Hello Altered Stories Family.
I want to take a moment to talk to you about the blessing of self-care. I know no one talks about this much, but as a follower of Christ and as someone who is active during the week, I cannot tell you how needed this is.
We live in a time even with the pandemic where we have constant meetings, demands on our time and hardly any time to breathe.
Yet, what did our Lord say? He calls us to love our neighbors as ourselves in Luke 4:18. Well, how can we love our neighbors if we are not caring for ourselves? He even acted this out by often drawing away for a time of prayer and refreshing by his Father, and he also invited his disciples to get away as well.
It is said that March comes in like a lion, and out like a lamb. I am not sure about that, but I do know that if you stop and listen, you will hear the voice of the Lord inviting you to put down all the things that hound you and spend some time with him.
Here are a few practical tips you can do right now to make sure you have some time to recharge.
First, start the day right. Spend some time in prayer and studying the word. There is a huge difference between the times you spend the time with him and the days you do not.
Second, when you wake up, dedicate your day to the Lord and tell him good morning.
This helps because your thoughts are on him and not on the things you need to do when you first wake up. I would also dedicate your sleep and dreams to the Lord when you go to bed.
You might also want to set aside a day for complete rest. It sounds counter intuitive, but when you do work that day you come back to the work you have to do with a clearer mind and renewed focus.
Finally, if you tire during the day make time for a quick power nap. Only twenty to thirty minutes is needed to recharge you. I have used this a few times and it helps after a long day of meetings and so on. In fact. I did this after a longer meeting and before writing this article, asking God to give me direction as I went to lay down.
I hope with these tips you can care for yourself enough so you can effectively care for others. God does not want us to work so hard in work and ministry that we burn out.
God Bless,
Teresa
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