Decision Paralysis and Studying the Bible

Decision Paralysis and Studying the Bible

In this episode, I answer one of the commonly asked questions I receive: “Where should I start studying in the Bible?” You’ll hear faith based neurodivergent encouragement and how I decrease decision paralysis in studying the Bible. Transcript: 0:02 - 0:41 Hello, hello, it's Denea, your host of the Neurodivergent Bible Teaching Podcast. I hope that you, um, are having a great day, being kind to yourself. I have to share a joy with y'all, so I've, um, I did a Substack post just about how, you know, this is a— this is a tough season. I'm in the middle of a lot of chronic health conditions. Sorry if y'all heard that. 0:41 - 1:12 I'm sitting— I'm sitting on one of our— I don't know what you would call it, I guess ottomans. And I'm in the closet, you know, for acoustics. And I realized I just moved and it just made all this noise. So I'm sorry if that got to you on your end, but I'm just in the middle of a lot of chronic health testing. I don't know if I've really talked about the chronic conditions that I'm experiencing. 1:12 - 1:46 So I have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, POTS, Mast Cell Activation Syndrome, PCOS, endometriosis, scoliosis. Uh, I feel like I'm forgetting, not mentioning one or two. Um, I'm in the middle of like a lot of sleep study stuff too. It's already been confirmed that I have sleep apnea, but I still— my doctor wants me to do another, uh, different type of sleep test. So just kind of in the middle of a lot of that stuff. 1:47 - 2:26 Um, you know, just dealing with that in the midst of like going to OT and, and parent coaching And I'm writing a book, writing a devotional for neurodivergence. And just in that rhythm of like doctor's appointments, OT, call insurance, right? Like, just that daily, having that rhythm. I have really been trying to intentionally seek just joy and whimsical moments, whimsical things, sitting outside. Um, journaling outside. 2:26 - 3:13 I usually go for a lot of walks, um, and I really wanted to start hiking. However, I'm, I'm wearing a boot right now for— because I have tendonitis in my foot that has flared up, and so I'm not really able to do that. But anything that I can be doing outside, in a hammock, blowing bubbles— and y'all, I made the executive decision last weekend to start crocheting, and I'm thrilled. Like, the beginner set, it just got here before I started recording, and I feel like this is gonna unlock something in my brain, you know? Like, I feel like, I feel like this is going to unlock— I don't know, I'm just so excited to see what comes from this. 3:14 - 3:57 I look forward to any opportunity where I can be creative just because And like, I'm, I'm so excited, y'all. And so I hope that today that you give yourself permission to do that. I don't know, buy some stickers and decorate, and decorate a notebook or a mirror that you have, or wear a bright color, or talk to God in, in nature, or experience nature just by, you know, not with your phone. I do that all the time, like I take pictures and I'm like, oh, look at the cloud, look at that cloud, look at that flower. And then I'm like, oh wait, wait, Denae, put your phone down. 3:57 - 4:29 Um, you know, experience. I hope that you experience something, um, just in such an authentic way that allows you to be true to who you are. Um, I hope that you don't have to put on a performance today. You know, I hope that you can, can take down the mask today. What would that look like for you to just authentically engage with joy and whimsy as you are who you are for maybe a few minutes today? 4:29 - 5:05 I hope that you can give yourself that gift. Um, today's episode is all about A common— a commonly asked question that I get, um, it is like, where do I start studying the Bible? How, how do I start studying? Um, I've done episodes before on, um, biblical literacy practices. I've done an episode on like using the SOAP method, um when you're studying scripture. 5:06 - 5:46 I have a resource on my website all about like studying the Bible when you have ADHD. I also think it's a great resource if you— maybe you're not ADHD, maybe you're autistic, maybe you have OCD, maybe there's a— you have another neurodivergent experience. I talk a lot about, um, stimming and just what it looks like to be to get our brains ready to actually focus. Um, but this is going to be specifically like where— I get a lot of questions like, do I just pick a scripture? Uh, you know, I'm gonna read the Bible a lot more this year, that's a goal, but I don't know where to start. 5:46 - 6:07 Or I've never read the Bible before, where do I start? Um, so this— that's what today's episode is going to be all about. And let me say, I do want to preface this with two things. Number one, after you hear this episode, or while you hear this episode, pray. Ask God to give you wisdom. 