August 27, 2025 • 34 mins
"We need a more sustainable way of living, right? This means that we can keep up with God, even when we're tempted to numb out and be overwhelmed by all the things in life."
— Tara Sun
Today's Episode: Join Natalie Abbott and Tara Sun as they dive into the challenges of managing burnout and finding a sustainable way of living out our calling in Christ. They explore how to live out our faith authentically, even amidst life's chaos, and discuss practical steps to prioritize spiritual health. Tara shares her personal journey of overcoming overwhelm and the importance of intentionality in daily life. Tune in and be encouraged that you too can live a slowed-down, intentional, rich life.
This month's memory verse: “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” — Colossians 3:17
Today's guest: Tara Sun is the uplifting host of the popular women's podcast “Truth Talks with Tara” and the author of Surrender Your Story and Overbooked and Overwhelmed. She is a dynamic speaker and creative, using each of these platforms to equip women with the tools to know, love, and live God's Word in their daily lives. Tara's favorite titles are wife to her husband, Michael, and mom to their children. You'll find them living and serving the Lord in Oregon.
Want to dive deeper into this month's verse? Join Natalie in the her monthly Bible Study.
Support our show: It's really just as simple as leaving us a review!
Links from today's show:
- Get to know Tara at TaraSunMinistries.com and @misstarasun.
- Check out this 4 step Bible study: The EASY Bible Study Method from Coffee and Bible Time.
- See the Bible as one big story with The One Story Bible, by Greg Gilbert (get it for 30% off!).
- Check out Dwell's BIGGEST SALE OF THE YEAR - 8/18-8/29.
Follow Natalie & Vera at DwellDifferently.com and @dwelldifferenly.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
Hey, welcome back to the Dwell Differently podcast.
I'm Natalie Abbott.
Guys, today we are talking aboutall the things that we do, all
the things that we think, allthe actions that we have, and
how do we go about living outour faith in a way that is
(00:21):
genuine, that we can look atwhat we do and say, I did this
because of Jesus.
I did this through the power ofJesus.
I did this for Jesus.
The verse that we've beenmemorizing all month is
Colossians 3.17.
It says this, and whatever youdo, whether in word or deed, do
it all in the name of the LordJesus, giving thanks to God the
(00:43):
Father through him.
It's a beautiful verse.
I hope that you're meditating onit and memorizing it.
It's been saturating in you.
And I'm super excited to have myfriend Tara Sun back on the
podcast.
Welcome, Tara.
Thanks so much.
This was one of my favorite onesto be on like a couple years
ago.
And I'm so excited to hang outwith you and be on the podcast.
It's like a double whammy.
(01:03):
We get to hang and talk aboutone of my favorite verses.
Awesome.
Okay, so you are on back inMarch of 2023.
And I feel like some life hashappened since then.
So give me your like five bulletpoint.
This is my update where I'vebeen.
So if any of you have listenedto this podcast before, or if
you want to go back and listen,we'll have it in the show notes.
(01:24):
But like, what's up?
Oh my gosh, so much.
Yeah, two years doesn't feellike that long ago, but also,
well, yeah, two years, right?
I'm like, wait.
A little more than two years.
Well, more than two years,right?
Two and a half.
Okay, yeah.
So not that long, but also somuch life has happened.
So when I was on the podcast, Ihad a one-year-old and now I
have, well, so now he's three.
(01:46):
And I have a six-month-old now,so I have two boys now.
I've written a couple morebooks, one that we're going to
kind of talk about today alongthe verse.
And yeah, I mean, I think thoseare the biggest things.
I mean, we've had a lot of otherlittle things in between, but
just more kids and a lot oflife.
Yeah.
We were talking before thisabout like sleeping and having,
(02:08):
you know, having good sleep andhow important that is with our
kids.
And I'm like, man, there's somany good things that we're
talking about right now.
We should just hit record.
Yeah, absolutely.
I mean, one of my friends theother day was like, how are you
looking like this?
I mean, she just had her first.
And so, of course, I was in atotally different place with my
first because I was figuring itout.
(02:29):
And I still am figuring it out.
But there's a level of...
you know a little bit more everysingle time I'm learning.
And I'm like, well, I'm like, ofcourse you feel a little bit
more comfortable as you havemore kids as I'm learning.
But also I told her, I'm like,I'm really grateful.
I'm getting good sleep.
So that is really life changing.
It really matters.
It really, really matters.
I mean, I can remember thoseseasons of just like complete
(02:51):
and utter chaos and just beinglike, if I can just sleep, then
I'm I'm going to be good.
And so, yeah, I love to hearthat you're actually sleeping.
Yeah.
Well, I mean, and then I lookback even to a couple of months
ago when my son was like stillin our room and like, you know,
we feed him every hour or two,you know, whatever that was
like.
And like, you kind of get usedto that, like the sleep
(03:13):
deprivation.
And then one night when yourbaby sleeps a four hour stretch
or something, you're like, oh mygosh, I'm a new person.
And it was just four hours.
But like, what a difference thatmakes.
Yeah.
You're like, I didn't realizehow much of a zombie I was.
It was just like functioning.
Yeah.
And you're like, wait, like Iused to get eight hours.
Like what is life?
Awesome.
(03:35):
Okay.
So last time when you were here,we actually were also talking
about a similar thing.
And I, it's funny because it'slike, I did not Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
(04:04):
in the name of the Lord Jesus,like how do we not just listen
to the word and then just kindof fool ourselves into thinking
that we're living it out, but toactually like do what it says.
And I feel like thatconversation was so confessional
and practical.
It was convicting.
And I think today'sconversation, hopefully, will
take a little bit of a differentlook.
It's a different angle of this.
(04:26):
So today we're going to maybelook at the hope that we have,
the successes and the failuresthat we have, and how we live in
every way, not out of like thissense of duty or fear, but out
of the joy and the fullness thatwe have from Jesus, giving
thanks to God the Father throughhim, like our verse says.
So let me read our verse onemore time.
(04:47):
And then I'm gonna ask you aquestion.
So our verse says, and whateveryou do, whether in word or deed,
do it all in the name of theLord Jesus, giving thanks to God
the Father through him.
And I just think like, what ifmy life actually looked like
that?
Like it is this beautiful idea.
(05:08):
Like before we do anything else,like can we just even imagine
what that would look like?
Isn't this something that we allwant?
Yeah.
Oh, this is, this is what Iwant.
I mean, I, and then we're gonnatalk about this, how you say you
want to do one thing, but it's,it's hard.
It's like, we, we have toacknowledge that, that it's
really hard to take somethingfrom your mind, right?
(05:29):
Like what we consume to livingit out with our hands and our
feet.
Right.
But I genuinely believe mostChristians listening to this,
that really profess true faithin Jesus.
This is how we want to live.
But I think we get so stifled bymaybe the pressures or life is
so busy that it's just like hardto live it out.
Also, when you were reading thatagain, Natalie, the name of the
(05:51):
author is escaping me, butsomeone was talking about these
emphasis, like when you readscripture with emphasis on a
different word every singletime.
And when you put an emphasis, Idon't know, maybe you didn't
even mean to on the name, likedoing it all in the name of
Jesus.
And I just, it struck me becausehow much do I do it out of like,
(06:11):
the name of me.
Like I do everything out of thename of Tara, because of Tara,
because I want to achieve this.
And I don't know, that juststood out to me a second ago.
And I just like want toacknowledge that because I'm
like, oh, like it just was sucha stark contrast from doing
everything in the name of Jesusversus how often I do things in
the name of me.
(06:32):
Yeah, no, I think that's areally, that's a really helpful
thing.
I would love to explore that alittle bit more.
