Welcomes And Radiant Grace Focus

SPEAKER_00 0:01

Hi, welcome to our podcast, Revelation Within on the Go. I'm Heidi Biles-Mepperson, one of your hosts, and the owner and lead coach of the RevelationWithin.org Ministry.

SPEAKER_01 0:13

And I'm Christina Motley, your other host, also a Revelation Within coach, and Heidi's partner in all things Revelation Within. And we are so happy to invite you to join us for this episode of Revelation Within.

Why Nights Feel Emotionally Exposed

SPEAKER_00 0:35

Okay. Well, I don't know about you, but I tend to notice something, and it's at night. Okay. It's an inner voice that shows up at night. It's usually got a tone. Yes. That's critical, condemning. Yes. And exhausted. It's exhausted too. And it quietly shapes the struggles that I'm going to have or have had or do have with food, body image, and rest too. So how about, Christina, if we explore why evenings are so vulnerable? Yes. And how our self-talk kind of becomes a place where God wants to meet us. Yes, that sounds good. And you know, really, the these are our Radiant Grace episodes. This is the third of four. And Radiant Grace invites us to close the day in kindness, truth, and best of all, peace. You know, not probably not best of all, but it I we love peace. Yeah. I do love me some real peace.

SPEAKER_01 1:41

Yes, yeah, and we need it at the end of the day, that's for sure. And you know what? There is something about the end of the day, isn't there? Yeah, it's like it's like everything we've been holding back finally has permission to speak.

Nervous System Fatigue And Coping

SPEAKER_00 1:57

Even if it doesn't. Yeah. The noise quiets, the house settles, the responsibilities pause. And suddenly the loudest voice in the room is the one inside our head. And for so many women, we know this because we have been in ministry to these folks for well, me for two decades, you for more than one. For so many women, this is when the food struggles intensify. They just do.

SPEAKER_01 2:31

And it's not, it's not because we're physically hungry, it's not because our body needs fuel.

SPEAKER_00 2:36

No. And it's more likely because we're, I don't know, at the end of the day, it feels like we're emotionally exposed or something.

SPEAKER_01 2:46

Tired, weary. How about unprotected? Yeah. You know, who's gonna go to bat for me? Yeah, and just kind of done with with like all caps, done doing for everyone else. Just totally, completely done.

SPEAKER_00 3:04

That makes me think of when my kids were little and they would come out after. I mean, we had a big bedtime routine. My husband and I, their dad would we would do this whole routine. And if they came out after that routine was over with, I I I even said to them, I have clocked out. I am unavailable. You were done with all capital letters. Yes, yes. Well, you know, by that time of the day, the evening, most of us have really used up our emotional regulation for the day. It's like we have hit our capacity. Our nervous system is done, done, done, done, done, done, and wants to go into freeze and just put put on the closed sign.

SPEAKER_01 3:48

It's true. Our nervous systems become depleted, drained by the end of the day. And we that is so real and so true. We've heard it from hundreds of women.

SPEAKER_00 4:01

Yes. And when we're not ready to regulate anymore, you know, like make reasonable, you know, it's like our prefrontal cortex, which is the critical thinking part of our mind, the the part that makes really good decisions, it has gone offline. If I clocked out my prefrontal cortex, probably clocked out too. And that's when all the coping behaviors step in.

SPEAKER_01 4:24

It is, it really is. And this is why so many patterns around food, body checking, scrolling, numbing. What about even harsh self-talk? This is why these things show up at night.

SPEAKER_00 4:39

Yeah, and it's not because something is wrong with you or with me.

SPEAKER_01 4:43

Yeah, it's because something in you is tired. You're tired. Of course. You've had a busy long day, you're tired, you're weary, and that's very, a very real need.

God’s Steady Voice At Night

SPEAKER_00 4:56

Definitely.

SPEAKER_01 4:57

So Zephaniah 3:17, another one of my favorite, favorite scriptures. The Lord your God is with you, He will quiet you with his love. I mean, what is true from this scripture? God's voice does not compete with that inner critic in our brain. It doesn't, it actually outlasts it. You know, while you're yeah, while your thoughts might grow louder at night, God's presence actually grows steadier. And I just love that phrase. He will quiet you with his love. I love that.

SPEAKER_00 5:36

Yeah, not lecture, not correct, not push, not slap you upside the head.

