Hi and welcome to the Five Word Prayers Daily, a five day a week daily devotional where we share the word, prayers, in our heart.

I'm Lisa Whittle, and I welcome you to just five minutes with me, which I trust and pray will be five minutes well spent.

Well, it's been a good week around here. I've needed it. Have you? Soul care is such a needed topic in this crazy, busy world and pace we keep. And as this is Friday and our day to do are Friday five, I thought we would do a list of

five ways to take better care of ourselves.

And, of course, the list could be longer, but this should be a good start.

So let's dive right in, and I hope some of us will maybe even this weekend implement at least

one of these five ways to take better care of ourselves, because taking care of our bodies is

taking better care of our souls. It's all interconnected. We know that, right? And let me say too

quickly, I'm not always the best of taking care of myself. I think women in general and moms especially aren't good at this. We put others first and we don't typically think it's important

to invest in us, but it is important. And also, I don't want this to feel like a should shame list.

I'm not your mama. So I really want this to feel like a gentle nudge and maybe even a sister's

permission to care

for your body, mind, and soul to ultimately honor the Lord. Number one, on our five ways to take

better care of yourself, sleep more. Now, sleep is one of these hard things for me. Just last night, I thought,

man, if I only had three more hours to toss and turn some more, It's true. I don't sleep nearly as well as I

used to. And I think that's due to my age and hormones and all. But here's the thing I've realized

about sleep. Our bodies absolutely tell us when we need it. Being cranky as a sign, falling

asleep with a drop of a hat or sitting straight up falling asleep is a sign. Our mind being fuzzy as a sign, falling asleep with a drop of a hat or sitting straight up, falling asleep

is a sign. Our mind being fuzzy as a sign, we just usually blow off sleep because we think

it's negotiable. It's kind of the first thing that we, that goes, but it's really not. If you can't

sleep tons at night, take a nap during the day. If you can't do that, go to bed early or take a power nap

right before dinner. I don't know your schedule or your exact solution, but there has to be one.

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