The Christian Clinician

Does the Old Testament ever feel confusing, disconnected, or hard to reconcile with Jesus?

Many Christians know the Old Testament matters, but when they encounter genealogies, creation, laws about slavery, tabernacle instructions, sacrifices, blessings and curses, or difficult stories in Genesis and Exodus, they can feel lost. Some begin to wonder whether the Old Testament is mostly a collection of moral lessons, strange laws, ancient history, or hard-to-defend passages.

In this episode of The Christian Clinician, Dr. Tanya Paynter welcomes back Dr. Ian Vaillancourt to discuss his book The Dawning of Redemption: The Story of the Pentateuch and the Hope of the Gospel. Dr. Vaillancourt explains how the first five books of the Bible are not random, disconnected, or secondary to the Christian faith. They introduce the story of redemption that finds its fulfillment in Jesus Christ.

Together, they discuss how to read the Old Testament through a biblical-theological lens, why Genesis is not merely trying to answer modern scientific questions, how the Bible reveals God’s interpretation of history, and why genealogies matter more than many of us realize. They also explore how Joseph’s story points beyond Joseph to Judah, the seed of the woman, and ultimately to Christ.

This conversation also addresses some of the difficult moral objections people raise against the Old Testament, including the Law of Moses, slavery, women, war, and whether God approved of ancient cultural practices. Dr. Vaillancourt explains how Torah is better understood as authoritative instruction for God’s redeemed people — not a way to earn salvation, but a way to live as those who belong to Yahweh.

If you have ever struggled to understand the Old Testament, want to understand how the Old Testament connects to Jesus and the Gospel, or felt unsure how to answer hard questions about creation, the law, genealogies, or slavery in the Bible, this conversation will help you see the Pentateuch with fresh eyes.

• Why the Old Testament is not a disconnected collection of stories and laws
• How the Pentateuch introduces the Bible’s big story of redemption
• Why every part of the Old Testament has a role in pointing us to Jesus
• How the Bible reveals God’s interpretation of history, not just historical events
• Why Genesis 1–2 should first be read on its own biblical terms
• How creation reveals Yahweh as the God over all creation, not one local deity among many
• Why the names Elohim and Yahweh matter when reading Genesis
• How genealogies trace the seed of the woman and the hope of redemption
• Why Joseph is a supporting actor and Judah is central in the drama of redemption
• How Torah as “authoritative instruction” reframes the Law of Moses
• Why gospel comes before law in Exodus and in the Christian life
• How Old Testament laws show Israel how to represent Yahweh differently from the surrounding nations
• How reading the Old Testament well strengthens faith, worship, and confidence in Scripture

00:00 Difficult Old Testament laws and representing God differently

01:16 Introducing Dr. Ian Vaillancourt and The Dawning of Redemption

01:55 Dr. Vaillancourt’s background in Old Testament, Hebrew, and seminary teaching

02:40 Why he wrote The Dawning of Redemption

03:52 Biblical theology and seeing the big picture of Scripture

05:29 How these books changed Dr. Tanya’s understanding of the Old Testament

06:57 The main thesis: the Bible tells the story of God redeeming a people for Himself

09:11 Creation, Eden, genealogy, covenant, Exodus, Torah, tabernacle, unbelief, and blessing

10:13 What happens when churches stop reading the Old Testament as moralism

12:41 Reading the Old Testament without feeling lost

13:15 Difference between The Dawning of Redemption and Unfolding Redemption

15:21 The Bible as God’s interpretation of historical events

17:31 Why Scripture gives us more than being a “fly on the wall”

20:05 Creation, evolution, and asking the questions the Bible leads us to ask

23:07 Why Genesis begins the Bible and the Pentateuch

25:56 Science, Scripture, worldview, and biblical lenses

28:23 Elohim, Yahweh Elohim, and the personal covenant name of God

32:45 Why the serpent depersonalizes God in Genesis 3

33:36 How English Bibles signal the name Yahweh

35:52 Genealogies, Genesis 3:15, and the seed of the woman

40:55 Why Joseph is not the main character in the final section of Genesis

43:28 Why Judah matters in the lineage of Jesus

46:32 Torah, Law of Moses, and authoritative instruction

48:46 Gospel before law: “I am Yahweh your God who brought you out of Egypt”

