Podcast

Simply Begin Again – Podcast 133 (5:50)

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Ever feel stuck or discouraged about moving forward? Here is a simple exercise that makes all the difference.

Transcript

Welcome to the Sabbath Cafe Podcast. This is Episode 133 – Simply begin again.
For transcripts and more episodes, please go to sabbathcafe.substack.com.

Hi everyone! Thanks for listening to the Sabbath Cafe Podcast. And welcome to our first episode of 2025. I hope you all had a good holiday season and had a good restful time.

Usually me and my family, we take a break in some downtime at the end of the year. And so by the time January rolls around, supposedly we’re all ready to go, right? I was very excited. I had a great break with a lot of new ideas. And so I thought, “Great. January started, new year. I am ready to go and jumping into all these new projects.”

But sometimes, when you’re so excited about a vision or all these things in your mind and you sit down at the table to start working on it, all of a sudden, you feel so intimidated.

I think for me it’s a few things all mixed together there’s the self-doubt of starting new projects, and then just trying to get back into anything after a break always takes time. And I know for sure that the first couple of tries, I will be making mistakes just because I’m trying to remember some of the things… trying to warm up.

And as a recovering perfectionist, I often get stuck at this stage. I don’t know why, but the idea of making mistakes often keep me from moving forward.

And a few years back, I learned about this exercise of beginning again, how to begin again. And it has been so helpful for when I feel paralyzed in the process.

This is actually an old Franciscan advice or exercise. Basically, it’s to treat yourself as a beginner. And whatever project or whatever you’re trying to do, just think of yourself doing it as a beginner. And it sounds simple, but it’s such a powerful tool.

When we begin again, we wipe the slate clean. We just toss away any expectation of ourselves and just reconnect and focus on what we need to work on.

And it also helps to get rid of any guilt or shame you may feel about taking a break. The feelings of guilt and shame, they only keep us stuck looking at the past. They don’t really help us move forward. And so when we begin again and start over, we can kind of put those things aside and simply jump back into the process.

This is so helpful when you want to make any long-term changes. Whether it’s about exercising, eating better, or just building any new habits, it takes time for these new routines to form and to adapt. And so whenever you find yourself falling back into old habits or quitting new routines, there’s no need to beat yourself up. Just simply begin again.

This idea of starting and restarting as a beginner is also a great exercise for us folks who wrestle with ADHD tendencies. This practice removes so much of that self-criticism that we always hear in our thoughts that brings the guilt and the shame. And so this exercise is remove those things so we can simply move forward and start to re-engage with the process.

If you have ADHD tendencies, you know what I’m talking about. Even before we start anything, that critical inner voice almost always has already killed any motivation. And so whenever I feel those old voices starting again, I just have to remind myself to simply begin again. Then I can just stop all those criticisms and remove all that self-sabotage.

And so if you have been thinking about starting or restarting any projects or habit in the new year, I hope you will give this a try. Simply begin again and just take that next step.

Treat yourself like a beginner and enjoy the process of learning and discovering.

Treat yourself as a beginner and give yourself the grace to practice without any expectations.

Learning to begin again really helped me get unstuck so many times in my process. I hope it’ll be helpful for you too.

And that’s it for this episode.

For transcript and the podcast archive, please visit sabbathcafe.substack.com.

Thanks for listening, and we’ll see you next time.

Time of Transition – Podcast 132 (6:18)

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Looking back, 2024 was an exciting year for me. Looking forward, I’m even more excited for 2025. Let’s go!

Transcript

Thank you for listening to the Sabbath Cafe Podcast.
This is Episode 132, A Time for Transition.

Hi everyone! Thanks for joining us. This is Michele.

Time flies. I can’t believe that we’re at the end of 2024 already. This year went by so fast. It totally felt like a blur. So by the time Thanksgiving rolled around, I felt like I was done for the year. And so I just stopped and took a break.

And I journaled about some of the key events that happened this year just to jog my memory. And I wanted to get a big picture. And after I did that, I realized I did a lot of new and different things this year. Totally not what I expected at all.

For the past couple of years, I was mainly focusing on painting, watercolors, and I was doing a couple of other things too. So in the beginning of 2024, I thought that’s what I’m going to continue working on. But it didn’t quite turn out that way.

And back in spring, I ended up helping at my local election for the very first time. I know, something totally different. I met this gentleman at my local coffee shop. Now, we had a completely different culture and background, but when I heard him speak about his heart for the community and his vision for my area, I totally connected with it. And so I just decided I was going to join his team of volunteers.

