October 4, 2023 • 29 mins
Thanks for tuning into this week's podcast! This episode we are continuing in our series, Sabbath Stories: Embracing Rest in a Restless World. Each episode we will unpack the sacred call to rest and renewal, as well as a practical practice to help you integrate rest rhythms into your life.
This episode we'll continue to look deeper at the pilgrimage that the Israelites made, and unpack the parts of the journey that reveal something beautiful about our own journey with God. We'll touch on the idea of entering in to rest rather than receiving it, as well as consider the ways that God has intended for rest to be communal, and something we experience and share with others on our journey.
New episodes on Wednesdays! Bi-weekly!
Thanks for subscribing and leaving a review! Please feel free to share with your family and friends.
Website: https://www.returningtojoy.com/
For more frequent encouragement follow us on social media:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/returningtojoypodcast/
Music by AG (Affirming Grace) @agmusic4god
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(09:47:43):
Welcome to the return to joypodcast. I'm your host,
Gabrielle Michel Leonard. Herewe're leading people to
cultivate joy throughstorytelling. We hope listening
will reveal pathways tounlocking the healing power of
connection so that you can seeyour relationships and the world
around you transformed fromfractured into flourishing was
(09:48:07):
that Beloved's? I'm really gladto be back with you for another
episode in this series titledSabbath stories, embracing rest
in a restless world. I want toreread Psalms 84. But before I
do, I want to remind us of howgruesome, hard and challenging
and communal this pilgrimjourney that the Israelites
(09:48:29):
would have gone on was, mostIsraelites did not live in
Jerusalem. They lived in faraway like towns and small
villages, many in Galilee. Andit was about a three to five day
journey. If you were coming fromfar up north, you'd traveled
down the Jordan River Valley,you'd arrive in Jericho, and
(09:48:53):
then about on your last day ofthe journey. So let's pause
there, you've already traveledthrough this valley. And I don't
know a ton about the JordanRiver Valley. But I'm just
thinking about the nature of howmuch how many imagery, how much
imagery there is in Scripture,about valleys, these low places,
these places where there's a lotof shadows, and there's
(09:49:14):
darkness, these places that havea sense of a little in some ways
being arid, dry, lackingvalleys, right. In our even in
our modern day concept, we don'tthink about valleys as being the
place where you want to be asmuch as we think about like,
right the mountaintop, the placewhere there's green, there's
(09:49:34):
fresh, you can you can, thebreeze is flowing, and you feel
the breeze around you versusnone of us want to be in the
valley. And so the majority oftheir journey would be walking
through the Jordan River Valley.
And then on this last day, theywould finally make the ascent to
Jerusalem. So if you can imaginewith me a little bit, you've
(09:49:56):
already been walking with a lotof people may have most of the
time, like people would, as Isaid, they're coming from
different villages and towns,they would caravan and join
convoys. This was a communalprocess, they would walk with
one another. And so you're we'rewith people for a long time.
That's a beautiful thing beingwith people, but it's also has
(09:50:18):
its challenges. So then on thelast day, after this long
journey through the valley,they're making the ascent up to
Jerusalem. This was about a 15mile journey, climbing 3400 feet
in elevation, or 1000 meters onthe last day of this long
(09:50:40):
journey, Dave make this ascentup to Jerusalem. I'm thinking
about all i all i have as aframe of reference is my
experiences, right? And I'm justspeaking back to you know,
tomorrow Sabbath stories. And sowhen I was in Ireland, I spent a
couple days in Ireland because Ihad this desire to I wanted to
(09:51:02):
walk the cliffs of more, ifyou're like me and was
unfamiliar at the time of whatis the cliffs of more, it's
along the western coast ofIreland. And it is this very
steep, rugged drop towards theAtlantic. And it's beautiful
thing is something maybe like aneight mile stretch of just these
(09:51:22):
really tall, steep cliffs whereyou just look up, you just see
the expansiveness of theAtlantic and it's powerful,
because right there, you'regetting the full front of wind,
and rain. And in my imagination,it just seemed really cool. It
just seemed like, yeah, I wantto take this journey, and walk
(09:51:45):
the cliffs and there it was alittle bit more magical in my
head in my head. I was going tosit along these cliffs, and I
could picture myself with myjournal Open. The Sun would be
setting somewhere where I couldsee it beautifully. And there'd
be this cool breeze passingthrough maybe occasionally my
(09:52:05):
pages would flip a little bit asI wrote and heard the still
small voice of the Lord. And Iwas going to hear some
incredible word from the Lordthat I can then preach on one
day when someone invites me tospeak and I'd be like, You know
what, as I was walking thecliffs of more hikes, I would
just drop that as a little flexa little bit. And that's the
(09:52:26):
image that I had in my head ofwhat this journey would be like
it would be a beautiful journey.
It would be probablychallenging, you know, it had
had it had some challenges, butit would be great and I would do
it. That's what I had in mindabout the cliffs of more, but
little did I No, I was in for atreat because that journey was
going to be nothing like what Ithought it was. It was not like
(09:52:48):
the picture in my head, it wassomething very, very different.
It was beautiful the town like Iwas in this town called Doolin.
In Ireland, and the it was avery small village. And as I was
walking, it would just be soquiet, just so quiet. And still
not because there wasn't people,but it just there just was fewer
people. And there was a lot ofland. And I remember this one
(09:53:12):
particular day, I had decided,like, I'm going to set out and
I'm going to officially takethis trek, and I'm going to walk
the to the clips of more. Well,I go up there, I think I saw the
sign that saying like, yeah,you're on the on the route. It's
not necessarily clearly markedthat well. But I'm like,
whatever. I'm excited. I takethis journey, in part because
I'm thinking, Oh, the weatherfinally looks like you know, not
(09:53:34):
as rough. But I did bring myrain jacket with me. Let's just
say as I'm starting out thejourney as I'm going, it went
from actually sunshine andgorgeous in that way to this
intense rain and intense wind.
And I you know, I'm like, Okay,it's cool. I put on my sunshades
not for the sun, but for therain to not like, tag me in my
(09:53:55):
eye because it was strong. Andthen I put my hood over my head,
I tie my hood underneathunderneath my neck, I zip up my
rain jacket. And I'm like, it'sall good. We're gonna keep on
going. I'm a little bituncomfortable. As the rain in
the wind gets stronger andstronger. I'm a little bit
questioning like, Is this isthis okay? Or should I not be
(09:54:16):
here, I've never been in asituation before in which I'm
continuing to walk away from theplace where I lay my head. And
it's this kind of weatheroutside. But nonetheless, I
continue onward thinking thepeople, my people back home,
probably think I'm a littlecrazy. And so do I. But I'm
continuing this journey. Andeventually I get to a point
(09:54:38):
where I am. I reach a gate. Andthis gate looks like it just
looks like you're not supposedto cross it. It literally says
do not cross dangerous, right.
