Today's Heartlift with Janell
Sometimes the story we tell ourselves is not really true. Sometimes the story others tell about us is not really true. On "Today's Heartlift with Janell," Author, Trauma-informed, board-certified marriage and family specialist, and Professional Heartlifter, Janell Rardon, opens conversations about how emotional health and mental fitness effects absolutely every area of our lives. When we possess and practice healthy, strong, resilient emotional health practices, life is so much better. Read Janell's newest book, "Stronger Every Day: 9 Tools for an Emotionally Healthy You."
Today's Heartlift with Janell
The Hummingbird's Secret: Finding Rhythms of Rest in a Busy World with Eryn Lynum
What if your very life depended on rest? For author and Master Naturalist, Eryn Lynum, diagnosed with Addison's disease at just 14 years old, this isn't a philosophical question—it's reality. With adrenal glands that no longer function, Erin's body can't produce the stress hormone cortisol, making overwhelming stress potentially fatal. Yet from this sobering reality emerged profound wisdom about God's gift of rest that might transform how you view your rhythms of work and rejuvenation.
Looking back at her teenage diagnosis before departing on a two-month mission trip to Ethiopia (her first time on a plane!), Erin shares how her parents' faith-filled response modeled trust in God's provision. Their first question to the doctor wasn't about limitations but possibilities: "Can she still go to Africa?" This foundation of faithful trust would later inform her approach to rest not as restriction but liberation.
Three years ago, Erin and her husband—overworked, running three businesses while homeschooling four children—made the countercultural decision to embrace true Sabbath practice from Friday evening to Saturday evening. The results were stunning. Not only did their family life deepen, but her husband's struggling one-man business grew exponentially, now employing nine people with revenue increased by 500%—all while maintaining their commitment to rest. This paradox challenges our productivity-obsessed mindset: What if rest fuels our most meaningful work?
Erin draws powerful parallels from nature, especially the hummingbird—a creature whose wings beat 70 times per second yet survives through "torpor," a state of deep, restorative stillness. Similarly, she suggests implementing "Selah pauses" throughout our days—intentional moments of reflection that restore our perspective and energy. Perhaps most profound is her insight that "want and discontentment are often the drivers of hustle and hurry," revealing how contentment becomes the foundation for true rest.
Join us for this heartlifting conversation that reframes rest not as something earned after productivity but as the vital foundation upon which all meaningful work should be built. Looking for practical wisdom on implementing restful rhythms in your family life? You won't want to miss Erin's forthcoming book, "The Nature of Rest: What the Bible and Creation Teach Us About Sabbath Living," which will be released on May 13th—just in time for Mother's Day.
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As I've listened to the stories of thousands of women of all ages in all kinds of stages through the years, I've kept their stories locked in the vault of my heart. I feel as if they've been walking around with me all through these years. They've bothered me, they've prodded me and sometimes kept me up at night. Ultimately, they've increased my passion to reframe and reimagine the powerful positions of mother and matriarch within the family system. I'm a problem solver, so I set out to find a way to perhaps change the trajectory of this silent and sad scenario about a dynamic yet untapped source of potential and purpose sitting in our homes and churches. It is time to come to the table, heartlifters, and unleash the power of maternal presence into the world. Welcome to Mothering for the Ages, our 2025 theme. Here on today's Heartlift.
Speaker 1:I'm Janelle. I am your guide here on this heartlifting journey. I invite you to grab a pen, a journal and a cup of something really delicious. May today's conversation give you clarity, courage and a revived sense of camaraderie. You see, you're not on this journey alone. We are unified as heartlifters and committed to bringing change into the world, one heart at a time. Hello, heartlifters, guess what? We have one of our favorites? Yes, we do. One of our favorites is back, erin Lynham, and she is here to talk about the book that was only in process back in June of 2024 when Erin and I talked on episodes 278-279. Welcome back.
Speaker 2:Erin, here you are, thank you. Thank you for having me back.
Speaker 1:We're here to talk about the nature of rest, what the Bible and creation teach us about Sabbath, living. And the cover, as I just told you, is breathtaking, has simplicity, but then it has that hummingbird on it, and so I am not holding a real book yet. It doesn't come out until May, perfect for mom's day, for mother's day, I will add, and father's day. But I remember when you told me the working title was the Nature of Rest and how full that is with meaning.
Speaker 1:Right, because you love nature, I do but something we didn't talk about last time, which I just learned I'm not sure if it was even part of our conversation, I don't. I don't remember but that you were diagnosed at age 14 with Addison's disease. I really don't think we talked about this. I don't think we did either. No, so talk to me now. How did that? How? I guess the question is why now? Why now are you bringing out this revelation about your struggles as a teenager with this disease? I'm not sure anyone even knows what Addison's disease is, so maybe tell us that and then how that led you here.
