1 00:00:02,650 --> 00:00:21,419 Speaker 1: Life Audio. Hey friend, ever notice that stress can sometimes 2 00:00:21,480 --> 00:00:25,730 Speaker 1: make your world feel blah? You want to be able 3 00:00:25,810 --> 00:00:29,390 Speaker 1: to feel more joy, but you're not too sure how 4 00:00:29,430 --> 00:00:33,890 Speaker 1: to break the cycle of of worrying. Maybe there are 5 00:00:33,930 --> 00:00:38,530 Speaker 1: problems that you want to fix, and you're not sure 6 00:00:38,760 --> 00:00:43,560 Speaker 1: how you can just feel joy again. Well, today we're 7 00:00:43,640 --> 00:00:47,000 Speaker 1: exploring the science of joy. We're going to learn why 8 00:00:47,220 --> 00:00:52,110 Speaker 1: your brain needs more than just being in survival mode 9 00:00:52,590 --> 00:00:57,110 Speaker 1: and problem solving. Well, friend, welcome to Breathe, the Stress 10 00:00:57,190 --> 00:01:02,110 Speaker 1: Less Podcast. I'm your host, Bonnie Gray. I am a 11 00:01:02,170 --> 00:01:05,320 Speaker 1: soul care mentor. I'm the best-selling author of four books, 12 00:01:05,540 --> 00:01:10,820 Speaker 1: including the bestseller Breathe, 21 Days to Stress Less and 13 00:01:10,880 --> 00:01:15,699 Speaker 1: Transform Chaos to Calm. Today, we are talking about joy. 14 00:01:16,240 --> 00:01:20,390 Speaker 1: Joy is such a big topic. I can definitely do 15 00:01:20,430 --> 00:01:23,290 Speaker 1: a whole series on it. It could be a book 16 00:01:23,330 --> 00:01:27,070 Speaker 1: that I'd love to write, but today, I just want 17 00:01:27,170 --> 00:01:31,610 Speaker 1: to Focus on one aspect just to highlight it for 18 00:01:31,670 --> 00:01:36,069 Speaker 1: you and give you a spark. What happens in our 19 00:01:36,150 --> 00:01:40,660 Speaker 1: minds and our bodies when joy can break us out 20 00:01:40,720 --> 00:01:45,200 Speaker 1: of our survival mode and our stress mode? And this 21 00:01:45,280 --> 00:01:48,320 Speaker 1: is a joy that is not going to be hard 22 00:01:48,400 --> 00:01:51,670 Speaker 1: for us to access. It's something that God designed for 23 00:01:51,810 --> 00:01:57,910 Speaker 1: us to release stress. Well, welcome to our current fall series. 24 00:01:58,050 --> 00:02:03,680 Speaker 1: We're doing science and scripture wellness series. We're taking a 25 00:02:03,720 --> 00:02:06,460 Speaker 1: look at what are the ways God designed our nervous 26 00:02:06,500 --> 00:02:10,260 Speaker 1: system so that we can be able to find peace 27 00:02:10,480 --> 00:02:13,660 Speaker 1: and joy. And today's topic is going to be about joy. 28 00:02:13,680 --> 00:02:16,080 Speaker 1: I'm going to share a personal story with you about 29 00:02:16,100 --> 00:02:18,440 Speaker 1: something that's happened to me this past week where I 30 00:02:18,540 --> 00:02:22,650 Speaker 1: also had to use the practice to move from stress 31 00:02:23,090 --> 00:02:28,000 Speaker 1: to joy. Dear friend, if stress has left you feeling 32 00:02:28,060 --> 00:02:32,940 Speaker 1: emotionally and physically depleted, I wanted to commend to you 33 00:02:32,960 --> 00:02:36,660 Speaker 1: a very important book that changed the course of my 34 00:02:36,720 --> 00:02:39,600 Speaker 1: life because there was a point in my life where 35 00:02:39,680 --> 00:02:43,980 Speaker 1: I was suffering from severe anxiety and panic attacks. And 36 00:02:44,139 --> 00:02:45,800 Speaker 1: I had to go on a whole new journey to 37 00:02:45,860 --> 00:02:50,720 Speaker 1: learn more about how scripture and science work together to 