December 10, 2025 • 38 mins
As we talk together, we share how movement has shifted from pressure to something much lighter—more like worship than work. Drawing from Acts 17:28 and Matthew 11:28–30, we open up about seasons of over-training, comparison, injury, cancer treatment, and the slow courage of recovery. Instead of chasing steps, calories, or performance, we describe what it’s been like to listen for God’s daily invitation: walk with Me, play with Me, or rest with Me. When love sets the rhythm, movement lifts us instead of wearing us down, and rest becomes renewal instead of something we feel guilty about.
We also reflect on how this shift changes our relationship with our bodies. Exercise becomes an expression of gratitude, rest becomes obedience that prepares us for the next step, and our worth no longer hinges on outcomes or appearance. We share practical ideas for spirit-led movement—prayerful walks, playful moments with kids or pets, gentle stretching, or breath prayers on days when energy is low. We even touch on neuroscience that supports these gentler rhythms: joyful movement calms the nervous system, improves clarity, and steadies emotions, while real rest fuels healing. Our hope is to offer freedom for anyone tired of fitness rules, comparison, or recovering from hard seasons.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_01 (00:01):
Hi, and welcome to our podcast, Revelation Within
on the Go.
I'm Heidi Files McEpherson, oneof your hosts, and the owner and
lead coach of theRevelationWithin.org Ministry.
SPEAKER_00 (00:14):
And I'm Christina Potling, your other host, also a
Revelation Within coach, and I'ma partner in all things
Revelation Within.
We are so happy to invite you tojoin us for this episode of
Revelation Within.
SPEAKER_01 (00:38):
We're so glad you're here.
Come on in.
Come on in.
Sit right down.
Yeah.
Today we're entering a topic,uh, actually a rhythm.
I think it's fair to call itthat.
That and it's one that's oftenmisunderstood or even created
into a burden by the culturearound us.
And it's the rhythm or the ideaof movement, exercise, activity,
(01:06):
and what it's all about.
You know, God's heart formovement, our movement, is
gentle, it's joyful, it'sspacious, and deeply connected
to his presence.
Ta-da!
SPEAKER_00 (01:23):
I love that.
I love looking at movement inthat way.
That is such a such a refreshingway.
So, okay, movement then in God'skingdom isn't about earning or
achieving or shaping orshrinking or proving.
Movement in God's kingdom thenis about inhabiting the body he
(01:46):
gave us with gratitude.
Yeah, it's about listening forhis whisper.
Walk with me or rest with me.
I am right here.
Ooh, doesn't that sound good?
Let's look at some scripture.
Okay, Acts 17, 28.
In him we live and move and haveour being.
(02:08):
I just love that move is in thisverse.
I know.
You know, I've read this verse amillion times and never really
thought about why does it saymove in there?
You know, moving is is part ofwhat we do, how we live.
Movement isn't separate fromGod, it actually exists within
him.
So every breath, every time westretch, every step is already
(02:33):
taking place in his presence.
Isn't that?
I just love thinking about itthat way.
This means that even thesmallest motion or choosing rest
can become worship.
What?
It's worship to move, it'sworship to rest.
Oh, let's let's talk more aboutthis.
(02:54):
I'm loving it.
SPEAKER_01 (02:55):
Yeah, yeah.
You know, I think the bottomline is God loves it when his
people respond to hisleadership, to his loving, good,
perfect, sovereign leadership.
And so if he says move, move, ifhe says rest, rest, if he says
eat this, eat this.
If he says abstain, abstain,that gives his heart such joy, I
(03:19):
think, when we're surrenderingto his good leadership.
Yeah.
So Psalm 16, 11 says, You makeknown to me the path of life in
your presence is fullness ofjoy.
You know, God doesn't call usinto movement to exhaust us, but
to lead us into joy.
No, it's so interesting becauseI bet you everybody listening
(03:44):
has had a situation where theyhave used movement to accomplish
something else other than justthe movement for movement's
sake.
For instance, have you ever hada dog that you wanted to calm
down?
So you threw a ball for it forhalf an hour in the backyard and
then it slept for an hour ortwo, or a child even.
(04:06):
Many of us with our children orgrandchildren, or if you're a
teacher at a school, let's goout for an impromptu recess
break because we're all wakingaround and the clouds have
parted, it's not raininganymore.
It doesn't work that way.
God doesn't call us to move toexhaust us, but to lead us into
(04:27):
joy.
And I just love that that joyfulmovement isn't forced movement,
it's movement done as we areaware of God's nearness, of
we're aware of his goodness andhis delight in each one of us.
SPEAKER_00 (04:42):
Is that beautiful or what?
That is so, so beautiful.
And what I love, and I know Imentioned this to you yesterday,
Heidi, what I love so much isthat this message, this
beautiful picture of movement asworship, this is for all of us.
This is for anyone, this is foreveryone.
This is for the person that isbedridden.
(05:04):
This is for the person who's inthe best shape of their life.
This is for the person who'srecovering from an injury.
This is from the person who, youknow, has very little time and
is a caregiver or whatever.
Um, this is for everybody.
And I love that.
I just love that.
Matthew 11, 28 through 30 says,Come to me, all you who are
(05:26):
weary.
My yoke is easy and my burden islight.
So I think about this this way: if if movement feels heavy to (05:31):
undefined
you or pressured or evenpunishing, that's not coming
from Jesus.
It's not coming from the Lord.
His movement always will lightenyou.
It'll bring you up, it'll bringlife to you, never weigh you
down.
(05:51):
His invitation often includesrest, sacred rest, restorative
rest, worshipful rest.
And then this is likemind-blowing.
I feel like I just want toshare.
Yes, yes.
(06:12):
So I have a question for you,Heidi.
Okay.
How is this different from theway you related to movement
before Thin Within, nowRevelation Within?
SPEAKER_01 (06:24):
Oh, way different.
SPEAKER_00 (06:27):
Way, way, way.
SPEAKER_01 (06:29):
Yes.
I mean, I've always loved sportsand activity.
I never loved running orswimming laps.
Anything repetitive I did notlike.
Um, but if I was playing a gameof some sort, you know,
softball, tennis, I loved movingmy body.
But during the season when I waslike actively trying to shape
(06:50):
shift, if you wink, wink, get mydrift, I would use movement as a
way to purge what I had eatenearlier.
It really was.
It was like, okay, if I atesomething that was beyond my
calorie allotment, pardon thereference to calories or point
allotment, same, same.
(07:11):
I would feel like I needed to goback to the gym for the second
or third time today and takecare of business by, yeah, you
know, um, calories in, caloriesout type thing.
So I definitely used activity,exercise, and to punish myself
in some ways and definitelyurge.
(07:32):
Definitely.
Now it doesn't mean that everytime I did it was like that, but
I definitely I remember when I'mlike, okay, let's see how much
faster I can make this scaleneedle move.
I'm going to add a two-hour walkto my life every day.
And it's like, okay, that's notfrom God.
(07:52):
You know, the pressure, theheavy, the just the punishing
feeling.
It doesn't come from Jesus.
You are so right.
You know, it's interesting.
We refer to exercise, activity,whatever in the world, and it's
all about the body, it's allabout changing the way the body
looks, how fit it is.
It's really all about the body.
But God honoring movementdoesn't start with a body, it
(08:14):
actually starts with our spirit,uh, our spirit united with God's
own Holy Spirit deep within us.
You know, we are an embodiedsoul.
We're not a spirit trapped in abody, and our body is part of
worship.
