July 14, 2025 • 23 mins
LEARN MORE at http://teach4theheart.com/350
Do you ever take time to rest and then feel more tired and overwhelmed? Sometimes the things we do to “rest” actually leave us more restless, rather than renewed. Listen in as we talk about how to get the rest you really need.
00:00 The Importance of Rest
01:02 The Impact of Screens on Rest
07:44 Identifying Refreshing Habits
14:27 Tangible Changes for Better Rest
20:57 Balancing Technology and Rest
Resources/Links Mentioned:
Hope Renewed: https://teach4theheart.com/hope-renewed-course/
If you liked this episode, check out episode 335 How To Stop Feeling Defeated and Teach With Hope Instead at http://teach4theheart.com/335
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:01):
Rest is so important, but sometimes our times of rest can be hijacked, and we can actuallyleave what was supposed to be a rest feeling restless instead of refreshed.
So let's dive into why this happens and how to keep it from happening to us.
Well, welcome back to the Teach 4 the Heart podcast, where we tackle teaching challengesfrom a biblical perspective.
(00:21):
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 at home, 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
(00:41):
a lasting difference in our students' hearts and lives.
This episode is brought to you in partnership with the Herzog Foundation.
Today, I'm so excited to be joined by Sarah Humes, one of our long-time team members andTeach for the Heart Mentor.
Sarah, thanks so much for joining us today for this conversation.
Thanks so much for inviting me on.
I'm so excited to talk to everybody about this.
(01:02):
And I knew I wanted to talk to Sarah about this because Sarah helped me out when wecreated Hope Renewed and she went through the whole course and had so many great thoughts
about it.
And this is actually one of the topics that we talk about inside of Hope Renewed.
So where this idea came from oh was honestly from my own personal experience, but alsoobserving it in so many others in this idea that there's one problem area in particular
(01:26):
that can really hijack our times of rest.
And that is our screens.
These pesky devices that are so helpful can really be intrusive in so many ways, but oneof the ways is that they can really hijack our times of rest.
And they affect everyone differently.
So this is not going to be a one size fits all, you know, advice, but we want to kind ofexplore some of the things, some of the ways they might be affecting you, some of the ways
(01:54):
they affect us, and some changes we might want to make as a result.
Yes.
uh
So let's start by diving into some of the potential problems that we've experienced.
So the first one um that this is not as much mine, I'll tell you which one's mine in alittle bit, but that we see is just too much time on social.
(02:15):
So some people really as spending too much time on social can start to experience emotionslike envy, insecurity, anxiety, um others, and this is a little bit more me, can suffer
from like that endless scroll.
Right?
So you're like on there, you're just like on and on and on.
And suddenly you're like, my goodness, I just spent way too long on this.
I do not feel refreshed.
(02:35):
I do not feel rested.
I feel very restless.
It doesn't really refresh us.
We think I'm sitting down to relax and it just doesn't.
Um, so that's something to think about.
Does the time you spend on social media, it can be a great tool, but kind of examining, isit leaving you feeling refreshed by connection and ideas?
Or is it leaving you feeling restless or anxious or uneasy or
(02:58):
insecure.
has that been something you've ever experienced?
Yeah, absolutely.
Especially because I tend to use my phone a little bit differently than most people.
I'm an avid reader.
so sometimes even if I'm listening to an audiobook, I might think, this is going to be sorelaxing.
(03:19):
But even that constant like voice in your head of an audiobook or there are times whenit's super relaxing.
But there are times when your soul just creates silence.
There are times when things need to just stop.
There are times when you need that silence and just there's too much noise in the world.
(03:43):
There's this tune blast game that sometimes can suck me right into.
You know what I'm like?
I just want to have a little fun that doesn't take a lot of energy.
And then I'm like, oh, that was a lot of tune blast I just played.
uh
Yes, yes.
this, I've experienced the same thing.
And so kind of the next two I had tie right into that either relaxing too often with aphone or just grabbing a phone like anytime there's downtime.
(04:09):
And what you said about like needing some of that silence, that is something that I reallyresonates with me because I find I struggle to create quiet time.
It's like, if I have quiet time, I'm like, I should use this time.
I should either like listen to something or, you know, talk to something or, you know,any, it's like I want to fill it.
(04:30):
Some of that's a desire to be productive, but some of it is just habit.
Just feeling like we have to be entertained or we need to have something happening all thetime.
And I do think that those habits of always going to our phone, always having something onthe background, it looks different.
Some people it's the TV is on or like you said, listening to something.
These are not bad things.
(04:51):
But sometimes we can do it so often that it does crowd out that quiet.
And we need that quiet to think.
We need that quiet to talk to God, to hear from God, to allow his spirit to work in ourhearts.
And so I do think what you said about noticing how it's affecting you, right?
It's not wrong to play a game on our phone, but I think we know.
(05:11):
We know when it's like, that was too much.