38 00:02:50,800 --> 00:02:55,090 Speaker 1: help us feel better and to heal. I wrote a 39 00:02:55,130 --> 00:02:59,169 Speaker 1: book called Whispers of Rest, 40 Days of God's Love 40 00:02:59,290 --> 00:03:02,530 Speaker 1: to Revitalize Your Soul. I wrote it because I wanted 41 00:03:02,570 --> 00:03:06,130 Speaker 1: to put together the 40 most powerful promises in scripture 42 00:03:06,590 --> 00:03:10,330 Speaker 1: that had helped me along my journey to heal. And 43 00:03:10,490 --> 00:03:16,450 Speaker 1: I pair each chapter, each scripture with a practical rhythm, 44 00:03:16,710 --> 00:03:19,750 Speaker 1: something you can do based on science that will help 45 00:03:19,830 --> 00:03:23,870 Speaker 1: your body and your emotions to feel more peaceful and joyful. 46 00:03:24,630 --> 00:03:26,550 Speaker 1: So I'm going to put a link in our show notes. 47 00:03:26,750 --> 00:03:28,419 Speaker 1: I hope that you check it out. It will be 48 00:03:28,460 --> 00:03:32,640 Speaker 1: a comfort and encouragement to you as we enjoy our 49 00:03:32,700 --> 00:03:36,860 Speaker 1: fall season and prepare for the holidays. And we'll be 50 00:03:36,900 --> 00:03:56,200 Speaker 1: right back. Our breath prayer today comes from a powerful scripture, Jesus' words, 51 00:03:56,460 --> 00:04:04,210 Speaker 1: his invitation. John 1, verse 39. Come and see. Just 52 00:04:04,330 --> 00:04:09,810 Speaker 1: breathe in, breathe out gently. Relax your shoulders and your hands. 53 00:04:10,750 --> 00:04:20,020 Speaker 1: And inhale. Come and see. Exhale. Come and see. Hear 54 00:04:20,080 --> 00:04:24,780 Speaker 1: God's loving voice whispering to you now as you inhale, 55 00:04:25,480 --> 00:04:33,859 Speaker 1: come and see. Exhale, come and see. I wonder which 56 00:04:34,000 --> 00:04:41,779 Speaker 1: word especially speaks to your heart this moment. Allow Jesus 57 00:04:41,900 --> 00:04:46,060 Speaker 1: his hand to encircle your hand as he whispers, come 58 00:04:46,420 --> 00:04:50,500 Speaker 1: and see. And just relax and be present with Jesus 59 00:04:50,580 --> 00:04:55,800 Speaker 1: now in our time together. Well, friend, I had a 60 00:04:55,860 --> 00:05:01,190 Speaker 1: tough week. For some reason, I just wasn't sleeping very well. 61 00:05:02,010 --> 00:05:05,450 Speaker 1: And I think at least part of it was something 62 00:05:05,490 --> 00:05:09,730 Speaker 1: that happened the prior week. It stirred things up. I 63 00:05:09,790 --> 00:05:13,310 Speaker 1: went to a small group and the activity asked us 64 00:05:13,370 --> 00:05:17,170 Speaker 1: to draw a map of our childhood homes. And then 65 00:05:17,210 --> 00:05:20,030 Speaker 1: we were asked to label places in our home where 66 00:05:20,070 --> 00:05:24,730 Speaker 1: we remembered feeling happy or sad. And I had never 67 00:05:24,890 --> 00:05:28,990 Speaker 1: actually drawn a map of my childhood home before. And 68 00:05:29,089 --> 00:05:32,099 Speaker 1: even though I've done a lot of healing through therapy 69 00:05:32,300 --> 00:05:36,520 Speaker 1: and I have made peace with difficult memories in my past, 70 00:05:36,860 --> 00:05:41,760 Speaker 1: trauma from my past, there was something about physically drawing 71 00:05:41,800 --> 00:05:45,140 Speaker 1: that layout that seemed to I don't know, activate something 72 00:05:45,180 --> 00:05:49,660 Speaker 1: in me because starting that night, I had trouble sleeping. 