Top 5: Insomnia

I have been diagnosed with Insomnia since 2004. Most nights, regardless of any rhyme or reason, I have trouble falling asleep at an hour most of you deem acceptable. I have a prescription sleeping pill that I rarely take because A) they are stinkin’ expensive and 2) I often think I’ll go to sleep at a decent hour and then 3am rolls around and I don’t want to take a sleeping pill that late/early. That means, while everyone else is sleeping, I have to fill the quiet hours with activity. Here are the Top 5 Things I Like To Do When Battling Insomnia:

1) Read- No earth shattering news there. I love to read and if my brain has the ON switch flipped I might as well log some hours in between the pages of a good book.

2) Pick Up My Son- Every few hours (minutes?) I’ll sneak into my son’s room, pick him up, give him a tight squeeze, and then put him back in bed. Usually I can do all this before he makes a peep and wakes up Mom.

3) Food Network- I love “Unwrapped” and it is the perfect show for an insomniac. First of all, the show requires zero critical thinking skills. Sugar and corn syrup goes in the big vat, goodies come out, kids eat goodies. Brilliant! Plus, watching machines move candy down the conveyor belt is rather hypnotic. It is all good until “Iron Chef” comes on and then I’m sitting on the edge of the bed. “The Secret Ingrediant is….PAPYAAAAAAAAHHHH! Forget sleep now!

4) Stare at the Ceiling While Rolling From Side to Side- Usually there is at least an hour of trying this sleep technique. Not really effective. At. All.

5) Finish What I Started Earlier In The Day- Many a class or lesson have been written in the wee, small hours of the night. Not because of procrastination but because I found myself wide awake. Some have wondered how I get so many things done and the secret is that I often have a few more hours to work then the average person. While this insomnia is a curse, it does allow me to get some things finished at a faster pace. Believe me though when I say that there isn’t really a bright side to not sleeping. Getting things done is not a substitute for sleep depravation. The person that tells you otherwise is not to be trusted. That person is probably a robot and we all know how I feel about robots.

There you have it- My Top 5 Things To Do When Battling Insomnia. If you find yourself up late at night, take comfort in knowing you’re not alone! Happy sleeping everyone! Have a good night’s rest.

The Love of a Father

This Sunday is Father’s Day. I have been given the opportunity to preach again this weekend and I’ve been praying and seeking guidance on what God wants me to share about his nature, his Son, and the task set out before us as disciples. As I’ve been sitting here at my desk this morning I’ve been trying to wrap my mind around being a father and what it means to me a dad. My mind keeps going back to a video I showed in chapel back when I was a Campus Minister. The video told the incredible story of Dick and Ricky Hoyt. If you haven’t heard of these men, I’ll let this video from Ironman speak for itself (if reading in RSS, please click through in order to see the video).

I’m not going to lie to you. I weep every time I watch this. I don’t shed a tear or two. I don’t get misty eyed. My tear ducts let loose and torrent, my face contorts, and my shoulder move up and down. I boarder on sobbing. What a testimony to the love, commitment, and determination of a Father on behalf of his son!

I’m not sure yet what I’ll be sharing on Sunday but right now, the lesson of this video is shaping the way I want to parent. It is shaping the way I see Our Father.