Latest / Your Hope-Filled Perspective with Dr. Michelle Bengtson podcast / How to Care for Your Whole Self: Biblical and Brain-Based Health for Mind, Body, and Spirit

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How to Care for Your Whole Self: Biblical and Brain-Based Health for Mind, Body, and Spirit · Your Hope-Filled Perspective with Dr. Michelle Bengtson podcast

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  Speaker 1: Life Audio.
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  Speaker 2: If you've been doing all the right things but still
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  Speaker 2: feel depleted, disconnected, or out of balance, this episode just
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  Speaker 2: for you. In honor of World Health Day, your Hope
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  Speaker 2: Field Perspective is taking a compassionate look at whole person health,
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  Speaker 2: addressing the deep connection between mental wellness, physical vitality, and
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  Speaker 2: spiritual nourishment. Through faith based insight and practical application, you'll
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  Speaker 2: be encouraged to move beyond survival mode and towards sustainable,
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  Speaker 2: christ centered well being that honors how God designed you
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  Speaker 2: to live. Today, we're marking World Health Day by talking
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  Speaker 2: about something that sounds simple but is anything but how
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  Speaker 2: to care for your whole self, Biblical and brain based
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  Speaker 2: health for mind, body, and spirit. Welcome to your Hope
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  Speaker 2: Field Perspective, where our goal is to restore hope, renew minds,
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  Speaker 2: and empower listeners to live in your God given identity.
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  Speaker 2: I'm your host, doctor Michelle bankson Board, certified clinical neuropsychologist,
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  Speaker 2: their speaker and companion in your journey to mental, emotional,
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  Speaker 2: and spiritual wellness. I'm so grateful when you take a
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  Speaker 2: few minutes of your week to spend with us. Today
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  Speaker 2: we are going to be talking about how to care
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  Speaker 2: for your whole self, biblical and brain based health for
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  Speaker 2: your mind, body, and spirit. We'll dive in right after
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  Speaker 2: this brief word from our sponsor, What does it really
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  Speaker 2: mean to care for your whole self, mind, body, and
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  Speaker 2: spirit in a world that constantly pulls you in a
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  Speaker 2: thousand directions? On this World Health Day episode of Your
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  Speaker 2: Hope Filled Perspective, we explore a biblically grounded, neuroscience informed
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  Speaker 2: approach to holistic health that goes beyond surface level self care.
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  Speaker 2: Discover why true well being cannot be compartmentalized, how chronic
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  Speaker 2: stress impacts your mental and physical health, and practical ways
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  Speaker 2: to doward your God given body, thoughts, and spiritual life
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  Speaker 2: with wisdom and intention. Joining me for this important conversation
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  Speaker 2: is my co host, Jessica Van Rochel. Jessica, what scripture
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  Speaker 2: can you think of that's consistent with today's theme?
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  Speaker 1: I am thinking about Third John Chapter one, verse two,
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  Speaker 1: where it says, this Beloved, I pray that in all
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  Speaker 1: respects you might prosper in being good health, just as
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  Speaker 1: your soul prospers. This verse underscores God's holistic concern that
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  Speaker 1: physical wellbeing and external life would reflect the health of
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  Speaker 1: our soul.
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  Speaker 2: Isn't it amazing to think that the God of the
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  Speaker 2: universe cares about our health and wellness. We often try
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  Speaker 2: to fix one area of our lives in isolation. We
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  Speaker 2: focus on our spiritual life, but we ignore our emotional health,
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  Speaker 2: or we tend to our bodies while our thought life
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  Speaker 2: runs unchecked. But the amazing thing, Jess, is that God
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  Speaker 2: designed us as integrated beings, and when one area is suffering,
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  Speaker 2: the others are usually affected as well.
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  Speaker 1: That is right. And if you've ever found yourself thinking
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  Speaker 1: I don't know what's wrong, I just know I don't
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  Speaker 1: feel like myself, then this conversation is for you today.
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  Speaker 1: We're going to talk about how to recognize when we're
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  Speaker 1: slipping into ill health, what we can do to interrupt
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  Speaker 1: that slide, and how to guard our whole selves, not
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  Speaker 1: in a fearful way, but in a faithful, intentional way.
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  Speaker 2: I'm so grateful for this conversation because, in all transparency,
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  Speaker 2: in the early days in my private practice, I helped
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  Speaker 2: patients tend to their physical health, their mental and their
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  Speaker 2: emotional health, but we rarely address the spiritual aspect. And
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  Speaker 2: then when I became seriously ill, I realized we can
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  Speaker 2: not address those areas in isolation, and we have to
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  Speaker 2: bring the physical side in if we really want wellness overall.
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  Speaker 2: So one of the most important skills we can develop
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  Speaker 2: is learning to notice early warning signs. For many years,
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  Speaker 2: I was not good at that. I just pushed through
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  Speaker 2: and thought I've just got to get it done. But
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  Speaker 2: from a neuroscience perspective, our brains are constantly, constantly adapting
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  Speaker 2: to stress.
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  Speaker 3: But the problem is, and you.
