May 26, 2025 • 20 mins
LEARN MORE at http://teach4theheart.com/347
Does teaching leave you overwhelmed and burnt out? Are you tired of self-care being the answer everyone gives you? Listen as Linda shares why self-care only helps at a surface level, and points toward what will really bring healing and hope.
00:00 The Limitations of Self-Care
06:02 The Importance of Soul Care
14:48 Changing Habits for Better Outcomes
Resources/Links Mentioned:
Join Dordt University this summer for an online graduate course called “Emerging Technology”: http://dordt.edu/emerging-technology
Praying the Bible by Donald Whitney: https://teach4theheart.com/whitneyprayingthebible
Free Training: 5 Time-Saving Practices to Stop Feeling Overwhelmed: teach4theheart.com/savetime
Hope Renewed: http://teach4theheart.com/hoperenewed
If you liked this episode, check out episode 87 The Simple (But Uncommon) Solution to Your Teacher Stress & Anxiety at https://teach4theheart.com/the-simple-but-uncommon-solution-to-your-teacher-stress-anxiety/
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:03):
Do you feel overwhelmed and burnt out and are tired of being told just to practiceself-care as if that is the answer to everything?
Let's talk about why self-care, although it is important, is not the end-all be-allsolution and what can really bring healing and hope.
Well, welcome back to the Teach 4 the Heart podcast where we tackle teaching challengesfrom a biblical perspective.
(00:26):
Why are we here?
Because we don't believe that our spiritual walk and teaching profession should exist intwo separate domains.
Rather, the hope we have in Christ should change how we approach everything, not just athome, but at school as well.
So join us as we explore both the spiritual and practical sides of key teachingchallenges, integrating them together so we can succeed at teaching, glorify God, and make
(00:47):
a lasting difference in our students' hearts and lives.
This episode is brought to you in partnership with the Herzog Foundation.
We also want to thank our sponsor, Doerr University, and tell you a little bit about theirspecial program this summer.
Does AI impact your schools?
How does your school adapt to new technology?
(01:08):
Join Dort University this summer for an online graduate course called Emerging Technology.
Learn how technology can serve as a spark for students, discuss the pros and cons of AIand its impact on education, and discover new technologies to use in your classroom.
Learn more at dort.edu / emerging dash technology.
(01:30):
That's d-o-r-d-t dot e-d-u / emerging dash technology.
Don't worry, the link is in our show notes or you can grab it at teach4theheart.com /three four seven.
Well, once again, Karly is with us to talk about this topic.
Thank you so much, Karly for being with us again today.
(01:51):
So we do want to talk about self care because this is just such an interesting topic.
And Karly, we were just talking before we came on here about how this used to not betalked at all.
It kind of came on the scene and was like this new wave of, yes, we need to practice selfcare.
But it's kind of gotten to a point where a lot of teachers are frustrated because it'sbeen presented as this like, well, just practice self care as if that just solves
(02:18):
anything.
Do want to share a little bit about the dynamic that you're seeing?
Yeah, and I think not just teachers are feeling this too, but um there's this idea that itbecomes one more thing on the checklist, right?
One more overwhelming thing that I have to do to take care of myself.
But teachers don't necessarily always feel like they're supported in ways that help themactually take care of their bodies and their minds.
(02:42):
And, you know, there's also a sense in what is self-care?
We were talking about this.
What, how do we define it?
So guess when, when we're thinking about self-care,
I'm thinking of kind of surface level things, which are not unimportant, but you know,like taking care of your body or like, I think about the gifts people give teachers,
right?
Self-care gifts, where it's like bath bombs and good smelling lotion, which a hundredpercent very helpful, but not a solution, right?
(03:10):
Like it's not enough to actually help teachers survive the climate of teaching that we'rein, the issues that come up in their schools ah and things like that.
Yes, and I don't think we'll spend too much time talking about how self-care is helpfulbecause I think you guys have probably heard enough about that, right?
I mean, obviously, you know, the food we eat, the exercise that we get, getting enoughsleep, like these are all very important things.
(03:36):
They can actually make a very big difference um to how we feel and how we respond.
um But yeah, but I think today we want to dive into more of, yeah, this thought of justlike, just practice self-care, just find something that you like.
and do it on the weekend or just take that bath or whatever it is, as being presented asthat's all.
(03:58):
And like you said, it can start to feel like, I know so many teachers have said, myadmin's telling me to practice self-care, but then can you take something off my plate to
give me time for that?
I'm so overwhelmed.
I don't have time to do any of these extra things.
I don't have time to take a walk.
And I think that's just the reality a lot of people are experiencing.
