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Beating Burnout God’s Way with Tara Sun · She Speaks Life - Christian Women, Strengthen Your Faith, Bible Study, Grow Spiritually In Christ

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Hey there, welcome back to She Speaks Life.
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If you have not already caught on yet, in addition to the
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interview episodes, I'm also doing the solo episodes that I
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have called Feel Your Life, where we're diving into ways to
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fortify our faith, put into practice God's word over any
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situation we face, basically putting truth into action along
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with stocking the fire of the Holy Spirit that is in US.
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And in these teaching episodes, we personalize scripture and I
0:31
also walk us through powerful ways that will bring us into a
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deeper relationship with Jesus and ultimately letting the Holy
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Spirit lead us with enthusiasm for everything God has planned
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for us. So if you want to follow along,
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you can jump to my website. Get your copy of the Serenity
0:50
Journal, but it's absolutely not required to engage in these solo
0:54
teaching episodes. Hey, I so hope you'll meet me
0:57
there. Today I sit down with author and
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podcaster Tara Son. She has a successful podcast
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called Truth Talks with Tara and a new released book called
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Overbooked and Overwhelmed which we dive into on how to create a
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life flow that is Jesus's pace instead of the the world's pace.
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Terry gives us practical steps with a way out of spiritual
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burnout, how to say no to distracted faith, realize the
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beauty of limitations and redefines rest and shows us that
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it's not a bad word, but a wise and necessary part of a well
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lived life. With a culture that is so
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obsessed with doing more, she instead encourages us to devote
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our lives to the Most High and then watch God impact every area
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of our lives. So let go of the pressures of
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the world and live in true fulfillment in God.
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As one had said before, an overwhelmed life is an
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underwhelmed soul. I can't wait for you to hear
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this powerful conversation I have with Tara.
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So if you're ready, I'm ready. Here's my guest, Tara son.
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Hey, Tara, welcome to She Speaks Life.
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I am so excited you are here to give us this message today.
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Oh well, thank you for having me, I am so excited.
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I love the type of your show. You are such a kindred spirit
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already, I can tell. So this is gonna be great.
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Thank you. Well, you're a fellow podcast
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yourself. It's called Truth Talks with
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Tara Sun and very successful podcast.
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You've been doing it for a while and I love hearing your
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interviews and all about who you are in your message and building
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the Kingdom or just here to point people to Jesus and just
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to Foster and nourish their relationship in Him.
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And so I like interviewing with like minded friends such as
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yourself and we've got a mutual friend that we just had on each
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other's podcast. So that was fun.
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She had told me about you and then here comes your interview.
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So it was perfect. Timing.
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We're gonna be diving into your book that you just wrote, called
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Overbooked and Overwhelmed How to keep up with God when you're
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just trying to keep up with life.
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And I think we can all relate with feeling overwhelmed and
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getting those seasons of burnouts.
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And I love that you emphasize that it's more than just cutting
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back our assignments to get that rest and relief that we're all
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seeking. And so it's just a powerful
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message that we're going to be talking about.
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And before we dive in more, I would love for you to share what
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is a scripture verse that's really speaking to you right
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now. Yeah, it's, it's a great
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question and I love this. And it seems to be a huge theme
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of my life. Something that any author would
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tell you is that when they write a book, of course they learn
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something through it, but it's not that they're an expert
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necessarily. It's like, hey, I am still
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learning this message. I am still living this message.
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And so ironically, every single time I've launched a book, the
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Lord is like, hey, like I'm going to take you through a
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season or a trial where you're going to have to live this
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message out again. And so my verse really ties into
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this whole idea of feeling so overwhelmed, so overtired, so
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overbooked. And I've been meditating on
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Psalm 116, seven. And my current favorite
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translation to read out of is the New Living translation.
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So in the new Living, it says, let my soul be at rest again for
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the Lord has been good to me. And so just a reminder for me to
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be like, hey, your soul can rest because and that word for,
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because God has been good to you.
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I think so often we don't rest because we don't trust God's
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provision because we don't remember that he's good and kind
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and that he's got this. And so for me, it's a good
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reminder to be like, I can rest because God is good because he
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has a track record of goodness and faithfulness.
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So that one has been a good one lately in my life.
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That's so good. And I always say resting is
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trusting, like you were just saying, right?
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And so and he is trustworthy and he is so faithful and it's just
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in those those times that seems so counterintuitive, like I
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should be doing this and that. And and so we kind of throw away
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rest as a just, you know, something that's not helpful or
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beneficial or, you know, I don't, I shouldn't be doing
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this. I should be doing more.