That was not that good that kind of got into the realm of unhelpfulness.
yeah, I remember this time that I was teaching a room of 10th graders and I had just readthis study about how even teenagers are sometimes one of the things that they despise most
(05:33):
in the world is being alone with their own thoughts.
And I was like, no, this can't be true, can it?
And I wish I could remember this study, but I had asked...
this particular group of students I was very close with and I felt comfortable askingthem.
I was like, do you feel that this is true?
And they were like, absolutely.
(05:55):
And I was like, really?
You know, this is a great group of kids, very strong in their faith.
And I was like, well, can we just experiment for a minute?
And I set my timer for five minutes and I was like, let's just all sit and be quiet.
And they said it was probably one of the closest things to torture.
that they had ever experienced collectively.
(06:17):
And I was shocked.
I just did not even know how to respond to them when they said that.
Wow, that's really something to consider, my goodness, right?
Because I do think this generation coming up in particular, a lot of us that are a littlebit older, this technology came when we were young adults, but we didn't have it so much
(06:39):
growing up.
um But the generation coming up, it's always been there.
And I think that makes it even harder.
But yeah, wow.
I think that maybe...
I know myself personally, I wouldn't say I'm afraid to be alone with my own thoughts.
em But you can kind of resonate with that a little bit in that like, well, too much time,I start to get bored or I start to want to do something or I think it affects everyone a
(07:04):
little bit differently.
That's wow.
That's really interesting.
So let's consider, I think we could talk forever about the problems and what this lookslike, but honestly, it looks different for everybody, right?
You know for yourself.
You know, it's different.
Everyone approaches things a little bit differently, struggles in different areas.
So let's kind of talk now about um how can we though, what are some things that we can doto replace restless habits with refreshing ones?
(07:31):
And there's so many different avenues we could talk about to talk about technology and allthat.
But in this, we're just kind of approaching it from the angle of when we sit down to rest,if we're grabbing our phone and we're grabbing screens, is that really leaving us feeling
refreshed?
And just noticing.
Does it?
Does it not?
Maybe it's this good sometimes, but not all the time.
So I think that's the first step is just considering how do these things affect you?
(07:54):
Are they leaving you refreshed or are they crowding out your mind and your time with Jesusand your space to think?
So it's just starting to pay attention.
When is this helpful?
When is it not helpful?
Yeah, and I mean, even if you really, if you really feel like you want to do that, justmake sure maybe you're including a deep breath beforehand or after, or, you know, taking a
(08:16):
walk before, you know, even a two minute walk can make a big difference.
So.
Yes, and I think that's the next piece is I recommend just thinking about starting to payattention to if you haven't already, what things do refresh you?
So in other words, a lot of times when we have a break, we go like immediately to atechnology.
(08:37):
Starting to pay attention to well, what other things refresh you?
Sarah, you mentioned one, a walk.
A walk can be so refreshing, but everyone's different.
know, some of you might be like, I can take it or leave it.
Other times you might start to notice, yeah, I feel so refreshed after I take even a quickwalk.
So kind of noticing like what makes you, what things that you do leaves you feelingcreative or energized or encouraged or calm.
(09:00):
What things help you reconnect with God or leave you with a more positive attitude thanwhen you started and start incorporating some of those.
You don't have to do it every time.
Like I said, we're not saying throw away your phone, but starting to incorporate some ofthose and noticing how it affects you.
Sarah, do anything come to mind for you that you're like, yes, these things are actuallyrefreshing for you?
(09:20):
Yeah, so I mean, the first thing that comes to mind is I just have really, I really try tomake a point to talk to each of my kids each day.
um You know, my kids are funny.
And I love just, you know, to hear what happened in their day.
It is so tempting to just zone out and ignore the people we live with.
(09:45):
And I mean,
is so tempting and I don't want to miss out on the people right in front of me because ofthis little device that has been designed to pull me away from them.
And I just, don't want to miss out on that.
So I want to make sure I'm connecting with my kids and then my husband when he's homelater in the day.
(10:06):
I love that.
And sometimes I think when we have people around a lot, especially if some of you havelike a lot of kids or younger kids, that can almost feel like um noise sometimes.
But I love that perspective shift of just saying, no, I enjoy talking with my kids.
I'm going to view this as a thing that fills me up and just be in the moment.
(10:27):
I think the challenge comes when we're trying to do something and talk and it's allhappening at once.
just say, I'm just gonna be present in this moment.
I love that.
And when we were assembling ideas for Hope Renewed, we came up with a whole list.
And once again, it's different for everybody, but I'm just gonna rattle off a fewdifferent things.
And one of these might be intriguing to you and go like, yeah, that actually does refreshme.
Or like, that's something I wanna try.
So we already said going for a walk, but I mean, hiking, bike ride, all those things.
(10:50):
Maybe it's arts and crafts.
Do you like coloring, painting?
I am not an artist, but I got with my daughter this, those diamond art things where youjust put the little things.
