Life is full. Work, family, responsibilities. And in the middle of it all, we long to connect with God in a real, tangible way. But even in the tired and unfinished places, God is here. I'm your host, Alyssa, and this is Rest for the Worn and Weary, a podcast where we explore spiritual practices that help us slow down, pay attention, and deepen our relationship with God. I don't have all the answers. I'm learning right alongside you, Curious about how different practices can help us stay rooted in faith. Together, we'll look at scripture, explore traditions, and discover simple ways to experience God's presence in our real, imperfect lives. So take a deep breath and let's begin.
Hello, my name is Alyssa and I'm your podcast host for this journey into spiritual practices. This is episode one Ground zero for this podcast, which I've been planning to start for over two years. It's been a dream on my heart and mind, and I'm so excited to be here and doing it. I'm a mom of three living in beautiful British Columbia, Canada, and I'm curious about spiritual practices for those who believe in Jesus and want to follow Him. I've dipped my toe into this world and I even read a couple books about spiritual disciplines and rules of life, but I didn't find that they really helped me in my everyday life. And I don't know about you, but I really want something that is authentic and a part of my actual life day to day.
Just a little bit about me. I grew up in a Christian family, going to church regularly, and yet my life from Monday to Saturday didn't really feel like it reflected the things I heard on Sundays at church or midweek at youth group. It honestly felt like a lot of talking and not a lot of doing or being or. It felt like I was just ticking boxes of being a good Christian, doing the things I was expected to do versus what I wanted to do in response to God's love for me. And so as I've grown and as I've explored spiritual practices more over the last decade or so, I felt like it was something I could share, especially since it's a journey that I'm still on. And so that's why I'm sitting here in the currently sunny Pacific Northwest and I'm wondering into a microphone about all the things that we consider ordinary, that are actually sacred or things we've taken as truth without actually exploring the Bible for ourselves. Guilty.
So to be clear, I really do recommend you start and continue with scripture reading in this journey. We really can't keep moving forward without it. And I'm learning more about this too. Although it seems embarrassingly late in life to be diving into an in depth method method of Bible study, but better late than never. I also realize that for some of you, maybe the Bible has been weaponized against you in the past, or you may have had strict check ins on your quiet time and that has left you struggling to pick up your Bible again. I see you and I encourage you to seek out the support you need to move forward. And I'm praying that one day the Bible will be life giving for you. If it's not at this point in time, and maybe if you've wondered why your life doesn't feel abundant or how others seem to be so connected to God while you feel distant, I invite you to join me each week as we explore different ways to meet with God in the everyday.
I'm not really interested in fluffy or vague practices. I want to learn and offer to you tangible things that you could start doing tomorrow. If we aren't going to be absolutely honest about this, what's the point? God shows us throughout the Bible that questions don't scare Him. God is more than big enough to take on our doubts, fears and concerns, and I truly believe that as we seek God, he will meet us. So I'm promising to be curious about how we engage with God and then share what I'm learning along the way. I will also invite guests to join me and share what practices they have learned and what they've loved in their faith journey. I always enjoy hearing other people's stories, learning what they've gone through, what has helped them, and I feel like it would be fun to invite you into those conversations so you can learn too. I'd also love to hear which spiritual practices you're interested in and the questions that you have.
So hit subscribe to stay up to date on the weekly episodes. Please rate and review the podcast to help others find it. And if you're feeling social, you can find me on Instagram. Rest for the Worn and Weary Most of all, I hope that we can learn and grow together as we focus on God in our everyday moments. I want this to be like a conversation that we have at my kitchen table with a cup of coffee or maybe sitting on the couch on a nice day or going for a walk. That's my favorite. So I hope that you will join me and I look forward to hearing from you and to learning together.
Thanks for being here today. I pray this episode gave you something to reflect on, something to try and most of all, a reminder of God's presence in your life. If this spoke to you, I'd love for you to share it or leave a review. It's a simple way to help others discover this space. Until next time, may you rest in the love of God that meets you exactly where you are and walks with you every step of the way. Original music generously provided by Trish Coleman.
Life is full. Work, family, responsibilities, and in the middle of it all, we long to connect with God in a real, tangible way. But even in the tired and unfinished places, God is here. I'm your host, Alyssa, and this is Rest for the Worn and Weary, a podcast where we explore spiritual practices that help us slow down, pay attention, and deepen our relationship with God. I don't have all the answers. I'm learning right alongside you. Curious about how different practices can help us stay rooted in faith. Together, we'll look at scripture, explore traditions, and discover simple ways to experience God's presence in our real, imperfect lives. So take a deep breath and let's begin.
Friend where do we start? I know that I felt overwhelmed with where to start with spiritual practices. Although I do have a couple books and there really are many great resources available, I thought maybe just for fun, I'd ask ChatGPT the question of where to start. And here is what the chatbot said. Integrating spiritual practices into your life can be a profound and rewarding journey. Here are some foundational disciplines and approaches to help you deepen your connection with God.
Prayer, Bible reading and meditation Worship and fellowship Silence and solitude Service and ministry Fasting and discipline Putting it all together ChatGPT recommends start small. You might choose one or two practices to integrate into your daily life. For example, begin with a morning prayer and a brief Bible reading. Then gradually add journaling or a weekly fellowship meeting. 2. Reflect and adjust. Spiritual growth is a journey. Periodically reflect on which practices resonate with you and adjust as needed. 3. Community support. Engaging with a community of like minded believers can offer encouragement, accountability and new insights as you explore these practices.
Well, I guess that about wraps up this podcast. ChatGPT has shown you exactly what you need to know. Just kidding. I think there's a lot more beneath the surface of this. And while a chatbot can maybe help give us some ideas, I think there's a lot more to explore. So I was also really curious about the definition of spiritual practices. Language makes a huge difference in how we hear and perceive things. I don't know if you notice this, but language makes a big difference to me. And if something isn't quite right or the connotation doesn't seem to match the message, it really bothers me. And sometimes I fixated on it. I fixate a little too much on it and I can get distracted from what else is happening. All that to say? I think the words we choose imply meaning beyond the words themselves.
So you'll hear me say spiritual practices versus Spiritual disciplines And that is a very specific choice that I'm making. To me, the word discipline, it just has a much different connotation than the word practice. And while I appreciate the need for discipline in many facets of our lives, I also appreciate the way practice allows for focus on being present, exploring your relationship with God, and nurturing your inner life. To me, a practice is more like an activity or a ritual where you apply an idea or belief versus just discussing the theory of it. And a practice is something that we repeat to improve and get better in. And the other reason I'm leaning into the word practice is the idea of practicing itself. I'm so driven to do things right, to find the best way or the most correct way. I can sometimes complete the task without making room for transformation. And so when I think about spiritual practice, that allows space for me for learning and growing without having to be perfect.
I'm an enneagram one. And if you know what that means, it means a one believes there's only one right way to do something. So. So we must find the right way, do the right way perfectly, and achieve success. It's very, very difficult for enneagram ones to do things halfway or to choose an option that's not clearly set up as right. And so for me, I am working on learning to practice and be a beginner, which is really, really hard. I think it's hard for most of us as adults to be beginners. And so I want to lean into the word practice that helps me understand that I don't know exactly what I'm doing, that I am practicing, that I'm finding my way. And so for me, when I think about spiritual practice, it really just opens up that space. So here's what Dallas Willard said about spiritual practice in his book the Spirit of the Disciplines. He said "spiritual practices are intentional activities and habits that help us grow in our relationship with God and become more like Christ". I love those words. I find that so helpful. Intentional activities and habits that help us grow in our relationship with God and become more like Christ. That is so open. There's so many different things that we can do for those purposes, but it really gives you that focus in helping grow your relationship with God.
Adele Calhoun also defines spiritual practices, and she did it like this, "Spiritual practices open space in our lives for God to work. They are intentional disciplines that deepen our dependence on the Holy Spirit, allow us to be with Jesus, and shape us into people who reflect Christ." So while she used the word discipline in there as well, I do like the Spirit behind this definition about opening space in our lives for God to work. I think it's easy for us to fill up our lives with lots of really, really busy things and important things and to not have that space. I do a lot of work in breath work, and that's where you get quiet and you breathe very intentionally. And it really does open space for you to hear God, for you to be still and let things come to the surface that maybe you need to deal with. But if we don't take that time to make space. And I realize that sometimes that phrase making space can drive people crazy. So I acknowledge that that can be a triggering word for some. But if you don't have moments where you're not busy, you will not be able to cultivate that inner life and really listen to what God may have for you and to open up an opportunity for God to work through your life. And if that's something you want in your life, then you need to start practicing different ways to do that.
I also really like how John Mark Comer talked about spiritual practices in his Practicing the Way project. He says "practices are how we open ourselves to God's work of transformation in us". And I love that. I love the idea of transformation. I don't maybe love the process of transformation. Sometimes that can be painful and there can be some really hard lessons in there. But the idea of transformation and moving from who I am now to someone more fully seeking God, I am really excited about that process.
And so I also like to think of this as less like checking off religious boxes and more like rhythms that can shape our inner life. And so then what we do can reflect more of Jesus. And so as I was going through this and thinking about definitions and weighing the differences between practices and disciplines, I also wondered, can a practice become a discipline? Maybe. I don't know. I'd love to hear. Do you have a thought on that? I was trying to think of a comparative example. And so I was thinking about breakfast. So for me, at some point, I don't even know how many years ago, at some point, I decided smoothies was going to be my best high protein breakfast option, which really made a huge difference in my day, my life, my energy, and I love nutrition. If you know me, you know I love nutrition. So that's a, that's a sidebar. If you ever want to talk about nutrition, send me an email. But making myself a smoothie used to be difficult. I had a smoothie book. I had to open it up, follow the recipe exactly as laid out. For months. And then once I got it, I could make a smoothie almost in my sleep. It's a reflex. I can so easily do it. It's my go to breakfast. I feel really good. It helps me have great energy. I'm full until lunch. I'm not practicing it anymore. It's kind of more like a discipline because every day I take time and effort and it's a more structured habit to make and eat the breakfast. But it's not something I don't enjoy. So I think maybe as I'm talking through the idea of discipline, I think maybe I personally have a negative connotation with that and maybe that's something you feel too. But that's why I'm intentionally choosing to talk about spiritual practices versus disciplines. Maybe they can sometimes be the same thing, but I just want to leave that language more open.
And so, as we move forward, I really do believe that starting with practices like Bible reading and prayer are important. And so I'm going to have a guest come on to talk about digging into your Bible. And I'm really excited about that. And I really want to talk more about prayer. There's so many different ways to pray. I mean, Jesus gave us a great example of prayer. I think there's lots of other prayer practices that can be helpful. And I know there are many, many other practices that can be big or small, simple, complicated, and they can add different richness to our spiritual lives. So I'm super excited to explore those.