6:07 - 6:54 Ask the Holy Spirit to give you discernment. And I think that is so important whenever we're taking in advice in general in life, right? Um, but also whenever, even when we're seeking like wise counsel um, even when we're talking to our friends or, or whoever with a faith-based, faith-based question, I think it's so important to filter their, um, opinion, their expertise, uh, through God's wisdom, through the Holy Spirit's discernment. And that person, right, may be well, well-meaning But maybe God is like, maybe this isn't the season for you to try it that way. I'll give you an example. 6:55 - 7:05 So, um, I love routines. That may or may not be a surprise to you, uh, but I love routine. Oh my goodness. 7:07 - 7:35 However, um, it was— this was a point like 2 years ago maybe. I was trying to figure out how to, how to get us into a structured morning What, what would that look like? We are a neurodivergent family. I'm neurodivergent, our son is neurodivergent. And so I started listening to all of these, I guess, influencers. 7:36 - 8:21 I mean, also people who are qualified, like, you know, therapists and stuff on YouTube and social media who had suggestions and ideas of what to do. In the morning, and I, you know, would try to implement, implement, and it didn't really seem like anything was sticking. And like, I noticed one of the, the common theme was that a lot of the people that I was seeking advice from, they weren't in a similar season of life that I was. And I don't think there's anything wrong with that. I just think that we have to be aware of like of that fact, because I know for sure what I was doing was I was taking advice, trying to implement something for somebody who didn't have to navigate waking up as a neurodivergent. 8:22 - 8:59 Like, I was taking in advice, um, from people, you know, well-meaning people, um, who were giving great advice, but maybe they weren't a parent, or maybe they didn't have a neurodivergent child, and maybe they themselves also weren't neurodivergent. Like, there were so many layers, and I was internalizing the failure. I was like, why can't this stick for us? And God was like, well, Denae, they're not— you guys aren't building the same house with the same materials. You can't— don't beat yourself up. 8:59 - 9:35 And he said it a lot more lovingly than that. But so that's why I think it's so important after you hear this and maybe you try to implement it, maybe you try to do it yourself, before you do that, seek wisdom with God and ask the Holy Spirit to give you discernment. The second thing that I want to preface this and say is that these types of questions, if you, if you Google it or if you ask people, you will get a variety of answers. And so know that this is not the only solution by any means. This is just a solution. 9:35 - 10:06 You know, this is just mine. So let's just say that you do try it and it doesn't work out for you, uh, know that there, there are other ways to approach like the solution to those types of questions. Okay. With that being said, I think that one of the best things, um, about one of the best things that is not talked about enough when it comes to teaching neurodivergence the Bible. Is our love and our need for context. 10:07 - 10:42 As neuro— as an autistic individual, ADHD, OCD, complex PTSD, I rely heavily on context. I don't want to speak for all neurodivergents, but I know that there are a lot of us who do, just in our conversations, in our daily life. Um, if you have ever Googled the restaurant before you've gotten there to see what the parking situation was, that you're seeking context. Have you ever Googled a restaurant to look at the menu before you've gotten there? Seeking context. 10:43 - 11:26 Um, when you're around people and you're trying to maybe figure out if somebody's in a, a good mood, like there are certain maybe body signals that you're, you're trying to figure out. Like, context. We absolutely love context. And I think that is such a great thing to lean into Bible study with because it allows us as neurodivergents to support our neurodivergent needs, stay true to who we are as neurodivergents while practicing biblical literacy. Because context is a big part of biblical literacy, whether it's biblical, historical, cultural context. 11:27 - 11:54 It can help us study and comprehend and apply the Bible as God intended for us to do so. So whenever someone asks me like, what— what— where should I start? Should I just pick a scripture? Um, should I start in Genesis? Here's my response: if you are neurodivergent, I— my suggestion is to always start in the book of John. 11:56 - 12:18 And I say that because I think it gives us great context. I really, really do. Again, if you ask anyone else, I— they will probably have a different answer, and that's okay. But that is just my answer. I think the Book of John, it gives us a deeper look into Jesus's ministry. 