September 2, 2025 • 38 mins
Discover How to Truly Rest as a Homeschool Mom. Are you feeling weary, overwhelmed, or burnt out in your homeschool journey? Join host Aby Rinella and special guest Eryn Lynum, author of "Rooted in Wonder" and "The Nature of Rest," for an inspiring conversation on the Schoolhouse Rocked Podcast. Learn how the biblical pattern of rest is woven into Scripture, what true rest looks like, and why it’s vital (not lazy!) for Christian homeschool moms. Eryn shares her powerful testimony, practical Sabbath strategies, and how observing God’s rest in nature can refresh your heart and family.
⭐️ Find hope and new rhythms for your homeschool – from resting in Christ to enjoying nature as a family!
👉 Subscribe for more encouragement for Christian homeschoolers.
Recommended Resources:
- ErynLynum.com
- Free Family Sabbath Guide
- Rooted in Wonder: Nurturing Your Family's Faith Through God's Creation, by Eryn Lynum
- The Nature of Rest: What the Bible and Creation Teach Us About Sabbath Living, by Eryn Lynum
- A Sand County Almanac: And Sketches Here and There, by Aldo Leopold
- Sit, Walk, Stand, by Watchman Nee Nat Theo Podcast, hosted by Eryn Lynum
Sponsors:
Apologia is a Christ-centered, award-winning homeschool curriculum provider. Our mission is to help homeschooling students and families learn, live, and defend the Christian faith through our print and digital curriculum and online classes.
BJU Press Homeschool is dedicated to providing homeschool families with academically strong curriculum rooted in a biblical worldview. They offer a complete curriculum from preschool through 12th grade, available in both traditional textbooks and video courses. By teaching through the lens of Christ’s power, they help students view the world through the transformative story of God’s creation
CTCMath specializes in providing online video tutorials that take a multi-sensory approach to learning. Creative graphics and animation, synchronized with the friendly voice of internationally acclaimed teacher, Pat Murray, make learning math easy and effective. Start your free trial today.
The Schoolhouse Rocked Podcast is a member of the Biblical Family Network. Our mission is to support and encourage the family by providing the very best podcasts on family, discipleship, marriage, parenting, worldview, culture, and education, all from a Biblical perspective. Visit the website for more great shows, like the Thinking Dad, Culture Proof, Homeschool Insights, and Made2Homeschool.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
What a beautiful example for us because as homeschool parents we
are so prone to just go, go, go,cross it off the list, get the
lessons done, get through the curriculum.
But God gives us this example. Stop and delight, take joy in
this beautiful work that you getto do in your home.
Hey everyone, welcome back to. The Schoolhouse Rock podcast.
(00:21):
I'm Abby Rinella and I'm so. Excited to be with you this.
Week, but I'm even more. Excited to share with you.
Our amazing guest. But before I do.
I want to thank our sponsor for this.
Week's podcast if you're lookingfor a trusted homeschool
resource to support. Your child's education with a
strong biblical worldview. You will find it through.
Apologia for. Decades apologia has been a.
(00:43):
Go to resource for. Christian homeschool curriculum
designed to educate, inspire, and build a lifelong love of
learning. They know that homeschooling
isn't 1 size. Fits all.
That's why they. Offer a growing.
Catalog of resources. To fit your family's needs, dive
into online self-paced courses, join live classes led by
incredible instructors, or stream engaging video lessons
(01:04):
anytime, anywhere. They even offer audiobooks
perfect for learning on the go. Apologia will partner with you
and your family's educational journey.
Explore the full lineup of Apologia's Homeschool.
Resources today at apologia dot.Com and discover how they can
help your family thrive. Apologia, Equipping families,
inspiring learners, and teachingtruth.
(01:26):
Aaron Lynam. I am.
So excited to have you here withus.
And to. Share you with our.
Audience, you've actually been on the.
Schoolhouse Rock podcast before.But it was a while.
Back So would you? Before we dive in, just kind of.
Share with our audience a littlebit about who you are, what
your. Family looks like where you're
located and share. With share that with us before
(01:47):
we dive in. Yes, thank you, Abby.
Thanks so much for having me. Well, my family, we live in
Northern Colorado just north of Denver.
And my husband and I, we've beenmarried almost 16 years and we
are both second generation homeschool parents.
So we grew up homeschooled and this is just always how we knew
we wanted to raise our kids, to be able to disciple them in our
(02:09):
home and have a flexible schedule and freedoms at
homeschool allows. So we never even had that
conversation as to whether we would homeschool.
We just knew this is what we wanted for our family.
And so that's what we do. We have three boys, They are 13
turning 12 this week and 10, andour daughter is 7.
And so, yeah, we do a lot of ourhomeschooling.
(02:31):
We use Apologia, who you just mentioned, and we do a lot of
our homeschooling outdoors. I work as a master naturalist.
And so my passion is really to teach my kids using nature, just
like we see Jesus doing, you know, in the Gospels.
Absolutely. And that's really.
What we heard to talk. About this week and what's
exciting is like my. Past several.
(02:51):
Interviews have been with past homeschoolers, second generation
homeschoolers and I. It's so and I don't even plan it
that way, but. It's just like, clearly.
I'm drawn to how homeschooling turns out, which is very
encouraging as a homeschool mom,but also another reason that I
I'm excited to have you as my guest.
Is because that's that's a. Passion that our family has too,
is being an outdoors pointing toour creator through his
(03:13):
creation. And all of our listeners know
that That's kind of what my husband and I do too.
And so when I heard about you and what you were doing, I just
was like, Oh my gosh, we're sisters in this and I.
Love it. So you are also the author.
Of an amazing book called Rootedin Wonder and if you want to
hear more about that book, you can actually.
Go back to a previous Schoolhouse Rocked podcast.
Just just doing the search. Bar Aaron Lynam and she talks
(03:36):
all about that book. An incredible book, an
incredible podcast to listen to,but we're here a little bit more
to. Talk today about the topic.
Of your your second book called The Nature of Rest and so.
So the author of that book as well we'll talk about, but also
you have a podcast. And a lot of people on this show
might, might make the connectionthat you are the Nat Theo.
(03:57):
Podcast Lady. Which is nature lessons rooted
in the Bible. I was turned on to that podcast.
It is so fun to listen to with my.
Kids. I absolutely adore it.
So today's topic. Is going to be REST OK I think a
topic that homeschool moms need.To hear about.
Right and the. Hustle and bustle of today.
(04:17):
Getting stuff done. I feel like we're always
producing, doing constant action, constant stimulation.
Especially nowadays, right? Rest seems to be kind of a
foreign concept. In fact.
When I first like was looking atthis book it it kind of seems to
me that. Rest gets a bad rap, right?
Like. I feel like when I'm sitting and
resting, my kids are like, mom, are you sick?
(04:39):
Is everything OK? Right.
And sometimes we equate. Rest with idleness or.
Laziness. I'm just going to be.
Honest, that's what people this.Day and age and this this make
it happen, get it done Culture feels like so.
Can you kind? Of dive in a little.
Bit as to first of all. Debunk that, right?
Or or. Speak to that is rest.
(05:00):
Being idle is it being lazy and then just.
Share a little bit about what? What are you?
When you're talking about rest in this book, what are you
talking about? Yes, you are so correct.
So culture often tells us that rest is lazy or idle or
ineffective or even selfish. And we we see it as optional.
(05:21):
And many of us just forego it for so long until what happened
with my family, we could no longer forego it, like we could
no longer set it aside. We started to see it as not
optional but vital and critical and what we see in the
Scriptures. So you think about rest in the
Scriptures and most of the time our mind goes to Matthew 11
(05:42):
where Jesus says, come unto me all who are weary and heavy
laden, and I will give you rest.And I was studying the
scriptures on this concept of rest and I came across a quote
from the late theologian Oswald Chambers and he was talking
about these words from Jesus in Matthew 11.
And he quoted Jesus and said, and I will give you rest.
(06:02):
Rest is the perfection of emotion.
That stopped me. That's a very different idea of
rest because we often think of rest as stopping and sometimes,
especially in extreme cases, it has to be but this idea of rest
as the perfection of motion. And so I'm studying rest in the
Scriptures. I'm trying to really wrap my
(06:25):
mind around how is rest the perfection of motion?
And as a naturalist, I'm studying nature and I saw it in
a Hummingbird because we often like as homeschool parents, we
can relate to the hummingbirds always on the go.
They have to visit 1 to 2000 flowers every day and you watch
them and they are this blur of motion.
(06:46):
Their little wings can be about 70 times a second.
And to fuel that, their itty bitty hearts have to be around
1200 * a minute. So we picture a Hummingbird and
we picture activity and motion. Really, they're going about
their God-given fruitful work. But what sustains them is a deep
strategy of rest called torpor. And torpor is kind of like a
(07:08):
mini hibernation where the little bird is going to lower
its body temperature by about 50° and become completely
unresponsive. And it's this regular, rhythmic,
intentional rest that allows theHummingbird to go about all of
its God-given work. And I think this is what Oswald
Chambers was getting at. The perfection of motion.