And so, as we go on this journey together, I hope to show you what I'm practicing and how it's helping to shape my inner and outer life, while also introducing you to guests who have wisdom to share about practices they use in their everyday lives. Because I really want to give you something practical to hold onto, something you can do so that when you think about tomorrow and your to do list and various things happening in your season of life, I want you to feel encouraged to move forward, to try a practice, something that's going to work for you and that will meet that definition that we are talking about. Intentional activities and habits that help us grow in our relationship with God and become more like Christ. Ways that we open ourselves to God's work of transformation in us and opening space in our lives for God to work. Deepening our dependence on the Holy Spirit, allowing us to be with Jesus and shape us into people who reflect Christ.
And so if that's your desire, I encourage you to stick around, see what different guests have to say. I'd love to hear from you too, so please reach out if you have ideas or questions. I would love to make this more interactive, and I look forward to exploring more spiritual practices and talking about what that can look like in our everyday lives. Thanks for being here today. I pray this episode gave you something to reflect on, something to try, and most of all, a reminder of God's presence in your life. If this spoke to you, I'd love for you to share it or leave a review. If you It's a simple way to help others discover this space. Until next time, may you rest in the love of God that meets you exactly where you are and walks with you every step of the way. Original music generously provided by Trish Coleman.
Alyssa [00:00:02]:
Life is full. Work, family, responsibilities. And in the middle of it all, we long to connect with God in a real, tangible way. But even in the tired and unfinished places, God is here. I'm your host, Alyssa, and this is Rest for the Worn and Weary, a podcast where we explore spiritual practices that help us slow down, pay attention, and deepen our relationship with God. I don't have all the answers. I'm learning right alongside you. Curious about how different practices can help us stay rooted in faith. Together, we'll look at scripture, explore traditions, and discover simple ways to experience God's presence in our real, imperfect lives. So take a deep breath, and let's begin.
Hello, Andrea. Welcome to the podcast. I'm so, so excited to have you. My first guest.
Andrea [00:00:59]:
Thank you so much. It's so exciting.
Alyssa [00:01:02]:
Yes. Could you just go ahead and quickly introduce yourself? Sure.
Andrea [00:01:09]:
My name is Andrea, and I am a mom to two amazing boys. And my husband's name is Joe, and we've been married for 19 years. This year will be our 20th anniversary, which is just seems amazing that it's been this long together. So I work as a labor and delivery nurse, and I absolutely love being a nurse, and I love working in labor and delivery. But for the last five years, God has changed the plans that I had for my own life. And I have spent the last five years homeschooling my boys, which was never, ever in my plans, but it has been the biggest blessing that I never knew to ask for. And so just teaching my boys and teaching them to love God's Word has been just such a beautiful thing these last five years, and I'm so grateful.
Andrea [00:02:04]:
And so I'm so excited to talk about the Bible because it's something I'm really, really passionate about.
Alyssa [00:02:10]:
That's awesome. Thanks so much, Andrea. I asked you to be on this podcast because I really wanted to dive into the practice of reading the Word with the goal of transformation. And so that's something we've talked about as I've learned from you and as you've learned from others. And so I would love if you could describe the pathway or inductive Bible study method that you've been a part of learning and teaching.
Andrea [00:02:41]:
Mm. So I came across this organization called Simeon Trust, and they have workshops all around the world, and their goal is to teach preachers and Bible teachers how to study God's word well and to teach it well. And so this pathway that comes with this Simeon Trust method, it acts as a guide to you as you study Scripture. And so, like for example, if we were to read in Genesis about Abraham and Isaac, and it's a story many people know about God asking Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac. And, you know, if we haven't gone through the pathway and went step by step through it, what most people do when they read the Bible is they read the story, let's say, of Abraham and Isaac and God asking Abraham to sacrifice his son, and we go straight to application. Well, the silly example is, oh my gosh, maybe God is asking me to sacrifice my child. Well, that's very silly. But the more common application is, wow, maybe God is asking me to sacrifice something. And that seems like that makes sense, right? But when you actually go through the story, God is not even actually asking Abraham to sacrifice Isaac. So that story is not about sacrifice.
Andrea [00:04:13]:
It is God testing Abraham's trust in him. And that is actually what is happening. It's, it's. And actually it actually is a pointer to what God is going to do, sending his son Jesus as a sacrifice for our sins. And so we, if we kind of take things out of context and we just read it and then directly try to apply it to our lives, we can be holding God's word incorrectly. And then when we try to apply it to our lives, we're applying it incorrectly. And so this pathway leads you through four steps to help avoid that problem. And the first thing I love about this is before you take step one, the pathway reminds you to pray. It reminds you actually throughout the whole pathway to just keep praying. Because the truth is, and you said this already, Alyssa, we study God's Word not for information, but we study it for transformation. If all we have at the end of our study is more info, we've missed it. We need to long to be transformed by His Word. That's what it's going to do. When it's actually well applied to our life, it can't help but transform us. So step one, if we're going through the pathway is what does the word actually say? What are the repeated words? What are the contrasts? Who are the characters in this? What's the structure like? And that helps us to get to what the main idea of the. The text is. So we can actually say, okay, this text is actually not about sacrifice. It's about trust. It's about us trusting God that He will provide what we need.
And then in step two, we look at the context. What does this word? What do these verses actually meant for the people that lived at that time in history? Also, when we look at Context, we read before, after. Like if we're in chapter two, we're going to read chapter one, we're going to read chapter three. And you definitely, like, if your chapter that you're studying starts with the word therefore, you're definitely going to want to read what was said before because therefore is only significant if we know what's happened before. We only have half the story if we're not reading the context before and after. So that's looking at the book context. So if you're in the Book of Job, you want to read, if you're studying chapter two, you want to read chapter one, chapter three, and kind of know where you're at in the book. And also looking and stepping back and looking at the book of as a, as a whole, and then even stepping back and looking at where this book is in the entire Bible. Like, are we at the beginning of the Bible? Are we near the end where we've seen the promises of God unfold? It really does matter where you're at in the book. And then step three, which is my favorite step, is all about Jesus. From Genesis, we see that God had a plan to redeem his people back to himself. And it's only through Jesus. And in the New Testament, Jesus actually says that the Scriptures are all about him. He's going back to the Torah, the first books of the, of the New, of the Old Testament, and he's saying, these are actually about me. And so this chapter, this chapter that you're on, how does it reveal who Jesus is? Is it talking about the incarnation? Is it talking about the suffering that he went through his life, his resurrection, the promises that we have in him? What is it saying about Jesus? How do we learn about God's character through this? And then finally step four, once we've held the word well and we actually know what it's saying now, we can apply it to the best of our ability, to our own lives, and we apply it correctly to our life in that way.
Alyssa [00:08:01]:
Yeah, I love that. I love all those steps and how it just really leads you kind of logically through the process of looking at the text. Because I find it so easy to open your Bible and feel a bit lost and quite know what you're, what you're looking at. And so context makes a huge difference. And I heard someone say that every time you read the Bible, it's a cross cultural experience.
Andrea [00:08:29]:
Oh, that's beautiful.
Alyssa [00:08:31]:
Yeah. And I, I think that's really helpful as I come to the Bible as well, to realize this is not my dominant culture that I'm reading through. Like, it's not the lens that the Bible's written through. And so I have to take that into account as I'm reading those words. And if I want to really understand what it's saying.
Andrea [00:08:52]:
Yeah. And I think that's when I was a new believer because I didn't become a Christian until my late teens. I kind of shied away from the Old Testament because I felt like it wasn't really about Jesus. It's about kind of old history and old law. And then when I actually picked up the Old Testament and started reading through, I'm like, oh, my gosh. From the beginning, it is all about Jesus. And it really helped me to connect it. And I think sometimes people are afraid certain books are, are scary to read through. You feel like, ooh, I don't, I don't know about revelation, you know, what is that gonna be like? But this pathway, it gives you step by step instruction so that you don't feel alone. You feel like, okay, I can do this. I'm just gonna go step by step and work my way through it.
And it just really gives you that really good guide to go through the book.
Alyssa [00:09:44]:
Yeah, that's awesome. Would you be able to share what prompted you to explore this method?
Andrea [00:09:52]:
Yeah, for sure. So I was at my old church and this was about, oh, boy, like, maybe seven, eight years ago. And I was involved in women's ministry, and I was invited as our, our women's ministry lead to attend this Bible conference. And, you know, they also said we would be staying at this nice air and Airbnb. And I was like, oh, yeah, like, girls weekend. I'm all for it. And I don't think I realized until I sat down in the conference and these ladies, and they all had white hair, like they have been in their Bible their entire lives. And they just start talking so passionately about God's word and then start talking about words like escape eschatology and, you know, all these words. I'm like, I don't really know what they're talking about. And I remember sending my husband a text being like, I think you need to pick me up. Because I really got myself into it. Like, they don't know I'm a fraud. Like, I'm not supposed to be here. I didn't grow up in a Christian home. I've never been to a Bible college. I don't really know the Bible as well as maybe I should. And I was just really ready to throw in the Towel and cut to the last day of the conference, you know, the last five minutes when I know I'm actually getting picked up. And I just remember hugging one of these white haired ladies and just bawling because I felt like they gave me a gift and I could not wait to go home to my church and give it to other ladies. Like this gift of being able to read God's word and see, see it come alive and hear God speak to me through the word and to experience transformation, not just information. And I, I just had never experienced anything like that before. And it ended up being, yeah, it changed my life. I've not been the same since that conference. And so going home, I'm like, okay, it's too good to keep to myself. And the other ladies that we went together to the conference, they all said the same thing. And so I started small scale, just inviting women into my home and teaching them the pathway and going through, I think we went through Jonah first because that's what we did at the conference. And then we went through the Book of Ruth together. And then I did it with other groups. I would end up like going to people's houses to train up the ladies in the pathway and then just leaving and letting them continue their Bible study. And that was really cool, just being able to equip other women.