The Pastor’s Daughter And Being Held

SPEAKER_01 5:42

None of those things. Just quiet. Yeah, and I have this little story. I think I told it one other time, but it feels like it fits right here. For years, we had a pastor at our church who had four little girls, four adorable little girls. And the youngest, she was about three when this was happening. And there was this one Sunday, and he was up in front and he was preaching, and she was just running around, just running around. Her mom was trying to quietly like whisper, like, get over here, you know. Um, and she was just running and unsettled and agitated, just running and running and running around the church. And nobody was quite sure what to do because her daddy was up there preaching, but he knew what to do. And this reminds me of me, and it reminds me of the Lord. Right in the middle of his sermon without missing a beat, he scoops her up one of the times that she runs toward him and around him, scoops her up, this little tiny three-year-old with the pigtails, and holds her close. He's still preaching, he's still teaching and doing a great job, and scoops her up, holds her close, and her head rests on his shoulder, and she becomes completely calm. And he just holds her with one big strong arm, you know how that is. And he's got this three-year-old on his arm, and she is quiet and settled and calm. And I think, you know, that probably went on for at least 10 minutes before he put her down and she walked away and sat down with her mom. And that angst, that angst was over with that kind of um whatever she was feeling. I don't know why she felt that way, but it reminded me of me when I feel, you know, in the evening, as we're talking about, just so unsettled and so out of sorts, exhausted, weary. And we need, we need God in those moments. We need our heavenly father to scoop us up while we come running by with our runaway thoughts. Scoop us up so we can lay our head on his shoulder and be calm.

Discerning God’s Voice From The Critic

SPEAKER_00 8:06

For sure. And that you know, that tells me something really important. If the voice that I hear or that you hear is harsh, if it's demanding, if it's shaming, it's not likely God's voice. It is not God's voice.

SPEAKER_01 8:22

Right, yes. One of the things we say in Radiant Grace is that self-talk is exactly where God wants to meet us, especially in the evenings when it becomes so loud.

SPEAKER_00 8:37

Right. Think about it for a minute. It makes total sense that it's an environment and God wants to meet us there because words create kind of an atmosphere. Have you ever been with somebody who just is speaking words that aren't life-giving and they're like negative and draining, and you just feel like that's an atmosphere that you're caught in because of the words they're speaking? Or contrary to that, what about somebody whose words are life-giving and encouraging and loving? It's a great, it's it actually creates an environment. Our words create an environment, and so self-talk is like that as well. It's an environment in our hearts and minds where God wants to meet with us. Well, and how about this?

Words Create An Inner Atmosphere

SPEAKER_01 9:22

Does that atmosphere, that environment that you're talking about, does that shape our behavior as well? It does, it really does.

SPEAKER_00 9:32

Yeah, if the environment inside of us from our self-talk is critical, if it's rushed, if it's condemning.

SPEAKER_01 9:41

It makes perfect sense that in that place, in that environment, that mindset, we need relief and we're reaching for it in that environment.

SPEAKER_00 9:51

That makes sense, and that is where food or alcohol, I'll say that too, or scrolling, or an overabundance of anything, um, often enters the picture. Just give me an overage of anything, and I can numb out. I can I can just go there and be fine.

SPEAKER_01 10:09

Right. And it's not because food is the problem, that's not the problem. It's because it temporarily quiets the noise.

Taking Thoughts Captive With Grace

SPEAKER_00 10:18

Yeah. And I like to think of it this way: I want to take my thoughts captive before they take me captive. Because I tell you what, my thoughts will direct my actions. Thoughts thought about enough are going to become my beliefs, and my beliefs will directly impact my actions. So they taking my thoughts captive, it's not about force or control, but it is about discernment. It's deciding which voices are safe to follow. And really, the only one that's ever always safe to follow is the voice of God. So if we look at the context of 2 Corinthians 10, 5, it speaks of bringing down everything that stands against obedience to Christ. And so very often, that verse has often been taught as a battle verse. We do have battles for sure.

SPEAKER_01 11:20

Yeah, like we're supposed to wrestle our thoughts into submission, that kind of a battle.

SPEAKER_00 11:26

But what if taking captive is less aggressive and more relational? Think of it as how am I relating to the Lord in this? Am I inviting him into it or not? Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 11:41

Well, and maybe even gently saying to yourself, You uh this voice, you know, you don't get to leave me tonight.

SPEAKER_00 11:50

Or that voice doesn't reflect God's heart. You know, like I often stop my thoughts and say, What do you have to say about this, God? This thought that I'm having. What do you have to say about that?

SPEAKER_01 12:02

Right. We get to choose. We get to choose our thoughts. One of the things that happens by evening so often is that condemnation shows up.

SPEAKER_00 12:13

Yeah, it it likes to go back over the whole day, but like a prosecuting attorney. And then you did this, and then you did that.

SPEAKER_01 12:22

Yeah, what you ate, what you didn't do, how you handled that conversation, the times that you just totally sploogied.

SPEAKER_00 12:31

And the thing about condemnation is it always sounds urgent, urgent. You've got to deal with this now.

Condemnation Vs No Condemnation

SPEAKER_01 12:38

Right now, yeah, in your weariness, in your tiredness, in your exhaustion. But Romans 8:1, of course, says there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, none at all. This is our yeah, this is our reality. As those of us who are in Christ, condemnation is never a motivator that God uses. Never. And how many of us have tried for years to hate ourselves into positive change? It does not work. It has never worked once that I've ever heard of.