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And so we're going to be diving more into that, that more isn't
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always the best. And so I love how you're going
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to give us that wisdom on what to do when we feel overwhelmed
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or like your child said, overbooked and overwhelmed,
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running into burnout and how to shift our mindset into resting
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that it is not a waste of time. So tell me your story on why
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this message overbooked and overwhelmed.
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I know each author has a story like you said of walking through
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this. Yeah.
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So really, I would have to rewind to about, let's see here.
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So my son is 3 years old. My first son is 3 years old.
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So it really kind of started around that time where having
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kids and also doing what I do in work and in ministry.
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And then not even like just social life and normal things
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like trying to keep up with the workout routine and everything
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that you have in life and try to make meals every night for your
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husband and for your family. Like life became so much more
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full. And not even necessarily with
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bad things, right? It was like a lot of good
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things, right? Like a lot of responsibilities
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that we can't let up on, right? Like taking care of our family
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or working. And so I came to this point
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where I was a new mom. I was in the throes of
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postpartum anxiety and depression.
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I felt so numb. I felt so numb to God because I
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didn't know how to handle all these things in my life and
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because there were so many things, good things and some
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distractions, right? I decided that the easiest thing
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was just kind of let off the gas and in my face and kick it into
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neutral. And as a result, like I was not
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spending time with God. I was not keeping up with God.
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I was letting every other excuse kind of push him further to the
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side. And as a result, I got very
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burnt out, not just like physically and emotionally, but
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spiritually. I'm like, I don't feel like I
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know God. I don't feel like I have time
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for him and was just not prioritizing him.
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And there's a moment in the very, very first words of the
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book where I literally say that I was scrubbing dishes at nearly
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midnight, bawling my eyes out. And it was a very eye opening
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moment where I realized like something's wrong.
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Like, if I am letting the dishes, like totally send me
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into oblivion, I told my husband that I can't not do dishes
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because everything will fall apart.
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Like, I literally uttered those words like Jamie, it was so
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telling. My husband is like, OK, there's
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something wrong, right? And I think so many of us can
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relate to that, whether it's sobbing over the kitchen sink or
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doing something else where you realize, oh, wait, this isn't
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just about dishes. This isn't just about, you know,
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maybe a certain circumstance. Like it's kind of soul deep.
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And that's really what was telling for me.
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Yeah, yeah. And it's almost like you're
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trying to control something. You know.
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And when your life feels so out of control, I mean, that's like,
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I guess the psychology I did because yeah, I've been there.
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I mean, I was doing some tearing out some rose bushes in my front
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yard and I was bundling it up and I was just having this.
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I was upset about something. And I was just taking out all my
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aggression on just taking all these bushes, these things out
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and put them in trash bags. And it was so heavy.
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And I remember just pushing the bag and my finger bent back and
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I broke it. And I just had my breakdown
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moment where I just started bawling because what in the
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world am I doing to the point where, you know, I'm taking the
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aggression out on, you know, gardening.
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And yeah, I'm like, OK, something is not right.
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I'm a totally out of alignment. And usually it's just
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circumstances that you're allowing to just make yourself
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crumble. And you're right.
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If you're not spiritually, if you're spiritually dry, if
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you're spiritually not there, then yeah, it's all over, right?
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Yeah. We're we're in shambles.
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We're in crumbling down. Right.
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Really. Really.
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Fast. So like when you when you leave
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yourself, when you don't like build upon that foundation of
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Jesus and keep him first, which is really what the whole book is
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about, you leave yourself more susceptible to more of those
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consistent breakdown moments. Like the whole message of the
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book too, is, is to tell people like, hey, it's normal to have
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seasons where you're busy. It's normal to have seasons
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where you feel like you reached the end of the day and you're
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just exhausted. You just fall and collapse.
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Like because that's just a part of life.
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That's a part of our human frailty.
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But at the heart of it is like, hey, like let's just have more
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consistent practices in our lives in the presence of Jesus
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so that when those times do come of spiritual distraction or
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exhaustion that we know how to handle a little bit better,
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right? Because I was at that point
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where I could not handle it because I was not putting Jesus
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1st. And so, yeah, when everything
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came, it just felt like this insurmountable task because I
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just, I didn't have a starting place with Him, you know?
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Yeah, Yeah, I could totally relate.
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Me too. OK.
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You talk about the concept of the abundant life versus the
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over committed life. So how do you define these two
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and what steps can we take to live a more fulfilling life?
