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 box of Sleepytime tea
~ 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,
I listen to a sermon online when I can’t sleep and it usually relaxes me enough so that I can sleep. It takes my mind from racing to focusing on the Lord.
I usually go right to sleep at night, however; if I wake up during the night, my mind immediately begins to run off a list of things I should be up worrying about. Since I know this comes from Satan, I start praying. I pray prayers of thanksgiving for all the right/good things I can think of and before you know it, I’m asleep again.
I can so relate to the sleepless nights. For over three years now I’ve been having trouble sleeping through the night. I think it started when I made a change in medication. Since then, the only time I sleep through the night is if I take a sleeping pill. But I really don’t want to get into that habit. Thanks for your suggestions, Karen. I love the idea of using that ‘extra’ time to go over my memory verses. I think I’ll try that one. :)
Blessings!
Dale
I appreciate your sleepy-time tips, as I have similar light sleeping issues. Thanks!
When I can’t sleep at night I use that time to pray. I pour my heart out to the Lord and rest in His presence. And he always gives me peaceful sleep.
Turning off computers and television at least 1-2hrs before bedtime is very important for your brain. Creating an evening routine works wonders in telling your body when to begin winding down. Lots of good suggestions above. (Writing down worries is very effective.) What works best for me is to take a nice hot bath before bed to raise the body temp. As the body cools, it helps to induce sleep. Make sure your room isn’t too cold or hot. If your circadian rhythm is off, I have found using rapid dissolve melatonin before bed for several days to help rest your clock. Too much caffeine during the day or taken late in the day disrupts sleep.
I’m in! Praise God for another perfectly time devotional. I too haven’t slept thru the night in many years and pray restful sleep will be ours!
I’m in!
On nights like that, I remind myself of a prayer that I once read. I ask the Lord to put His hand on my mind and calm it. I also ask Him to put His hand on my heart and take away the anxieties. I often find myself feeling myself relaxing….that is until my mind starts going on again. LOL Sign me up for the giveaway!
Karen, first off saying a prayer for you to get well and for you to be able to make it to the Made to Crave webcast.
Second, I have such a hard time getting to sleep that sometimes it can take me an hour or more! I have tried everything from counting to lifting one arm up in the air lol. I have found that if I exercise late in the afternoon or after the kids go to bed I can fall asleep with no problem. I know some people just can’t do that but it really does work for me.
Third, would love to win that giveaway :-)
Take care and get well!
I definitely am in….Sleep, longer than 4 hours, that is a miracle. Somehow God gives me the energy to make it through the day and back into bed at night, only to do it all over again and again…..I am a taker for any remedies.
I’m so ready for sleep!! I’m in!!!
Thanks for this devotional. I have been blessed with being able to fall asleep quickly and go back to sleep if awaken. But my husband and my best friend really struggle getting good nights of sleep. I would enjoy your basket of goodies but will share them with my friend & husband, if I am chosen. Hope you and your family are better soon! We have struggled with sickness alot this winter. Hope to see you on Made to Crave!
I love Your ideas…I have a terrible time getting My self to sleep…..with unemployment for Husband over 2 years…and no insurance and Me in the hospital for 5 days….lots of debt so I need to pray alot and trust God totally…and He is truly showing Me but I still get nervous….thanks for all You do…
Right there with you. When the “troubles” tumble me out of bed, I resort to my chair, cuddly blanket, bible and journal. Just open and start reading. Nothing planned or scheduled. Amazing what message is waiting for me. My mind forgets all the “troubles” as I read the surprise message and next thing I know my sweetie husband is waking me up front a sound sleep in the chair.
Thank you for this timely devotional. I often pray when I am struggling with a racing mind, and filled with the “what ifs” of life. I tend to be a worrier, so I use many verses pertaining to anxiety, worry and fear. Anxiety, worry, and fear are all sin, as they are the opposite of trusting in the Lord. When these things rob me of sleep, I often pray, and praise the Lord, sleep comes! I often will sing Hymns, or praise songs. My favorite is “I Surrender All”. Even if I only know a couple of lines to the song, I will sing the words I know over and over again. He is our perfect peace, and it’s only through Him that we can experience true and everlasting peace for this life and for eternity. He promises to never leave us or forsake us. Hold fast to His promises dear, sweet sisters. He is the anchor for our anxious hearts…the Everlasting!
When my DH worked night shift – he was in law enforcement – I had a very difficult time going to bed and sleeping. I would pray Psalm 121 just before going to bed. Another thing (weird) when I am having a really difficult time going to bed, I will get a cup of hot tea (with caffeine) and drink it and then go to bed.
I have a 17 month old and an 8 week-old baby. After having my 2nd daughter sleep has been a commodity, but not because she doesn’t sleep. She’s been sleeping 2 4-6 hour stretches at night, thank God. I can’t sleep because my mind races on all I needed/wanted to get done that I never got to. I’m a list person and love to cross things off of it, but lately my lists haunt me. I even wake from my sleep thinking of things that have to get done sometimes.
Unfortunately, I have no tricks. I wait a week or so the migraine to kick in, medicate myself, and get some extra sleep when my husband is home. :( “Sweet Dreams” devotional really spoke to me and I had to forward it on to my mom. I’m sure it spoke to her as well.
Thanks for the verse. I wrote it down and put it by my bed. I’m in for the giveaway!
Ha! Ha! Ha! I loved your post today! Sounds like there are alot of sleep-deprived women out there. I’m among them, but my problem is due to a husband who snores like a “freight train.” Short of getting rid of him, which is something that God tells me is not an option — I’ll just take my headphones to bed with me and listen to the local Christian radio station until I’m able to fall asleep. KK
That sounds great, I could definately use some sleep :)
THANKS SO MUCH – I AM SOOO IN!!
I can never go back to sleep. So if I wake up at 2:00, I lay in bed thinking that surely I will fall back asleep. Then I finally give in at 3:30 or 4:00 and get out of bed to start the day. It’s a very productive time since everyone else is asleep, bit then I want to go to bed right after dinner!
Thank you for sharing what we often can forget to do as we strengthen our relationship with God. These last few nights I’ve not been sleeping well, probably because I’ve been coming down with this cold/flu bug many around me have had recently. Last night was especially difficult; waking up middle of the night and unable to shush those anxious thoughts so I could get the rest my body needed. I randomly surfed the internet news and reread old emails in the effort to distract my mind as a counting sheep technique. I got increasingly frustrated at not being able to solve the mystery “Why couldn’t I sleep?” And then the P31 email arrived as if God was telling me he’d handle my worries for me so I could rest. Your memory jog to jot down my worries and PRAY, leaving them in God’s hands was the answer I’d been asking for! Moments later – I slept soundly. How cool is that?
Thanks for the tips. I’ve been on crutches for 6 weeks due to foot surgery. I’m having a hard time sleeping at night because I’m not too active during the day. I have also been experiencing nightmares due to some stress when I do sleep. I usually just start talking to the Lord and praying for others when I can’t sleep. Sometimes it works, sometimes not. This would be a great help to get me back in ‘sleep mode’.