God Gave Us Sleep

Whew! This week has been a whirlwind! Between youth events and Audrey's birthday plans, it was more than enough to exhaust anyone. And then I got the mother of all colds and there are many details I will spare you from, all to say that my plan to sleep all day today has gone fairly well. I haven't slept persay, but did get to bed early and woke up relatively on time, and so when Audrey came in with a look that said, "Mom, you're sick and I'm sick of you being sick," I decided to see if my voice could make it through a book I'd just gotten in the mail, God Gave Us Sleep ( by Lisa Tawn Bergren and art by Laura J. Bryant).

How appropriate I thought as I read through this pleasant book about a litte bear aptly named Little Cub, who does everything she can to avoid sleep only to lay down and begin thinking so much about playing that she can't sleep at all. After that not so great night's sleep, she spends the day getting irritable with friends (which reminds me of a certain sister of mine, not that I would ever be irritable for not sleeping). Finally, she talks thing through with her mom and dad and realizes that God gave us sleep for a good reason and goes on to dream some pretty fantastic dreams.

I asked Audrey what she thought after the story and she, of course, said she liked it. We actually had read another book in this series at Christmas time called God Gave Us Christmas, and our reactions to these books have been wonderful. These books are not just sweet stories with cute illustrations to read to your children, but are conversation starters and great for reading comprehension, biblical discussion, and developing healthy habits. This book alone sparked a conversation (led by my daughter) about prayer, and as a result I have decided that we should add to our nighttime routine a component of positive imaginative reading (to encourage happy and colorful dreams) and prayer and reflection that includes a reflection on rest.

One point the book makes in a very simple way is that God gave us rest and part of the purpose of rest is to reset our energy store, but another part of rest is to reflect and to listen for Him. Audrey picked up on that very strongly and we talked about the ways He might speak with us. Who knew children's books could inspire such a substantial conversation with a six year old! I will indeed be looking into more of the God Gave Us books!

For more information about this book, click here.

For more information about the author, click here.

Disclosure: This is my first free book for a review! I recieved this book from Blogging for Blooks. This post contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a percentage of each sale when you make a purchase using these links or that I received this product in return for the ; however, I fully support and recommend each of these products. You can view my full disclosure policy here.