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I love this. So John 1010 is a verse, right,
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that says the abundant life. Jesus came to give us the
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abundant life. Jesus came to give us the full
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life. And I think sometimes we take
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that word full because some translations of John 1010 say I
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came to give you life and life to the full.
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And I think sometimes we can misunderstand or misinterpret
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the word full to be like fully strapped, like my calendar is
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fully booked. I have so many things.
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I'm juggling all the things. I mean, how many of us feel like
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when someone asks us how life has been or how we've been?
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We, we feel this need to respond like busy or life is full.
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Life is crazy. I'm, you know, I'm constantly on
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the go. And if we don't, we have kind of
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this feeling like, oh, if I don't respond with like I'm busy
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or life is full, then what are people going to think of me?
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Right? So I think so many of us think
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that like, in order to follow Jesus, we have to be completely
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strapped, right? Like we have to be completely
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booked every single moment. And I think that's a big
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confusion in my own life where I've been like, OK, the the life
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that Jesus came to give me, you have to absolutely maximize
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every single moment when I've actually realized the abundant
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life is following Jesus and where he wants us to go at his
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pace. There's even a chapter in the
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book where we talking about where we talk about like walking
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at Jesus's pace. So what does it look like to
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look at his life? Who arguably Jesus was the most
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like busy important person. He was the most important person
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where he had this Kingdom mission and yet he was able to
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live a full life without being so overcommitted, without being
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so like, I don't know, in this hustle culture mindset.
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So that was a huge pivotal moment for me and my faith where
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I realized the abundant life that Jesus offers doesn't
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necessarily mean full to the brim, right?
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Yeah, yeah, so good. All right.
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You did touch on social media and not making into an idol, and
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I guess let's talk about distractions because the
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distractions can get in the way of us having that meaningful
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time with the Lord. So.
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Yeah. Expand more on that.
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A huge part of this message was about distraction because over
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the last couple years, I felt like I was not in my brain, not
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only just like having kids and dealing with postpartum, but
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like there were so many things pulling my focus.
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And that's really what distraction is, right?
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Really, Our brains have been so rewired by social media, by the
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constant need and desire to be online and to be available for
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everyone. And so I started the book in the
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first couple chapters just talking about like, hey, let's
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talk about the root of the issue here is that we have become so
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distracted and we've become so to being distracted that it's
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really hard for us to pull away and to press in and lock into
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what's important, right, which is our relationship with Jesus.
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And so one of the first things I talk about is like, let's
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identify the ways in which we may be distracted, right?
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So whether it's like, how much are we spending on our screens?
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Like how much are we spending, like bingeing Netflix?
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And then how does that measure up to how we feel like we're
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spending time with the Lord, right?
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Because I, I could have told you a couple years ago, Jamie, I'm
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like, yeah, I just don't have enough time for Jesus.
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I don't have enough time to pray or, you know, to be in the word.
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And then if you look at my screen time on my phone or if
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you look at how much I would watch like a show at the end of
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the night for hours, like I'd be like, okay, that's pretty
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telling. Like I, I, I did have that time
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and yet I was just distracted and giving it to other areas.
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And this is kind of a hard thing to ask ourselves, but I think
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it's a really good starting point to be honest with where
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we're giving our time. If we're feeling like I want to
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be with God, but it's like, where are we actually giving our
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time, right? Yeah, yeah, That's so good.
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I had seen a clip on your Instagram about the ways to not
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get distracted in your quiet time.
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And one of the things she did say is put that laptop and that
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phone away. Yeah, when you've got that Bible
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open, don't be having that nearby.
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So I think that was, you know, definitely like the most simple
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thing, but the most tactical, like, oh, yeah.
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Like how many times is that thing like sitting on the
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armrest or for sure near you so. And I think just like
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repurposing the moments too, right?
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Yeah. I know you have so many
15:02
different people in different walks of life that listen to
15:04
this show and the fact that like, I mean, even if it's
15:07
something simple as taking your Bible and putting it on your
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kitchen counter while you're making dinner or, you know, like
15:13
a place that you like frequently travel throughout your day or
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listening to an audio book while you're driving to pick up your
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kids or commuting to work. Or.
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I think so often we get stuck in this mindset of like my Bible
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time has to be one hour completely uninterrupted in my
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perfect spot with my hot cup of coffee when that may be a
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reality. But for a lot of us, it's not.
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Or for some of us, we think that it has to be Spending time with
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Jesus is just that one moment of the day when we have to really
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get creative and realize that like God is present with us
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every single moment. So how are we going to repurpose
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those things to actively be with him?
