睡眠的好处

这周是大学开学的第一周，也是两个孩子开学第一周，每天忙乎得很，清晨闹钟吵醒我时，总觉得睡得不够。一周下来，抵抗能力下降，昨儿开始咳嗽。昨晚早早地去睡觉。全家人都知道我有些不舒服(under the weather)，先生让我含了止咳糖(cough drops)，儿子倒了芦荟汁(Aloe Juice)让我喝，还“很有经验”地告诉我：“上次我感冒喉咙痛，喝芦荟汁喉咙很舒服。”我睡觉时，儿子还将水装瓶子里，摆放到楼上我的卧室床边；女儿则关心我道：“我们三人在楼下，但我每过一会儿就上楼来看看你。”虽有小恙，但被家人关心“宠爱”的感觉很好呢！

昨夜熟睡了一夜，早上睡到自然醒，已经是八点多了，身体已经好多了，而且居然不咳嗽了。“好睡眠”真是“好医治”。早餐时间照例是灵修的时间，打开“灵命日粮”，当日的主题恰好是“安然睡觉”- 很赞同的好信息，的确，安然入睡是上帝的恩赐，为此轻舟献上感恩。也将今日的信息贴在这儿给朋友们分享。愿朋友们新的一年有充足的睡眠，健康从容的身心！

“安然睡觉”

链接：http://simplified-odb.org/2013/01/12/安然睡觉/

睡眠对健康非常重要。科学家无法确切地知道为何我们需要睡眠，但是他们确知睡眠不足会导致各种问题，影响我们的健康，如：未老先衰、体重增加、罹患各种疾病──小如流感大至癌症。当我们进入梦乡时，上帝在我们的身体所做的事，并不亚于任何神迹。我们不须做任何事，上帝就让我们恢复能量、重建和更新细胞、重整我们的思绪。

睡眠不足的原因很多，有些可能是我们无法解决的，但圣经指出，操劳工作不应该是其中一项（诗篇127篇2节），安然入睡更是上帝所赏赐的恩典，我们当为此感恩。若有睡眠不足的问题，我们必须找出原因。你是为了赚更多的钱，换取我们不需要的东西才「清晨早起，夜晚安歇」呢？还是认为别人都做不好，事工中缺你不可而付出额外努力？

有时，我会认为：我清醒时做的工比我睡觉时上帝所做的工更重要。其实，当我们因工作而拒绝休息时，就是在告诉祂，我的工作比祂的更重要。

上帝不希望任何人成为工作的奴隶，祂希望我们享受祂赐下的良好睡眠。

The Gift of Sleep

英文版链接：http://odb.org/2013/01/12/the-gift-of-sleep/

Sleep is essential for good health. Scientists don’t know exactly why we need it but they know what happens when we don’t get enough. We put ourselves at risk of premature aging, weight gain, and diseases ranging from colds and flu to cancer. What God accomplishes in our bodies while we drift off to dreamland is nothing short of miraculous. While we do nothing, God replenishes our energy, rebuilds and restores our cells, and reorganizes information in our brains.

The reasons for not getting enough sleep are many, and some we can’t solve, but the Bible indicates that overwork should not be one of them (Ps. 127:2). Sleep is a gift from God that we should receive with gratitude. If we’re not getting enough, we need to find out why. Are we rising early and staying up late to earn money to acquire things we don’t need? Are we involved in ministry efforts that we think no one else is capable of doing?

I’m sometimes tempted to believe that the work I do when I’m awake is more important than the work God does while I sleep. But refusing God’s gift of sleep is like telling Him that my work is more important than His.

God does not want anyone to be a slave to work. He wants us to enjoy His gift of sleep.