(07:28):
It's not always stopping. Rest is bringing together rest
and work back into this harmony that God always meant for it to
operate by. That's how we thrive.
Wow, I love that. And as I'm listening to you, I
want our audience to know that you're kind of an expert on on
these on well. Rest because you are.
(07:49):
You're a theologian. You.
Study God's. Word and as I was reading your.
Book I absolutely loved this book.
It you, you are. Taking your knowledge of God,
your understanding of His Word, and then your passion for and
also knowledge and education in nature and so really this.
Isn't really your idea at all this.
Concept of rest, right? It's totally laid out in God's.
(08:10):
Word as I was. Reading in your book, it's a
pattern that he set right and and and you are taking it
through. How can we see this in creation?
How do we see this pattern? But can you?
Share God's idea the his. Pattern of REST in Scripture.
And how like like you? Were sharing with the
Hummingbird, but how can that transform our lives if we.
Get back to God's word, we look at His.
Pattern of rest and kind of share.
That with us, what his. Pattern we, we look at, we look
(08:33):
at God's word and we think what are the actions I need to do?
What's the doing right? And it just opened my eyes.
So there is a pattern of. Rest so will you.
Explain that and then how that really can transform our.
Lives as as you. Explained it with the
Hummingbird, how it transforms the hummingbird's life.
Yeah, when we look at Scripture,we really see that rest is
foundational throughout Scripture.
(08:54):
It's not a footnote, It's not just hinted at here and there.
It is cover to cover, and we seerest hinted at during creation,
established in the wilderness with the Israelites, modeled
through the life of Christ, and then fulfilled on Calvary with
eternal rest. And so let's look at the pattern
at creation, because we often think of, OK, God created for
(09:14):
six days and then he rested on the 7th.
Right. But we read in Isaiah 40 that
God does not grow tired or weary, and so we have to ask why
did God rest? And I believe it was for two
main reasons. And the first was to stop and
delight. The word Sabbath comes from the
Hebrew word Shabbat, which can mean to both stop and delight.
(09:36):
God had just created everything from nothing.
Hebrews tells us everything fromnothing.
And I believe that after that creative work, that incredible
endeavor, he simply wanted to stop and enjoy.
It. And what a beautiful example for
us because as homeschool parents, we are so prone to just
go, go, go, cross it off the list, get the lessons done, get
(09:57):
through the curriculum. But God gives us this example.
Stop and delight, take joy in this beautiful work that you get
to do in your home and really inserting these pauses in order
to do that. And then I believe the second
reason God chose to rest was to give us a pattern because what
we see is that God worked and then he rested.
(10:20):
But think about Adam. The first human Adam was created
on day six. That means that Adam's first
full day was day 7A, day devotedto rest, a day set aside to
rest. And so God works and then rests.
But we were always meant to begin from rest and from there,
(10:41):
like, like with the Hummingbird,that is what fuels all of the
work that we are doing. Oh my goodness, that is so good.
Because I. Feel like as a homeschool mom
and homeschool moms we work work, work, work, work and then
rest is because. We have to because we're.
Falling apart or we can't do onemore thing right.
And and the way you're saying itis such, it's such a mind shift
in that we work out. Of a place of rest, right?
(11:03):
And that will help. Us you you use the.
Word Enjoy. Like that will help us actually
enjoy the work which it's so diabolically.
Different than what we're doing.Most of us don't really enjoy
the work. We're getting the work done so
that we can finally crash and rest right?
And it just opened my eyes to working out of.
This place of rest so. That we can enjoy what we're
(11:25):
doing. I mean, God didn't rest because
he was tired and exhausted because God.
That he's God. He.
Doesn't get tired and exhausted.But yet he's still rested.
And so it just it's a mind shiftof.
Rest. Right.
And I, I absolutely. Love that.
So I want to go. Back a little bit.
This is God's design, but you you have a story in your life of
(11:45):
how God used something in your life to kind of.
To get you here right like to your book is going to be used to
get a lot of. People to this place and
understanding of rest and this beautiful like it changed me and
we're going to talk a. Little bit about about how your
book. Affected me as well, but God
used something different in yourlife to kind of open your eyes
to this will. You share a little bit about how
(12:06):
your. Diagnosis of Addison's disease
when you are only 14 years old LED you into this deeply restful
life and then and then gave you this passion to share this this
concept. Of God's idea of.
Rest with other moms. Yeah, well, I often say that our
family's journey into rest started about 3 years ago when
we began celebrating Sabbath. And that was a huge part of it.
(12:28):
That was that was how bad brought our family into rest.
But really, God was bringing me,ushering me into this deeply
restful life years ago. And when I was 14, I was
preparing to go overseas for thefirst time, and I had never
before stepped foot on an airplane.
And now I was going to fly to Africa.
(12:49):
Yeah, great first flight, right.So flying internationally, I'm
going to spend two months in theBush of Africa.
And before you do something likethat, you have to go to the
doctor and get a checkup and travel vaccine recommendations.
And I had no strange health history, really no red flags to
think anything was wrong. I'd been a little lethargic and
dizzy at times, but I was 14 so my parents chalked it up to, oh,
(13:12):
she needs some vitamins and she's getting older, right?
But when the nurse checked my blood pressure that day, it was
56 / 48. It's definitely low.
I I still have the paperwork from that visit.
So for us non. Medical people.
That's bad, right? Very bad.
OK. My, my doctor later told my
(13:32):
parents it was the lowest blood pressure he had ever seen in
someone alive. That's not really.
Yeah, that's not a record you want to have with your doctor.
Oh, how scary. Yeah.
And so when a vital like that isoff, it's a immediate red flag
there's something wrong, right? And so I begin seeing
specialists and having more tests done.
(13:53):
And my dad really started researching, you know, seeing
once we knew something was wrong, the symptoms became a
little more apparent. And so researching those
symptoms, right? And he actually discovered a
very rare autoimmune disorder called Addison's disease and
brought it to my doctor and said, hey, I think this might be
what it is. And my, I kid you not, my doctor
laughed and he said, oh, people don't get that, especially
(14:15):
adolescents. But he said it won't hurt.
I'll send you to endocrinologist, a specialist.
And pretty soon thereafter, I was diagnosed with Addison's
disease. So my father is actually the one
who really brought me to that diagnosis and fought for that
diagnosis. Which I have to interject and
say what's so amazing about thatis we have the privilege as
(14:36):
homeschool parents to deeply know our.
Kids to be with. Them in that constant place so
that. Your dad was able to see.
Things in your life, symptoms inyour life to to know you well
enough to know what is normal errand versus not normal errand.
And I just think that just screams to me what a blessing to
be. Able to be with our kids all
(14:56):
the. Time and and be able to see and
notice those things and how engaged your dad was to see
that. That's amazing.
Amen. That's so true.
Yeah, so. You were diagnosed.
It, it means that your adrenal glands do not function and your
adrenal glands produce, of course, adrenaline, but also key
hormones including cortisol, your stress hormone.
(15:19):
So God knew that we were going to be living in this broken,
highly stressful world where we encounter all kinds of stress,
physical, mental, emotional, allday, every day.
And so he gave us the system, these adrenal glands to produce
cortisol to cope with that stress, only mine cannot.
And so at age 14, stress became fatal to me where I take daily
(15:42):
hormone replacement to kind of mimic that natural system that
God gave us. But what it cannot do is account
for high amounts of stress, where normally your body would
produce a bunch of that cortisol, mine cannot.
And so in an extreme case of stress, it can be fatal.
And so at age 14, I had to learnhow to step back.
(16:03):
And my parents really coached mein this, how to identify stress,
how to bring everything to the Lord in prayer.
And so really, you know, I couldn't know it way back then,
but God was leading me into thisdeeply restful lifestyle because
it's vital and it's. Life or death?
For you, right? Yeah.
Yeah. And not only for people with
Addison's disease, because that's super rare, but so many
(16:24):
people have adrenal fatigue. Yes, I was living.
I was just thinking that becauseI listen to moms and just kind
of in the health world and I'm like, that's one of the biggest
things that I think that moms are constantly struggling with
because we're going, we're going, we're going, we're living
in this, we're we're caring. You know, just like just
yesterday, I'm like, OK, my husband needed something with
this child, needed something. Somebody else needed something.
(16:45):
My mom was calling me. We just as the moms of the home.
We. Carry a lot and and it is a very
common thing, obviously not Addison's, but just that adrenal
fatigue and that wear down and then we feel like there's
something wrong with us. But then as I'm reading your
book, as I'm listening to what you're saying, I'm like.
God had a setup. God had a design.
(17:06):
God created in into He. He.
He worked it into his creation. A way for us to avoid this so
that we don't. Have to keep going, going,
going, and then you know. Try to figure out how to fix
the. Problem there, there's a setup
that God has set up and we're going to take a break and then I
want to come back and I want to dive in because.