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  Speaker 2: And I have discussed this in various ways on other episodes,
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  Speaker 2: is that when stress becomes chronic, our brains and our
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  Speaker 2: bodies begin to treat that stress as normal. So some
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  Speaker 2: early mental and emotional signs include increased irritability or emotional numbness,
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  Speaker 2: difficulty concentrating or remembering, racing, or repetitive negative thoughts might
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  Speaker 2: also include losing interest in things that once brought us joy,
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  Speaker 2: or even feeling overwhelmed by decisions that used to feel manageable.
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  Speaker 2: But at what I want you to hear, friends, is
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  Speaker 2: that these aren't character flaws. They're actually God given signals
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  Speaker 2: from your nervous system.
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  Speaker 1: That brings me help right there. Because I can't tell
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  Speaker 1: you how many times that I've struggled with all of
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  Speaker 1: those things that you've said, and I'm like, oh, I
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  Speaker 1: must need to mature more, or I've got something inherently
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  Speaker 1: wrong with me. But to hear you say that they're
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  Speaker 1: just signals from my nervous system makes me like I
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  Speaker 1: have a sigh of relief now. And spiritually, those same
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  Speaker 1: signals often show up as disconnection. You might notice that
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  Speaker 1: prayer feels harder, scripture feels flat, or you're more reactive
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  Speaker 1: rather than reflective. Sometimes we label it as a faith
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  Speaker 1: problem when it's actually exhaustion or emotional overload.
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  Speaker 2: I think one of the most noticeable aspects when we
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  Speaker 2: talk about taking care of our.
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  Speaker 3: Whole self is the physical aspect.
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  Speaker 2: I think that's the aspect that grabs our attention. But
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  Speaker 2: the problem is is that our bodies often speak before
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  Speaker 2: our minds catch up. Things like sleep disturbance, sleeping too
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  Speaker 2: much or having difficulty sleeping, chronic tension which I hold
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  Speaker 2: in my shoulders and my neck. By the time it
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  Speaker 2: reaches my scalp, then I start to pay attention.
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  Speaker 3: We can experience.
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  Speaker 2: Headaches, digestive issues, or changes an appetite, and those are
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  Speaker 2: all warning signals that we need to pay attention early.
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  Speaker 1: On right, or you find yourself pushing through fatigue telling
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  Speaker 1: yourself I'll rest later, without realizing that later never comes.
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  Speaker 1: And ignoring the body signals doesn't make us more faithful,
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  Speaker 1: it often makes us more fragile.
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  Speaker 2: In fact, I would go so far as to say
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  Speaker 2: that when we ignore our body's signals, we can only
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  Speaker 2: do that for so long before our body gets to
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  Speaker 2: the place where it makes us sit up and pay attention.
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  Speaker 3: Right.
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  Speaker 2: So let's talk about why we miss the signs, because
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  Speaker 2: I think if we did a poll just most people
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  Speaker 2: would acknowledge that they often pushed through the early warning signs.
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  Speaker 3: Yes, So the question is why.
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  Speaker 2: From a brain science perspective, one of the reasons that
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  Speaker 2: we miss these signs is because our stress response system,
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  Speaker 2: which we've talked about before, that's the amygdala, It gets louder,
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  Speaker 2: while the part of the brain responsible for discernment and perspective,
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  Speaker 2: that's the prefrontal cortex, that gets quieter. And that is
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  Speaker 2: when we tend to normalize exhaustion. It's when we tend
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  Speaker 2: to minimize emotional pain, and we tend to rationalize un
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  Speaker 2: healthy patterns.
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  Speaker 3: I don't know if you can.
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  Speaker 2: Relate to any of those, Jessica, but I can relate
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  Speaker 2: to all of them.
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  Speaker 1: Oh for sure. Exhaustion I thought that was a badge
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  Speaker 1: of honor.
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  Speaker 4: And.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah it's not, but I did.
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  Speaker 1: Think it was. And minimizing emotional pain, absolutely, there's enough pain.
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  Speaker 1: It's always like, well, someone else has it harder than me, right,
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  Speaker 1: or rationalize unhealthy patterns like having too many cookies or
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  Speaker 1: because I like to eat my pain away.
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  Speaker 3: Right.
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  Speaker 1: Those are just the things that we do physically, but
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  Speaker 1: spiritually we often confuse endurance with faithfulness, and that leads
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  Speaker 1: us to the fact that we forget that Jesus regularly
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  Speaker 1: withdrew to rest, pray, and recalibrate. If the Son of
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  Speaker 1: God needs rhythms of restoration, so do we. Friends. We're
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  Speaker 1: going to continue our conversation about how to care for
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  Speaker 1: your whole self biblical and brain based health for mind, body,
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  Speaker 1: and spirit after we take this brief break for a
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  Speaker 1: word for our sponsor.
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  Speaker 2: And welcome back to your Hope Field perspective. Today, we're
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  Speaker 2: having an important conversation in recognition of World Health Day.
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  Speaker 2: We're talking about how to care for your whole self
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  Speaker 2: biblical and brain based health for mind, body, and spirit.