73 00:05:50,300 --> 00:05:52,659 Speaker 1: And for the most of the week, I just felt off. 74 00:05:53,779 --> 00:05:57,140 Speaker 1: And I couldn't sleep deeply, couldn't sleep very long. And 75 00:05:57,320 --> 00:06:00,150 Speaker 1: every day, I just worked hard to just get through 76 00:06:00,210 --> 00:06:03,950 Speaker 1: my usual rhythms that usually helped me, like, you know, 77 00:06:03,990 --> 00:06:08,750 Speaker 1: calming prayer time, being outside, reading a book before bed. 78 00:06:08,770 --> 00:06:13,710 Speaker 1: I just couldn't seem to find any relief. Then Friday morning, 79 00:06:14,260 --> 00:06:18,640 Speaker 1: I noticed when I woke up, my mind automatically, as 80 00:06:18,700 --> 00:06:20,460 Speaker 1: soon as I woke up, it was just full of 81 00:06:20,520 --> 00:06:24,299 Speaker 1: questions like, OK, why was I not sleeping well? Maybe 82 00:06:24,320 --> 00:06:27,740 Speaker 1: I should drink mint tea tonight and that'll help. Maybe 83 00:06:27,760 --> 00:06:30,789 Speaker 1: I need to add soothing music and maybe I didn't 84 00:06:31,089 --> 00:06:34,350 Speaker 1: spend enough time outside. And, you know, my mind was 85 00:06:34,430 --> 00:06:38,289 Speaker 1: just immediately in the problem solving mode of what's wrong? 86 00:06:38,650 --> 00:06:41,110 Speaker 1: What did I miss? What do I need to fix? 87 00:06:41,190 --> 00:06:45,190 Speaker 1: What are my to do's? But interestingly enough, that Friday, 88 00:06:45,270 --> 00:06:48,330 Speaker 1: my husband Eric had decided to take the day off 89 00:06:48,750 --> 00:06:51,300 Speaker 1: so we could spend some time together and have like 90 00:06:51,339 --> 00:06:55,740 Speaker 1: a daytime date. And so when I saw him that morning, 91 00:06:55,800 --> 00:06:59,640 Speaker 1: something happened that really surprised me. It honestly felt like 92 00:06:59,730 --> 00:07:03,570 Speaker 1: my brain just jumped onto a completely different network, like 93 00:07:04,050 --> 00:07:06,809 Speaker 1: a different track, because within seconds of saying good morning 94 00:07:06,850 --> 00:07:10,810 Speaker 1: to him and seeing him, I started feeling good. I 95 00:07:11,070 --> 00:07:13,310 Speaker 1: started thinking about funny things I hadn't had a chance 96 00:07:13,370 --> 00:07:15,950 Speaker 1: to tell him earlier in the week. And we started 97 00:07:15,990 --> 00:07:18,610 Speaker 1: talking about maybe where we could go for lunch or 98 00:07:18,670 --> 00:07:23,570 Speaker 1: grab a cup of coffee and pastry. And wow, within 99 00:07:23,810 --> 00:07:27,210 Speaker 1: less than 10 seconds, my mind was no longer thinking 100 00:07:27,250 --> 00:07:31,200 Speaker 1: about my sleep problems. And I was thinking many different 101 00:07:31,280 --> 00:07:34,580 Speaker 1: ideas about how we could spend our day. Nothing about 102 00:07:34,780 --> 00:07:38,460 Speaker 1: my circumstance had changed, and I still hadn't slept well, 103 00:07:38,780 --> 00:07:42,540 Speaker 1: but suddenly my thoughts filled with things that made me 104 00:07:42,600 --> 00:07:45,240 Speaker 1: feel like the day was going to be a good day. 105 00:07:45,900 --> 00:07:49,600 Speaker 1: And so what I needed that morning wasn't another sleep strategy. 