And so I'm thinking No onewarned me about this. And all
those signs around me seem tosay this is not the way so I'm I
go back, I start walking back upbecause I'm like, Dang God, like
(09:55:00):
I thought I was taking thisjourney. And I'm not. So I start
the walking back up andliterally in the perfect moment
because I was like kind ofwaiting. And I've been afraid a
little bit but I walked back up.
And I see a couple it's a couplefrom the Netherlands. Maybe in
their 50s The wife doesn't speakmuch English, the man speaks
English. And so I just askedthem hey, like, are y'all
walking to the cliffs? And he'slike, Yeah, you know, is this
(09:55:21):
the journey? Just the road? Andhe's like, Yeah, I'm like, I'm
What have you done this before?
And he's like, yeah, likeyesterday. And so I'm like,
Okay, I so boldly. Say, can Ijoin you on your journey? And
they're like, yes. And so Ijourney with I start walking
with them. This man hops over.
As I said, he's 50 he hops overthat gate that I see that looks
(09:55:41):
like to meet st don't cross. AndI did hop over initially before
I met with them. But then I sawlike, might this look like this
road too dangerous? I don't needto be on here. Well, he comes
over it. And I'm like, okay, hedid it. So I guess I'll do it
too. I climb over it as well,too. And so does his wife and we
start this journey. And I'mlike, already, I'm just like,
This is not where I thought itwould look like but okay, we're
(09:56:01):
doing this, we make this walk.
And there's several parts alongthe way that I just realized.
One is a lot harder than Ithought it was going to be. And
honestly, if I knew what thiswas all gonna entail, I would
not have done it. Because it's alot more feels a lot more
(09:56:22):
dangerous, a lot more risky. Idid not realize we'd be this
close to the edge. He at onepoint even looks at me. He's
like, are you afraid of heights?
And I'm like, I don't think so.
He's like, okay, cool. Look downon my you know what, maybe I am
a little afraid of heights. Andso I'm gonna just keep walking
in this direction. But withevery step that we were taking,
as this man, his wife were infront of me and sometimes like I
(09:56:42):
was in between them and theywere so graciously watching over
me during this time. I was sostruck by the fact of every
single step I was taking, I wasgoing further than I ever would
have gone and why it was becauseI had a guide, not an expert. In
that situation. He wasn't thetour guide for the cliffs of
more and every single step wasbringing me forward and onward
(09:57:06):
and higher and higher. And alittle more further down the
journey than I would have gottenby myself because I had a guide
because I hadsomeone walking with me I
remember this point in thejourney where we I'm looking out
and I stop and he was sogracious let me stop and take
pictures. Sometimes I stoppedbecause I'm just like, This is
(09:57:26):
gorgeous. I'm thinking oh mygosh, this is this the top and
I'm taking a picture and helooks back at me and he's just
like this, isn't it? There'smore and I see any points to
this area kind of looks likeit's kind of a couple miles away
and he's like and he's points meto this area to look Again, I'm
going like, he's like we'regoing up there. And I'm struck
by like there. And also an allbecause I'm like, how can it get
(09:57:48):
better than this? Well, we turna corner. And now I'm beginning
to realize what he means bywe're going up there, I see this
first extremely steep hill thatI'm recognizing, oh, he's about
to climb this and I've done aclimb this too. And there's a
little bit of thing of whenyou're walking with other
people, maybe sometimes prideserves you well, because I'm
like, Man, I don't know if I dothis, aside from being with
(09:58:12):
them. Because I'm going i Thisis hard. It was hard, like I was
out of breath, breathing deeply,and grabbing my knees at some
point stopping and then I'd lookup and like how they still
going. And so then I'd walkmore. I feel like I'm getting
out of breath just now rightwhere I'm right now just
thinking about it. Like I gotlike trauma in my body a little
bit. And so I'm walking, and I'mgoing, okay, like, I can do
(09:58:32):
this. They're doing this, I cando this. And we go higher and
higher and higher. I didn'treally see many, many people.
I'm thinking this is a cliffs ofMorrison this place like one of
the major places visited inIreland. Like I think it's
literally the most touristy spotin Ireland. Now, I realized
later on, oh, when we two hourslater, when we finally reached
to the visitor center, likespace spot along the cliffs, and
(09:58:56):
kind of like the beginning ofwhere it's at its highest peak
and kind of stays about at thatfor the remainder of the eight
miles. Then I see the crowds.
Then I see the people, they hadtaken their cars and they just
drove up to the top. They justdrove up to the visitor center.
And I'm realizing oh, okay,that's how I could have did it.
But now it's fine. I earned thisiron this trek, but it it makes
(09:59:21):
me it does make me think aboutIsrael's pilgrim journey. The
Israelites pilgrim journey, andit makes me think about our
pilgrim journey. Thinking aboutfor them, you know, that last
day journey after a long walkalone trek, that was higher and
harder, it was a steep inclineto get up to this place that
(09:59:45):
they were hoping for and longingfor and had imagined, they
probably had imaginations ofwhat it would be like when they
got there. And also thinkingabout how much further they got
along this journey. Because theywere journeying with others,
they were journeying with familymembers who had seen watch their
ancestors do the journey, andthat collective wisdom and
(10:00:06):
presence. And I'm thinking aboutthe folks that took their their
cars up to the top. And so theyjust got to experience just
seeing the vastness of thecliffs and more like, just from
a quick drive up to the top iscool, there's no shade on them.
