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Sleep, Rest and Renewal: God’s Rhythm in Creation and Our Lives |  POD 008

Sleep, Rest and Renewal: God’s Rhythm in Creation and Our Lives | POD 008

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HOSTS & GUESTS

Dr. Gayln Perry – Guest

Paul Brandes – Host

Liz Nelson – Guest

Show Notes

Sleep, Rest and Renewal: God’s Rhythm in Creation and Our Lives

How important are rest and sleep for renewal and spiritual growth? In this episode, we discuss how God’s design for rest affects all of creation, with sleep being a crucial element. Dr. Gayln Perry and Liz Nelson regularly work with patients who struggle with sleep disorders. They share their expertise, clarifying and addressing common contributors to sleep and rest issues. We talk about practical ideas for improving sleep quality and how inconsistent sleep schedules, napping in the afternoon, and engaging in non-sleep-related activities in bed can negatively impact the quality of sleep. Other negative contributing factors emphasized are caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol. Exposure to bright light in the evenings from electronics can also confuse our circadian rhythm. We find out more about the importance of understanding and prioritizing sleep and rest for our physical and spiritual health.

In the latest episode of theFormed.life, we explore the importance of rest and sleep in our lives.

 

THREE KEY TAKEAWAYS:

Join us in this conversation about the importance of rest and sleep in our daily lives.

  1. God designed us to need rest, and resisting a Sabbath rest can prevent us from experiencing the joy, beauty, hope, peace, and calm that God intended for us to flourish.
  2. Sleep disorders, such as insomnia, can be triggered by life stressors, but prioritizing rest and building connections with others can lead to improved sleep.
  3. Best practices for improving sleep quality include consistent wake-up times, avoiding non-sleep-related activities in bed, and minimizing exposure to caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol.

#TheFormedLife #RestAndRenewal #SleepQuality #SabbathRest #MentalHealthAwareness

 

GUEST BIO(S):

Dr. Gayln Perry is a pulmonologist dedicated to helping patients with all aspects of sleep, including sleep disorders. Her passion for this field stemmed from her personal struggle with insomnia over 30 years ago. She understands the importance of getting proper, restful sleep and empathizes with those who are facing life stressors that make it difficult to do so. With her expertise and compassion, Dr. Perry strives to help her patients achieve the restful sleep they need to live healthy and happy lives.

Liz Nelson earned her MA in Counseling from MidAmerica Nazarene University. She is a Clinically Licensed Professional Counselor in the State of Kansas. Her areas of focus are adult counseling for individuals and couples. Elizabeth works from a psychodynamic theory and the attachment perspective that honors the client’s experiences of personal and relational struggles that interfere with well-being. Together with the client, Liz explores the symptoms and causes of distress. She works with a wide variety of needs and in diverse populations. Elizabeth also has over two decades of experience serving the non-profit community in Kansas City, and is deeply committed to coming alongside these leaders, caregivers, and volunteers.

 

 

QUOTES:

“…the circadian rhythm is driven by… the master clock. Every cell in our body has a clock and… it lines up with the master clock… and that clock again wakes us up when the sun comes up and puts us to sleep at night… In the morning when we wake up, we really should get bright light exposure and that resets that clock every day.”
– Dr. Gayln Perry

 

“I would prioritize sleep because it impacts your immune system, it impacts your emotional margin with your family, it impacts your productivity at work… it’s extremely important.”
– Dr. Gayln Perry

 

“[We need to] schedule times of holistic rest prior to other priorities, like where are the walks, where is nature, where is community, where are the sunsets? Schedule that ahead of other priorities or it disappears.”
– Liz Nelson

 

“…there’s an understanding that rest is designed by God, and we are designed by God to need rest.”
– Liz Nelson

 

 

RESOURCES:

The Body Keeps The Score: Book

Reading Resurrection in the Book of Nature: Blog from The Gospel Coalition

How Shorter Work Weeks Could Save The Planet: BBC Blog

 

CHAPTERS:

00:01:49 “Pulmonologist tackles a wide range of sleep issues”
00:02:24 “Doctor’s Insomnia Struggle Inspires Patient Care Approach”
00:12:16 “The Divine Importance of Sleep for Health”
00:14:58 “The Importance of Sleep for All Ages”
00:16:01 “The Fascinating Biology of our Circadian Rhythm”
00:18:16 “Improving Sleep Quality Through Addressing Mental Health”
00:26:30 “Tips for Better Sleep: Consistency is Key”
00:28:53 “Prioritize Sleep: Impact on Health, Family & Work”

Are We Building the Altar?