You shared a little bit. About from from Adam from the
(17:27):
beginning, but there are other examples.
Throughout scripture. How God?
Really set it up. So that we wouldn't maybe.
Reach this place of. Crashing and being adrenal
fatigued. If we live by the.
Pattern he set up and it's just,it's exciting.
I feel like you have kind of hitthe answer.
Or or you've what God's put you through has caused you to dive?
Deep into his word and then lookat his creation to give us an
(17:50):
answer that I think most moms are probably looking for and it.
You're going to tell us it's OK to rest?
And I think that's what every mom is excited to hear.
So we are going to take a quick.Break and we will be right.
Back to talk more about. Rest.
Home schooling is a big responsibility.
With BJU Press, you can feel equipped to give your children
not just an education, but a foundation for life.
(18:12):
Children learn in different ways, and BJU Press lets you
adapt to their unique learning styles.
And you'll love the community ofother homeschool moms who use
BJU Press. They've been where you are, and
they're full of advice, encouragement, and practical
tips. And when you need even more
help, there's the Homeschool Hub, which keeps families
(18:33):
organized with easy lesson planning, calendars and even
grading tools. To learn more, visit
bjupresshomeschool.com. Have you tried?
CTC Math yet with your child. Here's a testimonial from
another happy homeschool mom, Amber said.
I'm absolutely thrilled with CTCMath.
(18:56):
It's a rare find that I've used with my children for more than
five years now. I have six children using CTC
Math and each child has found iteasy to navigate and very
applicable. Thank you so much for all that
you are doing and providing quality math lessons for my
children. If you're looking for a great
online math program, visit ctcmath.com.
That's ctcmath.com. Right before the break.
(19:20):
Erin was just telling us a little bit about.
Her story, where she was. Diagnosed with Addison's
disease, which is kind of an adrenal an adrenal problem, but
we were also talking about how that not the disease but we're
all feeling and really, you knowjust strung and run and and
pushed to the Max and so many women are dealing with adrenal
fatigue and just. The wear out the wear.
(19:41):
Down and Aaron has cracked something incredible in her
study of God's Word and her watching of nature that God.
Has set us up so that we don't have to.
Reach this point and Aaron, you shared a little bit about like
from creation, but. Will you?
Give us just a couple more examples from God.
'S word of how God just established this.
Pattern of rest in his word. Yeah, we looked at rest hinted
(20:03):
at during creation. Right now let's look at how God
established rest in the wilderness with the Israelites.
The first mention of Sabbath that we get in Scripture is in
Exodus 16. And so the the Israelites are
doing what they're known for. They're wandering and they're
grumbling and they are hangry, and God chose mercy and gives
(20:24):
them manna and quail. But with that, he has a very
important lesson for them. He says do not gather on the 7th
day. It is a day set aside, a holy
Sabbath to the Lord. That's the first mention of
Sabbath. And so when you think about
that, we have to consider that the Israelites had very little
context for what God was instructing them to do.
(20:48):
Don't gather on that last day. Trust me.
Right? Surely they could think back to
creation and OK, six days of work, a day of rest.
But they had no structure for this yet.
So God was calling them to an act of faith.
Trust me stop working I will provide.
Sabbath and any kind of rest arealways an act of faith.
(21:10):
It is risky because it's countercultural.
It's so against what society tells us to do.
They're saying push harder, hustle more, get the things
done, get ahead. If you don't you'll miss out
like FOMO. FOMO is the biggest driver of
hustle and hurry. Or with a home school mom.
Everything's going to fall apart, right?
Everything's going to fall apartif you do not hold it all.
(21:30):
Together, which I love. Rest is an act of trust.
It's an act of faith. Everything falling apart isn't
dependent upon us, right Aaron? It's it's in God's hands and if
we trust him. So that's.
That's incredible. It's totally counterculture like
you were saying. Yeah, yeah.
And you know, we've seen it in our family because when we
started Sabbath thing just almost 3 1/2 years ago now, I
(21:53):
had these major doubts because we homeschool our four children.
And of course, you know, like homeschooling isn't just Monday
to Friday. Like it spills over to the whole
week and you're preparing and evaluating and all the things
you're always learning as a homeschool parent.
And so we're homeschooling our four kids.
My husband and I were running three businesses.
And I'm just like, how are we going to step away for a day, a
(22:15):
full day out of the week? This isn't going to work.
Things are going to fall apart. And so I have all these cultural
lies feeding into me. And then we decide to take this
risk. And what we very, very quickly
found was that we became more effective, more fruitful, more
productive, more creative, because God designed us to
(22:36):
thrive through this. And even science points to that,
that our brains and our children's brains operate at a
much higher function when our brains are allowed to rest.
And so like an example, this past weekend we're recording on
a Monday. This past Sabbath, we went
camping. So we went camping for two
nights and it was extremely restful.
(22:57):
We were finding wildflowers and hiking and climbing and finding
birds. Super restful.
And we came back and today I am ready to go.
Like I got so much done this morning and we it.
God designed us. So it's like it works, right?
God's way. It works.
I mean it really does work and. Like you said, it's not only
counter cultural, but it's counterintuitive because I'm the
(23:20):
same way. If I have a busy Monday morning,
I can't go, I can't rest on Sunday.
I have to prepare for my Monday.And and then you end up actually
more frazzled Monday morning because you haven't gotten that
rest. And so, so back to that
Chambers. Quote what you're.
Saying is rest isn't just sitting and doing nothing,
right? Because I think as mom moms, we
(23:40):
freak out and we're like Aaron, I can't just sit on the couch
all day, right? I just can't.
And what I'm learning is that REST is more.
It's, it's a state of your heart.
It's a. It's a.
It's. Kind of like that, that verse
that says, you know, we're called to have a gentle and
quiet spirit. I always used to think that
meant we had to be. Quiet.
People. And I'm by nature not a quiet
person. And so I was like, so am I
(24:01):
spiritually weak? Like what?
And I realized. No, it's, it's a heart.
Thing it's a peace in our heart and like.
You hit. It's a trust.
In the Lord, it's a faith. Faith, right?
It's not. It's not worrying.
It's not frantically trying to figure things out.
It's. Releasing and surrendering to
the Lord to say I don't control anything anyway.
Like I have no control anyway. God controls it all and I can
(24:22):
rest in Him. And so there are different
types. Of rest we have spiritual.
Emotional, physical, you know, there's, there's, there's many,
and so can you. Elaborate a little bit.
On, on. And that I'm just feeling like
moms are going to be listening and going, OK, what do you mean
by rest? Is rest?
Sitting on my couch scrolling through the Internet, and we're
going to talk a little bit aboutinformation, you know?
(24:42):
All all of that but. Explain these different types of
rest and and help us wrap our heads around on what are you
talking about when you are saying rest well like.
You were talking about earlier, we really have to begin with a
mindset shift about what rest isand isn't right.
Sometimes it is stopping, sometimes it is laying in the
hammock with a good book, and that is wonderful when we
(25:05):
realize that that's okay and embrace that.
Yes, Wait, let me say it again. Did you hear her, you guys?
It's a. OK, moms, it's not even just.
OK, it's needed. It's good.
And God designed it that way. You can grab a book and lay in
the hammock and the world's not going to fall apart.
Right. Yeah, yeah.
But also rest can be active. It is things that are inspiring.
(25:28):
So you think back to that idea of stop and delight.
One thing I often encourage people to do if they want to
start or refresh a Sabbath practice is to think about that
stop and delight and write 2 lists. 1 is a list of things
you're going to stop and set aside for your Sabbath day or
Sabbath time. Those are things that are heavy,
things that send you into rush and hustle.
(25:49):
That might be notifications, media, spending money, driving
in traffic. Our first year of Sabbath we
stayed home. We didn't go anywhere on our
Sabbath days. We had to learn to stay home and
be content in that. So you're going to write your
list of things to stop and then write a second list of things to
delight in. Those are the things that you
often think, oh, I would love todo that, but we don't make the
(26:12):
time for it. Sabbath is your time for that.
It might be a creative project, art, watercolor painting.
It might be gardening. And you think like, aren't those
work? Well, not really.
Is it refreshing to you? You know, we have to get back to
that idea of delight, delightingin God's presence, delighting as
a family, playing games together, reading books.
(26:35):
And I always think of this one Sabbath where my husband, he
spends most of his week behind acomputer.
He runs a business and he likes to spend Sabbath, especially in
the springtime, working on the yard, being in the sunshine,
getting his hands dirty, right? And so he gets all of the lawn
equipment and he's like, let's go work on the yard.
And he's so excited to do this on Sabbath.
(26:55):
I needed to just lay in the hammock and read a book.
So I said, that's great, you go enjoy that.
I'm gonna read a book. And I fell asleep in the hammock
for two hours. Like best.
Sunburn ever but you. See, like we have to change our
mindset around what rest is. It can be active, but on the
days that I choose to maybe workin the garden, as soon as it
(27:16):
starts feeling like work and labor and oh, I should really
get to that pile of brush over there, that's when you say stop.