But like what, I don't know.
I just want to answer this idea,though, of like, why is this
something that we want?
Why is this beautiful to us?
You know, like, what is itabout?
I think it's like consideringthe beauty of the gospel in it.
(06:56):
Like somehow that if we're doingeverything in the name of Jesus,
if we're doing everything in hisauthority, by his strength,
through his power, like, wow.
Yeah.
You know, like what if allChristians actually lived like
that?
Yeah.
Would the whole world just getsaved in a day?
Yeah.
No, seriously.
Seriously.
(07:17):
For me, what immediately jumpsout to my mind is that we're all
looking, we're all kind ofwandering around and looking for
meaning behind whatever we do,right?
I mean, like whether it's in ourmotherhood, our marriages, our
ministries, our vocations, inthe dishes, literally anything.
We're like looking for somethinglike beyond the actual act.
Like I want...
some like purpose behind whatI'm doing in the mundane.
(07:40):
And I think maybe that's whythis really is compelling to so
many of us because we're justlooking for something deeper,
something more.
And even the secular world thatdoesn't know Jesus, like people
want deeper meaning.
Everyone, you know, that we wantto be known, seen and heard.
I mean, you hear that even innon-Christian circles.
So like that's something thatGod planted in us, right?
(08:00):
That's why we want to dosomething bigger than ourselves,
I think.
UNKNOWN (08:04):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (08:04):
And I love just what you said about even in the
dishes.
SPEAKER_01 (08:09):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (08:09):
Like, I do think that this verse is such a
challenging verse because it'slike every single thing, like
all things, whatever I do,whether it's the dishes or
whether it's like singing inchurch on Sunday, whether it
feels like it's religious or itfeels like it's secular, whether
it feels like it's small orwhether it's really big, like, I
(08:32):
mean, I don't know how, likeTara, if you think about your
life, do you feel like it'seasier for you?
And I'm kind of going offscripture, but I'm just thinking
in the realm of what we've beentalking about, like, is it
easier for you, do you think, toacknowledge and to live out your
faith in sort of the big ways?
Or do you feel like it's, easierin the small things.
(08:55):
Or maybe there's just, I mean,maybe there's a little, like it
depends.
Yeah.
I think sometimes it depends.
But I think lately I've had theawesome privilege to be able to
see that in the smaller waystoo.
Because I don't think I used tosee it in the small ways.
Like I very much was obsessedwith achieving and accomplishing
(09:15):
and doing big things in the nameof Jesus.
And I really thought I meantthat, but it was really more
like we talked about in the nameof Tara.
I wanted to do these big thingsand it felt like it was for my
gain.
And so that's how I saw a lot oflife.
But now I think learning abetter rhythm of life and
understanding the gospel inevery day a little bit more over
the last couple of years, I seeit in the way that I talk to my
(09:38):
kids.
I see it in doing the laundryand doing the dishes.
I see it in having aconversation with a friend over
coffee or...
driving to Costco.
I'm really grateful for thatopportunity because I used to
read scriptures like this andsay like, well, I don't actually
understand how I can do that inthe everyday because life is
just a string of mostly mundanethings.
(10:00):
I mean, you're going to havesome big things in life, but
it's mostly that.
And so I think we would bereally wise to see that in the
everyday moments because that'sreally what makes up most of our
lives, right?
Yeah, oh my gosh, so much.
I think that that's thechallenge in this verse is like
really considering how thisaffects every little component
(10:20):
of everything that we do, notjust the big things.
But just like one thing thatcomes to my mind, so you just
wrote a new book calledOverbooked and Overwhelmed, how
to keep up with God when you'rejust trying to keep up with
life.
And I think sometimes, like ifsometimes a verse like this can
(10:40):
feel really heavy, like we'retrying to do all the things for
Jesus.
Like I'm barely keeping my headabove water.
How do I do everything forJesus?
So like, what would you say?
Have you ever, like, obviouslyyou're writing a book about
this.
So I have a feeling that there'sbeen a time in your life when
you felt crushed by the weightof all the things.
(11:02):
Could you tell us a little bitabout that?
Oh, yeah.
So first of all, this was likenever something I thought I
would write a book on.
It was never like, oh my gosh,like I need to scramble and come
up with an idea.
Let's just do this.
It was really genuinely out of aplace of I had all the things on
my plate and a lot of thingsthat I had prayed for, like kids
and ministry and all like goodthings, right?
Like there's also distractionsand life was really full.
(11:25):
And so in the face of that,instead of like letting Jesus
sustain me and be the reason whyI did all of it, I just...
went the opposite direction andI started to put other things
above him.
My Bible was growing dusty.
I was achieving these things andsaying it was for Jesus, but it
was really just to check thingsoff my list.
And I was in a perpetual stateof overwhelm and exhaustion and
(11:48):
weariness, overstimulation,anxiety.
Like it wasn't just one day or aweek or a season.
It was like constant.
And that's where really thisbook came from where I was doing
all the things and I didn't knowhow to handle all the things
because I'm like, God, you'vegiven me all the things.
But like, how do I- I'm tryingto do this for you, Jesus.
(12:09):
Yeah, I am.
But then I'm not doing it withyou, right?
Like I'm, I don't know.
It was this really crazy thingthat I never thought I would be
confronted with.
But it's like, we say that wewant to live for Jesus in all
areas of our lives, in all ofthe things.
And then we come to this placeof burnout or we come to the end
of a season and we're like,where was God in that?
Or like, where was my Bible timein that?
Or where was, where was he?
(12:31):
Like he was there.
I just was the one who was faraway, sadly.
So what would you say, obviouslyyou got to the end of that.
Like, how did you realize that?
How did you come to thisconclusion of like, Like, did it
take you getting to kind of thatrock bottom place of like, I'm
(12:53):
so totally burnt out?
Yeah.
Like, what?
Like, tell us.
Give us the behind the scenes.
Oh, my gosh.
Of like, what did this?
I mean, maybe you don't want to,but like.
No, I will.
I'm an open book.
I genuinely had like abreakdown.
Like, I say it was like, yeah,it was it was like right after I
had had my first son.
and then had like a book comeout and then just normal life.
(13:15):
So, you know, whether you'relistening to this and you're
writing books or in ministry ornot, like it doesn't really
matter.
Like life still lives and bigstuff still happens and it keeps
moving no matter what.
And I didn't know what to do.
And so I had this moment ofafter like a year of like living
in a constant state of burnout,I like finally reached a
(13:37):
breaking point, not just in mymind, my emotions.
Physically, I felt the effects,but also spiritually.
There was just this switch thatI realized I have been living
this way too long.
I wasn't...
I mean, some of the signs whereI weren't treating people in my
life that I loved well, I wasjust this anxious, snippy,
stressed out person to myhusband, to my son.
(14:01):
I hate saying that, but like Ijust, I felt like I couldn't sit
still with my son.
I couldn't be present.
I couldn't enjoy my time withhim.
I was in postpartum, but I just,there was just so much of like
the effects of how affected myrelationships with other people
and with God that I had to cometo rock bottom.
And I, that's really genuinelyanother reason why I wrote the
book was because I know a lot ofus can relate to the burnout,
(14:23):
but I don't like want people tothink that we have to, because I
just think a lot of culture islike, well, Like, you know, you
can rest when you need to or,you know, the old saying, rest
when you're dead or, you know,like just you're going to like
burnout just happens or, youknow, hustle culture.
Like there's just stuff that weaccept that we don't have to
accept, you know?
So the reason that you wrotethis book was to help people who
(14:49):
are going through that to kindof like give them a way out?
Yeah.
I'm assuming.
Yeah, a way out.