And when we face those kinds of problems, and even any problems in life, but especiallyteachers navigating some really challenging school climates right now, we need something
(04:27):
more than the surface level, right?
And not that the surface is unconnected from our spiritual lives, but we need spiritualcare or soul care, right?
We need something deeper than just these external things.
Yes, so that's what we wanna talk about today and recognizing that no, self-care is notbad and you should pay attention to the things that help you, um which self-care
(04:50):
activities actually make a difference and yes, try to find time for them.
But also recognizing as Karly said, those only go so far, they can help, but typicallythere's something deeper that needs to be addressed.
And we were talking before about how sometimes that thing that needs to be addressed,honestly, is something outside of our control.
It might be something that's,
(05:10):
administration or just the workload is too much or there can be pieces that we actuallycan't change.
um There are maybe things we can advocate for.
So we're not, I guess we're going to start by recognizing that reality and kind of saying,how are, what can we do in whatever situation that God has placed us?
(05:31):
And I do think starting there, recognizing, well, God has placed me where I am in whateversituation and maybe he'll move me and maybe it'll be different.
Maybe he'll change it.
But for now.
This is where I am and then what am I going to do about that?
And I think about the verse, and I can't remember where it's from, but the peace thatpasses understanding, you know, that's a supernatural peace.
It doesn't make sense in the context, but we have access to God's peace.
(05:54):
And so how do we help ourselves and like, how do we turn toward God to experience thepeace that passes understanding?
Yes, and that is perfect segue into what we wanna talk about because when we're talkingabout when we're overwhelmed, when we're stressed, anxiety, like whatever emotions that
you're facing, self-care can be helpful, but what is deeper, and there's two things wewanna talk about, and the first is soul care.
(06:19):
So recognizing, especially when things are hard, we need that supernatural peace, andthat's not gonna come from ourselves.
That's going to come from God and our connection with him.
So when we think about, what's worth taking time for or making time for, that soul care isreally, really important.
(06:39):
um Anything come to mind, Karly, for you as like things that are like, these are practicesthat are important and worth it.
Yeah, and I think the obvious one that is also probably the most difficult one is prayer.
And, you know, there's so many different ways that we can pray, but praying is about beingin connected relationship with the Lord and a way of trusting that He is listening, that
(07:04):
He hears us, that He sees us, and taking time to just be with the Lord and not be doingsomething else or...
be trying to, you know, check off a lot of boxes, but just being with the Lord and saying,this is what here I am.
This is what I've got.
Um, and actually one of the things I've been doing of late, uh, in, you know, navigating,trying to trust the Lord is just taking 10 minutes of silence.
(07:31):
And I will say it's not very silent in my brain.
It takes about the whole 10 minutes to get to maybe a quieter brain, but all of that.
effort is to be like, okay, Lord, this is what's coming up right now.
This is what's coming up and all these things bubbling up.
But it's been really interesting to see how that 10, just 10 minutes of silence in frontof the Lord has just shifted a lot of my perspective throughout the day.
(08:00):
And I think some of what's helpful to think about when we think about soul care is it'snot like an instant fix.
And the piece that passes understanding doesn't always hit us like a wave.
ah
Sometimes it comes slowly and it's a little more like a seed and it grows in us.
And we can feed it with uh praying Psalms or sitting in silence before the Lord andlistening to music that is going to lift us up.
(08:25):
I have a playlist right now that is just a lot of songs that turn my sight toward the Lordinstead of just background music.
And that's what I drive to work to.
Yes, and that's a good point that um obviously adding, putting aside time is so valuable,but there are also so much time in our day that we can just redeem.
(08:48):
Like you said, car rides.
um How often, I catch myself, how often do I grab my phone and just like, I'm just gonnacheck Facebook?
Well, when I say, well, wait, no, I'm not gonna check Facebook, I'm just gonna pray fortwo minutes.
I'm just gonna connect, I'm just gonna tell God what's going on, I'm just gonna uh sharewith him what I'm thinking about right now.
Or I'll find myself just like,
going over this problem in my head, I'm thinking about it anyhow, wait, let me talk to Godabout this.
(09:12):
So you might be surprised how many times throughout the day you can just turn or justdecide, every time I do this, I'm going to pray.
I'm just gonna kind of redeem some of this time.
This episode is brought to you in partnership with the Herzog Foundation.
Did you know that the Teach for the Heart podcast is part of the Herzog Foundation PodcastNetwork?
(09:34):
The Herzog Foundation Podcast Network is a hub for thought-provoking discussions,insightful narratives, and inspiring content around education from a Christian
perspective.