Now, I want to just address thisphrase embodied soul a moment
(08:36):
because it has been hijacked bythe new age movement and who
knows who else.
When we say that you are anembodied soul, it's you have a
physical body that God hasentrusted you with.
That is just a fact.
Your body is what you navigatethrough this world, and it's the
container for all of who youare.
And so to say you're an embodiedsoul just means that is where
(09:00):
your soul is, and your spirit isthere too, your mind is there
too.
And so, of course, your body isa part of your worship.
First Corinthians 6, 19, 20reminds us that your body is a
temple of the Holy Spirit.
So glorify God with your body.
Now, like me, all through theyears that you might have been a
(09:22):
Christian and were trying toshape shift, you might have used
that verse to kind of beatyourself up a little bit.
You know, if my body is a templeof the Holy Spirit, then I
better exercise it more, Ibetter eat less, I better do
this, I better do that.
Okay.
Um, what it really means, atleast consider this.
(09:43):
What if your body is a temple ofthe Holy Spirit?
Glorify God with your body.
What if that means a walk withprayer is worship?
What if that means stretchingwith gratitude is worship?
SPEAKER_00 (09:57):
Yes.
SPEAKER_01 (09:58):
What if that means a breath prayer is worship?
What if that means lying downbecause you need rest is
worship?
Wow, the possibilities areendless.
God is honored again because ourheart is turned toward him.
We want to surrender to hiswill, not because of calories or
(10:18):
steps.
Did you see my graph for thisweek?
Look at all the steps I put inevery day.
Is that what God is about?
No, no, he wants our heartsturned to him.
Okay, so Christine, how aboutyou?
Is what we're sharing on thisepisode is it different from the
way you have related to movementat all over the years?
SPEAKER_00 (11:47):
Oh, yes, very, very, very, very different.
Yeah, I mean, I grew up in theLos Angeles area in a culture
where all of my girlfriends andI, we were constantly feeling
tremendous pressure to look acertain way, to um shape shift,
like you said, to be more fit,more muscular.
(12:10):
And so it was crazy how muchthat I did.
I did so much working out andexercising, whatever you want,
whatever word you want to use,that I found myself dealing with
injuries because I was justdoing so much.
It was excessive.
And was it joyful?
Maybe, maybe there was some joyin there.
(12:31):
Maybe it wasn't joy.
I want to say it was kind offleeting happiness when I felt
like, okay, I got that workoutdone.
That's that made me stronger.
Let's try and see if if ithelped on the scale.
Because I constantly felt out ofcontrol with my eating,
constantly, 24-7.
And so this was, in my view, theonly way that I could shape
(12:54):
shift because I was so out ofcontrol.
I was eating way too much food.
I had no idea how to be apeaceful eater.
I was eating for every emotionalreason you can think of.
So there was a ton of pressure.
And if I was sick or injured,like I remember one time I
injured my heel from doing toomany step classes.
Remember step classes?
SPEAKER_02 (13:14):
Oh, I love step classes.
SPEAKER_00 (13:16):
I mean, I had a lot of fun while I was doing it, but
if you're doing it out of, youknow, desperation to look a
certain way and be accepted inthe world, and then of course
there's the comparison.
Well, look at her.
Well, she did three classes thisweek.
Well, I've I have to do more,you know, and I want to look
like that, and just thisconstant pressure, it was an
(13:39):
awful way to live.
SPEAKER_01 (13:41):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (13:41):
And I mean, I very much kept movement and activity
separate from my relationshipwith God.
I thought this is not somethingthat he's interested in.
This is totally my own littledomain over here.
And I mean, honestly, my momtook me to the gym when I was a
young teenager to work out withher.
(14:02):
So it really started very earlywith pressure from my mom.
And then it went into all mygirlfriends, and it was, it was
such a part of what we did, anda huge amount of time was spent
on it.
And it was just like being on atreadmill.
We really never got anywhere.
SPEAKER_01 (14:20):
Yeah, yeah.
Here's a question kind of takegoing to the flip side of it.
You said that activity,exercise, whatever was an area
that just God stayed out of, oryou thought he did.
What is a kind of movement, bigor small, that helps you feel
his presence most clearly now?
(14:41):
Now I know the season you're inis a little bit different
because you're undergoing cancertreatments and and life is very
different than it is normallyfor you.
But if you were to feelabsolutely amazing today and you
wanted to connect with the Lordand move your body, what is it
that you might be likely to do?
SPEAKER_00 (15:03):
Yeah, I for me, I think it's walks and hikes.
You know, I love, love, lovewalking and hiking with the
Lord.
Here in Colorado Springs, wehave a million trails and
neighborhoods and places towalk.
And what I do now, which I'vebeen doing for you know years
now, which I just, oh, it's solife-giving, is I renew my mind
(15:25):
while I walk.
So I start with a prayer, Iinvite God in, whether I'm
hiking in the hills or themountains or a big park, or
whether I'm just, you know,walking in in one of my favorite
neighborhoods, or maybe in myneighborhood, I invite God in
and I spend the whole time withhim and renewing my mind with
(15:46):
gratitude and oh my gosh, it atby the end of the walk, I feel
emotionally and spirituallyfull.
And my body has walked, which itloves.
Um, you know, I used to do veryextreme things with my body, not
as extreme as you though, Heidi.
(16:06):
You were definitely doing moreextreme than me, but I used to
do extreme things that were justtoo much, hence the injuries.
But now I listen to my body andI don't do all the counting
anymore.
Well, how many blocks?
Well, how many miles?
Well, how many repetitions?
I don't like to do any countinganymore.
I just like to be free outside,enjoying God's beautiful
(16:29):
creation.
And when my body is done, tired,then I'm done.
I go home.
The other way that I love tomove is really just to play.
Um, one of the ways that I loveto play is playing ping pong or
something like that, you know,with paddles or whatever.
Dad, I love doing that.
(16:50):
My son is a wonderful ping pongplayer, and we have so much fun
and we have these greatconversations over ping pong.
But I can invite God into anymovement or activity.
When the kids were younger, ofcourse, we played constantly
outside.
We were at the park all thetime, all different parks.
We were throwing balls, we werekicking balls, we were, you
(17:12):
know, playing hide and seek orwhatever.
I love that kind of movementbecause it's it's just play.
It's just fun.
Or playing with a dog is anotherone.
We have a wonderful dog rightnow, and she is so much fun to
play with at the park.
So those are some of the ways.
And um, the way that I know howdifferent it is is because by
(17:33):
the end, I'm not feelingdrained, I'm not feeling
exhausted, I'm not feelingpressured, and I'm not feeling
like a failure, which I did forso many years.
Instead, I'm feeling that deepkind of joy that I've really had
a special intimate time with theLord.
Yay.
That's and that's that's really,really different from anything I
(17:56):
used to experience.
I love this way of looking atmovement and activity, God's
way.
So I'm gonna ask you the samequestion, Heidi.
What is one kind of movement ora couple kinds, big or small,
that helps you feel God'spresence most clearly?
SPEAKER_01 (18:15):
Well, I can tell you that I mean, I've just had so
many wonderful experiences withactivity over the years, but um,
I think the one that has been myfavorite in recent, relatively
recent memory is ocean swimmingwhen we lived on Catalina
Island.
Oh my goodness.
You know, I love being outsidewhere I can see wildlife.
(18:39):
And it's funny, it neveroccurred to me that, you know,
when you are hiking, you'll seebirds and maybe squirrels and
sometimes rabbits, sometimesother things too.
