The Deliverer

I've been battling insomnia about as long as I have rheumatoid arthritis. I've always been a night person, so most of the time it doesn't bother me too much as long as I can sleep in late the next day. I've been taking Tylenol PM for years to help me drift off, and for a long time, two was just right to send me off into dream land. About six months ago, I had to bump it up to three pills a night, because I was staying up until well past two am again. Within the last month, suddenly three pills isn't enough, and rather than go up to four, Jesse suggested that with the end of school, I try going med-free off to sleep and allow my body to rediscover its natural rhythms. Because Doogie and Molly are home, they can help take care of Mia and I could sleep in late the next morning if necessary. His logic seemed reasonable to me, if nothing else, maybe I could reduce my tolerance level of the Tylenol PM back down to a normal dosage of 1-2 pills a night.

Monday night I skipped the pills, did my normal nighttime routine and waited to get drowsy. It didn't happen. In fact, it was nearly 4 am before I drifted off to sleep. Jesse called me at 8:30, and I couldn't get back to sleep, so I stayed up for the day. He was encouraging again, saying that maybe if I didn't take a nap, my body would be so exhausted that I could fall asleep earlier that (last) night. So I again read my Bible and devotionals and waited for the exhaustion that had dogged me all day to set in. Nope, nada. It was 5:30 before I fell asleep this morning, and I was up by 11. I'm hoping eventually my body will decide that it really does need sleep, otherwise I'll be making a date with my Tylenol bottle again!

I did finish three books last night and spent some time in prayer, so at least I'm making good use of the extra hours in my day!

The Deliverer by Linda Rios Brook is the second book in the Reluctant Demon series following Lucifer Flood. A researcher is given a strange set of cuneiform scrolls that hold a fascinating story that may give insight into the past. Where did they come from and who wants them to be found? Brook offers a fresh take on the oft-told story of Moses as through the eyes of a fallen angel who has been assigned by Satan the job of watching the Hebrews in their slavery. The story follows the books of Exodus through Joshua and are very intriguing. At first I had a hard time really getting into the spirit of the book. It's not like standard biblical fiction, the "writer" is a demon, with an agenda and a bias, so the story doesn't always skew the way the reader would expect. Sometimes it comes off a bit flippant, and I had a hard time with some of the anachronistic language. Who knew that there were cuneiform for "See ya, wouldn't want to be ya" and "metrosexual"? But with more reading, the book won me over with its sense of humor and original point of view. The story sticks to Scripture closely while allowing the reader to see what spiritual warfare looks like. This is a book I would highly recommend to high school students who want an unprecedented look at an age old story told in their own language.

We're finally experiencing some summery weather today! Thank goodness; it felt incredibly strange to run the furnace for a little while yesterday morning to bring the temp up to 65 in the house!