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  Speaker 2: And before the break, we talked about why we often
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  Speaker 2: missed the early warning science. But I think it's important
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  Speaker 2: that now we turn our conversation to what to do
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  Speaker 2: when you notice your slipping. When you notice the slide,
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  Speaker 2: the goal isn't to fix everything, it's to create safety
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  Speaker 2: and regulation. So some practical brain based steps are Number one,
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  Speaker 2: name what you're experiencing, because labeling emotions often reduces their intense.
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  Speaker 2: If you can stop in the moment and say I'm
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  Speaker 2: afraid yep, then you interrupt that flight or fright response.
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  Speaker 2: Number two, slow your body first, things like deep breathing,
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  Speaker 2: grounding exercises that we've discussed in previous episodes, and gentle movement.
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  Speaker 2: Slow your body down because then you regain control rather
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  Speaker 2: than continuing to slide down this slippery slope into a
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  Speaker 2: really difficult place to come out of. Number three challenge
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  Speaker 2: distorted thoughts. What do I mean by that? Ask yourself?
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  Speaker 2: Is this thought true? Is it helpful? And is it
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  Speaker 2: aligned with God's truth? Too often we have thoughts that
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  Speaker 2: go unchecked. We don't even pay attention to whether or
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  Speaker 2: not they're true. We just accept them as if they are.
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  Speaker 4: Yeah.
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  Speaker 2: And then my fourth suggestion is to reduce cognitive load
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  Speaker 2: if you can make fewer decisions. Yea, simplify your schedule,
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  Speaker 2: create more margin. Friends, this is not a sign of weakness,
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  Speaker 2: it's actually wisdom.
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  Speaker 1: That's so good. If I were listening right now, i'd
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  Speaker 1: be taking notes. In fact, as you were speaking, I'm
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  Speaker 1: like repeating each of these over and over again because
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  Speaker 1: I have found them to be true. Yeah, the just
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  Speaker 1: even creating margin. There was a string of weeks, three
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  Speaker 1: weeks in a row where I was just pretty much busy,
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  Speaker 1: like there was no margin. I scheduled a day called margin,
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  Speaker 1: and I didn't allow myself to schedule anything else except margin,
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  Speaker 1: and I felt so refreshed by that. Yeah, sometimes the
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  Speaker 1: most spiritual thing you can do is to eat a
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  Speaker 1: balanced meal, drink some water, or get some sleep.
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  Speaker 2: So what you're actually talking about is, in addition to
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  Speaker 2: caring for our emotional or cognitive load, you're talking about
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  Speaker 2: taking a physical reset.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah.
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  Speaker 1: Yes, I had a physical reset one Friday not too
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  Speaker 1: long ago, and I'm so thankful that I did. I
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  Speaker 1: remember thinking, I don't know if I have time to
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  Speaker 1: do this, but I felt the Holy Spirit WI spirts imperative.
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  Speaker 1: You need to have a rest day a physical rest day,
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  Speaker 1: and I did. I ate good, I drank lots of water,
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  Speaker 1: and I slept a lot, and it was wonderful.
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  Speaker 2: I wish that I could say I followed your example.
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  Speaker 2: On my calendar, I actually put pajama day, which I
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  Speaker 2: can't tell you the last time I've done that. It
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  Speaker 2: was probably a decade ago when in North Texas we
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  Speaker 2: had twelve flakes of snow so everything shut down. That's
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  Speaker 2: probably the last time I had a pajama day. So
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  Speaker 2: I had it scheduled on my calendar. But I realized
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  Speaker 2: that I had some difficulties with time margin coming up,
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  Speaker 2: and so rather than taking that pajama day, I pushed
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  Speaker 2: through additional tasks. I did not have the same experience
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  Speaker 2: that you did, Jessica. I did not feel refreshed. I
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  Speaker 2: did not feel more alert. I did not feel like
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  Speaker 2: I had increased strength to go into the next week.
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  Speaker 2: In fact, I felt the opposite. I was physically depleted.
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  Speaker 2: I was irritable, and as a result, about a week
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  Speaker 2: or two later, and I can't say that it was causation,
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  Speaker 2: but there was definitely a correlation, because about a week
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  Speaker 2: or two later, I became sick, got the common cold,
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  Speaker 2: and I was forced to physically rest for a couple
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  Speaker 2: days straight. But it wasn't the relaxing kind of rest
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  Speaker 2: that the pajama day on my calendar would have been.
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  Speaker 2: It was forced rest where I physically couldn't do.
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  Speaker 3: Anything but be in bed.
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  Speaker 2: So let's talk about some reasons why physical reset early
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  Speaker 2: on is important. Yes, I mean sleep deprivation alone increases anxiety, depression,
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  Speaker 2: and emotional reactivity. Caring for your body is not separate
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  Speaker 2: from caring for your soul.
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  Speaker 1: That is so true. And I'd like us to talk
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  Speaker 1: about spiritual reorientation. You see, spiritually, this is the moment
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  Speaker 1: to return to presence, not performance. Presence not performance.
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  Speaker 3: That is not what I did. No, I focused on performance.