And I find...
it surprisingly refreshing to just sit and do that and let my mind rest.
um So that might be something.
ah Do you play a musical instrument?
I know that's something that I'm like, I play the flute, I play it well, but I hardly everdo it.
(11:13):
And I'm like, this is actually fun for me.
Like when I have 10 minutes, maybe I should go grab that and do that.
um Sarah, you mentioned reading and listening to audio books can be refreshing.
It cannot be, but it can be.
What other hobbies do you have?
I talking with friends and family, looking at pictures.
mean, there's
The list could be endless, right?
But that point is to start trying other things and paying attention.
(11:35):
How do I feel after this?
Does this help me reconnect with God, with people?
um Is this a good way to rest and refresh?
This episode is brought to you in partnership with the Herzog Foundation.
The Herzog Foundation puts on retreats and trainings throughout the year to equip teachersto share their faith and grow in their profession.
If you are looking for inspiration and encouragement connected with apologetics,athletics, the arts, reading, special education, or engaging with parents, there is a
(12:04):
retreat for you.
Visit teach4theheart.com / Herzog Retreats to sign up and learn more.
That's teach4theheart.com.
Now, back to our program.
know, Linda, just, I'm giggling here because I'm just finishing up um Brant Hansen's book,Life is Hard, God is Good, Let's Dance.
(12:29):
And I love his book because there's so many examples of like whimsical ways to have fun inthat book.
And I'm just thinking of, you know, he's so lively and joyful and just finding ways tolike be a kid again and let her, you know, just let her guard down too.
Um, and one of the things that we're doing this summer, actually bought, we're all, youknow, my kids are in their higher teenage years and my husband and I are in our forties
(12:59):
and we bought sand toys.
We're going to go play in the sand at the beach this year.
Cause we're like, what, what's something we miss from being a kid?
And we're like, we miss building sand castles.
So yeah, just finding something that's like really whimsical and really fun and just like,let your heart be light.
I think that.
That's one of the things that we just miss when we're always stuck to a screen and we'realways just in that, when we forget to rest, when we forget to have fun.
(13:28):
Like play is such an important part of our lives and is part of the joy of the Lord.
And I just get so excited about that too.
Yes, that's so great.
okay, that reminded me of two things.
First of all, um the Rise Up Summit, Brent Hansen was here last year he's gonna be hereagain this year, Lord willing.
So if you haven't signed up yet, riseupchristianeducators.com, free to attend, it's gonnabe awesome.
(13:49):
And then second, realized, you you might be listening to this and going like, does thishave anything to do with teaching?
Yes, because we need to rest in order to bring our full self to the classroom.
So just wanted to put that out there.
This isn't just, yeah, rest, rest.
We need that.
And I think if you're listening to this podcast, you already know that we talk about thata lot, but this is it is so, so important.
I love that.
So we talked about considering, first of all, how are these things affecting me?
(14:12):
Where are the problem areas?
Then considering, well, what is refreshing?
What might I want to do instead?
At least some of the time.
And then number three, I think also a good thing to do is consider some tangible changesthat can help.
And once again, everyone's different.
But for me.
Some tangible changes, some habit changes can be really, really helpful.
So I'm just gonna rattle off a few ideas and then Sarah, if you wanna add any um to this.
(14:36):
So first of all, maybe adjusting notification settings.
Do you find yourself always drawn into your phone?
Cause you're getting notifications.
Like you can turn off notifications on everything except the things you really wanna benotified.
I've gone through phases where I delete certain apps off my phone.
This one is being too distracting.
I'm just gonna get rid of it, you know, for this.
I love this habit, although I haven't yet done it yet cause I need to buy an alarm clock.
(14:56):
Um, but having your phone sleep, not in your bedroom.
So it's not the last thing you do at night.
It's not the first thing you do in the morning.
Um, does require buying an alarm clock, but I don't know.
I really want to do that one.
I just haven't done it yet.
Um, similarly to that, I think, this one came from habits of the household, having a homefor your phone.
So a place that your phone lives at home rather than always being with us.
(15:20):
So it like lives on the counter or in the closet.
I go get it when I need it rather than always being there.
Screen time limits.
Go ahead, Sarah.
like that.
It's kind of old school, like when we had the phones on the walls.
I like that.
right, it's there when we need it, but it's not always there.
um Screen time limits is another thing.
Like if you have, least on an iPhone, you can set limits where it will remind you, like,oh, you're over your limit on this category.
(15:46):
um And then another thing is just taking breaks away.
So saying like,
for an hour a day, I'm going to like make sure like maybe it's dinner time or like acertain time or like we're all putting our phones away for this hour a day or like maybe
one afternoon a week is a no screen afternoon or taking a detox period.
One other that one that I thought was so good is the idea of in the morning prayer beforephone or Bible reading before phone.
(16:12):
So like I'm gonna pray or I'm gonna read by Bible, whatever combination makes sense foryou in the morning before I reach for my phone.
