Reason #28
I am always zapped by the end of the week. Friday rolls around and I have little to no energy to do anything after 5:00PM. My schedule has really picked up the past few weeks and sleep has not been a priority. I always look forward to the weekends so that I can catch up on sleep, however, that has not been the case lately. It's interesting how sleep affects a person. Not too long ago, I actually experienced a full night's sleep for a change. I got a little over 8 hours of sleep and I felt (and looked) like a new person the next day.
I, like most women, have a tendency to over-commit and before long I have run myself ragged. I want to think that I am just being "helpful or utilized," but really I'm just stressing myself out and spreading myself thin. I begin to think of all of the things I have to accomplish and I start to get overwhelmed. I am a list maker and was making a list today. I started looking at my list and thought, "when am I actually going to have time to get this done? I suppose I'll be staying up late again..." There is harm in keeping our bodies from rest. In fact, sleep deprivation is a tactic that can be used to torture a person. When we get sleepy, our defenses come down and we become weaker. Mole hills turn into mountains and stress increases exponentially. I'm just speaking from personal experience, by the way. I put a lot of pressure on myself to get things done. I want to be efficient and I want to accomplish as much as I can. I realize that the sleepier I get, the less productive I am, so my tactic doesn't really work that well. I pile things on to my "to-do" list but because I'm tired, I get them done at half the pace I could were I actually rested. I also realize that my attitude isn't near as pleasant when I'm worn out. I might get those tasks completed but I will not be "whistling while I work."
I'm reminded in Genesis 2 that God created rest. Six days went by and God had been busy creating the world. No easy task, that's for sure. He made a point to set aside a day for rest. He could have kept going and coming up with a few extra ideas here and there, but he saw what he had made was good and he took time to rest. If the Creator of the universe finds importance in resting, shouldn't I value it too? How often do we make time to rest? I realize I hardly ever make time to rest. I whine and complain about being tired, yet I'm the reason I'm tired.
So, it's the weekend. I'm going to rest. I probably won't take a whole day off (although I'd like to), but I'm going to be intentional to follow in my Father's footsteps and allow myself some time to unwind and relax.
#28 - Rest.
"By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done." - Genesis 2:2-3
"Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him." - Psalm 62:5
I, like most women, have a tendency to over-commit and before long I have run myself ragged. I want to think that I am just being "helpful or utilized," but really I'm just stressing myself out and spreading myself thin. I begin to think of all of the things I have to accomplish and I start to get overwhelmed. I am a list maker and was making a list today. I started looking at my list and thought, "when am I actually going to have time to get this done? I suppose I'll be staying up late again..." There is harm in keeping our bodies from rest. In fact, sleep deprivation is a tactic that can be used to torture a person. When we get sleepy, our defenses come down and we become weaker. Mole hills turn into mountains and stress increases exponentially. I'm just speaking from personal experience, by the way. I put a lot of pressure on myself to get things done. I want to be efficient and I want to accomplish as much as I can. I realize that the sleepier I get, the less productive I am, so my tactic doesn't really work that well. I pile things on to my "to-do" list but because I'm tired, I get them done at half the pace I could were I actually rested. I also realize that my attitude isn't near as pleasant when I'm worn out. I might get those tasks completed but I will not be "whistling while I work."
I'm reminded in Genesis 2 that God created rest. Six days went by and God had been busy creating the world. No easy task, that's for sure. He made a point to set aside a day for rest. He could have kept going and coming up with a few extra ideas here and there, but he saw what he had made was good and he took time to rest. If the Creator of the universe finds importance in resting, shouldn't I value it too? How often do we make time to rest? I realize I hardly ever make time to rest. I whine and complain about being tired, yet I'm the reason I'm tired.
So, it's the weekend. I'm going to rest. I probably won't take a whole day off (although I'd like to), but I'm going to be intentional to follow in my Father's footsteps and allow myself some time to unwind and relax.
#28 - Rest.
"By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done." - Genesis 2:2-3
"Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him." - Psalm 62:5