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  Speaker 1: And I bet the next time you put pajama day
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  Speaker 1: in your calendar, you're gonna remember. Yeah, you're right, you're
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  Speaker 1: going to take that pajama day. In fact, I was
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  Speaker 1: just sitting here thinking we should commit to one another
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  Speaker 1: and invite our listeners to schedule a physical rest day
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  Speaker 1: on their calendar. And I'm gonna if I can. If
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  Speaker 1: you do that, let us know and we'll celebrate with
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  Speaker 1: you that you're choosing presence and not performance in fact,
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  Speaker 1: we can start to say simple prayers like Lord here
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  Speaker 1: I am, or God search me and lead me, or
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  Speaker 1: Holy Spirit, restore my soul. We don't heel by striving,
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  Speaker 1: We heal by abiding.
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  Speaker 3: Oh say that again.
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  Speaker 1: We don't heal by striving. We heal by abiding.
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  Speaker 2: And that's the difference between you taking that margin day
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  Speaker 2: on your calendar and me not taking that pajama day
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  Speaker 2: to rest. I was striving to fit in just a
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  Speaker 2: little bit more.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, and there's no shame attash.
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  Speaker 2: I don't feel shame, but I feel like that was
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  Speaker 2: a really good reminder so that I could share it
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  Speaker 2: with you. Please attend to your body when you get
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  Speaker 2: those early warning signs. Just I fully believe that you
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  Speaker 2: listen to the Holy Spirit that said, Okay, you've you've
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  Speaker 2: worked hard.
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  Speaker 3: Now you need some margin, you need some rest time. Yeah.
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  Speaker 3: So let's talk.
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  Speaker 2: Now about now that we know why we tend to
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  Speaker 2: miss the early warning signs, and now that we've discussed
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  Speaker 2: what to do when you notice that you're slipping, let's
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  Speaker 2: talk about guarding your whole self going forward. I want
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  Speaker 2: to use the experience that I recently had as a
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  Speaker 2: reminder that rest, that margin can actually be considered holy practices.
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  Speaker 2: When we consider that Jesus, who was most holy, did
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  Speaker 2: those things, he was our model. So guarding our whole
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  Speaker 2: self going forward, let's start by talking about mental and
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  Speaker 2: emotional guardrails. Guarding your mental and emotional health actually means
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  Speaker 2: building awareness and rhythms. Hmm, like regular emotional check ins.
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  Speaker 2: Why did I respond that way? How would I have
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  Speaker 2: liked to have responded, and what contributed to how I
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  Speaker 2: did respond? What was the underlying emotional driver? That's an
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  Speaker 2: emotional check in. I would also suggest that we notice
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  Speaker 2: the stress patterns before they escalate. Maybe invite our closest
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  Speaker 2: friends or family member, or to just help us recognize
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  Speaker 2: when things are starting to escalate, to encourage us to
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  Speaker 2: slow down, take a pause, Take ten minutes to sit
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  Speaker 2: out in the sunshine. Yeah, take ten minutes to take
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  Speaker 2: a walk and lower your cortisol. You could even set
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  Speaker 2: up reminders on your phone. You can set up alarms
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  Speaker 2: on your phone at certain times during the day and
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  Speaker 2: the note could be breathe yeah, because sometimes we get
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  Speaker 2: so focused on the doing that we're breathing out of
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  Speaker 2: the upper part of our chest instead of fully from
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  Speaker 2: our diaphragm, and that just signals to your brain.
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  Speaker 3: Okay, there's a state of alert here.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah.
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  Speaker 2: I would even go so far going forward, set boundaries
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  Speaker 2: around information intake. One of the best things I did
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  Speaker 2: recently was to set boundaries around how much I would
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  Speaker 2: allow myself to consume social media or to even post
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  Speaker 2: on social media.
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  Speaker 3: That was life giving.
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  Speaker 2: Recommendation I would make is to replace self criticism with curiosity.
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  Speaker 2: Jessica and I are not trying to be a task master.
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  Speaker 2: We are not criticizing if you've fallen into any of
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  Speaker 2: these patterns, because certainly we've admitted that we have.
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  Speaker 3: But if we can replace.
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  Speaker 2: The self criticism, which just leads into guilt, shame, and regret,
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  Speaker 2: with curiosity by asking, like some of those questions, I suggested, Gee,
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  Speaker 2: what was my feeling when I responded that way?
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  Speaker 3: What was really at the root of.
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  Speaker 2: That response, and how could I have done something differently
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  Speaker 2: to lead to a better response. If we think about this, Jessica,
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  Speaker 2: as maintenance and not crisis management, we can prevent some
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  Speaker 2: of these derails going forward.
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  Speaker 1: I love the way that you frame that within guardrails.
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  Speaker 1: I've used that when I was raising my kids, and
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  Speaker 1: I talked about how some of the standards that we
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  Speaker 1: live by, our guardrails. And I told them, I said,
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  Speaker 1: you can get a close to that as you want,
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  Speaker 1: but notice that you might fall through or fall over.
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  Speaker 1: And sometimes I think I do that with my own self.
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  Speaker 1: Some of the things that you say, I can't tell
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  Speaker 1: you how many times were, especially the breathing one, where
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  Speaker 1: it's like, when was the last time I took a
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  Speaker 1: deep breath today? When was the last time I actually
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  Speaker 1: looked out a window and noticed the sky or the clouds,
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  Speaker 1: or the sunshine, or the way that the trees make
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  Speaker 1: shadows on the ground. Those are such good guard rails
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  Speaker 1: to consider and to think of it as maintenance and
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  Speaker 1: not crisis management. I don't like to be in crisis.
