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Women Sleep Deprived A National Sleep Foundation study finds the majority of American women are continually sleep deprived, either because of young children, biological changes (pregnancy and menopause), stress or pets. The impact on families, personal and professional lives, and society is enormous. The lack of sleep causes them to be late to work, experience high stress, feel depressed or anxious, forego exercise, be too tired for sex, drive while drowsy and have little time for personal or family relationships. Most acute among working moms, the primary cause is their efforts to “do it all” (fulfill all their work, childcare, family and spousal responsibilities). Biological changes complicate matters further. They average only 6 hours in bed per night. (UCSF News 3/6/07)
Chronic pain has risen dramatically among full-time U.S. workers in the past 10 years. (Foster letter 3/25/07)
The life expectancy of a police officer in the U.S. is 57 years vs. 64 for a criminal. (Foster Letter 4/10/07)
A police officer under extreme stress is five times more likely to take his own life than to be shot in the line of duty. (Foster Letter 4/10/07)
31% of hotel guests often have a problem with noise during a stay, second only to dirty rooms as the biggest hotel annoyance. Disturbance by other guests or their TVs is the #1 source of noise irritation: 59.3% of guests rated it more annoying than outside noise, construction sounds or housekeeping clatter. (USA Today 10/18/07)
FORTIFIED WITHIN
There are two ways of handling pressure. One is illustrated by a bathysphere, the miniature submarine used to explore the ocean in places so deep that the water pressure would crush a conventional submarine like an aluminum can. Bathyspheres compensate with plate steel several inches thick, which keeps the water out but also makes them heavy and hard to maneuver. Inside they’re cramped.
When these craft descend to the ocean floor, however, they find they're not alone. When their lights are turned on and you look through the tiny, thick plate glass windows, what do you see? Fish! These fish cope with extreme pressure in an entirely different way. They don't build thick skins: they remain supple and free. They compensate for the outside pressure through equal and opposite pressure inside themselves.
Christians, likewise, don't have to be hard and thick skinned--as long as they appropriate God's power within to equal the pressure without.
-- Jay Kesler, Campus Life. Leadership, Vol. 5, no. 2. From a sermon by Larry Wilson, Introduction to Joshua (Part C), 8/6/2010
THE STRESS-FREE LIFE OF THE BEDOUINS
The Bedouin shepherd lives in shabby box tents that dot the hillsides throughout Israel. When compared to our lives saturated with modern conveniences it seems as though they live a very difficult life. However, an interesting fact is that their average life span is more than 100 years.
While the diets are made up of natural foods which contain no preservatives, that is not the secret to their longevity. The secret lies in their relatively stress free lives. Stress makes us sick, drives us crazy and kills us some three decades before the majority of these shepherds.
The Bedouins rise from their tents slightly before sunrise and go about the work of their days. As the sun begins to set they gather as families in their tents for dinner. Then they will sit around sharing stories and singing. Each evening involves three to four hours of family time.
There work is very physical and tiring, but their lives are relatively free from the noise of life. They routinely go to bed at the same time every night and enjoy deep restful and renewing sleep. As the Bedouins lie down all is quiet as they stare up at the clear star filled sky. Their minds are able to focus on the majesty of God and that is the last thought on their minds as they fall asleep.
(From a sermon by Scott Chambers, Chill Out and Breathe, 2/2/2011)
THE CITADEL: A REFUGE
From the Jewish Encyclopedia:
"The citadel forming the center of a fortified city was also termed "migdol" (Judges viii. 9, ix. 46). It was usually erected at the highest point of the city, and formed the last place of refuge in case the town was besieged and its walls stormed (Judges ix. 46)."
MARGIN OR MESSIAH?
Richard Swenson wrote a book in the 1990's titled, "Margin" in which he describes modern society as so overcommitted and over scheduled that we have no space left for rest. A reviewer writes: Overload is not having time to finish the book you're reading on stress. Margin is having time to read it twice. Overload is fatigue. Margin is energy. Overload is red ink. Margin is black ink. Overload is hurry. Margin is calm. Overload is anxiety. Margin is security. Overload is a disease of our day. Margin is the cure.
He says that as a society, we've forgotten what margin is. In the push for progress, margin has been devoured. So we feel distressed in ill-defined ways. We are besieged by anxiety, stress, and fatigue. Our relationships suffer. We have unexplained aches and pains. The flood of daily events seems beyond our control. We're overloaded.
Margin is the space that once existed between ourselves and our limits. It's something held in reserve for contingencies or unanticipated situations.
As a medical practitioner, Dr. Swenson sees a steady stream of exhausted, hurting people coming into his office. He says that a majority of them are suffering from an uncontrolled societal epidemic: living without margin. Again, his thesis: Overload is a disease of our day. Margin is the cure. (Taken from Amazon review)
Actually, the Bible shows us that margin is not the cure. Margin is simply a byproduct of living in sync with our Savior's schedule according to the scriptures. To find margin we need a Messiah who gives us instruction for both labor and rest. Jesus is that Messiah and Jesus is the true cure to the disease of overload, and we might add, Jesus is the cure to laziness too.
(From a sermon by Greg Nance, Rest God's Way, 7/16/2011)
Stress is an ignorant state. It believes that everything is an emergency.
--Natalie Goldberg, Wild Mind