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And it's really changed my life, especially as a mom who's, you
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know, on the go with two boys pretty often.
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It's like, hey, I don't have to miss this moment.
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And I can actually invite my kids in too, to those moments.
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Sure. That's so good.
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I was listening to a pastor and he he had reminded his the
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audience, people that were listening.
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You cannot do the call of God by your flesh.
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You know what God is calling you to is going to be all on faith
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and not by, you know, your flesh.
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And so it's like just that reminder that, you know, if we
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want to walk in this calling that God has for us, we we need
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his word. We need a relationship with him.
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And if we look at it that way, like I can't go on my daily
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without him. So it's like if I'm called to be
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a wife, if I'm called to be a mom, if I'm called to, you know,
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do this and that, then you know, I need faith.
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I need the word of God. I need him every single day.
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And we can't go by our flesh because how many of us have like
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skipped out on those times with the Lord and are like flesh
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wants to take over? I mean, I remember when I had
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littles, I was impatient. I was.
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Yeah. Short temper.
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I was like not practicing the fruit of the Spirit at all.
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Right, right, and. We're not talking like a ton of
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time, but I mean, if you take like 10 minutes or whatever it
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is and just soak yourself in God's Word, it's spiritual food.
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It's, it's the faith words that come alive in US and it takes us
17:27
through the day. It sustains us and then we need
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it again the next day because it's Our Daily Bread.
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That's why it's called that for a reason, right?
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Absolutely, yeah. All right, you touched on.
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I laugh because the Mary and Martha story.
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Yeah. Because for so long I've heard
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this story. I mean, we all know about Mary
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and Martha, most of us. And how Mary's at the feet of
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Jesus. Martha's in the kitchen, she's
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busy fixing the food and everything.
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And for years I always have laughed because people would be
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like, oh, Martha, like, totally missed it.
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And I'm going, well, I'm a doer, so I stay late with me.
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And I'm like, Oh my gosh, why are you giving Martha a hard
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time? Who's going to eat the meal if
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there's not a meal that's already been?
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Totally prepared, so yeah. So when you said that, I was
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like, oh, this is just such a great question because it's
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like, you know, how can we be at the feet of Jesus but then be
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able to do those laundry list of things or those deadlines or
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whatever it is that give fills up our schedule.
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How can we do both? So.
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Yeah. Well, you touched on that and
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that kind of when we kind of dive into the Mary and Martha
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story is in the chapter about distraction and something like
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it's kind of the theme in that chapter is this just this phrase
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that really hit really hit me hard and it is distraction is
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not a disordered schedule. It's actually a disordered
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heart. And that's what we see in this
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story where Jesus never rebukes Martha once for, you know,
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trying to be like, hey, like I, you know, he doesn't say like,
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you shouldn't care about, you know, creating an atmosphere for
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me. You shouldn't, you know, care
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about your bread or the way your house looks or all these kind of
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things. But but I mean, he calls her to
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be like, Hey, you are anxious about many things, right?
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He knows that the reason why she's running around and anxiety
19:30
and stress and all these things, all these things because she
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cares. OK, so I first just want to say
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like to the person listening and even to my heart is like, Hey,
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Jesus knows that a lot of the times that we went run around
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and hustle and we're distracted and we, you know, we're so
19:45
anxious. A lot of times it's because we
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care, right? We care about taking care of the
19:48
people in our homes. We care about doing well in our
19:52
jobs. We care about serving him, but
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what Jesus does say is that Mary has chosen the better portion,
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right? And so he talks about here that
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really we need to address the anxiety and the stress that we
20:04
feel and also the people pleasing, right?
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Because Martha cared more about what her house looked like and
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what the atmosphere was then she cared about Jesus.
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I mean, her action showed that like, hey, I'm running around
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trying to take care of Jesus when he's like.
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Martha, I'm right here. Like, don't miss me.
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I'm right here. And Mary didn't miss him.
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And so again, I think Martha gets a bad rap.
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But we can also learn from Martha where it's like, hey,
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Jesus honored the fact that she wanted to make the atmosphere an
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incredible place, but her stress about making things look good
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and feel good outweighed the fact that Jesus was sitting
20:41
there. And the fact that we can miss
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moments with Jesus. We know that Jesus is always
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with us, right? He's omnipresent, He is
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omniscient, He has all these things, He's all knowing, He's
20:52
always with us. But we can, the truth is we can
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miss those moments with him, right?