But there is no quick drive tothe top in this journey that we
that we live in and walk withJesus, we have to take the
(10:00:29):
journey, we have to walk theroad, and it is a hard road it
is a gruesome road, it isfierce, I know you can testify
to that. You might have beenlike man, I kind of expected
that this was going to feel alittle bit more peaceful. kind
of expected that I'd be herealready. I know in my mind, I
thought like, Oh, two hours, I'mgonna have walked the whole
entire thing, not two hours justto get there. And then I thought
(10:00:52):
like, oh, it's gonna be sobeautiful. Just sit there for
four hours and the sun's gonnaset and I'm going to feel the
rays on my face. And no, I feltthe beating intensity of the
rain on my face and the wind, myApple watch or whatever was like
alerting me several times go onlike this decibel range you're
exposed to is dangerous to yourears. That's how loud the wind
(10:01:13):
was. I just saved up here thatwe were literally walking with
the with wind against us. And Ithink this song has hope for
those that are growing like Ifeel like I've been walking and
everything's been against usagainst me. You're not alone in
that. In fact, it would do youharm, to stay isolated and alone
(10:01:36):
in that and to not join in thestory. And the hope that's that
Psalms 84 is reflective of itwould harm you, you'd miss out.
If you do not join with others.
Some who are in the same spotwhere you're at right now others
who are a little further ahead,and some who were a part of that
(10:01:57):
cloud of many witnesses thatwere hearing their voice. We're
hearing their encouragement tomove forward. The Whisper of the
Holy Spirit come up higher, keepcoming. I want to read Psalms 84
again and then just just bringup a couple of notes from it.
How lovely is your dwellingplace, oh Lord of hosts, my soul
longs Yes, faints for the courtsof the Lord. My heart and flesh
(10:02:22):
sing for joy to the LivingGuide. Even the sparrow finds a
home in the swallow a nest forherself. Or she may lay her
young at your altars. Oh Lord ofhosts, my King and my God.
Blessed are the Those who dwellin your house ever singing your
(10:02:43):
praise? C'est la vie. Rightthere. The Psalms is reflecting
upon. Even just those. There'ssome, like I said that that
lived in Jerusalem, they havetheir they had more access
frequently to the temple toworship the Lord. Verse five, it
says, Blessed are those whosestrength is in you, in whose
heart are the highways to Zion,in whose heart are the highways
(10:03:05):
desire. When I first read thispsalm in the prayer room in
Wales, I thought about thenature of like, even in pain,
even in sorrow, even in sadness,because the word of the Lord has
been hidden in my heart. Myspirit still guided me back,
still still guided me towardshim. And I'm thinking about my
(10:03:29):
mother. I'm thinking about myfather, I'm thinking about my
grandmother. I'm thinking aboutthe stories they've told me,
they've witnessed to who God is,their stories of triumph, a
victory over darkness. And I'mresonating with this psalm
that's been sung for 1000s ofyears of people who, inside of
(10:03:50):
them etched upon their heartshave been these highways. It's
like the, the meditation oftheir heart, their thoughts,
they guide them back to Zion.
But here's something that'scool. It doesn't mean that you
don't go through pain. Itdoesn't mean that you're never
(10:04:11):
discouraged. You never walkwith, with your hope, feeling
like it's got a limp. See, evenin those moments of trial, even
in those moments, where it'slike I am in the valley, that's
okay. Because it's not justabout you. It's also the knowing
of like, I'm walking with peoplewho have walked with God, and
(10:04:34):
I'm walking with God. I have aguide. In verse six, it says, as
they go through the Valley ofBaca, they make it a place of
springs. The early rain alsocovers it with pools, that
Valley of Baca, it's like it'san unknown place like it's some
scholars don't believe it'sactual physical place. But that
(10:04:56):
word Baca, it sounds the exactsame as the word is the Hebrew
word that means weeping. And sowhat's really cool is the action
verb there is, as they passthrough as they go through the
Valley of Baca or the valley ofweeping. They make it a place of
springs, what's cool is like thevalley of weeping, it's a place
(10:05:17):
you pass through, to take hopein the fact that that's not
going to be where you remainforever, where you remain will
be dwelling with God in thepresence of God. And the hope
here is this Psalms, his talk isreflecting on like, even as
they're passing through thisValley of Baca, they make it a
place of springs, that even theplaces that were that have been
(10:05:40):
detrimental in your life that itfelt like something was robbed
was taken, there's been lost,there's been lament, there has
been pain, even that the Lordwill take and He will restore,
he will bring hope for sevenassists. They go from strength
to strength, each one appearsbefore God and Zion, oh, Lord,
(10:06:00):
God of hosts here my prayer Giveear Oh, God of Jacob Sayla.
There's this.
I was reading this blog, and itwas reflecting upon those valley
experiences. And a question thatcame out from that blog was
like, What's your view of thevalley? What's your view of like
(10:06:21):
the bulk of that journey,thinking about the fact of
again, the last day is hard,because this this ascent that's
happening. But I think maybesometimes, even in that ascent,
what carries you forward is youcan you can see the mountaintop,
you can see oh, there is thehouse of God. There is the
promised land, there is thefreedom place, there is liberty,
(10:06:43):
you can see it. But when you'rein a valley, it's harder to see
ahead of you. It's a littledarker, it's a little bit more
twists and turns. You might evenfeel claustrophobic a little
bit. Things may be right upagainst you and beside you.
Sometimes it can seem likeyou're more exposed vulnerable
to an enemy. But just to readthis in this in this blog, the
(10:07:05):
V. The author was talking aboutlike let let us not make the
same mistake the Armenians did.