And yeah, we just started at a new church. My husband is a pastor and we started at a beautiful new community a year ago. And I'm a joiner. I'm so quick to jump into if I see a need. I just want to join. And I just really felt God say, just wait, just watch, just get to know people and just pray. And as I was praying and as I was watching, all I could think about was, I want to give these women that same pathway. I want to walk these women through the pathway. I want to share this method of reading God's word with them. And yeah, so I just got super duper excited about that. And yeah, we got a group of ladies. Alyssa, you were one of those ladies. And we got to actually attend the conference this January. And it was, it was transformational. It was amazing. And so I'm just really excited to get women in our new church, get women into God's word or deeper into God's word. And honestly, I feel like there's nothing better than I can offer another woman and there's nothing better that I can offer a sister in Christ. I, you know, I'm not a very good cook, but I do love having people over at my House. I love to chat, I love to go for walks. But when I think about really connecting with someone, there's nothing better than sitting and reading God's Word together and just hearing God speak and allowing, you know, God to transform us and allowing him to grow a deeper faith. It's just. It's the best thing ever.
Alyssa [00:14:05]:
I agree. That's so beautiful. Thank you for all of that. And so having attended that and seeing it change your life, how would you describe how this changed your spiritual practice?
Andrea [00:14:19]:
Well, firstly, it actually opened my ears to hear something that I had never really noticed. When I was in my community group at my old church, I started hearing women say the same thing over and over again. They would say, I can't really study God's Word on my own and understand it. They felt like I need someone with proper training to tell me what the Word says. But I believe God gave each of us the ability to understand His Word. I feel that God wants to reveal himself personally to each person and speak directly into their life. I don't think that we need a human translator to hear God's Word. The Holy Spirit himself will reveal to us and speak to us. And the only way we can get better at this is to practice it. And so for me, it's just practicing. I practice it daily. And the awesome thing about this pathway is as it gives you, like, the first step will be like, look at repetitive words. And then the next step is look for contrast, even just for looking at repetitive words. I'll read that chapter once to look for one repetitive word. I'll go back to the top and read it again, and then I'll see another word that's repetitive, and then I'll go back and read it again. And in my Bible study, where usually I would read the chapter maybe once and then go jump straight to application, feeling like I did a really good job and read my Bible today. Hooray. You know, put a check in that box. I end up reading the same chapter, you know, 30, 40 times. How can you not see more things? How can you not understand it more? It's just like if we're studying for school, we're not going to read the content once and be like, oh, got it. Move on. Like, we pour ourselves over our textbooks. Like, why would we not pour ourselves over God's Word? You know, it's instruction for our life. And so I think, you know, we. We so easily rush through so much in life. Our culture is very rushed. There's not a lot of rest. But being able to read the same thing over and over again, it makes you slow down, it makes you stop and process. And I just feel like it really gives room for God to speak to someone who, like me, is so busy. My life is very hectic, but in this time I'm making space for God to really speak. And one of the things I love about God's word, just in Psalm 19, verse 7, it says, the law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul man, I need that. The testimony of the Lord is sure making wise the simple. So right there we have a promise, like making wise the simple. Like sometimes I think I'm like, ugh, I'm just not. I just wish I was smarter. I just wish I was better at studying or I wish I was a better student. But God's word right there in Psalm 19 promises that God's word will make us wise. Like if we're simple, that's okay. We can come to God's Word, he can speak to us and he will make us wise through it. And I just love that promise in God's Word.
Alyssa [00:17:36]:
Yeah, I think that's so encouraging. And I find that even just kind of dipping my toes into this method and learning over the last few months has opened my eyes and I've spent time reading the Bible, I've read through the Bible at least three full times, if not more. And I feel like I didn't quite absorb what I'm absorbing now and didn't hear the same things I'm hearing now. So in some ways I feel sad for some time lost. But at the same time, there's no better time to start than now to move forward and build that richness. And I can only imagine for you having done this over seven or eight years, that it's deepened and changed. Would you be able to describe how that has changed over time for you?
Andrea [00:18:32]:
Yeah, I think for me I really felt that call that, you know, to teach women God's Word is definitely a call that I felt through my life and. And then now with homeschooling my boys, it has become such a joy to be able to teach them the pathway. My boys are 11 and 14 and my 14 year old really just loves God's word and just, you know, he really feels that God may be calling him to ministry in the future and so to equip him now as a teenage boy and to equip my 11 year old to not just love God's Word and see the importance of it in your daily life, but to also just know how to handle it well and to read it for what it actually says. And not, you know, writing our own story into it or making it about us, but actually seeing what the word says. I think I'm just so excited that that is something that I have been able to translate. Like, yeah, like, learning it for myself was great. And then now being able to teach other women is wonderful and such a joy. But I really do feel that we're called as parents to raise our kids to love and know God's Word. And so that's been such a joy also, just in my own personal time with God. Like, I'm a homeschool mom, so I really don't get that quiet time with God until the kids have gone to sleep. But I'm a night owl, so it's all right. So I tuck everyone in bed, including my husband, and I have the house to myself, and I just have time to just read God's Word and I go through the pathway. I don't necessarily have the pathway out beside me when I'm doing my regular Bible reading. That's because I've. I've done the pathway so much, it's become kind of second nature. Although I feel like your personality type, you'll kind of like, I told you, step three, all about Jesus is my favorite part of the past, the pathway. And sometimes you tend to, like, cut things out that are just, you know, not as interesting to you. So every once in a while, I'll bring the pathway out to make sure I'm not skipping important, important parts of the steps. But it definitely has become something more, just second nature, something I'm used to using. And when I'm reading God's word now, it just feels like things jump off the page at me. And that's never happened before. I felt like it was a little bit of a struggle at the beginning to see those repeated words, to see that, that. To just see it highlighted. Like, why are these words repeated? What is the message in this chapter? It was harder to see at the beginning, and now with practice, I'm seeing it more and more. And so I think that's.
That is the key, is that, you know, all these good things in our life, being healthy, exercising, eating right, they're not easy things, but we do them because they're worthy things. Reading the Bible is not going to be easy. It's going to be challenging. There's going to be parts of scripture that you're like, I have no idea why this is in here. What does that mean? But it's so worthy of diving in. And I would say diving in with other people so that you can work on it together and figure it out together and make sure you're staying on the line, which is one of the principles of the Simeon Trust, is that you, you're, you're saying what the word is actually saying. You're not pulling things out of context and making your own assumptions. And so yeah, I feel like it's, it just has grown and grown, but it has been, like I said, seven years in the making. So it's taken a lot of time, but it's so worth it.
Alyssa [00:22:22]:
Yeah, I love that. So if someone is interested in giving this a try, what would you say are one to three practical first steps that they could take?
Andrea [00:22:36]:
Number one, what I just said, find a friend. There's, there's other people out there that really want to know God's word, that really want to read it and hold it. Well, they're out there, I promise you. And so pray, Pray and ask God to bring you to some other like minded people that, that want to dive into God's word. Doing it even, I mean with the wonders of the Internet, like that person doesn't have to be in your own town. You can do it with someone online over zoom and just work through or read through a book of the Bible together and get together and discuss it. Definitely don't do it alone. If there's really no one, start doing it alone and just trust that God will bring people to you. You are going to start talking to people about it because you're going to be blown away at, at just the growth like you were saying, Alyssa, like looking back, you're like, oh, I missed out on so much. Well, you are going to be sharing with people just because you're so excited. When something really good is happening in your life, we can't help but share. And so as you're going to church, you're going, you know, to your book study that you're doing at church or going to see a friend for coffee, you're going to be like, hey, you know, I, I've tried this new Bible study method and I just know people are going to be drawn in just with the joy that you're going to experience from doing this. So number one, find a friend.
Number two, prayer has to be a huge part of your Bible reading. Pray that God would reveal himself to you as you faithfully go to His Word. I came across a shocking statistic. It said that 1 in 10 Christians in the US actually read their Bible more than once a week. So that means that, you know, 10% of people are touching their Bible not. Not just to bring it to church, but just one. It's not even saying every day. It's one other day of the week. And so even just picking up God's word and getting into the habit of reading it daily is a huge victory if you haven't started it already. So even if you feel intimidated just getting into that habit, start reading it. Start trying your way through the pathway. And when I started the pathway, you know, we. We mark up the. The words that are repetitive. We. We put arrows where there's contrast, or we write little notes in the margin. We put brackets where there's structure. We start to really mark up our text. And I remember the first time I did it, I think I had one. I. I was really excited that I found one repetitive word in the who. And then when I sat down next to someone else, I looked at their paper and I was like, oh, you guys found more than one repeated word. Like, at the beginning, it's going to be. You're gonna be new at this. And anytime you're new, like, I teach my kids when I homeschool them, like, you can't expect to be good at something the first time you do it. Like, most things take time and practice.
And so if you can just get in the word daily, that is a huge, huge victory. And number three, I just want to address, like, there is an enemy that does not want you in God's word. He doesn't want you reading God's Word. He doesn't want you being transformed by God's Word. And so discouragement is going to happen. Just keep going. Even if it's been weeks, months, years, decades since you've picked up God's word, do it right now. Like, pick it up, get into it. It is never too late. This is such a lie from the enemy. Oh, it's too late. You know, like, it's too late to start this. You've. You've. You haven't read God's word or you've misused it or misunderstood it. Like, you're not a good student. You can't do this. Who are you to think you can read God's word and hear God speak to you? The enemy is very sneaky. And so we just do it. Just pick it up. Just pray and ask God. Remind me, you know, set reminders. I have my own special spot. My kids kind of know that spots off limits when they're heading to bed. They see mom getting into her chair and, you know, turning on my lamp and opening up God's Word. And so I leave my Bible there. So it is a fake physical reminder. And I know if I haven't picked up my word, that. That day, because the next day I'm like, oh, I see the table. And don't. Don't have that shame. Don't go into that shame spiral, because that also makes you walk away from reading God's word. The next day, just be like, okay, I'm not perfect. I forgot. I'm going to read it today. And so that would be the advice I would give. Number one, find a friend. Number two, pray. And number three, just keep going. Don't give up. And it's never, ever too late to get into God's word.
Alyssa [00:27:41]:
Yeah, that's awesome. I love that you recapped it there with the three steps. That is so helpful. And I've done a lot of nutrition coaching and helping people change their food habits. And it's. It's very similar in that you start as a beginner, and being a beginner is not fun. It's just. Yeah, it's hard to be a beginner in anything. And we help our kids through this all the time. But for us as adults, if we start a new job or we pick up a new skill, we're a beginner. And it's hard. You have to fight through that discomfort and keep looking ahead to what's to come and the fruit that will be there. And I can say that even just barely getting started in it, I feel like it has made a huge difference. And even this morning, I set my timer 20 minutes before I had to leave for work. And so I was going through my chapter, and my timer went off. And I was shocked. I was like, how did. How did that go so fast? 20 minutes gone. And I was sad that I had to go and leave and not quite finish my thought there. But I found that it's made a huge difference for me. And I'm so grateful that you were excited about this and willing to share it and to also just share it with anyone who decides to listen to this as well. And so I'm praying that it would be an encouragement to anyone who hears it. And if anyone wants to reach out, I'm happy to answer questions. And I know Andrea loves to talk about it as well. So if you do want to get in touch here, we'll reply back to you and. And get you connected with those resources.