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  Speaker 1: I don't like the person that I can be when
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  Speaker 1: I'm in too much of a crisis management mode, because
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  Speaker 1: then I start managing everybody and they don't need me
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  Speaker 1: to manage themselves. I have enough trouble managing my own. Maintenance.
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  Speaker 1: I love that word, because our bodies thrive on consistency
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  Speaker 1: and not perfection. So we're going to turn our eyes
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  Speaker 1: towards that physical stewardship. And I have seen that, like
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  Speaker 1: I just said, I will sometimes forget to breathe like
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  Speaker 1: forget to breathe deep. And I've learned when my heart
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  Speaker 1: is racing, I can't control. I can't control how faster
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  Speaker 1: my heart races, but I can control my breathing. And
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  Speaker 1: when I can get a hold of my breathing and
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  Speaker 1: start doing those inhale, hold for four, exhale, hold for
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  Speaker 1: four inhale, I notice that my heart rate starts to
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  Speaker 1: return to normal. And when I take those rest days,
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  Speaker 1: I find that I am far more capable of handling
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  Speaker 1: the issues that come up during the day. And I
• 20:38
  Speaker 1: have discovered that my body is thriving on consistency and
• 20:42
  Speaker 1: not perfection. I don't do it right every time. I
• 20:45
  Speaker 1: just have to tell you. Sometimes there's days before I
• 20:47
  Speaker 1: realize when was the last time I took some deep breaths.
• 20:51
  Speaker 1: But I'm consistently trying, and I'm consistently trying to pay
• 20:55
  Speaker 1: more attention to my breath.
• 20:58
  Speaker 2: And I think that's what we're talking about with respect
• 21:01
  Speaker 2: to physical stewardship. How do we steward those aspects that
• 21:06
  Speaker 2: affect our physical well being, things like movement, nutrition, sleep
• 21:12
  Speaker 2: and rest, which, by the way, sleep and rest are
• 21:15
  Speaker 2: not the same thing, but they're not moral issues, but
• 21:20
  Speaker 2: they do deeply affect our resilience. And what you were
• 21:24
  Speaker 2: talking about with even remembering to take a deep breath,
• 21:27
  Speaker 2: it seems like such an inconsequential task. But if we
• 21:32
  Speaker 2: would recognize just how powerful it is to settle our minds,
• 21:38
  Speaker 2: to settle our heart rate, to still our thoughts so
• 21:42
  Speaker 2: we can think more clearly, that's one of the simplest
• 21:45
  Speaker 2: things that we can do that impacts our whole self.
• 21:50
  Speaker 1: Yeah, and I loved how you explain that sleep and
• 21:53
  Speaker 1: rest are not the same. I was just I just
• 21:57
  Speaker 1: had this conversation yesterday with someone at church. I said,
• 22:00
  Speaker 1: I love my Sunday afternoons because it's like I'm sleeping
• 22:03
  Speaker 1: with my eyes open, and they looked at me. I said,
• 22:06
  Speaker 1: I'm resting. I like to be awake to enjoy my
• 22:09
  Speaker 1: rest time. Yes, I take a short nap that I
• 22:13
  Speaker 1: like to be aware of when I'm resting. There's something
• 22:16
  Speaker 1: so peaceful and refreshing to me when I sit in
• 22:19
  Speaker 1: my recliner, soft blanket, cup of coffee, maybe a book,
• 22:24
  Speaker 1: maybe not. And I'm a eight to enjoy my rest
• 22:28
  Speaker 1: and I find that it does build resilience. Spiritually, we
• 22:33
  Speaker 1: need to build resilience as well, and we can do
• 22:36
  Speaker 1: this through spiritual formation. Guarding our health means that we
• 22:41
  Speaker 1: need to anchor our identity in Christ. Our identity is
• 22:46
  Speaker 1: not found in productivity, it's not found in approval, it's
• 22:50
  Speaker 1: not found in how well we endure. Our identity is
• 22:54
  Speaker 1: anchored in Christ. And there are practices that we can
• 22:58
  Speaker 1: do to help shore up that anchor, so to speak.
• 23:02
  Speaker 1: We can begin by practicing a sabbath. Now, for some
• 23:05
  Speaker 1: of us, the idea of taking a twenty four hour
• 23:07
  Speaker 1: sabbath seems huge, like, we don't have twenty four hours
• 23:11
  Speaker 1: just a sabbath, But how about a couple of hours
• 23:14
  Speaker 1: on a Sunday afternoon. Start small. Another spiritual practice that
• 23:19
  Speaker 1: we can do is scripture meditation. This might be having
• 23:23
  Speaker 1: like the Scripture of the Day as a widget on
• 23:26
  Speaker 1: your phone, so that every time you open your phone
• 23:28
  Speaker 1: there is that Scripture of the day. You version has
• 23:33
  Speaker 1: a great, great option, Or we find a verse that
• 23:36
  Speaker 1: really means something to us and we write handwrite, take
• 23:39
  Speaker 1: the time to handwrite it out on a note card
• 23:41
  Speaker 1: and slap it on our dash of our car, or
• 23:43
  Speaker 1: put it on our mirror or in the kitchen by
• 23:46
  Speaker 1: a cupboard. A third spiritual practice that we can do
• 23:50
  Speaker 1: is honest lament. Now, lament is this language of grieving.