12:18 - 13:24 I also think there's just a lot of— there's a lot of background information in the book of John, just about Jesus, um, and how he approached humanity and why he came. And yes, you can get that in other books of the Bible, but that's just one of my favorite places to start. Like, even when I, um, kind of go through studying the Bible, I usually start in the book of John, and then I go to Genesis, and then I read the Bible like in order, in order as it appears in my Bible, I should say. Because, and side note, this is gonna be a little random tangent, but so most Bibles are put together in how they kind of— God, Lord, help me say this— they are put together by genre, like a collection. Not in the order that they were written, not in chronological order. 13:25 - 13:54 So when I say I go in order, I mean in the order that they put it together in the Bible, not the original order. I really hope that that makes sense. So I started John, and then I started the beginning of Genesis, and then I work my way through. Occasionally I will actually study the Bible in the order that it was written, But that's just how I usually do it. I usually start at the book of John and then to Genesis, and then I work my way through to Revelation. 13:54 - 14:41 And I even do that because, and I mean, this is just the beauty of scripture, I think, for all of us, right? Like, there are some times when I have gone, when I've read a scripture, I don't know how many times, I've studied it, I've gotten context, and then years later, like the Holy Spirit will reveal something new to me, and I'll be like, whoa, that's been there the whole time and I didn't, I didn't even see it. So like, even every time when I do it, I get something new. Plus, like, I'm going through different seasons of my life, right, while I'm rereading, while I'm restudying the Book of John. And so I think that also, um, has something to do with like what we kind of get from our study time, how we're able to relate to it. 14:41 - 15:19 So that is always my answer, the book of John, and then go back, because the Bible is connected. All of Scripture is connected through Jesus, right? Like, he, he connects Scripture. And so when we study the book of John and then go back in Genesis we can kind of see that redemption theme, we can see that messianic theme, we can see all of that. And it's a good practice, and it— I mean, it's— I'm kind of going off on another tangent here. 15:19 - 16:08 And another reason why I think it's good to start off at the book of John is because you do get context about Jesus and his ministry. But then when you're studying the other books of the Bible, starting from Genesis, I mean, the the redemption arc is, is playing, right? That's where the fall happens. And so that, that's where that need for redemption, um, happens. And so when we're studying the Bible, we can start to— with that context in mind, with, with Jesus and with what we studied in, in John, the book of John in mind— then we can start to practice identifying certain types identifying certain messianic themes, and then we can see for ourselves how Jesus connects Scripture. 16:11 - 16:51 Again, if you ask other people, they will, they will tell you the same thing. I have certainly— I will be honest with y'all— I have opened my Bible before and just picked a scripture and, and studied that scripture, whatever scripture my finger landed on. Here's the thing, I have found that when I do that, when I used to do that, I was missing out on so much context. That's kind of what happens, right, when we pick one scripture, one verse, or maybe a couple of verses, and just in the middle of the book, just, oh, I'm just gonna land here, I'm just gonna study here. Um, we're just missing context. 16:52 - 17:39 And so I don't suggest that. Um, I do certainly think that God will bless whatever time you spend in his word, right, with that heart posture of like, hey, I'm trying to learn. I do, I do believe that God— like, that's not going to go wasted, but it's just not something that I suggest because I feel like a lot of context is missing when we do that. So that is my answer. I would love, love to hear your thoughts, your— maybe something that works for you if you have a certain way that you study the Bible in terms of order. 17:40 - 18:12 Oh, and you know what? I also I also wanted to say too, um, thank you, Holy Spirit, because I, I totally forgot I wanted to say this. Another reason why I think it is so great to start in John and then start at Genesis is because, y'all, this cuts down on, um, decision paralysis. Ask somebody who is ADHD. My goodness, my goodness, I know what decision paralysis is. 18:12 - 18:45 You know, it's when you have so many options, or it's when you've been making so many choices already and your brain needs a break, and it's like you're, you're just not able to make a decision. Like, you, you try to make a decision and that information is just not there. Like, I can— I call it like I'm glitching. Like, that's usually what I call it. Like, when I'm trying to make a decision and like, I'm like, I'm glitching, I can't, I can't I can't make this decision. 