And let me say up front, these are not all things that I do.
These are just ideas that are like, and I wouldn't try to do all of them at once, but justthinking, there one of these that you're like, yeah, that sounds really good to me.
Like that sounds like it'll be really refreshing and helpful, uh might be something toconsider.
(16:36):
Does anything else come to mind for me, Sarah?
Well, I just, have to say that my daughter, is 16 and she so impresses me in this areabecause she recognizes what a whole technology, and this is like something that she has
done on her own.
I've wanted to be a better example, but there are times, you know, we work with technologyand so sometimes it just does suck you in.
(17:00):
And she downloaded this app, I believe it's called Opal and...
because she actually is on a bus for two hours a day because she attends two differentschools for her technical training too.
And so she was like, mom, I hate that I'm on my phone all the time when I'm on the bus.
And she knew it wasn't good for her.
And so she downloaded this app and it made certain things like her Instagram and herSnapchat not available to her while she was on the bus.
(17:31):
And she was like self aware.
to realize she did not want to do that.
And um it made it a little bit more difficult to overcome than the ones on the iPhoneitself.
And so I really loved that.
um But I do have to just second, the notification settings are so powerful.
(17:54):
I mean, not only that, but it can mean so much to your family and your friends.
It is so discouraging to me when I finally get together with some of my friends and theirphone is going off the whole time we're together.
And I'm like, we have been planning this for months and I haven't hardly seen your eyes,you know?
And so that's not restful.
(18:16):
That's not, you know, that's not what, you know, so when you can just shut off all thosenotifications and pour into each other, it is so wonderful.
ah
And there's lots of YouTube videos.
I know we're kind of talking about avoiding tech, but YouTube is great for learning how todo stuff like that too.
um You know, it's just, wonderful to set those off.
(18:40):
And um I am also just a big fan of putting, I like to work downstairs and leave my phoneupstairs um because it's just, or just sit down here with the family and my phone
upstairs, which sometimes does drive.
my friends nuts when they're trying to get a hold of me, but I'm here present with myfamily.
and we don't, in that mindset, I don't always have to be reachable.
(19:06):
That our, we've changed into this urgent society where we think everything's an emergency,someone must be able to get a hold of me.
And that was not the case even 15 years ago.
Well, maybe not 15.
Maybe 20, I don't know.
It feels like it just moved so fast.
It has moved and changed so fast.
(19:26):
But ah it's really a wonderful thing when people can't reach you.
Yes, yes, that's just so simple, right?
Just like, I'm just gonna leave it over here for a little while.
I'm gonna be present, I love that.
And I'm glad you kind of brought that up about like, we're saying like, we're not sayingto avoid technology, right?
We love technology, teacher of the heart, like we're virtual, we do everything online.
(19:48):
And technology, it can be so helpful.
And it's funny, I've thought before like, I almost wish we could just get rid of thesethings.
And it's like, that's not it, right?
And I think that's...
think it's true of so many things in life where things that can be a gift from God canalso turn into, you know, they can turn into problems.
And so just recognizing like that idea of moderation, that idea of paying attention towhere is the problem and asking God to.
(20:10):
So part of this should also be prayer, right?
Praying and asking God, show me where the problems are.
Show me what I can do differently to really experience the rest that he wants us toexperience both with him, with others, in our bodies, in our minds, so that we can serve
him to the best of our ability.
Yeah.
Well, yeah.
And I just think that the final thought I want to share is like the whole point of thispodcast today was about rest.
(20:37):
You know, even though we focused a lot on technology, it was about rest.
and I think the issue is that technology tends to distract us from rest.
And so to like balance the two out, how is my technology use keeping me from resting?
And therefore keeping me from serving God at my very best in my teaching position, in mylife, in my position and roles at church.
(21:06):
know, like finding how technology is stopping you from living the best life that God hascalled you to.
And I think that does take a lot of prayer, a lot of consideration, a lot of seekingwisdom from other people, being humble.
Because it is, when you, I mean, when you get like schooled by your kid.
You know, I've seen that with my daughter and learning from other people.
(21:31):
It's challenging, but it's so worth it to be a little bit closer to the person that Godhas called me to be.
I love that.
Well, thank you, Sarah, so much for joining in with us and thank you guys for being here.
If you'd like the notes and links in this episode, it'll all be at teach4theheart.com /350.
(21:51):
And if you want to kind of dive deeper into what does it mean to rest, how do we teachwith joy, even when things around us are like really crazy, you know, might be feeling
defeated, frustrated and wanting to teach with joy, we would love to have you join us inHope Renewed.
It's a five week program where we kind of dive into scripture.
and kind of explore what does that look like to really trust God and to enjoy working withhim even when things are hard.
(22:15):
And we go very deep.
We do not stay on the surface.
So I'd love for you to join us there.
You can get details at teach4theheart.com / hope renewed.
And if you use the code PODCAST 30, you can save 30 % on your enrollment.
So thank you guys so much for being with you.
