T.C. Slonaker, author
  • Home
  • The Angelmen Series
    • About the Angelmen Series
    • Trailers
    • Hierarchy of the Beings
  • Books
    • Amity of the Angemen >
      • Sample of Amity of the Angelmen
      • Amity Trailers
      • Reviews of Amity of the Angelmen
    • Asher of the Angemen >
      • Sample of Asher of the Angelmen
      • Asher Trailers
      • Reviews of Asher of the Angelmen
    • Caedmon of the Angelmen >
      • Sample of Caedmon of the Angelmen
    • Malachi of the Angelmen >
      • Sample of Malachi of the Angemen
    • The Battle >
      • Sample of The Battle
  • About T.C. Slonaker
    • About Me
    • Interviews
    • Beliefs
    • What Am I Doing Now?
    • Quotes
    • How I Became Published
  • Blogs
    • Passion Under Grace (T.C. Slonaker's blog)
    • Tracy's Top Ten
    • T1D Family Life, While We Are Waiting …
    • Woman on Sports
    • The CDO Writer
    • What's On My iPod
  • Humor
    • Body Language >
      • Chapter 1: About Going for a Ride
      • Chapter 2: Stomach Revolts
      • Chapter 3: A Surprise Early Morning Gym Visit
      • Chapter 4: Birthday Present
      • Chapter 5: Laziness and Cats
      • Chapter 6: Thinking Ahead, I Think
      • Chapter 7: Learning About Softball As A Grown-Up
      • Chapter 8: Allergies, Smallergies
      • Chapter 10: A New Machine at the Gym
      • Chapter 11: After the Flood
      • Chapter 12: Asthma (not so funny)
      • Chapter 13: Birthday
      • Chapter 14: A Snake
      • Chapter 15: Pituitary Coup
      • Chapter 16: My Shorts Don't Fit, Part 1
      • Chapter 17: My Shorts Don't Fit, Part 2
      • Chapter 18: An Accident
      • Chapter 19: An Accident, part 2
      • Chapter 20: On Vacation
      • Chapter 21: Getting Work Done in the Summer
      • Chapter 22: Listening to a Game on the Radio
      • Chapter 23: Interview With a Pancreas
      • Chapter 24: I Don't Have a Cold
      • Chapter 25: Collision at the Plate
      • Chapter 26: The Aftermath
      • Chapter 27: Moving On
      • Chapter 28: At the Beach
  • Events
  • Contact Me
    • Ask A Question!
Share What You Like

Passion Under Grace

My thoughts as a Christian wife, mother, author, person.

Are You Tired? Go to Bed.

3/2/2015

0 Comments

 
Picture
You love your bed, don't you? I love mine. It has the best sheets in the world. Really, it wouldn't matter what sheets on on there. When the alarm goes off in the morning, it still feels like nothing could drag me away from them.

So then, why do I go to bed so late at night? If my bed were so great, don't you think I would be jumping into it the minute the kids are sent to bed? I don't. I usually wait at least 2 hours after they are in bed before I even think about it. The draw of everything else in the world pulls me back. But that's a different line of thought to which I will return in a minute.

There are nights when I suddenly find myself so tired, I can't even haul myself off the couch to go to that glorious place called bed. I don't think I'm the only one.

So why? Why, why, why? Why don't I go running up to my bed as soon as possible? I'm tired, aren't I? Even if not at the moment, I know for a fact I will be tired and need sleep eventually. I always wind up in that bed, and I am never unhappy about it. Never.

Hold that thought.

Have you ever put your hand out, hoping to have a bird come and fly to it? You may have even called to it, hoping it would understand that you will not hurt it. Why won't it come? Sometimes, you may even have food in your hand, and it still won't come. What is wrong with that dumb bird?

Keep this in the back of your mind. Back to the bed idea. 

If there were something even more secure than your bed, and going to it were inevitable, would you hesitate to go? It is so inviting, the allure of it draws you near. But you don't go in. Even knowing that you will go - at some point you will have to go - you hesitate. You wait. 

Why?

God has put out His hand. There is no more secure resting place than in His hand. Like you with the bird, He has no intention to harm you. Like the food you had for the bird, He has sustenance for you in His hand. You can trust it to be exactly what you need.