Speaker 2:Yeah, let's start there with what Addison's disease is, because it's a very unknown disease. It actually was only discovered, I believe, in the 60s, and so, when I was 14, I was preparing to go overseas for the first time, to Africa for two months. Oh, two months, what were?
Speaker 1:you doing.
Speaker 2:It was a missions trip, so I was with a group of teenagers and adult leaders whom I had never met in my life, and I had never been on an airplane. And my first flight was to Ethiopia, that's a long flight.
Speaker 1:So that alone was just crazy. Yes, that's a long journey of flights, but so yeah, yeah it really, really is.
Speaker 2:So a few months before the trip, you know you got to go in and get a regular checkup at the doctor and travel vaccines. But when you walk into a doctor's office and I had no weird health history, it was just a checkup but what does the nurse do? She checks your vitals and those are the first red flags to if something's wrong. And when she checked my blood pressure that day it was 56 over 48. Oh my yeah, it was the lowest. My doctor later told us this. It was the lowest he had ever seen in a living person. And so right away we know okay, well, something is off and my parents had noted, you know, she's been a bit lethargic, a little dizzy, but they kind of chalked it up to adolescence and puberty changes, and so we really hadn't thought much of it until this moment. So we ended up, I saw some specialists and we're digging into it. They test me for anemia. No, it's not that.
Speaker 2:Well, my father is a researcher, and so he starts just digging into articles, trying to figure out what is going on with his daughter, and he finds Addison's disease, also known as adrenal insufficiency. And so he mentions it to my doctor and my doctor says oh no, people don't get that, especially adolescents. But he still sent me to an endocrinologist for some tests.
Speaker 1:Good.
Speaker 2:And sure enough, that's what it was. So my father actually is to led us to that diagnosis.
Speaker 1:That's amazing. And so what Addison's?
Speaker 2:disease is is your adrenal glands no longer function and most times, and probably in my case, it's an autoimmune disorder. So your immune system, which is supposed to protect your body, gets really confused and sees something that's supposed to be there and thinks actually I'm going to attack that.
Speaker 2:So my own body attacked my adrenal glands and they were no longer functioning, and at this point they think I probably had it about a year and so my adrenal glands have not worked for over two decades and, barring a miracle, they won't until I have a new body and so- you know, if I'm right, because I had adrenal insufficiency not to the degree of that, just from overdrive because I'm an overdriver, I think and probably some trauma in there.
Speaker 1:So, heart lifter, let's just take a moment to really understand what the adrenal glands do, because back in the day when I had my own adrenal insufficiencies happening, I had no idea that there are these suprarenal glands that are small and triangular shaped, that are on top of both of our kidneys. They produce hormones that help regulate our metabolism, our immune system, blood pressure, our response to stress and other essential functions, and they produce adrenaline, cortisol so many of these major hormones in our bodies that help us move through our life more wholeheartedly and more present and actually feeling well. So I really just wanted to highlight this portion of my conversation with Erin, because it is so important that, as women women who are mothering that we make sure that our adrenals are working well. Okay, back to Erin.
Speaker 2:Yeah, they control so much of your hormones, which are very important, yes, and so they produce, of course, adrenaline.
Speaker 2:But, one of the main hormones they produce is cortisol, and that's your stress hormone. And so that's what God designed us with to really deal with any stress physical, mental, spiritual and so a normal person with functioning adrenal glands when they face stress, their body produces more cortisol to cope with that. It's your fight or flight response. My body cannot do that and so, yeah, so I have to take replacement hormones every day.
Speaker 2:Thank the Lord, through a lot of natural medicine and diet and exercise, I've gotten those to as low as they can be. But in the case of extreme stress, my body would, instead of fighting that, producing cortisol, it would fail and go into a coma and then it's fatal. And so I have an emergency kit with me at all times I'm sickly. I've actually never had to use it. God has been really good in this diagnosis, but that is, yeah, what it is. And so, really, stress at 14 years old, stress became deadly to me, and so my parents began coaching me in identifying stress in my life, stepping back from it and really prayerfully just bringing all of it to the Lord.
Speaker 1:Oh good parents, Wow, yes, so is that completely genetic, or were you really stressed out at 14? What do doctors say? Are precursors something that we should look for?
Speaker 2:Yeah, they're unsure if it's genetic. When this all started and we were doing research again. It's a newly discovered disease. Actually JFK had it. That's a little known fact about JFK. But at first what I would read was it's not genetic. I don't believe it's genetic in my family. But then I found some studies of where parents had it and then their children had it, so there's some evidence that it might be. In most cases it really is just autoimmune where your body is confused.