Set it aside, Go read a book. I love it this.
I am telling you, reading this book was so convicting to me.
I usually, I, I mean, I usually have guests on and you can learn
a lot, but I, I did more than learn like I was convicted
(27:36):
because. I I I have.
You know, thought bought the. Lies of the culture.
Of you need to be getting thingsdone and it's hard for me to
rest because. The to do lists are.
There And you know, I'm always telling moms you need to.
Set the To Do List aside to. Spend time with the.
Kids, because this is. What's important to spend time
with the kids. But this is a different shift.
This is a different shift. Then set this work.
(27:58):
Aside to do this other. Work right, This is a completely
different shift and and what's been interesting to me is.
It's God's idea. It's God's design and I know
that if you're listening to this.
Podcast you desire. To be obedient to God and you
believe and you trust that. God's way is the best, that's
why. We're homeschooling.
That's why we're doing what we're doing.
But this is just a new thing that I think that.
A lot of people haven't. Given a lot of thought about, is
(28:20):
just. That this is God's.
I would I dare say command rightthat we are to rest and and so
if we're not doing that, then wecan't be shocked that we're
falling apart and that everything around us is falling
apart and I. Absolutely that this has.
Been mind blowing to me this, this whole concept of rest.
(28:40):
And so before we before we have to take a break because next
week I'm so excited because we're going to dive into the the
creation side of this. Where do we see this in
creation? How does?
This work, how can we? Rest by getting outdoors.
But before we go, I want will you give us one more example in
God's. Word, because you know.
There's moms that are still. Like, yeah, yeah, but I.
(29:00):
Mean, give me one more scriptural reason why I really
should slow down and rest, because we've talked about, you
know, creation and then the Israelites, and then and give us
another example in God's word, maybe New Testament, where we
see this. Yeah.
Yeah, 'cause OK, sometimes we westruggle to really relate to Old
Testament or relate to the Israelites totally.
Jesus came to. Know it, right?
(29:20):
So let's focus on Jesus 'cause He gives us an incredible model
of rest. It's truly a rhythm, a practice
that He displayed when he was inhis years in ministry and Jesus,
when he was in ministry on earth, He was busy, He was
getting things done. We see that profoundly in Mark
chapter 1. It is this whirlwind of activity
(29:41):
where it begins with Jesus spending 40 days in the
wilderness and during temptation.
So he's coming out of that weary, tired, and then he goes
straight into ministry, preaching, teaching, casting out
demons, healing. Verse 28 says he becomes famous.
He calls his first four disciples, building a team,
starting the most long standing successful startup of all of
(30:05):
history that continues today. So he's getting things done.
But what we see is in verse 35 that he rises early in the
morning and goes out to a quiet place and prays.
And that word quiet in the Greekis aremos and it can mean
desolate, solitary. Most often it means wilderness.
(30:25):
I think that's. Beautiful.
I love that. Like Jesus had this practice of,
yes, he was busy following what God had sent him to do, but he
had a regular practice because it wasn't only there.
We see it time and time again where he withdraws from the
noise, from the regular activities to be in a quiet
place, to pause, to gain perspective.
(30:46):
And in Mark chapter 6, he invites his disciples to do the
same. They're coming off of this busy
season of ministry. And Jesus says, come away by
yourselves to a quiet place and rest a while.
He gives us the same invitation to every weary homeschool
parent. Come away by yourselves to a
quiet place and rest a while. I love.
(31:07):
That and as you were. Describing this, you said.
You know he was. He entered into this season of.
Work. He was tired.
He was weary. After the 40 days of temptation,
then he went to teaching. Everybody like you read.
The gospels and it was like everybody wanted him I want to
touch you I want to hear from you I want to talk to you come
here Remember, they tried to getaway on the boat and the.
People, all the people, just. Like went around to to catch him
(31:28):
on the other side. And I think, doesn't that sound
like our lives a little bit as homeschool moms, we are.
Tired. We are weary.
And now we need to. Teach our kids right and we're
exhausted. Because we stayed up the night
before lesson planning and then everybody needs us all day long
and it's it's much the same and we.
Have to retreat to this quiet place.
(31:49):
We have to do it to to. Meet with the Lord to recharge
and it's. OK, it's.
It's important, it's imperative,it's commanded, and I think
that. I would dare.
Challenge the moms between this episode and next week, and I
want you to talk a little. Bit about like like let's do a
dare, let's do. A challenge.
(32:10):
Try it. Just try it, let your worry go,
release it to the Lord. Trust Him that if you are
obedient in taking those times to rest, He's going to be make
you more. Fruitful, right?
There's. Going to be more fruit.
You're going to work. Out of a place of rest.
And it's going to work better and so.
I I would dare. Moms listening to this, just try
(32:32):
it and so would you. Say just a quick.
Question Do we? Work really really hard 6.
Days a week and then on the 7th rest.
Or can we work this rest into our daily moments?
Can you tell I'm type AI need the?
Schedule of rest. I do think it's most powerful to
get back to God's original design of a full day of rest,
(32:54):
but if that's overwhelming, start with four hours.
Can you carve out four hours? And it can be on a weekday
afternoon or evening to set aside to be very different from
the rest of the week. Again, write your stop list and
your delight list. And then in the book I also talk
about, we take a full week to look at say la pauses.
And you think of that word, say la in the Psalms being an
(33:15):
intentional pause to reflect, toredirect if needed, to think
deeply. And so inserting even these,
these pauses of silence and solitude.
It might be stepping outside for5 minutes, pouring a cup of tea,
starting which is silence beforethe Lord in the morning, just
sensing His delight in you, working in these rhythms not
(33:38):
only in your week but also in your days.
Yes, I love that. Something that I I do and I
think is so important is before.The kids get up before.
Everything. Sit outside, let the sun hit my
face. And this is without your.
Phone without checking your messages without going over your
to do. List of the day, just still.
Just being. Still we have lost.
(34:00):
We have lost the art. Of being.
Still before the Lord. And just being still.
And so I'm so excited to come back next week because we're
going to really dive into the. The parts of the that I.
Love that helped me really, you know, connect this and that's,
you know, being seeing it in theoutdoors and getting in the
outdoors and and experiencing rest outside and and seeing
God's design for this through his creation.
(34:22):
And so that's what we're going to talk about next week.
But if you are watching this on YouTube, I'm going to show you
this book and. This book.
The nature of rest when it's on your bookshelf.
It's it's. Different than every other book.
Because I was. Looking, it's so funny.
I was grabbing this book becauseI just finished it and I was
looking at all my books and they're fun and they're bright
and they're busy, but they make me they're they're doing books.
(34:44):
Right. They're books that like, OK, I
want to do. This I want to implement, this I
want to and you pick up this new.
Book of yours. And it is so.
Beautiful, but the cover just. It's just it, it makes you take
a deep breath and just be calm and rest.
So I'm going to show is this notthe most?
Beautiful. It's just it's Restful.
I mean just the cover is Restful, it's not even shiny and
(35:05):
like. Abrasive.
It's soft. It's.
Calm, it's peaceful. There's not a lot going on on
it. The the cover itself, they say.
Don't judge a book. By its cover, but.
This one I think you can you will open this book and it just
it takes. You to a place like I said, you
feel convicted but. I feel more than anything you've
been granted permission. To do what your body.
(35:25):
And your mind and your. Heart already need to do.
You already know it needs to be done, but it not only gives you
Aaron's permission. But it gives you.
God's permission to do. This for your for for.
Everything to work well together.
So, Aaron? Tell us besides.
Getting this incredible. Book I I urge.
Everyone to get this book, I think moms need it.
Moms need this book to keep going.
(35:47):
Where can people find you and beencouraged by what you're doing?
Thank you Abby. So the book and all my resources
are on my website, which is my name, which is felt a little
funny. It's ERYN lyn-um.com.
You can also find a free family Sabbath guide that walks you
through step by step. It's meant to go along with the
(36:09):
book, but really it helps you like, create these lists, your
stop list, your delight list, a Sabbath shopping list.
It has a full Sabbath troubleshooting section because
you're going to run into like, this is messy.
We have to just embrace that. And so that full guide is
available on my website, aaronlynam.com/familysabbath.
You can also find my other booksalong with our podcast for
(36:30):
families, Nat Theo Nature Lessons Rooted in the Bible,
which is available to listen wherever you enjoy podcasts or
write on our website. Those are so fun to.
Do with your kids. And I those are ones that I I.
Wish I had. Had your podcast when my kids
were even littler. But they're older and love.
It I mean, they love it and I feel like when when you need to
just kind of regroup and bring everybody back.
Together in the house because. There's balls flying through the
(36:52):
house and you know that kind of.It's just like everybody.
Sits down to listen to that podcast.
It is. So fun, so please.
Find Aaron's podcast there. I am so excited to dive more
into this next week as taking now what we know about rest and
taking it outside and seeing where do we see it and how can
we do this outside because that's my passion.
So Aaron, we will be back with you next.
