So Much More: Creating Space for God (Lectio Divina and Scripture Meditation)
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What Kind of Rest Do You Really Need? | Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith

January 11, 2023
00:00 32:24
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Are you living a full AND yet still restful life? Most of us aren’t.

We view rest as something out there. Something we get to enjoy once everything else is done. Of course, everything never gets done and so we never really rest. This leads to burnout.

Which is exactly what Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith, a busy physician and mother, experienced. She counseled her patients to rest and take good care of themselves, but realized she wasn’t taking her own advice. This started her journey of discovering and researching about rest.

She quickly realized rest was more than just a good night of sleep. In fact, she came to understand that there are seven different types of rest: physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, social, sensory and creative.

Are you feeling a little weary as you enter into the new year? Perhaps you need to rest a little differently?

Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith is a Board-Certified internal medicine physician, speaker, and award-winning author. She is the author of numerous books including her bestseller Sacred Rest: Recover Your Life, Renew Your Energy, Restore Your Sanity, including insight on the seven types of rest needed to optimize your productivity, increase your overall happiness, overcome burnout, and live your best life.

Some highlights from our conversation:
  • Dr. Saundra discovered that rest happens through restorative activities. We need to discover where we are depleted and then pour back into our lives accordingly.
  • What do we do if we are truly burned out? Focus on one area where we are truly depleted. Find a manageable and repeatable activity that is restorative and start incorporating that into your daily life.
  • Dr. Saundra and I talk about her belief that science and Scripture are not mutually exclusive from one another – they work together to give a better picture of health and wellness.
  • Dr. Saundra shares that practicing Sabbath is what helped come back from burnout.
  • We also talk about the medical system and how rest isn’t taught, practiced or encouraged for medical professionals. The impact is more doctors leaving the field and less entering into it.
  • We discuss meditation and what some of the positive impacts are for those who meditate – better sleep, better focus, and the ability to be more attentive to the present versus lost in the past of fretting over the future.
  • Dr. Saundra shares why she loves Isaiah 30:15, the Scripture we meditated on this week, and how it had become a life verse for her.
  • Finally, she encourages us that rest results in gifts. Her book outlines 7 kinds of rest – that yield 12 different gifts.
You can access the rest quiz at: https://www.restquiz.com/quiz/rest-quiz-test/
You can connect with Dr. Dalton Smith at https://ichoosemybestlife.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drdaltonsmith/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DrSaundraDaltonSmith
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DrDaltonSmith

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Meet Your Host
Meet Your Host
Jodie Niznik is a seminary-trained lover of God’s Word who has served in vocational ministry for over twelve years. She helps people create space for God in their lives through her Scripture meditation podcast and equips them to take another step with Jesus through her Real People, Real Faith Bible studies and teaching. You can connect with her at jodieniznik.com.
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