His hand doesn't grab for you. It waits for you. You must go to it. You must put everything else aside and go to it. Once you are there, you receive so much more than His nourishment. You receive His peace, His comfort, His protection. 

At some point, everyone will be brought to His hand. It is better if you choose to go on your own, rather than being plucked away from the world and forced to see the back of His hand instead.

No, where you want to be is curled up in the warmth of his palm, perhaps being stroked, perhaps being cooed at. Definitely, He is smiling at the prize He holds.

So why are you not running to leap into that hand? Maybe you are like the bird and you have trust issues. Or maybe there are too many other things around you, distracting you from the hand. 

Or maybe you are waiting because you don't think it's time yet. You want more out of the world before you settle into the comfort of the hand. 

Really? When I sleep on the couch, I get a kink in my neck. My bed was made for comfortable sleep. If I don't go to bed in time, I stay up and just get more tired. For what? A movie on TV? Time on the computer? Is any of it better than a full night's sleep in my bed? NO!

God's hand has His hand out for you. You were made to be held in His hand, and you won't be quite right anywhere else. You can stay away, but why? What in this world is better than God's comfort and love? Nothing is. You will need to go to Him eventually. Do it while the welcome is open.

Oh, and the best thing about His hand? There's no alarm clock. You never have to leave. So snuggle in. You've got all eternity to get comfortable.


P.S. - This post was completed at 11:38 p.m. Time for bed!

0 Comments

Why Do We Lie Down When We Sleep?

3/18/2014

0 Comments

 
Picture
I have no more blissful feeling than the moment I slide between the sheets on my bed and settle my head on my pillow. My winter sheets are plush, so they are never cold in the winter. Honestly, sometimes the only way I can motivate myself to stop what I am doing at night and go to bed, is by thinking about my awesome bed. It's the first thing for which I give thanks in my evening prayers.

The very second I am under the covers, I can feel my muscles relax. It's usually accompanied by a soft exhale of contentment. After that moment of recognition, I spend the next few minutes getting my position just right - completely sprawled out, but allowing my husband enough room to stay on the bed too.

It rarely takes me more than a few minutes to completely surrender to sleep, and I almost always sleep well.

I realize that not too many of you can relate to that. Putting aside any biological difficulties you might have and I do not, the reason could be because I have learned to embrace that concept of "surrender."

I am blessed to have few worries that consume me. Yes, blessed. In realizing that, I feel free to let go of the more trivial thoughts at night. When I relax my body at night, I am also relaxing my mind.

"Now I lay me down to sleep... body, spirit, and mind."

In the Bible, those who were most desperate for the Lord's favor laid themselves prostrate, or flat out, face to the ground. To me, that always seemed to be a way of bowing to the recognition of God's supremacy.

He can't be everything until we are nothing. We need to relax our grip on everything we control. Our relationship with God can only total 100%. How much is us, and how much is God? Are you giving up 100% of yourself to allow 100% of Him in? Or are you keeping back, say 20% of yourself and only allowing 80% of Him in? Is there 20% of you that thinks you can do it on your own, not needing God's help?

Let's get back to the sleeping idea.

There have been times when I have been so dog tired that I have fallen asleep in a sitting position. It doesn't work well; that's a terrible way to sleep. But, the more reclined I am, the better I will sleep.

You see, to stay in an upright position, you have to retain some control over your muscles. The more upright you are, the more muscles you use. Standing, or even sitting, is your body saying, "I got this. I can do it."

However, when you surrender every muscle you have to sleep, you allow yourself the consequence of whatever your body will do without your conscious assent. Often times, our brain wants to take over that control as well and not allow complete surrender. 

I wonder if God made our bodies to sleep best when lying down just for that specific purpose - so that we can practice giving up 100% every night. 

I pray we can surrender 100% to Him every day, as yes, just as we wake up, stand up, and get out of bed every day, taking back control of our bodies, each day we also need to relax our control back to his guardianship. 

Doesn't it feel better to relax anyway? 

So, good night to you! Sleep loose... 



0 Comments

Warm Bed, Cold World - How to Get Up in the Morning

2/19/2013

3 Comments

 
Picture
I believe the temperature outside right now, on this February morning, is hovering around 32º. How do I know? Because the rain outside switches between liquid rain and frozen rain periodically.  (Something my older daughter and I have termed, "snizzling," a cross between drizzle and snow.)

