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Kelly opens up one of her favorite passages in Hebrews 4, where we learn why you can't spell "Priest" without R-E-S-T (sorry, she had to).  

Though we tend to either run from negative emotions or feel shame for having them, Abigail opens up several passages to show that God not only meets us in our moments of fear or weakness but transforms the way we deal with them - embracing them rather than denying them.

James unpacks the difference between leisurely rest and active rest, compares the way we rest to eating 4 donuts at a time (and not in a good way) and helps us see ourselves in the woman in Mark 5 who has been searching for soul rest her whole life, only to find it in Jesus.

Ryan takes us back to the very beginning of the Bible, because you can learn a lot about people from their origin story. If even the God who made us rested, what does that say about us?

Gracie shares some thoughts from Mark 8, where Jesus gives the difficult call to any who would follow him: take up your cross. How can we find rest even in the midst of this calling? Good news: we don't have to do it alone (and aren't meant to).

Caroline shares her thoughts on Luke 10, where two sisters show us the ways that we often react to Jesus - working to impress him, or resting with him - and reminds us not to miss chances to do the latter.

Kelly walks us through a familiar passage, Psalm 23, but helps bring out an emphasis in the Psalm that you may not have seen before: a heavenly father who wants to give us rest, no matter the circumstances.

Curt opens up Matthew 11 for us with just three simple verses that show us how taking time to spend with Jesus actually helps us rest as we move on to other things.

Caroline leads us through Matthew 6, where Jesus invites us away from worry and shows us that rest is connected to trust in Him.

Welcome back FOCUS Raleigh! This semester on the podcast we will be bringing you one devotional a week on the topic of "respite" - how in the midst of times that are difficult, God calls us to come away and find relief in Him. 

Ryan is joined by two of Raleigh's most interesting people, Dan and Grace Casey, as they reflect on who Jesus is to them. Grace reflects on her calling as a creative and the ways God is reflected through her work, and Dan shares how coaching football has given him a perspective on how God encourages us. 

Former FOCUS Raleigh staffer Amy Moreau joins the pod with Caroline (who used to be one of her students!) to talk about what it means to really believe Jesus when he promises life to the full. Amy gives some examples from her time in youth ministry as well as from the perspective of a parent, and even goes back to her own experiences of those first years of faith.