Speaker 2:In some other cases it is trauma, and so your body is so stressed over something that it's overdrive. And so a lot of people like you mentioned yourself many, many people deal with adrenal fatigue or burnout, and then the extreme case of that is Addison's disease.
Speaker 1:Addison's disease. So if you're not paying attention at that point, let's say if I hadn't paid attention, yeah, okay. Well, it was interesting because back in my day we had no internet or any of those types of things, but we had radio and so Dr Archibald Hart was on the Focus on the Family radio show and he wrote a book about adrenaline fatigue and adrenal fatigue and why is your child so stressed? And I just I had three little ones and twins and I was so stressed and so I read that book. I mean I wish I had it because it was falling apart. I mean, that's just all I had to know. I was like, oh, adrenals had no idea. So I understand the gravity of that situation. So from what I'm reading, that led you, from what I'm reading, that led you, like you said, to rest. So if you didn't rest, or find out what rest looked like as a 14-year-old, you know, I don't know even. I mean, did you go on your trip? I did.
Speaker 2:That is a crazy part I did and I goodness I wish I could remember the exact dates. I think I was diagnosed in February and then I left for the trip. It would have been maybe May, but it was crazy because in the doctor's office as I'm being diagnosed, the first question that my parents had for the doctor was can she still go to Africa? Was can she still go to Africa? This is how great their faith was, because they truly believed that God had put it in my heart to go to Africa because I was such a homesick I couldn't even sleep at my friend's house down the street. I was so homesick no kidding, such a picky eater, I only ate a few things. So my parents were shocked. I even wanted to go to Africa. God had placed on my heart to go and to tell people about him, and it led to future trips overseas. It led to going to a Bible college for missions work where I met my husband, and now we do ministry in a very different way than we anticipated.
Speaker 2:But I can see how God was lining up those things and how it started with my parents' faith asking can she still go? So they put everything in place. They trained my leaders, they made sure I had all my medication, emergency kits. They even got me helicopter, evac insurance in case I would need to be rescued.
Speaker 1:Wonderful. You're in Ethiopia, for heaven's sakes, yes.
Speaker 2:But they were so confident that the Lord had me and we worked closely with my doctors.
Speaker 1:It's beautiful. Yeah, yeah, it's encouraging, hopeful and beautiful, Because I think your next children's book, maybe even you know board book should be. Can I Still Go?
Speaker 2:No.
Speaker 1:I just think that's such a great. Can I Still Go A story about faith? And you know just your struggle with a hidden disease, an invisible disease they call those things.
Speaker 1:Yes, wow, well, I love that. So rest then? Why, how? Where it seems God has had his hand on your life to talk about this subject for a very long time in a very difficult situation. You know, I like to say I'm an experiential writer, so I typically write from what I experience and it sounds a little bit like perhaps what you're doing and having to learn about the nature of rest from adolescence. That's pretty tough, yeah. So what did you learn? I'm curious.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah. So I couldn't have imagined back then that this is the work that the Lord would have me in, and even though I was learning by necessity to avoid stress, I couldn't see yet that these were the steps he was taking me on toward Sabbath and biblical rest, and so really that he was forming it all along. And so really that he was forming it all along. But it really came to play three years ago when so I have four children with my husband and we were driving one day we're taking a road trip and we listened to the audio book by John Mark Homer, the Ruthless Elimination of Hurry. Yes, we talked about this.
Speaker 1:Yes, so good, it's right over there so good. And so we listened to it. Yes, so good.
Speaker 2:It's right over there, so good. And so we listened to it together, all of us. So we're all hearing this and gaining this new perspective on rest and time. And at the end of it, my husband and I were like, well, we can't not do that anymore. We're homeschooling our four kids, running three businesses definitely in burnout. And so we started Sabbathing right away. And it was so sweet because we Sabbath usually from Friday evening to Saturday evening and the first Sabbath fell on January 1st. And so it was this sweet, just fresh start, very fresh, and the Lord giving us this gift, because I had tried Sabbath before and failed, if you would say that maybe. Yes, sabbath before felt like I failed, didn't do so well.
Speaker 1:Right, I failed my Sabbath test.
Speaker 2:Yes, but I really think it was because I was viewing it wrongly, and it wasn't until I started viewing Sabbath as a celebration and as a gift from God and something that he gives us to fuel all of our work, to fill us up, to inspire us, to refresh us. When I started seeing it that way, it completely changed the practice, like, oh, this is something we get to do as a family.
Speaker 1:Right, it's a privilege. So what does that look like? I know we talked a bit about it before from Rooted in Wonder, but it bears repeating for me because I really do believe I should be implementing more Sabbath. So what does that look like then? Walk me through your day of Sabbath as a family.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'll walk you through ours. First I want to say Sabbath should look differently from family to family depending on your situation and your schedule.
Speaker 1:Sure.