And first Kings, because theywere considering God to be a gad
of the of the mountains, and nota god of the valley. So assuming
that God's power was limited inthe valley, they attacked
Israel. They attacked Israel onthese planes. And even though
(10:07:26):
Israel was vastly outnumbered,God gave His people victory over
their enemies. And in thatmoment, God revealed Himself as
not just a god of the mountains,but a god of the plains in the
valleys to me be encouraged. Isthat God is not just a god of
the mountains is not just theGod of the mountaintop, or even
(10:07:46):
in those moments when you cansee hope you can physically see
it. But in those times when youfeel outnumbered, in those times
when we are outnumbered, God isstill all powerful and
sufficient. And you walk in thefellowship with the people of
God, the body of Christ, and soyou are covered, protected, not
(10:08:07):
exposed. Verse nine says, Beholdour shield, oh, god, look on the
face of your anointed, for a dayin your courts is better than
1000. Elsewhere, I would ratherbe a doorkeeper in the house of
my God than dwell in the tentsof the wicked. For the Lord God
is a sun and shield the Lordbestows favor and honor. No good
(10:08:29):
thing does he withhold fromthose who walk uprightly Oh,
Lord of hosts, bless is the onewho trust in you. Blessed is the
one who trusts in You. Beloved'swe have a huge joy that is
attainable as we place our trustin Jesus, as we believe and take
hold of the promise that no goodthing will God withhold from
(10:08:54):
those who are placing theirtrust in Him. Thinking about
like, this journey that theIsraelites were going on, you
don't make that journey, youdon't expose yourself you don't
submit yourself to that mustmuch risk. If you don't truly
believe that when you arrive atthat, that that temple place,
that place of worship, thatsheltering spot it's going to be
(10:09:16):
refreshing times of refreshingwill come you make that journey
because you believe becauseyou've got just enough belief
may not even be full andoverflowing, but it's just
enough. And that's the reasonwhy we need that we need one
another because sometimes ourbelief is a little waning, and
(10:09:37):
it's not so strong. And so weneed to lean upon those that
were with that we're walkingwith. And it's like, well, they
believe that we'll get there,they believe that rest will
come. And so I will I willcontinue walking that man seems
so confident that I was walkingwith I'm thinking about there
was this one point in thejourney, when it is gonna sound
(10:09:57):
is gonna be a little petty. Butthere's one point in the journey
when we come across anotherfence. And this now I'm gonna
get I began to notice it like,oh, there's a electrical fence,
or like, there's an electricalfence that I've been walking
alongside, not the whole entiretime. But I'm like, I'm pretty
sure that's live wire, and I'mlike, I don't know what that's
(10:10:18):
for and why that's here. Is thatfor me? Or is it for the
animals, and I happen to bewalking ahead of the US, you
know, us three, and the wire isexposed, this electrical wire is
exposed and it's running alongthis fence. And I'm thinking I'm
about to cross that fence. What,what? And so I, I like, just
kind of stepped to the side alittle bit. And I'm thinking I'm
(10:10:43):
gonna watch what he do. I'mgonna see what happened to him.
I know. I know, it's bad, asbad, but I'm like, I'm not gonna
be the first one to cross thisfence. It looks like this live.
Maybe he knows something. Idon't know. So I'm gonna just
get out the way I'm gonna lethim lead. And so he just walks
right up to the fence, he movesthis little like, you know, I
(10:11:03):
think this like little blackprotective covering, he like
moves it over and to where nowthe wires covered completely.
And he hops over the fence. Andhe's like typical Irish. And I
just my what in the world hashappened. So then I have I, you
know, climb over as well, too.
And again, I'm like, What in theworld am I doing? But as I've
(10:11:25):
been thinking about rest andeven thinking about that
journey, and thinking aboutthis, that time away. I thought
about like, man, maybe restisn't received. Like that's a
that's a word that I've heardmany times. And I don't know if
I'm like 100% You know, sayingit's false, but just I've heard
(10:11:46):
a lot. You just need to receiverest, receive the rest of God.
When I'm wondering if maybe weneed to talk more about the
nature of rest being somethingthat we move towards rest being
communal rest being somethingthat is attained, rest being
something that is entered intorest is is is brought to a
(10:12:09):
collective I believe that restis not just found but it is
searched for with this hungryyearning. There is a desperation
there's a almost a need to getto a point in which you're like
I don't know how to get there. Idon't know how to enter into
that. But I'm desperate and Iwill I will go and I will find
(10:12:30):
who I need to who I need to joinup with to get their thinking if
we need to describe rest more issomething that is also given.
Not just received but butsomething that Christ gives us
promises to give us andsomething that we can give to
other people. St. Augustinesays, You were made for God. And
(10:12:54):
you'll never find rest until youfind the one that made you. Or
said in another way, and like ina favorite song I have, like our
hearts are restless until theyfind rest in you. Remember, in
the last episode, I talked abouthow this, the Psalm is, the way
the psalmist is describing thisplace and thinking about this
temple of God, this house of Godto worship in this is a place
(10:13:17):
for communal worship. This is aspace to worship God. And so
that interpretation is right andand accurate, about the place
the house where God's presenceis resting. But it's important
for us to remember that this isalso painting an image of the
kingdom of God, this place thatwe are moving towards, that
(10:13:38):
we're yearning for, in searchingfor this kingdom of God, where
the enemies of God are defeated.
chaos and death and destruction,injustice is defeated. The
kingdom of God is something wemove towards, not just wait for,
not just receive, but we movetowards the kingdom, and we
bring the kingdom to people webring rest to people think of
(10:14:01):
this is why it's so importantthat we be practitioners of rest
practitioners of the presence ofGod, because it's not just for
us. Rest was always intended tobe communal, because we were
created to invite and cultivateKingdom culture for someone else
(10:14:22):
to enter into. I'm thinkingabout what God told Abraham, he
said, I am going to bless you.
And through your seat, I willbless all the nations of the
earth, that is still the intentof God. He wants to bless you.
He wants to walk with you, andjourney with you as you enter
(10:14:44):
into His rest. As you enter intoliberation, as you enter into
freedom as you step into thepresence of God and find your
shackles removed, but is notjust for your sake. It is
actually with full intent thathe would move through you. And
through the seed that youproduce, as a result of be of
(10:15:07):
walking with God, that thenations would be blessed. Your
neighbor would be blessed. Andthose nations may just include
people who you don't really liketoo much. Those nations may just
include people who you don'tusually see. It's why it's
important that we go God, whoare the people, show me them
(10:15:28):
that are asking for rest.
They're not asking me to tellthem what to do. They're asking
for rest. And what is requiredof me what kind of participation
engagement with you God isrequired of me to be a place
where I am helping other peopleenter into rest. I'm exposing
the nature of the kingdom ofGod. So struck by the way Jesus
(10:15:50):
would heal people before theyeven decided to follow Him. They
experienced freedom before theysaid, I want to follow you, you
set them free. He demonstrated,here's what my kingdom looks
like,when I'm king. Here's what it's
like to be a part to be acitizen of that kingdom. I
(10:16:11):
wanted to come and walk withHim. And as they walked with
them, because he knows thedisciples walked with them
seemed as they walked with Jesusfollowed in his way, they were
entering into rest. They wereinching into Shalom of God. And
then they were sent out to go inpresent, the good news. Go and
be rest, demonstrate rest,demonstrate the presence of God
(10:16:37):
to all nations of people. Soenter in to God's rest. Enter
into the dress that Jesusprovides, walk with Him, walk
with the body of Christ, enterin so that you may walk further
that you may experience rest inthe you may welcome others into
(10:16:57):
it. If you're hearing thismessage, you've listened to the
entire episode. And for that Iam deeply grateful. I hope this
episode resonated with you andif it did help us out by sharing
this episode and leaving areview on Apple podcasts, and
Spotify. Most importantly, reachout to let me know how you're
(10:17:17):
engaging with this episode, andwhat topics you'd like to see
covered in the future. You canconnect with us on social media,
or get in touch with me directlyat Gabrielle at returning to
joy.com to share your heart.