Week, everybody else we. Thank you so much for being with
(37:14):
us schoolhouserock.com Find everything you need.
There you can find Aaron's. Last Podcast there with her.
Last book, it's absolutely incredible.
Go back, listen, get that book as well, and we will see you
back here next week. You're listening to the
biblical. Family Network.
Hey, I'm Miki and I'm Will. And we're the Co host of the
(37:36):
Culture Proof podcast. We want to invite you to join us
every week as we discuss what's happening in the world and then
filter those happenings through a decidedly biblical lens.
There are many questions, especially when we see what's
happening in our culture today, but the answers are found within
the Word of God, so that's wherewe want to look.
Amen. When we resist those cultural
(37:56):
trends that rival the truth. We remain culture proof.
The Mama will guide her babies across these steep cliffsides in
order to find a place where theycan rest in safety.
We get to do that with our children.
We get to lead our children through this rocky ravine of our
culture, of our society, and allof these dangers and threats
(38:17):
coming up against them. We get to lead them to restful
places where they can rest and abide in the presence of God.
What a beautiful example for us because as homeschool parents we
are so prone to just go, go, go,cross it off the list, get the
lessons done, get through the curriculum.
But God gives us this example. Stop and delight, take joy in
this beautiful work that you getto do in your home.
Hey everyone, welcome back to. The Schoolhouse Rock podcast.
(00:21):
I'm Abby Rinella and I'm so. Excited to be with you this.
Week, but I'm even more. Excited to share with you.
Our amazing guest. But before I do.
I want to thank our sponsor for this.
Week's podcast if you're lookingfor a trusted homeschool
resource to support. Your child's education with a
strong biblical worldview. You will find it through.
Apologia for. Decades apologia has been a.
(00:43):
Go to resource for. Christian homeschool curriculum
designed to educate, inspire, and build a lifelong love of
learning. They know that homeschooling
isn't 1 size. Fits all.
That's why they. Offer a growing.
Catalog of resources. To fit your family's needs, dive
into online self-paced courses, join live classes led by
incredible instructors, or stream engaging video lessons
(01:04):
anytime, anywhere. They even offer audiobooks
perfect for learning on the go. Apologia will partner with you
and your family's educational journey.
Explore the full lineup of Apologia's Homeschool.
Resources today at apologia dot.Com and discover how they can
help your family thrive. Apologia, Equipping families,
inspiring learners, and teachingtruth.
(01:26):
Aaron Lynam. I am.
So excited to have you here withus.
And to. Share you with our.
Audience, you've actually been on the.
Schoolhouse Rock podcast before.But it was a while.
Back So would you? Before we dive in, just kind of.
Share with our audience a littlebit about who you are, what
your. Family looks like where you're
located and share. With share that with us before
(01:47):
we dive in. Yes, thank you, Abby.
Thanks so much for having me. Well, my family, we live in
Northern Colorado just north of Denver.
And my husband and I, we've beenmarried almost 16 years and we
are both second generation homeschool parents.
So we grew up homeschooled and this is just always how we knew
we wanted to raise our kids, to be able to disciple them in our
(02:09):
home and have a flexible schedule and freedoms at
homeschool allows. So we never even had that
conversation as to whether we would homeschool.
We just knew this is what we wanted for our family.
And so that's what we do. We have three boys, They are 13
turning 12 this week and 10, andour daughter is 7.
And so, yeah, we do a lot of ourhomeschooling.
(02:31):
We use Apologia, who you just mentioned, and we do a lot of
our homeschooling outdoors. I work as a master naturalist.
And so my passion is really to teach my kids using nature, just
like we see Jesus doing, you know, in the Gospels.
Absolutely. And that's really.
What we heard to talk. About this week and what's
exciting is like my. Past several.
(02:51):
Interviews have been with past homeschoolers, second generation
homeschoolers and I. It's so and I don't even plan it
that way, but. It's just like, clearly.
I'm drawn to how homeschooling turns out, which is very
encouraging as a homeschool mom,but also another reason that I
I'm excited to have you as my guest.
Is because that's that's a. Passion that our family has too,
is being an outdoors pointing toour creator through his
(03:13):
creation. And all of our listeners know
that That's kind of what my husband and I do too.
And so when I heard about you and what you were doing, I just
was like, Oh my gosh, we're sisters in this and I.
Love it. So you are also the author.
Of an amazing book called Rootedin Wonder and if you want to
hear more about that book, you can actually.
Go back to a previous Schoolhouse Rocked podcast.
Just just doing the search. Bar Aaron Lynam and she talks
(03:36):
all about that book. An incredible book, an
incredible podcast to listen to,but we're here a little bit more
to. Talk today about the topic.
Of your your second book called The Nature of Rest and so.
So the author of that book as well we'll talk about, but also
you have a podcast. And a lot of people on this show
might, might make the connectionthat you are the Nat Theo.
(03:57):
Podcast Lady. Which is nature lessons rooted
in the Bible. I was turned on to that podcast.
It is so fun to listen to with my.
Kids. I absolutely adore it.
So today's topic. Is going to be REST OK I think a
topic that homeschool moms need.To hear about.
Right and the. Hustle and bustle of today.
(04:17):
Getting stuff done. I feel like we're always
producing, doing constant action, constant stimulation.
Especially nowadays, right? Rest seems to be kind of a
foreign concept. In fact.
When I first like was looking atthis book it it kind of seems to
me that. Rest gets a bad rap, right?
Like. I feel like when I'm sitting and
resting, my kids are like, mom, are you sick?
(04:39):
Is everything OK? Right.
And sometimes we equate. Rest with idleness or.
Laziness. I'm just going to be.
Honest, that's what people this.Day and age and this this make
it happen, get it done Culture feels like so.
Can you kind? Of dive in a little.
Bit as to first of all. Debunk that, right?
Or or. Speak to that is rest.
(05:00):
Being idle is it being lazy and then just.
Share a little bit about what? What are you?
When you're talking about rest in this book, what are you
talking about? Yes, you are so correct.
So culture often tells us that rest is lazy or idle or
ineffective or even selfish. And we we see it as optional.
(05:21):
And many of us just forego it for so long until what happened
with my family, we could no longer forego it, like we could
no longer set it aside. We started to see it as not
optional but vital and critical and what we see in the
Scriptures. So you think about rest in the
Scriptures and most of the time our mind goes to Matthew 11
(05:42):
where Jesus says, come unto me all who are weary and heavy
laden, and I will give you rest.And I was studying the
scriptures on this concept of rest and I came across a quote
from the late theologian Oswald Chambers and he was talking
about these words from Jesus in Matthew 11.
And he quoted Jesus and said, and I will give you rest.
(06:02):
Rest is the perfection of emotion.
That stopped me. That's a very different idea of
rest because we often think of rest as stopping and sometimes,
especially in extreme cases, it has to be but this idea of rest
as the perfection of motion. And so I'm studying rest in the
Scriptures. I'm trying to really wrap my
(06:25):
mind around how is rest the perfection of motion?
And as a naturalist, I'm studying nature and I saw it in
a Hummingbird because we often like as homeschool parents, we
can relate to the hummingbirds always on the go.
They have to visit 1 to 2000 flowers every day and you watch
them and they are this blur of motion.
(06:46):
Their little wings can be about 70 times a second.
And to fuel that, their itty bitty hearts have to be around
1200 * a minute. So we picture a Hummingbird and
we picture activity and motion. Really, they're going about
their God-given fruitful work. But what sustains them is a deep
strategy of rest called torpor. And torpor is kind of like a
(07:08):
mini hibernation where the little bird is going to lower
its body temperature by about 50° and become completely
unresponsive. And it's this regular, rhythmic,
intentional rest that allows theHummingbird to go about all of
its God-given work. And I think this is what Oswald
Chambers was getting at. The perfection of motion.
(07:28):
It's not always stopping. Rest is bringing together rest
and work back into this harmony that God always meant for it to
operate by. That's how we thrive.
Wow, I love that. And as I'm listening to you, I
want our audience to know that you're kind of an expert on on
these on well. Rest because you are.
(07:49):
You're a theologian. You.
Study God's. Word and as I was reading your.
Book I absolutely loved this book.
It you, you are. Taking your knowledge of God,
your understanding of His Word, and then your passion for and
also knowledge and education in nature and so really this.
Isn't really your idea at all this.
Concept of rest, right? It's totally laid out in God's.
(08:10):
Word as I was. Reading in your book, it's a
pattern that he set right and and and you are taking it
through. How can we see this in creation?
How do we see this pattern? But can you?
Share God's idea the his. Pattern of REST in Scripture.
And how like like you? Were sharing with the
Hummingbird, but how can that transform our lives if we.
Get back to God's word, we look at His.
Pattern of rest and kind of share.
That with us, what his. Pattern we, we look at, we look
(08:33):
at God's word and we think what are the actions I need to do?
What's the doing right? And it just opened my eyes.
So there is a pattern of. Rest so will you.
Explain that and then how that really can transform our.