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By being too busy, by being too full.
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And so it really starts with realizing like, OK, I can care
21:03
about, you know, the things on my calendar and hosting and, you
21:08
know, taking care of my kids and, and, and completing those
21:10
to do lists, but like not having that anxiety and stress about
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it, right? And so when that anxiety and
21:16
stress does come up, grounding yourself, taking a pause, even
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if that's just like a deep breath or reciting a verse in
21:24
your soul or saying a little whisper prayer up to Jesus and
21:26
being like, OK, Lord, what matters?
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Even just referencing that story and saying, okay, what is that
21:33
better portion? Jesus?
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Like Jesus tells Martha, Mary has chosen the better portion.
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It will not be taken away from her.
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And I'm also reminded that, you know, as important as, you know,
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getting your laundry done and doing these tasks, what Mary
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chose was eternal. And so when it comes down to it,
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like, are we treasuring the eternal right, which is those
21:51
moments with Jesus, that grounding with Jesus?
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Or are we choosing the temporary, like that anxiety and
21:56
stress that is not eternal and is not going to add value to our
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lives? I think understanding that
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dichotomy changed my perspective on that story.
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So good. Yes, I know we can learn a lot
22:09
from that small story. Yes, it's so rich.
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OK, you had talked about having community and accountability.
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Accountability to take that role of being less overwhelmed.
22:22
So yeah. So how does that make us feel
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less overwhelmed and not burned out just by community?
22:30
Absolutely. So I mean community and
22:32
accountability are they can be seen sometimes as like buzzwords
22:36
in the faith, right? Because everyone's like, oh, you
22:37
know, just like seek accountability or seek
22:39
community. But what is huge and like
22:42
undeniable and we cannot skip past in this conversation is
22:46
that when we are overwhelmed and overbooked, I think a lot of
22:50
times we have to look at like how much are we letting people
22:53
in or how much are we asking for help?
22:56
How much are we relying on our spouses or our friends, our
23:01
church community to not just like physically help write and
23:04
fill in the gaps, but even just to know what we're going
23:07
through? When I was at my most overbooked
23:10
and overwhelmed seasons of like, I'm so strapped.
23:13
I'm so distant from God. I am running on empty and even
23:17
just believing the lie that I like.
23:18
Everything depends on me. I, looking back, did not tell
23:23
people about it. I mean, I didn't even like tell
23:25
my best friends. Like they would ask me, how are
23:27
you doing? I'm like, you know, we're doing
23:28
great, right? Everything's fine or my husband,
23:31
right? Like I wasn't even asking him in
23:32
that certain situation to like help me with dishes like so I
23:35
could go to bed. I, I'm like, I have to do it.
23:38
It all depends on me. I have to do it.
23:40
And I think if we're honest with ourselves, when we feel that
23:43
way, when we feel distant from God, when we feel like
23:46
everything is on us, riding on us, it's because like that that
23:50
feeling is only amplified when we don't let people in.
23:52
And so telling people even like, hey, can you pray for me?
23:56
Or Hey, I am really struggling. I don't know how to balance
23:59
this. Do you have any advice for me or
24:02
to your husband or, you know, to maybe even like a grandma, if
24:05
she, you know, if you have kids, someone that can help you with
24:08
your kids being like, hey, I'm really struggling today.
24:10
Would you be able to come over and help me with the kids for an
24:12
hour so that I can get this done or so that I can go take a rest?
24:16
I mean, I think we neglect ourselves so much out of guilt,
24:19
out of feeling like, and we have to be the ones who shoulder it.
24:22
Yeah. And so there's a chapter in the
24:24
book where we talk a lot about what it looks like to draw on
24:26
community and, and how to ask for that help and to really lay
24:30
down our pride. Because pride is a huge thing
24:32
that I've struggled with in my life, feeling like I can't ask
24:34
for help, feeling like I shouldn't ask for help.
24:37
And so just letting people in and not robbing people of the
24:40
joy that it is to help you. I've had conversations with my
24:44
husband, with my parents, with my friends, where they say, I
24:47
really wish you would have told me sooner because I would have
24:49
loved to help you. I would have loved to be there
24:51
for you because God has given those people the gifts and the
24:55
willingness and the desire to help you.
24:57
And if we don't reach out, they can't exercise the gifts that
25:01
God has given them. And that was game changing.
25:03
Yeah, that's so good because I just remember back when my kids
25:07
were little and it was hard for me to ask for help.