• 23:55
  Speaker 1: I'm gonna call it grieving because it's this honestly sharing
• 23:59
  Speaker 1: all of our heart art aches, our pain, our disappointment,
• 24:02
  Speaker 1: wrapped in the kind of bookmarked with praise and trust.
• 24:08
  Speaker 1: But we have to do it honestly. I found it's
• 24:11
  Speaker 1: really hard for me to honestly praise God when I'm
• 24:14
  Speaker 1: keeping my honest feelings from him. It's challenging to honestly
• 24:20
  Speaker 1: trust Him with everything when I'm holding something back. So
• 24:23
  Speaker 1: this honest lament is a wonderful spiritual practice that not
• 24:27
  Speaker 1: only helps us clear out the gunk in our own
• 24:32
  Speaker 1: heart and our soul, but it also builds that faith
• 24:35
  Speaker 1: and trust in Him and settles our identity in Him
• 24:39
  Speaker 1: because we're taking everything to Him. And the fourth spiritual
• 24:42
  Speaker 1: practice that we can do is community. God did not
• 24:45
  Speaker 1: intend for us to live this Christian life in isolation.
• 24:50
  Speaker 1: He intended for us to live in community. Small groups, churches,
• 24:55
  Speaker 1: Bible studies, online faith based communities, community, honest lament, scripture, meditation,
• 25:03
  Speaker 1: and Sabbath all keep us aligned with God's design for wholeness.
• 25:09
  Speaker 2: I'm so glad that you brought up all four of
• 25:11
  Speaker 2: those spiritual formation practices. I was not incredibly familiar with
• 25:17
  Speaker 2: lament in my early walk with the Lord, and friends,
• 25:20
  Speaker 2: you might not be either. That can sound like a
• 25:23
  Speaker 2: heady word, but I wrote a whole chapter about lament
• 25:27
  Speaker 2: in my book, The Hem of his Garment, reaching out
• 25:29
  Speaker 2: to God when pain overwhelms. And Jessica, I like how
• 25:32
  Speaker 2: you said it is sandwiched in between praise and trusting God.
• 25:37
  Speaker 2: There's a difference between lament and complaining. God abhors complaining,
• 25:43
  Speaker 2: but he invites honest lament wrapped in.
• 25:46
  Speaker 3: Praise and trust.
• 25:47
  Speaker 2: Friends, we're going to take a real short break for
• 25:49
  Speaker 2: a word from our sponsor. But when we return, Jessica
• 25:51
  Speaker 2: and I will offer ten things you can ask yourself
• 25:55
  Speaker 2: to help you notice early warning signs of ill health
• 25:58
  Speaker 2: and move towards intentional, Christ centered wholeness.
• 26:02
  Speaker 3: We'll be right back.
• 26:07
  Speaker 2: So, now that we've talked about where we tend to
• 26:11
  Speaker 2: slip and why we do, and how we can put
• 26:14
  Speaker 2: up guard rails, just let's talk about ten things we
• 26:16
  Speaker 2: can ask ourselves so that we can notice the early
• 26:20
  Speaker 2: warning signs and course correct. If you will, number one,
• 26:23
  Speaker 2: I would say when I feel off, which part of
• 26:27
  Speaker 2: me usually shows it first, my thoughts, my emotions, my body,
• 26:34
  Speaker 2: or my spiritual life? And how do I typically respond
• 26:38
  Speaker 2: that's a good one?
• 26:40
  Speaker 1: Number two? What mental or emotional patterns have I begun
• 26:45
  Speaker 1: to normalize? They may actually be signals of chronic stress
• 26:49
  Speaker 1: or overload.
• 26:51
  Speaker 2: Number three. How does my current pace of life support
• 26:56
  Speaker 2: or undermine my ability to think clearly, regulate my emotions
• 27:01
  Speaker 2: and remain spiritually attentive?
• 27:04
  Speaker 1: Number four. What physical cues such as sleep, tension, fatigue, appetite,
• 27:10
  Speaker 1: or pain have I been overlooking or pushing through instead
• 27:16
  Speaker 1: of listening to?
• 27:18
  Speaker 3: Number five?
• 27:19
  Speaker 2: When stress rises, what thoughts about myself, God, or my
• 27:25
  Speaker 2: circumstances tend to become louder? And are those thoughts aligned
• 27:31
  Speaker 2: with truth?
• 27:32
  Speaker 1: Number six? In what ways might my spiritual practices have
• 27:37
  Speaker 1: become performative rather than restorative? And what would it look
• 27:42
  Speaker 1: like to return to the presence of God?
• 27:47
  Speaker 2: Number seven? What boundaries mental, physical, emotional, or spiritual do
• 27:53
  Speaker 2: I need to establish to reinforce to guard my overall health?