But if you do your movementunder the surface of the water
in the ocean, there arethousands of creatures.
Oh my gosh, it is like I don'tknow, it reminds me of the best
(19:03):
adventure game in the world.
It's quite an advanced, it'slike I remember swimming in the
ocean, snorkeling in the oceanwhen we lived there, and just
seeing the only thing I coulddescribe them as was rivers of
fish under the water becausethey were in these ginormous
schools, and it was like it wasjust amazing, it was magical.
(19:26):
And that, oh my goodness, seeingthe lobsters, the size of a
man's arm that we're hiding inseriously.
We have pictures of a of a guywho caught one and he has the
lobster compared to the size ofhis arm.
And I mean, they were so youhave to giggle because God was
really creative when he madethose creatures.
(19:49):
I mean, like the rays.
Oh my gosh.
And then even the plant lifeunder the water is so amazing.
Now, I don't have an oceananywhere near me right now, so I
I do go out in nature and I livein a beautiful area right now,
so that's lovely.
But I do look forward to somedaygoing back to the ocean for a
(20:10):
lovely swim where I can connectwith the Lord in the water.
But in the meantime, I will justkeep connecting with him here.
SPEAKER_00 (20:17):
Yeah.
Well, and I got to come visityou several times and we got to
swim in the ocean together, andthat was so, so special.
I will never forget those dayson Candlina Island.
Yeah, so, so special.
So let's talk about rest alittle bit more because I feel
like I used to think I shouldn'tbe resting, I shouldn't be
(20:39):
stopping.
Don't take a break, push on,push on, push on.
But really, in God's kingdom,rest has a whole new meaning.
So, rest it's not the same asgiving up.
It's not failure, it's certainlynot laziness.
No way.
But I I do feel like I used tobelieve that.
(20:59):
I think rest is an act ofobedience when the spirit says,
daughter, lay this down, let mecarry you, restore and breathe.
Isaiah 40, 28 to 31 says, Theythat wait upon the Lord shall
renew their strength, they shallwalk and not faint.
(21:21):
So rest is actually a placewhere strength is renewed.
That's really important.
We need to be renewed, you know,after the activity.
Rest is where movement isactually prepared.
In God's economy, rest producesmovement, and movement produces
rest.
SPEAKER_01 (21:42):
Okay, so tell me, Christina, is there a time wink
wink, when God invited you?
No, you don't need to go and anddo another whatever it might be,
activity-wise, but he invitedyou to choose rest instead of
pushing yourself.
SPEAKER_00 (21:59):
Yeah.
How about right now?
How about this season that I'min right now?
I'm being treated for breastcancer, and it's like nothing
I've ever experienced before.
And God is inviting me intomovement when it's time, but the
movement looks a lot differentthan it did before.
It's much more gentle and muchmore quiet movement.
(22:22):
And then rest is, you know, italmost feels out of balance a
little bit, but I know he'scalling me to it.
There's much more rest, restinghours in the day right now than
active hours, very active hours.
Um, so he's calling me into it,and I can I can take comfort in
(22:43):
the fact that he's calling me tothis.
It's not time that's beingwasted.
It's not laziness.
I shouldn't try to push throughit because my body is working
really, really hard to keepgoing through all this
treatment.
Yeah.
And so it helps me to think ofit this way God is inviting me
(23:04):
to rest.
A little bit of movement, gentlemovement, yes.
And that's important too.
But yeah, this has really been ahuge season of being called into
God's life-giving rest.
SPEAKER_01 (23:17):
Yeah.
You know, it's kind of funnyover the years when I was shape
shifting, again with a winkwink, I lived in a place of
fear.
That's one of the bigdifferences between then and
now.
My fear was rooted in whathappens if I like if I'm sick,
what happens if I if I don't domy workouts or whatever?
(23:42):
And I would get scared of scaredof what my body, you know, will
I lose cardiovascular fitness?
Will I lose strength?
It doesn't take very long foryou to lose those things that
you've worked so long to gain.
I mean, that's what they wouldalways tell us.
Yep.
But I love being free of thefear of that.
(24:04):
If I'm listening to God andobeying him as he invites me
into rest, then anything I loseis for the glory of God.
It is worship for me to obey himand to say yes to rest, which is
wonderful.
It doesn't mean every now andthen he doesn't invite me to
push myself in some way, butit's his invitation that is the
(24:26):
key here.
So for me, after my medicalcrisis in 2014, you know this
story well, Christina.
I had a totally differentstandard.
I couldn't even walk, literally.
I had lost the use of my legsbecause of a spinal injury.
So getting back my ability towalk was first priority.
(24:47):
I remember when I was laying inthe rehab bed that I was in
because I couldn't walk withoutassistance.
I had to have both a walker anda person with me at all times.
And I actually delighted inisolating muscles in my body and
uh flexing them.
So, like my stomach muscles,it's like I'm getting stronger
(25:10):
even as I sit here in my bed.
Now, I don't know that I didn'teven think of asking God, what
do you think?
Do I need to take the pressureoff of me?
But I felt later like, you know,doing whatever I could in my bed
was my way of keeping on,keeping on, and trying to
prepare myself for that day whenmy feet would hit the floor by
(25:32):
themselves without assistance ofa walker or a person.
And um, and then all throughthat recovery season, I
remember, you know, what Icalled a wimpy workout.
You wisely reminded me that'snot a wimpy workout for this
season of your life, it's awise, wonderful workout.
And I had to change my wholeperspective because God was
(25:53):
calling me into a season withmuch more rest and recovery.
And that's the thing that weneed to get in the habit of
thinking of the rest goes withrecovery.
Um bodies need to repair afterwe've had um activity a lot of
times, or when you go throughwhat you're going through right
now with the cancer treatments,your body needs a chance to
(26:15):
refresh, repair, and and do allof the things that it need it
needs that energy to go intorecovering from the thing that's
supposed to save your life.
And right, right, but it's true.
SPEAKER_00 (26:30):
Well, and it's not easy.
I mean, there's times when I'mjust like, I'm so done with
this, and you know, I know Ihave to just continue to go back
to God's thoughts.
If I let myself dwell on my ownthoughts, it's like, well, I
should be doing more.
Well, I need to do this, well, Ineed to meet this milestone.
I mean, it's kind of the olddieting mentality, really.
(26:52):
Yeah, it really is.
And I still go back to thatsometimes.
Um, if my thoughts are not fixedon Christ and I'm not watching
carefully what I'm thinking.
Plus, you know, God made me um agirl that likes to go.
You know, he made me that way.
I'm not a person that, you know,likes to just be at home all day
(27:14):
for days on end.
That that's not me.
I like to be out there, I liketo be with people, I like to be
active.
And so he's calling me tosomething that feels hard a lot
of the time.
But we're doing it.
SPEAKER_02 (27:27):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (27:27):
And we'll we'll get through it.
But it's it helps me more thananything to think of God's view
on rest and activity.
Yeah.
And then I can let go, like yousaid, of those old beliefs,
those fears.
It's like, no, I'm just gonna doit this God's way.
What is God calling me to untilwe get to the other side of
(27:49):
this?
And then things will changeagain.
That sounds wise.
Oh, hard though, but yeah.
Diet culture says, move yourbody so it can change.
Go, move, do more, you know,make it hurt, that kind of
thing.
Yeah, but Jesus says, Move yourbody because I love you.
SPEAKER_01 (28:12):
And sometimes he says, Rest your body because I
love you.
SPEAKER_00 (28:16):
Yes, and isn't that just a huge shift?