And we happened to be a bunch of people with completely different backgrounds and cultures. We had Muslims, we had Christians, we had Indians, and pretty much all the different people groups that made up my community. And so it was really exciting and I had fun.

And most of the friends that I had reached out to to kind of share about this election, they didn’t know what to think about my new project. But it was amazing to just be able to step out of my comfort zone for a cause that’s really close to my heart and to just really connect with different people – to find other people out there where we share the same vision.

And the interesting thing is I have been praying for my area since 2022. Things were not going in the right direction. And so I’ve just been praying for God to bring about change. I just did not expect that God will bring me into the community as part of that change.

And later on in the year, I volunteered on another project, also community-based. And so I see God opening new doors and taking me in new directions and just being more involved with my neighbors and the area that I live in.

The new projects that I’m working on, that is going to continue into 2025. And so I start to see that God is giving me a new focus that is heading into the new year. So when I got a chance to just kind of stop and look back at what I did this whole year, I start to see a theme of transition, of change and new opportunities that God is shifting me into.

And what is interesting is also that I’m sensing this on a larger scale too. A lot of the friends and my prayer partners that I talk with, we all sense a newness, a time of change and transition.

And actually, as we look back and review the major milestones in 2024, I think I’m starting to see that the shift is already happening.

And so as we are on the cusp of 2025, also a time of transitioning, I just want to invite you to look back at your year, and see what are the new opportunities and major milestones that you’ve had and what are the new interests that’s caught your attention.

I just want to encourage you to be bold and to take up new projects, walk through the new doors if you get the opportunity. If the door opens, Give it a shot. Be ready to try different things.

Something I’ve learned this year is that God’s opportunity can come at any time. And this may also mean that we need to finish up and close up certain projects that we have been working on to make room for new ones. And so be mindful to see what are the areas that it’s time for us to close so that we can get ready for new changes, be ready for new people and connections.

And so I just wanted to take this chance and share about what I’ve been feeling in my spirit.

And I have to be honest, I am excited and looking forward to 2025. Thank you so much for your support for me this year. I look forward to sharing the new things I’ll be learning.

See you next year.

Thank you so much for listening to the Sabbath Cafe podcast.
For transcripts and more, please visit sabbathcafe.substack.com or sabbathcafeblog.com.

Thank you so much for listening and we’ll see you next year.

My thoughts about Sabbath – Podcast 131 (9:27)

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The idea of Sabbath and rest seem to be a major theme in my life and God often brings my focus back onto rest and the heart of Mary. Maybe this is a good time for me to chat about this topic…

Transcript

You’re listening to Sabbath Cafe Podcast. This is Episode 131, What Sabbaths Means to Me.

Hi, everyone! Thank you for listening to the Sabbath Cafe Podcast. This is Michele. This week, we’re celebrating Thanksgiving here in the States. And I just want to take this time to say a quick thank you for listening to us. You are a great encouragement to me, and I’m so grateful. Thank you.

So recently, I met up with a friend who found my podcast. Since he has a break right now, he jokingly mentioned that he just may take a Sabbath break. And I realized I never did an episode on the Sabbath. Maybe this is a good time to start this conversation. And so here are my thoughts.

And I’ve been thinking about this idea for a long time also because it’s such a counter-cultural idea. Because the Sabbath rest quintessentially is to stop doing.

If you ever are curious about the idea of Sabbath and what it is, it’s just about stop doing work and becoming who you are and stop striving. I think that makes a lot of people very uncomfortable. Because they assume that what it means is that we are not doing anything at all. That being passive or that having a Sabbath time is being passive.

But what I realize is that when I’m doing something or when I’m moving because of people’s expectation, it pushes me to a place where I’m reacting. And more often than not, I’m reacting. And when I’m reacting, I’m not getting God’s guidance. I’m not able to sense the Holy Spirit’s recommendations or insights. And that just brings us back to the story of Mary and Martha.

In the New Testament, there are two sisters. These are Jesus’ contemporaries. So they’re actually real people in biblical times. And there’s one section where Jesus went to Mary and Martha’s house.

I think both Mary and Martha really loved and just think it’s such a great honor that Jesus stopped at their house. But both of them responded very differently.

So when you look in scripture, it says that Mary sat at Jesus’ feet listening to everything he’s saying. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made.

And Martha was, of course, kind of overwhelmed. So she said,

“Jesus? Why are you not telling Mary to help me? Don’t you care that I’m left to do all the work by myself? Tell her to help me.”