I look forward to speaking with you again soon.
This episode has been brought to you in partnership with the Herzog Foundation.
(22:37):
All views and opinions are our own and don't necessarily reflect those of the HerzogFoundation.
Can't wait to be with you again.
In the meantime, teacher remember God is at work in you and through you and he's using youto make a difference.
Keep your eyes on him and teach for the heart.
Rest is so important, but sometimes our times of rest can be hijacked, and we can actuallyleave what was supposed to be a rest feeling restless instead of refreshed.
So let's dive into why this happens and how to keep it from happening to us.
Well, welcome back to the Teach 4 the Heart podcast, where we tackle teaching challengesfrom a biblical perspective.
(00:21):
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 at home, 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
(00:41):
a lasting difference in our students' hearts and lives.
This episode is brought to you in partnership with the Herzog Foundation.
Today, I'm so excited to be joined by Sarah Humes, one of our long-time team members andTeach for the Heart Mentor.
Sarah, thanks so much for joining us today for this conversation.
Thanks so much for inviting me on.
I'm so excited to talk to everybody about this.
(01:02):
And I knew I wanted to talk to Sarah about this because Sarah helped me out when wecreated Hope Renewed and she went through the whole course and had so many great thoughts
about it.
And this is actually one of the topics that we talk about inside of Hope Renewed.
So where this idea came from oh was honestly from my own personal experience, but alsoobserving it in so many others in this idea that there's one problem area in particular
(01:26):
that can really hijack our times of rest.
And that is our screens.
These pesky devices that are so helpful can really be intrusive in so many ways, but oneof the ways is that they can really hijack our times of rest.
And they affect everyone differently.
So this is not going to be a one size fits all, you know, advice, but we want to kind ofexplore some of the things, some of the ways they might be affecting you, some of the ways
(01:54):
they affect us, and some changes we might want to make as a result.
Yes.
uh
So let's start by diving into some of the potential problems that we've experienced.
So the first one um that this is not as much mine, I'll tell you which one's mine in alittle bit, but that we see is just too much time on social.
(02:15):
So some people really as spending too much time on social can start to experience emotionslike envy, insecurity, anxiety, um others, and this is a little bit more me, can suffer
from like that endless scroll.
Right?
So you're like on there, you're just like on and on and on.
And suddenly you're like, my goodness, I just spent way too long on this.
I do not feel refreshed.
(02:35):
I do not feel rested.
I feel very restless.
It doesn't really refresh us.
We think I'm sitting down to relax and it just doesn't.
Um, so that's something to think about.
Does the time you spend on social media, it can be a great tool, but kind of examining, isit leaving you feeling refreshed by connection and ideas?
Or is it leaving you feeling restless or anxious or uneasy or
(02:58):
insecure.
has that been something you've ever experienced?
Yeah, absolutely.
Especially because I tend to use my phone a little bit differently than most people.
I'm an avid reader.
so sometimes even if I'm listening to an audiobook, I might think, this is going to be sorelaxing.
(03:19):
But even that constant like voice in your head of an audiobook or there are times whenit's super relaxing.
But there are times when your soul just creates silence.
There are times when things need to just stop.
There are times when you need that silence and just there's too much noise in the world.
(03:43):
There's this tune blast game that sometimes can suck me right into.
You know what I'm like?
I just want to have a little fun that doesn't take a lot of energy.
And then I'm like, oh, that was a lot of tune blast I just played.
uh
Yes, yes.
this, I've experienced the same thing.
And so kind of the next two I had tie right into that either relaxing too often with aphone or just grabbing a phone like anytime there's downtime.
(04:09):
And what you said about like needing some of that silence, that is something that I reallyresonates with me because I find I struggle to create quiet time.
It's like, if I have quiet time, I'm like, I should use this time.
I should either like listen to something or, you know, talk to something or, you know,any, it's like I want to fill it.
(04:30):
Some of that's a desire to be productive, but some of it is just habit.
Just feeling like we have to be entertained or we need to have something happening all thetime.
And I do think that those habits of always going to our phone, always having something onthe background, it looks different.
Some people it's the TV is on or like you said, listening to something.
These are not bad things.
(04:51):
But sometimes we can do it so often that it does crowd out that quiet.
And we need that quiet to think.
We need that quiet to talk to God, to hear from God, to allow his spirit to work in ourhearts.
And so I do think what you said about noticing how it's affecting you, right?
It's not wrong to play a game on our phone, but I think we know.
(05:11):
We know when it's like, that was too much.
That was not that good that kind of got into the realm of unhelpfulness.
yeah, I remember this time that I was teaching a room of 10th graders and I had just readthis study about how even teenagers are sometimes one of the things that they despise most
(05:33):
in the world is being alone with their own thoughts.
And I was like, no, this can't be true, can it?
And I wish I could remember this study, but I had asked...
this particular group of students I was very close with and I felt comfortable askingthem.