So if you enjoy this podcast, we encourage you to check out all of the Herzog Foundationpodcasts at herzogfoundation.com / podcasts.
One in particular that you might enjoy is the School Success Podcast, where school leadersshare their stories of successes and failures to inspire and motivate us.
(10:00):
Find this podcast and more at HerzogFoundation.com / podcasts.
Now back to our program.
Obviously time spent in the Word is also incredibly valuable and important as well.
And once again, that can be long or short, it's all really valuable.
Yeah, and I think there's a method for praying the Psalms that I really like, and I'lllink the book in the show notes.
(10:23):
um It's called Reading the Bible, but it's a way of reading through a Psalm and justletting the Psalm, not having to study it, not having to, just letting the Psalm inspire
the things that you need to pray about.
I've found that even, I'm like, I've prayed more for world issues than I ever have, orlike people in my life, or things like not just myself by praying through the Psalms.
(10:47):
And it's a way again to connect with the word of God in a very low pressure, low stakesway.
And it's not like you get behind or anything, which is what I like about kind of themethod that they use.
there's also other, mean, there's lots of devotionals.
There's so many resources out there and sometimes it's just finding something that fitsyou really well.
(11:09):
But there's people who are trying to help you connect with the word of God, which I thinkis such a beautiful thing.
um
So they're just, you know, picking one thing is probably best to just, this is the thingI'm gonna do for now.
And then you can add to that later, you know, as you grow.
Yeah.
And as we're talking about this, you might be saying, Linda, Karly, I know this.
(11:32):
I know I need to pray.
I know I really need to read the Bible.
And yes, we know this, but the power is in the doing it.
And the power is in God, honestly.
Like it's kind of funny when we created Hope Renewed, which I'll share more about in aminute.
It's a program where it's like kind of a Bible study combined with some teaching that we'dlove to have you join if you're interested in.
(11:55):
And it kind of goes through and helps us deal with
you know, process through some of our emotions and not feel defeated, but have hope inChrist.
And as you were doing that, some of the things that kept coming up is like, okay, some ofthis stuff is a little bit revolutionary.
There's this one, the one week is about lament, which we talked about on the podcast andis something that a lot of my one friend that just took it, she was just like, wow, I
really needed that.
I wasn't familiar with that.
(12:16):
But then a lot of it is just not new.
It's not new.
It's just we're not always doing it.
And the power comes not from us
doing it, but from that connection with God and just opening up the door saying, God, youknow, be in this situation.
And when we open that door and say, God, be in this situation, change how I think, changehow I process this.
(12:40):
He does.
And it's just, it's just really incredible.
And it makes me think of there's a quote I like from uh an author, her name is AnnVoskamp, and she says, I'll probably watch the quote, but something along the lines of we
don't practice spiritual disciplines to get God to love us.
We practice them so that we can hear him say that he does basically that so that we're ina position of being able to hear him say, I love you and this is who you are.
(13:10):
And so I think even just some of this is, again, like we're not saying
anything that no one's ever said before.
But the point is that we need reminders as believers as we grow in Christ.
But we also sometimes just need a different way of thinking about it.
Like I'm not doing it to check it off the list and be a good Christian.
I'm actually doing it so that I can hear God say what he needs to say to me.
(13:32):
That I can hear what God has for me for this day.
And that feels like way more fun to be like, I'm listening to what God has for me todayinstead of I have to do my Bible study.
You know, it's just a different
It's a different approach and it's a little more freeing to be like, oh, I'm seeking thisgift from the Lord that he's offering all the time.
(13:52):
Yeah, that's a really, I'm so glad you brought that up because I think for a while in mylife, I experienced that dynamic too where prayer felt like something I have to do.
And I remember one time sitting down and thinking like, okay, when I have a friend, Iwanna talk to them.
And when I don't get to talk to them for a while, that's not a reason to feel guilty.
It's no, I wanna go talk to them.
(14:13):
And I also thought about how sometimes you have these short texts and short things, butthen when you get to sit down and have a really good conversation, it's so great.
And just kind of.
Thinking about a relationship, it's got a little more from that dynamic of right.
This is not this like spiritual obligation that's, yeah, when we come at it from thatlegalistic standpoint of like, gotta do this, I gotta check it off my list.
(14:33):
It really takes a lot of the joy out of it, recognizing like, no, this is life giving.
This is a wonderful thing.
And I wanna do it as much as I can and kind of, it's not out of guilt, it's out of thatdesire.
It's really makes a big difference.
So we've talked a lot here then about soul care, right?
And I hope you're seeing the difference between just simply self care and this deeperlover, self care is just so much um more powerful.
