Faith On Every Corner - October 2020

Page 48

Are You Making Sleep an Idol? How an Exhausted Mother Found Her Way to Early Morning Prayer By By Chrissie Kenaston

If you’re a mother of little ones or a working mom, or really, any kind of mom — the thought of waking up even one second earlier than you need to in the morning sounds completely ridiculous. Mom Life already means you don’t get enough sleep. Either you’re nursing a baby, waking up with needy toddlers, comforting a kiddo with a bad dream, or waiting on a teenager to make curfew. You might be up late because none of the laundry got folded that day. Or you have to finish a project for a client. Or you just need some quiet time alone! That level of exhaustion can actually turn into a problem in our walk with the Lord. When we value sleep above all else, we turn sleep into an idol. If you’ve ever felt like you should wake up early in the morning to spend time in your Bible but then decided you needed your sleep more, you may have turned sleep into an idol. You’re putting sleep above time with God! Trust me, I get it. I had three kids in five years. That kind of exhaustion is hard to put into words. But that’s exactly when God revealed this concept to me. I spent years resisting waking up before my children so I could have some quiet moments with the Lord. I constantly told myself, “You’re a better mom when you get your sleep! Imagine what kind of mom you’d be on less sleep!” I tried to fit my time in God’s Word into nap times or the occasional evening, but I couldn’t keep that consistent. It’s hard to get three kids to nap at the same time, so I was rarely alone for long. And I was so tired by the evenings, I couldn’t focus on anything. 48 | M AG A Z I N E N A M E PAGE 3 47

Plus, God had put this concept of Morning Bible Study on my heart. If I kept choosing sleep over that, there’s no question that I was making sleep an idol. So, I made a decision. I would start waking up at the ridiculous hour of 5:30 am to spend time with God and study His word. I can’t even pinpoint what changed in my life after that. Everything just got a little easier. I spent thirty minutes at the start of each day reading the Bible, journaling about what I’d read, and then praying. And I didn’t feel exhausted throughout the day like I assumed I would if I got up that early! The Lord sustained me because I was being obedient. I started to really learn from the Bible, instead of just having an overview of the big stories. Key verses implanted themselves in my brain, and I was able to call on them in times of need. Feeding my mind and soul with His word first thing in the morning really changed my mindset for the entire day. I truly felt like something had shifted and I was better prepared to handle each day’s challenges. I noticed the most difference on the days where it didn’t happen. If I woke up late and didn’t get in my early morning time with God, the entire day felt off. (That doesn’t mean I beat myself up for missing a day here and there. No one is perfect, and God’s grace is for all of us!) So I ask you -- are you making an idol out of sleep?


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Articles inside

The Original Fact Checker by Craig Ruhl

6min
pages 30-31

Pause and Pray by Tynea Lewis

1min
page 22

WEEPING WILLOW BY LORRIE D. GRANT

4min
pages 58-59

When the Harvest Seems Far Away By Juliana Gordan

2min
page 56

I Want To Introduce Him by Krystle Nicole Martin

2min
pages 54-55

Out of the Depths I Cry By P. Diane Buie

1min
pages 52-53

So You Want to Know the Future? By Pamela Walck

5min
pages 50-51

Are You Making Sleep an Idol? How an Exhausted Mother Found Her Way to Early Morning Prayer

4min
pages 48-49

Ga’Kaiya Anderson’s Trip Home

2min
pages 46-47

A little Goes A Long Way by Chris Eidse

4min
pages 44-45

Seasons by Karen Ruhl

1min
page 43

Harvest Home By P. Diane Buie

4min
pages 42-43

Godlessness & Knowledgeable Freedom

7min
pages 40-41

In Love With Marriage By Jessie Garcia

1min
pages 38-39

Enduring the Process - Obeying the Voice of God

4min
pages 36-37

Road Trippin' by Karen Ruhl

2min
pages 34-35

Truth About Unity You Should Not Ignore

4min
pages 32-33

Dear Carl by Anna Friend

3min
pages 28-29

BITTERSWEET HARVEST by Lynn Downham

2min
pages 26-27

The Harvest Is Abundant, But The Workers Are Few

5min
pages 24-25

Barefoot at the Country Store by Melissa Henderson

3min
page 23

What Will You Do When It All Comes True by Mike Buchanan

1min
page 21

A Seed, a Cocoon, and a Door by Pam McCormick

3min
page 20

Speaking in Tongues By Kathleen and Matthew Schwab, with Chris McKinney

1min
pages 18-19

Glory Revealed by Nicole Byrum

4min
pages 16-17

BE WELL, FRANKEN-MAMA by Gittel Fruma

5min
pages 14-15

LEARNING HOW TO WAIT FOR GOD’S HARVEST by Trudy Saunders

4min
pages 12-13

Daydreaming Believer by Andrea Marino

3min
pages 10-11

I am Beautiful Too By Lorrie D. Grant

1min
pages 8-9

Is Self-Discovery Actually Self-Worship? By Amy Davidson

6min
pages 6-7

Stripes... by Karen Ruhl

2min
page 4

N O T E F R O M T H E EDITOR by Karen Ruhl

1min
page 3

Faith On Every Corner - October 2020

1min
pages 1-2
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