Speaker 2:For us. Like a lot of people ask me well, why don't you Sabbath on Sunday? That's kind of a traditional, you know, you hear that a lot. Well, as a mom with four kids, getting everyone up, maybe showered, dressed semi-presentably and to church is not restful.
Speaker 1:Without a doubt, no. Far from restful, it is very important.
Speaker 2:We love our church community and that is for fellowship, for being together, for hearing from the word. But Sabbath for us is different, and so that's why we chose Friday to Saturday, and so on Friday evenings it's really celebratory. First we kind of spend some time, and I'll tell you this. But I'll also tell you it's not the same every week and it's a practice.
Speaker 1:You're constantly trying to Correct.
Speaker 2:Yes, so Friday afternoon is spent really just wrapping up, and so for me I need to answer any lingering emails, so I'm not thinking about them. Then I put an away message on my email telling people hey, I don't check my email on the weekends. We're celebrating Sabbath and a little blurb about it, and so that way I don't feel that pressure to check or answer any emails. In fact, if I do, then I'm just being hypocritical. And so it really gives me permission to put away my computer.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I have a Sabbath mode on my phone and you can set focus mode so that.
Speaker 2:I can really only hear from my mom. In case of emergency Screens, go away. We have an easy dinner. That the kids aren't going to throw a fit over Tacos pizza. A lot of times we'll have a good conversation that the kids aren't going to throw a fit over tacos pizza. A lot of times we'll have a good conversation around the table like, hey, what was your favorite part of the week or what was something hard that you faced this week? Just good, meaningful conversation.
Speaker 2:And it's really just celebratory, so we might like toast with sparkling juice. Oh, that's so fun Ice cream. And then, after the kids go to bed, my husband and I just stay up and read books and have conversations, because the screens are put away. No screens, no.
Speaker 1:TV.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, and we're not working.
Speaker 1:And you're not working. What do we do with all this time Right?
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, that's part of the hard part is you're really learning how to be human again.
Speaker 1:You are.
Speaker 2:And it can be uncomfortable. It will be at first.
Speaker 1:It will be very oh my heavens, it's our appendage. Yes, what am I missing?
Speaker 2:You don't know what to fill that time with, Exactly yeah. So people ask me, like, well, how do you read so many books? And I tell them Sabbath, that's what I fill so much of that time with. And even people also ask me do you work on Sabbath? And I say kind of, in a way I do, but it's very different Because the screens are away. It's not my normal work. Instead, I am reading and researching, which is a passion of mine. I'm writing in my journal and so come Monday I am ready to work because I've got these ideas that have been going around in my head all weekend.
Speaker 1:Your head must be so full of ideas. I can only imagine I have to write them down because and lots of hummingbirds. Okay, can't wait so many hummingbirds, so many hummingbirds. It's a.
Speaker 2:Saturday morning we sleep in. Lovely and I know I just lost some moms that are listening, because I have littles and I will tell you this was very trained. My youngest is six. Now I have a teenager and almost teenager, so they're fine with sleeping in, but it has been trained and again it's going to look different. How, how did you train?
Speaker 1:Because I definitely talk a lot in my very first book about order and implementing a quiet time, but that's not easy to do. So I would love you to give any tips that you can to our little mamas of all ages and phases and stages, because I have all the time in the world now in a sense, in a sense, and sometimes the empty space closes in on you. So there's a different. You know it's different, but how do you implement that? How did you train your littles to do that?
Speaker 2:Yeah, good question. It's funny because now with the teenagers, like it doesn't even matter, they just sleep in anyway. But, with our littles. It is a little different for us because we homeschool, and so we actually don't allow them to come out of their rooms until 8 am.
Speaker 1:Okay. Throughout the week, so they can be in their reading, oh, throughout the week. I love it, so that's kind of your little quiet time.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so I know, if I get up at five I have three hours to read, study pray, but I know, not everyone has that reality.
Speaker 2:Yeah, because a lot of people have to get kids to school and have to get to work. So, on Sabbath, allowing that to be your training place and making sure the kids as long as they're safe that they have you could even do. I've heard of people having special baskets of toys that only come out during certain times, so you could put that in their room and say, hey, we're going to rest this morning so you can play with these and I'll come and let you know when it's time to come out. Or like those lights that turn different colors, like green means okay, you can come out Again. There's going to be pushback. Same with the screens there's going to be pushback and that's okay. You, as a parent, have been given the privilege of raising these children, of training these children. God's desire for your family is his gift of rest and he's going to honor your efforts. So when it's hard.
