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Feed Your Soul :: { Day 2 } Dare To Sleep

By Bonnie Gray • October 2, 2011 • 28 Comments

When our lives slip into productivity overdrive, our souls forget to surface.  Sleep is one way to awaken our soul.

It’s Sunday.  I’m standing at crest of beginning of a new week.

Sometimes, when I think about everything that is queued up ahead, I just want to quit before I’ve started.

I start to line things up like a game of Tetris, fitting in as much as I can with each successive turn of the clock. 

Even on Sunday, it can get busy “resting”.

As we begin our journey to feed our souls, let’s clear our soul’s palate of physical weariness.

Let’s give our souls a chance to surface and to speak.

Let’s dare to get some sleep.

It’s more daring than it sounds.

It’s counter-culture to

stop pushing our bodies to their outer limits,

so that our souls have a chance to breathe.

Our bodies crave physical release —

— from the tension we carry in our shoulders

— from the stream of To-Do’s we carry in our heads

— to place availability of our hearts above busyness with our hands.

One of the most refreshing things we can do on Sundays is place value on sleep.

Sleep is —

— a reset for our bodies.

— a nap on Sunday afternoon.

— turning in early, not because we HAVE to.

We turn in early because we want to invite our souls to come out and play during the week.

Getting delicious sleep is as important as putting dinner on the table (who says cooking isn’t soul activity?), working (we want to put our hearts into it), and showing up in relationships (what a difference it makes to be present!).

Don’t give yourself the pressure of: “I need to get full 8 hours.”

Think how can I get better — or a bit more — sleep?

Be daring.

Sleep.

“I lie down and sleep;
I wake again,
because the LORD sustains me.”

Psalm 4:8

 

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Share:

~  Your ideas on enjoying sleep.

~  Is it a dare for you to feed your soul — by recapturing sleep?

Pull up a chair. I love company and enjoy hearing your thoughts. Click to share a comment.


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31 Days To Feed Your Soul :: { Day 1 } Hunger
Feed Your Soul :: { Day 3 } True Escape

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28 Comments

  • Reply Melissa October 2, 2011 at 3:40 am

    Aaaahhhhh….perfect for me today, as i’m reading….having yet to go to bed. (it’s 3 a.m. and i’ve been working round the clock for 2 days now…i HAD to procrastinate on work and come read this!) hmmmm….thanks for the nudge, holy spirit, i mean BONNIE! 😉

    much love,
    melissa

  • Reply Wendy October 2, 2011 at 4:00 am

    Sometimes when I am listening to my pastor speak I am sure I am the only person in the room and the spotlight is on me because he is talking straight to me. You are doing the same thing. You wrote this for me. Thank you.

  • Reply Julie October 2, 2011 at 4:24 am

    “…to place availability of our hearts above busyness with our hands.”

    Being “available” to God is something I used to avoid. I will DO for Him, just don’t ask me to stop moving and sit in His presence. Being vulnerable is not on my list of fun things to do.
    I am such a slow learner, but I am beginning to get it. That He really does want me………not what I can do for Him. That resting is an opportunity for Him to be with me, and I with Him.

    He likes me!

    It’s a hard truth to grasp, but I am not letting this one go.

  • Reply 31 Days To Feed Your Soul :: { Day 2 } Dare To Sleep | Faith Barista | How To Get Better Sleep October 2, 2011 at 4:51 am

    […] Pull up a chair. I love company and enjoy hearing your thoughts. Click to share a comment. […]

  • Reply Patricia October 2, 2011 at 5:28 am

    It’s so easy to get in the rat race of doing as much as you can before you turn in, because you know what’s coming, you know what will be if you don’t do it. I know I need to think more on sleep. Really good sleep. A routine of calming down before turning in. Can you imagine each night at 9 or 9 30, having a nice calming tea, drawing a bath full of skin moisturing bubbles, reading a few chapters in a favourite book, closing with a reading from my night-time devotional and prayer, then climbing into a bed with freshly laundered sheets….. awwwwh,…. that’s my perfect scenario…I know I need to concentrate more on making a bedtime routine.

