Lessons Learned in 3D: Sleep Deprived

I am thankful that basketball season is officially over. Now begins the season of rest — when I can go to bed at a decent hour instead of staying up all night either agonizing over Miami’s ineffective defense of Tony Parker or celebrating Ray Allen’s clutch shot made with 2 seconds left on the clock. The NBA seriously needs to reconsider scheduling games at 9 PM. Sleep is essential to my mental stability.

In all seriousness, this night owl needs to get to bed earlier. I hope to get back into a more normal sleepy time ritual starting this weekend. Please pray for me — I am much like the whiny five-year-old who refuses to go to bed at night. Will I ever learn that I can’t function on 4 hours of sleep? Stay tuned…

On Fridays, I try to make a list of the things God is teaching me — little nuggets of truth that He is speaking to my heart. I want to be intentional about documenting this so that I don’t forget. So, here in no particular order are 10 things I learned this week:

1. Ten minutes of engaged activity will move me forward — especially on activities I don’t want to do (like dusting, ironing, or paying the bills). Deidra at Jumping Tandem calls this the “Ten Minute Stretch”:

Sometimes I tell myself,

“Just run for ten minutes, and then you can stop.

You’ll be better on the other side.

And, if you’re not better, at least you’ll be done.”

2. Anne at Modern Mrs. Darcy got me thinking this week with her post “Making it Yours”:

“Ownership–and we’re not just talking money–is a powerful construct. When you make something yours–a town or a book or a baseball team–it becomes part of your identity.

My husband and I have been thinking about what we want to make ours as a family. What will our thing be? What makes us us?”

I mentioned a while back that my husband and I have “our spot,” and we do make an intentional effort at “keeping company,” but what she said about identity really grabbed me. What do we want our identity as a couple to be? This is something to pray about with my husband.

3. God requires complete and reckless abandon. I have been reading Jennie Allen’s book Anything: The Prayer that Unlocked My God and My Soul, and it is rocking my world. Oh my! And, then this week, I opened up feedly on what I thought would be a regular morning to discover that Jennie is challenging us all to put feet to our faith through the “If Gathering.” If you have a heart to mentor younger sisters, make sure to check this out.

4. I am changing the world. This week in India a little girl’s life is better because I opened my heart. I love how Ann explains the difference child sponsorship makes in her posts “A Letter to the North American Church–Because it is Time” and “The Research that Proves You Can Change the World.”

5. I love this idea over at The Dating Divas for a wedding anniversary tradition: Time Capsule Anniversary Gift.

6. Blogging can be used very effectively for community Bible study. The gals over at She Reads Truth have breathed a lot of life into my spirit the last couple of weeks as I joined them for a study of I Peter. Their fantastic devotions and the reading plan are available through the You Version App, or you may subscribe to the blog to receive the posts. Check out the blog if you are hoping to dig in to the Word in a fresh, relevant way.

7. Mercy breathes life into a broken soul. This week I clicked on a tweet and spent the next 20 minutes reading an amazing story of redemption. Go here to read Jacque’s story of how mercy found her. I am so thankful that I did. I love this quote she shared by Ann Voskamp:

“God appoints people who do disappoint–

to point to a God who never disappoints.”

8. I need to be intentional about affirming my husband. Kristen at We are THAT Family provided me a framework in her great post “What Every Husband Needs to Hear.”

9. I need to “get on my face before the Lord.” That’s what you do when the “bottom falls out.” Love this post by Mary Margaret for LifeWay’s Women All Access.

10. God knits our hearts together with others as we pursue Him. One of the first bloggers I connected with online was Laura — I love her passion for Him. I am so honored to join her as Social Media Manager for Missional Women. If you aren’t familiar with this Online Missional Magazine, head on over and check out the amazing articles and resources.

Q4U: What did you learn this week?

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