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.