Andrea [00:29:30]:
Definitely.
Alyssa [00:29:31]:
Yes. So thank you, Andrea, for being my first guest and coming on and talking about the inductive Bible study method and really rooting spiritual practice in the Word. And I really think that that's a firm foundation to build from. There's lots of other spiritual practices I want to talk about, but I felt like this was the one I wanted to start with because it's so important and it's something that I think we need to build our lives around.
Andrea [00:30:05]:
Definitely. Can I just leave the ladies with the rest of that psalm that we started at the beginning?
Andrea [00:30:12]:
And so Psalm 19 just talks about the perfection of the Word of God. And so I read to you already 7:19, verse 7. But it says the law of the Lord is perfect. Reviving the soul. The testimony of the Lord is sure, Making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right. Rejoicing the heart, the commandment of the Lord is pure. Enlightening the eyes. The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever. The rules of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold, sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb. Moreover, by them is your servant warned. In keeping them there is great reward who can discern his errors. Declare me innocent from hidden faults. Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins. Let them not have dominion over me. Then I shall be blameless and innocent of great transgression. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight. O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. There is nothing more beautiful than the word of God. And whatever you're looking for, you will find what you need. It gives you anything that you are looking for, anything that you need. We need to be in God's word. It is life to the believer.
Alyssa [00:31:49]:
Amen.
Andrea [00:31:51]:
Amen.
Alyssa [00:31:51]:
Thank you, Andrea, for being here. I so appreciate it.
Andrea [00:31:56]:
Thank you so much. Alyssa. This was so fun.
Alyssa [00:32:01]:
Thanks for being here today. I pray this episode gave you something to reflect on, something to try, and most of all, a reminder of God's presence in your life. If this spoke to you, I'd love for you to share it or leave a review. It's a simple way to help others discover this space. Until next time. May you rest in the love of God that meets you exactly where you are and walks with you every step of the way. Original music generously provided by Trish Coleman.
Life is full. Work, family, responsibilities. And in the middle of it all, we long to connect with God in a real, tangible way. But even in the tired and unfinished places, God is here. I'm your host, Alyssa, and this is Rest for the Worn and Weary, a podcast where we explore spiritual practices that help us slow down, pay attention, and deepen our relationship with God. I don't have all the answers. I'm learning right alongside you. Curious about how different practices can help us stay rooted in faith. Together, we'll look at scripture, explore traditions, and discover simple ways to experience God's presence in our real, imperfect lives. So take a deep breath and let's begin.
Hey, friend. Welcome here. So here's what I've been thinking about lately. There's maybe an idea that for spiritual practice to count, it has to be this big thing. Like you need to have a quiet room, a lit candle, maybe an hour of uninterrupted time. And I used to think that too. But life doesn't usually work that way, at least not for me. The truth is, sometimes I've got five minutes, sometimes less, and sometimes more. But I'm learning that those moments still matter. They can still be sacred. And one of my favorite examples of this is breathwork.
So I know if you've never tried it, it might sound a little strange. I thought so too. But it's become one of the simplest, most powerful ways for me to slow down, notice God's presence, and step back into my day a little more grounded and rested. So the myth of needing an hour of quiet or a perfectly set up space is just that, a myth. The truth is that practices can take five minutes. They could take five hours. But it's important to start with what you have and to grow from there. And so I discovered breathwork when I was doing my nutrition studies. So if you know me, then you know that about six years ago, I became a holistic nutritionist. And so as part of my work, I learned to think about everything. For when it comes to a person, holistic means the whole person. So not just what you're eating, it's about your emotional health, your mental health, your spiritual health. And that's why it's called holistic, because it's the whole person. Everything around you affects your health. And so I look to breath work as a possible stress relief, something that would help my clients to decompress because stress has a huge impact on our health. And it was really interesting. As I began working with people, I could see that many of them were doing all the right things. They were eating well, they were exercising, and yet they were still struggling with their health. And for some of them, the difference was really a job that was a bad fit for them, maybe something that had a really difficult, toxic workplace, or people who were in relationships that were really unhealthy and they needed to make some changes. And so for some clients, I only saw a real shift in their health when they changed boundaries in relationships or they quit the job. That was a problem.
And I want to acknowledge some nuance here. Not everyone can quit a job or end a relationship. And honestly, relationships are complicated. They can be difficult for various reasons. We all have different ways of viewing life. We have different communication preferences, and that can really influence our relationships. But we can also set boundaries, and we can find supportive people in our life. And if you're able to find a job that's a better fit for your emotional and. And mental health, then I think it's important to pursue that. So it was interesting to me to see that as people shifted those parts of their lives, it had a real impact on their health. And so I thought about that too. When it comes to spiritual health, if we ignore our spiritual health, it really has an impact on our overall health and our wellness. And so while I thought breath work was just for stress relief, it turned out to be so much more, because moving into breathwork and relieving that stress had an impact on the whole person. Physical body, your mental state, your emotional state. And it was just so interesting to me to see this change. And so breathwork also really opened up space for me to listen to the Holy Spirit.
And so I found that when I learned breath work, when I went through breathwork training, it became this amazing space for me to learn to be still and to just listen. And that's really hard for most of us. And I find that when I share breath work with others, too, that it's a similar reaction, just a sense of calm and rest at the end of a breathwork session. And people are very surprised that in even a short amount of time, even five to ten minutes of breath work, it can just calm the body and provide a sense of rest that you don't normally get from such a short time. And so part of this is because breathing is very powerful. It's one of the few bodily functions, if the only one, that happens automatically, but that we can also consciously control. So if you think about your body, think of, say, your heart, for example. Your heart keeps beating whether you think about it or not, but you can't control your heart beating like your liver works, it's detoxifying, it's helping to make various processes in the body. It processes your nutrients, but you don't think about it and you don't have to control it, and you can't. But your breath, your lungs, your breathing happens whether you think about it or not. But if you do think about it, you can consciously control your breathing. And so it has a really profound effect on our nervous system.
So our nervous system has two different arms, the sympathetic and parasympathetic. So the sympathetic nervous system, when you're in that, it's a state of fight or flight. So if you're under stress, say you get a nasty email at work, you feel that surge of adrenaline or a bit of a jolt that is your sympathetic nervous system. It's the same as if, say, experiencing something bigger, like you see a car crash in front of you, your sympathetic nervous system is activated, you're in high alert, and so your body is preparing you for that emergency situation. We can also be in low grade chronic stress and just have a low activation of our sympathetic nervous system. And that can be really, really unhealthy for us in the long term. And so moving into the parasympathetic nervous system, which is often nicknamed the rest and digest state, that helps you to get out of sympathetic, and it also shows your body how to move between the two. So naturally, we should be able to move between the two fluidly throughout our day, back and forth, and that's very normal and natural. But sometimes we can get stuck in sympathetic, and that can be really, really difficult for our body, for our physical body, for our mental health, our emotional health and our spiritual health, because they're all tied together.
And so breath work, what it does is it allows your body to flip into parasympathetic state. And the way it does this is by controlling your breath. So when you breathe in through your nose and out through your nose in a regular pattern, you're taking deep breaths. And especially when your exhale is longer than your inhale, that really allows your body to enter that rest and digest parasympathetic state. And so when we do that, we experience the sense of rest that is so different than what we might normally feel. If we are, say, sitting and scrolling or just relaxing, it provides something a bit more unique. And so I found that as I shared this, it was so profound for people and they really enjoyed the process. It also allows for emotional release sometimes because we can feel a lot of things and sometimes Shove them down really far and just let them sit there. But when you're quiet and when you're breathing and that's all you have to do, sometimes those things can come back to the surface, and we can let that emotion move through and let it go. And that can be really powerful, because when we're holding on to something, it affects the rest of us, including our spiritual lives. And so breathwork is this beautiful place where you can slow down, you can experience God's presence, and you can also attend to your physical and emotional state without having to think about it, really. That's the other beauty of breathwork. I love how you don't have to make it a heavy cognitive process. You're not trying to think your way through anything. You're just closing your eyes, relaxing, breathing, and that's all you have to do. And so that's part of why I really, really love breath work. And so if this feels overwhelming, I want you to just think about taking some intentional deep breaths. And when you're breathing in, make sure you allow your belly to expand as your lungs fill up. And then as you breathe out, make sure you allow that belly to come back softly towards your spine. That could be a simple place to start. Just some long inhales, exhales. Close your eyes, if it's safe to do so, and do that for a few minutes, and you'd be surprised at the kind of shift that you can experience. I know that I've had times where maybe I'm transitioning between work and home or somewhere else, and I have a few minutes in a parked car. Don't do this while driving. Where I close my eyes, I might have music on as well. And I just breathe. And a few minutes of doing that allows me to really, really shift into a different space. And I know that for me, I find it hard sometimes to transition between activities, or I find myself in a state where I feel stressed and I don't want to be there. And sometimes that feels really, really difficult, like I can't get out of it. And breathing can really help.
It also helps if I'm feeling anxious before bed. Sometimes before bed, that's when all the things you haven't thought about for the day attack you. And your brain is just going, I don't know, 90 miles an hour, trying to figure out what you're going to do about every problem that you've ever had. And so taking that time to breathe can really just allow you to enter a state of rest. And so I enjoy doing breath work before bed as well. And so I just want to encourage you, give a quick, simple breath practice a try. Remember to be in a place where you are safe, to close your eyes and just be still and just to breathe in and out gently through your nose. You can put on some music too, and just see if that practice really resonates with you. So today, if you don't have an hour for deep study or prayer, that's okay. Maybe all you've got is a few deep, intentional breaths while you're sitting in your car before work or maybe while the kids are playing in the next room. I still think these moments matter and that you're invited to be with God right where you are. And so I encourage you to give it a try this week. No pressure. You don't have to make it perfect. Just see how it feels to breathe deeply in and out. And if you want to go more into this practice, that's exactly what my subscription podcast is for. Guided breathwork with scripture and music so you can step right into a moment with God whenever you need it. So stay tuned. I'll be launching my subscription soon and I can't wait to make this spiritual practice really accessible. Anywhere that you have time and space to breathe. You can use faith based breathwork, but for now, I hope you walk away remembering it doesn't have to be long to be meaningful and every breath can be a prayer.
Thanks for being here today. I pray this episode gave you something to reflect on, something to try, and most of all, a reminder of God's presence in your life. If this spoke to you, I'd love for you to share it or leave a review. It's a simple way to help others discover this space. Until next time, may you rest in the love of God that meets you exactly where you are and walks with you every step of the way. Original music generously provided by Trish Coleman.