• 27:58
  Speaker 1: Number eight? Who has permission to lovingly notice and speak
• 28:04
  Speaker 1: into my life when they see signs that I may
• 28:07
  Speaker 1: be slipping into ill health.
• 28:09
  Speaker 2: That goes back to the accountability factor, which helps Number nine.
• 28:14
  Speaker 2: What is one small sustainable change I could make this
• 28:18
  Speaker 2: week that would support my mind, body, and spirit, not
• 28:22
  Speaker 2: just one area but all three.
• 28:24
  Speaker 1: Number ten, If I truly believed my well being mattered
• 28:28
  Speaker 1: to God, how might I care for myself differently?
• 28:33
  Speaker 2: Friends, We've just given you ten important reflection questions.
• 28:37
  Speaker 3: You might even want to go back.
• 28:39
  Speaker 2: And listen to this segment of the episode again and
• 28:41
  Speaker 2: jot them down, But I think those ten questions can
• 28:46
  Speaker 2: help to make a significant difference in your overall well
• 28:50
  Speaker 2: being going forward. If you are realizing today that you're
• 28:54
  Speaker 2: running on empty, let me gently say you're not failing,
• 28:58
  Speaker 2: but you arec receiving information, and information allows us to
• 29:04
  Speaker 2: choose differently going for I.
• 29:06
  Speaker 1: Love that you're encouraging us to do that. Michelle, and
• 29:08
  Speaker 1: I want to say that whole health isn't about doing more.
• 29:12
  Speaker 1: It's about listening better. It's about listening to your body,
• 29:16
  Speaker 1: to your mind, and to the spirit of God within you.
• 29:19
  Speaker 2: As we honor World Health Day, our prayer is that
• 29:23
  Speaker 2: you would begin caring for your whole self, not out
• 29:26
  Speaker 2: of pressure, that out of partnership with the God who
• 29:29
  Speaker 2: created you the God who knows you and longs to
• 29:32
  Speaker 2: restore you.
• 29:33
  Speaker 3: Jess.
• 29:34
  Speaker 2: As we close out this episode, if of your listeners
• 29:36
  Speaker 2: resonating with our conversation today, what hope filled perspective would
• 29:40
  Speaker 2: you offer them?
• 29:41
  Speaker 1: I would want to remind you that God sees you.
• 29:44
  Speaker 1: He is the God who sees. He first received that
• 29:47
  Speaker 1: name in the desert when Hagar and her son were
• 29:51
  Speaker 1: sent off. They were kicked out and she felt desperate,
• 29:56
  Speaker 1: and God said I see you. So today, as we
• 29:59
  Speaker 1: honor World Health Day, remember that God sees you. He
• 30:02
  Speaker 1: sees your physical health, your mental health, your emotional well being,
• 30:05
  Speaker 1: your spiritual health, and He has good plans for all
• 30:09
  Speaker 1: of you, your whole self. So listen in trust him,
• 30:13
  Speaker 1: and take the next step.
• 30:15
  Speaker 2: I would also add, friend, that you are worth caring
• 30:19
  Speaker 2: for fully, faithfully and well. Let me remind you as
• 30:23
  Speaker 2: we close out this episode of Proverbs four twenty through
• 30:27
  Speaker 2: twenty three that says, my son, pay attention to my words,
• 30:31
  Speaker 2: Listen closely to my sayings. Don't lose sight of them,
• 30:34
  Speaker 2: but keep them within your heart, for they are life
• 30:37
  Speaker 2: to those who find them, and health to one's whole body.
• 30:41
  Speaker 2: Guard your heart above all else, for it is the
• 30:43
  Speaker 2: source of life. Friends, let this be a reminder that
• 30:47
  Speaker 2: what we allow into our minds and hearts directly impacts
• 30:51
  Speaker 2: our whole being.
• 30:53
  Speaker 1: I'd like to pray for us, Heavenly Father, thank you
• 30:56
  Speaker 1: so much that you see us, that you call us
• 30:59
  Speaker 1: to God our hearts. Lord, It's true that what's in
• 31:03
  Speaker 1: our heart comes out. So Lord, as we take time
• 31:09
  Speaker 1: to sit with you today to hear from you today, Lord,
• 31:12
  Speaker 1: I pray that you would encourage us to steward our
• 31:15
  Speaker 1: whole selves. Lord, that we wouldn't compartmentalize ourself, because you
• 31:20
  Speaker 1: don't compartmentalize us. You see us as a whole being, mind, body, spirit.
• 31:26
  Speaker 1: So Lord, we give ourselves to you in a fresh
• 31:29
  Speaker 1: new way, and we say, Lord, we're going to trust you.
• 31:32
  Speaker 1: We're going to steward this body, this heart, this mind. Well,
• 31:36
  Speaker 1: we praise you for what you're going to do in
• 31:38
  Speaker 1: us in Jesus' name. Amen.
• 31:41
  Speaker 3: Amen.
• 31:42
  Speaker 2: Friends, if there was something in today's episode that resonated
• 31:45
  Speaker 2: with you, or you know someone who's struggling with caring
• 31:48
  Speaker 2: appropriately for their whole self, please consider sharing this episode
• 31:52
  Speaker 2: so that they'll have a biblically based Hope Field perspective.