I was like, do you feel that this is true?
And they were like, absolutely.
(05:55):
And I was like, really?
You know, this is a great group of kids, very strong in their faith.
And I was like, well, can we just experiment for a minute?
And I set my timer for five minutes and I was like, let's just all sit and be quiet.
And they said it was probably one of the closest things to torture.
that they had ever experienced collectively.
(06:17):
And I was shocked.
I just did not even know how to respond to them when they said that.
Wow, that's really something to consider, my goodness, right?
Because I do think this generation coming up in particular, a lot of us that are a littlebit older, this technology came when we were young adults, but we didn't have it so much
(06:39):
growing up.
um But the generation coming up, it's always been there.
And I think that makes it even harder.
But yeah, wow.
I think that maybe...
I know myself personally, I wouldn't say I'm afraid to be alone with my own thoughts.
em But you can kind of resonate with that a little bit in that like, well, too much time,I start to get bored or I start to want to do something or I think it affects everyone a
(07:04):
little bit differently.
That's wow.
That's really interesting.
So let's consider, I think we could talk forever about the problems and what this lookslike, but honestly, it looks different for everybody, right?
You know for yourself.
You know, it's different.
Everyone approaches things a little bit differently, struggles in different areas.
So let's kind of talk now about um how can we though, what are some things that we can doto replace restless habits with refreshing ones?
(07:31):
And there's so many different avenues we could talk about to talk about technology and allthat.
But in this, we're just kind of approaching it from the angle of when we sit down to rest,if we're grabbing our phone and we're grabbing screens, is that really leaving us feeling
refreshed?
And just noticing.
Does it?
Does it not?
Maybe it's this good sometimes, but not all the time.
So I think that's the first step is just considering how do these things affect you?
(07:54):
Are they leaving you refreshed or are they crowding out your mind and your time with Jesusand your space to think?
So it's just starting to pay attention.
When is this helpful?
When is it not helpful?
Yeah, and I mean, even if you really, if you really feel like you want to do that, justmake sure maybe you're including a deep breath beforehand or after, or, you know, taking a
(08:16):
walk before, you know, even a two minute walk can make a big difference.
So.
Yes, and I think that's the next piece is I recommend just thinking about starting to payattention to if you haven't already, what things do refresh you?
So in other words, a lot of times when we have a break, we go like immediately to atechnology.
(08:37):
Starting to pay attention to well, what other things refresh you?
Sarah, you mentioned one, a walk.
A walk can be so refreshing, but everyone's different.
know, some of you might be like, I can take it or leave it.
Other times you might start to notice, yeah, I feel so refreshed after I take even a quickwalk.
So kind of noticing like what makes you, what things that you do leaves you feelingcreative or energized or encouraged or calm.
(09:00):
What things help you reconnect with God or leave you with a more positive attitude thanwhen you started and start incorporating some of those.
You don't have to do it every time.
Like I said, we're not saying throw away your phone, but starting to incorporate some ofthose and noticing how it affects you.
Sarah, do anything come to mind for you that you're like, yes, these things are actuallyrefreshing for you?
(09:20):
Yeah, so I mean, the first thing that comes to mind is I just have really, I really try tomake a point to talk to each of my kids each day.
um You know, my kids are funny.
And I love just, you know, to hear what happened in their day.
It is so tempting to just zone out and ignore the people we live with.
(09:45):
And I mean,
is so tempting and I don't want to miss out on the people right in front of me because ofthis little device that has been designed to pull me away from them.
And I just, don't want to miss out on that.
So I want to make sure I'm connecting with my kids and then my husband when he's homelater in the day.
(10:06):
I love that.
And sometimes I think when we have people around a lot, especially if some of you havelike a lot of kids or younger kids, that can almost feel like um noise sometimes.
But I love that perspective shift of just saying, no, I enjoy talking with my kids.
I'm going to view this as a thing that fills me up and just be in the moment.
(10:27):
I think the challenge comes when we're trying to do something and talk and it's allhappening at once.
just say, I'm just gonna be present in this moment.
I love that.
And when we were assembling ideas for Hope Renewed, we came up with a whole list.
And once again, it's different for everybody, but I'm just gonna rattle off a fewdifferent things.
And one of these might be intriguing to you and go like, yeah, that actually does refreshme.
Or like, that's something I wanna try.
So we already said going for a walk, but I mean, hiking, bike ride, all those things.
(10:50):
Maybe it's arts and crafts.
Do you like coloring, painting?
I am not an artist, but I got with my daughter this, those diamond art things where youjust put the little things.
And I find...
it surprisingly refreshing to just sit and do that and let my mind rest.
um So that might be something.
ah Do you play a musical instrument?
I know that's something that I'm like, I play the flute, I play it well, but I hardly everdo it.
(11:13):
And I'm like, this is actually fun for me.
Like when I have 10 minutes, maybe I should go grab that and do that.
um Sarah, you mentioned reading and listening to audio books can be refreshing.
