Getting Down to the Heart of the Matter

12/19/2010

Why is it when someone is sleeping comfortably on the couch and have been asleep for a few hours already, someone always wakes them up and says, "Come to bed?" Don't they know that if you wake that person and their body thinks they've had enough sleep, they will toss and turn and be generally uncomfortable because they can't go back to sleep? Isn't it wiser to just let sleeping dogs lie?

Yes, this happened to me last night/early this morning. I was drinking last night, which I know I really shouldn't do, but I polished off almost an entire bottle of wine on my own. I was nowhere close to being drunk because my drinking took place over the course of several hours, and basically, I only had two and a half glasses of wine. The bottle wasn't large to begin with.

Anyway, I wasn't feeling to great after having consumed just that much, so after Al fixed some eggs and bacon and I ate something to put more food in my stomach, I laid down on the couch, covered up with a blanket and went right to sleep. That was around 10:00pm or 10:30pm.

Somewhere around 2:00 or 2:30am, Al woke me up and told me to come to bed. Big mistake. I got up and went to bed, but I couldn't fall asleep. I laid there and tossed and turned and was generally miserable for about 15 minutes. Then I had a coughing fit because of a persistent tickle in my throat. I had to get up or I would go crazy.

I carted myself back out to the living room, got caught up on my Facebook games, watched some television, and still felt off. I was pacing back and forth in the living room. I finally went and took a shower and did my hair, but that didn't help me any.

At around 6:00am I woke Al and told him I was going to go to Walgreen's. He mumbled something to me, and I turned around and left. Drove in the freezing cold to Walgreen's, where I picked up a couple of rolls of wrapping paper so Al can wrap our presents. Hopefully I got enough. I bought two rolls. Then I went back home. It was enough to get rid of some of that excess energy.

When I got back home, I sat back down at the computer and the restlessness took hold once again, but so did a case of the sleepies. I walked back to the bedroom, laid down on the bed with my clothes and shoes still on, and I went right back to sleep. I was warm and comfortable in bed with my husband, so we both slept until 9:45am this morning.

The problem with that is that we were supposed to be at the YMCA at 10am for orientation with one of the personal trainers. Needless to say, we didn't make it. I called the Y to let them know we wouldn't be there, so the poor man wasn't waiting needlessly on us, but wow, I felt guilty.

If Al would've just left me alone on the couch, I'd have been fine and none of this would've happened. He told me that next time, he is just going to let me sleep where I am. Good idea.

Once it was determined we weren't going anywhere for the day, I got undressed and put my pajamas back on. I didn't see the sense in staying dressed if I was just going to be in the house all day. I played my games, including some trivia, and then had lunch while we were watching football. I fell asleep before the end of the Indiana game and didn't wake up again until shortly after 5pm.

Now, here I am.

I read my chapter for the day shortly before I came here to write, trying to keep it fresh in my mind. I may still have to refer back to the book to write about it because I don't think I'm really quite awake yet. Amazing that I'm able to write in coherent sentences, however.

So today's bit is about worship that pleases God. The book discusses how there are many styles of worship and many different ways to worship, and to be honest, even being Catholic, I agree with that. Not everyone worships in the same way, but there are some things that must be present in whatever your style of worship is in order to please God.

Worship must be accurate, in that we must worship God as he is, as he has been revealed to us, not worship the image of God we like the best. To do the latter is a form of idolatry and does not please God. God is also pleased when our worship is authentic, when we worship him in spirit - in our spirit - with our whole being. Our worship should also be thoughtful and practical - you must be there in mind and in body, trying to get as close to the Lord as we possibly can, but with a sincere heart.

Point to Ponder: God wants all of me.

Verse to Remember: Mark 12:30 - Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.

Question to Consider: Which is more pleasing to God right now - my public worship or my private worship? What will I do about this?

I think right now, God might be pleased with my private worship of him, moreso than my public worship. The reason I say this is because for the past several weeks, Al and I have not gone to church, so my public worship has been non-existent. Privately, I've been trying to incorpora all I've been learning in this book to worship God and draw closer to him, because that's where I want to be. So what can I do to change that?

Get my butt back into a pew on Saturday night or Sunday morning, and still continue to incorporate what I've been learning into my public worship of God. It is my desire to please him, more than anything else, and to know him better than I do, and to love him, as much as is humanly possible to do.