No one wants to go outside in that mess. (I could be wrong, there might be some labradors who love this kind of thing.)  Seeing it from your bedroom window, you might start wondering how important it really is to go out and run errands today, or if today might be a good time to ask your boss again about the possibility of working from home.

I recently bought some new sheets for our bed that are "plush." Honestly, I hate crawling into bed at night and shivering until my body heat warms the bed up enough to sleep.  These new sheets bypass that step, and actually encourage me to jump right into bed at night.

You know the consequence already, don't you? I don't want to leave that cozy haven. My problem is not unusual, as the morning comments on Facebook are often related to the many other folks wishing to be back in their own cozy havens too. Yet, every day we do it.  Get out of bed, and then complain about it.

So here I am to save the day! (Cue Mighty Mouse music.)  Okay, maybe just your morning.  Below are my tips for an easier way to get out of bed in the morning:

  • Get Enough Sleep- The reason most people don't want to get out of bed is probably not because of the comfy bed, but because they are still tired. You might want to get this extra sleep in the morning, but practically speaking, that may not be possible.  Give yourself a bedtime.  It might be earlier than you want to go to bed - missing a TV show or foregoing time to read - but your body will thank you throughout the next day. Set your TiVo and read at lunch time instead.
  • Set Up a Quick Routine to Do In Bed Before Getting Out- Trick your mind.  Start your routine immediately, so your body feels like it must keep going.  My favorite is to say a morning prayer.  When it is finished, you go onto the next thing in your morning routine, which is getting up and... (getting dressed, brushing teeth, whatever.  As long is it starts with getting up!)  Other tricks might be planning your day's clothing, figuring out the day's meals, or remembering what out-of-the-ordinary events are taking place today. Or you could do some stretching.
  • Have a Reason to WANT to Get Out of Bed- No, this doesn't mean switching to scratchy sheets so you can't wait to get out of bed.  That will disrupt your sleep, and poor sleep will not make you want to get up. But start thinking about that delicious morning cup of coffee or how hungry you are for breakfast.  (Yeah, my incentives usually revolve around food.) Maybe you are meeting a friend today and can't wait to get ready for that. Can't wait to pet the cat?  Fine.  It works.  You love putting on your slippers?  Have a new outfit today?  Want to see you was sent home from Dancing With The Stars last night?  Have a funny Facebook status to post?  Anything you are looking forward to, make it a motivator to get out of bed. If you can't find anything, see #6.
  • Keep a Clock in View- Time never goes so fast as when you are avoiding getting out of bed.  If no one else is in the room, your clock can keep you accountable.  Silent minutes ticking away in bed are minutes you are not drinking your coffee.
  • Have Children-   If they are small, they will get out out of bed, sometimes physically, whether you like it or not.  If they are older, you may need to be responsible to help them get ready for school.  If nothing else, their quiet presence lets you know they are up to something, and you had better find out what it is.
  • Make Sure the Problem Isn't Just the Bed- If you can't find any reason at all to get out of bed, you need to talk to a doctor.  Our God is a good God and His mercies are new every morning.  That means everyday is a fresh start.  If you are waking up with the past holding down, you may need help getting it off of you.  Medicine, counseling, prayer, friends - can all be helpful and put you in the right direction.


Warm blankets are great.  But so is sunshine on your face.  Here's to a great day, and congratulations for making it out of bed today!  Here's hoping tomorrow will be a little easier for you.

3 Comments

    Passion Under Grace,
    Author Blog

    This is the personal blog of T.C. Slonaker, author of the Christian YA fantasy series, The Angelmen.  Read about her thoughts on parenting, faith, marriage, and the world.  You never know what you're going to get!