Speaker 1:Remember that, that he's going to honor these efforts. Yeah, you coined I think. I'm not sure if you coined it, but challenge us in this book to have intentional unproductivity. Well, that was hard for me to swallow because we are so addicted to productivity in our culture. So what would that look like then in this culture, in our worlds? Because, honestly, I homeschooled for 14 years and I was very busy. It's not like you're not busy. Homeschooling can also bring even more challenges because there's so many opportunities. So if I'm going to implement in my life this intentional unproductivity, what does that look like for me?
Speaker 2:I don't believe it has to be a huge thing right away, or even a full day set aside for rest For Sabbath. Okay, if you can start with four hours one day a week, then do that. Start with what you have and grow it. But I also talk about in the book. I think it's week three is Selah pauses.
Speaker 2:And it comes from that word, so the word Selah that we hear in the Psalms, and scholars really debate about what Selah means, and there's different views on it, but most seem to agree that it really is a pause to reflect on what was just said, to dwell, to contemplate, to even redirect, and so it's this concept of these very intentional pauses, and I believe that's important to bring rest into our everyday. So currently, for me that looks like the first thing I do in the morning is sit in silence. Before I start reading, even before I start forming prayers in my mind, I try to just sit for a few minutes in silence and just feel read in scripture that he will keep in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee, and so it's this practice of that, even if it's just a few minutes, and then I'll do some work.
Speaker 1:Do you get out of bed before you do that, or do you stay in bed?
Speaker 2:Yes, I'll go. I have to yeah, okay. Or else I'll just fall asleep, so I actually I will.
Speaker 2:So we'll start the coffee pot and then I'll pour my first cup of coffee and then I'll sit in silence and then I'll do some work, some writing, some praying, and then I'll go on a walk outside. That's very important by yourself. Well, yeah, and this is actually my workout, so like I have a weighted pack on which you wouldn't think was restful, but it's restful for my mind, and so I think it's important to realize we need to rest all these different parts of us our mind, our spirit, our body and looking for ways to bring that in throughout the day.
Speaker 2:Other times throughout the day I will force myself to sit down with a cup of tea and pause, reflect.
Speaker 2:So it's bringing in these regular rhythmic pauses of rest and even building margin into your day between activities, because we are so wired by society to go, go, go, hustle, hustle, hustle and really pack the calendar full with as much as we can, like a game of Tetris. But I found that if we do that and then we're on our way to an activity and we hit a few red lights in a row and we're running behind, that's when the stress comes, that's when we start rushing and reacting.
Speaker 2:Well, what if we built in margin around those activities to really buffer against that and make sure we do have time to sit to rest, to go on a walk to reflect on what we just did or the conversation we just had, and then really to gain perspective before we go into the next thing.
Speaker 1:Oh, I think that's so wise. I'm sitting here visualizing your emergency pack. You know that you have to have with you all the time and I just think how relevant that is that we need to have an emergency pack and maybe not even an emergency situation. But I mean, what is in that pack for your disease, like what would happen and what is? I'd love to know what's in that pack and parallel that to what we might keep in an emergency pack for ourselves when we realize we're spinning out of control.
Speaker 2:Yeah Well, unfortunately, because it's not like an allergy, it's not as easy like an EpiPen Instead, because it's such an unknown disease, uncommon disease. It is a vial of a powder of my medicine and then a saline solution. You have to break the vial, shake it up. There's a syringe you have to put in and draw out and do a shot. Thankfully, I've never had to Thank.
Speaker 2:God but because of this, I also have to have like an emergency phone number for my husband in there and then instructions for if someone were to find me unconscious, they know what to do. Right, because I love that analogy, because it's so true that rest too is in case we need it all the time. It's preventative, but it is also in case of emergency, and that's one of the analogies I use in the book. I talk about lichen, so like lichen that you'll see on rocks and trees. Lichen's fascinating. It's a symbiotic relationship.
Speaker 1:One of the few people I know that gets excited about lichen.
Speaker 2:I love it, I really do. I like stop and check out all the designs on rocks.
Speaker 1:It's your face.
Speaker 2:But one thing that they discovered about lichen it's actually traveled in space. What, yeah, they like strapped it to a spaceship to see how it would do in outer space, wow, and they found that. And then they did further testing on earth, really just subjecting it to conditions that are space-like, and what they found is that when lichen which again is part plant, part fungus when it is exposed to extreme conditions, space-like conditions, it goes dormant and it will stay dormant. They believe it could stay dormant for years. So it is really this protective strategy of going into deep sleep and then, when the conditions are good again, it can resurface. And I think it's this beautiful picture for us that you know, if you're going through trauma, if you're going through grief, if you're going through deep sorrow, you need to accept God's gift of rest and it's okay, go dormant for a while, rest in Him and then, when he says so, it's time to resurface.