And when I think, okay, Lord,you made my body, it's the only
body like it in the whole wideworld.
You made my body.
I need to be listening to you,and it feels good to listen to
him.
It that feels like peace.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (28:37):
And you know, we're all different.
So, like for me, after I cameout of a seven-hour back surgery
and had to learn how to walkagain and all of that, God
wasn't calling me to do aworkout video, not the same guy
anyway.
He might be asking me to tensemy muscles as I lay in bed
(28:58):
recovering.
But not everybody has thephysical ability to do whatever
it is their neighbor does ortheir best friend does or their
whoever the people at work do.
So God is going to invite us todo what we are able to do, not
what beats us down and makes usfeel like failures, because
(29:19):
there is no condemnation inChrist.
If we feel condemnation, it'snot because he's invited us to
something that's making us feelthat way.
SPEAKER_02 (29:27):
Right.
SPEAKER_01 (29:28):
You know, the world definitely ties movement to our
worth.
Yeah.
But Jesus ties movement toworship or rest to worship.
It's like, do what I'm invitingyou to, daughter or son.
The world ties movement tooutcomes.
If you do this, then you'regonna look like this.
But Jesus ties movement tofreedom.
(29:50):
How very often we trade whatcould be our freedom for really
slavery, and we call it goodhealth.
It's so tricky because you know,we want to walk the line God has
for us, and really hisboundaries have fallen for us in
pleasant places.
Yes, John 15 5 reminds us thatapart from me, Jesus says, you
(30:10):
can do nothing.
And this includes God honoringmovement and God honoring rest.
Our strength is not going to beself-generated, right?
It is spirit given, Holy Spiritgiven.
And I think we really want to besure to drive this point home.
Our movement is not aboutachieving a shape or a look,
(30:32):
it's about yet again receivinghis grace.
God, thank you that you've givenme the ability to move my body
in whatever way each person isable to move their body.
Thank you that I can be outside,or thank you that I can see.
Thank you that I have hands thatcan move their the fingers, and
thank you that I have strongarms if you do.
Thank you that I have my abilityto walk.
(30:55):
I took for granted the abilityto walk until it came to a
screeching halt in 2014.
I tell you what, that was lifechanging.
SPEAKER_00 (31:03):
Heidi, you were so brave.
You were so Brave.
I was just getting to know youat the time.
We were new friends, you know,and you were my coach.
And um, I was just getting toknow you.
But remember how every timethere was just the littlest
thing, which was a big thing atthe time, that you did
post-surgery, we called it afirst and we celebrated and we
(31:28):
wrote it on a list and we talkedabout firsts all the time.
That was that was just such abeautiful way to look at the
movement that you were doing,which was incredibly brave and
you were in so much pain at thetime.
I'll I'll never forget it.
It was incredibly inspiring tome.
SPEAKER_01 (31:47):
Oh thank you.
I'm so glad that I had yoursupport during that time.
SPEAKER_00 (31:52):
I'm so glad that God put us together just before that
happened.
Oh my goodness.
Just I think two months beforethat all happened.
Okay, so let's talk a little bitabout neuroscience, which is
really, really fun to just kindof see how it all comes
together.
Just like with mind renewal,that we've talked about a a
(32:13):
hundred million times, and alsospirit-led eating, God's design
for movement is amazing.
Movement actually releaseschemicals in the brain.
Whoa.
And those chemicals cause us tobe calm, to have clarity, to
regulate our emotions.
(32:34):
Sign me up for that one.
Yeah, no kidding.
How about stress relief?
Oh my goodness.
I know so many people that areso stressed right now.
And it brings joy, not just kindof fleeting surface happiness,
but really, really God honoring,God producing, spirit-led joy.
(32:56):
It's it's so, so beautiful.
SPEAKER_01 (32:59):
And it's cool that these are God-built systems in
our body meant for ourflourishing.
When we move in a spirit-ledinstead of Heidi-led or whoever
led way, we activate the nervoussystems, peace pathways.
I am so grateful God made us theway He did.
And when we rest when needed, weactivate healing and repair,
(33:22):
like we were talking about.
You and I and everybodylistening, we were not created
for nonstop output.
We were created for spirit-pacedliving.
That's Holy Spirit-paced living.
Yeah.
So, what do you think?
SPEAKER_00 (33:38):
That's so, so good.
Oh, I just it's like it takesthis huge weight off my
shoulders.
It's like, okay, that feelsreally good to know.
God designed my brain and bodyto be changed by joyful movement
and gentle rhythms.
That sounds totally doable, nomatter what season I'm in.
SPEAKER_01 (34:00):
It sounds like a God thing.
It's something He would create.
When I start creating my plansor whatever, I don't go there
very well.
I I definitely create too muchstress on my body and don't rest
enough and blah, blah, blah.
SPEAKER_00 (34:16):
He had a plan for this, and it's a beautiful plan
for us to be able to enjoy ourbodies.
Now, I mean, many of you who arelistening might be thinking,
well, I'm not really enjoying mybody right now because I'm my
foot hurts and my, you know,elbow and I've got this.
And my hip.
And I had, you know, surgerythree months ago and I'm not
(34:38):
recovered, or I can release orall of that.
You know, there's so many thingsthat we go through because we
live in this very, veryimperfect world.
Can't wait to have my heavenlybody someday.
Very much looking forward tothat.
But, you know, we do we do haveto deal with a lot of challenges
with our bodies here on earth,especially as we get older.
(35:00):
It just is.
It just happens for most of us,for many of us.
But what I love is that God hasa plan for that.
He's not just like, well, youknow, things were better when
you were young, but sorry aboutthat.
You know, now that you're older,you're gonna fall apart.
I mean, he has plans for us thatare gentle and loving and wise,
(35:22):
and so that we can enter into adifferent season of movement and
rest, and we're gonna be fine.
We're gonna be fine with theLord.
SPEAKER_01 (35:32):
And what is so beautiful is really movement
becomes joyful when it's done atthe pace God establishes for me,
not according to somebody else'space.
I mean, I've had trainers atgyms before telling me I need to
do this and this and this andthis, and it just becomes
slavery again.
And I've created my own plansthat were slavery to me.
(35:53):
And I also feel like movement isgonna be more joyful when it's
done with an awareness of God,not the pressure that I get when
I fill out a log that tells mehow many.
I mean, I don't know.
I used to do that all the time.
Have these logs for reps andweights and distances, and oh,
and it was just it was almostlike I took pride in being, I
(36:15):
don't know, chained to that logand what was in it.
Also, there's more joy in movingwhen I do it with gratitude, not
comparing myself to somebodyelse.
Well, look at her abs, those areamazing.
I can't find my abs anymore.
I keep them carefully guardedand protected under me.
(36:37):
There you go.
Yeah, definitely.
And and movement is also joyfulwhen it's done with freedom
instead of rules.
And this this is embodiment,it's living in our body with
God, not apart from him.
You know, these littleboundaries we and big boundaries
that we think he's notinterested in this area, so I'm
(36:59):
not gonna invite him in.
No, we want to live in ourbodies with God, not apart from
him.
SPEAKER_00 (37:06):
Yes.
Uh, that sounds so good, Heidi.
I love what you just shared.
That sounds so, so good.
And of course, that wholechecking off the boxes thing.
I mean, I did that for years.
It was not sustainable.
I couldn't even get a weekendbefore something happened and I
wasn't able to, you know, checkthat box or check oh, the
pressure of it.
(37:27):
I'm so grateful not to be livingthat way anymore.