So like if you're currentlylistening to this and you're
like, I need a way out, I amburning out.
Yes.
Or I have been burnt out andI've just accepted like, this is
just who I am, I guess.
Yeah.
I guess I'm just a stressful,anxious person.
Yeah.
Who has too much on their plateall the time.
There's no way out.
No, for sure.
And for the people that think,well, I haven't read my Bible in
(15:12):
two months, but that's just theway it is because life is busy.
There's no shame in that becauseI've been there because God
understands.
He has grace.
but also for the person thatjust like feels like they can't
get out of that cycle.
Like I'm so busy and then Ineglect God.
And then like, it's just notsustainable, I guess, is maybe
what it really comes down to.
Like we were invited in by Jesusto have the full abundant life.
(15:36):
And this means walking inlockstep with him.
This means being sustained byhim.
And of course this means thatlife is gonna still be
overwhelming, right?
We're told in scripture thatjust like the man who built his
house on the rock, the wind andthe waves, they still came.
but we were able to stand, hewas able to stand firm in that.
And so that's why I wrote it,you know, because like we just
need a way out.
We need a more sustainable wayof living, right?
(15:58):
This means that we can keep upwith God, right?
That's just what sustainingmeans that we can keep up with
God, even when we're tempted tonumb out and be overwhelmed by
like the verse says that we'retalking about all the things.
Yeah, yeah.
Well, and I think like,honestly, if you read a verse
like this and you're coming atit from that perspective, like
it just feels like a burden,right?
SPEAKER_01 (16:18):
It
SPEAKER_00 (16:18):
feels like a weight, right?
And yet I think if we are makingspace for Jesus, if we're filled
up, if we are experiencing thisabundance, right, that you're
talking about, then a verse likethis doesn't feel overwhelming.
It sounds like I have margin forthat.
I can consider that.
I can live out of fullness, youknow, instead of feeling like,
(16:41):
Oh my gosh, this is one morething on my checklist.
Yes, that's so good.
I love that you said that.
Margin and having the roombecause we want to do these
things for God, but we're like,I don't have any time.
But then it's like, wait, wait,what are we actually giving our
time to?
We live at such a fast pace thatwe don't even have five seconds
to evaluate what is a part of myday?
(17:04):
What can go?
What can stay?
Yeah.
because we're all like, oh, likeI don't have any time for God.
But I've been convicted,Natalie, that so much of my life
when I feel overbooked andoverwhelmed and like God is on
the back burner is because Iself-impose other things.
It's not that like I'm a, I'mnot a victim to life.
Like I have the authority inJesus Christ first and foremost,
(17:27):
but I also have free will.
And how many of us are justself-imposing things that are
just overwhelming us?
And we think, oh my gosh, butit's really what we're allowing
into our lives.
When was the last time you sawsomeone fall in love with God's
Word for the first time?
These days, it's easy to scrollthrough our phones and harder to
slow down with Scripture,especially for new believers.
(17:48):
That's why the easy Bible studymethod from Coffee and Bible
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(18:09):
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(18:33):
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We'll see you next time.
(19:37):
Yes, I think that the verse likethis calls us to evaluation and
intentionality, right?
If we really read it and wethink to ourselves, okay, and
even like that little bit at theend that talks about
thankfulness, like that if we'redoing everything in the name of
the Lord Jesus, well, how wouldJesus want me to do everything?
(20:01):
He wouldn't want me to bestressed and burnout.
He wouldn't want me to beexhausted.
In fact, the reality is hedoesn't need me.
He doesn't need all my efforts.
He doesn't need all of my works.
And so if I'm doing it in theway that he would have me do it
and in his name, then I can dothat with a grateful heart even.
That's so good.
Instead of a heart that justfeels so empty, like a heart
(20:23):
that's overflowing withgratitude.
Right.
And what I'm really hearing fromthis too is like, When we do
things for the motivation ofglorifying God and in his name,
it leaves more room for us to begrateful because how many of us
say we want to be gratefulpeople and that we're like, oh,
you know, like, I mean,gratitude lists, you know, like
you hear all the studies thatit's, you know, super powerful
(20:44):
or like, okay, cool.
Yeah.
But like we actually then canhave the space to do that when
we actually like slow downenough to be like, okay, wait,
like this is what life is about.
This is what sustains me.
Gratitude changes everything.
And I noticed that in theseasons that I am doing things
out of my own ambition or myname are the times that I am
(21:06):
more prideful and self-centeredand less thankful.
It leaves less room for me to bethankful.
Yeah, 100%.
And I think that, again, it'slike, I think sometimes we get
so consumed with this idea ofwhat we're doing we're not
really considering how we'redoing it.
(21:27):
That's true.
That's really true.
My sister Vera right now is onsabbatical for five weeks, which
is amazing.
And it's funny because I wasjust talking to her today.
She's on like just starting weektwo.
And she was confessing to me howhard it has been to unwind and
to unplug.
(21:48):
And I do think kind of like whatwe were saying, like there's
this required intentionality Youknow, and I would love to hear
your kind of response to that oflike, how do we, you know, as
much as we want this, like if wewant this verse to be true, if
we want to be able to get to aplace where we can even do what
this verse is asking us to do,like we maybe need to take one
(22:10):
step further back and be like,how do I reevaluate?
How do I unplug?
So can you kind of give us your,maybe experience with doing
that.
And then maybe some helpful tipsfor those of us who are like, I
want that so desperately.
Yeah, yeah.
Okay, I'm gonna say this in themost love and I'm saying it to
myself too, is that we need tocall an idol an idol.
(22:33):
We need to be honest about whatis in the way, right?
Because we're like, we wannaunplug, we wanna unwind, but
like we are letting so manythings come into our lives and
steal our attention and stealour devotion and steal our
focus, right?
which then affects how we unplugour ability or our lack of,
right?
And so I talk about inOverbooked and Overwhelmed how
(22:56):
we first need to address ourheart condition.
We first need to address whatare we giving our time to?
What are we craving, right?
Because ultimately what we cravecomes from a place of like what
we desire, right?
So like say we're craving restand we need relief because life
is crazy busy.
We're craving whatever this is.
We need to look at, okay, if I'mcraving that, what am I going to
(23:17):
to fulfill that?
Am I going to social media?
Am I going to food?
Am I going to relationships?
Again, nothing, like I'm notdemonizing any of these things,
but like, are we going to thetemporal things that just like
Mary and Martha, you know, likeJesus said, Mary, you're
choosing the eternal.
Martha, you were choosing thetemporal.
Are we going to the temporallike Martha to fill us up?
So that's the first thing Iwould say to someone who feels
(23:39):
like they want to disconnect andunwind, rearrange their
priorities is to look at whatwe're putting in front of God.
I just said it like, we've gotto call an idol an idol.
We got to be honest.
with what we are allowing totake that place on the throne in
our lives.
And that's really hard.
But I would say this isn't likethere's nuance to this
conversation where it's like,okay, social media may be an
(24:00):
idol, but like doesn't mean younecessarily have to completely
log out for the rest of yourlife.
But like, how can we stewardthat in a better way?
I think just getting honest withwhere your heart is and where
you're giving your time to thencan help you realize where you
can disconnect and how you canlike start to unwind if you
realize what's kind of stealingyour rest if that makes sense
(24:23):
yeah yeah so just thinking aboutlike how how we unplug and let's
say that we get to this spaceright where we're feeling like
okay I can even start to likeI've done this inventory of the
idols that have been in the wayyeah now I feel like I can do
sort of a positive inventorymaybe of what I want my life to
(24:47):
look like.
All of the things, right, thatwe were talking about.
So maybe some of those thingsget removed or rearranged or
reprioritized or maybe we spendless time in them.