  • Reply Tracey October 2, 2011 at 5:43 am

    It’s so funny that today’s topic is sleep! Yesterday I was able to sleep until 10:00 am!! The entire family did. Do you know how long it’s been since I slept till 10….YEARS!! I woke up so refreshed! I think God was trying to show me how much we all needed rest. Praying everyone reading today (and my little bunch here) gets a good Sunday afternoon nap. 🙂

  • Reply Carmen October 2, 2011 at 7:11 am

    I forget how important sleep is to recharging my soul! More often than not it is one more thing on my “to list” or even an after thought. I’ll think, “okay, its 11:30. If I go to bed now and can get right to sleep I can get 5 and a hlf hours in”. I definitley need to put a higher priotity on recharging through this precious commodity!

  • Reply Dee October 2, 2011 at 7:43 am

    Ahhh…quiet…in my life now that is so wanted. Even retired, I find so many things to fill my life. Saturday mornings we sleep…rest from a full week. The cats let us sleep in…not like babies did it seems like only yesterday. They are grown and gone off ot live their lives dropping by in e-mails with pictures of their adventures so far away from us. It is so good just to rest and let the weariness fall away remembering and savoring all that has been accomplished…dreaming of more yet to come. Thanks for the reminder! 😀

  • Reply Marina Bromley October 2, 2011 at 8:34 am

    Perfect! Sermon this weekend…kicking off for a month long “Intimacy With God” series….then this message after a sleepless night I will have to take a day of quiet rest this week to celebrate Him…it is SO important.

    When I was a mom of little kids, I did my quiet time at night…it felt like the start of my day then. For if the little ones didn’t sleep well, I didn’t sleep well, and if I didn’t sleep then everyone suffered the next day. It has always been a point of mental health and spiritual health too…if I’m not well rested, I lose my focus, and the enemy is quick to know my weak spots…

    Rest well in Him my friends!

  • Reply Melissa October 2, 2011 at 8:37 am

    Sleep is something that so many of us file under “luxury” when actually, it really isn’t! Thanks for your always thought-full and thought-inspiring posts!

  • Reply Jessica October 2, 2011 at 8:39 am

    Alright. I get it! All day yesterday, I was in a studying-induced frenzy until 12:30am that made me want to cry. Opening up my planner for the week ahead makes me want to cry even more. But Jesus has been speaking softly- “Rest in me, Beloved. Cease your striving”. So today is my day to rest and refresh and participate in a sanctified Sunday afternoon nap.

  • Reply Thel October 2, 2011 at 8:48 am

    This is so true!! I used to try to cram so much in my day, that I would just be a wreck by Friday. I’m really trying to cut some of my responsibilities. Just so I can REST. Thanks for your post!

  • Reply Joy October 2, 2011 at 9:52 am

    I had to learn this the hardest way, due to my stubborness- when I collapsed and then suffered illness for over a year- primarily due to sheer exhaustion. Your wise words are something I wish I had heeded a few years back.

  • Reply Janelle@GraceTags October 2, 2011 at 10:29 am

    I adore sleep and don’t run from it. It’s a must. I’m healing from a chronic disease, sleep helps the healing process. Not to mention, I just love to sleep.

    Janelle
    GraceTags

  • Reply Lynn October 2, 2011 at 10:55 am

    Sleep is a precious gift and we often forget it. Thanks for the reminder. I got my Sunday afternoon nap and am enjoying a quiet evening of resting in the Lord.

  • Reply Charissa October 2, 2011 at 11:25 am

    Love this! I took a glorious and beautiful nap today- woke up refreshed and quieted…in my heart and body. Sleep is such an amazing gift 🙂

  • Reply Caitlin October 2, 2011 at 12:14 pm

    love this! my spiritual “mom” always tells me that rest is warfare – so good! my favorite is to turn on some great worship music and just lay there with the Lord until I doze off. my spirit stays awake while I nap, and I wake up feeling supercharged physically and spiritually!

