similar point at the end of his book. We can have a shorter life with more years of disability, or the longest possible life with the fewest bad years. The choice is largely ours.<h2 id="e444ca7a-fba2-46c3-b1bc-72b2220f805f" data-toc-id="e444ca7a-fba2-46c3-b1bc-72b2220f805f" style="text-align: left; font-size: 24px; line-height: 1.2;">Start With One Change</h2>Here’s what I’d say to anyone reading this: pick one change. If you try to overhaul everything at once, you’ll probably change nothing. Then tell someone, because a change you’ve said out loud is much harder to quietly drop.If you could make one change this month to live a healthier, less stressed life, what would it be, and who will you tell? I’d love to hear your thoughts. You can share them with me by <a target="_blank" href="https://www.hpaulstanleycoaching.com/contact-dr-stanley/">clicking here</a>.<hr><h2 id="593cca27-0647-4e71-ae85-5ee8916f834e" data-toc-id="593cca27-0647-4e71-ae85-5ee8916f834e" style="text-align: left; font-size: 24px; line-height: 1.2;">Did you find this helpful? Would you like more — but not too much more?</h2>Once every two weeks, I send a short, practical article focused on living a less stressful, more abundant life — helping you maintain life balance and grow mentally, physically, spiritually, and socially over time.You can subscribe by <a target="_blank" href="https://www.hpaulstanleycoaching.com/stress-relief---life-balance-news-tips-opt-in/">clicking here</a>.

You can’t pick your birthdays, but you have a say in how well you age. Scripture and research point to the same habits for a healthier, longer life.

As Old as My Tongue and a Little Older Than My Teeth: Aging Well God’s Way

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As Old as My Tongue and a Little Older Than My Teeth: Aging Well God’s Way

As Old as My Tongue and a Little Older Than My Teeth: Aging Well God’s Way

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