I'll see you in two weeks for anew episode.
Welcome to the return to joypodcast. I'm your host,
Gabrielle Michel Leonard. Herewe're leading people to
cultivate joy throughstorytelling. We hope listening
will reveal pathways tounlocking the healing power of
connection so that you can seeyour relationships and the world
around you transformed fromfractured into flourishing was
(09:48:07):
that Beloved's? I'm really gladto be back with you for another
episode in this series titledSabbath stories, embracing rest
in a restless world. I want toreread Psalms 84. But before I
do, I want to remind us of howgruesome, hard and challenging
and communal this pilgrimjourney that the Israelites
(09:48:29):
would have gone on was, mostIsraelites did not live in
Jerusalem. They lived in faraway like towns and small
villages, many in Galilee. Andit was about a three to five day
journey. If you were coming fromfar up north, you'd traveled
down the Jordan River Valley,you'd arrive in Jericho, and
(09:48:53):
then about on your last day ofthe journey. So let's pause
there, you've already traveledthrough this valley. And I don't
know a ton about the JordanRiver Valley. But I'm just
thinking about the nature of howmuch how many imagery, how much
imagery there is in Scripture,about valleys, these low places,
these places where there's a lotof shadows, and there's
(09:49:14):
darkness, these places that havea sense of a little in some ways
being arid, dry, lackingvalleys, right. In our even in
our modern day concept, we don'tthink about valleys as being the
place where you want to be asmuch as we think about like,
right the mountaintop, the placewhere there's green, there's
(09:49:34):
fresh, you can you can, thebreeze is flowing, and you feel
the breeze around you versusnone of us want to be in the
valley. And so the majority oftheir journey would be walking
through the Jordan River Valley.
And then on this last day, theywould finally make the ascent to
Jerusalem. So if you can imaginewith me a little bit, you've
(09:49:56):
already been walking with a lotof people may have most of the
time, like people would, as Isaid, they're coming from
different villages and towns,they would caravan and join
convoys. This was a communalprocess, they would walk with
one another. And so you're we'rewith people for a long time.
That's a beautiful thing beingwith people, but it's also has
(09:50:18):
its challenges. So then on thelast day, after this long
journey through the valley,they're making the ascent up to
Jerusalem. This was about a 15mile journey, climbing 3400 feet
in elevation, or 1000 meters onthe last day of this long
(09:50:40):
journey, Dave make this ascentup to Jerusalem. I'm thinking
about all i all i have as aframe of reference is my
experiences, right? And I'm justspeaking back to you know,
tomorrow Sabbath stories. And sowhen I was in Ireland, I spent a
couple days in Ireland because Ihad this desire to I wanted to
(09:51:02):
walk the cliffs of more, ifyou're like me and was
unfamiliar at the time of whatis the cliffs of more, it's
along the western coast ofIreland. And it is this very
steep, rugged drop towards theAtlantic. And it's beautiful
thing is something maybe like aneight mile stretch of just these
(09:51:22):
really tall, steep cliffs whereyou just look up, you just see
the expansiveness of theAtlantic and it's powerful,
because right there, you'regetting the full front of wind,
and rain. And in my imagination,it just seemed really cool. It
just seemed like, yeah, I wantto take this journey, and walk
(09:51:45):
the cliffs and there it was alittle bit more magical in my
head in my head. I was going tosit along these cliffs, and I
could picture myself with myjournal Open. The Sun would be
setting somewhere where I couldsee it beautifully. And there'd
be this cool breeze passingthrough maybe occasionally my
(09:52:05):
pages would flip a little bit asI wrote and heard the still
small voice of the Lord. And Iwas going to hear some
incredible word from the Lordthat I can then preach on one
day when someone invites me tospeak and I'd be like, You know
what, as I was walking thecliffs of more hikes, I would
just drop that as a little flexa little bit. And that's the
(09:52:26):
image that I had in my head ofwhat this journey would be like
it would be a beautiful journey.
It would be probablychallenging, you know, it had
had it had some challenges, butit would be great and I would do
it. That's what I had in mindabout the cliffs of more, but
little did I No, I was in for atreat because that journey was
going to be nothing like what Ithought it was. It was not like
(09:52:48):
the picture in my head, it wassomething very, very different.
It was beautiful the town like Iwas in this town called Doolin.
In Ireland, and the it was avery small village. And as I was
walking, it would just be soquiet, just so quiet. And still
not because there wasn't people,but it just there just was fewer
people. And there was a lot ofland. And I remember this one
(09:53:12):
particular day, I had decided,like, I'm going to set out and
I'm going to officially takethis trek, and I'm going to walk
the to the clips of more. Well,I go up there, I think I saw the
sign that saying like, yeah,you're on the on the route. It's
not necessarily clearly markedthat well. But I'm like,
whatever. I'm excited. I takethis journey, in part because
I'm thinking, Oh, the weatherfinally looks like you know, not
(09:53:34):
as rough. But I did bring myrain jacket with me. Let's just
say as I'm starting out thejourney as I'm going, it went
from actually sunshine andgorgeous in that way to this
intense rain and intense wind.
And I you know, I'm like, Okay,it's cool. I put on my sunshades
not for the sun, but for therain to not like, tag me in my
(09:53:55):
eye because it was strong. Andthen I put my hood over my head,
I tie my hood underneathunderneath my neck, I zip up my
rain jacket. And I'm like, it'sall good. We're gonna keep on
going. I'm a little bituncomfortable. As the rain in
the wind gets stronger andstronger. I'm a little bit
questioning like, Is this isthis okay? Or should I not be
(09:54:16):
here, I've never been in asituation before in which I'm
continuing to walk away from theplace where I lay my head. And
it's this kind of weatheroutside. But nonetheless, I
continue onward thinking thepeople, my people back home,
probably think I'm a littlecrazy. And so do I. But I'm
continuing this journey. Andeventually I get to a point
(09:54:38):
where I am. I reach a gate. Andthis gate looks like it just
looks like you're not supposedto cross it. It literally says
do not cross dangerous, right.