So grateful.
So we we want to take away todayum the fact that movement is
worship and rest is alsoworship.
I want to listen for thespirit's invitation.
Whether it is to move, stretch,walk, rest.
(37:49):
I want to follow him with joy.
I want to walk in his wisdom,not my own.
And all the pieces.
Yeah, it feels so good.
That's where peace is.
SPEAKER_01 (38:02):
It does.
Oh, well, this was fun.
SPEAKER_00 (38:05):
Yeah, we are so glad that you've been here today.
And we would love to invite youto our next episode of
Revelation Within.
Hi, and welcome to our podcast, Revelation Within
on the Go.
I'm Heidi Files McEpherson, oneof your hosts, and the owner and
lead coach of theRevelationWithin.org Ministry.
SPEAKER_00 (00:14):
And I'm Christina Potling, your other host, also a
Revelation Within coach, and I'ma partner in all things
Revelation Within.
We are so happy to invite you tojoin us for this episode of
Revelation Within.
SPEAKER_01 (00:38):
We're so glad you're here.
Come on in.
Come on in.
Sit right down.
Yeah.
Today we're entering a topic,uh, actually a rhythm.
I think it's fair to call itthat.
That and it's one that's oftenmisunderstood or even created
into a burden by the culturearound us.
And it's the rhythm or the ideaof movement, exercise, activity,
(01:06):
and what it's all about.
You know, God's heart formovement, our movement, is
gentle, it's joyful, it'sspacious, and deeply connected
to his presence.
Ta-da!
SPEAKER_00 (01:23):
I love that.
I love looking at movement inthat way.
That is such a such a refreshingway.
So, okay, movement then in God'skingdom isn't about earning or
achieving or shaping orshrinking or proving.
Movement in God's kingdom thenis about inhabiting the body he
(01:46):
gave us with gratitude.
Yeah, it's about listening forhis whisper.
Walk with me or rest with me.
I am right here.
Ooh, doesn't that sound good?
Let's look at some scripture.
Okay, Acts 17, 28.
In him we live and move and haveour being.
(02:08):
I just love that move is in thisverse.
I know.
You know, I've read this verse amillion times and never really
thought about why does it saymove in there?
You know, moving is is part ofwhat we do, how we live.
Movement isn't separate fromGod, it actually exists within
him.
So every breath, every time westretch, every step is already
(02:33):
taking place in his presence.
Isn't that?
I just love thinking about itthat way.
This means that even thesmallest motion or choosing rest
can become worship.
What?
It's worship to move, it'sworship to rest.
Oh, let's let's talk more aboutthis.
(02:54):
I'm loving it.
SPEAKER_01 (02:55):
Yeah, yeah.
You know, I think the bottomline is God loves it when his
people respond to hisleadership, to his loving, good,
perfect, sovereign leadership.
And so if he says move, move, ifhe says rest, rest, if he says
eat this, eat this.
If he says abstain, abstain,that gives his heart such joy, I
(03:19):
think, when we're surrenderingto his good leadership.
Yeah.
So Psalm 16, 11 says, You makeknown to me the path of life in
your presence is fullness ofjoy.
You know, God doesn't call usinto movement to exhaust us, but
to lead us into joy.
No, it's so interesting becauseI bet you everybody listening
(03:44):
has had a situation where theyhave used movement to accomplish
something else other than justthe movement for movement's
sake.
For instance, have you ever hada dog that you wanted to calm
down?
So you threw a ball for it forhalf an hour in the backyard and
then it slept for an hour ortwo, or a child even.
(04:06):
Many of us with our children orgrandchildren, or if you're a
teacher at a school, let's goout for an impromptu recess
break because we're all wakingaround and the clouds have
parted, it's not raininganymore.
It doesn't work that way.
God doesn't call us to move toexhaust us, but to lead us into
(04:27):
joy.
And I just love that that joyfulmovement isn't forced movement,
it's movement done as we areaware of God's nearness, of
we're aware of his goodness andhis delight in each one of us.
SPEAKER_00 (04:42):
Is that beautiful or what?
That is so, so beautiful.
And what I love, and I know Imentioned this to you yesterday,
Heidi, what I love so much isthat this message, this
beautiful picture of movement asworship, this is for all of us.
This is for anyone, this is foreveryone.
This is for the person that isbedridden.
(05:04):
This is for the person who's inthe best shape of their life.
This is for the person who'srecovering from an injury.
This is from the person who, youknow, has very little time and
is a caregiver or whatever.
Um, this is for everybody.
And I love that.
I just love that.
Matthew 11, 28 through 30 says,Come to me, all you who are
(05:26):
weary.
My yoke is easy and my burden islight.
So I think about this this way: if if movement feels heavy to (05:31):
undefined
you or pressured or evenpunishing, that's not coming
from Jesus.
It's not coming from the Lord.
His movement always will lightenyou.
It'll bring you up, it'll bringlife to you, never weigh you
down.
(05:51):
His invitation often includesrest, sacred rest, restorative
rest, worshipful rest.
And then this is likemind-blowing.
I feel like I just want toshare.
Yes, yes.
(06:12):
So I have a question for you,Heidi.
Okay.
How is this different from theway you related to movement
before Thin Within, nowRevelation Within?
SPEAKER_01 (06:24):
Oh, way different.
SPEAKER_00 (06:27):
Way, way, way.
SPEAKER_01 (06:29):
Yes.
I mean, I've always loved sportsand activity.
I never loved running orswimming laps.
Anything repetitive I did notlike.
Um, but if I was playing a gameof some sort, you know,
softball, tennis, I loved movingmy body.
But during the season when I waslike actively trying to shape
(06:50):
shift, if you wink, wink, get mydrift, I would use movement as a
way to purge what I had eatenearlier.
It really was.
It was like, okay, if I atesomething that was beyond my
calorie allotment, pardon thereference to calories or point
allotment, same, same.
(07:11):
I would feel like I needed to goback to the gym for the second
or third time today and takecare of business by, yeah, you
know, um, calories in, caloriesout type thing.
So I definitely used activity,exercise, and to punish myself
in some ways and definitelyurge.
(07:32):
Definitely.
Now it doesn't mean that everytime I did it was like that, but
I definitely I remember when I'mlike, okay, let's see how much
faster I can make this scaleneedle move.
I'm going to add a two-hour walkto my life every day.
And it's like, okay, that's notfrom God.
(07:52):
You know, the pressure, theheavy, the just the punishing
feeling.
It doesn't come from Jesus.
You are so right.
You know, it's interesting.
We refer to exercise, activity,whatever in the world, and it's
all about the body, it's allabout changing the way the body
looks, how fit it is.
It's really all about the body.
But God honoring movementdoesn't start with a body, it
(08:14):
actually starts with our spirit,uh, our spirit united with God's
own Holy Spirit deep within us.
You know, we are an embodiedsoul.
We're not a spirit trapped in abody, and our body is part of
worship.
Now, I want to just address thisphrase embodied soul a moment
(08:36):
because it has been hijacked bythe new age movement and who
knows who else.
When we say that you are anembodied soul, it's you have a
physical body that God hasentrusted you with.
That is just a fact.
Your body is what you navigatethrough this world, and it's the
container for all of who youare.
And so to say you're an embodiedsoul just means that is where
(09:00):
your soul is, and your spirit isthere too, your mind is there
too.
And so, of course, your body isa part of your worship.
First Corinthians 6, 19, 20reminds us that your body is a
temple of the Holy Spirit.
So glorify God with your body.