But how would you recommendsomebody who's maybe doing that
positive inventory to do that?
Yeah.
Well, I would say, first of all,look at the things that are most
(25:08):
urgent.
And I think we need to redefinewhat urgent is, right?
I used to, Natalie, I used tothink that there were like 30
big things that were urgent inmy day.
I mean, 30 might be a stretch,but like it was a lot.
And it wasn't just like littlethings like feed my dog.
I mean, that's important, butlike it wasn't like those.
It was like big projects or bigthings or like a big thing in my
(25:32):
house or in work.
I just thought so many thingswere urgent.
And so I think that person thatwants to make that positive
change look at what really isurgent, right?
I mean, I'm going to go back toMary and Martha.
Jesus says, you know, she chosethe better portion.
This is what's necessary.
So what do you want to buildyour life around?
Is it really Jesus?
Is it his word?
Is it his wisdom?
Is it his purpose?
So get specific about the thingsthat will get you there.
(25:53):
There's even a practical sectionin the book that we say, you
know, we have these goals aboutlike, I want to grow my faith,
right?
But like we say that and thenlife gets busy and overwhelming
and but then we don't know howto put it into practical action
because we've made the like30,000 level, but we haven't
brought it down to the 10,000 or5,000 foot level where it's a
little more specific.
So like, how can you getspecific about your big goal,
(26:16):
about putting Jesus first,about, growing your faith?
What are those things that youcan do now?
And then rearranging your dayaround it, right?
So if there's things like yougot to work, you got to raise
your kids, you got to makedinner, you got to do the
laundry.
So like those are things thatare always in process, right?
Those are things that willalways be there.
Then how can you take thoseother things in the word,
(26:36):
prayer, community, how can youfit those things into the day?
Like as not an afterthought, butas just little building blocks.
And also just, this is somethingI say in the book and I'm
challenging myself too in thisseason of Little kids and
busyness is that we so oftenlimit what God can do by just
saying, oh, I'm going to justspend time in the Word for an
(26:57):
hour in the morning and then I'mgoing to check out and I'm just
going to go about my day, right?
Or maybe it's not even an hour,but like how much are we missing
of the presence of God and thewisdom and the things He wants
to pour into our spirit,conviction, truth, all this
stuff by like blocking Him outwhen we're in the car, when
we're feeding our kids, whenwe're at our cubicles, when
we're working out at the gym,like All of those moments, this
(27:20):
verse, do everything, whateverwe do in the name of Jesus.
And I just think we're missingit because we're just confining
him to one block of our day.
Okay, so how do you do thatpractically though?
Like you are literally changinga child's diaper.
Yeah.
Like what is going through yourmind that is connecting you to
(27:41):
Jesus?
Or you're at work and you've gota task, you're filling out a
spreadsheet.
Like in those moments- what aresome practical ways that we can
engage with Jesus so that itdoes feel like, hey, he's going
with me all day long in the bigthings and the little things.
So my dad, I don't know if he'sthe original originator.
That was weird.
(28:01):
The original, like, the originalguy.
He is the original dad.
The original originator of thisidea.
But no, my dad is quoted so muchin this book.
My parents are really.
And they've shaped so much aboutmy faith.
And one thing that he has taughtmy brother and I growing up
since the beginning is that hejust has like this open
conversation with God.
Like, think about picking upyour cell phone the moment you
(28:22):
wake up in the morning, likestarting to call to God and
saying, hey, God, love you.
Thank you for waking me up thismorning.
Let's go.
Let's do this.
And you go about your day andmaybe the first thing you do is
change a dirty diaper and you'renot very happy about it.
And you can just be like, wecall these whisper prayers,
these conversations with God,just prayer, like being like,
God, this sucks.
(28:43):
I don't love this, but thank youso much for my sweet baby.
Thank you that I have a dirtydiaper to change.
Thank you that you woke him uphealthy.
You know, like whatever thislooks like.
Going about when you're doing aspreadsheet, reciting a verse
that you've memorized, you know,a dwell verse that you've
memorized that you need toremind yourself when you're in
the pits and you hate this andyou're trying to do this for the
(29:04):
glory of God, but you're like,this doesn't feel important.
But, you know, recalling averse, praying and thanking God
for it.
And not just Thanksgiving, butwrite petition, asking him.
I just think Even just this openconversation where you never
hang up the phone with God,that's inviting him into every
moment.
That is saturating your day withhis presence because the reality
is he's always there.
(29:24):
He's always with us.
But how often are we...
like treating him like thispesky house guest that never
leaves.
Like we also need to be at homewith God, right?
Like you need to be with himtoo.
And so that is just a reallytangible way of doing that.
Like in any situation, when youfeel frustrated, when you're
thankful, when something goesgreat, when something doesn't go
your way, just in your head orout loud, just saying it.
(29:46):
Even around my three-year-old,I've been trying to like pray
even more out loud or like ifI'm having a hard day, just
being like, just audibly like,Lord, I need patience.
It's simple as that.
It's simple as that.
I will say I've had a kid callme out before for like, they're
like trying my nerves and I'mlike, Jesus, just help me.
(30:07):
And I didn't even mean to say itas loud as I did.
And they were like, did you justsay that about me?
And I'm like, well, yeah, kindof.
But like, but confessionally,like I need Jesus to help me
because I don't really know howto parent you right now.
Yes.
You know, and they're just likelooking at me like I have worms
coming out of my ears because Ihave teenagers, you know, so
it's different.
Yes.
(30:28):
No, for sure.
And I think that's somethingthat we miss is that like we
just, we let ourselves stew inthe frustrations or the
disappointments or thecomparison we feel when we're
scrolling or the frustration wefeel with our kids or even just,
being thankful about something,right?
I often, let's tie it back tothe verse.
I often, when something reallygreat happens, if I don't
(30:49):
acknowledge, thank you, Jesus,even just something as simple as
that, it kind of can be easy forme to start saying, oh, thank
you, Tara.
Like you did it, right?
Good job, Tara.
Seriously.
And so even just something likethat, like, It's so simple.
And I say that in the book.
It's a lot of the stuff in thislife in following Jesus is
simple.
I'm not saying it's easy, butsimple as in straightforward,
(31:10):
like God has laid it out in theword, but we forget.
And so we just need to bereminded of doing it.
Yeah.
So good.
All right, Tara, we are aboutout of time, but I love that
whisper prayer.
I hope that that's somethingthat will go with our listeners
as they're thinking about all ofthe things, all the things,
whatever you do in word or indeed as your day is going
(31:33):
forward to just allow Jesus intothose different spaces.
He wants to be there for all ofit.
And I laughed, but I thinkyou're right.
I think sometimes we think ofhim as like a house guest who
will never leave.
Or like kind of like a judgy oldaunt maybe who's like, Tisk,
(31:53):
tisk, tisking us all the time.
That's just like hovering andlike judging.
Yeah.
Yeah.
That is not who he is.
He is not like that at all.
He's like having your bestfriend around.
And I'm reminded of thinking oflike my kids right now, my older
teens who have Snapchat, wholike they're, it is like a
constant barrage on their phoneof like their friends sending
(32:15):
them pictures and all thethings.
And, you know, like what if youwere like that with Jesus?
Like what if all day long?
You were actually like, hey,check this out, Jesus.
You know, like this is what I'mdoing right now.
Just inviting you in.
Anyway, I love that so much.
Well, Tara.
Thank you for joining me.
Guys, if you want to find outmore about Tara and all of her
(32:38):
books and all of her fun stuff,she has her own podcast.
In fact, Vera was on it, Ibelieve, last summer.
I think so.
Maybe I'll put that episode inthe show notes as well.
