No Wednesday Wind Down tonight except that I pray you sleep easily.
I have enjoyed deep sleep the last few nights due to increased self-care to my legs. The compression massage machine has been so helpful after a February full of creative, writing, and wellness work. When I wake up, I’m undoubtedly excited to snatch more Zzzz’s at the end of the day. I pray you receive sweet sleep to be ready for God’s beauty tomorrow.
Lastly, Season 3 of Listening at the Speed of Life Podcast cast launches next Wednesday, March 8th at 12 noon CT. My new schedule of alternating blogging and podcasting each month will foster consistency for you and prevent burnout for me. Thanks for sticking with me on the journey and tuning in for motivation and inspiration in 10 minutes or less. No frills. Real talk. All Love.
I’ve been sleeping pretty well and not at all — and it’s been great. Let me explain.
You already know that I’m a night owl. That’s when my creative juices come out and play. Sometimes their stride can generate a supernatural momentum, so much so that the sun and I say hello the next day. When that happens, I don’t just get a lot done; I am infused with energy to execute the plan laid out before me. If there are obstacles in my way like a bunch of linebackers, I feel inoculated against them and empowered to run them right over. Lately, this is how those sleepless nights have been.
Then, there’s the flip. Aside from a few not-so-great health days, my sleep has been sound. Ridiculously sound. It doesn’t hurt that my work commutes have stopped under quarantine, so that created a lot of room for naps as needed. For someone who usually spends 4-5 hours a day in a car, those naps have been golden.
I remember a season when this wasn’t the case. I used to have repetitive nightmares of various kinds. They would feel so real that I would delay going to bed. I would tire myself out in hopes that I wouldn’t wake up in the middle of the night. I felt tormented instead of settled at sundown. Then, this verse changed the game.
I realized had control over my rejuvenation. The tumultuous overnights were actually an evil scheme against my productivity and my Peace. So, I took my sleep back. I quoted that verse every night before I went to bed. More than once if necessary (which was often).
My encouragement to you is that you re-possess your rest. When you sleep well, your body rebuilds. Your mental prowess increases. You power up to be a better version of yourself. Now, you can see why it was such a perfect plan… to steal something that would enhance your God-given awesomeness. Don’t let it happen especially in this season. You deserve to be your best self, so do what it takes. Speak with Word over your rest.
Peace & Thanks for listening, Sweetheart. Here’s to those sweet dreams too.
Prayer:“God, I just want to breathe. That’s all. I’m not asking to do a somersault or get a million dollars tomorrow… I just want to breathe and go to sleep. I’m so tired.”
Health challenges cause me not to breathe well sometimes. While I wear an “S” on my chest in the streets, I’m all “W” at home. This means that there are restless nights and early mornings still required of me. That also means sometimes I am aggravated with my respiratory issues to the point where I pray that prayer above. I wish I could just get a peaceful night’s rest and wake up energized. Most mornings come with fatigue in tow because I have wrestled all night and that prayer wasn’t far from the nightstand. Every time I prayed (sometimes in tears and screams), I woke up without knowledge of how I went to sleep. What a lovely gift to know He hears me when I call.
I encourage you to pray when you’re frustrated and watch Him work it out. It’s OK. He can take it.
Peace and Sweet Dreams out there. Thanks for listening.
Did you enjoy the snow? Is it still around? Here in Birmingham, Alabama, it’s starting to melt, but ice is still lurking on the roads. I hope you’re safe, warm, and smiling.
The snow day couldn’t have come at a better time for me. I just closed the fall quarter and I hibernate the day after finals to recuperate my mind, body, and soul. Even my mother tries not to call me the day after finals. Sweet Woman.
Since God blessed me with snow on my day off, I did 5 things that made me feel awesome. I think they make fine ingredients for any snow day to feel like the Son is shining on you. If you did anything that made your day, share it!
SLEEP! SLUMBER! REST!
Confession – This is one thing I do not do well on a consistent basis. Running a performing arts troupe, writing your soul free, and educating Birmingham’s Finest can make make feel like I’m running on fumes at times. So when my friend texted me a snowy picture, I smiled. It was officially a rest day. I think getting a few winks in when you’ve missed a million is a great way to recharge!
REFLECT.