51:08 Bearing the name of Yahweh and representing God in the world

53:19 Slavery, women, ancient culture, and living differently as God’s people

54:23 Where to find The Dawning of Redemption and Unfolding Redemption

Christian Women Health and Wellness: Support for Anxiety, Hormones, and Faith

Join us for encouragement, practical health conversations, and weekly discussion tied to the podcast.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/christianwomenhealthandwellness

• The Dawning of Redemption: The Story of the Pentateuch and the Hope of the Gospel by Dr. Ian Vaillancourt
• Unfolding Redemption: The Heart of the Gospel in the Story of Old Testament History by Dr. Ian Vaillancourt
• Previous episode with Dr. Ian Vaillancourt on Unfolding Redemption
• Preaching Christ from the Old Testament by Sidney Greidanus
• The Reason for God by Timothy Keller
• Graham Goldsworthy
• Gerhardus Vos
• Christopher Wright
• Daniel Block
• Carmen Imes
• Crossway
• InterVarsity Press
• 10ofthose.com
• Amazon

Dr. Ian Vaillancourt is professor of Old Testament and Hebrew and director of distance learning at Heritage Theological Seminary. He is an ordained pastor in the Fellowship of Evangelical Baptists in Canada and previously pastored for fourteen years. Dr. Vaillancourt is the author of The Dawning of Redemption and Unfolding Redemption, both of which help Christians see the storyline of Scripture and understand how the Old Testament points forward to Jesus Christ.

Dr. Tanya Paynter is the host of The Christian Clinician, a podcast built on the belief that true whole-person health rests on five pillars: physical health, mental health, emotional health, relationship with God, and Christian fellowship — all connected and communicated through the nervous system. As a licensed naturopathic physician, Dr. Paynter bridges biblical truth and clinical science — helping Christians understand how our relationship with God and faith practices like worship, prayer, Sabbath, and community shape stress physiology, nervous system health, and long-term wellbeing. If you're searching for a faith-based functional medicine approach to health that addresses body, mind, spirit, and community together, The Christian Clinician was recorded with you in mind.

Learn more at www.psalmmedical.com

Visit the podcast webpage at https://www.psalmmedical.com/podcast

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thechristianclinician

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheChristianClinician

Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/christianwomenhealthandwellness

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christianclinician/

Is your Christian life full of activity but missing delight?

Many Christians are doing the right things: going to church, studying Scripture, serving, praying, listening to podcasts, and trying to live faithfully. But underneath it all, they feel tired, distracted, spiritually dry, or disconnected from the deep delight they once had in God.

In this episode of The Christian Clinician, Dr. Tanya Paynter talks with Stephanie Roussel, author of Awaken Delight. Stephanie shares her story of growing up as an atheist in France, coming to faith through the witness of an American Christian family, and eventually building a ministry around helping weary Christians rediscover delight in God.

This conversation explores why delight in God may be one of the missing pieces in Western Christianity. Stephanie and Dr. Paynter discuss chronic pain, migraines, suffering, busyness, self-sufficiency, and the painful but gracious ways God uses trials to prune what is good in order to make room for what is best.

They also talk about the “counterfeit flavors” that steal delight: anxiety, guilt, shame, fear, overwhelm, addiction, busyness, and the distractions that can masquerade as something meaningful while leaving the soul empty. True delight in God is not shallow happiness, self-help, or pretending life is easy. It is a deep relational orientation toward God that can hold us steady even in pain.

If you feel like Jesus has slipped to the edges of your life, if faith has started to feel more like duty than delight, or if suffering has left you wondering how to experience God’s goodness again, this episode offers a thoughtful and hope-filled invitation back to the joy of knowing Him.

• Why delight in God may be the missing piece in many Christians’ faith
• How Stephanie Roussel came to Christ after growing up as an atheist in France
• Why chronic pain and suffering can deepen trust in God
• How God uses trials to prune good things so better fruit can grow
• Why busyness, anxiety, guilt, shame, fear, and overwhelm often counterfeit delight
• How delight in God changes the way we approach our daily to-do lists
• Why Jesus modeled delight in the Father by regularly withdrawing to be with Him
• The difference between self-help and asking God to awaken delight
• Why knowing the true Jesus of Scripture is essential for real relationship with God
• Three practices for awakening delight

00:00 Why this episode may bring an unexpected “aha” moment

01:32 From atheist in France to follower of Christ

04:37 Why Gospel Spice began and who Stephanie serves

06:48 Is delight in God the missing piece in Western Christianity?

