The Disciple's Well Part 4

We are talking about praying well and living well on Sunday mornings, so in this Sunday evening series I am going to take time over the next season to get into detail about the three physical areas of our lives that we need to get into balance.
3 John 1:2 (NIV)
2 Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well.
We are spending time covering each area. Today, I want to start talking about resting well. Next week we will talk again about eating well. The following week will be about moving well. Then we will dig deeper into each area. So let’s talk about resting well. Let’s start with some scriptures about moving.
Resting Well
Psalm 3:5 (NIV)
5 I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the LORD sustains me.
Psalm 4:8 (NIV)
8 I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.
Matthew 11:28 (NIV)
28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
Psalm 127:2 (NIV)
2 In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat– for while they sleep he provides for those he loves.
Mark 6:31 (NIV)
31 Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”
The word “rest” used in this verse means, an intermission…to refresh yourselves… to take a break.
In Ecclesiastes 3 we are told there is a time for everything:
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 (NIV)
1 There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: 2 a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, 3 a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, 4 a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, 5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain, 6 a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, 7 a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, 8 a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.
There is a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to be silent and a time to speak, and so on.
Look at Genesis 2:1-3:
Genesis 2:1-3 (NIV)
1 Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. 2 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work.
3 And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.
There was a time of “creation” (work) and a time for “re-creation” (rest). All work without rest makes the lives of people dull. God has planned both “stops” and “goes” in His schedule for us. It seems today that the “pace” for our lives is accelerating … Demands on our time become more complex and many people have lost the ability to stop and rest. God has planned “stops” periodically so that you can become fully awake and refreshed.

Everyone’s individual sleep needs vary. In general, most healthy adults are built for 16 hours of wakefulness and need an average of eight hours of sleep a night. However, some individuals are able to function without sleepiness or drowsiness after as little as six hours of sleep. Others can’t perform at their peak unless they’ve slept ten hours.
Sleep helps your brain work properly. While you’re sleeping, your brain is preparing for the next day. It’s forming new pathways to help you learn and remember information.
Studies show that a good night’s sleep improves learning. Sleep helps enhance your learning and problem-solving skills. Sleep also helps you pay attention, make decisions, and be creative.
Not getting enough sleep results in difficulty making decisions, solving problems, controlling your emotions and behavior, and coping with change. Sleep deficiency also has been linked to depression, suicide, and risk-taking behavior.
Sleep plays an important role in your physical health. For example, sleep is involved in healing and repair of your heart and blood vessels. Ongoing sleep deficiency is linked to an increased risk of heart disease, kidney disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and stroke.
Sleep deficiency increases the risk of obesity. Sleep helps maintain a healthy balance of the hormones that make you feel hungry (ghrelin) or full (leptin). When you don’t get enough sleep, your level of ghrelin goes up and your level of leptin goes down. This makes you feel hungrier than when you’re well-rested.
Stress is the number one cause of short-term sleeping difficulties, according to sleep experts.

Action Steps for this week:
Praying Well – Let’s keep working on making the Daily Psalt Intake a habit and if you are feeling like taking it to the next level, add the Daily Sage Intake this week.
Eating Well – Keep recording everything you eat or drink throughout the day. I also want you to keep looking up the calories for everything you and drink. You should start to acquire some real data about how many calories you are consuming.
Moving Well – Let’s try and move for at least 20 minutes every day this week. I also want you to start journaling what you are doing for moving and start figuring out how many calories the activity is burning. Also, if you haven’t done this you need see a Doctor before you start any exercise program or routine.
Living Well – Live every day trying to do the next right thing.
Resting Well – Start recording in a journal when you go to sleep and when you wake up and what kind of night’s sleep you had. How did you wake up feeling?
Start a journal or use Twitter:
Praying Well = Tweet when you entreat
Eating Well = Tweet before you eat
Moving Well – Tweet your moving feet
Living Well = Tweet before you cheat
Resting Well – Tweet when you retreat