Speaker 1:That's so powerful I just really need to sit with it for a minute Really is really powerful. It reframes it as His mercy. So, like the emergency pack then is filled with His mercy. It's filled with preventative rest, it's filled with wisdom right, because he's given us everything you know, and the Sabbath was his way of saying this is how you rejuvenate, but we just don't pay attention, we don't submit to that wisdom.
Speaker 1:I'm talking about myself here. You know it's typically when I am right at the point of toxic burnout, as we have going to be talking about here on the show too. You know it's like we should recognize earlier on when our blood pressure is way too low. You know, it's just that. A lot of symbolism in your story, you know, and I just think, if we can reframe it and you're reframing it in a really beautiful way that rest is really His mercy to me. I don't know why I keep hearing that it's really His mercy to be able to live and do what he wants us to do in our lives and to enjoy His life. I love that so much. But you write that rest is elusive and I get that. What do you mean when you say that? I know what I think in my own brain but rest to me is elusive. It's you know. Help, Help us understand.
Speaker 2:No, it really is because we have been so programmed by society and culture to see rest as laziness and idleness in this hustle culture, whether someone says it or we just perceive it in our own mind.
Speaker 2:we feel like if we are taking time to rest, then we are not contributing, we're not getting ahead, we're no longer in the race. We have all this pressure to perform, to produce, and that even is God given, in a way, because he gives us this desire for purposeful work. We see that before the curse in the garden, and so God created us for purposeful work. But that is so skewed in culture today that we just work, work, work, work, work, and so I think it really is reframing our mindset around this. And the crazy thing is, when we were preparing to start Sabbathing around this and the crazy thing is when we were preparing to start Sabbathing, I had major doubts.
Speaker 2:I was thinking is this actually realistic? Is it even relevant anymore? I knew I wanted it, but I didn't know if it would work because I kept thinking how are we going to get everything done in six days? But God is so good and very quickly. What we realized is that we became more productive, more creative, more impactful in our family and our businesses. I actually get to present on Sabbath to business groups.
Speaker 1:That's been a really unexpected thing yeah.
Speaker 2:So Christian business leaders, but also in mixed groups without believers. And I don't shy away from how theological rest is. And I share the story of my husband, because so he runs his own company, and when we started Sabbathing he was a one-man show. We were struggling to pay the bills, we were burned out and we start Sabbathing and within a couple of years, like well, very quickly. But now, three years later, we saw such an impact in his business. So now he has nine employees, a big office space. He's got these systems in place. He grew his revenue by 500%, all while Sabbathing with his family.
Speaker 1:How does that make a difference? How?
Speaker 2:Because I believe, it's because and this is what I share when I speak with business groups as well rest empowers leadership, and it's because God well, one reason, because God designed our brains to thrive on rest, when we are taking time to contemplate, to allow our brains to grow, to make those connections. So, as I mentioned, one thing we do a lot on Sabbath is read we might listen to podcasts, we often walk through the woods we don't really take.
Speaker 2:I mean, personally we do, but a lot of people don't take time to do this throughout the week. So when you're building in that time for restful contemplation. Then, when Monday comes, you are ready to get the things done and do them well.
Speaker 1:And more efficiently? Probably? Yeah, because you're thinking more clearly. I see that. I totally see it connect now. That makes perfect sense to me. I love that. It's amazing.
Speaker 2:I love that. Science speaks to it. Science speaks to it. It's a little bit outside our brain.
Speaker 1:Right, exactly, and that our brains thrive on rest. I need to know more about that. Do you talk more about that Because, as I said, I'm not privy to hold the book yet it doesn't come out till May. Do you address that our brains thrive on rest in the six-week study? I'm curious. Brains thrive on rest in the six-week study. I'm curious.
Speaker 2:I looked more into that after I wrote it and as I was presenting to business groups. Okay, so it is a presentation that I give, okay, but in the book I definitely go into how God has designed our bodies and all of nature to thrive through rest in those. God-given designs.
Speaker 1:Okay, I cannot wait, I just can't wait, I'm so eager, I cannot wait, I just can't wait, I'm so eager. Okay, is it safe to say that this book then is? I was, I didn't know it was going to be a six week study, so I was exact. I was really excited about that. Is it an extension of Rooted in Wonder, like do you, or is it a totally its own standalone? That's what I was curious about.
Speaker 2:It's completely its own book and it was really a breakaway from my other writing because my first two books were parenting and, of course, rooted in Wonder was very focused on this idea of natural theology and teaching and learning through God's designs in nature. But it was so sweet because a chapter in Rooted in Wonder is called Family Hibernation and it is about our practice of hibernating as a family every winter and intentional seasons of rest, and so I can see that even when I was writing that book, god was already stirring this in my heart and preparing me to really deep dive into this concept of rest. So in a way it stemmed from that. But it is a very different form of book, being a six-week Bible study for adults.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I love it. I think it's going to be just amazing. All right, I really, really want to know about the hummingbird. I have been waiting to ask, and so hummingbird's on the cover and you said the hummingbird is a strong theme character in this book. So what am I going to learn about a hummingbird who seems to be going a million miles an hour?