Now, like me, all through theyears that you might have been a
(09:22):
Christian and were trying toshape shift, you might have used
that verse to kind of beatyourself up a little bit.
You know, if my body is a templeof the Holy Spirit, then I
better exercise it more, Ibetter eat less, I better do
this, I better do that.
Okay.
Um, what it really means, atleast consider this.
(09:43):
What if your body is a temple ofthe Holy Spirit?
Glorify God with your body.
What if that means a walk withprayer is worship?
What if that means stretchingwith gratitude is worship?
SPEAKER_00 (09:57):
Yes.
SPEAKER_01 (09:58):
What if that means a breath prayer is worship?
What if that means lying downbecause you need rest is
worship?
Wow, the possibilities areendless.
God is honored again because ourheart is turned toward him.
We want to surrender to hiswill, not because of calories or
(10:18):
steps.
Did you see my graph for thisweek?
Look at all the steps I put inevery day.
Is that what God is about?
No, no, he wants our heartsturned to him.
Okay, so Christine, how aboutyou?
Is what we're sharing on thisepisode is it different from the
way you have related to movementat all over the years?
SPEAKER_00 (11:47):
Oh, yes, very, very, very, very different.
Yeah, I mean, I grew up in theLos Angeles area in a culture
where all of my girlfriends andI, we were constantly feeling
tremendous pressure to look acertain way, to um shape shift,
like you said, to be more fit,more muscular.
(12:10):
And so it was crazy how muchthat I did.
I did so much working out andexercising, whatever you want,
whatever word you want to use,that I found myself dealing with
injuries because I was justdoing so much.
It was excessive.
And was it joyful?
Maybe, maybe there was some joyin there.
(12:31):
Maybe it wasn't joy.
I want to say it was kind offleeting happiness when I felt
like, okay, I got that workoutdone.
That's that made me stronger.
Let's try and see if if ithelped on the scale.
Because I constantly felt out ofcontrol with my eating,
constantly, 24-7.
And so this was, in my view, theonly way that I could shape
(12:54):
shift because I was so out ofcontrol.
I was eating way too much food.
I had no idea how to be apeaceful eater.
I was eating for every emotionalreason you can think of.
So there was a ton of pressure.
And if I was sick or injured,like I remember one time I
injured my heel from doing toomany step classes.
Remember step classes?
SPEAKER_02 (13:14):
Oh, I love step classes.
SPEAKER_00 (13:16):
I mean, I had a lot of fun while I was doing it, but
if you're doing it out of, youknow, desperation to look a
certain way and be accepted inthe world, and then of course
there's the comparison.
Well, look at her.
Well, she did three classes thisweek.
Well, I've I have to do more,you know, and I want to look
like that, and just thisconstant pressure, it was an
(13:39):
awful way to live.
SPEAKER_01 (13:41):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (13:41):
And I mean, I very much kept movement and activity
separate from my relationshipwith God.
I thought this is not somethingthat he's interested in.
This is totally my own littledomain over here.
And I mean, honestly, my momtook me to the gym when I was a
young teenager to work out withher.
(14:02):
So it really started very earlywith pressure from my mom.
And then it went into all mygirlfriends, and it was, it was
such a part of what we did, anda huge amount of time was spent
on it.
And it was just like being on atreadmill.
We really never got anywhere.
SPEAKER_01 (14:20):
Yeah, yeah.
Here's a question kind of takegoing to the flip side of it.
You said that activity,exercise, whatever was an area
that just God stayed out of, oryou thought he did.
What is a kind of movement, bigor small, that helps you feel
his presence most clearly now?
(14:41):
Now I know the season you're inis a little bit different
because you're undergoing cancertreatments and and life is very
different than it is normallyfor you.
But if you were to feelabsolutely amazing today and you
wanted to connect with the Lordand move your body, what is it
that you might be likely to do?
SPEAKER_00 (15:03):
Yeah, I for me, I think it's walks and hikes.
You know, I love, love, lovewalking and hiking with the
Lord.
Here in Colorado Springs, wehave a million trails and
neighborhoods and places towalk.
And what I do now, which I'vebeen doing for you know years
now, which I just, oh, it's solife-giving, is I renew my mind
(15:25):
while I walk.
So I start with a prayer, Iinvite God in, whether I'm
hiking in the hills or themountains or a big park, or
whether I'm just, you know,walking in in one of my favorite
neighborhoods, or maybe in myneighborhood, I invite God in
and I spend the whole time withhim and renewing my mind with
(15:46):
gratitude and oh my gosh, it atby the end of the walk, I feel
emotionally and spirituallyfull.
And my body has walked, which itloves.
Um, you know, I used to do veryextreme things with my body, not
as extreme as you though, Heidi.
(16:06):
You were definitely doing moreextreme than me, but I used to
do extreme things that were justtoo much, hence the injuries.
But now I listen to my body andI don't do all the counting
anymore.
Well, how many blocks?
Well, how many miles?
Well, how many repetitions?
I don't like to do any countinganymore.
I just like to be free outside,enjoying God's beautiful
(16:29):
creation.
And when my body is done, tired,then I'm done.
I go home.
The other way that I love tomove is really just to play.
Um, one of the ways that I loveto play is playing ping pong or
something like that, you know,with paddles or whatever.
Dad, I love doing that.
(16:50):
My son is a wonderful ping pongplayer, and we have so much fun
and we have these greatconversations over ping pong.
But I can invite God into anymovement or activity.
When the kids were younger, ofcourse, we played constantly
outside.
We were at the park all thetime, all different parks.
We were throwing balls, we werekicking balls, we were, you
(17:12):
know, playing hide and seek orwhatever.
I love that kind of movementbecause it's it's just play.
It's just fun.
Or playing with a dog is anotherone.
We have a wonderful dog rightnow, and she is so much fun to
play with at the park.
So those are some of the ways.
And um, the way that I know howdifferent it is is because by
(17:33):
the end, I'm not feelingdrained, I'm not feeling
exhausted, I'm not feelingpressured, and I'm not feeling
like a failure, which I did forso many years.
Instead, I'm feeling that deepkind of joy that I've really had
a special intimate time with theLord.
Yay.
That's and that's that's really,really different from anything I
(17:56):
used to experience.
I love this way of looking atmovement and activity, God's
way.
So I'm gonna ask you the samequestion, Heidi.
What is one kind of movement ora couple kinds, big or small,
that helps you feel God'spresence most clearly?
SPEAKER_01 (18:15):
Well, I can tell you that I mean, I've just had so
many wonderful experiences withactivity over the years, but um,
I think the one that has been myfavorite in recent, relatively
recent memory is ocean swimmingwhen we lived on Catalina
Island.
Oh my goodness.
You know, I love being outsidewhere I can see wildlife.
(18:39):
And it's funny, it neveroccurred to me that, you know,
when you are hiking, you'll seebirds and maybe squirrels and
sometimes rabbits, sometimesother things too.
But if you do your movementunder the surface of the water
in the ocean, there arethousands of creatures.
Oh my gosh, it is like I don'tknow, it reminds me of the best
(19:03):
adventure game in the world.
It's quite an advanced, it'slike I remember swimming in the
ocean, snorkeling in the oceanwhen we lived there, and just
seeing the only thing I coulddescribe them as was rivers of
fish under the water becausethey were in these ginormous
schools, and it was like it wasjust amazing, it was magical.
(19:26):
And that, oh my goodness, seeingthe lobsters, the size of a
man's arm that we're hiding inseriously.