Lives as as you. Explained it with the
Hummingbird, how it transforms the hummingbird's life.
Yeah, when we look at Scripture,we really see that rest is
foundational throughout Scripture.
(08:54):
It's not a footnote, It's not just hinted at here and there.
It is cover to cover, and we seerest hinted at during creation,
established in the wilderness with the Israelites, modeled
through the life of Christ, and then fulfilled on Calvary with
eternal rest. And so let's look at the pattern
at creation, because we often think of, OK, God created for
(09:14):
six days and then he rested on the 7th.
Right. But we read in Isaiah 40 that
God does not grow tired or weary, and so we have to ask why
did God rest? And I believe it was for two
main reasons. And the first was to stop and
delight. The word Sabbath comes from the
Hebrew word Shabbat, which can mean to both stop and delight.
(09:36):
God had just created everything from nothing.
Hebrews tells us everything fromnothing.
And I believe that after that creative work, that incredible
endeavor, he simply wanted to stop and enjoy.
It. And what a beautiful example for
us because as homeschool parents, we are so prone to just
go, go, go, cross it off the list, get the lessons done, get
(09:57):
through the curriculum. But God gives us this example.
Stop and delight, take joy in this beautiful work that you get
to do in your home and really inserting these pauses in order
to do that. And then I believe the second
reason God chose to rest was to give us a pattern because what
we see is that God worked and then he rested.
(10:20):
But think about Adam. The first human Adam was created
on day six. That means that Adam's first
full day was day 7A, day devotedto rest, a day set aside to
rest. And so God works and then rests.
But we were always meant to begin from rest and from there,
(10:41):
like, like with the Hummingbird,that is what fuels all of the
work that we are doing. Oh my goodness, that is so good.
Because I. Feel like as a homeschool mom
and homeschool moms we work work, work, work, work and then
rest is because. We have to because we're.
Falling apart or we can't do onemore thing right.
And and the way you're saying itis such, it's such a mind shift
in that we work out. Of a place of rest, right?
(11:03):
And that will help. Us you you use the.
Word Enjoy. Like that will help us actually
enjoy the work which it's so diabolically.
Different than what we're doing.Most of us don't really enjoy
the work. We're getting the work done so
that we can finally crash and rest right?
And it just opened my eyes to working out of.
This place of rest so. That we can enjoy what we're
(11:25):
doing. I mean, God didn't rest because
he was tired and exhausted because God.
That he's God. He.
Doesn't get tired and exhausted.But yet he's still rested.
And so it just it's a mind shiftof.
Rest. Right.
And I, I absolutely. Love that.
So I want to go. Back a little bit.
This is God's design, but you you have a story in your life of
(11:45):
how God used something in your life to kind of.
To get you here right like to your book is going to be used to
get a lot of. People to this place and
understanding of rest and this beautiful like it changed me and
we're going to talk a. Little bit about about how your
book. Affected me as well, but God
used something different in yourlife to kind of open your eyes
to this will. You share a little bit about how
(12:06):
your. Diagnosis of Addison's disease
when you are only 14 years old LED you into this deeply restful
life and then and then gave you this passion to share this this
concept. Of God's idea of.
Rest with other moms. Yeah, well, I often say that our
family's journey into rest started about 3 years ago when
we began celebrating Sabbath. And that was a huge part of it.
(12:28):
That was that was how bad brought our family into rest.
But really, God was bringing me,ushering me into this deeply
restful life years ago. And when I was 14, I was
preparing to go overseas for thefirst time, and I had never
before stepped foot on an airplane.
And now I was going to fly to Africa.
(12:49):
Yeah, great first flight, right.So flying internationally, I'm
going to spend two months in theBush of Africa.
And before you do something likethat, you have to go to the
doctor and get a checkup and travel vaccine recommendations.
And I had no strange health history, really no red flags to
think anything was wrong. I'd been a little lethargic and
dizzy at times, but I was 14 so my parents chalked it up to, oh,
(13:12):
she needs some vitamins and she's getting older, right?
But when the nurse checked my blood pressure that day, it was
56 / 48. It's definitely low.
I I still have the paperwork from that visit.
So for us non. Medical people.
That's bad, right? Very bad.
OK. My, my doctor later told my
(13:32):
parents it was the lowest blood pressure he had ever seen in
someone alive. That's not really.
Yeah, that's not a record you want to have with your doctor.
Oh, how scary. Yeah.
And so when a vital like that isoff, it's a immediate red flag
there's something wrong, right? And so I begin seeing
specialists and having more tests done.
(13:53):
And my dad really started researching, you know, seeing
once we knew something was wrong, the symptoms became a
little more apparent. And so researching those
symptoms, right? And he actually discovered a
very rare autoimmune disorder called Addison's disease and
brought it to my doctor and said, hey, I think this might be
what it is. And my, I kid you not, my doctor
laughed and he said, oh, people don't get that, especially
(14:15):
adolescents. But he said it won't hurt.
I'll send you to endocrinologist, a specialist.
And pretty soon thereafter, I was diagnosed with Addison's
disease. So my father is actually the one
who really brought me to that diagnosis and fought for that
diagnosis. Which I have to interject and
say what's so amazing about thatis we have the privilege as
(14:36):
homeschool parents to deeply know our.
Kids to be with. Them in that constant place so
that. Your dad was able to see.
Things in your life, symptoms inyour life to to know you well
enough to know what is normal errand versus not normal errand.
And I just think that just screams to me what a blessing to
be. Able to be with our kids all
(14:56):
the. Time and and be able to see and
notice those things and how engaged your dad was to see
that. That's amazing.
Amen. That's so true.
Yeah, so. You were diagnosed.
It, it means that your adrenal glands do not function and your
adrenal glands produce, of course, adrenaline, but also key
hormones including cortisol, your stress hormone.
(15:19):
So God knew that we were going to be living in this broken,
highly stressful world where we encounter all kinds of stress,
physical, mental, emotional, allday, every day.
And so he gave us the system, these adrenal glands to produce
cortisol to cope with that stress, only mine cannot.
And so at age 14, stress became fatal to me where I take daily
(15:42):
hormone replacement to kind of mimic that natural system that
God gave us. But what it cannot do is account
for high amounts of stress, where normally your body would
produce a bunch of that cortisol, mine cannot.
And so in an extreme case of stress, it can be fatal.
And so at age 14, I had to learnhow to step back.
(16:03):
And my parents really coached mein this, how to identify stress,
how to bring everything to the Lord in prayer.
And so really, you know, I couldn't know it way back then,
but God was leading me into thisdeeply restful lifestyle because
it's vital and it's. Life or death?
For you, right? Yeah.
Yeah. And not only for people with
Addison's disease, because that's super rare, but so many
(16:24):
people have adrenal fatigue. Yes, I was living.
I was just thinking that becauseI listen to moms and just kind
of in the health world and I'm like, that's one of the biggest
things that I think that moms are constantly struggling with
because we're going, we're going, we're going, we're living
in this, we're we're caring. You know, just like just
yesterday, I'm like, OK, my husband needed something with
this child, needed something. Somebody else needed something.
(16:45):
My mom was calling me. We just as the moms of the home.
We. Carry a lot and and it is a very
common thing, obviously not Addison's, but just that adrenal
fatigue and that wear down and then we feel like there's
something wrong with us. But then as I'm reading your
book, as I'm listening to what you're saying, I'm like.
God had a setup. God had a design.
(17:06):
God created in into He. He.
He worked it into his creation. A way for us to avoid this so
that we don't. Have to keep going, going,
going, and then you know. Try to figure out how to fix
the. Problem there, there's a setup
that God has set up and we're going to take a break and then I
want to come back and I want to dive in because.
You shared a little bit. About from from Adam from the
(17:27):
beginning, but there are other examples.
Throughout scripture. How God?
Really set it up. So that we wouldn't maybe.
Reach this place of. Crashing and being adrenal
fatigued. If we live by the.
Pattern he set up and it's just,it's exciting.
I feel like you have kind of hitthe answer.
Or or you've what God's put you through has caused you to dive?
Deep into his word and then lookat his creation to give us an
(17:50):
answer that I think most moms are probably looking for and it.
You're going to tell us it's OK to rest?
And I think that's what every mom is excited to hear.
So we are going to take a quick.Break and we will be right.
Back to talk more about. Rest.
Home schooling is a big responsibility.
With BJU Press, you can feel equipped to give your children
not just an education, but a foundation for life.
(18:12):
Children learn in different ways, and BJU Press lets you
adapt to their unique learning styles.
And you'll love the community ofother homeschool moms who use
BJU Press. They've been where you are, and
they're full of advice, encouragement, and practical
tips. And when you need even more
help, there's the Homeschool Hub, which keeps families
(18:33):
organized with easy lesson planning, calendars and even
grading tools. To learn more, visit
bjupresshomeschool.com. Have you tried?
CTC Math yet with your child. Here's a testimonial from
another happy homeschool mom, Amber said.
I'm absolutely thrilled with CTCMath.