It cannot be, but it can be.
What other hobbies do you have?
I talking with friends and family, looking at pictures.
mean, there's
The list could be endless, right?
But that point is to start trying other things and paying attention.
(11:35):
How do I feel after this?
Does this help me reconnect with God, with people?
um Is this a good way to rest and refresh?
This episode is brought to you in partnership with the Herzog Foundation.
The Herzog Foundation puts on retreats and trainings throughout the year to equip teachersto share their faith and grow in their profession.
If you are looking for inspiration and encouragement connected with apologetics,athletics, the arts, reading, special education, or engaging with parents, there is a
(12:04):
retreat for you.
Visit teach4theheart.com / Herzog Retreats to sign up and learn more.
That's teach4theheart.com.
Now, back to our program.
know, Linda, just, I'm giggling here because I'm just finishing up um Brant Hansen's book,Life is Hard, God is Good, Let's Dance.
(12:29):
And I love his book because there's so many examples of like whimsical ways to have fun inthat book.
And I'm just thinking of, you know, he's so lively and joyful and just finding ways tolike be a kid again and let her, you know, just let her guard down too.
Um, and one of the things that we're doing this summer, actually bought, we're all, youknow, my kids are in their higher teenage years and my husband and I are in our forties
(12:59):
and we bought sand toys.
We're going to go play in the sand at the beach this year.
Cause we're like, what, what's something we miss from being a kid?
And we're like, we miss building sand castles.
So yeah, just finding something that's like really whimsical and really fun and just like,let your heart be light.
I think that.
That's one of the things that we just miss when we're always stuck to a screen and we'realways just in that, when we forget to rest, when we forget to have fun.
(13:28):
Like play is such an important part of our lives and is part of the joy of the Lord.
And I just get so excited about that too.
Yes, that's so great.
okay, that reminded me of two things.
First of all, um the Rise Up Summit, Brent Hansen was here last year he's gonna be hereagain this year, Lord willing.
So if you haven't signed up yet, riseupchristianeducators.com, free to attend, it's gonnabe awesome.
(13:49):
And then second, realized, you you might be listening to this and going like, does thishave anything to do with teaching?
Yes, because we need to rest in order to bring our full self to the classroom.
So just wanted to put that out there.
This isn't just, yeah, rest, rest.
We need that.
And I think if you're listening to this podcast, you already know that we talk about thata lot, but this is it is so, so important.
I love that.
So we talked about considering, first of all, how are these things affecting me?
(14:12):
Where are the problem areas?
Then considering, well, what is refreshing?
What might I want to do instead?
At least some of the time.
And then number three, I think also a good thing to do is consider some tangible changesthat can help.
And once again, everyone's different.
But for me.
Some tangible changes, some habit changes can be really, really helpful.
So I'm just gonna rattle off a few ideas and then Sarah, if you wanna add any um to this.
(14:36):
So first of all, maybe adjusting notification settings.
Do you find yourself always drawn into your phone?
Cause you're getting notifications.
Like you can turn off notifications on everything except the things you really wanna benotified.
I've gone through phases where I delete certain apps off my phone.
This one is being too distracting.
I'm just gonna get rid of it, you know, for this.
I love this habit, although I haven't yet done it yet cause I need to buy an alarm clock.
(14:56):
Um, but having your phone sleep, not in your bedroom.
So it's not the last thing you do at night.
It's not the first thing you do in the morning.
Um, does require buying an alarm clock, but I don't know.
I really want to do that one.
I just haven't done it yet.
Um, similarly to that, I think, this one came from habits of the household, having a homefor your phone.
So a place that your phone lives at home rather than always being with us.
(15:20):
So it like lives on the counter or in the closet.
I go get it when I need it rather than always being there.
Screen time limits.
Go ahead, Sarah.
like that.
It's kind of old school, like when we had the phones on the walls.
I like that.
right, it's there when we need it, but it's not always there.
um Screen time limits is another thing.
Like if you have, least on an iPhone, you can set limits where it will remind you, like,oh, you're over your limit on this category.
(15:46):
um And then another thing is just taking breaks away.
So saying like,
for an hour a day, I'm going to like make sure like maybe it's dinner time or like acertain time or like we're all putting our phones away for this hour a day or like maybe
one afternoon a week is a no screen afternoon or taking a detox period.
One other that one that I thought was so good is the idea of in the morning prayer beforephone or Bible reading before phone.
(16:12):
So like I'm gonna pray or I'm gonna read by Bible, whatever combination makes sense foryou in the morning before I reach for my phone.
And let me say up front, these are not all things that I do.
These are just ideas that are like, and I wouldn't try to do all of them at once, but justthinking, there one of these that you're like, yeah, that sounds really good to me.
Like that sounds like it'll be really refreshing and helpful, uh might be something toconsider.
(16:36):
Does anything else come to mind for me, Sarah?