(14:58):
But one other thing that sometimes we need to do is sometimes we need to change somehabits, right?
Sometimes what's actually happening here is whatever is causing our frustration um issomething that we actually need to do something different.
um You know, we might be...
Well, in some cases we are actually causing part of the problem, but sometimes it's justwhat we're doing isn't working.
(15:21):
We need to try something else.
We need to try a different way of doing it.
So just a few thoughts um with this, just simply asking that question, like what needs tochange to help with this situation, right?
um Sometimes it says, man, you I don't know, I need help.
I think particularly with time management, sometimes it's just like, I don't know, I haveso much to do, it feels so crazy.
(15:43):
I just feel like I'm all over the place.
Sometimes it's helpful to say, okay, I'm to sit down with someone or I'm going to gothrough a training that's kind of going to help me think through some of this and help me
organize or get better at how I manage my time or get things off my list.
For example, we have a free training.
um If you are like, yeah, it's time.
I'm super overwhelmed by so much I have to do.
(16:04):
You can get that at teach4theheart.com / save time.
um think about just another example off the top of my head.
If it's like, you know what, what's really stressing me out is like student behavior.
It's crazy.
You might be like, well, I need to talk to my admin about this.
I need to see if they can help me.
So obviously we can't go through here and list every single problem you might be facingand what you should do about it, but just recognizing you should ask those questions.
(16:28):
Is there something that should change?
Something that I can change, something I can advocate for?
And also, I'll say one more thing.
A lot of times these answers come through prayer.
Asking God, God,
Is there something I should change?
Is there something I should ask for?
And allowing him to speak into that and guide your thoughts, that one-two punch is really,I've seen that happen so many times in my own
(16:53):
Yeah, he's always ready to help.
And I think also I am learning a lot of about letting people help me even in things thatfeel like I should be able to do them by myself.
So I'm even thinking about like time management, right?
You could take the course and figure some stuff out, but you could also then take that andsit down with a friend and be like, listen, you know what my life is like.
(17:20):
This is what I'm thinking.
What do you think about that?
And have a conversation about like, you think that would work?
Could we, you know, have some kind of accountability thing?
So like even with my 10 minutes of silence, I have a friend and we're reporting back aboutour 10 minutes of silence this week.
And like, did we do it every day?
Did we not?
And it's not like there's no pressure to be like an A plus student in this activity.
(17:43):
Like it's like, just honestly, like, did you do it?
What were those days like?
Little reflection time.
Like we, we don't have to do things alone.
Like we were made.
to be in community.
I think we have a lot of, especially as teachers, you know, we're in a room mostly byourselves a lot of times as the adult, the only adult.
ah There's pressure to be the competent, you know, I can do everything person.
(18:07):
But sometimes just having someone there with you, maybe you're just like, I need to thinkabout this and I just need you to be here doing something so that I'm doing something.
I love that.
am always like.
I need to work with someone.
You don't have to be working on what I'm working on.
even things like that can be helpful of like, we are in this together, right?
Like you, the Lord has given you a community, a family to help you with things.
(18:32):
And it doesn't have to be like, oh, I'm such a terrible adult or whatever.
Like just help each other with things because we, it's a delightful thing to do and it'sokay to ask for help.
And it's okay to help people with things that are like, you know, seem like, oh,
I don't know, we have cultural expectations, I think, sometimes get in the way of usrelying on one another and letting the Lord use the people that he's given us as our
(18:58):
resources and encouragement.
Yes, that is such a good encouragement and you're so right.
So often we do things on our own and inviting someone else in, whether for advice, foraccountability, just bounce off somebody, all of these things, or just do something
together, just the fellowship, makes such a big difference.
And we see over and over in scripture, there's one another's.
(19:19):
So clearly God did not intend us to be on our own.
And so reaching out and making that effort, that's such a great encouragement.
Well, thank you Karly so much for talking with us about this.
And I do want to encourage everybody.
I mentioned Hope Renewed before.
If you say, man, you know, we love this conversation, but man, I kind of, you know, I wantsomething to help me, you know, go through the Bible, learn some of these truths, apply
(19:41):
them to my life, be in the Word, be with other people.
Hope Renewed kind of does all those things.
So you can get all the details about Hope Renewed at teach4theheart.com / hope renewed.
It's a five week program.
You can, you can go at whatever pace you want, but it's designed to be five weeks, justabout 15 minutes a day, four days a week.
So we really designed it to work with a busy schedule, but over the summer would be very,very easy to do.
(20:03):
So check it out over there.
