Sweet Dreams Giveaway
If you haven’t read my Proverbs 31 Encouragement for Today devotion that is running today, click here to get caught up with the rest of us. Don’t forget to come back for the giveaway!!
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Well, little did I know two months ago when I turned in this devotion what this week would hold for me! The flu has hit here hard, robbing me not only of health, but of oodles of sleep! With both boys and mom contracting it, our home has been a continual coughing, sneezing symphony!!!
Tired isn’t a strong enough adjective to describe this gal.
But I do feel I’ve turned a slight corner (thanks in GREAT part to the prayers and well-wishes of many of you!) and I am hopeful I’ll be able to head Sunday to Charlotte to appear on next Monday night’s Made to Crave webcast and spend two days with my daughter Kenna and the Proverbs 31 office gals. (I’ve been on the P31 speaking team for nearly 5 years and writing for the magazine for over 8 and I’ve still never seen our office!)
My exhaustion this week is not a foreign concept to many of you, I know.
Everywhere I go I encounter worn-out women.
Married gals.
Single sisters.
Moms who work away from home.
Women who have a home office.
Moms whose whole life is work for their family.
Twenty-something waitresses.
Thirty-something business women.
Forty-something retail workers.
Fifty-something grandmas.
All trying to balance home, church, community, family, life and love.
While sleep may be high on their list of needs…
It is often last on their roster of realities.
What’s a slumber-deprived gal to do?
I have struggled with this issue for over 20 years.
You heard me right! The last time I slept consistently through the night on a regular basis was in 1990 when I became pregnant for our oldest child.
Three difficult pregnancies; two kids who would not sleep through the night until the next child was born.
Then, the third child slept through the night at 5 weeks!!!! Yay!!!!
Not so fast…..at 6 weeks, his dad was put on the night shift.
He returned home to our 900 square foot home at 3:00 am each morning.
I’m such a light sleeper that I heard his keys in the door every night.
Again, my sleep was interrupted continually. And although I usually can fall asleep at the beginning of the night after 20 minutes or so, when I wake up in the middle of the night, I toss and turn for AT LEAST 45 minutes til I can drift off again.
It stinks!!!
Todd no longer works that night shift. No ma’am.
Now he works first shift and gets UP at 3:30 am!!!!!!
Well, fellow short-on-slumber sisters, besides my suggestions in the devotion, here are some sleepy-time tips for you to try:
~ Utilize a notebook to not only list worries and prayer requests but to jot down “to do” items as well. Somehow listing “Pay electric bill” or “Transfer bank funds” can take the task off your mind and allow you to sleep soundly knowing you won’t forget to do it the next day.
~ Try not to eat for the last few hours before bed. It can mess with your sleep.
~ Do drink a toasty mug of chamomile tea with a touch of honey. Zzzzzzzzz……
~ Try some pillow mist spray in lavender or other soothing scent.
~ A microwavable cloth bag filled with buck wheat and lavender works well too. I have a homemade one from my best friend from college but I have seen them online as well. The warmth and lavender scent is very sleep-inducing.
~ Employ a white noise or nature sounds machine to drown out distractions
~ Have some memory verses nearby and a tiny reading light. (I have a clip on one) Spend a few minutes going over your verses when you can’t sleep.
~ Also have a Bible or devotional book on your night stand to read during your awake times as well.
Now, to help out one gal who comments this weekend, I’ll be giving away the following Sweet Dreams package:
~ A Hope mug with the verse Jeremiah 29:11 on it ” For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord”
~ Some Bath & Bodyworks lavender vanilla lotion
~ A Bath & Bodyworks lavender vanilla candle (be sure to blow it out before you sleep!)
~ Some Bath & Bodyworks pillow mist in warm milk & honey scent
~ A RingDex card system for you to record favorite verses on
Simply leave a comment anytime this weekend here on this post.
Do you have any tips?
Any struggles in this area?
Any favorite verses or coping methods for inducing sleep?
Or as always, if time is tight, just say “I’m in!” Drawing is random and winner will be announced Monday. The Monday I pray I am safely in Charlotte and on Lysa’s webcast.
Prayers appreciated!
Now, leave your comment. :-)
Sweet Dreams,
WE are told the Lord gives His people rest…so of course focus on HIM helps me.
Usually, just staying up really late…or rather, early, till I’m about to collapse helps tons. My children (17-23) have trouble and I recommend the sleepy time tea and melatonin.
As for your flu- the only thing I do that works is preventative: echinacea, oregano oil, vit D, vit.C,
to help with a cough so you can sleep…vicks rub on your feet and socks. (not sure why this works but it does)
Thanks for your offer…love to win that for my kids!