18:46 - 19:36 And one thing that I know about that experience for me— again, I don't want to speak for all ADHDers, I don't want to speak for anyone who's ever experienced decision paralysis before— but one thing I know to be true for me about decision paralysis is that the longer I let it sit in, it's like the heavier it gets, the harder it is to move through it. So when I go to my Bible and I'm like, I don't know what to study, like the longer I kind of glitch, I'm in that like glitching mode, the harder it's gonna be for me to make a decision. Because then I'm like, OCD kind of comes in, it's like, well, maybe there's a right decision here. And, and so like it just gets harder to get through. And so that is another reason why I— this is just something that has worked for me. 19:37 - 20:23 And, um, again, this podcast is all about me finding things, studying things, things that I learned in school, things that I learned in my, my personal life, um, that work for me, that I know have— struggling with it have brought me shame— that I want to share with you so that you don't think you're the only one, so that you don't internalize the shame that comes with certain experiences like trying to figure out how to study the Bible, trying to figure out how to make a decision on Scripture and, and all that good stuff. I want to share it with you. If it's worked for me, I absolutely want to share it with you. So yes, John, then go to Genesis. It hands down for me cuts down my decision paralysis time when it comes to studying the Bible. 20:23 - 20:56 Okay, thank you, Holy Spirit, because I, I completely forgot about that. So I, yes, I want to hear all about your your experience when you're trying to figure out what to study. You know, if it's not like a devotional, like if you're doing like a scripture, um, a Bible study, I should say. If it's like a Bible study or a book study, something like that. If you're just kind of having your personal— talking about your personal Bible study time, you're trying to figure out what to study, I would love to hear what you have been doing. 20:57 - 21:19 Feel free to reach out to me, my email, and This will be in the show notes, is deneamarable@gmail.com. On Instagram, I am @deneamarable. I love you. Take care of yourself, good care of yourself. Be kind to yourself, and I will talk to you next time.

Creating and Nurturing an Inclusive Church Environment for Autistic Adults

In this episode of the neurodivergent Bible teaching podcast, I go over some practical ways to create and nurture and inclusive church environment for autistic adults. I have found that in my conversations with other autistic adults and neurodivergent adults there is a common theme of us, not feeling as though we belong in church. While we may be welcomed, we often feel as though we have to mask our neurodivergent needs in order to be accepted in church. Feel free to send this episode to a pastor, church, leader, ministry, leader, volunteer leader or church member so that they can receive ideas on how to create and nurture inclusive environments within their church for autistic adults or pray about which idea you’d like to discuss with someone wiwithin your church. While I mention these ideas are for autistic adults, they can be utilized to create and nurture inclusive environments of belonging for Christian neurodivergent adults. I’d love to hear your experience about what’s reminded you that you belong in church. Message me: @deneamarable on instagram. Transcript: 0:01 - 0:58 Hello, it's Denea, your host of the Neurodivergent Bible Teaching Podcast. This podcast is dedicated to helping you understand how to study the Bible. I'm Denea, I'm neurodivergent, I'm autistic, I have ADHD and OCD, and I know what it's like to struggle to understand how to study the Bible, let alone also honoring my brain while doing it. I've learned a few things through seminary, um, through life, and I want to share those things with you. In this podcast, you will hear all about, um, studying techniques, some Bible studies so you can understand how to apply those techniques, some neurodivergent encouragement, and just some ways that I'm learning to honor the way that God has created my brain I'm so happy that you're here.  1:00 - 1:00 Let's get started.  1:05 - 1:34 Hello, hello, it's Denea, host of the Neurodivergent Bible Teaching Podcast. I hope that wherever you are, you are able to just for a moment be where your feet are. And what I mean by that is, okay, so, you know, I can't just tell you a story. I have to give you context. Is anybody else like that?  1:35 - 2:13 I have to, I have to kind of preface the story before I tell it to you. So last week I was out of town. I was actually doing two presentations at the Disability in the Church Conference. It's put on by the Shine Foundation and also Key Ministry. It's for church leaders, pastors, uh, volunteers, just advocates of change for disability to talk about, um, what we can do, what we are doing that can grow disability ministries all over the world.  