naps: naughty or needful?

i've been on quite a nap kick lately. it's not that i choose to take a nap, it's more like the nap chooses to take me. i'm sitting on the couch grading papers on the computer, and next think you know i'm out. or else i realize the futility of resisting and i curl up all fetal like on our little two seat sofa. or i simiply let my head fall backwards and pass out. it's a recent phenomenon, but i wonder if perhaps since i succombed to it the first few times, my body now demands it everyday. on the one hand i thoroughly enjoy the nap, but then again, i'm losing precious hours that need to be spent working. this is part of the reason i've been making my way to a local coffee shop to do my work, but i've even fallen asleep there. am i on my way toward narcolepsy?! maybe all the sleep deprivation that i've experienced lately is taking me down that road. i've heard that quitting coffee can help increase your energy. don't know if i even want to believe that. but the thing is, when this nap necessity happens, coffee won't even touch it. for now i guess i'll limit the naps, if possible, to 30 mins. sometimes that recharges me enough to get back to work. other times i'm stuck in bed for 1-2 hours. just woke up from a 20, so i better take advantage of my energy and get back to work before it takes me again.

rest assured or demurred?

i slept for about an hour last night. this and other recent nights of similar sleep deprivation have made me ponder my prepubescent aspirations to engage in insane episodes of forced insomnia. why were all-nighters ever appealing to me? why did i always want to stay up late as a child? it seems so bizzare to me now, because rest is all i really want anymore.

it makes me more sympathetic to the plight of the cat for two reasons. first, on the surface level, cat's sleep 19+hours a day. enough said about that. second, and slightly more profound, cats always want to be on the other side of the door behind which they currently find themselves. e.g. our inside cat wants out, and our outside cats want in. i guess i'm an outside cat now and i was an inside cat when i was young. why do i say that? because right now i really want in so i can jump on that big fluffy, pillow infested, blanket covered, squishy, lovely, wonderful bed.

good night, folks!

Rest

Genesis 2:2 “and he (God) rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.”

The creation account in the bible portrays God as a six day worker and hence, a Sabbath keeper. Last week I worked straight through the weekend. I had no choice it seemed. The work had to be done. This week, I was able to take off most of today. By take off, I mean really take it off. I gave very little thought, as I was at church, biking, grilling out, to the work of the upcoming week. And you know what? Life felt right again. I’m not a big proponent of living for the weekend. All that means is that you’re in the wrong job. But the stark contrast between one week without a weekend, and another with at least a day off demonstrated to me the pragmatic side of Sabbath. Granted there’s a holy side to it too, I believe. A day set aside to worship God in community should be the center of the show as opposed to just part of the package. But wisdom and worship seem to coincide when it comes to this Sabbath principle. Reconnection with God leads to refreshment and refreshment leads to reconnection with your sphere of the world for the rest of the week.