And Jesus said,

“Martha, you’re worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is necessary. And Mary has chosen what is better and will not be taken away from her.”

I think I am so much like a Martha. Oftentimes, I find myself in a situation. My first reaction is, what is the situation? What can I do to manage it? I would jump on it and do all this stuff.

But I think what God is saying is to remind me that I’m no longer alone, right? God is not expecting me to do the work by myself anymore. And God is wanting me to learn Mary’s heart, to remember that to sit with Jesus is better.

And that in itself, I think, is the essence of Sabbath.

The other day, I decided to have a day where I’m not worrying about all the situations in my life. I decided that if anything came up, I was going to just give it to God. I’m going to remember to not be anxious about anything but in everything, present my request to God.

Just some of these things where I’m not fixated on things that I currently have no control over and that I just have to wait. And so instead of being fixated about these things, God’s just been reminding me to give thanks and to think about the things that are true and really just to bring my thoughts back to Him.

And that really, I think, has just been such a great breakthrough. Because the rhythm of what I’ve been doing is, like I said, it’s been a really busy season. And so a lot of what I’ve been doing is planning, hosting some families, I had to plan a lot of events.

I just really felt like my whole being, I’ve been just going from one task to another to another. And I felt like I was so busy that I couldn’t stop. That when I stopped doing-when I decided I’m going to put the tasks away- instead of feeling peace, I felt even more anxious.

And I realized that doing these tasks, finishing these tasks, had become a runaway train in that sense. I’m trying to keep myself busy to distract myself from a deeper sense of frustration.

Sure, I can continue to keep this lifestyle going, this rhythm going with all of these excuses. Oh, you know, these are really important. I need to take care of my parents. I need to be praying and I need to help do whatever.

These are all just excuses to keep me going for that next high. And I know that if I’m honest with myself, I know that’s what I’m doing.

And so that’s when God sort of gently tapped me on the shoulder and just kind of go, let’s take a break and get focused on him.

And even as I’m recording this right now, I think that tendency to strive is still there.

And I have to remind myself to just in my heart to kind of go back to that place… of just being with God and just resting in Him and not worrying about how this podcast is going to turn out.

And it’s not, I think maybe it’s not that we don’t do things, but it’s really our attitude.

In our heart and minds, are we turned towards God or are we distracted and overwhelmed by the busyness and the needs that surround us?

Something amazing happens when I turn away from the works of my hands and start to turn my focus back onto Jesus. Usually, there is a reset and a realignment.

My thoughts and perspectives can realign with God’s perspective. Instead of focusing on the situations, my thoughts can now be shifted back onto Jesus.

Instead of replaying the negative outcomes in my mind, I start to remember how God has been faithful through the journey and His promises start to come back to me.

And over the years, I have learned that God really knows best. As my heart starts to let go of the burdens and the worries that I’ve been carrying, the peace of Jesus now starts to flood my soul.

And I can sense God’s kindness and peace in that stillness again. And then I remember what Sabbath is all about. That Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath.

God is spirit, but we are still made of flesh. And through the practice of Sabbath, it helps me to reconnect with God in my spirit even as I go through my day-to-day routines in this very real material world.

So no matter what kind of season you are in, I’d like to invite you to take a Sabbath break with me. It can be a quiet morning or a few hours in an afternoon. Set your to-do list aside and just spend some time focusing on Jesus. It may just be the recharging break that you are looking for.

And that’s the podcast for this week.

Thank you so much for listening to the Sabbath Cafe podcast.

For transcripts and more, please visit sabbathcafe.substack.com or sabbathcafeblog.com.

Thank you for listening and we will see you next time.

We are moving to sabbathcafe.substack.com

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You can continue to find Sabbath Cafe Podcast at:

Transcript

Hi everyone!  

This is Michele.  We have an important update for you. We are making some changes behind the scenes at Sabbath Café Podcast. If you’re listening to us from Apple Podcast or Spotify or if you’re on our mailing list, the change should be really smooth for you. You will continue to get all of the updates.    

But, if you’re listening to us through another platform, please consider subscribing through Apple Podcast or Spotify, so you won’t miss a single episode. And you can always find us at http://www.sabbathcafeblog.com. 

 We’re slowly migrating everything over, so please bear with us during the transition. There will be a new episode dropping in a few weeks. And you should be seeing that episode automatically through Apple Podcast and Spotify.   

 Thank you so much for listening. You have been a great encouragement to me, and I’m excited about this move. We’ll see you soon, and have a wonderful week!