We have pictures of a of a guywho caught one and he has the
lobster compared to the size ofhis arm.
And I mean, they were so youhave to giggle because God was
really creative when he madethose creatures.
(19:49):
I mean, like the rays.
Oh my gosh.
And then even the plant lifeunder the water is so amazing.
Now, I don't have an oceananywhere near me right now, so I
I do go out in nature and I livein a beautiful area right now,
so that's lovely.
But I do look forward to somedaygoing back to the ocean for a
(20:10):
lovely swim where I can connectwith the Lord in the water.
But in the meantime, I will justkeep connecting with him here.
SPEAKER_00 (20:17):
Yeah.
Well, and I got to come visityou several times and we got to
swim in the ocean together, andthat was so, so special.
I will never forget those dayson Candlina Island.
Yeah, so, so special.
So let's talk about rest alittle bit more because I feel
like I used to think I shouldn'tbe resting, I shouldn't be
(20:39):
stopping.
Don't take a break, push on,push on, push on.
But really, in God's kingdom,rest has a whole new meaning.
So, rest it's not the same asgiving up.
It's not failure, it's certainlynot laziness.
No way.
But I I do feel like I used tobelieve that.
(20:59):
I think rest is an act ofobedience when the spirit says,
daughter, lay this down, let mecarry you, restore and breathe.
Isaiah 40, 28 to 31 says, Theythat wait upon the Lord shall
renew their strength, they shallwalk and not faint.
(21:21):
So rest is actually a placewhere strength is renewed.
That's really important.
We need to be renewed, you know,after the activity.
Rest is where movement isactually prepared.
In God's economy, rest producesmovement, and movement produces
rest.
SPEAKER_01 (21:42):
Okay, so tell me, Christina, is there a time wink
wink, when God invited you?
No, you don't need to go and anddo another whatever it might be,
activity-wise, but he invitedyou to choose rest instead of
pushing yourself.
SPEAKER_00 (21:59):
Yeah.
How about right now?
How about this season that I'min right now?
I'm being treated for breastcancer, and it's like nothing
I've ever experienced before.
And God is inviting me intomovement when it's time, but the
movement looks a lot differentthan it did before.
It's much more gentle and muchmore quiet movement.
(22:22):
And then rest is, you know, italmost feels out of balance a
little bit, but I know he'scalling me to it.
There's much more rest, restinghours in the day right now than
active hours, very active hours.
Um, so he's calling me into it,and I can I can take comfort in
(22:43):
the fact that he's calling me tothis.
It's not time that's beingwasted.
It's not laziness.
I shouldn't try to push throughit because my body is working
really, really hard to keepgoing through all this
treatment.
Yeah.
And so it helps me to think ofit this way God is inviting me
(23:04):
to rest.
A little bit of movement, gentlemovement, yes.
And that's important too.
But yeah, this has really been ahuge season of being called into
God's life-giving rest.
SPEAKER_01 (23:17):
Yeah.
You know, it's kind of funnyover the years when I was shape
shifting, again with a winkwink, I lived in a place of
fear.
That's one of the bigdifferences between then and
now.
My fear was rooted in whathappens if I like if I'm sick,
what happens if I if I don't domy workouts or whatever?
(23:42):
And I would get scared of scaredof what my body, you know, will
I lose cardiovascular fitness?
Will I lose strength?
It doesn't take very long foryou to lose those things that
you've worked so long to gain.
I mean, that's what they wouldalways tell us.
Yep.
But I love being free of thefear of that.
(24:04):
If I'm listening to God andobeying him as he invites me
into rest, then anything I loseis for the glory of God.
It is worship for me to obey himand to say yes to rest, which is
wonderful.
It doesn't mean every now andthen he doesn't invite me to
push myself in some way, butit's his invitation that is the
(24:26):
key here.
So for me, after my medicalcrisis in 2014, you know this
story well, Christina.
I had a totally differentstandard.
I couldn't even walk, literally.
I had lost the use of my legsbecause of a spinal injury.
So getting back my ability towalk was first priority.
(24:47):
I remember when I was laying inthe rehab bed that I was in
because I couldn't walk withoutassistance.
I had to have both a walker anda person with me at all times.
And I actually delighted inisolating muscles in my body and
uh flexing them.
So, like my stomach muscles,it's like I'm getting stronger
(25:10):
even as I sit here in my bed.
Now, I don't know that I didn'teven think of asking God, what
do you think?
Do I need to take the pressureoff of me?
But I felt later like, you know,doing whatever I could in my bed
was my way of keeping on,keeping on, and trying to
prepare myself for that day whenmy feet would hit the floor by
(25:32):
themselves without assistance ofa walker or a person.
And um, and then all throughthat recovery season, I
remember, you know, what Icalled a wimpy workout.
You wisely reminded me that'snot a wimpy workout for this
season of your life, it's awise, wonderful workout.
And I had to change my wholeperspective because God was
(25:53):
calling me into a season withmuch more rest and recovery.
And that's the thing that weneed to get in the habit of
thinking of the rest goes withrecovery.
Um bodies need to repair afterwe've had um activity a lot of
times, or when you go throughwhat you're going through right
now with the cancer treatments,your body needs a chance to
(26:15):
refresh, repair, and and do allof the things that it need it
needs that energy to go intorecovering from the thing that's
supposed to save your life.
And right, right, but it's true.
SPEAKER_00 (26:30):
Well, and it's not easy.
I mean, there's times when I'mjust like, I'm so done with
this, and you know, I know Ihave to just continue to go back
to God's thoughts.
If I let myself dwell on my ownthoughts, it's like, well, I
should be doing more.
Well, I need to do this, well, Ineed to meet this milestone.
I mean, it's kind of the olddieting mentality, really.
(26:52):
Yeah, it really is.
And I still go back to thatsometimes.
Um, if my thoughts are not fixedon Christ and I'm not watching
carefully what I'm thinking.
Plus, you know, God made me um agirl that likes to go.
You know, he made me that way.
I'm not a person that, you know,likes to just be at home all day
(27:14):
for days on end.
That that's not me.
I like to be out there, I liketo be with people, I like to be
active.
And so he's calling me tosomething that feels hard a lot
of the time.
But we're doing it.
SPEAKER_02 (27:27):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (27:27):
And we'll we'll get through it.
But it's it helps me more thananything to think of God's view
on rest and activity.
Yeah.
And then I can let go, like yousaid, of those old beliefs,
those fears.
It's like, no, I'm just gonna doit this God's way.
What is God calling me to untilwe get to the other side of
(27:49):
this?
And then things will changeagain.
That sounds wise.
Oh, hard though, but yeah.
Diet culture says, move yourbody so it can change.
Go, move, do more, you know,make it hurt, that kind of
thing.
Yeah, but Jesus says, Move yourbody because I love you.
SPEAKER_01 (28:12):
And sometimes he says, Rest your body because I
love you.
SPEAKER_00 (28:16):
Yes, and isn't that just a huge shift?
And when I think, okay, Lord,you made my body, it's the only
body like it in the whole wideworld.
You made my body.
I need to be listening to you,and it feels good to listen to
him.
It that feels like peace.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (28:37):
And you know, we're all different.
So, like for me, after I cameout of a seven-hour back surgery
and had to learn how to walkagain and all of that, God
wasn't calling me to do aworkout video, not the same guy
anyway.
He might be asking me to tensemy muscles as I lay in bed
(28:58):
recovering.
But not everybody has thephysical ability to do whatever
it is their neighbor does ortheir best friend does or their
whoever the people at work do.