2:13 - 2:29 That was one of the cool things about it. It wasn't just in the United States. It was all over the world, and y'all had a great time. I felt so anxious. I felt, I felt so anxious the whole week because I was out of my routine.  2:30 - 3:01 Um, I felt anxious because I am most likely gonna have to have surgery for endometriosis. Um, we're trying to figure out like the date for that, and I felt anxious for other things that are— that I'm thinking about, like, in the future, right? And they're good things. I feel like a lot of times when we talk about what we're— what we're feeling anxious about, like, we try to downplay them, um, but some— like, sometimes those things are valid, right? And the things I was feeling very, very anxious about, they were all about in the future.  3:01 - 3:30 were, They um, very valid things. But I had to remind myself, and I really feel like this was like God, um, because he didn't like shame me, or he, you know, he didn't tell me, um, that those things I wasn't worried— that I was worried about— he wasn't like, oh, Danae, those things aren't important. He was like, Danae, just be where your feet are, like right, right, right here for, for this moment. Can you focus? Can you work at being present where you are?  3:31 - 4:03 Um, you know, that might be like a grounding technique, or that might be a breathing technique, that might be noticing the trees or the leaves around me or the room around me. Um, or like the doors, or just being— just coming back to the present. And I hope that today you can do that for yourself, because I do— I really do believe that's a gift, um, that God wants us to have. I think that's a big— just being in the present when we can, you know. I think that's such a great gift that God wants to give us.  4:04 - 4:34 And there are a lot of things that happen in that moment, right? There's a there's sometimes this peace about maybe something that we're feeling anxious about, God's peace that overwhelms us. Maybe we start to feel joy as we listen to the birds right where we are. Maybe we start to realize, you know, how special that moment is just by bringing ourselves back to the present. So I hope that you're able to do that today.  4:35 - 5:25 Um, today's episode is going to be on making— how can we make, create, um, and nurture environments for autistic adults? And really, I'm saying autistic adults, um, but to be honest with you, I think this episode could be for neurodivergent individuals in general, neurodivergent adults. Um, because I— what I've found is, and this was a key point in the conference, like, there's a difference between welcoming and belonging, right? Like, when you go to a church, there is usually a— some sort of welcome team. Somebody's opening the doors for you, um, maybe handing out a pamphlet.  5:25 - 6:13 Somebody's waving at you. But belonging, especially for us who are neurodivergent, we feel like we belong when we can be ourselves, right? Like when we're not masking in church, when we feel accepted in the church, when we feel like we don't need to mask or hide or diminish ourselves, our true neurodivergent selves, that's when we start to feel like we belong. Like when people want us there fully as we are. And so I'm going to talk about a few things, um, that church leaders, church pastors, volunteers, or maybe you can bring this to, um, a member of your church.  6:13 - 6:54 Maybe you can bring these ideas to them and kind of collaborate and see how you can incorporate— pray about it first and then see how you can incorporate them into your church. So most of you know Um, I'm neurodivergent. I'm autistic, ADHD, OCD, and complex PTSD. And I think that as I start to have more conversations, usually like online, with other, um, neurodivergent Christians just about church, a lot of us tend to disengage in church because we don't really feel like we belong. We feel like we have to hide ourselves.  6:55 - 7:23 And so in order to create an inclusive environment, one that is of true belonging, I believe that it starts, number one, with this mindset that comes from scripture. It's 1 Corinthians 12:12. For context, it's talking about the body of Christ. I'm reading from the NLT version. The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body.  7:23 - 7:41 So it is with the body of Christ. And it's a mindset that says, okay, there's diversity within the body of Christ. There is supposed to be diversity within the body of Christ. It should be embraced.  7:43 - 7:51 It's a mindset that also says that all members of the body of Christ are valued.  7:53 - 8:30 It's a mindset that says there's interdependence within the body of Christ. We need each other as members of one body. We need each other, but interdependence is tough when parts of the body are being excluded. Excluded how? Well, one of the, um, common narratives about why autistic adults, about why, um, neurodivergent Christians disengage from church is because of the worship experience.  