And if you use the code podcast30, you can get 30 % off um your enrollment over there.
So thank you guys so much for being with us.
We really enjoyed this.
Once again, all the notes and the links that we mentioned can be found atteach4theheart.com / three, four, seven.
This episode has been brought to you in partnership with the Herzog Foundation.
(20:24):
All views and opinions are our own and don't necessarily reflect those of the HerzogFoundation.
Well, we look forward to being with you again soon.
In the meantime, teach to remember God is at work in you and through you and he's usingyou to make a difference.
Keep your eyes on him and teach for the heart.
Do you feel overwhelmed and burnt out and are tired of being told just to practiceself-care as if that is the answer to everything?
Let's talk about why self-care, although it is important, is not the end-all be-allsolution and what can really bring healing and hope.
Well, welcome back to the Teach 4 the Heart podcast where we tackle teaching challengesfrom a biblical perspective.
(00:26):
Why are we here?
Because we don't believe that our spiritual walk and teaching profession should exist intwo separate domains.
Rather, the hope we have in Christ should change how we approach everything, not just athome, but at school as well.
So join us as we explore both the spiritual and practical sides of key teachingchallenges, integrating them together so we can succeed at teaching, glorify God, and make
(00:47):
a lasting difference in our students' hearts and lives.
This episode is brought to you in partnership with the Herzog Foundation.
We also want to thank our sponsor, Doerr University, and tell you a little bit about theirspecial program this summer.
Does AI impact your schools?
How does your school adapt to new technology?
(01:08):
Join Dort University this summer for an online graduate course called Emerging Technology.
Learn how technology can serve as a spark for students, discuss the pros and cons of AIand its impact on education, and discover new technologies to use in your classroom.
Learn more at dort.edu / emerging dash technology.
(01:30):
That's d-o-r-d-t dot e-d-u / emerging dash technology.
Don't worry, the link is in our show notes or you can grab it at teach4theheart.com /three four seven.
Well, once again, Karly is with us to talk about this topic.
Thank you so much, Karly for being with us again today.
(01:51):
So we do want to talk about self care because this is just such an interesting topic.
And Karly, we were just talking before we came on here about how this used to not betalked at all.
It kind of came on the scene and was like this new wave of, yes, we need to practice selfcare.
But it's kind of gotten to a point where a lot of teachers are frustrated because it'sbeen presented as this like, well, just practice self care as if that just solves
(02:18):
anything.
Do want to share a little bit about the dynamic that you're seeing?
Yeah, and I think not just teachers are feeling this too, but um there's this idea that itbecomes one more thing on the checklist, right?
One more overwhelming thing that I have to do to take care of myself.
But teachers don't necessarily always feel like they're supported in ways that help themactually take care of their bodies and their minds.
(02:42):
And, you know, there's also a sense in what is self-care?
We were talking about this.
What, how do we define it?
So guess when, when we're thinking about self-care,
I'm thinking of kind of surface level things, which are not unimportant, but you know,like taking care of your body or like, I think about the gifts people give teachers,
right?
Self-care gifts, where it's like bath bombs and good smelling lotion, which a hundredpercent very helpful, but not a solution, right?
(03:10):
Like it's not enough to actually help teachers survive the climate of teaching that we'rein, the issues that come up in their schools ah and things like that.
Yes, and I don't think we'll spend too much time talking about how self-care is helpfulbecause I think you guys have probably heard enough about that, right?
I mean, obviously, you know, the food we eat, the exercise that we get, getting enoughsleep, like these are all very important things.
(03:36):
They can actually make a very big difference um to how we feel and how we respond.
um But yeah, but I think today we want to dive into more of, yeah, this thought of justlike, just practice self-care, just find something that you like.
and do it on the weekend or just take that bath or whatever it is, as being presented asthat's all.
(03:58):
And like you said, it can start to feel like, I know so many teachers have said, myadmin's telling me to practice self-care, but then can you take something off my plate to
give me time for that?
I'm so overwhelmed.
I don't have time to do any of these extra things.
I don't have time to take a walk.
And I think that's just the reality a lot of people are experiencing.
And when we face those kinds of problems, and even any problems in life, but especiallyteachers navigating some really challenging school climates right now, we need something
(04:27):
more than the surface level, right?
And not that the surface is unconnected from our spiritual lives, but we need spiritualcare or soul care, right?
We need something deeper than just these external things.
Yes, so that's what we wanna talk about today and recognizing that no, self-care is notbad and you should pay attention to the things that help you, um which self-care
(04:50):
activities actually make a difference and yes, try to find time for them.