Well, I just, have to say that my daughter, is 16 and she so impresses me in this areabecause she recognizes what a whole technology, and this is like something that she has
done on her own.
I've wanted to be a better example, but there are times, you know, we work with technologyand so sometimes it just does suck you in.
(17:00):
And she downloaded this app, I believe it's called Opal and...
because she actually is on a bus for two hours a day because she attends two differentschools for her technical training too.
And so she was like, mom, I hate that I'm on my phone all the time when I'm on the bus.
And she knew it wasn't good for her.
And so she downloaded this app and it made certain things like her Instagram and herSnapchat not available to her while she was on the bus.
(17:31):
And she was like self aware.
to realize she did not want to do that.
And um it made it a little bit more difficult to overcome than the ones on the iPhoneitself.
And so I really loved that.
um But I do have to just second, the notification settings are so powerful.
(17:54):
I mean, not only that, but it can mean so much to your family and your friends.
It is so discouraging to me when I finally get together with some of my friends and theirphone is going off the whole time we're together.
And I'm like, we have been planning this for months and I haven't hardly seen your eyes,you know?
And so that's not restful.
(18:16):
That's not, you know, that's not what, you know, so when you can just shut off all thosenotifications and pour into each other, it is so wonderful.
ah
And there's lots of YouTube videos.
I know we're kind of talking about avoiding tech, but YouTube is great for learning how todo stuff like that too.
um You know, it's just, wonderful to set those off.
(18:40):
And um I am also just a big fan of putting, I like to work downstairs and leave my phoneupstairs um because it's just, or just sit down here with the family and my phone
upstairs, which sometimes does drive.
my friends nuts when they're trying to get a hold of me, but I'm here present with myfamily.
and we don't, in that mindset, I don't always have to be reachable.
(19:06):
That our, we've changed into this urgent society where we think everything's an emergency,someone must be able to get a hold of me.
And that was not the case even 15 years ago.
Well, maybe not 15.
Maybe 20, I don't know.
It feels like it just moved so fast.
It has moved and changed so fast.
(19:26):
But ah it's really a wonderful thing when people can't reach you.
Yes, yes, that's just so simple, right?
Just like, I'm just gonna leave it over here for a little while.
I'm gonna be present, I love that.
And I'm glad you kind of brought that up about like, we're saying like, we're not sayingto avoid technology, right?
We love technology, teacher of the heart, like we're virtual, we do everything online.
(19:48):
And technology, it can be so helpful.
And it's funny, I've thought before like, I almost wish we could just get rid of thesethings.
And it's like, that's not it, right?
And I think that's...
think it's true of so many things in life where things that can be a gift from God canalso turn into, you know, they can turn into problems.
And so just recognizing like that idea of moderation, that idea of paying attention towhere is the problem and asking God to.
(20:10):
So part of this should also be prayer, right?
Praying and asking God, show me where the problems are.
Show me what I can do differently to really experience the rest that he wants us toexperience both with him, with others, in our bodies, in our minds, so that we can serve
him to the best of our ability.
Yeah.
Well, yeah.
And I just think that the final thought I want to share is like the whole point of thispodcast today was about rest.
(20:37):
You know, even though we focused a lot on technology, it was about rest.
and I think the issue is that technology tends to distract us from rest.
And so to like balance the two out, how is my technology use keeping me from resting?
And therefore keeping me from serving God at my very best in my teaching position, in mylife, in my position and roles at church.
(21:06):
know, like finding how technology is stopping you from living the best life that God hascalled you to.
And I think that does take a lot of prayer, a lot of consideration, a lot of seekingwisdom from other people, being humble.
Because it is, when you, I mean, when you get like schooled by your kid.
You know, I've seen that with my daughter and learning from other people.
(21:31):
It's challenging, but it's so worth it to be a little bit closer to the person that Godhas called me to be.
I love that.
Well, thank you, Sarah, so much for joining in with us and thank you guys for being here.
If you'd like the notes and links in this episode, it'll all be at teach4theheart.com /350.
(21:51):
And if you want to kind of dive deeper into what does it mean to rest, how do we teachwith joy, even when things around us are like really crazy, you know, might be feeling
defeated, frustrated and wanting to teach with joy, we would love to have you join us inHope Renewed.
It's a five week program where we kind of dive into scripture.
and kind of explore what does that look like to really trust God and to enjoy working withhim even when things are hard.
(22:15):
And we go very deep.
We do not stay on the surface.
So I'd love for you to join us there.
You can get details at teach4theheart.com / hope renewed.
And if you use the code PODCAST 30, you can save 30 % on your enrollment.
So thank you guys so much for being with you.
I look forward to speaking with you again soon.
This episode has been brought to you in partnership with the Herzog Foundation.
(22:37):
All views and opinions are our own and don't necessarily reflect those of the HerzogFoundation.
Can't wait to be with you again.
In the meantime, teacher remember God is at work in you and through you and he's using youto make a difference.
Keep your eyes on him and teach for the heart.
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