106 00:07:50,380 --> 00:07:54,940 Speaker 1: I needed someone. I needed a loving presence, someone I 107 00:07:54,990 --> 00:07:58,650 Speaker 1: felt safe with and happy to be with. And without 108 00:07:58,690 --> 00:08:00,610 Speaker 1: trying to force myself to be in a better mood, 109 00:08:00,710 --> 00:08:05,680 Speaker 1: I just started having more peaceful, joyful thoughts. And I 110 00:08:05,740 --> 00:08:09,340 Speaker 1: started thinking more about what we could do together. It's 111 00:08:09,420 --> 00:08:12,400 Speaker 1: like my brain just moved on to a different network 112 00:08:12,880 --> 00:08:17,380 Speaker 1: of ideas. And so previously they were all negative. And 113 00:08:17,440 --> 00:08:22,150 Speaker 1: then suddenly within a minute, I became plugged into a 114 00:08:22,190 --> 00:08:25,050 Speaker 1: different network of thoughts. And they were thoughts of peace 115 00:08:25,350 --> 00:08:29,070 Speaker 1: and joy, things that we can enjoy together. And so 116 00:08:29,110 --> 00:08:32,290 Speaker 1: the day just totally turned around. And it just made 117 00:08:32,330 --> 00:08:37,270 Speaker 1: me think of Jesus. When Jesus called his disciples, he 118 00:08:37,370 --> 00:08:41,880 Speaker 1: didn't just simply give them information about himself. In the 119 00:08:41,929 --> 00:08:45,620 Speaker 1: Gospel of John, chapter 1, two of John, the Baptist disciples, 120 00:08:45,679 --> 00:08:50,240 Speaker 1: began following Jesus. And they asked him where was he staying. 121 00:08:50,820 --> 00:08:54,969 Speaker 1: But instead of telling him, Jesus said, come and see. 122 00:08:55,390 --> 00:08:58,030 Speaker 1: And so I love that he used the word see. 123 00:08:58,620 --> 00:09:04,110 Speaker 1: The Greek word for see is harao. It means to 124 00:09:04,260 --> 00:09:11,630 Speaker 1: perceive through experience. It's experiential seeing. So Jesus wasn't just saying, hey, 125 00:09:11,730 --> 00:09:15,250 Speaker 1: come and get some information about me. He was inviting 126 00:09:15,290 --> 00:09:18,750 Speaker 1: them to spend some time. Come, be with me. Experience 127 00:09:18,809 --> 00:09:21,710 Speaker 1: life with me. And so they went. They stayed with 128 00:09:21,750 --> 00:09:25,110 Speaker 1: Jesus that day. I love it because the day completely 129 00:09:25,150 --> 00:09:28,640 Speaker 1: changed our lives, right? So when Andrew came back, from 130 00:09:28,679 --> 00:09:31,450 Speaker 1: spending the day with Jesus, the first thing he did 131 00:09:31,470 --> 00:09:35,550 Speaker 1: is to go tell Peter, his brother, we have found 132 00:09:35,610 --> 00:09:38,910 Speaker 1: the Messiah. And I love that the Greek word used 133 00:09:38,950 --> 00:09:44,430 Speaker 1: for found is hierisko. And it means to discover. And 134 00:09:44,480 --> 00:09:48,459 Speaker 1: you discover something through an experience. We spend so much 135 00:09:48,480 --> 00:09:52,560 Speaker 1: time in our heads thinking about our problems. And yet 136 00:09:52,860 --> 00:09:58,520 Speaker 1: Jesus says, come and experience. Peace and joy. Come and 137 00:09:58,559 --> 00:10:03,880 Speaker 1: be curious. Come discover something new. And so that is 138 00:10:03,980 --> 00:10:08,710 Speaker 1: really the key to joy. Joy is something we don't 139 00:10:08,750 --> 00:10:14,150 Speaker 1: just think about or analyze. Joy is something we were 140 00:10:14,170 --> 00:10:21,000 Speaker 1: designed to experience. And often we experience it with another person. 141 00:10:21,020 --> 00:10:25,540 Speaker 1: I love that God sent Jesus because he knew we 142 00:10:25,600 --> 00:10:30,780 Speaker 1: needed to see and hear and experience Jesus. We can 143 00:10:30,860 --> 00:10:35,000 Speaker 1: see that the disciples went all different places with Jesus, 144 00:10:35,120 --> 00:10:39,840 Speaker 1: a variety of experiences. Somebody that they can laugh with, 145 00:10:40,140 --> 00:10:45,110 Speaker 1: someone that can listen to them, someone whose presence can help. 146 00:10:45,520 --> 00:10:48,330 Speaker 1: come back to the present moment, right? Spending time together. 