Are We Building the Altar?

In 1 Kings 18 we find one of the most dramatic Old Testament accounts. Elijah, the prophet of the one true God of Israel, challenges the prophets of the Canaanite god, Baal, to a contest to demonstrate whose God is real. 

 

The terms of the contest were simple. The prophets of Baal and Elijah would each prepare an altar and each would sacrifice a bull on the altar. But neither would set a fire on the altar. Instead, each would call on the name of their god and whichever god answered with fire, that god was the true God.

 

Tim Keller in his recent article “The Decline and Renewal of the American Church: Part 3 — The Path to Renewal” points out that many Christians have seen this Old Testament account as a helpful metaphor for how God brings about renewal in the church. Keller defines a revival or renewal this way: “Revivals are periods of great spiritual awakening and growth. In revivals, ‘sleepy’ and lukewarm Christians wake up, nominal Christians get converted, and many skeptical non-believers are drawn to faith.”

 

Only God can bring the “fire of renewal.” Human technique and effort alone cannot produce renewal. Nor can the church compel or manipulate the means or timing of God’s work. However, this does not mean there is nothing we can do as we long for a fresh work of God in our lives, churches, and culture. We can build the altar. As noted by Keller,  “Christians looking for revival, they are ‘building the altar,’ praying that God will use their efforts to bring a fire of renewal with a movement of his Spirit.” 

 

In the first two installments of his four-part series of articles, Keller gives an account of the decline of both mainline and evangelical Christianity. Both articles are lengthy and nuanced and well worth careful reading. Keller’s point in both articles is summed up this way: 

 

Virtually everyone agrees that something is radically wrong with the church. Inside, there is more polarization and conflict than ever, with all factions agreeing (for different reasons) that the church is in deep trouble. Outside the church, journalists, sociologists, and all other observers either bemoan or celebrate the church’s decline numerically, institutionally, and in influence.

 

While the church is always in need of reforming and refining, it seems like this moment in American Christianity is in need of something more than refining. This seems to be a moment when something like renewal or revival is needed.

 

Over 30 years ago Christ Community was founded with the longing and prayer that this local church would be a catalyst for spiritual renewal in Kansas City. That longing and prayer still endures today.  

 

How can Christ Community build the altar?

Keller suggests three altar-building practices. 

 

Recovery of the gospel

It is all too easy for pastors and congregation members alike to functionally forget the radical good news of grace. This is the news that in Jesus we are completely known and loved — not because of anything we have done — but because of what Jesus has done for us. 

 

Theologian Kelly Kapic in his wonderful book You’re Only Human invites his readers to consider two questions. First, do you believe God loves you? He suggests that most Christians would say of course, God loves me. But then he poses a second question: does God like you? How would you respond? He writes: 

 

Have you ever felt that your parents or spouse or your God loved you, and yet wondered if they actually liked you? Love is so loaded with obligations and duty that it often loses all emotive force, all sense of pleasure and satisfaction. Like can remind us of an aspect of God’s love we can all too easily forget. Forgetting God’s delight and joy in us stunts our ability to enjoy God’s love. Forgiveness, as beautiful and crucial as it is, is not enough unless it is understood to come from love and lead back to love. Unless we understand the gospel in terms of God’s fierce delight in us — not merely a wiping away of prior offenses. Unless we understand God’s battle for us as a dramatic, personal rescue and not merely a cold forensic process, we have ignored most of the Scriptures as well as the needs of the human condition.

 

It is this understanding of gospel love and grace that is the keystone in the rebuilding of the altar.

 

Corporate prayer

The second altar-building practice is corporate prayer. While private individual prayer is vital, a quick survey of the history of renewal moments shows a common thread: Christians gathering together to pray for God to work and move.

