67. Struggling to feel Refreshed & Renewed for 2025? Consider these Three: Digital Detox, Biblical Sabbath, and Creative Living in Christ

Welcome to Curious for Christ! In this final episode of 2024, we’re preparing our hearts and minds to step into 2025 feeling recharged, renewed, and closer to God than ever before.

Are you entering the new year with excitement and hope? Or has life left you feeling drained, distracted, and overwhelmed?

In today’s episode, we’ll explore three powerful ways to embrace renewal through rest, faith, and creativity. We’ll also revisit some of your favorite episodes from this past year and highlight key takeaways, including:

1. The power of a digital detox with Dr. Stacy Jagger (Episode 49).
2. Finding peace in a biblical Sabbath with Joel and Christy Peeds (Episode 59).
3. Embracing creativity as an expression of faith with author Jenny Goutet (Episode 61).

Join us as we uncover practical, spiritual, and scientific insights to help you begin the new year refreshed and aligned with God’s purpose for your life.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
• Digital Detox with Dr. Stacy Jagger:
Discover how unplugging from technology can calm your mind, regulate your nervous system, and open space for deeper connection with God. Learn practical tips for creating device-free zones and setting healthy boundaries.
• Practicing a Biblical Sabbath with Ministry Leaders Joel and Christy Peeds:
Understand how setting aside one day for rest can deepen your faith and strengthen your relationships. Hear inspiring stories about how the Sabbath transformed their family life.
• Cultivating Creativity with Jenny Goutet:
Explore how resting in God allows your creative gifts to flourish and bring clarity, joy, and purpose into your life.

Exciting News for 2025!
We’re thrilled to announce that Curious for Christ will be re-releasing two episodes a week starting in January! Our first Q&A episode of 2025 will air on January 8, featuring your questions and fresh insights. If you have a burning questions regarding God ad your faith, email me: hello@alexandraalvarezcoaching.com.

Stay tuned for incredible guests and topics that will inspire and encourage you in the coming year.

Key Scriptures Mentioned:
• Psalm 62:1 – “Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from Him.”
• Exodus 20:8-10 – “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.”
• Ephesians 2:10 – “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works.”
• Isaiah 30:15 – “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength.”

Episode Resources:
• Listen to Episode 49: Digital Detox with Dr. Stacy Jagger
• Listen to Episode 59: Sabbath Rest with Joel and Christy Peeds
• Listen to Episode 61: Creativity and Faith with Jenny Goutet

As we move into 2025, consider how you can:
1. Unplug from distractions to make space for God.
2. Embrace Sabbath rest as a way to align your spirit with His rhythm.
3. Use your creativity to glorify God and bring new purpose into your life.


Thank you for being part of Curious for Christ in 2024! See you in 2025 with fresh episodes and inspiring conversations to deepen your faith and connection with God.

Don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with someone who might need encouragement today!

Thanks for listening! Your support means the world. Join our Curious for Christ Facebook Group and become an Insider for weekly inspiration and encouragement.