8:30 - 8:51 It's too loud. It's, it's too loud. Lights are too bright. And so if we are talking about creating an inclusive environment, right, it means creating a worship experience, an environment where we are allowed to care for our neurodivergent needs. We don't have to mask.  8:51 - 9:35 And I think practically what that looks like, number one, if a church has multiple worship experiences have one of those experiences. You can have one of those experiences, preferably both, but let's just start with one that is a designated sensory worship experience. This means, say for example, you got a 9 o'clock, you got an 11 o'clock. At 9 o'clock, sensory worship experience where we are going to play the music softer, we're going to dim the lights as well, If you don't have multiple worship experiences, that's totally fine. Can you have headphones when people come in?  9:35 - 9:50 Can you have fidgets? Can you have earplugs when people come in? Can you have, um, like notepads or something for us to, to kind of doodle with? That's another form of like, uh, stimming, right? Drawing or doodling.  9:50 - 10:18 Can you have that? Because when that is at the door Right, as we are coming in, we see, oh, okay, I'm allowed to stim while I worship, right? And that's a hint, that's a reminder to us that we belong. But we need to be, as you are planning your worship sets, right, you know you're gonna have worship. Like, that's a given.  10:20 - 10:58 We need to be in that planning process, not as an afterthought. We need to be in that planning process. Another area I think, um, that is an opportunity to create an inclusive environment is through discipling and teaching. Y'all, autistic individuals need to be— we need to be discipled and we need to be taught. When people are teaching autistic adults, I think one of the great ways to make your curriculum inclusive is whenever you, you finish your, your teaching and you're like, does anybody have any questions?  10:59 - 11:46 And nobody raises their hand, one of the best things you can do is not— don't assume we didn't get anything out of it just because we didn't raise our hand. As autistic adults, a lot of us, we have what's called a complex processing system, this means that we are taking in so much information at once, usually more than we're even aware of, and we need time to process the information that we're taking in. So for example, we could be taking in a lesson. We could also be taking in, um, the sound of the choir practicing down the hall. We, we could be taking in the sound of the electricity.  11:47 - 12:06 We could— like, there are multiple things all at once, right? Our body, we might be feeling hungry. Like, there are so many different sensations, and there's a lot of information that we are often taking in at once. If we— our body, our minds, we need more time to process that because it is a lot of information. So don't assume we didn't get anything.  12:07 - 13:01 Matter of fact, after you ask that question, if there are no no questions, one of the best things you can do is say, "If you have a question later on this week, this month, in the future, here's how you can reach out to me," and give your email address or contact information. And then when we come to you with our questions, receive them with curiosity and not judgment. So a lot of times we tend to connect as neurodivergent Christians, we tend to connect information, especially when we're learning, to things that are relevant to us. So it could be something that we heard someone say years ago, or it could be connected to a special interest or something that we're— a hobby or something that we're really into at the moment. And to you it might seem random, but I promise you, to us it is connected.  13:03 - 13:47 So one of the best things. And that's why I think that let— giving us the space, allowing us to have this room to process information, you are giving us freedom to process information in ways that honor how our brains work. And it takes the pressure off. I cannot tell you how demanding it feels whenever I am learning something new. I feel so much pressure to get it right away And then I can kind of sense when somebody is frustrated with me because I'm not getting it, and then I start to get frustrated, and now I have to figure out how to regulate my— like, it— and when you give us space, when we are given space to process information, it is a gift.  13:48 - 14:02 And as teachers, especially in God's house, like, that, that is something that should be done. Incorporating, uh, creativity with teaching. So this might look like singing, dancing, acting, drawing.  