(18:56):
It's a rare find that I've used with my children for more than
five years now. I have six children using CTC
Math and each child has found iteasy to navigate and very
applicable. Thank you so much for all that
you are doing and providing quality math lessons for my
children. If you're looking for a great
online math program, visit ctcmath.com.
That's ctcmath.com. Right before the break.
(19:20):
Erin was just telling us a little bit about.
Her story, where she was. Diagnosed with Addison's
disease, which is kind of an adrenal an adrenal problem, but
we were also talking about how that not the disease but we're
all feeling and really, you knowjust strung and run and and
pushed to the Max and so many women are dealing with adrenal
fatigue and just. The wear out the wear.
(19:41):
Down and Aaron has cracked something incredible in her
study of God's Word and her watching of nature that God.
Has set us up so that we don't have to.
Reach this point and Aaron, you shared a little bit about like
from creation, but. Will you?
Give us just a couple more examples from God.
'S word of how God just established this.
Pattern of rest in his word. Yeah, we looked at rest hinted
(20:03):
at during creation. Right now let's look at how God
established rest in the wilderness with the Israelites.
The first mention of Sabbath that we get in Scripture is in
Exodus 16. And so the the Israelites are
doing what they're known for. They're wandering and they're
grumbling and they are hangry, and God chose mercy and gives
(20:24):
them manna and quail. But with that, he has a very
important lesson for them. He says do not gather on the 7th
day. It is a day set aside, a holy
Sabbath to the Lord. That's the first mention of
Sabbath. And so when you think about
that, we have to consider that the Israelites had very little
context for what God was instructing them to do.
(20:48):
Don't gather on that last day. Trust me.
Right? Surely they could think back to
creation and OK, six days of work, a day of rest.
But they had no structure for this yet.
So God was calling them to an act of faith.
Trust me stop working I will provide.
Sabbath and any kind of rest arealways an act of faith.
(21:10):
It is risky because it's countercultural.
It's so against what society tells us to do.
They're saying push harder, hustle more, get the things
done, get ahead. If you don't you'll miss out
like FOMO. FOMO is the biggest driver of
hustle and hurry. Or with a home school mom.
Everything's going to fall apart, right?
Everything's going to fall apartif you do not hold it all.
(21:30):
Together, which I love. Rest is an act of trust.
It's an act of faith. Everything falling apart isn't
dependent upon us, right Aaron? It's it's in God's hands and if
we trust him. So that's.
That's incredible. It's totally counterculture like
you were saying. Yeah, yeah.
And you know, we've seen it in our family because when we
started Sabbath thing just almost 3 1/2 years ago now, I
(21:53):
had these major doubts because we homeschool our four children.
And of course, you know, like homeschooling isn't just Monday
to Friday. Like it spills over to the whole
week and you're preparing and evaluating and all the things
you're always learning as a homeschool parent.
And so we're homeschooling our four kids.
My husband and I were running three businesses.
And I'm just like, how are we going to step away for a day, a
(22:15):
full day out of the week? This isn't going to work.
Things are going to fall apart. And so I have all these cultural
lies feeding into me. And then we decide to take this
risk. And what we very, very quickly
found was that we became more effective, more fruitful, more
productive, more creative, because God designed us to
(22:36):
thrive through this. And even science points to that,
that our brains and our children's brains operate at a
much higher function when our brains are allowed to rest.
And so like an example, this past weekend we're recording on
a Monday. This past Sabbath, we went
camping. So we went camping for two
nights and it was extremely restful.
(22:57):
We were finding wildflowers and hiking and climbing and finding
birds. Super restful.
And we came back and today I am ready to go.
Like I got so much done this morning and we it.
God designed us. So it's like it works, right?
God's way. It works.
I mean it really does work and. Like you said, it's not only
counter cultural, but it's counterintuitive because I'm the
(23:20):
same way. If I have a busy Monday morning,
I can't go, I can't rest on Sunday.
I have to prepare for my Monday.And and then you end up actually
more frazzled Monday morning because you haven't gotten that
rest. And so, so back to that
Chambers. Quote what you're.
Saying is rest isn't just sitting and doing nothing,
right? Because I think as mom moms, we
(23:40):
freak out and we're like Aaron, I can't just sit on the couch
all day, right? I just can't.
And what I'm learning is that REST is more.
It's, it's a state of your heart.
It's a. It's a.
It's. Kind of like that, that verse
that says, you know, we're called to have a gentle and
quiet spirit. I always used to think that
meant we had to be. Quiet.
People. And I'm by nature not a quiet
person. And so I was like, so am I
(24:01):
spiritually weak? Like what?
And I realized. No, it's, it's a heart.
Thing it's a peace in our heart and like.
You hit. It's a trust.
In the Lord, it's a faith. Faith, right?
It's not. It's not worrying.
It's not frantically trying to figure things out.
It's. Releasing and surrendering to
the Lord to say I don't control anything anyway.
Like I have no control anyway. God controls it all and I can
(24:22):
rest in Him. And so there are different
types. Of rest we have spiritual.
Emotional, physical, you know, there's, there's, there's many,
and so can you. Elaborate a little bit.
On, on. And that I'm just feeling like
moms are going to be listening and going, OK, what do you mean
by rest? Is rest?
Sitting on my couch scrolling through the Internet, and we're
going to talk a little bit aboutinformation, you know?
(24:42):
All all of that but. Explain these different types of
rest and and help us wrap our heads around on what are you
talking about when you are saying rest well like.
You were talking about earlier, we really have to begin with a
mindset shift about what rest isand isn't right.
Sometimes it is stopping, sometimes it is laying in the
hammock with a good book, and that is wonderful when we
(25:05):
realize that that's okay and embrace that.
Yes, Wait, let me say it again. Did you hear her, you guys?
It's a. OK, moms, it's not even just.
OK, it's needed. It's good.
And God designed it that way. You can grab a book and lay in
the hammock and the world's not going to fall apart.
Right. Yeah, yeah.
But also rest can be active. It is things that are inspiring.
(25:28):
So you think back to that idea of stop and delight.
One thing I often encourage people to do if they want to
start or refresh a Sabbath practice is to think about that
stop and delight and write 2 lists. 1 is a list of things
you're going to stop and set aside for your Sabbath day or
Sabbath time. Those are things that are heavy,
things that send you into rush and hustle.
(25:49):
That might be notifications, media, spending money, driving
in traffic. Our first year of Sabbath we
stayed home. We didn't go anywhere on our
Sabbath days. We had to learn to stay home and
be content in that. So you're going to write your
list of things to stop and then write a second list of things to
delight in. Those are the things that you
often think, oh, I would love todo that, but we don't make the
(26:12):
time for it. Sabbath is your time for that.
It might be a creative project, art, watercolor painting.
It might be gardening. And you think like, aren't those
work? Well, not really.
Is it refreshing to you? You know, we have to get back to
that idea of delight, delightingin God's presence, delighting as
a family, playing games together, reading books.
(26:35):
And I always think of this one Sabbath where my husband, he
spends most of his week behind acomputer.
He runs a business and he likes to spend Sabbath, especially in
the springtime, working on the yard, being in the sunshine,
getting his hands dirty, right? And so he gets all of the lawn
equipment and he's like, let's go work on the yard.
And he's so excited to do this on Sabbath.
(26:55):
I needed to just lay in the hammock and read a book.
So I said, that's great, you go enjoy that.
I'm gonna read a book. And I fell asleep in the hammock
for two hours. Like best.
Sunburn ever but you. See, like we have to change our
mindset around what rest is. It can be active, but on the
days that I choose to maybe workin the garden, as soon as it
(27:16):
starts feeling like work and labor and oh, I should really
get to that pile of brush over there, that's when you say stop.
Set it aside, Go read a book. I love it this.
I am telling you, reading this book was so convicting to me.
I usually, I, I mean, I usually have guests on and you can learn
a lot, but I, I did more than learn like I was convicted
(27:36):
because. I I I have.
You know, thought bought the. Lies of the culture.
Of you need to be getting thingsdone and it's hard for me to
rest because. The to do lists are.
There And you know, I'm always telling moms you need to.
Set the To Do List aside to. Spend time with the.
Kids, because this is. What's important to spend time
with the kids. But this is a different shift.
This is a different shift. Then set this work.
(27:58):
Aside to do this other. Work right, This is a completely
different shift and and what's been interesting to me is.
It's God's idea. It's God's design and I know
that if you're listening to this.
Podcast you desire. To be obedient to God and you
believe and you trust that. God's way is the best, that's
why. We're homeschooling.
That's why we're doing what we're doing.
But this is just a new thing that I think that.
A lot of people haven't. Given a lot of thought about, is
(28:20):
just. That this is God's.
I would I dare say command rightthat we are to rest and and so
if we're not doing that, then wecan't be shocked that we're
falling apart and that everything around us is falling
apart and I. Absolutely that this has.
Been mind blowing to me this, this whole concept of rest.