Alyssa Flegg [00:00:03]:
Hey, Jen. It's so great to see you.
Jen Kleiber [00:00:06]:
Thank you. Thank you for having me.
Alyssa Flegg [00:00:09]:
Yeah, I'm very excited to talk to you today about your prayer practice. And before we get started, how about we just have a quick little intro, Talk about who you are and something you'd like to share with us about you.
Jen Kleiber [00:00:22]:
Okay. Well, my name is Jen Kleiber. I am an educator turned entrepreneur, and so have kind of gone through the process of starting a few different businesses. And, you know, honestly, that process is such a faith journey that that was probably one of the catalysts that really moved me into a place of needing to get very personal in my prayer life. I'm a mom, I am a wife, and so we're just trying to really walk through life representing the Lord, living, navigating life right now in a way that. That honors him while we grow and while we build all of the different facets of our. Of our lives.
Alyssa Flegg [00:01:21]:
Yeah. That's awesome. Could you describe your prayer journal practice? We had talked about it off camera and previously, and I loved learning about your process, so if you could just share that with us, that'd be great.
Jen Kleiber [00:01:36]:
Yeah. So just, you know, in an. In a nutshell, I needed a way to. I was getting very repetitive in what I was doing, and I. I think one of the greatest privileges that we have is that we can approach the throne of God at any time and he welcomes us with grace. But I do think that there is a lot of value, so. Sorry. Okay. So I do think that there is a lot of value in having a habit of prayer, of intentional prayer time, where we get rid of distractions and. And really spend time with the Lord. But what I was finding was that a. My prayer time was the same every day. And while that's not necessarily a negative thing, it became more rote than more personal. And the other thing that I realized was that it was a lot about me. It was all about, like, my requests, my needs, my worries, my anxieties. And I knew I wanted to shift that a little bit. So I actually saw. Saw like a 10 second clip on TikTok several years ago where she was writing down her prayer requests and circling them when they were answered. And it was a very basic thing. And so over the last probably five years, I just have kind of evolved that to be, you know, what. What works for me. So basically, I go usually to a discount store to Ross or something like that, and I get a Scout sketchbook, one that doesn't have lines in it. Now, for your listeners who are Creative. This might make them cringe a little bit, but I am not creative. And so I literally take post it notes and turn them upside down and make tabs. So I have specific tabs for the process of my prayer journal. So the first tab, and this has been a game changer for me, is my praise tab. And so on my praise on this praise page, it is not Thanksgiving. It is just praise. It is. It starts with, you are, you are holy, you are victorious, you are mighty. I listen to worship songs while I'm doing it as I'm reading scripture, like any pray, you know, you are majestic. Like things that I wouldn't normally say necessarily in my everyday words, I write down in that praise section. And so every morning before I do any other type of prayer, I always try to start with praise. Sometimes I go through all of them, sometimes I go through just a few of them. But that has been a game changer because that puts my focus on God and off of me. And honestly, sometimes I don't even get to the request part, you know, because the requests can weigh us down as we're thinking about all of the things that are worrying us. But as we start telling the Lord how sovereign he is, how in control he is, how good he is, kind of everything else is like, and you know, what I'm going through right now, so, you know, I'm going to hand it over to you. And sometimes that's. That's where it ends. So I would say if I had to pick one thing that's been the game changer, that part of it has been, the next part is Thanksgiving. This is literally a list number 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, where I just list out things that I'm thankful for and I don't repeat things. And again, that's where I was struggling before was, you know, thank you for my family, thank you for our health, thank you for this day. Like, I don't repeat things. And so what it has caused me to do is look at the little things that I'm thankful. Thank you, thank you for the conversation that I had with my son today. You know, things that I might not normally be intentional about showing Thanksgiving for. So then I move into the tabs of the requests and so on these, I have my family, like my extended family. I have my son, my husband, and my friends. And then personal things. And so those are the next five tabs. So with a request, you just, you write it down. And then when it's answered, even if it's not answered in the way that you Think you want it answered, you highlight it. And so a lot of my things are written and highlighted with like a note out to the side of it, you know, just to, just to remind myself of how faithful God is even when things are not answered in the way that I think they. That they should be. The next tab that I have is Church Country World. And so this tab is for our government. It is for things that are going on in the world. It I have ministries written down that I want to remember to pray for. Even, you know, like my youth pastor, I work with the sixth grade girls, you know, just kind of all of that. And these would be things that I, for me personally, I did not pray for those with consistency before I started doing this. I would complain about them, but I would not necessarily pray for them or I would pray once and forget. And so this is a way again, I don't go through every tab every morning, but it's definitely a way that at least weekly I remember to pray for these things that the Lord has put on my heart at one point or another. So then I have my business. And so, you know, obviously these are going to just be my different businesses and the different requests. Now one of the things that I've added is this is a very like working document is what I say. So like if I have something, I just want to add it in. So like right before my business, right now, I have a big quote from Lisa Turkers that says, let's not stop short of our victory with God. He is working things out, he is present, his plan is still good and he can still be trusted. These are true certainties, even when life feels so very uncertain. So I just wrote that out really big on a page before I even started with my business. And because of, or with my business prayers and because of the way the tabs are, it's really easy to add those things in as you want because it's not just like, turn the page, turn the page, turn the page. Right. So my next tab is Truth and these are just verses. And so this constitutes a large part of this journal. And so there are a lot of mornings that I literally go praise verses and then I'm done. And then I go for a walk, you know, because that is really the goal is just seeping in truth so that the rest of it is kept in perspective. And then the, the last tab then is Conversations and I, I call it Conversations. And I think that that's important to call it Conversations because it not just me writing, there are a lot of Times where I say, lord, you know what's in my heart? And then my visual cue for myself is that I draw a squiggly line under that, and then I just pause and I just listen. And if I am feeling, you know, if the Lord is bringing scripture to mind or truth to mind, then I write that out. And that way I know, like, this is a conversation. I can go back to that any. Any different time. And then something that I added recently to the very back of it was two pages. One of them that says my steps of faith, and the other one that says God's faithfulness. And again, I just wanted to remember, you know. You know, like, when somebody. God puts somebody on your mind, and then you text them and they're like, oh, my gosh, I needed to hear from you that reminder of, like, my small step of obedience there, that the Lord is using my faithfulness. And I don't want to forget that because I always want to be used by him. And so it's a reminder of, like, look, when. Don't neglect this. When you feel that nudge from the Holy Spirit, do it. And so what I have found for me is that when I write those things down, then you're so much more aware of when that's happening, you know, in your everyday life. And then the other page is God's faithfulness. And so just those divine. You know, I call them, God touches those divine situations where you're like, oh, my gosh, like, how crazy that all of that worked together. But it's not crazy. It's God, and it's the way that he does things. But how quickly we forget. So that. I mean, it's. It's a lot, but it is a developing. You know, I don't do it all every day. And as the Lord brings something to my mind, I add or stick it in or, you know, it's. It's mine, it's nobody else's. So I can organize it the way that I want, but it has really helped my prayer life go to the next level because it's not just so repetitive.
Alyssa Flegg [00:11:56]:
Mm. I love that it's such a beautiful practice and just going through all the different things that you've added to it over time. I love seeing that journey and how God has met you there and inspired you and brought other things to mind. That's just really beautiful. So thank you.
Jen Kleiber [00:12:12]:
Yeah.
Alyssa Flegg [00:12:14]:
One other thing that really struck me when I visually saw your journal one time was the circles. And I can't remember if you specifically went over that But I think if you. I remember correctly, what you do is as you pray for something, you circle it so each time. Yes, yes.
Jen Kleiber [00:12:32]:
So, yeah, that's exactly. So you just circle it. So every time you. You know, so you have some that are. Are very dark, that you are just circling and circling and circling. But. But it's a visual action of. Of praying consistently for that thing, you know, And. Yeah, and then, like I said, when. When there is an answer in some way, you know, and some of it, Alyssa, if we're being honest, like, you know, I. Praying for. For a friend who has cancer. Well, that friend passed away. And so I. There is a. There is a thing of faith. Sometimes I feel like. Well, I don't want to pray for it, because I'm pretty sure how this answer. How this is gonna go, you know, Like, God is the God of healing. He's the God of miracles. He can do whatever. But, like, he also calls us all home at some point, and it's not in our timing. And so really having to process through that and. And intentionally circle that like, that prayer was answered like, that friend is whole and healed right now, even if it's not the way that I want it to be, you know, and. And there are prayer requests that I've had for years that every year I. I write down the same prayer request, and we'll continue praying in faith. It's not a magic. It's not that everything in here gets highlighted, because it doesn't, you know, but it is so easy to get wrapped up in those things where we're not seeing an answer to prayer that we forget the faithfulness of God in so many areas, in all areas, you know, but we have to. We have to see how he has worked in the past to continue to walk in faith in those areas that feel like he is silent, you know, to remind ourselves he's not. He's not. He's working. It's just not in our. In our timing.
Alyssa Flegg [00:14:30]:
Yeah, absolutely. And that visual reminder is so helpful. But I think it is really good to talk about prayers that aren't answered the way we want them, because that exists in all of our lives in different areas. And I think it really is still valuable to lift those things up in prayer and to see your consistency as you circle it. Just continue bringing that forward.
Jen Kleiber [00:14:55]:
Right.
Alyssa Flegg [00:14:56]:
So I started a prayer journal inspired by your process. And it does make a difference to me to open that book and see, like, some very dark, large circles of things that I've prayed for over and over. And also Writing it down, just that reminder because I had found myself saying, oh, I'll pray for this or I'll pray for you. And then I would do that once and then it would be gone from my memory. But having a spot to write it and to consistently bring that back and then also even to connect with friends and ask them and be like, hey, I'm still praying about this. Is there anything you wanted to talk about or update on this? Like, how are things going? And that has just been a really rich way to connect with people as well.
Jen Kleiber [00:15:46]:
Yeah, 100%. I'm pretty good at praying in the moment for people. That was something that I was convicted of a long time ago was like saying that I'll pray for you and then. But once I do it, it like dumps and out of my mind and I don't, I don't even think about it again. And that's just, that's kind of the way my mind works in general. And so to be able to immediately come in and write it down in a way that I'll still see it has, has definitely. Yeah, you're right. It's definitely been, been helpful in that.
Alyssa Flegg [00:16:19]:
So if someone wanted to get started with this is their first stop, wherever they can find a notebook.