147 00:10:48,390 --> 00:10:51,429 Speaker 1: And I think that's one of the reasons God calls 148 00:10:51,530 --> 00:10:56,449 Speaker 1: us as believers to be together. It's always about personal 149 00:10:56,730 --> 00:11:01,990 Speaker 1: relationships and connection. That's how Jesus can encourage us. He 150 00:11:02,030 --> 00:11:04,790 Speaker 1: can help us to have different experiences when we're together. 151 00:11:04,809 --> 00:11:09,700 Speaker 1: A conversation, sharing a meal, a laugh, a walk. And 152 00:11:09,880 --> 00:11:12,780 Speaker 1: I think that's part of Jesus's invitation to you and me. 153 00:11:13,300 --> 00:11:17,610 Speaker 1: Come and see. Come out of the problem for a moment. 154 00:11:18,070 --> 00:11:22,660 Speaker 1: Come into my presence. Come receive what is good. Because 155 00:11:22,720 --> 00:11:27,960 Speaker 1: God didn't design us only to survive difficult things. Jesus 156 00:11:28,020 --> 00:11:31,840 Speaker 1: came and said he wants us to experience joy. He 157 00:11:31,900 --> 00:11:35,910 Speaker 1: came so we can experience joy fully. Now, after the break, 158 00:11:35,929 --> 00:11:39,069 Speaker 1: we're going to look at some fascinating science about joy 159 00:11:39,550 --> 00:11:42,770 Speaker 1: and how it can help us break out of our stress. 160 00:11:54,880 --> 00:12:00,450 Speaker 1: Psychologist Barbara Fredrickson developed what is called the broaden and 161 00:12:00,590 --> 00:12:05,970 Speaker 1: build theory of positive emotions. What that means is that 162 00:12:06,010 --> 00:12:10,929 Speaker 1: when we feel afraid or stressed, our minds tend to 163 00:12:11,070 --> 00:12:15,670 Speaker 1: zoom in on the problem. But when we experience positive 164 00:12:15,730 --> 00:12:20,300 Speaker 1: emotions like joy, our minds can open back up and 165 00:12:20,380 --> 00:12:25,010 Speaker 1: help us notice more possibilities, And we become more curious 166 00:12:25,200 --> 00:12:28,340 Speaker 1: and engaged. I like to think of it as I 167 00:12:28,380 --> 00:12:31,520 Speaker 1: just don't feel off anymore. I'm like in the flow, 168 00:12:32,020 --> 00:12:36,220 Speaker 1: in the moment. When we feel threatened or afraid, circling 169 00:12:36,260 --> 00:12:41,600 Speaker 1: around some worry we can't shake, our attention naturally narrows. 170 00:12:42,120 --> 00:12:46,020 Speaker 1: Our whole world seems blocked. But when we can experience 171 00:12:46,090 --> 00:12:49,670 Speaker 1: positive emotions, have some experiences that bring us joy, it 172 00:12:50,710 --> 00:12:54,400 Speaker 1: will then open up. broaden our attention. We get the 173 00:12:54,559 --> 00:12:59,179 Speaker 1: color back into our world. We can hear the birds sing. 174 00:12:59,260 --> 00:13:02,660 Speaker 1: We can actually notice the sunlight and feel the warmth. 175 00:13:03,170 --> 00:13:07,650 Speaker 1: Our whole body, our whole emotions, we can come back 176 00:13:08,210 --> 00:13:13,010 Speaker 1: and engage with life again. So when I'm talking about 177 00:13:13,110 --> 00:13:16,870 Speaker 1: joy helping break our stress, it can come through being 178 00:13:16,910 --> 00:13:20,110 Speaker 1: with somebody that brings us peace or joy. It could 179 00:13:20,150 --> 00:13:23,559 Speaker 1: be a moment of beauty. And it can come through, 180 00:13:23,620 --> 00:13:27,840 Speaker 1: most importantly, a shared experience. Apparently, that's what I needed. 