Thursday, September 10, 2015

Self-Control: Night Owl Problems

Galatians 5:22,23 - The fruit of the Spirit is...self-control (self-restraint, continence).


Confession: I have major night owl problems! It affects my whole life. Night owling has benefits, like enjoying peace and quiet while the rest of my household is getting z's! I LOVE THIS TIME! I LOVE TO BE BY MYSELF after a long, busy day. But oh wow, how I dislike mornings after I was up too late the night before. I dislike them as much as I like staying up late, LOL!

It boils down to self-control if I'm totally honest, and in this area I don't have enough. The results can have a huge impact on me and my family. :( (Examples: temptation to just skip my quiet time with the Lord, starting the day behind, starting school late, being a cranky pants all day, feeling tired, etc). There's a balance to be had here.

So, this thought process led me to look at self-control this morning, and I'm really glad I did! I love to look at the meanings of words. The Amplified Bible does a good job of giving deeper meanings, but I like to also look at the dictionary definitions too.

This morning I studied what restraint means. Here's what I found:

Restrain -
1. prevent from doing something, keep under control or within limits. (good idea to limit how long I stay up!!)
2. prevent oneself from displaying or giving way to (a strong urge or emotion) - keeping in check. (Hulk-like Momtastic ranks, anyone??)
3. deprive of freedom of movement or personal liberty (Yes, I'm free to stay up all night long if I want to, but giving into that personal liberty isn't wise for me!!)

My flesh tells me to soak in all the peace and quiet I can, do what I want to do, or do what needs to be done until it's done. But I can't let my flesh rule my life. I have to be full of the Spirit and live to please the Lord. It's hard to do that when you're totally tired, cranky, and fussy!!! (Hello, not a coffee drinker!!)

I'm sharing this to encourage others out there who may be struggling with finding balance and using self-control. There's a reason it's a fruit of the Spirit, we must depend on the Lord for help with this! Apart from Him we can do nothing!

I hope you're having a great week!
Dina