And so I'm thinking No onewarned me about this. And all
those signs around me seem tosay this is not the way so I'm I
go back, I start walking back upbecause I'm like, Dang God, like
(09:55:00):
I thought I was taking thisjourney. And I'm not. So I start
the walking back up andliterally in the perfect moment
because I was like kind ofwaiting. And I've been afraid a
little bit but I walked back up.
And I see a couple it's a couplefrom the Netherlands. Maybe in
their 50s The wife doesn't speakmuch English, the man speaks
English. And so I just askedthem hey, like, are y'all
walking to the cliffs? And he'slike, Yeah, you know, is this
(09:55:21):
the journey? Just the road? Andhe's like, Yeah, I'm like, I'm
What have you done this before?
And he's like, yeah, likeyesterday. And so I'm like,
Okay, I so boldly. Say, can Ijoin you on your journey? And
they're like, yes. And so Ijourney with I start walking
with them. This man hops over.
As I said, he's 50 he hops overthat gate that I see that looks
(09:55:41):
like to meet st don't cross. AndI did hop over initially before
I met with them. But then I sawlike, might this look like this
road too dangerous? I don't needto be on here. Well, he comes
over it. And I'm like, okay, hedid it. So I guess I'll do it
too. I climb over it as well,too. And so does his wife and we
start this journey. And I'mlike, already, I'm just like,
This is not where I thought itwould look like but okay, we're
(09:56:01):
doing this, we make this walk.
And there's several parts alongthe way that I just realized.
One is a lot harder than Ithought it was going to be. And
honestly, if I knew what thiswas all gonna entail, I would
not have done it. Because it's alot more feels a lot more
(09:56:22):
dangerous, a lot more risky. Idid not realize we'd be this
close to the edge. He at onepoint even looks at me. He's
like, are you afraid of heights?
And I'm like, I don't think so.
He's like, okay, cool. Look downon my you know what, maybe I am
a little afraid of heights. Andso I'm gonna just keep walking
in this direction. But withevery step that we were taking,
as this man, his wife were infront of me and sometimes like I
(09:56:42):
was in between them and theywere so graciously watching over
me during this time. I was sostruck by the fact of every
single step I was taking, I wasgoing further than I ever would
have gone and why it was becauseI had a guide, not an expert. In
that situation. He wasn't thetour guide for the cliffs of
more and every single step wasbringing me forward and onward
(09:57:06):
and higher and higher. And alittle more further down the
journey than I would have gottenby myself because I had a guide
because I hadsomeone walking with me I
remember this point in thejourney where we I'm looking out
and I stop and he was sogracious let me stop and take
pictures. Sometimes I stoppedbecause I'm just like, This is
(09:57:26):
gorgeous. I'm thinking oh mygosh, this is this the top and
I'm taking a picture and helooks back at me and he's just
like this, isn't it? There'smore and I see any points to
this area kind of looks likeit's kind of a couple miles away
and he's like and he's points meto this area to look Again, I'm
going like, he's like we'regoing up there. And I'm struck
by like there. And also an allbecause I'm like, how can it get
(09:57:48):
better than this? Well, we turna corner. And now I'm beginning
to realize what he means bywe're going up there, I see this
first extremely steep hill thatI'm recognizing, oh, he's about
to climb this and I've done aclimb this too. And there's a
little bit of thing of whenyou're walking with other
people, maybe sometimes prideserves you well, because I'm
like, Man, I don't know if I dothis, aside from being with
(09:58:12):
them. Because I'm going i Thisis hard. It was hard, like I was
out of breath, breathing deeply,and grabbing my knees at some
point stopping and then I'd lookup and like how they still
going. And so then I'd walkmore. I feel like I'm getting
out of breath just now rightwhere I'm right now just
thinking about it. Like I gotlike trauma in my body a little
bit. And so I'm walking, and I'mgoing, okay, like, I can do
(09:58:32):
this. They're doing this, I cando this. And we go higher and
higher and higher. I didn'treally see many, many people.
I'm thinking this is a cliffs ofMorrison this place like one of
the major places visited inIreland. Like I think it's
literally the most touristy spotin Ireland. Now, I realized
later on, oh, when we two hourslater, when we finally reached
to the visitor center, likespace spot along the cliffs, and
(09:58:56):
kind of like the beginning ofwhere it's at its highest peak
and kind of stays about at thatfor the remainder of the eight
miles. Then I see the crowds.
Then I see the people, they hadtaken their cars and they just
drove up to the top. They justdrove up to the visitor center.
And I'm realizing oh, okay,that's how I could have did it.
But now it's fine. I earned thisiron this trek, but it it makes
(09:59:21):
me it does make me think aboutIsrael's pilgrim journey. The
Israelites pilgrim journey, andit makes me think about our
pilgrim journey. Thinking aboutfor them, you know, that last
day journey after a long walkalone trek, that was higher and
harder, it was a steep inclineto get up to this place that
(09:59:45):
they were hoping for and longingfor and had imagined, they
probably had imaginations ofwhat it would be like when they
got there. And also thinkingabout how much further they got
along this journey. Because theywere journeying with others,
they were journeying with familymembers who had seen watch their
ancestors do the journey, andthat collective wisdom and
(10:00:06):
presence. And I'm thinking aboutthe folks that took their their
cars up to the top. And so theyjust got to experience just
seeing the vastness of thecliffs and more like, just from
a quick drive up to the top iscool, there's no shade on them.
But there is no quick drive tothe top in this journey that we
that we live in and walk withJesus, we have to take the
(10:00:29):
journey, we have to walk theroad, and it is a hard road it
is a gruesome road, it isfierce, I know you can testify
to that. You might have beenlike man, I kind of expected
that this was going to feel alittle bit more peaceful. kind
of expected that I'd be herealready. I know in my mind, I
thought like, Oh, two hours, I'mgonna have walked the whole
entire thing, not two hours justto get there. And then I thought
(10:00:52):
like, oh, it's gonna be sobeautiful. Just sit there for
four hours and the sun's gonnaset and I'm going to feel the
rays on my face. And no, I feltthe beating intensity of the
rain on my face and the wind, myApple watch or whatever was like
alerting me several times go onlike this decibel range you're
exposed to is dangerous to yourears. That's how loud the wind
(10:01:13):
was. I just saved up here thatwe were literally walking with
the with wind against us. And Ithink this song has hope for
those that are growing like Ifeel like I've been walking and
everything's been against usagainst me. You're not alone in
that. In fact, it would do youharm, to stay isolated and alone
(10:01:36):
in that and to not join in thestory. And the hope that's that
Psalms 84 is reflective of itwould harm you, you'd miss out.
