"Your Body, Your Spirit, & a Good Night’s Sleep"

by: John Stonestreet &  G. Shane Morris

Because our bodies matter to God—and not just in a moral sense—our rest matters to God, too. So much so, He built it into the rhythms of the universe.

Do you proclaim with the psalmist: “Awake, my soul! Awake, harp and lyre! I will awaken the dawn. I will praise you, Lord, among the nations” (Psalm 57:8)?

Do you climb out of bed each morning and sing with joy about God’s unfailing love (Psalm 59:16)?

If not, (and for the record, I rarely do), maybe it’s because we are among the one in three Americans who don’t get enough sleep. Seriously.

Last year, the Centers for Disease Control declared a new public health crisis: sleep deprivation. Millions are failing night after night to get the recommended seven to nine hours of rest, putting them at increased risk for health problems from anxiety and depression to diabetes and heart disease.

By some estimates, widespread lack of sleep is costing American employers over $100 billion annually “in lost production, medical expenses, and sick leave.” More in-depth research finds that twenty straight hours without sleep is the equivalent of being legally drunk. And sleep specialists are sounding the alarm that “drowsy driving” is just as deadly as drunk driving—and more common.

So what’s behind this epidemic of sleep deprivation? Why are Americans these days so incapable of turning off the lights and going to bed? The answer is in our pockets.

A growing body of research demonstrates that the frequency of light produced by smart phones, laptops and tablets triggers the release of chemicals in our brains that tell us, “It’s time to wake up! Its morning!”

The dreary glow of screens also drains our concentration and creativity. A study in the journal Social Psychology reported that even having a smart phone nearby degraded the quality of subjects’ work and studies, because it reminded them of their online social circles.

So what do we do to counteract this perfect storm of sleep deprivation and tech addiction?

Writing at Motherboard, Kaleigh Rogers describes her radical solution: She banned screens from her home for a full month. No TV, computers, or smart phones. Cold turkey.

Unlike healthy eating and exercise—good habits that take weeks or months to make a difference—Rogers says her tech-free experiment yielded immediate and astonishing results.

The first few days were like a dream, she writes. “We’d come home, put on some music, cook dinner together, and then—unimaginably—we’d sit at the table and eat. After dinner, Stuart would play guitar while I read. Chores were done promptly and without hesitation. It was blissful.”

Okay, that’s all great. But BreakPoint isn’t a self-help program. So what’s all this got to do with a Christian worldview?

Well, let’s go back to the beginning. God created day and He created night. A time to work, and a time to rest. The Sabbath, remember, begins in the evening, and we enter into an earthly rest in anticipation of resting eternally in God’s presence.

Remember too that we’re not pure spirits. We’re embodied spirits. The state of our body affects the state of our spirit. It’s why we avoid drunkenness and bodily immorality. It’s why we try to stay fit.

It’s no wonder then, as Kate Shellnutt writes at Christianity Today, that those who get quality sleep report feeling closer to God and having better faith lives overall.

And also, as Charles Spurgeon said, “God gives us sleep to remind us we are not Him.” We have limits. He doesn’t. We lie down at night trusting in God’s care, open to Him speaking to us, trusting him to revive these earthen vessels of ours in the morning—ready once again to join with God in His work to restore all thing in Jesus.

Now I’m not saying give up your cell phone or Facebook (especially if you read BreakPoint on them). But I am saying don’t let them deprive you of God’s gift of sleep, and in turn all the personal interaction, productivity, creativity, and especially spiritual vitality that make us fully human as God intended.

-from breakpoint.org/2018/01/body-spirit-good-nights-sleep-2/ 

I recommend putting all your e-screens (phone, tablet, laptop) away one hour before bedtime, which works well for me.  If you or your child has ADHD, try going without for a day or two, or putting away your e-screens 3-4 hours before bedtime.

Margin: Restoring Your Reserves

In 1995, Richard Swenson wrote a book called Margin: Restoring Emotional Physical Financial and Time Reserves to Overloaded Lives.  A printed page has a column of blank space along each side of every page.  We need some blank space in our lives; margin is the space that we need between ourselves and our limits. Do you allow yourself some free time everyday?  

We have a tendency to fill up every part of our schedules.  Our days and nights are full of work, meals, conversations, phone calls, texts, emails, news, interruptions, appointments, etc.  So there’s a tendency to fill up the blank spaces in our lives.  The problem with this is that when a crisis comes up, it pushes us beyond our limits, and then we suffer from stress overload.  It’s like being pushed off the edge of your limits, or off the edge of your page. That’s what leads to heart attacks, divorces, broken relationships, high blood pressure, angry outbursts, etc. 

If your life is filled to the edges of your schedule, and you find yourself exhausted at the end of every day, you are probably trying to do too much.  You need to develop margins in your life – some black space or free time between you and your limits.  What can you eliminate from your schedule?  What can you say no to?  Does that team or committee really need you?  How can you say no to the next new project that comes up?  Do you really need to work overtime regularly?  How can you free up some time to relax and unwind?  

The principle of margin is similar to the Biblical Sabbath principle.  The Sabbath was the day of rest on the 7^th day of creation, and the reason why God commanded the Israelites to rest on the 7^th day of the week.  The idea is that we need one day of rest and worship per week, to be renewed and rest our bodies and minds from the daily grind.  The idea for margin is the same – that we need times for rest and renewal, to recover from the stress of daily life.

If you are stressed out or worn out, plan to take a day off for rest and worship and renewal.  Plan to find time in your life, to leave blank, like the margin on the edge of the page.  Do this, and you will be blessed.

A Prayer by St. Francis of Assisi

You are holy, Lord, the only God, and your deeds are wonderful.
You are strong, you are great, you are the most high, you are almighty.
You, Holy Father, are King of Heaven and Earth.
You are Three and One, all good.
You are good, all supreme good, Lord God, living and true.
You are love, you are wisdom.  You are humility, you are endurance.
You are rest, you are peace.
You are joy and gladness, you are justice and moderation.
You are all our riches, and you suffice for us.
You are beauty, you are gentleness.
You are our protector, you are our guardian and our defender.
You are courage, you are our haven and hope.
You are our faith, our great consolation.
You are eternal life, great and wonderful Lord,
God almighty, merciful Savior.

by St. Francis of Assisi
-from Jesus, Be the Center, by Rev. Eunice McGarrahan
This is a great descriptions of God.

Finding Light in Dark Times

We’re entering that season known as the holidays.  This season can be a hard time for those who are feeling down or depressed.  The days are shorter, and the nights are longer.  Holiday parties can mean feeling pressured to spend time with people that you’d rather not.  The music, festivities and joy can remind some that their lives are not joyful.  In short, the holidays can deepen one’s dark feelings.

Elijah is a good example of how God leads us to do simple things.  Elijah was running for his life, afraid and depressed, and God stepped in.  

“He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. ‘I have had enough, Lord,’ he said. ‘Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.’  Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep.  All at once an angel touched him and said, “Get up and eat.”   I Kings 19:4-5

Elijah awoke, ate and drank, and then slept again.  These simple things were God’s way of beginning to lead him out of his depression.  These first steps were simple ones: eat and rest. 

If you’re feeling down during this holiday season, you might want to check to see how you’re taking care of yourself.  Are you getting enough nourishment and rest?  These are simple, practical things that we can do to take care of ourselves, so that we might serve the One whose birth we are preparing to celebrate.