25:11
It was hard. There's something about like,
25:13
being a new mom and you're just like, you know, I'm super mom, I
25:18
can do it all. And like you said, it's like a
25:20
pride thing and and you don't know it at the time.
25:23
You're just like, you know, I want to be the best mom
25:25
possible. But you've got this, you know,
25:28
weird perspective on that. Like, no, like you could be a
25:33
great mom still asking for help. And so, yeah, it wasn't until my
25:38
husband been realized I had all three of them under the age of
25:42
five. And that was my breaking point
25:45
where I'm like, yeah, okay, I need help.
25:47
I'm totally outnumbered. And he was going to the office
25:51
for work. It was back in those days where
25:55
working remote was pretty much unheard of.
25:58
And so, you know, and I did, I needed help.
26:01
And so I'm so glad that, you know, I let my walls down.
26:06
And it's it's the way that enemy, I mean, his tactic is to
26:10
like, make us ice, to isolate ourselves, right, to keep us
26:15
from reaching out and be in community and have
26:18
accountability. He wants us to feel like we're
26:21
all alone. We got to do this all on our own
26:23
and totally this on our shoulders, like you said.
26:26
So. Yeah, yeah, that's so good that
26:29
you just shared that bit of wisdom right there.
26:32
And so I want to hear about rest.
26:36
What is your suggestion on rest? Because I know we have these
26:39
misconception, you know, these these ideas of what we think is
26:45
rest. And like we were speaking about
26:47
it earlier in this podcast where, you know, we feel like
26:50
maybe it's a waste of time to rest or we're being lazy or
26:53
being idle. And, and so I, I wanted to dump
26:57
dive into that and I had another question about how do you juggle
27:05
like you're a podcaster. I'm a podcaster, you've written
27:08
two books, I believe. And so it's like I'm being a mom
27:13
of littles and like you said, and a wife that, you know, cooks
27:17
and does whatever you do at home also to maintain the household.
27:22
So how do you how do you find time to write a book and do your
27:28
podcasting? Because I'm, I'm in the thick of
27:31
that of writing a book and podcasting and I'm having a hard
27:36
time and I don't even have littles.
27:38
So maybe combine those two questions with the rest in that
27:43
schedule. Absolutely.
27:45
REST has transformed my life. I have never felt like I'm in a
27:49
better groove with rest in my life over the last couple years.
27:52
But before that I was I had a horrible relationship with rest
27:57
because I don't I just again had this pride and this idea of the
28:01
self-sufficiency like there's too much to do.
28:04
There's no time to rest when in reality I had the time.
28:07
I just was giving it to other things.
28:09
And so if we go all the way back, just to give a very broad
28:12
definition biblically of what rest is, the first moment we see
28:15
rest come on to the scene is modeled by God.
28:18
It's modeled in the creation story.
28:20
God didn't need to rest yet. He modeled it for us, right?
28:24
So he created the world. And then he said, you know, I'm
28:26
going to take this day to enjoy and to celebrate what I have
28:30
made and also model it for Adam and Eve, to also model it for
28:35
creation and to say, hey, we can celebrate and enjoy and feast
28:41
and praise God for what he has done in our life.
28:44
But also we are not like God. We are finite, right?
28:47
And so rest isn't just about celebrating and enjoying and
28:51
praising God and trusting him, but it's also like, hey, we
28:54
have, we are physical bodies, right?
28:57
And so we can't always go, go, go.
28:59
And So what a gift it is from God to be able to rest, but God
29:03
leaves on us to say, hey, you have to find and figure out what
29:06
that looks like for you. Something that changed the game
29:08
for me practically when we talk about rest is having regular
29:13
rhythms of rest because years ago I used to say, like, OK,
29:17
I'll rest when I've, you know, totally reached my limit.
29:20
I'll rest when I'm so exhausted, when it's woven into the
29:24
creation story that rest is a rhythm.
29:27
I mean, if you even just look back at, you know, the
29:30
Israelites, like they had so many parties and feasts and
29:34
celebrations that were literally woven into their calendar year
29:37
that they did not miss that they took off of work.
29:39
They dropped everything. They, you know, they cooked just
29:42
for that day. And then everything else, you
29:44
know, it was just about resting and feasting and celebrating and
29:48
taking time off of work and how even just Sabbath was integrated
29:51
a day where they completely took everything thing off.
29:53
I mean, let's go back to the story of when God provided mana.
29:57
He said you can only gather what is for today, and then you can
30:01
gather a little extra for your Sabbath.