So we'll have all things TaraSun, including that episode with
Vera.
But thanks so much for joiningme today.
It's just a delight.
It's a joy.
I always love spending time withyou.
So thanks for having me back on.
(32:59):
Yes, yes.
Awesome.
All right, guys, do check outour show notes and all the
things Tara said.
And we're so glad you're here.
Okay, don't hit fast forwardbecause you're going to want to
hear this, and I am just barelycontaining my excitement.
We have our warehouse sale,which is our biggest sale of the
year.
This August, the 18th throughthe 29th, we do it once a year,
(33:21):
and we sell all kinds of stuff.
We open up the vaults, and wehave old verses.
We have key tags, tattoos, andverse cards that you can buy
separately, which we never sell.
We have massively discountedverse kits for gifts that you
can stock up on for retreats,your Bible study, your church,
big We'll see you next time.
Hey, welcome back to the Dwell Differently podcast.
I'm Natalie Abbott.
Guys, today we are talking aboutall the things that we do, all
the things that we think, allthe actions that we have, and
how do we go about living outour faith in a way that is
(00:21):
genuine, that we can look atwhat we do and say, I did this
because of Jesus.
I did this through the power ofJesus.
I did this for Jesus.
The verse that we've beenmemorizing all month is
Colossians 3.17.
It says this, and whatever youdo, whether in word or deed, do
it all in the name of the LordJesus, giving thanks to God the
(00:43):
Father through him.
It's a beautiful verse.
I hope that you're meditating onit and memorizing it.
It's been saturating in you.
And I'm super excited to have myfriend Tara Sun back on the
podcast.
Welcome, Tara.
Thanks so much.
This was one of my favorite onesto be on like a couple years
ago.
And I'm so excited to hang outwith you and be on the podcast.
It's like a double whammy.
(01:03):
We get to hang and talk aboutone of my favorite verses.
Awesome.
Okay, so you are on back inMarch of 2023.
And I feel like some life hashappened since then.
So give me your like five bulletpoint.
This is my update where I'vebeen.
So if any of you have listenedto this podcast before, or if
you want to go back and listen,we'll have it in the show notes.
(01:24):
But like, what's up?
Oh my gosh, so much.
Yeah, two years doesn't feellike that long ago, but also,
well, yeah, two years, right?
I'm like, wait.
A little more than two years.
Well, more than two years,right?
Two and a half.
Okay, yeah.
So not that long, but also somuch life has happened.
So when I was on the podcast, Ihad a one-year-old and now I
have, well, so now he's three.
(01:46):
And I have a six-month-old now,so I have two boys now.
I've written a couple morebooks, one that we're going to
kind of talk about today alongthe verse.
And yeah, I mean, I think thoseare the biggest things.
I mean, we've had a lot of otherlittle things in between, but
just more kids and a lot oflife.
Yeah.
We were talking before thisabout like sleeping and having,
(02:08):
you know, having good sleep andhow important that is with our
kids.
And I'm like, man, there's somany good things that we're
talking about right now.
We should just hit record.
Yeah, absolutely.
I mean, one of my friends theother day was like, how are you
looking like this?
I mean, she just had her first.
And so, of course, I was in atotally different place with my
first because I was figuring itout.
(02:29):
And I still am figuring it out.
But there's a level of...
you know a little bit more everysingle time I'm learning.
And I'm like, well, I'm like, ofcourse you feel a little bit
more comfortable as you havemore kids as I'm learning.
But also I told her, I'm like,I'm really grateful.
I'm getting good sleep.
So that is really life changing.
It really matters.
It really, really matters.
I mean, I can remember thoseseasons of just like complete
(02:51):
and utter chaos and just beinglike, if I can just sleep, then
I'm I'm going to be good.
And so, yeah, I love to hearthat you're actually sleeping.
Yeah.
Well, I mean, and then I lookback even to a couple of months
ago when my son was like stillin our room and like, you know,
we feed him every hour or two,you know, whatever that was
like.
And like, you kind of get usedto that, like the sleep
(03:13):
deprivation.
And then one night when yourbaby sleeps a four hour stretch
or something, you're like, oh mygosh, I'm a new person.
And it was just four hours.
But like, what a difference thatmakes.
Yeah.
You're like, I didn't realizehow much of a zombie I was.
It was just like functioning.
Yeah.
And you're like, wait, like Iused to get eight hours.
Like what is life?
Awesome.
(03:35):
Okay.
So last time when you were here,we actually were also talking
about a similar thing.
And I, it's funny because it'slike, I did not Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
(04:04):
in the name of the Lord Jesus,like how do we not just listen
to the word and then just kindof fool ourselves into thinking
that we're living it out, but toactually like do what it says.
And I feel like thatconversation was so confessional
and practical.
It was convicting.
And I think today'sconversation, hopefully, will
take a little bit of a differentlook.
It's a different angle of this.
(04:26):
So today we're going to maybelook at the hope that we have,
the successes and the failuresthat we have, and how we live in
every way, not out of like thissense of duty or fear, but out
of the joy and the fullness thatwe have from Jesus, giving
thanks to God the Father throughhim, like our verse says.
So let me read our verse onemore time.
(04:47):
And then I'm gonna ask you aquestion.
So our verse says, and whateveryou do, whether in word or deed,
do it all in the name of theLord Jesus, giving thanks to God
the Father through him.
And I just think like, what ifmy life actually looked like
that?
Like it is this beautiful idea.
(05:08):
Like before we do anything else,like can we just even imagine
what that would look like?
Isn't this something that we allwant?
Yeah.
Oh, this is, this is what Iwant.
I mean, I, and then we're gonnatalk about this, how you say you
want to do one thing, but it's,it's hard.
It's like, we, we have toacknowledge that, that it's
really hard to take somethingfrom your mind, right?
(05:29):
Like what we consume to livingit out with our hands and our
feet.
Right.
But I genuinely believe mostChristians listening to this,
that really profess true faithin Jesus.
This is how we want to live.
But I think we get so stifled bymaybe the pressures or life is
so busy that it's just like hardto live it out.
Also, when you were reading thatagain, Natalie, the name of the
(05:51):
author is escaping me, butsomeone was talking about these
emphasis, like when you readscripture with emphasis on a
different word every singletime.
And when you put an emphasis, Idon't know, maybe you didn't
even mean to on the name, likedoing it all in the name of
Jesus.
And I just, it struck me becausehow much do I do it out of like,
(06:11):
the name of me.
Like I do everything out of thename of Tara, because of Tara,
because I want to achieve this.
And I don't know, that juststood out to me a second ago.
And I just like want toacknowledge that because I'm
like, oh, like it just was sucha stark contrast from doing
everything in the name of Jesusversus how often I do things in
the name of me.
(06:32):
Yeah, no, I think that's areally, that's a really helpful
thing.
I would love to explore that alittle bit more.
But like what, I don't know.
I just want to answer this idea,though, of like, why is this
something that we want?
Why is this beautiful to us?
You know, like, what is itabout?
I think it's like consideringthe beauty of the gospel in it.
(06:56):
Like somehow that if we're doingeverything in the name of Jesus,
if we're doing everything in hisauthority, by his strength,
through his power, like, wow.
Yeah.
You know, like what if allChristians actually lived like
that?
Yeah.
Would the whole world just getsaved in a day?
Yeah.
No, seriously.
Seriously.
(07:17):
For me, what immediately jumpsout to my mind is that we're all
looking, we're all kind ofwandering around and looking for
meaning behind whatever we do,right?
I mean, like whether it's in ourmotherhood, our marriages, our
ministries, our vocations, inthe dishes, literally anything.
We're like looking for somethinglike beyond the actual act.