181 00:13:28,420 --> 00:13:31,760 Speaker 1: Something that can make us just feel our joyful self 182 00:13:32,300 --> 00:13:37,260 Speaker 1: come alive again. It's when we're in that joyful mode, 183 00:13:37,760 --> 00:13:42,460 Speaker 1: that's when the ideas flow. Even simple ideas suddenly feel 184 00:13:42,580 --> 00:13:45,950 Speaker 1: exciting to us. And the day doesn't feel blah. The 185 00:13:45,990 --> 00:13:49,810 Speaker 1: day has color again. And so I'm just curious, what 186 00:13:49,850 --> 00:13:55,530 Speaker 1: would help you to bring out your joyful self. It 187 00:13:55,570 --> 00:13:58,010 Speaker 1: doesn't mean we don't have problems. It doesn't mean there 188 00:13:58,070 --> 00:14:00,809 Speaker 1: isn't a time to solve them, but our brain needs 189 00:14:00,830 --> 00:14:03,090 Speaker 1: those moments where we can take a break from our 190 00:14:03,130 --> 00:14:08,220 Speaker 1: worries and through an experience, an experience of what brings 191 00:14:08,300 --> 00:14:11,860 Speaker 1: out your joyful self. What is it that has brought 192 00:14:11,900 --> 00:14:15,579 Speaker 1: you joy in the past? And maybe another question to 193 00:14:15,760 --> 00:14:18,840 Speaker 1: ask is, what is a new joy? God may be 194 00:14:18,900 --> 00:14:22,900 Speaker 1: inviting you to experience something As for me that day, 195 00:14:23,220 --> 00:14:26,520 Speaker 1: we decided to go try a new sandwich place for lunch. 196 00:14:26,950 --> 00:14:30,090 Speaker 1: It had opened up recently and we just never got 197 00:14:30,130 --> 00:14:32,670 Speaker 1: a chance to go and try it out. But you 198 00:14:32,710 --> 00:14:35,430 Speaker 1: know what? It was so good to just step out 199 00:14:35,510 --> 00:14:38,570 Speaker 1: and do something different because my world had become so 200 00:14:38,670 --> 00:14:42,400 Speaker 1: narrow and small earlier in the week. But once I 201 00:14:42,440 --> 00:14:45,000 Speaker 1: stepped out of it, then I wasn't thinking about my 202 00:14:45,040 --> 00:14:50,000 Speaker 1: sleep problems anymore. And guess what? Yes, I did sleep 203 00:14:50,060 --> 00:14:54,910 Speaker 1: better that night. Because, friends, science shows that repetitive worry 204 00:14:55,550 --> 00:14:59,830 Speaker 1: can keep our stress response activated. That stress response just 205 00:15:00,150 --> 00:15:05,190 Speaker 1: stays on. And that means higher cortisol. And that's hard 206 00:15:05,330 --> 00:15:07,750 Speaker 1: to go to sleep and sleep deeply when our cortisol 207 00:15:07,790 --> 00:15:11,450 Speaker 1: levels are so high. But when we have some positive emotions, 208 00:15:12,130 --> 00:15:17,410 Speaker 1: that is associated with lower cortisol. So then sleep was 209 00:15:17,670 --> 00:15:26,010 Speaker 1: much better that night. physiological and emotional state was different. 210 00:15:27,270 --> 00:15:30,190 Speaker 1: So friend, I just really want you to know that 211 00:15:30,250 --> 00:15:35,739 Speaker 1: your joy, your moments of joy is important, especially if 212 00:15:35,780 --> 00:15:40,300 Speaker 1: you're under stress. It's even more important to break out 213 00:15:40,580 --> 00:15:44,600 Speaker 1: and go give yourself time with an experience that can 214 00:15:44,700 --> 00:15:49,330 Speaker 1: bring you joy. Those positive emotions can help open up 215 00:15:49,370 --> 00:15:53,130 Speaker 1: your world and it will make a difference. So friend, 216 