SPEAKER_00 13:16

If a thought pushes you toward shame, hiding, or self-punishment, it is not from God, it is not right, and that verse doesn't say less condemnation, it says no condemnation, none, none, zero, none, which means that if condemnation is present, Christ is not the source. Oh, true. Here's the compassionate truth. Many of us learned to use condemnation to try to keep ourselves in line. Maybe we had adults in our life who used that. Like you should know better, or shame on you, or anything like that. I mean, we learned it really well.

SPEAKER_01 14:00

Yeah, I feel like I learned it. I don't even know where I learned it, but it was something that I used to do every day. I thought if I'm hard enough on myself, I'm going to change.

SPEAKER_00 14:14

But all it ever really produced was this need I had to be comforted. Um, because I was so exhausted from it. I was exhausted, I felt bad about it. And so I needed to be comfort and that comforted, and that it's like it just it goes into that shame spiral, really, where I feel ashamed because I've been beating myself up, and then it's like, well, I need more comfort, yeah, and then that produces more shame because I overate or overdrank or I over-something. Anyway, it it's exhausting.

SPEAKER_01 14:46

It is, and so one of the lies that Radiant Grace confronts is this idea that somehow rest must be earned.

SPEAKER_00 14:56

Yeah, especially after a good day. You can have it after a good day. That is a good day, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 15:03

But that's not how God operates, not at all.

Rest As Trust And Psalm 4:8

SPEAKER_00 15:06

Not at all. Psalm 4, verse 8 says, In peace I will lie down and sleep. For you alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety. You know, I love this verse. Me too. You think about just the words that are used in it. Peace, lie down, sleep, dwell, safety. Rest is really an act of trust. When we sleep, instead of spiraling, we declare that God is still working, even when we stop, even when I stop. I, you know, sometimes when I'm laying in bed and I can't fall asleep right away, I do. I have to start using a praise fest to help me corral my negative, spiraling thoughts and to be able to fall asleep. And I like to do it using the alphabet. And so, like my first one might be, Lord, you are amazing. I'm praising him for who he is. Lord, you are beautiful, Lord, you are creator, Lord, you are deliverer or whatever. So ABCD, those were my first ones. And you can go on, and that helps you stop the spiral and proclaim to God who he is. It's a great way to fall asleep. And so this verse that we just talked about, Psalm 4.8, in peace I will lie down and sleep. For you alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety. It doesn't say after I get a chance to fix everything. No, right? No, it says in peace. Peace first, sleep second. I like that. I like that.

SPEAKER_01 16:36

I like it too. Radiant Grace invites us to close the day in a whole different way than most of us are used to.

SPEAKER_00 16:46

Yeah, not with that prosecuting attorney self-evaluation thing going on.

SPEAKER_01 16:52

Yeah, let's trade that out for self-compassion.

SPEAKER_00 16:57

Yeah, let's ask ourselves questions instead of the prosecuting attorney version. What was heavy for me to carry today? Where did I need comfort? Lord, would you show me what can I release to God tonight?

SPEAKER_01 17:12

These questions soften the nervous system instead of activating it.

SPEAKER_00 17:17

Yeah, I like that idea.

SPEAKER_01 17:18

Yeah, and they draw us into the Lord's own heart. And I love that. I love that.

SPEAKER_00 17:26

The Radiant Grace planner we've been crying about for the last three episodes was really created with evenings like this in mind.

SPEAKER_01 17:35

It offers gentle prompts to help us reflect without judgment and actually close the day in peace. What a concept!

Alphabet Praise To Calm The Mind

SPEAKER_00 17:47

And it is a free download, honest to goodness, it is. Um, and it's been updated for 2026. So even if you got it before, you could download this version. And it's designed to support you, your heart, not manage your behavior. We don't ask you to track anything, right? And if you want to give it a download, just visit revelationwithin.org forward slash planner. Revelationwithin.org forward slash planner.

SPEAKER_01 18:17

Yeah, it is a beautiful, beautiful planner, and it's free. How wonderful is that? So tonight, if that voice in your head starts rehearsing everything you didn't do right.

SPEAKER_00 18:30

Yeah, you don't need to argue with it. Nope, nope, nope.

SPEAKER_01 18:34

You can choose, you can simply choose a kinder authority.

SPEAKER_00 18:40

Yeah, because God isn't gonna ask you to fix yourself before you win the right to rest. No, no.

SPEAKER_01 18:46

No, no, no, no, no. He is actually inviting us in the evenings to lie down with him in safety.

SPEAKER_00 18:54

You don't have to solve yourself tonight or any night, you know.

SPEAKER_01 18:59

You are allowed to sleep in grace. Doesn't that sound good?

SPEAKER_00 19:04

That sounds amazing.

Evening Reflection With Compassion

SPEAKER_01 19:08

Right now we have to wait till the evening to try this out. Oh, I love it. We are so glad that you've been here today. Yes. Um, and we would love to invite you to our next podcast episode of Revelation Within.

SPEAKER_00 19:30

Yay! Glad to have me next today. Bye bye.