Speaker 2:So, right in the beginning of the book, I pose the question what is vital? And I go into my story of going into the doctor's office and my vitals are off, something's very off. And so we have to think about what are those vital activities in life, the things that cause us to thrive, the things that really tell us, okay, this is good, we are living the life that God meant us to live for. And I argue that rest is one of those vital activities. And I give the example of the hummingbird. So, just as you mentioned, when you picture a hummingbird, they are constantly in flight. They're going this way, that way, collecting all the nectar from flowers. They seem like they're always busy and in fact they beat their wings 70 times every second. Okay, that is a wonder.
Speaker 2:That's crazy, yeah. So it's 4,200 times or about that every minute. Oh, wow, yeah. And to fuel that constant activity, their heart has to be around 1,200 times a minute. It's 1,400% higher than a human average heart rate. So they are flying, their hearts are beating, beating, racing. So what sustains their activity? It's this strategy that God designed them with, called torpor, and torpor is like a mini hibernation. So there's these physical changes in the hummingbird's body where it's going to go into this deep, deep, unresponsive sleep. In fact, people have found hummingbirds in torpor before and thought that they're deceased. Yeah, in fact, sometimes they'll be perched on a branch or on a feeder and they'll be so deeply in rest that they'll actually fall and be hanging.
Speaker 2:They're still clinging to whatever you're holding on to but they're hanging upside down and they're so deep in rest and it's what sustains them. And so it's this beautiful image of God created us for work. Like the hummingbird, we can go from one thing to the next. We can be productive, we're meant to do that. But we have to return to this deep, rhythmic rest, this pattern, this harmony of work and rest.
Speaker 1:Aaron writes what if we too could support our lives through regular stops? As God designed the hummingbird with restful rhythms, so has he engineered our lives to operate within patterns of rest and activity, cooperating in vital harmony. Maybe you, heartlifter, feel the deficit of rest. You're just not sure what the restful life that Jesus speaks about in Matthew 11, 28 through 30 looks like, or how to get there, or if it's realistic. Maybe we've been thinking about rest wrong, as if it's something we must earn through our efforts and work. Or perhaps rest feels lazy, like we're not pulling our weight or staying as productive as those around us. Okay, heartlifter, take a moment. Let those thoughts soak in as we continue with Erin.
Speaker 1:I'm so blown away. I'm just so blown away. So how do we do that, though? I mean, I really sincerely, I just had a major nerve test on my hand. I've had nerve testing on my feet and I'm like laughing while we're doing it because it's so serious. But I'm like, okay, this really puts you know, you're on my last nerve to a test and I think, okay, I'm 65.
Speaker 1:I have literally just burned out my nerves, like what's going on here? Is this, what is this all about? And I would laugh and say you know I don't relax well, I don't rest well, but you know it's not funny anymore. And so this conversation was really important to me because I admire you so much, was really important to me because I admire you so much and I love the work that you're doing on rest and adding Sabbath, true Sabbath. What does that look like in our lives? Because I just don't know how to rest. I don't value it. So if you're talking to someone like me, which you are, what does that torpor look like in my life? What would that mean? How do I? This is a very clumsy question.
Speaker 2:That's okay, I understand what you're saying. You really put a pinpoint on it there with. I don't value it. And that's true of so many of us, and so I truly believe it's first. We need to start valuing rest, as God does.
Speaker 2:And that was one of my main aims in the book is to show how prevalent rest is throughout scripture, that its roots run deep and wide throughout scripture, so that we can see how God valued rest, values rest, so that we can then value it. And often when I'm presenting on Sabbath and rest, I'll use this visual of a big jar with rocks and sand and I say, okay, the jar is a week of our time and these rocks are the things that we value Faith, family, generosity, health.
Speaker 1:Good work.
Speaker 2:And I have a big rock that is rest. And I put it in first, not because it's the most important, but because it's foundational. And then you place the other rocks on top of it and then I have a bag of sand. The sand is everything else, all those little minute things, dishes, laundry, text messages, emails. Some of it is necessary, like work that God has called us to, but some of it's not necessary, some of it's just distraction.
Speaker 2:And so you start pouring the sand into the jar and what we find is that when we put our values in first, everything else fits in around it. If we started with the sand, the entire jar would fill with sand and we would have no room for our values, including rest. But when we start with our values and rest, we find that they always are there and that even less sand fits in. It's a way of filtering out those distractions that you find that a lot of what you're doing and spending time on you don't need to be, and so I think it really is valuing it. And we see that first in Genesis.