• 31:55
  Speaker 3: For handling it.
• 31:56
  Speaker 2: We look forward to being with you again next week
• 31:58
  Speaker 2: for another hope field price. But in the meantime, it's
• 32:01
  Speaker 2: our prayer for you that you would take some of
• 32:04
  Speaker 2: what you heard today and put it into place. We're
• 32:06
  Speaker 2: talking about small baby steps. We don't expect you to
• 32:10
  Speaker 2: overhaul your entire well being, but commit to the Lord
• 32:14
  Speaker 2: to doing as he guides you. Until we're together again
• 32:17
  Speaker 2: next week. It's my prayer for you that you have
• 32:20
  Speaker 2: a hope filled week.
• 32:23
  Speaker 5: Everyone experiences pain at times. It can manifest physically, emotionally, relationally,
• 32:31
  Speaker 5: or spiritually. It can follow tragic accidents, great loss, sudden betrayal,
• 32:37
  Speaker 5: or unexpected and unwanted change. Often pain is temporary, but
• 32:43
  Speaker 5: what do you do when it isn't? When pain won't
• 32:46
  Speaker 5: go away, healing does not come, and grief and hurt
• 32:50
  Speaker 5: settle in to stay. Drawing on her experience of chronic
• 32:54
  Speaker 5: pain in her years as a board certified clinical neuropsychologist,
• 32:59
  Speaker 5: doctor Michelle well Bankson provides a counter cultural perspective on pain,
• 33:04
  Speaker 5: offering hope without any false promises or empty platitudes. Doctor
• 33:09
  Speaker 5: Benkson unwraps the complex emotional aspects of dealing with pain.
• 33:14
  Speaker 5: She gives you permission to question God, helps you identify
• 33:18
  Speaker 5: the lies you've believed about your pain, and reorients your
• 33:21
  Speaker 5: perspective based on the truth of God's word. Each chapter
• 33:26
  Speaker 5: ends with a recommended playlist, reflection questions, and a prayer.
• 33:31
  Speaker 5: Your pain may not change, but your experience with it can.
• 33:36
  Speaker 5: Doctor Sondra Dalton Smith, physician, best selling author and a
• 33:42
  Speaker 5: host of the I Choose My Best Life podcast, had
• 33:46
  Speaker 5: this to say about the Hem of His Garment. Doctor
• 33:49
  Speaker 5: Michelle Benkson is honest and transparent, and she gives the
• 33:53
  Speaker 5: reader permission to ask hard questions and practical guidance on
• 33:57
  Speaker 5: how to seek God during times when you feel the
• 34:00
  Speaker 5: most wounded. A beautiful gift for every person living with pain.
• 34:05
  Speaker 5: Holy Girth, best selling author of What Your Mind Needs
• 34:09
  Speaker 5: for Anxious Moments, says pain is inevitable, but enduring it
• 34:13
  Speaker 5: alone is optional. Doctor Michelle Bankson is a voice of
• 34:17
  Speaker 5: hope who will speak into your struggles, at helping hand
• 34:20
  Speaker 5: who will point you to Jesus, and a wise guide
• 34:24
  Speaker 5: who will lead you through what you're facing so you
• 34:28
  Speaker 5: can embrace more of what our good God has for you.
• 34:32
  Speaker 5: Pick up a copy of the Hem of His Garment
• 34:36
  Speaker 5: for you and a friend wherever books are sold.
• 34:43
  Speaker 6: Thank you for joining doctor Bankson for your hope build perspective.
• 34:47
  Speaker 6: We hope you are encouraged by her authenticity, vulnerability, and
• 34:51
  Speaker 6: biblical truths. If you enjoy today's conversation, when you take
• 34:55
  Speaker 6: a moment right now, open up your podcast app and
• 34:58
  Speaker 6: look for the subscribe button right next to our podcast
• 35:01
  Speaker 6: profile image. We think this podcast is best enjoyed with friends,
• 35:05
  Speaker 6: so tell a.
• 35:05
  Speaker 4: Friend and click share and in your podcast app and
• 35:08
  Speaker 4: send a friend our link to share hope with them.
• 35:11
  Speaker 4: If you have a comment, question, or suggest a topic
• 35:14
  Speaker 4: for a future show, reach out to our staff at
• 35:17
  Speaker 4: info at Hope Prevails dot org for additional resources. Information
• 35:21
  Speaker 4: about doctor Bankson's books where free downloads, or to contact
• 35:25
  Speaker 4: her to speak at your next event, Please visit doctor
• 35:29
  Speaker 4: Michelbe dot com. Until next time, May you have a
• 35:32
  Speaker 4: hope filled week.
• 35:37
  Speaker 2: I'd like to take just a second to thank the
• 35:39
  Speaker 2: team at Life Audio for their partnership with us on
• 35:42
  Speaker 2: this podcast. If you go to lifeaudio dot com, you'll
• 35:45
  Speaker 2: find dozens of other faith centered podcasts in their network.
• 35:49
  Speaker 2: They've got shows about prayer, Bible study, parenting, and more.