Jen Kleiber [00:16:25]:
Yeah, I mean, I literally like, so I like the bigger ones that are, you know, I don't know, probably nine by, you know, just a sketchbook, like a bigger size sketchbook. Like I said, I don't really care what it looks like. I know some people are, are very fancy with that, but I got this one for $5 at, at Ross. And I would say again, like, don't worry about, like it's a, it's a working thing and so don't worry. We have to get out of this. Like, it needs to be perfect. It needs to look a certain way. You need to be able to post it. You need to be able to like, you don't. Like, this is between you and the Lord. And so you have to be, you have to know that, that God is not stagnant. He's going to bring things to your mind that you're going to need to add. He's going to show you verses that you need to add. He's going to, he's going to meet you where you are. And so yeah, just, just get started. And like I said, if I. The thing that has probably changed me the most is the praise section. And so I highly recommend. I mean, you can see on mine it's. There's not even a Tab, like, it is the first page when you open. Open the book. Because there are some times that it is a sacrifice of praise and that you don't feel like doing that first, and you feel like flipping to the very back and just starting to list out all of your. All of your problems. And. And that praise section will change you.
Alyssa Flegg [00:18:06]:
Absolutely. Well, thank you so much, Jen, for sharing that. You.
Jen Kleiber [00:18:11]:
Yeah.
Alyssa Flegg [00:18:11]:
Do you have any last thoughts or encouragements that you'd like to share?
Jen Kleiber [00:18:17]:
You know, the. I think the. The bottom line kind of circling back to the very. The very first thing that we said is that, like, God is waiting to meet you. And while we have the Lord's Prayer, and it's a beautiful prayer, and it is the way that we should pray, it is not the only example of prayer in the Bible. Right. And so there's not a right way to pray. There are elements of prayer that we want to be, that we want to include, because that's how the Bible teaches us to pray. But, you know, like I said, the reason that we praise is A, to give glory to God, and B, because it changes us. Like God knows. Listen, if you do, if you live in Thanksgiving, if you present your request before me, I'm going to give you peace. Like, that is the exchange that happens here, even if things don't work out the way that you want them to. So, you know, the bottom line is just to start. Just to start. And if you're a writer, write. If you're an artist, draw. If you are a verbal processor, go on a walk and just talk, you know, And. And when you seek the Lord, then he is found. And so no matter how you do it, it's going to change you. But I will say this. I. I will say it again. I think that we need to set aside time for the Lord. And I think a lot of people say, oh, well, I pray in my car. Oh, will I pray? You know, where. Whenever I'm cleaning and stuff. And yet, at 100%, yes, you can. But there is something very special about giving the Lord the first part of your day, Even if it's 15 minutes, 20 minutes, where you are sitting in front of him before anybody else gets up, before all of the. The distractions come and you are giving him that sacrifice of time. I think that there's a special intimacy that happens there. And what that does for me at least, is it starts my day connected to Him. And so then I find myself in the car when I'm cleaning, when I'm on my walk connecting with him more throughout the day when I have that designated time with him in the morning.
Alyssa Flegg [00:20:42]:
Yeah. Yes. And it's one of those habits that you have to build. I think for some people, it might be easy if you're a regular morning person, but I know that's something a lot of people struggle with, but it's one of those things that if you start to build it in, then it gets easier over time.
Jen Kleiber [00:21:03]:
And, you know, stack it, habit it, stack it. You know, stack something like. Or even before you do something, like, if you. If there's something that you do every morning, do this right before it. That if you already have a habit. I get up and I get in the shower. Okay. We'll get up, spend time with God, and then get in the shower. And when you. When you do that, it makes it a lot easier, I think, than just trying to, like, drop it in somewhere, you know?
Alyssa Flegg [00:21:35]:
Yeah, absolutely. It's exactly what I would teach my nutrition clients is to stack a habit.
Jen Kleiber [00:21:43]:
Right.
Alyssa Flegg [00:21:43]:
Like, before you make your coffee, make your breakfast, make sure that gets done. So. Yeah, it's great. All right, well, thank you so much again, Jen, for joining us.
Jen Kleiber [00:21:54]:
Yeah, absolutely.
Alyssa Flegg [00:21:56]:
Yeah. This is a lovely conversation, and thank you all for listening. We'll see you again.
Jen Kleiber [00:22:02]:
All right, bye.
Life is full. Work, family, responsibilities. And in the middle of it all, we long to connect with God in a real, tangible way. But even in the tired and unfinished places, God is here.
I'm your host, Alyssa, and this is Rest for the Worn and Weary, a podcast where we explore spiritual practices that help us slow down, pay attention, and deepen our relationship with God. I don't have all the answers. I'm learning right alongside you, Curious about how different practices can help us stay rooted in faith. Together, we'll look at scripture, explore traditions, and discover simple ways to experience God's presence in our real, imperfect lives. So take a deep breath and let's begin.
Hey Alyssa here. Just jumping in before we start the podcast episode. I'm so grateful that you are here and listening and if you're able to to hit, subscribe and follow, that would be really helpful. And also if you're able to share this podcast with anyone you think might benefit from it, I would really appreciate that as well. I now have the option available to support the show if you would like. You can provide a small monthly amount to help keep the lights on here at Rest for the Worn and Weary. If you would like to support us that way, that would be wonderful. I also would really value your prayers. So if you'd like to support the podcast by praying for me as I prepare for these episodes and as I work with guests, I would really value your prayers. I hope you are enjoying this podcast and I hope you enjoy this next episode.
Hello and welcome back. Today we're going to talk about the practice of silence as a spiritual practice and what that can do for our souls, minds and bodies. So I invite you to join me as we talk about how silence can make a difference and the research around it. And I'll also talk a bit about my two week experiment with starting my day with silence. So you probably know why silence matters and if you don't, maybe you haven't tried it in a while. If you've paid attention to your life around you, you know that it is almost always constant noise. We have our phones almost always with us. There's always some sort of background noise, whether that's your kids or other people around you, neighborhood sounds, cars, planes overhead, there are dings from your phone, there's TV sounds, and even our own thoughts. So there are lots and lots of sounds around us and it's pretty much constant if you pay attention to it and notice. And so sometimes this constant noise can feel overwhelming. We might feel distracted, we might feel exhausted by it. And so I wanted to just bring this to you as an option to consider is silence as a spiritual practice.
Now, I will warn you, some people panic a little bit when they try silence because similar to breathwork, you are actually slowing down and taking time to just be, which can feel scary sometimes. But I want to invite you to give this practice a try. And I'll do a little taster at the end of this episode so you can give it a go if you'd like, for just about a minute. And I want to encourage you to give this a try.
So one of the classic verses that I think of when it comes to silence and stillness is Psalm 46:10, where it starts with be still and know that I am God. Now, what I find interesting is this is a passage that we pick out, and it's beautiful on pillows, beautiful on the wall. But the nine verses before it describe a lot of chaos. It talks about natural disasters, God's voice thundering and the earth melting. And then the author says, be still and know that I am God. I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the world. And so part of this honoring can be a practice of silence. But I think we also have to acknowledge the chaos around us, similar to how this chapter From Psalms, chapter 46 talks a lot about things that can be going on. And actually, I think it would be helpful to read the whole chapter. So I'm going to go ahead and do that. This is from the new Living translation. God is our refuge and strength. Always ready to help in times of trouble. So, so we will not fear when earthquakes come and the mountains crumble into the sea. Let the oceans roar and foam. Let the mountains tremble. As the waters surge, a river brings joy to the city of our God. The sacred home of the Most High God dwells in that city. It cannot be destroyed. From the very break of day, God will protect it. The nations are in chaos and their kingdoms crumble. God's voice thunders and the earth melts. The Lord of heaven's armies is here among us. The God of Israel is our fortress. Come see the glorious works of the Lord. See how he brings destruction upon the world. He causes wars to end throughout the earth. He breaks the bow and snaps the spear. He burns the shields with fire. Be still and know that I am God. I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the world. The Lord of heaven's armies is here among us. The God of Israel is our fortress.
And so with that, I really do want to invite you into the practice of silence because it allows for a reset of our nervous system, which, in part helps us connect better with God. I know that when I feel amped up or stressed, it's definitely harder for me to focus on God or sit in stillness, enjoying God's presence. So as we dive in, I want to talk about the science of silence. I think it's important to look at what's out there when it comes to the research that's been done on some of these spiritual practices, Because I think it's really cool to see the connection between science and what we've learned in spiritual practices. And so even short bursts of silence seem to have measurable benefits.
So for our mental health, two minutes of silence can lower stress hormones more than relaxing music. So that was a really interesting study where they took people's cortisol levels after psychological stress, and they found that even brief periods of silence between music tracks Produced more significant relaxation than relaxing music itself. So think about that. The silence between the music Created more relaxation than the relaxing music itself. So interesting. It also can really affect brain growth.
So studies show that silence stimulates new cell growth in the hippocampus. So the hippocampus is a part of your brain that relates to memory and learning. It's really important. It's the part of the brain that is impacted with the disease, Alzheimer's. And so because your memory is stored there, and that's a significant spot, it can be so devastating with that disease. And it's so fascinating that silence can help stimulate new cell growth in this area. We also find that it can activate our parasympathetic nervous system. So if you listen to episode four about breath work, we talked about the sympathetic and parasympathetic arms of the nervous system. So the parasympathetic side is often talked about as the rest and digest side of your nervous system. So silence is supposed to be able to help lower your heart rate, your blood pressure, and stress hormone levels. And so that's really interesting. We also have found that silence helps with focus and attention. So silence and natural soundscapes. So when I say natural soundscapes, that's like the sounds of a forest or a beach. So it's not absolute silence, but it's the normal natural sounds, like wind through the trees, a bird chirping, or if you're at the beach, the sound of the waves. So these natural soundscapes really help with focus and attention and your overall cognitive performance, which is pretty cool. So that was a study done in 2015. And silence can also help support our emotional regulation and mental health. There was a study done in 2009 that showed periods of silence can allow the brain to process emotions more effectively than constant noise exposure. So that was really interesting. I know that sometimes I don't process things right away, and having some time of silence away helps me kind of reshuffle things and process in my brain, and I can come back from fresher and kinder when I'm trying to think about my emotions and my mental health and how I'm dealing with the situation. Silence also deepens spiritual awareness.