30:03
But rest is really also just this reliance on God that, you
30:08
know, I am not God, but you are. And I can rest and I can see
30:12
that you still will provide, you still care for me, and that work
30:15
will still be there tomorrow, but you will sustain me.
30:19
And so rest is really this trust.
30:20
I mean, you said that at the beginning, resting is trusting
30:22
in God. And so just having I, I think to
30:25
the person listening that thinks that they can't take a day off,
30:28
that they can't because there's too much laundry, there's too
30:29
much work, there's too many mouths to feed, There's too many
30:32
things. I will tell you that you can,
30:33
you can't afford not to rest because the things that you are
30:37
responsible for, the things that God has given you to steward,
30:40
they are depending on you like God has given you things that
30:43
you are responsible for. And you need to show up for, for
30:45
the Kingdom, for God's glory, for his people.
30:48
And so if you want to do that, well, you need to rest.
30:52
And so for me, what this looks like is even just daily.
30:55
Like even if that looks like the 10 minutes of the hour that my
30:58
boys, their naps overlap. Like some of it's me getting
31:01
some work done, maybe even 10 minutes of me laying down on the
31:04
couch listening to a podcast, closing my eyes in silence.
31:08
Or I love to cook and bake. Maybe rest is that for me.
31:11
Maybe it's going on a walk for you with your family.
31:14
Maybe that's, you know, doing a workout.
31:16
Maybe that's going on a drive by yourself.
31:18
Maybe that's even just a bath at the end of the night before you
31:21
go to bed, like just having something throughout your day
31:24
that's regular and rhythmic and also just not forsaking your
31:29
Sabbath. And we talk about that in one of
31:30
the chapters too, about walking at Jesus pace and having more of
31:34
a sustainable rhythm. So I would really say just
31:38
again, it depends on it the work that you do that I know you care
31:41
about and you treasure depends on you resting.
31:44
And then the last thing I would say with just your question
31:46
about like how to have a sustainable rhythm and do, I
31:50
don't know, podcasting and book writing while also keeping up
31:53
with it. I think it's just really like, I
31:55
don't know, consistency and finding the pockets of time for
31:58
me is huge in the season of life where I'm not only drawing on
32:02
help because right now my mom is hanging out with my boys while
32:04
I'm recording this. Not only drawing on the help
32:06
that you can, but just like taking the moments that you can.
32:10
I mean, for me, it's not, I don't get a full work day
32:13
uninterrupted, but just maximizing those moments I think
32:16
is really been beneficial for me.
32:18
I know that's maybe not the most practical advice, but also just
32:22
being really, really realistic with your time as well and
32:24
deadlines. For me, I have to plan out
32:26
really far in advance with my boys to schedule with my
32:29
schedule and for my motivation to be so present with my boys.
32:32
I have to think like long game and let maybe things take a
32:35
little bit longer than maybe they normally would.
32:38
But that's that's been really helpful.
32:41
Yeah, that's so good. I know I've, I've been feeling,
32:44
you know, kind of giving myself these deadlines and I'm like,
32:48
what am I doing to myself? Like I'm like, I could push
32:51
those deadlines. But yeah, I think that
32:53
definitely goes with going with Jesus pace instead of the
32:56
world's pace. I love that you said that in
32:58
your book. Jesus pace is not the same as
33:02
what the world says. And so I'd rather be, you know,
33:06
in lockstep with Jesus then what the world is trying to put on me
33:12
and the pressures of everything. Yeah, there's a part in that
33:16
chapter where we look at Jesus's life and we look about how he
33:20
spent time with God in a day. So we look at like what he did
33:23
at the start of the day. We literally look at Scripture.
33:25
We look at what he did in the middle of the day.
33:27
I mean, look what he did at the end of the day.
33:29
There's literally passages in Scripture of how Jesus took
33:32
these respites and maximize these moments to spend time with
33:36
God. And so I love that chapter
33:38
because it's like Jesus wasn't just going, going, going.
33:40
Like he knew what was important. He poured out with people and he
33:44
did have a very busy schedule. He was traveling, he was
33:47
speaking, he was teaching. But he also, like we see in
33:49
Scripture, he took those moments to rest and to spend time with
33:52
Jesus. And even when he was so busy, he
33:55
still made the most of even that limited time.
33:57
And I just love the example that he lays for us.
34:00
Yeah, Amen to that. I know Lisa Turkers had written
34:04
some stuff in your book and had some words.
34:07
And one of the things that really stuck with me, I did her
34:10
best. Yes, Bible study and so good.