14:05 - 14:59 This helps us actually, while we're learning something new, this helps us regulate our nervous system. Remember, don't assume just because we're, you know, playing with a, with a fidget, um, where we're drawing, we're sketching, uh, we're rocking, don't assume we're not paying attention. Incorporating creativity with a lesson is a great way to help us stay regulated while we're learning something new because again we're processing a lot of information and then we can be really tough on ourselves when we don't get it right away. And so when we are— when there's some type of creativity incorporated it helps us stay regulated. I would love for churches to have Bible study groups, connection groups for autistic adults, for neurodivergent adults.  14:59 - 15:47 And I say this because I think honestly there are a lot more neurodivergent adults attending churches, but we, we just don't know of any other neurodivergent adults, you know, like unless somebody tells us, we don't— we may not know. And so we feel very much alone. Being a neurodivergent adult, it can be a very lonely experience. And I think that the church should really set the tone and the standard for community, creating a community of belonging. Um, and I think this is one way it can be done, by specifically having connection groups, um, whatever you call them in your church, Bible study groups for autistic adults.  15:47 - 16:43 And you know what, cultivate connection here. Let us have a session where we were able to talk about our special interest, you know, like, let, let us be us. Again, it has to be cultivated, it has to be intentionally done, and be willing to learn as you go and make adjustments. I think sometimes it's easy to have a teaching lesson, a teaching plan, and then when it doesn't go that way, you get frustrated and you keep pushing it, you keep pushing it, and it doesn't go the way that you wanted for whatever reason. Well, with autistic adults, with neurodivergent adults, I think it is really important to be flexible and to make adjustments because our might capacity be very low.  16:43 - 17:01 Maybe there's an autistic individual who's just had a week of masking, right? Like, we've all been there. It is physically, mentally, and spiritually draining. And you know what? That person is not— they're not going to get your lesson, most likely.  17:01 - 17:26 Not because of they're not intelligent, because it's, it's because they're tired, right? Have you ever tried to teach somebody something when they're tired. You might need to adjust your curriculum in order to honor that person. Don't keep pushing the lesson if you see that that person is, is just creating more frustration and much more frustrated. Don't push it on them.  17:27 - 17:50 You need to adjust your curriculum in order to honor what that person needs at that moment. That person needs regulation, not a curriculum at that moment. Serving. I think that is another area of opportunity for the church to create belonging and inclusive spaces. Y'all, allow us to serve in STEM.  17:52 - 18:27 I will never forget, there was one church, uh, that we went to when I signed up to be a greeter, and the person who was teaching me was I could sense her frustration. I could sense she was getting frustrated with me because I wasn't doing it the way that she was. I'll be honest, I found that experience very overwhelming. It was like I could not keep up with every interaction. Like, I, I was trying, I was trying to, but then like I was, I was at a point in my neurodivergent journey where I was still like forcing myself to look people in the eye.  18:28 - 18:41 And I felt so overwhelmed. It was a huge sensory overwhelming experience for me, and she kept getting frustrated with me. And I will tell you, eventually what happened was I just stopped showing up.  18:43 - 18:53 So when you allow us to serve, allow us to serve and stim, we might not look people in the eye when we're serving. That's okay. It's still holy.  18:55 - 19:15 We might not serve— our serving, it might not look like everyone around us, but it is still holy and it is still valuable and impactful to the kingdom of God. Be patient with us as we're learning new things, as we're trying something new, as we're getting outside of our comfort zone. Be patient with us. Encourage us.  19:18 - 19:24 So in conclusion, we need to be included, not an afterthought. And how worship experiences will go.  19:26 - 20:22 Be willing— if we're talking about how to nurture, right? We've— let's say we've created, um, an inclusive environment and there's belonging. When we talk about nurturing, this is how you nurture an environment that is inclusive to autistic adults, to neurodivergent Christians. Be willing to listen and learn to the autistic voices, to the neurodivergent voices within your church, and make adjustments as needed to remind us that we belong. When pastors, church leaders, ministry leaders, volunteers, members of the church are willing to listen and learn to us, and willing to include us in the decisions that are being made about that ministry, about that group.  