  • Reply Vicki Grabow October 2, 2011 at 12:17 pm

    I do rest. I find that moments of rest bring me peace and closer to God. My husband is a lister, rests when near exhaustion, but has finally given me the space and respects my need to rest instead of commenting or making me feel guilty in a passive way. This may prevent many people from truly resting because of peer or spousal pressure.

  • Reply Amy October 2, 2011 at 12:54 pm

    This is exactly how I want my Sundays to be – worship and rest. Sometimes I feel guilty, as though I need to be the overachiever and cram everything I can into each day. However, God gave us the gift of rest and you’re right – resting is both countercultural and very much needed.

  • Reply Suzanna October 2, 2011 at 1:06 pm

    My to do lists on Saturday made me feel productive and then the started to become Saturday and Sunday to do lists. I think more than anything the lists make me feel in control and in charge of my life. thanks for the reminder that I need to use Sunday to feed my soul! 🙂 God doesn’t care about my to do list, and frankly I usually forget about them a week later too.

  • Reply Katie October 2, 2011 at 1:31 pm

    Hahaha… I read this after taking an Sunday afternoon nap with my hubby! It is the only day a week we get to sleep together since he works overnights.

    It can be a challenge for me to get good rest, when my anxiety so often keeps me awake or I wake up from nightmares. But God has been faithful, and I always seem to get real rest when I depend upon him for a good nights sleep or Sunday afternoon nap. 🙂

  • Reply Jeri T. October 2, 2011 at 3:13 pm

    maybe a little nap after online church would be refreshing. If I end up on my lounge chair on the back deck, I’ll save you a space and a refreshing drink. Love to you Bonnie.

  • Reply Merissa October 2, 2011 at 4:02 pm

    One of my favourite things to do is lie down on my bed while I’m talking to God and then I fall asleep. When I wake up in the mornings , I usually talk to Him when I’m in and out of sleep from pushing my snooze button.
    I love sleep.

  • Reply Beth October 2, 2011 at 6:04 pm

    I love this! I had a delicious two hour Sunday afternoon nap today and it was much needed and thoroughly enjoyed! It’s so necessary….. thanks for the reminder.

  • Reply Barbie October 2, 2011 at 6:15 pm

    I am one of those who pushes herself until her body just quits. Not good, I know. I normally am up each night until about 1:00a, using this time to do laundry and catch on the blogs. It’s really the only time I have to do such things. God has been speaking to me that by getting more sleep, I am taking better care of my body, His temple. But it’s so hard sometimes.

  • Reply colleen October 2, 2011 at 7:18 pm

    i enjoy reading these blogs.i found this one thru a friend.i have ankylosing spondylitis.unfortunatly i sleep alot.the desease makes you tired then the meds make you tired.to escape from this dreadful desease i read the blogs.the blogs have helped me not to focus on the AS but to focus on GOD.thru my life i have always loved the poem footprints.i never new it would one day have a more special meaning.i beleive that we do need to rest and regenerate our bodies.some may need it more then others but we all need to to take a break and rest.thank you so much for this special message

  • Reply Dana @ Cooking at Cafe D October 3, 2011 at 11:55 am

    This will sound completely counter-intuitive…
    But now that my husband has been laid off – I will immediately get more sleep.

    Why? Well, first the stress of “will it be today? will it be this week?” is gone. But, more importantly, we were on different shifts. And, I would stay up much to late just to have a few waking hours with him.

    And, that schedule was not healthy – for my mental health, physical well being, or for my relationship with God. (Playing Tetris with you life – love your example – is not good.)

    So, he will diligently continue to apply and interview and we’ll both pray for guidance and direction. And, we’ll both get a lot more rest.

    Thanks for the reminder!

  • Reply Melinda October 3, 2011 at 12:33 pm

    I so need to after yesterday. Blog entry from last night says why. So thankful for God’s perfect timing. How about that bedroom pic! Beautiful place to rest, huh? Of course, with my early bday present, Flash the beagle, the kids, and hubbie it would look a lot different. On my way over to day 3. Then zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

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