Like I want...
some like purpose behind whatI'm doing in the mundane.
(07:40):
And I think maybe that's whythis really is compelling to so
many of us because we're justlooking for something deeper,
something more.
And even the secular world thatdoesn't know Jesus, like people
want deeper meaning.
Everyone, you know, that we wantto be known, seen and heard.
I mean, you hear that even innon-Christian circles.
So like that's something thatGod planted in us, right?
(08:00):
That's why we want to dosomething bigger than ourselves,
I think.
UNKNOWN (08:04):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (08:04):
And I love just what you said about even in the
dishes.
SPEAKER_01 (08:09):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (08:09):
Like, I do think that this verse is such a
challenging verse because it'slike every single thing, like
all things, whatever I do,whether it's the dishes or
whether it's like singing inchurch on Sunday, whether it
feels like it's religious or itfeels like it's secular, whether
it feels like it's small orwhether it's really big, like, I
(08:32):
mean, I don't know how, likeTara, if you think about your
life, do you feel like it'seasier for you?
And I'm kind of going offscripture, but I'm just thinking
in the realm of what we've beentalking about, like, is it
easier for you, do you think, toacknowledge and to live out your
faith in sort of the big ways?
Or do you feel like it's, easierin the small things.
(08:55):
Or maybe there's just, I mean,maybe there's a little, like it
depends.
Yeah.
I think sometimes it depends.
But I think lately I've had theawesome privilege to be able to
see that in the smaller waystoo.
Because I don't think I used tosee it in the small ways.
Like I very much was obsessedwith achieving and accomplishing
(09:15):
and doing big things in the nameof Jesus.
And I really thought I meantthat, but it was really more
like we talked about in the nameof Tara.
I wanted to do these big thingsand it felt like it was for my
gain.
And so that's how I saw a lot oflife.
But now I think learning abetter rhythm of life and
understanding the gospel inevery day a little bit more over
the last couple of years, I seeit in the way that I talk to my
(09:38):
kids.
I see it in doing the laundryand doing the dishes.
I see it in having aconversation with a friend over
coffee or...
driving to Costco.
I'm really grateful for thatopportunity because I used to
read scriptures like this andsay like, well, I don't actually
understand how I can do that inthe everyday because life is
just a string of mostly mundanethings.
(10:00):
I mean, you're going to havesome big things in life, but
it's mostly that.
And so I think we would bereally wise to see that in the
everyday moments because that'sreally what makes up most of our
lives, right?
Yeah, oh my gosh, so much.
I think that that's thechallenge in this verse is like
really considering how thisaffects every little component
(10:20):
of everything that we do, notjust the big things.
But just like one thing thatcomes to my mind, so you just
wrote a new book calledOverbooked and Overwhelmed, how
to keep up with God when you'rejust trying to keep up with
life.
And I think sometimes, like ifsometimes a verse like this can
(10:40):
feel really heavy, like we'retrying to do all the things for
Jesus.
Like I'm barely keeping my headabove water.
How do I do everything forJesus?
So like, what would you say?
Have you ever, like, obviouslyyou're writing a book about
this.
So I have a feeling that there'sbeen a time in your life when
you felt crushed by the weightof all the things.
(11:02):
Could you tell us a little bitabout that?
Oh, yeah.
So first of all, this was likenever something I thought I
would write a book on.
It was never like, oh my gosh,like I need to scramble and come
up with an idea.
Let's just do this.
It was really genuinely out of aplace of I had all the things on
my plate and a lot of thingsthat I had prayed for, like kids
and ministry and all like goodthings, right?
Like there's also distractionsand life was really full.
(11:25):
And so in the face of that,instead of like letting Jesus
sustain me and be the reason whyI did all of it, I just...
went the opposite direction andI started to put other things
above him.
My Bible was growing dusty.
I was achieving these things andsaying it was for Jesus, but it
was really just to check thingsoff my list.
And I was in a perpetual stateof overwhelm and exhaustion and
(11:48):
weariness, overstimulation,anxiety.
Like it wasn't just one day or aweek or a season.
It was like constant.
And that's where really thisbook came from where I was doing
all the things and I didn't knowhow to handle all the things
because I'm like, God, you'vegiven me all the things.
But like, how do I- I'm tryingto do this for you, Jesus.
(12:09):
Yeah, I am.
But then I'm not doing it withyou, right?
Like I'm, I don't know.
It was this really crazy thingthat I never thought I would be
confronted with.
But it's like, we say that wewant to live for Jesus in all
areas of our lives, in all ofthe things.
And then we come to this placeof burnout or we come to the end
of a season and we're like,where was God in that?
Or like, where was my Bible timein that?
Or where was, where was he?
(12:31):
Like he was there.
I just was the one who was faraway, sadly.
So what would you say, obviouslyyou got to the end of that.
Like, how did you realize that?
How did you come to thisconclusion of like, Like, did it
take you getting to kind of thatrock bottom place of like, I'm
(12:53):
so totally burnt out?
Yeah.
Like, what?
Like, tell us.
Give us the behind the scenes.
Oh, my gosh.
Of like, what did this?
I mean, maybe you don't want to,but like.
No, I will.
I'm an open book.
I genuinely had like abreakdown.
Like, I say it was like, yeah,it was it was like right after I
had had my first son.
and then had like a book comeout and then just normal life.
(13:15):
So, you know, whether you'relistening to this and you're
writing books or in ministry ornot, like it doesn't really
matter.
Like life still lives and bigstuff still happens and it keeps
moving no matter what.
And I didn't know what to do.
And so I had this moment ofafter like a year of like living
in a constant state of burnout,I like finally reached a
(13:37):
breaking point, not just in mymind, my emotions.
Physically, I felt the effects,but also spiritually.
There was just this switch thatI realized I have been living
this way too long.
I wasn't...
I mean, some of the signs whereI weren't treating people in my
life that I loved well, I wasjust this anxious, snippy,
stressed out person to myhusband, to my son.
(14:01):
I hate saying that, but like Ijust, I felt like I couldn't sit
still with my son.
I couldn't be present.
I couldn't enjoy my time withhim.
I was in postpartum, but I just,there was just so much of like
the effects of how affected myrelationships with other people
and with God that I had to cometo rock bottom.
And I, that's really genuinelyanother reason why I wrote the
book was because I know a lot ofus can relate to the burnout,
(14:23):
but I don't like want people tothink that we have to, because I
just think a lot of culture islike, well, Like, you know, you
can rest when you need to or,you know, the old saying, rest
when you're dead or, you know,like just you're going to like
burnout just happens or, youknow, hustle culture.
Like there's just stuff that weaccept that we don't have to
accept, you know?
So the reason that you wrotethis book was to help people who
(14:49):
are going through that to kindof like give them a way out?
Yeah.
I'm assuming.
Yeah, a way out.
So like if you're currentlylistening to this and you're
like, I need a way out, I amburning out.
Yes.
Or I have been burnt out andI've just accepted like, this is
just who I am, I guess.
Yeah.
I guess I'm just a stressful,anxious person.
Yeah.
Who has too much on their plateall the time.
There's no way out.
No, for sure.
And for the people that think,well, I haven't read my Bible in
(15:12):
two months, but that's just theway it is because life is busy.
There's no shame in that becauseI've been there because God
understands.
He has grace.
but also for the person thatjust like feels like they can't
get out of that cycle.
Like I'm so busy and then Ineglect God.
And then like, it's just notsustainable, I guess, is maybe
what it really comes down to.
Like we were invited in by Jesusto have the full abundant life.
(15:36):
And this means walking inlockstep with him.
This means being sustained byhim.
And of course this means thatlife is gonna still be
overwhelming, right?