20:23 - 20:53 That's how you nurture an inclusive environment, by listening to us, by including us in the planning, by letting us make decisions. Let autistic adults serve in leadership positions. Let neurodivergent serve adults in leadership positions. And then when we give you our feedback, be willing to adjust, right? It can't sometimes— the reason can't be we're going to do this just because this is the way that it's always been done.  20:54 - 21:00 That can't be it. That's not how we nurture inclusive environments of belonging. That's not it.  21:04 - 21:25 There are holy interactions that can occur through autistic individuals. It doesn't matter where we fall on the spectrum. Through neurodivergent individuals, it doesn't matter what neurodivergent experience we have. It doesn't matter where we fall on the neurodivergent spectrum. There can be holy interactions that can occur through us.  21:26 - 21:30 We are a part of the Great Commission, right? We have been called.  21:32 - 21:39 We can't evangelize. We need to be taught and we need to be discipled.  21:42 - 22:18 When people within a church are not being taught, discipled, um, basically that sends a message of exclusion when the kingdom of God is all about inclusion. That's why some of the religious leaders in that day in Jesus's day when he walked the earth. That's why some of them were so upset with him, right? Because they were like, no, not everybody's actually worthy of God's forgiveness, of being holy, right, of being righteous. And here was Jesus ushering in the kingdom of heaven and being like, no, it's actually open to everyone.  22:20 - 22:25 The people that you've pushed aside, ignored— no, no, no, no, God, God welcomes them.  22:27 - 23:10 Autistic adults, Christian neurodivergents, neurodivergent adults, individuals, we are filled with purpose. We are a part of the kingdom of heaven and we have holy work to do. When you do, as a church leader, ministry leader, pastor, disability ministry leader, volunteer, member of a church, When there is intentionality to create and nurture environments, you remind us of this, that we have holy work to do and that we're needed, right? That's that interdependence. Like, we would be missed in the kingdom of heaven.  23:10 - 23:12 We are needed. We're valued too.  23:14 - 23:50 That is it for today's episode. Send this to someone, um, if you know that they are ministry leader, church leader, or you can pray about it and take it to someone within your church and pray on how to start incorporating this. Like, I, I was so motivated, right, to last week to have, um, I was like, I— okay, okay, God, I hear you. I need to have— I need to have a member— I need to request a meeting with with my pastor. Got it, noted.  23:50 - 24:22 Like, I, I felt that in my spirit, um, last week. And I encourage you to pray and, um, you know, ask for wisdom and discernment on how you can do this where you are. I would love to hear your thoughts if you do take it to someone, send it to someone, and like somehow incorporate something that I talked about, or maybe it was something else. I would love to hear about it. Let's spread some really cheerful news.  24:23 - 24:31 You can message me on Instagram @deneamarable. I love you, and I will talk to you next time. Bye!

Pathological Demand Avoidance and Studying the Bible

In this episode, I talk about what has helped me, as a PDAer, study the Bible. As PDAers, studying the Bible can be challenging. We know that we are supposed to study the Bible as Christians but also need to honor our nervous system’s response to the demand of studying the Bible. I’ll mention a few of things that have helped me still study the Bible while being a PDAer and some of the resources that have helped me as well. I’d love to hear your experience with PDA and any resources that have been helpful for you. Feel free to reach out: Instagram: deneamarable Threads: deneamarable TikTok: deneamarable Email: deneamarable@gmail.com Website: deneamarable.com

Navigating Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria During Bible Study

Rejection sensitive dysphoria can make studying the Bible difficult. You may feel extremely overwhelmed by the possibility that you may get an interpretation wrong. In today’s podcast episode, you’ll hear some tips that had helped me navigate RSD during my Bible study time. I’d love to know, is RSD something you experience? Feel free to DM on Instagram: @deneamarable

Podcast Update - The Neurodivergent Bible Teaching Podcast

Over the past year or so, I’ve been doing a lot more Bible teaching and faith-filled neurodivergent encouragement on this podcast and I have felt a shift coming because of that. To honor that feeling, I’ve changed the name of the podcast from The Faith-Filled Mom Podcast to The Neurodivergent Bible Teaching Podcast. Nothing outside of the name will really change. You’ll still hear Bible teaching, Bible studying tips and biblical neurodivergent encouragement. I’m so happy that you are here! I appreciate you listening, sharing, reviewing, or downloading this podcast. It helps the podcast reach more people and I’m appreciative of it all!