There’s something about the stillness of snow that makes me just sit and watch. I don’t want to talk. I don’t want to drive. I want to reflect on how cool it is…. fluffy goodness floating from the sky. It quiets the world for a little bit. It makes me be careful. It forces me to gaze at the winter wonderland around me that I zoom past everyday. So, I took a few pictures to remind myself to do more of that when life gets busier in 2018.
PLAY OUTSIDE!
After the spiritual battery has been charged, then I want to play. My footsteps make art as I look back at them in the snow, plus my miniature schnauzer had a blast trying to eat it. I laughed watching my aunt make snow angels. There’s just something about snow that makes the 5-year-old you feel safe to show out. Throwing snowballs and trying to make snow sculptures are what snow is made for, right? lol
EAT!
When it’s cold outside, you simply must eat something warm inside. My vice of choice yesterday? #1 – PANCAKES! I was so hungry when from my self-care, that pancakes and hot tea were the only items on my menu. #2 – QUESO and tortilla chips. But, it’s not just any queso dip. I made my favorite recipe that I conjured up in college. Dorm living will make a chef out of anyone. lol It includes shrimp, ground turkey, cilantro, corn, and diced tomatoes (and sometimes a hint of bacon). The dip was oh so heavenly as I curled up to watch one of my favorite movies.
WATCH A MOVIE.
Me, my bowl of queso, my sweatpants, and my fuzzy socks enjoyed one of my favorite movies – Something New (2006). If you’ve never seen it, get ready for some humor, some sensitive topics, and just good old-fashioned Rom-Com (romantic comedy) moments. Curling up on the couch after a long day of self-care was the perfect ending to my classroom duties and the perfect beginning of a well-deserved break.
What do you like to do during a snow day? Do you have favorite foods that taste better during winter weather? Are there movies that you must watch?
Peace, Thanks for listening, and Stay safe out there!
Photo of my awesome aunt and my super dog courtesy of moi.
After listening to a sermon by Pastor Larry Paige at Zion Church (Landover, MD).
Humor me as we tiptoe through the land of psychology for a minute. God spoke to me through a reminder about the sleep cycle.
Most agree that are 5 stages of sleep – 1, 2, 3, 4, and REM (rapid-eye movement). The higher the stage number, the deeper the sleep. For example, it is more difficult to wake someone in stage 4 than in stage 1. As you slip deeper into the sleep cycle, your muscles relax, heart rate slows down, and your body temperature decreases. The autonomic nervous system is in parasympathetic mode, otherwise known as rest and digest. Still with me so far? Great! Let’s keep going!
Your brain makes the trek as well. An electroencephalograph (EEG) tracks its activity through a range of waves. Generally speaking, your brain activity transitions from small beta (β) and alpha (α) waves to elongated high-peaked delta waves (δ). Delta waves appear on the EEG before REM sleep, which is also known as paradoxical sleep because brain waves show up that resemble wakefulness. This is the stage of dreaming and while the body is predominantly paralyzed, the mind is active and the sympathetic mode of your nervous system (fight or flight) can activate during nightmares. Ever woke up to a rapid heart beat and the sweats? There you have it.
You would think death was the next step after slipping into Stage 4 attributes. After all, sleep is also referred to as being as half-dead. Regardless of what it looks like, the cycle is far from over. A mixture of alpha and theta waves pop up because we’re dreaming. God can give you strength and dreams in the midst of darkness. The internal organs are awake while the body is paralyzed, just like the Holy Spirit is yet alive in you despite what is happening to you. Your situation is not the end of you.
“Rest in distress.” – Pastor Larry Paige
Sleep. What a beautiful thing. Through the eyes of children, naps are viewed as a waste of time or form of punishment when the truth is they need it to recharge and repair. Our bodies were designed to reset after a certain number of hours, and too often we press the snooze button on our circadian alarm clock and cram more into the day. Sometimes the dark times force us to rest…and to dream.
“God does addition by subtraction sometimes.” – Pastor Larry Paige
According to Dictionary.com, the delta is a nearlyflatplainofalluvialdepositbetween divergingbranchesofthemouthofariver,often,thoughnotnecessarily,triangular. Nearly flat and often flooded, but soil enriched for growth. Your seemingly dead places are ideal for growth. Ideal for the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the almighty God to show up and flood your flat plain with vibrant activity. Dreams you thought were dead can sprout in the dark.
We can rest in the delta instead of stressing in it. There is more life there than meets the eye. I am so grateful for that lesson.
Listening at the Speed of Life 