 

As we seek the renewal of our churches and communities, prayer is critical. And not just corporate prayer within Christ Community but with other like-minded Christians and churches, especially across racial and socio-economic dividing lines. 

 

Creativity

Finally, altar-building is marked by creativity. No two renewal moments have looked exactly the same. Building the altar isn’t a matter of simply trying to reproduce the methods from previous moments. It is about looking for fresh insights into this particular moment, discerning how the Spirit is working. A fantastic resource for understanding this cultural moment and sparking creativity is Mark Sayers book Reappearing Church: The Hope for Renewal in the Rise of Our Post-Christian Culture. Get a copy and read it with a group of other believers.

 

Conclusion

In the story of 1 Kings 18, not only does Elijah build the altar but he saturates it with water. The more soaked the altar is, the more dramatic the demonstration of God’s work and word. As we approach deeply contentious election seasons in 2022 and 2024, and face violence, war, and economic challenges in our nation and world, it is obvious; no mere human can light the fire. 

 

But we trust the resurrected King Jesus who, when He had ascended to the right hand of His Father in Heaven, sent the Holy Spirit. The Spirit in Acts 2 appeared as flames of fire above the heads of those gathered in Jerusalem for Pentecost.

This is my prayer: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, we pray, we ask, we plead: do it again! For your glory and our good, make yourself known to us, renew us, heal us. Make us faithful to build the altar. We trust you and your timing for the fire. Amen.

Renewal Starts With Me

Renewal Starts With Me

There is a question I cannot get out of my mind. I have been thinking about it incessantly over the last several months because something I have never seen or heard about before has happened in these months. Here is that question:

Why did so many people check out of church in a time of crisis?

I am not talking about physical attendance because there have been good reasons for people to engage digitally in a time of pandemic. Even when taking into consideration the need for some people to remain physically distant, church attendance and engagement is down. Instead of a time of crisis leading people to seek God in more intentional ways, the reverse happened.

Why?

I was 18 when 9/11 happened, and even in our small suburb of Indianapolis, church attendance swelled in the weeks following the tragedy. Even teachers hostile to the gospel thanked my classmates and me for spending time in prayer during the day of 9/11. Throughout our history, that has been the norm. In times of crisis, people turn to God and His church.

But not this crisis. Why not?

I have pondered that question with many people, and have found it is easy for me (and others) to use this to justify conclusions we believe to be true See…this is proof I have been right all along! That’s not helpful.

I am not sure we are ready to understand why in a time of crisis people are no longer interested in turning to the church. In reality, this continues a long-standing trend in the United States of decreased church engagement. People who used to come to church every week now only come twice a month. People who used to come twice a month now don’t come anymore. Those trends were in place long before the pandemic, and it appears the pandemic has expedited those trends.

If you are a Christian, compelled by the reality that Jesus is King and He is the greatest gift to our world, what are we to do to reverse these trends?

That question we can answer. Read any book on renewal in the church, and there are many good ones (Why Revival Tarries by Leonard Ravenhill, Dynamics of Spiritual Life Richard Lovelace, God Sized Vision by John Woodbridg), and they all say the same thing. They all say we have to start in the same place. A starting place summarized well by Mark Sayers in his book on renewal, Reappearing Church:

Renewal comes when we are sickened by our false gods and the broken promises of our impotent idols and ideologies. When we are shattered by our striving and pathetic attempts at saving ourselves, we fall into the arms of Christ to be remade without caveats and compromises.

In other words, renewal starts within the church when I get fed up with my attempts to save myself. When I finally become overwhelmed by the gospel and throw myself in front of Christ for Him to do whatever He wants with me. Renewal and revival starts within our church NOT with others, but with me.

Renewal starts with me. 

That is why – despite pandemics, decreased church attendance, or whatever has driven people away from church in a time of crisis – I am not concerned. I am hopeful. Church, we still have every resource we need in order to see a fresh conversion to the gospel in our own times.

We have Jesus, and He is still in the remaking business, and always will be. He wants to remake us after Himself. Maybe the real question is – do I want that?