If you do not join with others.
Some who are in the same spotwhere you're at right now others
who are a little further ahead,and some who were a part of that
(10:01:57):
cloud of many witnesses thatwere hearing their voice. We're
hearing their encouragement tomove forward. The Whisper of the
Holy Spirit come up higher, keepcoming. I want to read Psalms 84
again and then just just bringup a couple of notes from it.
How lovely is your dwellingplace, oh Lord of hosts, my soul
longs Yes, faints for the courtsof the Lord. My heart and flesh
(10:02:22):
sing for joy to the LivingGuide. Even the sparrow finds a
home in the swallow a nest forherself. Or she may lay her
young at your altars. Oh Lord ofhosts, my King and my God.
Blessed are the Those who dwellin your house ever singing your
(10:02:43):
praise? C'est la vie. Rightthere. The Psalms is reflecting
upon. Even just those. There'ssome, like I said that that
lived in Jerusalem, they havetheir they had more access
frequently to the temple toworship the Lord. Verse five, it
says, Blessed are those whosestrength is in you, in whose
heart are the highways to Zion,in whose heart are the highways
(10:03:05):
desire. When I first read thispsalm in the prayer room in
Wales, I thought about thenature of like, even in pain,
even in sorrow, even in sadness,because the word of the Lord has
been hidden in my heart. Myspirit still guided me back,
still still guided me towardshim. And I'm thinking about my
(10:03:29):
mother. I'm thinking about myfather, I'm thinking about my
grandmother. I'm thinking aboutthe stories they've told me,
they've witnessed to who God is,their stories of triumph, a
victory over darkness. And I'mresonating with this psalm
that's been sung for 1000s ofyears of people who, inside of
(10:03:50):
them etched upon their heartshave been these highways. It's
like the, the meditation oftheir heart, their thoughts,
they guide them back to Zion.
But here's something that'scool. It doesn't mean that you
don't go through pain. Itdoesn't mean that you're never
(10:04:11):
discouraged. You never walkwith, with your hope, feeling
like it's got a limp. See, evenin those moments of trial, even
in those moments, where it'slike I am in the valley, that's
okay. Because it's not justabout you. It's also the knowing
of like, I'm walking with peoplewho have walked with God, and
(10:04:34):
I'm walking with God. I have aguide. In verse six, it says, as
they go through the Valley ofBaca, they make it a place of
springs. The early rain alsocovers it with pools, that
Valley of Baca, it's like it'san unknown place like it's some
scholars don't believe it'sactual physical place. But that
(10:04:56):
word Baca, it sounds the exactsame as the word is the Hebrew
word that means weeping. And sowhat's really cool is the action
verb there is, as they passthrough as they go through the
Valley of Baca or the valley ofweeping. They make it a place of
springs, what's cool is like thevalley of weeping, it's a place
(10:05:17):
you pass through, to take hopein the fact that that's not
going to be where you remainforever, where you remain will
be dwelling with God in thepresence of God. And the hope
here is this Psalms, his talk isreflecting on like, even as
they're passing through thisValley of Baca, they make it a
place of springs, that even theplaces that were that have been
(10:05:40):
detrimental in your life that itfelt like something was robbed
was taken, there's been lost,there's been lament, there has
been pain, even that the Lordwill take and He will restore,
he will bring hope for sevenassists. They go from strength
to strength, each one appearsbefore God and Zion, oh, Lord,
(10:06:00):
God of hosts here my prayer Giveear Oh, God of Jacob Sayla.
There's this.
I was reading this blog, and itwas reflecting upon those valley
experiences. And a question thatcame out from that blog was
like, What's your view of thevalley? What's your view of like
(10:06:21):
the bulk of that journey,thinking about the fact of
again, the last day is hard,because this this ascent that's
happening. But I think maybesometimes, even in that ascent,
what carries you forward is youcan you can see the mountaintop,
you can see oh, there is thehouse of God. There is the
promised land, there is thefreedom place, there is liberty,
(10:06:43):
you can see it. But when you'rein a valley, it's harder to see
ahead of you. It's a littledarker, it's a little bit more
twists and turns. You might evenfeel claustrophobic a little
bit. Things may be right upagainst you and beside you.
Sometimes it can seem likeyou're more exposed vulnerable
to an enemy. But just to readthis in this in this blog, the
(10:07:05):
V. The author was talking aboutlike let let us not make the
same mistake the Armenians did.
And first Kings, because theywere considering God to be a gad
of the of the mountains, and nota god of the valley. So assuming
that God's power was limited inthe valley, they attacked
Israel. They attacked Israel onthese planes. And even though
(10:07:26):
Israel was vastly outnumbered,God gave His people victory over
their enemies. And in thatmoment, God revealed Himself as
not just a god of the mountains,but a god of the plains in the
valleys to me be encouraged. Isthat God is not just a god of
the mountains is not just theGod of the mountaintop, or even
(10:07:46):
in those moments when you cansee hope you can physically see
it. But in those times when youfeel outnumbered, in those times
when we are outnumbered, God isstill all powerful and
sufficient. And you walk in thefellowship with the people of
God, the body of Christ, and soyou are covered, protected, not
(10:08:07):
exposed. Verse nine says, Beholdour shield, oh, god, look on the
face of your anointed, for a dayin your courts is better than
1000. Elsewhere, I would ratherbe a doorkeeper in the house of
my God than dwell in the tentsof the wicked. For the Lord God
is a sun and shield the Lordbestows favor and honor. No good
(10:08:29):
thing does he withhold fromthose who walk uprightly Oh,
Lord of hosts, bless is the onewho trust in you. Blessed is the
one who trusts in You. Beloved'swe have a huge joy that is
attainable as we place our trustin Jesus, as we believe and take
hold of the promise that no goodthing will God withhold from
(10:08:54):
those who are placing theirtrust in Him. Thinking about
like, this journey that theIsraelites were going on, you
don't make that journey, youdon't expose yourself you don't
submit yourself to that mustmuch risk. If you don't truly
believe that when you arrive atthat, that that temple place,
that place of worship, thatsheltering spot it's going to be
(10:09:16):
refreshing times of refreshingwill come you make that journey
because you believe becauseyou've got just enough belief
may not even be full andoverflowing, but it's just
enough. And that's the reasonwhy we need that we need one
another because sometimes ourbelief is a little waning, and
(10:09:37):
it's not so strong. And so weneed to lean upon those that
were with that we're walkingwith. And it's like, well, they
believe that we'll get there,they believe that rest will
come. And so I will I willcontinue walking that man seems
so confident that I was walkingwith I'm thinking about there
was this one point in thejourney, when it is gonna sound
(10:09:57):
is gonna be a little petty. Butthere's one point in the journey
when we come across anotherfence. And this now I'm gonna
get I began to notice it like,oh, there's a electrical fence,
or like, there's an electricalfence that I've been walking
alongside, not the whole entiretime. But I'm like, I'm pretty
sure that's live wire, and I'mlike, I don't know what that's
(10:10:18):
for and why that's here. Is thatfor me? Or is it for the
animals, and I happen to bewalking ahead of the US, you
know, us three, and the wire isexposed, this electrical wire is
exposed and it's running alongthis fence. And I'm thinking I'm
about to cross that fence. What,what? And so I, I like, just
kind of stepped to the side alittle bit. And I'm thinking I'm
(10:10:43):
gonna watch what he do. I'mgonna see what happened to him.