Transcript

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Welcome back to curious for Christ. And if you're new to the show, welcome, this is our final episode of 2024. And as we prepare to step into a new year, let me ask you. Do you feel refreshed and excited for what's ahead or has the busy-ness of life left you drained? Distracted. And overwhelmed. Well, in today's episode, we'll explore three transformative ways to step into 2025 feeling recharged, renewed, and closer to God than ever before together, will we visit three episodes that you'd love this year and discuss number one? The importance of a digital detox to calm your mind. And regulate your nervous system featuring Dr. Stacy Jagger. You can listen to the full interview. In episode 49. Number two, how practicing a biblical Sabbath can deepen your faith and realign your spirit with God's rhythm. With lead evangelists, Joel and Christie Petes. You can also listen to the full interview. On episode 59. And number three. How embracing creativity, seeing life with new eyes in Christ can bring clarity, joy, and purpose. As shared by author, Jenny. To listen to the full interview, go to episode 61. We'll also uncover the spiritual scientific and practical reasons. Why these practices can transform your life. Let's embrace the new year as an opportunity to rest in God, refresh our souls and live creatively for his glory. Let's dive in. Welcome to curious for Christ. Do you ever find yourself lying awake at night? Wondering about God's plan for your life. Maybe you wake up with big dreams, but feel unsure where to start or what your next step should be. If you're curious about exploring your faith and finding purpose, then you've come to the right place. Hi, I'm Monica, Sandra. I too felt lost unsure of the direction my life was taking. I yearned to understand my purpose and have someone guide me. But I kept telling myself I was too busy, the timing wasn't right. And my lack of clarity prevented me from being consistent until I found Christ. He brought peace into my life and we field the way to find purpose by anchoring myself. In him. In this podcast, we'll journey together, exploring the Bible to gain a deeper understanding of him. and cultivate your own personal relationship with Christ. So open up your Bible, put in those ear buds and listen up because God is speaking to you. He is making everything new and you don't want to miss it. Let's get started. Before we dive in, I'm thrilled to share some exciting news starting the week of January 6th. Curious for Christ. We'll be releasing again. Two episodes each week. And so our very first Q and a episode of the year will air on Wednesday, January eight. And I can't wait to dive into your questions and share new insights. Plus we have some incredible guests lined up for 20, 25. Did I know. You'll love now let's jump into today's episode. Second one digital detox with Dr. Stacy Jacker. Technology surrounds us daily. And it makes it hard to unplug, focus and connect with God and even one another, not to mention ourselves from endless notifications to fear of missing out the constant pull of screens can disregulate our nervous systems, increased stress and leave us feeling distant. In episode 49, Dr. Stacy Jaeger shared how her personal journey inspired her to help families reconnect and establish healthier relationships. Let's hear it. We were in our early twenties, we didn't have children yet. And there was an 1850 cabin that was owned by some friends of ours that we went out there for the weekend. And I just fell in love with the simplicity of it. Now I was raised in a very, I hope in a whole lot of adversity. Um, I was, I'm a child of an alcoholic and so we were evicted multiple times by the time I finally left home at 15, 16 years old. And my opportunity to live in a non electric cabin had more to do with needing to regulate my nervous system. And that 18 month debt that my husband and I spent out there really carried over into my career path. When families, parents were coming to me saying, what do we do with our four children or our five children or our, you know, large families that wanted me to help everybody. And so there was an intuitive knowing that there was a simple nervous system regulation issue in the family due to the overuse of screen time. Some practical tools that Dr. Stacy Jaeger shares and the episodes are creating device free zones or setting boundaries, embracing also moments of silence and these steps not only calm our minds, but also open space to hear God's voice more clearly. I'd like to share some scientific insight as well. Research shows that regular breaks from screens can reduce anxiety and improve mental health. By up to 30%, according to the journal of environmental research and public health. Also some biblical encouragement in Psalm 62, verse one, it says truly my soul find rest in God. My salvation comes from him. Resting from distractions allows our souls to find the piece they truly create. Now segment to embracing the Sabbath with Joel and Christie Pete's Sabbath is about more than stepping away from technology and resting. It's about intentionally setting aside time to be with God. Now we will listen to Joel and Chrissy, Pete, as they share how observing the Sabbath transformed their faith and family life. Even in their busy schedules, we see that they made room for rest and trusted God to sustain them. When we. Planted the church, our kids were all under the age of five and we had three kids and we were working multiple jobs and it was through that time that God just forced me to realize. I have got to be in step with him. Like I have to remain in the vine and. Only do what I see him doing and join him in only in the work that he calls me to, and I would make a joke like, the fishes and the loaves concepts, and I would say, I have just a crumb and a tiny piece of fish to give, but if it's what, if God is at work. And this is what he's calling me to do. He's going to multiply it. So I think just keeping a step with the spirit, prioritizing your relationship with God and embracing your limits, but trusting that God can do amazing things when we're joining him when I teach about the Sabbath, one thing I say, if you feel like you're too busy for this, that's exactly the point. And learning to carve out a weekly Sabbath time, even if it's not a full 24 hours. What can you carve out to put in the practice, those principles, and then we learned about seasonal solitude. If, for example, in America, we have holidays every X number of months in creating kind of spiritual holidays, where you can withdraw into the quiet, and then we'll get into sabbaticals later, but I think 1 of the principles is to just stop. Doing too much. Jesus was not in a hurry. And he embraced his limits as human limits and to ruthlessly eliminate hurried demands you really understand and embrace your calling. Exodus 20 verses eight through 10 says. Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy and Genesis two verse three says God blessed the seventh day and made it. Holy. So to Sabbath here we see is both a command and a blessing, a reminder that we are not defined by our work, but by God's grace. And then if you need some extra convincing. The Harvard business review. Tell us that resting one day a week can improve productivity by 40% and reduce stress while strengthening relationships. Second three, let's listen now to Jenny. share how her journey to writing was parked by God's inspiration. And perfect timing. when I was younger, I did write a book, that's in air quotes, because, it was a handwritten, eighth grade novel. And I had always dreamt of publishing a book, of being a writer, but when I tried I, Got about 10 chapters in and my husband was like, this is boring, like nothing's happening. So I was like, okay, I'm not a writer. But when everything settled down, we got our house, I had my three kids and, the youngest was a baby and I was just like, it was the period of blogs. So I started a blog. It's called the lady in France. It's still there, but I don't have time to add to it. But it does have some faith articles, by the way, he's still on there that you can look for. And people would say, Oh, you've had an interesting life. You should write a memoir. And I did not really take that seriously until I had a second term miscarriage. And there was something about this deep grief, which kind of brought everything to the surface. And I just plunged into. Telling my story like the subtitle of the memoir is I think it's called a memoir of grief, travel, and an incandescent God or something like that. And I just realized that there was something unifying, and it was just the story that God was writing. of my life. And so I wrote that. When I was, when it was out and it was published, I realized, Oh, I don't want to go back to just the blog posts. Like I, I want to keep writing longer works, but I didn't have the courage to I had just discovered by that point, George at hair, who was an author who lived. last century, and she wrote Regency Romance. She developed the genre. She was not a contemporary of Jane Austen, but she was the one that brought all that back again. And I thought she was brilliant. Before then, I think I thought that romance authors were not very not a respected literary genre. But when I read her, I was like, wow. Romance can be so rich and there's so much you can do with it. And so I wanted to write a historical like she wrote. I didn't have the courage. I popped out two contemporaries and then I was like no. I'm going to do it. So that's when I started writing historical romance. It was because of her, I would say. For the full interview again, go back and listen to episode 61. So. Creativity. Isn't just about art. It's about seeing life with renewed eyes and using our unique gifts to glorify God, it could be writing, but it could also be problem solving or simply loving others more deeply. According to Stanford university, unstructured downtime activates the brain's default mode network enhancing creativity by up to 60%. So, let me leave you with these two scriptures. Ephesians two verse 10 says for we are God's handiwork created in Christ Jesus to do good works and Isaiah 30. Verse 15. In repentance and rest is our salvation. In quietness and trust is our strength. As we step into the new year. Let's ask God to, we knew our strengths. And show us the creative ways he wants to work in and through us, whether in our family's business or daily lives, it's not just. For the sake of it. But it's also for the sake of ourselves aviation, to salvation of our souls. As we wrap up in 2024, remember this. Digital detox, comms our bodies Sabbath rest. Realigns our spirits. And creativity allows us to see God's world and our purpose in it with renewed clarity. So we just don't go blindly. In the wrong direction and ultimately lose. The ultimate purpose of our souls, which is our very own salvation. These three practices, aren't just for productivity, but they also for growing closer to God and living fully in his grace and purpose. If you're feeling the need for clarity, support and direction as you step into 2025. I understand I've been there too. That's why I'd love to invite you to schedule a free discovery call with me. Let's talk about how 2025 can be the year you align with God's greater plan for your life. Uh, plan for peace purpose and a closer relationship with him. So visit now bit. Y Ford slash curious for Christ discovery to book your call today. Let's step into the new year together. Ready to embrace all that God has in store for you. My friend. So I encourage you to start small. Unplugged for a few hours, take a Sabbath or simply invite God into your life and heart as you step into 2025. Let's close in prayer. Heavenly father. Thank you for walking with us through 2024. And as we prepare to enter a new year, we ask for your guidance and courage to embrace rest renewal and have more creativity in Christ. Help us unplug from distractions. Honor the Sabbath and see life through your eyes. Lord. Refresh our souls and we knew our minds open our hearts to the good works you've prepared for us and lead us into 2025 with purpose, joy, and peace. That is only found in you. Bless every listener today. May they feel your presence draw closer to you and walk into the new year with confidence in your plans for their lives. And in Jesus name? I prayed. A men. Have a wonderful new year. And I look forward to seeing you in 2025. Hi, I hope you enjoyed today's episode. If so, would you like to take 30 seconds and share it with a friend who may also struggle with knowing God and His purpose for their life. Also, leave a review on applepodcast. com. Podcast, and let me know what topics you'd like to hear about in the future. Your voice matters. I'll meet you back next Friday for another episode.