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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.

Understanding Addiction-Thoughts on “Dopamine Nation” by Dr. Anna Lembke Podcast 129 (10:00)

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We all love to enjoy life, but what if our pursuit of fun and enjoyment actually had the opposite effect?! Check out my latest podcast episode.

Transcript

Welcome to the Sabbath Cafe Podcast. This is episode 129 Understanding Addiction: Thoughts on the book Dopamine Nation. Please be aware that this episode will include topics on addiction and compulsive behavior.

Hi everyone! This is Michele. Thank you for joining me on the Sabbath Café Podcast.  This week I want to talk about this book that I read that has had a profound influence on me. The book is called The Dopamine Nation by Dr. Anna Lembke. Dr. Lembke is actually a psychiatrist at Stanford University.  

I first picked up this book just at a bookstore. And I was really curious about it because I know that it was a book dealing with addiction. I’ve known people, whether it’s family or friends, who deal with nicotine addiction. They are chain smokers. And I know people that are recovery alcoholics. And so when I picked up this book, when I saw the title about “Dopamine Nation”, it just really hit me.  

If you don’t know what dopamine is… dopamine is the pleasure hormone. And so what it is is that when we get that fix… whether it’s just binge watching your favorite show, and you just click on that next episode, we get a pleasure.  We get a sense of high from it. And that high, biochemically, is a result of a shot of this dopamine hormone that’s released into your brain to give you that sense.  And also, the subtitle of the book is called “finding balance in the age of indulgence.”  Now who would not want to find balance? 

And so the first thing I did was I went and listened to a two hour podcast by Dr. Anna Lembke. Just because that was the fastest thing.  Actually, she has done many podcasts on Youtube. So I’m going to put the name of the book, Dr. Lembke’s name, and one or two Youtube videos that I really liked in the show notes and the transcripts.  Please go to www.sabbathcafeblog.com.  And this episode is episode 129.  So go to the website and look up the show notes. I really highly recommend anyone who’s interested in this area, this topic, to just spend some time to listen to the podcast. 

And so the amazing thing is after I listened to the podcast, I was just so encouraged that I actually finished reading.  And the book was even better. Because in the book, she actually includes a lot of the patient cases. Like I mentioned before, she is a practicing psychiatrist. Her official title is that she is the medical director of Stanford Addiction Medicine. Wow.  

And she’s not just one of those people that has a lot of theories when she writes the book. In the book, you can read many of her patient’s case stories. And Dr. Anna shares these stories to show us the steps on how to break the cycles of addiction and start new habits for recovery.  And that just really gave me hope. 

In my experience being in the Christian community, I think addiction is one of those areas that really honestly people don’t like to talk about. Because there is a stigma of shame. Everyone who I know that wrestles with that almost always feels like they’re suffering because… or that they’re stuck in it because they don’t have enough self-discipline…or if they just tried hard enough… or have accountability that this will go away, that this will be fixed. And that’s a very simplistic way of looking at it.  And I think what I’ve come to learn is that addiction is a very complex issue. And even though choice and discipline do play part of the recovery, but there are so much more elements involved with that.   

And one key thing that I learned from this book is to understand how our brains are wired to handle pleasure and pain.   Because one of the main motivations for people that wrestle with addiction and compulsive behavior is that most of the time, we’re trying to run away from pain by pursuing pleasurable experiences. There’s a sense of escape. But what I’ve learned from this book is that this idea of chasing after pleasure to avoid pain is actually counterproductive. The result is that we will end up experiencing more pain and less pleasure.  And why is that?  It’s because our brain is actually wired to have pain – or to experience pain and pleasure in a balanced way.  So Dr. Anna was illustrating it.  It’s like having a teeter-totter in our brain.  So with pain on one side, and pleasure on the other side.  And our brains are wired that when one side have more experience… So let’s say that you have more pleasurable, more fun, more satisfying experiences, the brain would actually secrete chemicals to push down on the pain side, and lessen the experience of the pleasure.  So the brain is actually fighting against our trend.  

And this is totally counter-intuitive because I think for all my life, I’ve always been trying to avoid painful experiences. I deal with them. I process through them because that seems to be what God always recommends for me: don’t brush these experiences… don’t brush these feelings under the carpet. But face it, process through it, and then you will be free from it.  You will be healed from it. That is the right process that God seem to always be teaching me.   

After I read Dr. Anna’s book, I feel like wow, I now understand why God seems to be recommending that. And what I learned from the book, and Dr. Anna includes a lot of… goes into these into a lot more detail.  And I don’t want to try and teach that here because I’m still processing through it myself. But one thing I have learned is that when I face difficult things in life, to not try and run away… and try to go to my coping mechanism. But to actually deal with the challenges and negativities, and to learn to process through them.  