I know. I know, it's bad, asbad, but I'm like, I'm not gonna
be the first one to cross thisfence. It looks like this live.
Maybe he knows something. Idon't know. So I'm gonna just
get out the way I'm gonna lethim lead. And so he just walks
right up to the fence, he movesthis little like, you know, I
(10:11:03):
think this like little blackprotective covering, he like
moves it over and to where nowthe wires covered completely.
And he hops over the fence. Andhe's like typical Irish. And I
just my what in the world hashappened. So then I have I, you
know, climb over as well, too.
And again, I'm like, What in theworld am I doing? But as I've
(10:11:25):
been thinking about rest andeven thinking about that
journey, and thinking aboutthis, that time away. I thought
about like, man, maybe restisn't received. Like that's a
that's a word that I've heardmany times. And I don't know if
I'm like 100% You know, sayingit's false, but just I've heard
(10:11:46):
a lot. You just need to receiverest, receive the rest of God.
When I'm wondering if maybe weneed to talk more about the
nature of rest being somethingthat we move towards rest being
communal rest being somethingthat is attained, rest being
something that is entered intorest is is is brought to a
(10:12:09):
collective I believe that restis not just found but it is
searched for with this hungryyearning. There is a desperation
there's a almost a need to getto a point in which you're like
I don't know how to get there. Idon't know how to enter into
that. But I'm desperate and Iwill I will go and I will find
(10:12:30):
who I need to who I need to joinup with to get their thinking if
we need to describe rest more issomething that is also given.
Not just received but butsomething that Christ gives us
promises to give us andsomething that we can give to
other people. St. Augustinesays, You were made for God. And
(10:12:54):
you'll never find rest until youfind the one that made you. Or
said in another way, and like ina favorite song I have, like our
hearts are restless until theyfind rest in you. Remember, in
the last episode, I talked abouthow this, the Psalm is, the way
the psalmist is describing thisplace and thinking about this
temple of God, this house of Godto worship in this is a place
(10:13:17):
for communal worship. This is aspace to worship God. And so
that interpretation is right andand accurate, about the place
the house where God's presenceis resting. But it's important
for us to remember that this isalso painting an image of the
kingdom of God, this place thatwe are moving towards, that
(10:13:38):
we're yearning for, in searchingfor this kingdom of God, where
the enemies of God are defeated.
chaos and death and destruction,injustice is defeated. The
kingdom of God is something wemove towards, not just wait for,
not just receive, but we movetowards the kingdom, and we
bring the kingdom to people webring rest to people think of
(10:14:01):
this is why it's so importantthat we be practitioners of rest
practitioners of the presence ofGod, because it's not just for
us. Rest was always intended tobe communal, because we were
created to invite and cultivateKingdom culture for someone else
(10:14:22):
to enter into. I'm thinkingabout what God told Abraham, he
said, I am going to bless you.
And through your seat, I willbless all the nations of the
earth, that is still the intentof God. He wants to bless you.
He wants to walk with you, andjourney with you as you enter
(10:14:44):
into His rest. As you enter intoliberation, as you enter into
freedom as you step into thepresence of God and find your
shackles removed, but is notjust for your sake. It is
actually with full intent thathe would move through you. And
through the seed that youproduce, as a result of be of
(10:15:07):
walking with God, that thenations would be blessed. Your
neighbor would be blessed. Andthose nations may just include
people who you don't really liketoo much. Those nations may just
include people who you don'tusually see. It's why it's
important that we go God, whoare the people, show me them
(10:15:28):
that are asking for rest.
They're not asking me to tellthem what to do. They're asking
for rest. And what is requiredof me what kind of participation
engagement with you God isrequired of me to be a place
where I am helping other peopleenter into rest. I'm exposing
the nature of the kingdom ofGod. So struck by the way Jesus
(10:15:50):
would heal people before theyeven decided to follow Him. They
experienced freedom before theysaid, I want to follow you, you
set them free. He demonstrated,here's what my kingdom looks
like,when I'm king. Here's what it's
like to be a part to be acitizen of that kingdom. I
(10:16:11):
wanted to come and walk withHim. And as they walked with
them, because he knows thedisciples walked with them
seemed as they walked with Jesusfollowed in his way, they were
entering into rest. They wereinching into Shalom of God. And
then they were sent out to go inpresent, the good news. Go and
be rest, demonstrate rest,demonstrate the presence of God
(10:16:37):
to all nations of people. Soenter in to God's rest. Enter
into the dress that Jesusprovides, walk with Him, walk
with the body of Christ, enterin so that you may walk further
that you may experience rest inthe you may welcome others into
(10:16:57):
it. If you're hearing thismessage, you've listened to the
entire episode. And for that Iam deeply grateful. I hope this
episode resonated with you andif it did help us out by sharing
this episode and leaving areview on Apple podcasts, and
Spotify. Most importantly, reachout to let me know how you're
(10:17:17):
engaging with this episode, andwhat topics you'd like to see
covered in the future. You canconnect with us on social media,
or get in touch with me directlyat Gabrielle at returning to
joy.com to share your heart.
I'll see you in two weeks for anew episode.
Popular Podcasts
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Therapy Gecko
An unlicensed lizard psychologist travels the universe talking to strangers about absolutely nothing. TO CALL THE GECKO: follow me on https://www.twitch.tv/lyleforever to get a notification for when I am taking calls. I am usually live Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays but lately a lot of other times too. I am a gecko.