We're told in scripture thatjust like the man who built his
house on the rock, the wind andthe waves, they still came.
but we were able to stand, hewas able to stand firm in that.
And so that's why I wrote it,you know, because like we just
need a way out.
We need a more sustainable wayof living, right?
(15:58):
This means that we can keep upwith God, right?
That's just what sustainingmeans that we can keep up with
God, even when we're tempted tonumb out and be overwhelmed by
like the verse says that we'retalking about all the things.
Yeah, yeah.
Well, and I think like,honestly, if you read a verse
like this and you're coming atit from that perspective, like
it just feels like a burden,right?
SPEAKER_01 (16:18):
It
SPEAKER_00 (16:18):
feels like a weight, right?
And yet I think if we are makingspace for Jesus, if we're filled
up, if we are experiencing thisabundance, right, that you're
talking about, then a verse likethis doesn't feel overwhelming.
It sounds like I have margin forthat.
I can consider that.
I can live out of fullness, youknow, instead of feeling like,
(16:41):
Oh my gosh, this is one morething on my checklist.
Yes, that's so good.
I love that you said that.
Margin and having the roombecause we want to do these
things for God, but we're like,I don't have any time.
But then it's like, wait, wait,what are we actually giving our
time to?
We live at such a fast pace thatwe don't even have five seconds
to evaluate what is a part of myday?
(17:04):
What can go?
What can stay?
Yeah.
because we're all like, oh, likeI don't have any time for God.
But I've been convicted,Natalie, that so much of my life
when I feel overbooked andoverwhelmed and like God is on
the back burner is because Iself-impose other things.
It's not that like I'm a, I'mnot a victim to life.
Like I have the authority inJesus Christ first and foremost,
(17:27):
but I also have free will.
And how many of us are justself-imposing things that are
just overwhelming us?
And we think, oh my gosh, butit's really what we're allowing
into our lives.
When was the last time you sawsomeone fall in love with God's
Word for the first time?
These days, it's easy to scrollthrough our phones and harder to
slow down with Scripture,especially for new believers.
(17:48):
That's why the easy Bible studymethod from Coffee and Bible
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The easy method helps make thispossible.
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(19:37):
Yes, I think that the verse likethis calls us to evaluation and
intentionality, right?
If we really read it and wethink to ourselves, okay, and
even like that little bit at theend that talks about
thankfulness, like that if we'redoing everything in the name of
the Lord Jesus, well, how wouldJesus want me to do everything?
(20:01):
He wouldn't want me to bestressed and burnout.
He wouldn't want me to beexhausted.
In fact, the reality is hedoesn't need me.
He doesn't need all my efforts.
He doesn't need all of my works.
And so if I'm doing it in theway that he would have me do it
and in his name, then I can dothat with a grateful heart even.
That's so good.
Instead of a heart that justfeels so empty, like a heart
(20:23):
that's overflowing withgratitude.
Right.
And what I'm really hearing fromthis too is like, When we do
things for the motivation ofglorifying God and in his name,
it leaves more room for us to begrateful because how many of us
say we want to be gratefulpeople and that we're like, oh,
you know, like, I mean,gratitude lists, you know, like
you hear all the studies thatit's, you know, super powerful
(20:44):
or like, okay, cool.
Yeah.
But like we actually then canhave the space to do that when
we actually like slow downenough to be like, okay, wait,
like this is what life is about.
This is what sustains me.
Gratitude changes everything.
And I noticed that in theseasons that I am doing things
out of my own ambition or myname are the times that I am
(21:06):
more prideful and self-centeredand less thankful.
It leaves less room for me to bethankful.
Yeah, 100%.
And I think that, again, it'slike, I think sometimes we get
so consumed with this idea ofwhat we're doing we're not
really considering how we'redoing it.
(21:27):
That's true.
That's really true.
My sister Vera right now is onsabbatical for five weeks, which
is amazing.
And it's funny because I wasjust talking to her today.
She's on like just starting weektwo.
And she was confessing to me howhard it has been to unwind and
to unplug.
(21:48):
And I do think kind of like whatwe were saying, like there's
this required intentionality Youknow, and I would love to hear
your kind of response to that oflike, how do we, you know, as
much as we want this, like if wewant this verse to be true, if
we want to be able to get to aplace where we can even do what
this verse is asking us to do,like we maybe need to take one
(22:10):
step further back and be like,how do I reevaluate?
How do I unplug?
So can you kind of give us your,maybe experience with doing
that.
And then maybe some helpful tipsfor those of us who are like, I
want that so desperately.
Yeah, yeah.
Okay, I'm gonna say this in themost love and I'm saying it to
myself too, is that we need tocall an idol an idol.
(22:33):
We need to be honest about whatis in the way, right?
Because we're like, we wannaunplug, we wanna unwind, but
like we are letting so manythings come into our lives and
steal our attention and stealour devotion and steal our
focus, right?
which then affects how we unplugour ability or our lack of,
right?
And so I talk about inOverbooked and Overwhelmed how
(22:56):
we first need to address ourheart condition.
We first need to address whatare we giving our time to?
What are we craving, right?
Because ultimately what we cravecomes from a place of like what
we desire, right?
So like say we're craving restand we need relief because life
is crazy busy.
We're craving whatever this is.
We need to look at, okay, if I'mcraving that, what am I going to
(23:17):
to fulfill that?
Am I going to social media?
Am I going to food?
Am I going to relationships?
Again, nothing, like I'm notdemonizing any of these things,
but like, are we going to thetemporal things that just like
Mary and Martha, you know, likeJesus said, Mary, you're
choosing the eternal.
Martha, you were choosing thetemporal.
Are we going to the temporallike Martha to fill us up?
So that's the first thing Iwould say to someone who feels
(23:39):
like they want to disconnect andunwind, rearrange their
priorities is to look at whatwe're putting in front of God.
I just said it like, we've gotto call an idol an idol.
We got to be honest.
with what we are allowing totake that place on the throne in
our lives.
And that's really hard.
But I would say this isn't likethere's nuance to this
conversation where it's like,okay, social media may be an
(24:00):
idol, but like doesn't mean younecessarily have to completely
log out for the rest of yourlife.
But like, how can we stewardthat in a better way?
I think just getting honest withwhere your heart is and where
you're giving your time to thencan help you realize where you
can disconnect and how you canlike start to unwind if you
realize what's kind of stealingyour rest if that makes sense
(24:23):
yeah yeah so just thinking aboutlike how how we unplug and let's
say that we get to this spaceright where we're feeling like
okay I can even start to likeI've done this inventory of the
idols that have been in the wayyeah now I feel like I can do
sort of a positive inventorymaybe of what I want my life to
(24:47):
look like.
All of the things, right, thatwe were talking about.
So maybe some of those thingsget removed or rearranged or
reprioritized or maybe we spendless time in them.
But how would you recommendsomebody who's maybe doing that
positive inventory to do that?
Yeah.
Well, I would say, first of all,look at the things that are most
(25:08):
urgent.
And I think we need to redefinewhat urgent is, right?
I used to, Natalie, I used tothink that there were like 30
big things that were urgent inmy day.
I mean, 30 might be a stretch,but like it was a lot.
And it wasn't just like littlethings like feed my dog.
I mean, that's important, butlike it wasn't like those.
It was like big projects or bigthings or like a big thing in my
(25:32):
house or in work.
I just thought so many thingswere urgent.
And so I think that person thatwants to make that positive
change look at what really isurgent, right?
I mean, I'm going to go back toMary and Martha.
Jesus says, you know, she chosethe better portion.
This is what's necessary.
So what do you want to buildyour life around?
Is it really Jesus?
