The first semester my husband was in college he made great friends and amazing music.

The worship coming out of his dorm room was invigorating — at all hours. It was fun, meaningful… and exhausting.

In all honesty, it wasn’t thoroughly good. He was too tired to stay awake for classes. His grades started to fall. So, his mom made him promise to go to bed by midnight. She threatened that it would be his last semester otherwise.

Giving up playing and going to sleep was a smart move on his part. Because he structured his sleeping to fit within the laws of nature and his wise mother’s request, he finished the semester well. He created good habits for himself. He was one of the few friends in our inner circle to graduate from college.

Sleeping. Working. Playing. Eating. All have their time and a place. They’re part of God’s good plan for our lives. Neglecting to give ourselves these things is as wrong as neglecting our neighbors. After all, Jesus’ words were, “Love others as you love yourself.”

We love ourselves by scheduling good health habits, good food, good sleep, good play, good work. God wants these things for His children.