So this is not something that I found in a scientific study, but looking back on early Christian monastics who practiced silence, this is what they found is that it really deepens spiritual awareness. And so I am not super familiar with the Quakers, but I've learned a little bit about them through Emily P. Freeman, who has a lovely podcast called the Next Right Thing. I highly recommend that one, if you're not listening to it already. But she talks about being part of a Quaker community and how silence was something that. That they're just very comfortable with. And so often in the services of the Quaker community she was in, there was time for silence, and there was no felt need to rush in and fill the silence or to cut the silence, so make time shorter so that you're not sitting in silence. But it was embraced, and there was truly no rush to fill it. But if you felt called to speak something, there was space for that. So I find that really interesting as a way to really deepen our spiritual awareness. And I find it also allows for the Holy Spirit to work more effectively. I can't really hear the Holy Spirit when I hear so many other auditory noises, and I feel overstimulated. And so silence can really help. And remember again, that silence can also be those soundscapes. So being in a natural setting where it's not completely silent, but you have those natural sounds around you. And so silence in the Christian faith, it's not just sitting there in an absence of noise, but again, it's seeking that presence and openness to God. And it really can just be that invitation to listen for God's voice. So beyond just words, and while you can pray in the silence, it's also okay to just sit in that silence.
And so I spent two weeks kind of experimenting with this idea of silence. And so what I did is when I woke up, the first thing I would do is spend five minutes in silence. So sometimes I was sitting on the floor of my closet Sometimes I was sitting on the couch, sometimes I did it in bed. Although that is risky because you can totally fall asleep if you're doing this practice. So I recommend being in a place where you're not going to fall asleep. And what I did is I just set a five minute timer and I closed my eyes and I did nothing. Sometimes I prayed, sometimes I just asked God to be with me or asked if I could have a sense of God's presence. Sometimes I asked the Holy Spirit to help me process something. And so I found that at the beginning I was finding some distractions that the things I needed to do that day would come up, or I would suddenly start forming a to do list, or I'd start thinking about a situation that was really bothering me. But as I practiced this every day, I found that I often would settle just into some moments of peace. Sometimes I could have a small sense of God's presence. And so I found that it was really, really calming and a restful, intentional way to start my day. And it was five minutes, so it felt really achievable. And I felt like after feeling that five minute shift, that I could go into my day just more intentional and prayerful. And so I invite you into maybe trying this as an experiment for you. So if five minutes could shift something in me, maybe it could do something similar for you. And if you do try this practice, I would love to hear back from you. You can leave comments on my podcast or if you go to my buzzsprout site, you can actually text me with any questions or comments. And I would love to hear from you on this practice. Whether you loved it or hated it or found something surprising, I would really love to have your feedback. And yeah, just know your experience.
And so as we give this a try or consider it, here are some practical tips. Start small. Two to five minutes a day is enough to have a bit of a physical shift. As in, your nervous system can be in that parasympathetic space and you can feel a bit more calm. You could find a consistent space if that's helpful for you. It could even be in your car before work if that feels like a safe place, a quiet chair, the couch sitting on the steps outside. It really could be anywhere. And maybe you'd like to invite God into the silence. Pray something simple like here I am, Lord, or I acknowledge your presence, God, whatever invites God's presence. Do that for yourself as you begin your silence. And so I also want to acknowledge that sometimes it can feel awkward or uncomfortable at first and that's okay. Remember, anytime we're doing this, it's a practice. It's not a performance. It's something you try and you keep trying. And the only way something becomes a habit is by doing it again and again. And sometimes it helps to tie it to something. So maybe you want to think about, before I shower, I do my five minutes of silence. Or after I brush my teeth, I do my two minutes of silence. Sometimes it helps to do that. So I encourage you to try your own silence experiment.
And again, I invite you to share your experiences with me. You can share them on Instagram for the worn and weary is on there. Or you can leave a message on my BuzzFeed podcast website.
And so, as we close out today, I really just wanted to give you a short but gentle, guided silence practice that you could try. It's really simple. We'll only do a minute. And so if you're in a place where you can close your eyes and settle, I invite you to just take a moment and just relax. Wherever you are. You don't need to be in a perfect space. You could be in your bedroom, sitting in your car, walking outside. So this moment is for you. Close your eyes if you want, or simply just soften your gaze and take a slow, deep breath in through your nose and gently let it go one more time, inhaling deeply, exhaling slowly. Now let your breathing find a natural rhythm. As you breathe, picture yourself resting in God's presence. There's nothing you need to say, nothing you need to do. Just be here. And if your thoughts wander, that's okay, Simply notice them and then come back to the quiet. Come back to your breathing. Come back to acknowledging God's presence. So I will leave you in 60 seconds of silence. And then I will come back. Sam and as we come to a close, take one more slow breath in and a gentle breath out. And when you're ready, open your eyes or return your focus to wherever you are. I just encourage you to carry this stillness with you as you move into the rest of your day, wherever you may be. And so I hope that practice of silence will help renew you physically, mentally, and spiritually, and really help you find that rest in God's presence. Thanks for being here today. I pray this episode gave you something to reflect on, something to try, and most of all, a reminder of God's presence in your life. If this spoke to you, I'd love for you to share it or leave a review. It's a simple way to help others discover this space. Until next time. May you rest in the love of God that meets you exactly where you are and walks with you every step of the way. Original music generously provided by Trish Coleman.
Life is full. Work, family, responsibilities. And in the middle of it all.
We long to connect with God in a real, tangible way. But even in the tired and unfinished places, God is here. I'm your host, Alyssa, and this is Rest for the Worn and Weary, a podcast where we explore spiritual practices that help us slow down, pay attention, and deepen our relationship with God. I don't have all the answers. I'm learning right alongside you. Curious about how different practices can help us stay rooted in faith. Together, we'll look at scripture, explore traditions, and discover simple ways to experience God's presence in our real, imperfect lives. So take a deep breath, and let's begin.
Hello. Welcome back. Today I would love to talk about a spiritual practice that may sound a little bit funny and maybe something that you might not consider a spiritual practice. And honestly, before I started recording and I was writing this episode, I was thinking about, is this actually a spiritual practice? And so what I ended up doing is I went back to one of the first episodes where I talked about, what is a spiritual practice? What is the definition of that? And so I'll bring those definitions back for you in case you haven't listened to that episode or you don't remember. But one of the definitions that I had said was one that Dallas Willard had in his book the Spirit of the Disciplines. And that was, spiritual practices are intentional activities and habits that help us grow in our relationship with God and become more like Christ. And so that's really quite a broad definition.
And also, Adele Calhoun defined it like spiritual practices open space in our lives for God to work. They are intentional disciplines that deepen our dependence on the Holy Spirit, allow us to be with Jesus, and shape us into people who reflect Christ. And so today, I am talking about the spiritual practice of lying on the floor. And so that may not sound very spiritual, but I want us to go back to that definition where we're talking about intentional activities and habits that help us grow and become more like Christ and practices that open up space in our lives for God to work. And so when I'm talking about lying on the floor, what I mean is connecting a sense of space, spiritual or physical rest with spiritual rest. And so kind of similarly to the last episode where I talked about silence, lying on the floor provides your body with that space to just be and to open another space for God's presence. And I. I know that God's presence is everywhere, but I also know that I forget that God's presence is everywhere. And so for me, lying on the floor and Typically for me, when I do this practice, it's usually before I go to bed, and I will just lie on the floor beside my bed.
And sometimes I'm stretching, sometimes I'm just lying there. And I really, really encourage you to try it because it sounds so simple and maybe a bit silly, but just lying flat on the floor can really allow you to relax. It just. It gets you as low as possible, right? It's lower than the bed, lower than lying on the couch. Lying right on the floor just gives you this feeling of being grounded and still and just invites that moment of presence. Because if you're lying on the floor, you're really not doing anything else, right? Sometimes if we're lying in bed or on the couch, we could be reading or watching tv, and so we're distracted still. But when you lie on the floor, you're generally not doing anything else but lie there. And so as I was thinking about this and thinking about, talking about, really brought to mind some Psalm 23, because there's that line. And you'll hear it. I'll read it for you.
The Lord is my shepherd. I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside quiet waters. He refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me. You anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows. Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life. And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. So if you caught in verse two, the words there, he makes me lie down in green pastures. So like I've said before on other episodes, language really matters. And in this version, this is the NIV version, it says, he makes me lie down in green pastures. Now, initially, that really kind of irks me. The makes me lie down. I don't love someone making me do anything. But I've also read it in the NLT version, which I'll just read those two verses in that version, where it says, he lets me rest in green meadows. He leads me beside peaceful streams. So that language is a little bit different and also something else that I discovered as I read a book by Philip Keller called A Shepherd looks at Psalm 23. He basically breaks it down verse by verse and phrase by phrase and talks as someone who's actually been a shepherd as to what those verses can mean. So if you haven't read that book. I highly recommend it. It's really fascinating.
And so that section where it says, he makes me lie down, Keller talks about how sheep are actually very, very timid and quite fearful. And so he says that they will not lie down unless they are completely free of all fear. So think about that. A shepherd cannot make a sheep lie down unless they've provided an environment that is completely fear, fear free. So that's actually not the only thing he said. There's four things that sheep have to have before they will lie down. So they have to be at rest. They have to be free from fear. There has to be no tension, no aggravations. So sheep can sometimes have, like, parasites or have different bugs that are on them. They need to be free of that or they will not lie down. And they need to be free of hunger. So free of fear, tension, aggravations, and hunger. So without all four of those things being taken care of, they will not lie down. And it is really only the shepherd who can provide the conditions for freedom of those four things.
And so if you think of the parallel in this psalm where David's talking about God as the shepherd and making him lie down in green pastures. So green pastures are where sheep want to be. It's their best source of food. And they will only lie down if they are free of those things. So then if you think about us, how are we free of those things? There's so many things we can't control, which is honestly one of the things I struggle with, because I want to control things. I want to make sure that all the pieces in my life are neatly wrapped up and as good as they can be. But there's very little, very little that I can control. But everything is in God's control. And so the only way I can truly lie down and rest is if I've handed that over to God. And so physically, lying down on the ground is something that helps me to know I can rest in Him.
I was looking to see if there were some scientific journals or articles that could really tell us that there is a true physical benefit to lying on the floor. And so while I couldn't find anything super clear, there is some evidence that just the physical relaxation of lying on the floor, just lying right, right on your back, that it allows better posture, alignment, more relaxed breathing, which we've talked about. And it also helps shift your nervous system from fight or flight to rest and digest. And if you've listened to my past episodes, you know, I've said Those words many times, so I won't go over it again. But when you're able to move your nervous system, it into that parasympathetic rest and digest, it can make a huge difference. And so from my own experience, I found that just lying on the floor can really be an act of surrender. And it also helps me sleep better when I do this. When I lie on the floor and just rest, sometimes I'll do some breathing. Sometimes I have like an acupressure mat that I lay on with spiky things on it. And that helps me to kind of get into a state of relaxation. It also provides me space to pray or to just ask the Holy Spirit to be with me. And maybe another practice I'll share on a different episode is just that time reflecting on the day. I think the more formal name for it is the examine. But that's another practice where I acknowledge God's presence and think about what's happened during the day and where I saw God in that.