34:13
She. Yeah, she had said a woman who
34:16
lives with the stress of an overwhelmed schedule will often
34:19
ache with the sadness of an underwhelmed soul.
34:23
Yes, I love that quote. I know And I'm just like and
34:27
that stuck with me OK? Like overwhelmed equals an
34:32
underwhelmed soul. Like that's what it gives you.
34:35
And it's so true. And so I love how your book just
34:40
feeds us the truth and just this practical application with going
34:45
to God's Word, spending time in our relationship with Him, not
34:50
just in those little quiet times, but throughout the day to
34:54
keep us going and to renew our strength.
34:57
And especially as young moms as you are with littles, you guys
35:02
need it. Yes, yes.
35:04
So OK, so I am going to conclude our time here with a take away,
35:10
something that our listener can ponder on or take action in and
35:15
go ahead and share all the goodies you're offering and your
35:18
when your book is up for. Absolutely.
35:21
Oh, I've loved this time. This has been so precious to me.
35:23
One take away, I would say as far as like a practical.
35:26
So when it comes to like, hey, Tara, how do I put this into
35:29
practice? Like how do I keep up with God
35:31
when I'm just trying to keep up with life?
35:32
Right. So I want to take, I want you to
35:33
take a look at your schedule, whether it's right now in this
35:35
moment or the next day, whenever you're listening to this, take a
35:38
look at what you have to do in a day.
35:40
And I always encourage people to do what I call a big three and
35:43
OK, just hear me out. I'm not saying just do three
35:45
things in a day because that's impossible.
35:47
But what I am saying is look at your three non negotiables for
35:50
the day. So whether that's like spending
35:52
time with God, making dinner for your family, getting work done,
35:55
whatever, you know, let's just whatever three that is, OK.
35:58
And I think that's for me, probably my 3:00 today even.
36:01
And so looking at those and saying, Lord, OK, of course,
36:04
surrender and commit that to the Lord.
36:06
But I think the easiest way to get overwhelmed and overbooked
36:09
is to think that there are 30 things that are non negotiable
36:13
in a day. And that used to be me.
36:14
I'm like, OK, my list, everything has to be done.
36:17
And when I started living by more of this big three, maybe
36:20
even big my big 5 mindset, I'm like, OK, Lord, these are the
36:24
most important things in my day and I would love to get these
36:27
done. So I'm going to go after these.
36:28
Everything else can wait till tomorrow.
36:30
I'm not saying to complete like not do that task or that
36:33
important thing, but can it wait?
36:36
Because everything else, meaning your time with God, your
36:38
presence with your family, your own rest, that is also worthy.
36:43
And when we try to book our calendars out with 30 most
36:45
important absolute things, then we neglect what really matters,
36:49
which is our soul and our attention and our presence with
36:51
God. So kind of maybe trying to
36:53
adopting that, that big three, even big 5 mindset of what's the
36:56
most important things and what can I also do tomorrow?
37:00
Like what can we we can finish this this week, right?
37:03
But it doesn't have to be done today to save my sanity, to save
37:06
my presence with God. That's probably my take away for
37:08
you today. And yeah, if this conversation
37:11
encouraged you, I would love if you could grab a copy of
37:14
Overbooked and overwhelmed. It's available anywhere you get
37:17
books now. It came out on August 5th.
37:19
So you can get that on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Christian
37:21
book, literally anywhere, which is so fun.
37:24
And yeah, if you want to keep up with me, I have a weekly podcast
37:27
as well called Truth Talks with Tara Anywhere, and I'm over on
37:31
Instagram at Miss Tara's Son. So yeah.
37:34
Yes, well, I love it. I love everything you're doing
37:37
for his. Thank you.
37:39
I love your podcast called Truth Talks with Tara and your book is
37:44
amazing. Thank you.
37:46
You are a precious person, just I could see how much of God's
37:52
love just exudes out of you. So thank you so much for coming
37:55
on here. Thank you so much, it was so
37:57
much fun. Thank you so much for listening
38:01
today, and I trust that God has encouraged you through this
38:04
story. Did you know this podcast is on
38:07
YouTube? Hop on there and subscribe and
38:10
you can see a live recording of each episode.
38:14
And For more information on this ministry and to access free
38:18
downloads, please visit my website at jamieelizabeth.com.
38:22
That's JAYME elizabeth.com. And let's connect beyond this
38:28
podcast by going to my Instagram handle, Jamie Elizabeth.
38:32
She speaks life or Facebook. Until next time, my friend, I
38:36
hope God reveals himself through your own life story.