But also recognizing as Karly said, those only go so far, they can help, but typicallythere's something deeper that needs to be addressed.
And we were talking before about how sometimes that thing that needs to be addressed,honestly, is something outside of our control.
It might be something that's,
(05:10):
administration or just the workload is too much or there can be pieces that we actuallycan't change.
um There are maybe things we can advocate for.
So we're not, I guess we're going to start by recognizing that reality and kind of saying,how are, what can we do in whatever situation that God has placed us?
(05:31):
And I do think starting there, recognizing, well, God has placed me where I am in whateversituation and maybe he'll move me and maybe it'll be different.
Maybe he'll change it.
But for now.
This is where I am and then what am I going to do about that?
And I think about the verse, and I can't remember where it's from, but the peace thatpasses understanding, you know, that's a supernatural peace.
It doesn't make sense in the context, but we have access to God's peace.
(05:54):
And so how do we help ourselves and like, how do we turn toward God to experience thepeace that passes understanding?
Yes, and that is perfect segue into what we wanna talk about because when we're talkingabout when we're overwhelmed, when we're stressed, anxiety, like whatever emotions that
you're facing, self-care can be helpful, but what is deeper, and there's two things wewanna talk about, and the first is soul care.
(06:19):
So recognizing, especially when things are hard, we need that supernatural peace, andthat's not gonna come from ourselves.
That's going to come from God and our connection with him.
So when we think about, what's worth taking time for or making time for, that soul care isreally, really important.
(06:39):
um Anything come to mind, Karly, for you as like things that are like, these are practicesthat are important and worth it.
Yeah, and I think the obvious one that is also probably the most difficult one is prayer.
And, you know, there's so many different ways that we can pray, but praying is about beingin connected relationship with the Lord and a way of trusting that He is listening, that
(07:04):
He hears us, that He sees us, and taking time to just be with the Lord and not be doingsomething else or...
be trying to, you know, check off a lot of boxes, but just being with the Lord and saying,this is what here I am.
This is what I've got.
Um, and actually one of the things I've been doing of late, uh, in, you know, navigating,trying to trust the Lord is just taking 10 minutes of silence.
(07:31):
And I will say it's not very silent in my brain.
It takes about the whole 10 minutes to get to maybe a quieter brain, but all of that.
effort is to be like, okay, Lord, this is what's coming up right now.
This is what's coming up and all these things bubbling up.
But it's been really interesting to see how that 10, just 10 minutes of silence in frontof the Lord has just shifted a lot of my perspective throughout the day.
(08:00):
And I think some of what's helpful to think about when we think about soul care is it'snot like an instant fix.
And the piece that passes understanding doesn't always hit us like a wave.
ah
Sometimes it comes slowly and it's a little more like a seed and it grows in us.
And we can feed it with uh praying Psalms or sitting in silence before the Lord andlistening to music that is going to lift us up.
(08:25):
I have a playlist right now that is just a lot of songs that turn my sight toward the Lordinstead of just background music.
And that's what I drive to work to.
Yes, and that's a good point that um obviously adding, putting aside time is so valuable,but there are also so much time in our day that we can just redeem.
(08:48):
Like you said, car rides.
um How often, I catch myself, how often do I grab my phone and just like, I'm just gonnacheck Facebook?
Well, when I say, well, wait, no, I'm not gonna check Facebook, I'm just gonna pray fortwo minutes.
I'm just gonna connect, I'm just gonna tell God what's going on, I'm just gonna uh sharewith him what I'm thinking about right now.
Or I'll find myself just like,
going over this problem in my head, I'm thinking about it anyhow, wait, let me talk to Godabout this.
(09:12):
So you might be surprised how many times throughout the day you can just turn or justdecide, every time I do this, I'm going to pray.
I'm just gonna kind of redeem some of this time.
This episode is brought to you in partnership with the Herzog Foundation.
Did you know that the Teach for the Heart podcast is part of the Herzog Foundation PodcastNetwork?
(09:34):
The Herzog Foundation Podcast Network is a hub for thought-provoking discussions,insightful narratives, and inspiring content around education from a Christian
perspective.
So if you enjoy this podcast, we encourage you to check out all of the Herzog Foundationpodcasts at herzogfoundation.com / podcasts.
One in particular that you might enjoy is the School Success Podcast, where school leadersshare their stories of successes and failures to inspire and motivate us.
(10:00):
Find this podcast and more at HerzogFoundation.com / podcasts.
Now back to our program.
Obviously time spent in the Word is also incredibly valuable and important as well.
And once again, that can be long or short, it's all really valuable.
Yeah, and I think there's a method for praying the Psalms that I really like, and I'lllink the book in the show notes.