And I just want to thank Dr. Anna for writing this book, and just for her work in helping so many of her patients to come to recovery.  And I just want to encourage anyone out there listening that if you also feel like you’re stuck in a compulsive behavior, if you’re stuck in some kind of addiction, and I don’t care how long it has been.  If it’s been decades.. If you just want to change, but you don’t know how, and you feel like you’ve given up.  Just go and get this book right away. Again, her name is Dr. Anna Lembke, and the book is called Dopamine Nation. It’s a wonderful place to get started to have some understanding and to take the first step towards having more information to understand why we do the things we do.  And to understand how our brain is made and created to function so that we are working with our bodies and not against it. 

And that if anything you get out of this [podcast] today, I just want to say that there is hope for anyone stuck in addiction.  And Dr. Anna also shared a lot of examples on patients that have success with prescription medication to deal with chemical dependency. So there are a lot, a lot of paths out there to recovery. And I just want you to know you are not alone. There is hope for anyone dealing with addiction.  So if you get a chance, search for her name on Youtube, check out her book.  Just do the next thing. Take the next step to your recovery.  You can be free. You can be free from addiction.  

So that’s what I wanted to share with everyone this week. I’ve just been so excited about this book. Thank you for listening to Sabbath Café Podcast.  This is episode 129.  If you like more information on this episode or on the transcript, please visit www.sabbathcafeblog.com.  And we will see you next time.  Have a blessed week. 

Would You Like A Gift? (Podcast #128 & Transcript 5:09)

/ Mzchele / Leave a comment

I always ask God for a gift during this season. This year, why don’t you ask Him for a gift too? He just might surprise you.

Transcript

Would you like a free gift?!  I love a freebie!  Especially during Christmas season.  I’m learning to be generous this year.  At first, I felt like Golem from LOTR… holding my gold [ring] very tightly.  But I’m getting better at sharing now.  Whenever I give, it opens my heart in a way I didn’t expect.  Giving is interesting… the more you give, the easier it becomes, and giving has truly brought joy to my heart. 

Ah, but that’s not the key thing…Looking back, partly of why I was learning to be generous is because God has a generous heart and also loves to give.  And as I learned to give, I began to understand more about God’s heart as a Giver. 

There’s something about giving that brings joy to my heart.  It’s not really about the size of the gift or how expensive these gifts are. I find more satisfaction in giving someone the right gift at the right time.  Often, I’d pick up something at the store – because it was on sale –  just to give it to someone who needed it later that week!  It’s as if God prepared a gift for them at just the right time. As these “coincidence” happens more often, I began to see how God is so good at gift-giving!  He is like the best Santa!  

As I reflect on my journey with God this year, I am so grateful for what God has given our family.  But even more so, I’m amazed at how God has just been generous with everyone around me!   He’s been generous with my neighbors, friends I met online, and even at my favorite boba shop.  I’ve just seen God’s heart to want to bless people in so many ways. 

God truly has a generous heart.  He has always been so confident and encouraging whenever I ask or pray.  It didn’t matter how big the problems were or how little faith I had, He was always kind and ready to show me a path forward.  

In this special season, if you feel burdened about anything in your life, why not talk to God about it?  If anyone you know is sick, ask God to heal them.  If you have a financial need, go ahead and ask God to pay that bill.  If you need a job, tell Him about that too.   

This year has taught me how generous and creative God can be.  So don’t be afraid to pray or ask God about what you want. I used to wonder why we have to “ask” God or pray about things.  Doesn’t He know our needs already?  And if He knows about it, and hasn’t done anything, why would it matter if I prayed about it? 

Then God kind of showed me that there are a few things missing in my logic.  The first thing was that God actually takes our words very seriously.  He respects our decisions and boundaries. And when we pray, we’re actually inviting God to come into our situations.    

Also, God is very relational, and He loves to partner with us even when He can do everything Himself.  So the praying process is like our dialog with God.  We share our concerns with Him, and He can show us what He sees, and more importantly, how He plans to answer our prayers. 

Often, God wants to take me on a journey when I pray.  I’ve brought many problems to God this year, and I’ve been amazed every time at how He resolved things.   So this Christmas season, why not ask God for a gift?  No matter what you wish for, I know He can and will do something awesome for you. 

And that’s it for this episode.  I want to wish you a very merry Christmas and a very happy holiday!  Thank you so much for listening to us in 2023, and we will be back in 2024! 

For transcripts and more, please visit www.sabbathcafeblog.com