Speaker 2:So rest and Sabbath was hinted at at creation in Genesis, established in the wilderness with the Israelites and fulfilled at Calvary with the Israelites and fulfilled at Calvary. And when you look at Genesis, after God creates everything, he rests. But God's day of rest was Adam's first full day, and so we see this pattern that God works and then rests because he wants to enjoy everything that he just made, not because he needs to rest, but he wants to enjoy it, while man Adam started with rest. So we have to start with rest. We have to value rest in order for it to fuel everything that God calls us to yeah.
Speaker 1:Start with rest. You're so insightful and I love your pursuit to help us all become intellectually faithful. I remember that much about our first conversation. I just loved it so much. You know to have this intelligent faith. You know and understand what God really does intend for us. You have this book filled with journaling prompts and I wonder if you would lead us through one, if you can choose one.
Speaker 2:Okay, there's one that I love, that I actually use in my life almost every day. Okay, and it is based on Psalm 23, which my kids and I recently memorized together. And you know, like Psalm 23, it's very well known the Lord leads us by still waters, makes us lie down in green pastures. And that chapter, that daily entry, it really narrows it down the still waters, because the original language that can be translated as restful waters, that God leads us by restful waters, and so the journaling prompt for that day is I ask people to go through Psalm 23.
Speaker 2:And it starts with the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
Speaker 2:And so I say, okay, I want you to take that phrase I shall not want, and place it after each stanza and I have them write it out. So you say the Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want he makes me lie down in green pastures. I shall not want he leads me beside still rest pastures. I shall not want he leads me beside still restful waters. I shall not want he restores my soul. I shall not want he leads me in the paths of righteousness for His namesake. I shall not want. And you go through the whole chapter that way and what it teaches you is to go slowly, to pause, and that each of those statements in Psalm 23 remind us that we don't need to want, because want and discontentment is often the driver of hustle and hurry.
Speaker 1:Oh, erin, you must say that again, if you can Want and discontent are often the drivers of hustle and hurry.
Speaker 2:So, as we practice being content, we are able to rest in the Lord.
Speaker 1:Wow, okay, I have to close there. It's just breathtaking, okay. So, heartlifters, I want you to take Erin's suggestion and go through Psalm 23, as she just led us adding I shall not want after each stanza, adding I shall not want after each stanza and I would just do it several times, maybe several times a day for a while, until it starts to settle in. Because I think the way that you brought us to the fact that want and discontent often lead us to hustle and hurry, hustle and hurry, which is discontent right, is at the core of our inability to rest. Erin, thank you for telling me about torpor and the hummingbird, and I will be on the hunt to try to find a hummingbird in torpor. That would be the coolest thing ever it would To see that live and in action. I might have to add a couple hummingbird things to my window or something, although is that okay to do?
Speaker 2:I've heard oh, yeah, okay, Hummingbirds, they'll come close to your windows and you can see them. I would put like reflective CDs against your window to help them know that the window is there.
Speaker 1:I like that. Okay, I appreciate it. Erin, godspeed to you. Thank you so much for being here. I cannot wait to hold this book and to share it with all my friends and, hopefully, do a study with it. May you maintain your Sabbath. May you maintain your peace and your rest, as you have a very full plate. Thank you for being with us today and taking the time.
Speaker 2:Thank you for having me.
Speaker 1:Heartlifter Aaron's book the Nature of Rest what the Bible and Creation Teach Us About Sabbath Living releases on May 13th, which is perfect for Mother's Day. Pre-order your copy today. I have mine ready and I cannot wait to receive it as my own Mother's Day gift to myself. I close with these words by Oswald Chambers. The beautiful devotionalist Aaron writes about him in the Nature of Rest.
Speaker 1:Rest means the perfection of motion. I will give you rest, that is, I will stay you S-T-A-Y. Not I will put you to bed and hold your hand and sing you to sleep, but I will get you out of bed, out of the languor and exhaustion, out of being half dead while you are alive. I will so imbue you with the spirit of life that you will be stayed S-T-A-Y-E-D by the perfection of vital activity. What this is? A unique perspective on rest Not idle but active, not lazy but effective and impactful.
Speaker 1:Have you ever equated rest with being fully alive? End quote Heartlifter. I can honestly say no. I have no clue. I do not think on what that might mean for my life to have the perfection of vital activity, for rest to align my daily activities with my deepest values and have my life organized in such a way that I definitely value those things that are vital. Oh, let's keep this conversation going. It is so good for us, it is going to lead us to a meaningful, meaningful life. Join me on Instagram at Janelle Rairdon or over on Substack at Heart Lift Central and if you'd be so kind, would you make a donation. You can do that at JanelleRairdoncom. I'll see you over on Heart Lift Central.
