When I was younger, I feel like I was able to have minimal sleep but still function at full capacity. Full capacity, for me, looks like energy, a good/decent attitude, being able to accomplish what needs to be done, etc… Once we got through the infant stage (which was brutal) with Jenna, Pete, and Eli, there were moments that I struggled on little sleep but for the most part I had energy, could function and accomplish what needed to be done with a fairly good attitude.

I don’t know if it is having a 4th child, being in my 30’s, hormones, selfishness, or all of the above. But now I get Tangry… I have been working off of 2-4 hours of sleep for at least the past week and a half and I am so tired that I am angry about it — Tangry!!!

I can’t think clearly, my mind is overwhelmed because I am so tired that it can’t process most of the data being thrown at me, and my mind and body is so overly exhausted that when I am woken up at 2 a.m. I can’t get back to sleep. Have you ever been there?

I can’t stand this feeling. I don’t enjoy being Tangry at all. It’s destructive and turns me in to someone I don’t like to look at in the mirror. I become hypersensitive to everything that is going on and I throw a tantrum!

After I had Eli, I had gotten in to really good shape. I lost 22 pounds, I was exercising regularly and I feel like I had a great amount of energy. After I had Nathan, I had a lot of health issues, which I am still on a recovery journey from, and my energy just feels depleted most days. I keep thinking about the “glory days” of when I felt so good. I grieve the loss of how I felt at that time.

While yes, not having energy is something I have to and am working through, looking in my rear-view is causing me to miss what is right in front of me. I am missing the opportunities to spend what energy I do have on the here and now. I am wasting it on what was instead of what is. I am missing opportunities to play with my kids, talk with them, have a conversation with my husband, reach out to friends, and just live life in the present. I’m allowing my tiredness to be my justification and excuse to get distracted by Instagram on my phone. But the distraction doesn’t help, I just feel worse.

So what do I do?

I find it interesting the Bible says, “Rejoice Always! Pray Constantly. Give thanks in everything, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

At first glance, for me, I am like, what in the world! How on earth am I suppose to always rejoice, always pray, and give thanks in EVERYTHING?? This is impossible!!

But get this, this is the medicine for Tangry (and moodiness, feeling down, grumpy, {insert your own feeling})!!

Hear me out…

When I turn on music and start singing and probably dancing – I can’t help it – my mood improves. My husband and I had a laughing fit one night where we literally could not stop laughing, something got in to us and it was hysterical. When we finally did calm down, we felt amazing! The laughter just caused an overwhelming sense of happiness and well being.

So, you say, how does that relate to this verse you threw at me?

Isn’t it interesting that when you rejoice/worship/laugh/dance/exercise (although I much prefer to laugh and dance over exercising) your endorphins start flowing and your mood improves? The Creator of your mind and body knows what you need to get you out of Tangry status because He knows how your mind and body works!

The kicker is, you have to constantly choose to rejoice, always, as the Scripture says, so that those endorphins keep flowing. But we can’t choose to rejoice constantly without the prayerful help of the Holy Spirit motivating and encouraging us to do so – left to ourselves, we’ll choose distractions and lazyness. And then, when our endorphins are flowing because we’ve been rejoicing, we feel better, we feel good and it seems like thankfulness is able to flow much more freely. You see what I did there?

Rejoice always! Pray constantly. Give thanks in everything, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. To me, this looks a lot less like an impossible task and/or God being narcissistic and a lot more like the medicine for my heart and well being. It’s another way God has shifted my perspective to grow my faith and show that He is faithful, He loves us, and He wants our well being.

So today I choose to rejoice, pray, and give thanks. Will you do the same?