Is it his word?
Is it his wisdom?
Is it his purpose?
So get specific about the thingsthat will get you there.
(25:53):
There's even a practical sectionin the book that we say, you
know, we have these goals aboutlike, I want to grow my faith,
right?
But like we say that and thenlife gets busy and overwhelming
and but then we don't know howto put it into practical action
because we've made the like30,000 level, but we haven't
brought it down to the 10,000 or5,000 foot level where it's a
little more specific.
So like, how can you getspecific about your big goal,
(26:16):
about putting Jesus first,about, growing your faith?
What are those things that youcan do now?
And then rearranging your dayaround it, right?
So if there's things like yougot to work, you got to raise
your kids, you got to makedinner, you got to do the
laundry.
So like those are things thatare always in process, right?
Those are things that willalways be there.
Then how can you take thoseother things in the word,
(26:36):
prayer, community, how can youfit those things into the day?
Like as not an afterthought, butas just little building blocks.
And also just, this is somethingI say in the book and I'm
challenging myself too in thisseason of Little kids and
busyness is that we so oftenlimit what God can do by just
saying, oh, I'm going to justspend time in the Word for an
(26:57):
hour in the morning and then I'mgoing to check out and I'm just
going to go about my day, right?
Or maybe it's not even an hour,but like how much are we missing
of the presence of God and thewisdom and the things He wants
to pour into our spirit,conviction, truth, all this
stuff by like blocking Him outwhen we're in the car, when
we're feeding our kids, whenwe're at our cubicles, when
we're working out at the gym,like All of those moments, this
(27:20):
verse, do everything, whateverwe do in the name of Jesus.
And I just think we're missingit because we're just confining
him to one block of our day.
Okay, so how do you do thatpractically though?
Like you are literally changinga child's diaper.
Yeah.
Like what is going through yourmind that is connecting you to
(27:41):
Jesus?
Or you're at work and you've gota task, you're filling out a
spreadsheet.
Like in those moments- what aresome practical ways that we can
engage with Jesus so that itdoes feel like, hey, he's going
with me all day long in the bigthings and the little things.
So my dad, I don't know if he'sthe original originator.
That was weird.
(28:01):
The original, like, the originalguy.
He is the original dad.
The original originator of thisidea.
But no, my dad is quoted so muchin this book.
My parents are really.
And they've shaped so much aboutmy faith.
And one thing that he has taughtmy brother and I growing up
since the beginning is that hejust has like this open
conversation with God.
Like, think about picking upyour cell phone the moment you
(28:22):
wake up in the morning, likestarting to call to God and
saying, hey, God, love you.
Thank you for waking me up thismorning.
Let's go.
Let's do this.
And you go about your day andmaybe the first thing you do is
change a dirty diaper and you'renot very happy about it.
And you can just be like, wecall these whisper prayers,
these conversations with God,just prayer, like being like,
God, this sucks.
(28:43):
I don't love this, but thank youso much for my sweet baby.
Thank you that I have a dirtydiaper to change.
Thank you that you woke him uphealthy.
You know, like whatever thislooks like.
Going about when you're doing aspreadsheet, reciting a verse
that you've memorized, you know,a dwell verse that you've
memorized that you need toremind yourself when you're in
the pits and you hate this andyou're trying to do this for the
(29:04):
glory of God, but you're like,this doesn't feel important.
But, you know, recalling averse, praying and thanking God
for it.
And not just Thanksgiving, butwrite petition, asking him.
I just think Even just this openconversation where you never
hang up the phone with God,that's inviting him into every
moment.
That is saturating your day withhis presence because the reality
is he's always there.
(29:24):
He's always with us.
But how often are we...
like treating him like thispesky house guest that never
leaves.
Like we also need to be at homewith God, right?
Like you need to be with himtoo.
And so that is just a reallytangible way of doing that.
Like in any situation, when youfeel frustrated, when you're
thankful, when something goesgreat, when something doesn't go
your way, just in your head orout loud, just saying it.
(29:46):
Even around my three-year-old,I've been trying to like pray
even more out loud or like ifI'm having a hard day, just
being like, just audibly like,Lord, I need patience.
It's simple as that.
It's simple as that.
I will say I've had a kid callme out before for like, they're
like trying my nerves and I'mlike, Jesus, just help me.
(30:07):
And I didn't even mean to say itas loud as I did.
And they were like, did you justsay that about me?
And I'm like, well, yeah, kindof.
But like, but confessionally,like I need Jesus to help me
because I don't really know howto parent you right now.
Yes.
You know, and they're just likelooking at me like I have worms
coming out of my ears because Ihave teenagers, you know, so
it's different.
Yes.
(30:28):
No, for sure.
And I think that's somethingthat we miss is that like we
just, we let ourselves stew inthe frustrations or the
disappointments or thecomparison we feel when we're
scrolling or the frustration wefeel with our kids or even just,
being thankful about something,right?
I often, let's tie it back tothe verse.
I often, when something reallygreat happens, if I don't
(30:49):
acknowledge, thank you, Jesus,even just something as simple as
that, it kind of can be easy forme to start saying, oh, thank
you, Tara.
Like you did it, right?
Good job, Tara.
Seriously.
And so even just something likethat, like, It's so simple.
And I say that in the book.
It's a lot of the stuff in thislife in following Jesus is
simple.
I'm not saying it's easy, butsimple as in straightforward,
(31:10):
like God has laid it out in theword, but we forget.
And so we just need to bereminded of doing it.
Yeah.
So good.
All right, Tara, we are aboutout of time, but I love that
whisper prayer.
I hope that that's somethingthat will go with our listeners
as they're thinking about all ofthe things, all the things,
whatever you do in word or indeed as your day is going
(31:33):
forward to just allow Jesus intothose different spaces.
He wants to be there for all ofit.
And I laughed, but I thinkyou're right.
I think sometimes we think ofhim as like a house guest who
will never leave.
Or like kind of like a judgy oldaunt maybe who's like, Tisk,
(31:53):
tisk, tisking us all the time.
That's just like hovering andlike judging.
Yeah.
Yeah.
That is not who he is.
He is not like that at all.
He's like having your bestfriend around.
And I'm reminded of thinking oflike my kids right now, my older
teens who have Snapchat, wholike they're, it is like a
constant barrage on their phoneof like their friends sending
(32:15):
them pictures and all thethings.
And, you know, like what if youwere like that with Jesus?
Like what if all day long?
You were actually like, hey,check this out, Jesus.
You know, like this is what I'mdoing right now.
Just inviting you in.
Anyway, I love that so much.
Well, Tara.
Thank you for joining me.
Guys, if you want to find outmore about Tara and all of her
(32:38):
books and all of her fun stuff,she has her own podcast.
In fact, Vera was on it, Ibelieve, last summer.
I think so.
Maybe I'll put that episode inthe show notes as well.
So we'll have all things TaraSun, including that episode with
Vera.
But thanks so much for joiningme today.
It's just a delight.
It's a joy.
I always love spending time withyou.
So thanks for having me back on.
(32:59):
Yes, yes.
Awesome.
All right, guys, do check outour show notes and all the
things Tara said.
And we're so glad you're here.
Okay, don't hit fast forwardbecause you're going to want to
hear this, and I am just barelycontaining my excitement.
We have our warehouse sale,which is our biggest sale of the
year.
This August, the 18th throughthe 29th, we do it once a year,
(33:21):
and we sell all kinds of stuff.
We open up the vaults, and wehave old verses.
We have key tags, tattoos, andverse cards that you can buy
separately, which we never sell.
We have massively discountedverse kits for gifts that you
can stock up on for retreats,your Bible study, your church,
big We'll see you next time.
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