(10:23):
um It's called Reading the Bible, but it's a way of reading through a Psalm and justletting the Psalm, not having to study it, not having to, just letting the Psalm inspire
the things that you need to pray about.
I've found that even, I'm like, I've prayed more for world issues than I ever have, orlike people in my life, or things like not just myself by praying through the Psalms.
(10:47):
And it's a way again to connect with the word of God in a very low pressure, low stakesway.
And it's not like you get behind or anything, which is what I like about kind of themethod that they use.
there's also other, mean, there's lots of devotionals.
There's so many resources out there and sometimes it's just finding something that fitsyou really well.
(11:09):
But there's people who are trying to help you connect with the word of God, which I thinkis such a beautiful thing.
um
So they're just, you know, picking one thing is probably best to just, this is the thingI'm gonna do for now.
And then you can add to that later, you know, as you grow.
Yeah.
And as we're talking about this, you might be saying, Linda, Karly, I know this.
(11:32):
I know I need to pray.
I know I really need to read the Bible.
And yes, we know this, but the power is in the doing it.
And the power is in God, honestly.
Like it's kind of funny when we created Hope Renewed, which I'll share more about in aminute.
It's a program where it's like kind of a Bible study combined with some teaching that we'dlove to have you join if you're interested in.
(11:55):
And it kind of goes through and helps us deal with
you know, process through some of our emotions and not feel defeated, but have hope inChrist.
And as you were doing that, some of the things that kept coming up is like, okay, some ofthis stuff is a little bit revolutionary.
There's this one, the one week is about lament, which we talked about on the podcast andis something that a lot of my one friend that just took it, she was just like, wow, I
really needed that.
I wasn't familiar with that.
(12:16):
But then a lot of it is just not new.
It's not new.
It's just we're not always doing it.
And the power comes not from us
doing it, but from that connection with God and just opening up the door saying, God, youknow, be in this situation.
And when we open that door and say, God, be in this situation, change how I think, changehow I process this.
(12:40):
He does.
And it's just, it's just really incredible.
And it makes me think of there's a quote I like from uh an author, her name is AnnVoskamp, and she says, I'll probably watch the quote, but something along the lines of we
don't practice spiritual disciplines to get God to love us.
We practice them so that we can hear him say that he does basically that so that we're ina position of being able to hear him say, I love you and this is who you are.
(13:10):
And so I think even just some of this is, again, like we're not saying
anything that no one's ever said before.
But the point is that we need reminders as believers as we grow in Christ.
But we also sometimes just need a different way of thinking about it.
Like I'm not doing it to check it off the list and be a good Christian.
I'm actually doing it so that I can hear God say what he needs to say to me.
(13:32):
That I can hear what God has for me for this day.
And that feels like way more fun to be like, I'm listening to what God has for me todayinstead of I have to do my Bible study.
You know, it's just a different
It's a different approach and it's a little more freeing to be like, oh, I'm seeking thisgift from the Lord that he's offering all the time.
(13:52):
Yeah, that's a really, I'm so glad you brought that up because I think for a while in mylife, I experienced that dynamic too where prayer felt like something I have to do.
And I remember one time sitting down and thinking like, okay, when I have a friend, Iwanna talk to them.
And when I don't get to talk to them for a while, that's not a reason to feel guilty.
It's no, I wanna go talk to them.
(14:13):
And I also thought about how sometimes you have these short texts and short things, butthen when you get to sit down and have a really good conversation, it's so great.
And just kind of.
Thinking about a relationship, it's got a little more from that dynamic of right.
This is not this like spiritual obligation that's, yeah, when we come at it from thatlegalistic standpoint of like, gotta do this, I gotta check it off my list.
(14:33):
It really takes a lot of the joy out of it, recognizing like, no, this is life giving.
This is a wonderful thing.
And I wanna do it as much as I can and kind of, it's not out of guilt, it's out of thatdesire.
It's really makes a big difference.
So we've talked a lot here then about soul care, right?
And I hope you're seeing the difference between just simply self care and this deeperlover, self care is just so much um more powerful.
(14:58):
But one other thing that sometimes we need to do is sometimes we need to change somehabits, right?
Sometimes what's actually happening here is whatever is causing our frustration um issomething that we actually need to do something different.
um You know, we might be...
Well, in some cases we are actually causing part of the problem, but sometimes it's justwhat we're doing isn't working.
(15:21):
We need to try something else.
We need to try a different way of doing it.
So just a few thoughts um with this, just simply asking that question, like what needs tochange to help with this situation, right?
um Sometimes it says, man, you I don't know, I need help.