    Picture

      Follow This Blog:

    Submit

    Archives

    September 2016
    July 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    January 2016
    November 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012

    Categories

    All
    40
    Amity
    Angelmen
    Asher
    Asthma
    Attitude
    Azaleas
    Baby
    Battles
    Beauty
    Bed
    Bejeweled Blitz
    Biking
    Blog
    Books
    Bully
    Cat
    Categories
    Cats On Lap
    Christianity
    Christmas
    Coaching
    Cold
    Color
    Comfort
    Comfy Chair
    Communion
    Conceit
    Crazy
    Cross
    Customer Service
    Darlings
    Death
    Depression
    Diabetes
    Editing
    Facebook
    Faith
    Games
    God
    Good Deeds
    Good People
    Grammar
    Guilt
    Guns In School
    Heaven
    Humility
    Humilty
    Ice Cream
    Jesus
    Just Say No
    Just Say No
    Kids
    Laziness
    Legs
    Like My Work
    Lollipop
    Money
    MS
    Muse
    Nails
    Nephilim
    New Year
    No
    Notes
    Numbers
    Ocd
    Parenting
    Patience
    Preface
    Pretty Dress Day
    Publishers
    Race
    Reading
    Rejection
    Respect
    Rich
    Richard Paul Evans
    Running
    Sanity
    Satan
    Self-publish
    Sell
    Sheets
    Shoulds
    Sin
    Sleep
    Son
    T1D
    Talent
    Tomb Of The Unknown Soldier
    Tv
    Twitter
    Vacation
    Why I Write
    Wonder Woman
    Worth
    Writing

Photos used under Creative Commons from transp, normalityrelief, iluvcocacola, srgpicker, amboo who?, infomatique, tubedogg, bitmask, Tax Credits, Maggio7, Waiting For The Word, Mr.Lujan, Caperd, alan.stoddard, lolololori, maxime.mcduff, Sharon Mollerus, Lora Rajah, Kuster & Wildhaber Photography, jeff_golden, _M-j-H_, Divine in the Daily, s.schmitz, Robert S. Donovan, Ambernectar 13, ~ggvic~, NIAID, andy_c, dreamymo, elka_cz
  • Home
  • The Angelmen Series
    • About the Angelmen Series
    • Trailers
    • Hierarchy of the Beings
  • Books
    • Amity of the Angemen >
      • Sample of Amity of the Angelmen
      • Amity Trailers
      • Reviews of Amity of the Angelmen
    • Asher of the Angemen >
      • Sample of Asher of the Angelmen
      • Asher Trailers
      • Reviews of Asher of the Angelmen
    • Caedmon of the Angelmen >
      • Sample of Caedmon of the Angelmen
    • Malachi of the Angelmen >
      • Sample of Malachi of the Angemen
    • The Battle >
      • Sample of The Battle
  • About T.C. Slonaker
    • About Me
    • Interviews
    • Beliefs
    • What Am I Doing Now?
    • Quotes
    • How I Became Published
  • Blogs
    • Passion Under Grace (T.C. Slonaker's blog)
    • Tracy's Top Ten
    • T1D Family Life, While We Are Waiting …
    • Woman on Sports
    • The CDO Writer
    • What's On My iPod
  • Humor
    • Body Language >
      • Chapter 1: About Going for a Ride
      • Chapter 2: Stomach Revolts
      • Chapter 3: A Surprise Early Morning Gym Visit
      • Chapter 4: Birthday Present
      • Chapter 5: Laziness and Cats
      • Chapter 6: Thinking Ahead, I Think
      • Chapter 7: Learning About Softball As A Grown-Up
      • Chapter 8: Allergies, Smallergies
      • Chapter 10: A New Machine at the Gym
      • Chapter 11: After the Flood
      • Chapter 12: Asthma (not so funny)
      • Chapter 13: Birthday
      • Chapter 14: A Snake
      • Chapter 15: Pituitary Coup
      • Chapter 16: My Shorts Don't Fit, Part 1
      • Chapter 17: My Shorts Don't Fit, Part 2
      • Chapter 18: An Accident
      • Chapter 19: An Accident, part 2
      • Chapter 20: On Vacation
      • Chapter 21: Getting Work Done in the Summer
      • Chapter 22: Listening to a Game on the Radio
      • Chapter 23: Interview With a Pancreas
      • Chapter 24: I Don't Have a Cold
      • Chapter 25: Collision at the Plate
      • Chapter 26: The Aftermath
      • Chapter 27: Moving On
      • Chapter 28: At the Beach
  • Events
  • Contact Me
    • Ask A Question!