(28:40):
And so before we before we have to take a break because next
week I'm so excited because we're going to dive into the the
creation side of this. Where do we see this in
creation? How does?
This work, how can we? Rest by getting outdoors.
But before we go, I want will you give us one more example in
God's. Word, because you know.
There's moms that are still. Like, yeah, yeah, but I.
(29:00):
Mean, give me one more scriptural reason why I really
should slow down and rest, because we've talked about, you
know, creation and then the Israelites, and then and give us
another example in God's word, maybe New Testament, where we
see this. Yeah.
Yeah, 'cause OK, sometimes we westruggle to really relate to Old
Testament or relate to the Israelites totally.
Jesus came to. Know it, right?
(29:20):
So let's focus on Jesus 'cause He gives us an incredible model
of rest. It's truly a rhythm, a practice
that He displayed when he was inhis years in ministry and Jesus,
when he was in ministry on earth, He was busy, He was
getting things done. We see that profoundly in Mark
chapter 1. It is this whirlwind of activity
(29:41):
where it begins with Jesus spending 40 days in the
wilderness and during temptation.
So he's coming out of that weary, tired, and then he goes
straight into ministry, preaching, teaching, casting out
demons, healing. Verse 28 says he becomes famous.
He calls his first four disciples, building a team,
starting the most long standing successful startup of all of
(30:05):
history that continues today. So he's getting things done.
But what we see is in verse 35 that he rises early in the
morning and goes out to a quiet place and prays.
And that word quiet in the Greekis aremos and it can mean
desolate, solitary. Most often it means wilderness.
(30:25):
I think that's. Beautiful.
I love that. Like Jesus had this practice of,
yes, he was busy following what God had sent him to do, but he
had a regular practice because it wasn't only there.
We see it time and time again where he withdraws from the
noise, from the regular activities to be in a quiet
place, to pause, to gain perspective.
(30:46):
And in Mark chapter 6, he invites his disciples to do the
same. They're coming off of this busy
season of ministry. And Jesus says, come away by
yourselves to a quiet place and rest a while.
He gives us the same invitation to every weary homeschool
parent. Come away by yourselves to a
quiet place and rest a while. I love.
(31:07):
That and as you were. Describing this, you said.
You know he was. He entered into this season of.
Work. He was tired.
He was weary. After the 40 days of temptation,
then he went to teaching. Everybody like you read.
The gospels and it was like everybody wanted him I want to
touch you I want to hear from you I want to talk to you come
here Remember, they tried to getaway on the boat and the.
People, all the people, just. Like went around to to catch him
(31:28):
on the other side. And I think, doesn't that sound
like our lives a little bit as homeschool moms, we are.
Tired. We are weary.
And now we need to. Teach our kids right and we're
exhausted. Because we stayed up the night
before lesson planning and then everybody needs us all day long
and it's it's much the same and we.
Have to retreat to this quiet place.
(31:49):
We have to do it to to. Meet with the Lord to recharge
and it's. OK, it's.
It's important, it's imperative,it's commanded, and I think
that. I would dare.
Challenge the moms between this episode and next week, and I
want you to talk a little. Bit about like like let's do a
dare, let's do. A challenge.
(32:10):
Try it. Just try it, let your worry go,
release it to the Lord. Trust Him that if you are
obedient in taking those times to rest, He's going to be make
you more. Fruitful, right?
There's. Going to be more fruit.
You're going to work. Out of a place of rest.
And it's going to work better and so.
I I would dare. Moms listening to this, just try
(32:32):
it and so would you. Say just a quick.
Question Do we? Work really really hard 6.
Days a week and then on the 7th rest.
Or can we work this rest into our daily moments?
Can you tell I'm type AI need the?
Schedule of rest. I do think it's most powerful to
get back to God's original design of a full day of rest,
(32:54):
but if that's overwhelming, start with four hours.
Can you carve out four hours? And it can be on a weekday
afternoon or evening to set aside to be very different from
the rest of the week. Again, write your stop list and
your delight list. And then in the book I also talk
about, we take a full week to look at say la pauses.
And you think of that word, say la in the Psalms being an
(33:15):
intentional pause to reflect, toredirect if needed, to think
deeply. And so inserting even these,
these pauses of silence and solitude.
It might be stepping outside for5 minutes, pouring a cup of tea,
starting which is silence beforethe Lord in the morning, just
sensing His delight in you, working in these rhythms not
(33:38):
only in your week but also in your days.
Yes, I love that. Something that I I do and I
think is so important is before.The kids get up before.
Everything. Sit outside, let the sun hit my
face. And this is without your.
Phone without checking your messages without going over your
to do. List of the day, just still.
Just being. Still we have lost.
(34:00):
We have lost the art. Of being.
Still before the Lord. And just being still.
And so I'm so excited to come back next week because we're
going to really dive into the. The parts of the that I.
Love that helped me really, you know, connect this and that's,
you know, being seeing it in theoutdoors and getting in the
outdoors and and experiencing rest outside and and seeing
God's design for this through his creation.
(34:22):
And so that's what we're going to talk about next week.
But if you are watching this on YouTube, I'm going to show you
this book and. This book.
The nature of rest when it's on your bookshelf.
It's it's. Different than every other book.
Because I was. Looking, it's so funny.
I was grabbing this book becauseI just finished it and I was
looking at all my books and they're fun and they're bright
and they're busy, but they make me they're they're doing books.
(34:44):
Right. They're books that like, OK, I
want to do. This I want to implement, this I
want to and you pick up this new.
Book of yours. And it is so.
Beautiful, but the cover just. It's just it, it makes you take
a deep breath and just be calm and rest.
So I'm going to show is this notthe most?
Beautiful. It's just it's Restful.
I mean just the cover is Restful, it's not even shiny and
(35:05):
like. Abrasive.
It's soft. It's.
Calm, it's peaceful. There's not a lot going on on
it. The the cover itself, they say.
Don't judge a book. By its cover, but.
This one I think you can you will open this book and it just
it takes. You to a place like I said, you
feel convicted but. I feel more than anything you've
been granted permission. To do what your body.
(35:25):
And your mind and your. Heart already need to do.
You already know it needs to be done, but it not only gives you
Aaron's permission. But it gives you.
God's permission to do. This for your for for.
Everything to work well together.
So, Aaron? Tell us besides.
Getting this incredible. Book I I urge.
Everyone to get this book, I think moms need it.
Moms need this book to keep going.
(35:47):
Where can people find you and beencouraged by what you're doing?
Thank you Abby. So the book and all my resources
are on my website, which is my name, which is felt a little
funny. It's ERYN lyn-um.com.
You can also find a free family Sabbath guide that walks you
through step by step. It's meant to go along with the
(36:09):
book, but really it helps you like, create these lists, your
stop list, your delight list, a Sabbath shopping list.
It has a full Sabbath troubleshooting section because
you're going to run into like, this is messy.
We have to just embrace that. And so that full guide is
available on my website, aaronlynam.com/familysabbath.
You can also find my other booksalong with our podcast for
(36:30):
families, Nat Theo Nature Lessons Rooted in the Bible,
which is available to listen wherever you enjoy podcasts or
write on our website. Those are so fun to.
Do with your kids. And I those are ones that I I.
Wish I had. Had your podcast when my kids
were even littler. But they're older and love.
It I mean, they love it and I feel like when when you need to
just kind of regroup and bring everybody back.
Together in the house because. There's balls flying through the
(36:52):
house and you know that kind of.It's just like everybody.
Sits down to listen to that podcast.
It is. So fun, so please.
Find Aaron's podcast there. I am so excited to dive more
into this next week as taking now what we know about rest and
taking it outside and seeing where do we see it and how can
we do this outside because that's my passion.
So Aaron, we will be back with you next.
Week, everybody else we. Thank you so much for being with
(37:14):
us schoolhouserock.com Find everything you need.
There you can find Aaron's. Last Podcast there with her.
Last book, it's absolutely incredible.
Go back, listen, get that book as well, and we will see you
back here next week. You're listening to the
biblical. Family Network.
Hey, I'm Miki and I'm Will. And we're the Co host of the
(37:36):
Culture Proof podcast. We want to invite you to join us
every week as we discuss what's happening in the world and then
filter those happenings through a decidedly biblical lens.
There are many questions, especially when we see what's
happening in our culture today, but the answers are found within
the Word of God, so that's wherewe want to look.
Amen. When we resist those cultural
(37:56):
trends that rival the truth. We remain culture proof.
The Mama will guide her babies across these steep cliffsides in
order to find a place where theycan rest in safety.
We get to do that with our children.
We get to lead our children through this rocky ravine of our
culture, of our society, and allof these dangers and threats
(38:17):
coming up against them. We get to lead them to restful
places where they can rest and abide in the presence of God.
Popular Podcasts
NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal
Gregg Rosenthal and a rotating crew of elite NFL Media co-hosts, including Patrick Claybon, Colleen Wolfe, Steve Wyche, Nick Shook and Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic get you caught up daily on all the NFL news and analysis you need to be smarter and funnier than your friends.
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
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