I think particularly with time management, sometimes it's just like, I don't know, I haveso much to do, it feels so crazy.
(15:43):
I just feel like I'm all over the place.
Sometimes it's helpful to say, okay, I'm to sit down with someone or I'm going to gothrough a training that's kind of going to help me think through some of this and help me
organize or get better at how I manage my time or get things off my list.
For example, we have a free training.
um If you are like, yeah, it's time.
I'm super overwhelmed by so much I have to do.
(16:04):
You can get that at teach4theheart.com / save time.
um think about just another example off the top of my head.
If it's like, you know what, what's really stressing me out is like student behavior.
It's crazy.
You might be like, well, I need to talk to my admin about this.
I need to see if they can help me.
So obviously we can't go through here and list every single problem you might be facingand what you should do about it, but just recognizing you should ask those questions.
(16:28):
Is there something that should change?
Something that I can change, something I can advocate for?
And also, I'll say one more thing.
A lot of times these answers come through prayer.
Asking God, God,
Is there something I should change?
Is there something I should ask for?
And allowing him to speak into that and guide your thoughts, that one-two punch is really,I've seen that happen so many times in my own
(16:53):
Yeah, he's always ready to help.
And I think also I am learning a lot of about letting people help me even in things thatfeel like I should be able to do them by myself.
So I'm even thinking about like time management, right?
You could take the course and figure some stuff out, but you could also then take that andsit down with a friend and be like, listen, you know what my life is like.
(17:20):
This is what I'm thinking.
What do you think about that?
And have a conversation about like, you think that would work?
Could we, you know, have some kind of accountability thing?
So like even with my 10 minutes of silence, I have a friend and we're reporting back aboutour 10 minutes of silence this week.
And like, did we do it every day?
Did we not?
And it's not like there's no pressure to be like an A plus student in this activity.
(17:43):
Like it's like, just honestly, like, did you do it?
What were those days like?
Little reflection time.
Like we, we don't have to do things alone.
Like we were made.
to be in community.
I think we have a lot of, especially as teachers, you know, we're in a room mostly byourselves a lot of times as the adult, the only adult.
ah There's pressure to be the competent, you know, I can do everything person.
(18:07):
But sometimes just having someone there with you, maybe you're just like, I need to thinkabout this and I just need you to be here doing something so that I'm doing something.
I love that.
am always like.
I need to work with someone.
You don't have to be working on what I'm working on.
even things like that can be helpful of like, we are in this together, right?
Like you, the Lord has given you a community, a family to help you with things.
(18:32):
And it doesn't have to be like, oh, I'm such a terrible adult or whatever.
Like just help each other with things because we, it's a delightful thing to do and it'sokay to ask for help.
And it's okay to help people with things that are like, you know, seem like, oh,
I don't know, we have cultural expectations, I think, sometimes get in the way of usrelying on one another and letting the Lord use the people that he's given us as our
(18:58):
resources and encouragement.
Yes, that is such a good encouragement and you're so right.
So often we do things on our own and inviting someone else in, whether for advice, foraccountability, just bounce off somebody, all of these things, or just do something
together, just the fellowship, makes such a big difference.
And we see over and over in scripture, there's one another's.
(19:19):
So clearly God did not intend us to be on our own.
And so reaching out and making that effort, that's such a great encouragement.
Well, thank you Karly so much for talking with us about this.
And I do want to encourage everybody.
I mentioned Hope Renewed before.
If you say, man, you know, we love this conversation, but man, I kind of, you know, I wantsomething to help me, you know, go through the Bible, learn some of these truths, apply
(19:41):
them to my life, be in the Word, be with other people.
Hope Renewed kind of does all those things.
So you can get all the details about Hope Renewed at teach4theheart.com / hope renewed.
It's a five week program.
You can, you can go at whatever pace you want, but it's designed to be five weeks, justabout 15 minutes a day, four days a week.
So we really designed it to work with a busy schedule, but over the summer would be very,very easy to do.
(20:03):
So check it out over there.
And if you use the code podcast30, you can get 30 % off um your enrollment over there.
So thank you guys so much for being with us.
We really enjoyed this.
Once again, all the notes and the links that we mentioned can be found atteach4theheart.com / three, four, seven.
This episode has been brought to you in partnership with the Herzog Foundation.
(20:24):
All views and opinions are our own and don't necessarily reflect those of the HerzogFoundation.
Well, we look forward to being with you again soon.
In the meantime, teach to remember God is at work in you and through you and he's usingyou to make a difference.
Keep your eyes on him and teach for the heart.
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