So God is going to invite us todo what we are able to do, not
what beats us down and makes usfeel like failures, because
(29:19):
there is no condemnation inChrist.
If we feel condemnation, it'snot because he's invited us to
something that's making us feelthat way.
SPEAKER_02 (29:27):
Right.
SPEAKER_01 (29:28):
You know, the world definitely ties movement to our
worth.
Yeah.
But Jesus ties movement toworship or rest to worship.
It's like, do what I'm invitingyou to, daughter or son.
The world ties movement tooutcomes.
If you do this, then you'regonna look like this.
But Jesus ties movement tofreedom.
(29:50):
How very often we trade whatcould be our freedom for really
slavery, and we call it goodhealth.
It's so tricky because you know,we want to walk the line God has
for us, and really hisboundaries have fallen for us in
pleasant places.
Yes, John 15 5 reminds us thatapart from me, Jesus says, you
(30:10):
can do nothing.
And this includes God honoringmovement and God honoring rest.
Our strength is not going to beself-generated, right?
It is spirit given, Holy Spiritgiven.
And I think we really want to besure to drive this point home.
Our movement is not aboutachieving a shape or a look,
(30:32):
it's about yet again receivinghis grace.
God, thank you that you've givenme the ability to move my body
in whatever way each person isable to move their body.
Thank you that I can be outside,or thank you that I can see.
Thank you that I have hands thatcan move their the fingers, and
thank you that I have strongarms if you do.
Thank you that I have my abilityto walk.
(30:55):
I took for granted the abilityto walk until it came to a
screeching halt in 2014.
I tell you what, that was lifechanging.
SPEAKER_00 (31:03):
Heidi, you were so brave.
You were so Brave.
I was just getting to know youat the time.
We were new friends, you know,and you were my coach.
And um, I was just getting toknow you.
But remember how every timethere was just the littlest
thing, which was a big thing atthe time, that you did
post-surgery, we called it afirst and we celebrated and we
(31:28):
wrote it on a list and we talkedabout firsts all the time.
That was that was just such abeautiful way to look at the
movement that you were doing,which was incredibly brave and
you were in so much pain at thetime.
I'll I'll never forget it.
It was incredibly inspiring tome.
SPEAKER_01 (31:47):
Oh thank you.
I'm so glad that I had yoursupport during that time.
SPEAKER_00 (31:52):
I'm so glad that God put us together just before that
happened.
Oh my goodness.
Just I think two months beforethat all happened.
Okay, so let's talk a little bitabout neuroscience, which is
really, really fun to just kindof see how it all comes
together.
Just like with mind renewal,that we've talked about a a
(32:13):
hundred million times, and alsospirit-led eating, God's design
for movement is amazing.
Movement actually releaseschemicals in the brain.
Whoa.
And those chemicals cause us tobe calm, to have clarity, to
regulate our emotions.
(32:34):
Sign me up for that one.
Yeah, no kidding.
How about stress relief?
Oh my goodness.
I know so many people that areso stressed right now.
And it brings joy, not just kindof fleeting surface happiness,
but really, really God honoring,God producing, spirit-led joy.
(32:56):
It's it's so, so beautiful.
SPEAKER_01 (32:59):
And it's cool that these are God-built systems in
our body meant for ourflourishing.
When we move in a spirit-ledinstead of Heidi-led or whoever
led way, we activate the nervoussystems, peace pathways.
I am so grateful God made us theway He did.
And when we rest when needed, weactivate healing and repair,
(33:22):
like we were talking about.
You and I and everybodylistening, we were not created
for nonstop output.
We were created for spirit-pacedliving.
That's Holy Spirit-paced living.
Yeah.
So, what do you think?
SPEAKER_00 (33:38):
That's so, so good.
Oh, I just it's like it takesthis huge weight off my
shoulders.
It's like, okay, that feelsreally good to know.
God designed my brain and bodyto be changed by joyful movement
and gentle rhythms.
That sounds totally doable, nomatter what season I'm in.
SPEAKER_01 (34:00):
It sounds like a God thing.
It's something He would create.
When I start creating my plansor whatever, I don't go there
very well.
I I definitely create too muchstress on my body and don't rest
enough and blah, blah, blah.
SPEAKER_00 (34:16):
He had a plan for this, and it's a beautiful plan
for us to be able to enjoy ourbodies.
Now, I mean, many of you who arelistening might be thinking,
well, I'm not really enjoying mybody right now because I'm my
foot hurts and my, you know,elbow and I've got this.
And my hip.
And I had, you know, surgerythree months ago and I'm not
(34:38):
recovered, or I can release orall of that.
You know, there's so many thingsthat we go through because we
live in this very, veryimperfect world.
Can't wait to have my heavenlybody someday.
Very much looking forward tothat.
But, you know, we do we do haveto deal with a lot of challenges
with our bodies here on earth,especially as we get older.
(35:00):
It just is.
It just happens for most of us,for many of us.
But what I love is that God hasa plan for that.
He's not just like, well, youknow, things were better when
you were young, but sorry aboutthat.
You know, now that you're older,you're gonna fall apart.
I mean, he has plans for us thatare gentle and loving and wise,
(35:22):
and so that we can enter into adifferent season of movement and
rest, and we're gonna be fine.
We're gonna be fine with theLord.
SPEAKER_01 (35:32):
And what is so beautiful is really movement
becomes joyful when it's done atthe pace God establishes for me,
not according to somebody else'space.
I mean, I've had trainers atgyms before telling me I need to
do this and this and this andthis, and it just becomes
slavery again.
And I've created my own plansthat were slavery to me.
(35:53):
And I also feel like movement isgonna be more joyful when it's
done with an awareness of God,not the pressure that I get when
I fill out a log that tells mehow many.
I mean, I don't know.
I used to do that all the time.
Have these logs for reps andweights and distances, and oh,
and it was just it was almostlike I took pride in being, I
(36:15):
don't know, chained to that logand what was in it.
Also, there's more joy in movingwhen I do it with gratitude, not
comparing myself to somebodyelse.
Well, look at her abs, those areamazing.
I can't find my abs anymore.
I keep them carefully guardedand protected under me.
(36:37):
There you go.
Yeah, definitely.
And and movement is also joyfulwhen it's done with freedom
instead of rules.
And this this is embodiment,it's living in our body with
God, not apart from him.
You know, these littleboundaries we and big boundaries
that we think he's notinterested in this area, so I'm
(36:59):
not gonna invite him in.
No, we want to live in ourbodies with God, not apart from
him.
SPEAKER_00 (37:06):
Yes.
Uh, that sounds so good, Heidi.
I love what you just shared.
That sounds so, so good.
And of course, that wholechecking off the boxes thing.
I mean, I did that for years.
It was not sustainable.
I couldn't even get a weekendbefore something happened and I
wasn't able to, you know, checkthat box or check oh, the
pressure of it.
(37:27):
I'm so grateful not to be livingthat way anymore.
So grateful.
So we we want to take away todayum the fact that movement is
worship and rest is alsoworship.
I want to listen for thespirit's invitation.
Whether it is to move, stretch,walk, rest.
(37:49):
I want to follow him with joy.
I want to walk in his wisdom,not my own.
And all the pieces.
Yeah, it feels so good.
That's where peace is.
SPEAKER_01 (38:02):
It does.
Oh, well, this was fun.
SPEAKER_00 (38:05):
Yeah, we are so glad that you've been here today.
And we would love to invite youto our next episode of
Revelation Within.
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