00:15:53,230 --> 00:15:57,150 Speaker 1: here is your soul care challenge. I always want to 217 00:15:57,190 --> 00:16:00,170 Speaker 1: send you out with something practical you can do. I 218 00:16:00,230 --> 00:16:04,190 Speaker 1: want you to choose one small experience of joy. And 219 00:16:05,350 --> 00:16:08,250 Speaker 1: if you're like me, you've tried a lot of different things, 220 00:16:08,630 --> 00:16:12,770 Speaker 1: I want you to do it with another person because 221 00:16:12,890 --> 00:16:15,960 Speaker 1: that is ultimately important. what Jesus came to do. He 222 00:16:16,040 --> 00:16:19,250 Speaker 1: came to join us, walk with us, and he brings 223 00:16:19,540 --> 00:16:23,230 Speaker 1: others alongside us. And it's part of our wellness. It's 224 00:16:23,330 --> 00:16:26,210 Speaker 1: part of the way God designed us. We need to 225 00:16:26,250 --> 00:16:29,730 Speaker 1: be with others, especially when we're feeling down, to go 226 00:16:29,810 --> 00:16:32,450 Speaker 1: do something, take a break, do something that can bring 227 00:16:32,650 --> 00:16:36,410 Speaker 1: you joy. Is it having coffee, go trying out a 228 00:16:36,490 --> 00:16:39,720 Speaker 1: new place for lunch, or taking a walk together, or 229 00:16:40,860 --> 00:16:44,420 Speaker 1: just sharing space together to have some tea? I don't 230 00:16:44,500 --> 00:16:48,010 Speaker 1: know what it is, but I trust the Holy Spirit 231 00:16:48,270 --> 00:16:50,790 Speaker 1: is going to spark an idea in your heart and 232 00:16:50,830 --> 00:16:54,570 Speaker 1: maybe it's already surfaced. And remember, you don't have to 233 00:16:54,650 --> 00:16:57,190 Speaker 1: feel like you're in the mood. It's because we're not 234 00:16:57,270 --> 00:16:59,950 Speaker 1: in the mood. We want to step out by faith 235 00:17:00,410 --> 00:17:05,080 Speaker 1: to follow Jesus wherever he's put the idea on your heart. 236 00:17:05,619 --> 00:17:11,920 Speaker 1: Maybe notice what makes you curious. Sometimes joy begins with curiosity. 237 00:17:12,460 --> 00:17:16,750 Speaker 1: It's a seed. Let's pray. Dear Jesus, thank you that 238 00:17:16,790 --> 00:17:21,190 Speaker 1: you invite me to come and see. When stress makes 239 00:17:21,250 --> 00:17:25,050 Speaker 1: my world feel so small, help me to notice the 240 00:17:25,109 --> 00:17:28,869 Speaker 1: people you've placed in my life. Help me to notice 241 00:17:28,930 --> 00:17:32,129 Speaker 1: beauty and the moments of joy you're inviting me to 242 00:17:32,260 --> 00:17:37,820 Speaker 1: experience with you. Amen. Well, friend, I hope that today's 243 00:17:38,280 --> 00:17:42,050 Speaker 1: episode has lifted your spirit up. And if you know 244 00:17:42,109 --> 00:17:46,310 Speaker 1: a friend that you can encourage, share this episode with her. Remember, friend, 245 00:17:46,630 --> 00:17:50,770 Speaker 1: you're loved, you're cherished. Just rest. And I'll see you 246 00:17:50,810 --> 00:17:59,550 Speaker 1: next time. Breathe, the Stress Less podcast is a production 247 00:17:59,609 --> 00:18:02,560 Speaker 1: of Life Audio and Salem Media. If you liked what 248 00:18:02,600 --> 00:18:04,820 Speaker 1: you heard today, please take a second to rate and 249 00:18:04,880 --> 00:18:08,399 Speaker 1: review this podcast in your favorite podcast app so that 250 00:18:08,460 --> 00:18:12,160 Speaker 1: more listeners like you can find the show. For more faith-filled, 251 00:18:12,300 --> 00:18:15,190 Speaker 1: inspirational podcasts, visit us at lifeaudio.com.