But just the practice of lying on the ground is something you could do anytime. And honestly, if I'm having a rough day and I'm somewhere where I can lie on the ground and it's not disgusting, like, I wouldn't lie on the ground in a public place probably unless I had like a yoga mat or something else to lie down on. But if you're able to lie down on the floor, just flat on the floor and just breathe and you don't need to do anything else, that could be a place where God meets you and where the physical rest can translate into that spiritual rest and that sense of peace. And so that's what I think of when I read Psalm 23 and I read those verses. Verses when I think about what it actually takes for sheep to lie down, how many times in the Bible there's that reference to sheep and to God as our shepherd. And so I hope that this practice is something that maybe could work for you, something that could provide that sense of rest and the ability to focus on God, to grow in who you are as a person who believes in God and chooses to live for God. And so I also want to acknowledge that not everyone will find it comfortable or easy to get down on the floor. Sometimes we have physical conditions, there's pain or mobility issues. And so I want to acknowledge that if it's hard for you, you're not gonna. You're not gonna miss out on everything by not lying on the ground. But if it is accessible for you, I encourage you to give it a try. Maybe try it for a week lying down for a couple minutes on the floor before you go to bed. Or maybe when you get home from work, just allowing yourself that space and that relaxed position where you are right on the ground and surrendering. And so before I wrap this up, I'm actually going to read Psalm 23 again, but this time I'll read it from the new living translation. I love hearing same passages from different translations because it really can illuminate the Scripture and just maybe give you a different way of thinking. And so here it is. Psalm 23:nlt the Lord is my shepherd. I have all that I need. He lets me rest in green meadows. He leads me beside peaceful streams. He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name. Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me. You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. You honor me by anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings. Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever. Amen.
Thanks for being here today. I pray this episode gave you something to reflect on, something to try and most of all, a reminder of God's.
Presence in your life.
If this spoke to you, I'd love for you to share it or leave a review. It's a simple way to help others discover this space. Until next time, May you rest in the love of God that meets you exactly where you are and walks with you every step of the way. Original music generously provided by Trish Coleman.
Life is full. Work, family, responsibilities. And in the middle of it all, we long to connect with God in a real, tangible way. But even in the tired and unfinished places, God is here. I'm your host, Alyssa, and this is Rest for the Worn and Weary, a podcast where we explore spiritual practices that help us slow down, pay attention, and deepen our relationship with God. I don't have all the answers. I'm learning right alongside you. Curious about how different practices can help us stay rooted in faith. Together, we'll look at scripture, explore traditions, and discover simple ways to experience God's presence in our real, imperfect lives. So take a deep breath and let's begin.
Hello, and welcome back. I'm so glad you're joining me for another episode on Rest for the Worn and Weary. Today almost became the spiritual practice of waiting patiently for your recording software to load, as that took quite a while today, but here we are. And today, I would love to open our time with a beautiful invitation from John Mark Comer's Practicing the Way website. And it says, Holy Spirit, help me to live an open life, willing to be seen and known, willing to be challenged and freed, unafraid of love. I just love that quote, and I know that I definitely feel the desire to be seen and known, but also to be loved. I think many of us, myself included, can feel really scared when it comes to being seen and known, maybe worried that if those two things happen, we won't experience love, but rejection if we share who we are and are turned away.
Trusting God really feels like an invitation to live an open life, which can feel both beautiful and terrifying at times. And part of being seen and known is also being in relationship with other people. And being in healthy social relationships is good for us physically, mentally, and spiritually. Did you know that having a healthy social circle could help increase your lifespan?
Dan Buettner is a researcher that has visited what he calls the blue zones around the world. So these are different areas all around the world that contain the highest number of centenarians. So those are people who have lived 100 or more years. And one of the common factors that they all had was healthy social circles, groups of friends and family, even that can do life together, and that helped them live longer. It was one of the factors that they considered a common denominator for all the blue zones. So as we think about that, what if something as ordinary as going for a walk with a friend could help you not only live longer, but also become a sacred space, one where we meet God without even realizing it? That's what we're talking about today as our spiritual practice. And as we begin, I invite you to consider when was the last time you felt close to God while doing something ordinary? And maybe one of the things you could try is an ordinary thing like going for a walk with a friend.
So again, if you've been here for the last episodes, you'll know that when we talk about spiritual practices, that can have many definitions. But I have come to a common definition that I like to use, which is a spiritual practice is anything that helps us draw closer to God and live more fully in his presence, which is very broad and can include many different things. I do also consider it foundational to spend time knowing God's word really, really well. And I also think prayer is foundational too. But there are also many practices outside of the time that we spend doing those two things that I believe really help us point our attention and our spirits back towards God. And Dallas Willard also says a spiritual discipline is any activity that can help me gain power to live life as Jesus taught and modeled it. So what if your next walk became more than just exercise or catching up? What if it became a quiet conversation with God woven right into your conversation with a friend? And so even before we talk about the spiritual side, there's something fascinating about what happens in our bodies and minds when we walk and talk.
So let's talk about the physical benefits. Walks can improve circulation and lower blood pressure. They also help boost energy and can support your immune health. Your body's lymphatic system, which is part of your immune system, it has no pump. The pump for your lymphatic system is your body. So you have to move your body in order to move your lymph fluid. And that's really important for our overall health. And so just walking can be part of what creates that pump action in your body. Walking can also help increase creativity and cognitive clarity. And exercise literally grows new brain cells. This is something that I find really encouraging when we're talking about brain health, which is something that's very close to my heart. My mother in law has Alzheimer's disease, and that's maybe a story I'll dive into another time. But just knowing that exercise can help create new brain cells and connections is really, really encouraging. So anyone at any stage of life can use exercise to help with their brain health.
There's also mental and emotional benefits. Walking can help reduce stress and anxiety. It strengthens emotional bonds and reduces loneliness when you walk with others. It also encourages mindfulness, the rhythm of your steps can help regulate your nervous system. And so maybe that's why some of our best conversations can happen while we're walking side by side. There's no pressure. It's just movement, rhythm, and presence. And so how does an ordinary walk become something sacred? I think part of the answer to that question might be acknowledging that ordinary and sacred can be the same thing. I believe that God created the earth to be sacred and that we are invited into God's kingdom on earth and can see all moments here as sacred. And so ordinary and sacred to me become intertwined. That doesn't mean I always live in the reality of that where everything I do feels sacred. But I like to bring my mind back to that idea that living our ordinary life, our walking around, our eating and drinking, our lying down, that all is part of our sacred life with God.
And so for some practical examples of using a walk with a friend as a spiritual practice, you can even begin a short prayer with your friend or on your own. And as you begin your walk, just saying, God be with us in this conversation, we can also really intentionally listen. Listen to your friend, to the sounds of creation, to the nudge of the Holy Spirit. And I believe that active listening is a bit of a, I don't want to say, dying skill. It's a skill that isn't often in full practice. So active listening means that while someone's talking, you're not thinking of your next response, you're not thinking of a follow up question, you're not thinking about what you're going to do after the walk. You are simply listening to everything that's coming out of their mouth and observing their nonverbal communication. That's active listening. And if you aren't used to doing this, I challenge you to give it a try. The next time you're in a conversation with someone, focus on them, on their words, and don't go into that space in your mind of preparing your response until they are finished talking. This often creates a natural pause, right? If you're listening really well, then you're going to pause before you respond because you haven't been formulating your response as they're talking. And I encourage you to try this because it makes such a difference in the depth of a conversation and the connection that you can have with someone. And I find that when I circle back to practicing active listening, well, that it just creates such a rich conversation and dialogue and, and you feel that connection with someone, it can be really sacred.
And another practical example that you can put into Practice with these kind of walks is to really just allow gratitude to also show up naturally where you could say, thank you, Lord, for this moment, for this friend, for this breath, for the ability to go for a walk. And that's something you can do internally, or you can say it out loud if you feel like you would like to do that. And also you can practice encouragement. Often when we get together to walk and talk, our friend wants a listening ear, maybe some encouragement. And we can also leave space for silence. That's something that I have leaned into more and more, is allowing that space for silence. It's okay to have awkward pauses. They become less awkward the more you invite them in and invite people to that as well. Sometimes, depending on the conversation, I'll let someone. I'm okay with silence. So if I'm not responding, I'm thinking, or I'm allowing space. And I find that that is where God can speak as well. When we allow that space, we don't fill every moment with conversation. And so this is actually something I thought about after a walk with a friend. This is something that I will often ask for. If I'm meeting someone for coffee and the weather is decent and there's enough light, I will ask if we could grab a coffee and walk with our coffee or. Or go for a walk instead of meeting for coffee. I find that for all the reasons I've gone through, that connecting with someone on a walk is just a much deeper connection than sitting stationary and no shade to going for coffee. I love doing that as well. Some days I'm very happy to sit inside a comfy, warm coffee shop and chat with a friend. That's lovely as well. But. But when the option is there for a walk, I will engage that if I can.
And so I was on a walk with a friend and we were talking about spiritual practices, talking about this podcast, and I asked her, what are some spiritual practices that you like in your life? What helps you connect with God on a daily basis? And so as she talked about some different practices, she also talked about some things that she said. I'm not really sure if that's actually a spiritual practice. And that's where we talked back and forth a little bit about how a spiritual practice can be anything that points you back to God and allows God's presence into your life. And so it was just really life giving to have that kind of a conversation and to do that on a walk on a beautiful sunny day out in nature. And so maybe you've looked back on a moment with a friend and realized it was sacred, even though maybe it didn't feel that way at the time. And so I just want to also remind you, spiritual practices don't have to take a certain amount of time or look a certain way. They can happen in the middle of our ordinary lives.
And this week, I encourage you to take one small step. Maybe you're engaging a spiritual practice we've already talked about, or you want to try inviting a friend for a walk, not only to check in with that friend, but also to simply be together and notice God in the middle of it. And with that in mind, I will leave you with this set of verses from Ecclesiastes. Ecclesiastes, chapter 4, verses 9 through 122 are better than 1 because they have a good return for their labor. If either of them falls down, one can help the other up, but pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.
Thanks for being here today. I pray this episode gave you something to reflect on, something to try and most of all, a reminder of God's presence in your life. If this spoke to you, I'd love for you to share it or leave a review. It's a simple way to help others discover this space. Until next time, may you rest in the love of God that meets you exactly where you are and walks with you every step of the way. Original music generously provided by Trish Coleman.