07:57 Chronic pain, migraines, and learning to trust God in suffering

10:50 Philippians 3:10 and fellowship in Christ’s sufferings

13:14 Pain, self-sufficiency, surrender, and God’s cleansing work

17:14 The gardener, pruning, and why God cuts even good branches

21:32 What plants and suffering teach us about strength and fruit

23:34 Counterfeit delight: busyness, anxiety, guilt, shame, fear, and overwhelm

26:33 The expulsive power of a new affection

27:20 Sabbath, delight, and relational time with God

30:52 When your to-do list is not the list God gave you

33:27 Why divine delight must be remembered daily

39:31 Three steps to awaken delight in God

51:10 Where to find Stephanie Roussel and Awaken Delight

Christian Women Health and Wellness: Support for Anxiety, Hormones, and Faith

Join us for encouragement, practical health conversations, and weekly discussion tied to the podcast.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/christianwomenhealthandwellness

• Awaken Delight by Stephanie Roussel and Gospel Spice Ministries
• https://www.amazon.com/dp/1514013584?lv=shuf&channelId=500&plpRedirect=mhFallback
• https://www.gospelspice.com/
• Free 5-day digital devotional from Gospel Spice
• https://www.gospelspice.com/free
• Bible References
• Philippians 3:10
• John 15
• Psalm 37:4
• A.W. Tozer quote: “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.”
• Tozer, A.W. The Knowledge of the Holy. New York: Harper & Row, 1961.
• C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain
• Thomas Chalmers: “The Expulsive Power of a New Affection”
• https://www.amazon.com/s?k=expulsive+power+of+a+new+affection&i=stripbooks&hvadid=694414042713&hvdev=c&hvexpln=67&hvlocphy=9033785&hvnetw=g&hvocijid=15656855367537345453--&hvqmt=e&hvrand=15656855367537345453&hvtargid=kwd-377306261441&hydadcr=22595_13531227&mcid=eeb453d0cbbf381d941b31c2fa271784&tag=googhydr-20&ref=pd_sl_39xz77npm2_e_p67

Stephanie Roussel is a Bible teacher, speaker, host of the Gospel Spice podcast, and founder of Gospel Spice Ministries. Born and raised in France, Stephanie grew up as an atheist before coming to faith in Christ as a foreign exchange student in the United States. Her life motto is now “God’s glory, our delight.” Having lived in four countries, Stephanie now lives with her family in Pennsylvania and helps weary Christians rediscover the beauty, depth, and delight of knowing God.

Connect with Stephanie Roussel:

Website: https://gospelspice.com

Book website: https://awakenedelight.net

Podcast: Gospel Spice

Dr. Tanya Paynter is the host of The Christian Clinician, a podcast built on the belief that true whole-person health rests on five pillars: physical health, mental health, emotional health, relationship with God, and Christian fellowship — all connected and communicated through the nervous system. As a licensed naturopathic physician, Dr. Paynter bridges biblical truth and clinical science — helping Christians understand how our relationship with God and faith practices like worship, prayer, Sabbath, and community shape stress physiology, nervous system health, and long-term wellbeing. If you're searching for a faith-based functional medicine approach to health that addresses body, mind, spirit, and community together, The Christian Clinician was recorded with you in mind.

Learn more at www.psalmmedical.com

Visit the podcast webpage at https://www.psalmmedical.com/podcast

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thechristianclinician

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheChristianClinician

Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/christianwomenhealthandwellness

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christianclinician/

What if the reason sharing your faith feels so hard isn't a character flaw — it's actually completely understandable, and there's a name for it?

For many Christians, evangelism doesn't feel joyful or natural. It feels intimidating, shame-loaded, confrontational, or even manipulative. Maybe you were taught that evangelism meant knocking on doors, handing out tracts, arguing someone into belief, or reporting whether you "saved any souls" that week. If that sounds familiar, it makes complete sense that the word evangelism still carries anxiety, guilt, or dread.

In this episode of The Christian Clinician, Dr. Tanya Paynter talks with Dr. Mark Teasdale — President of United Theological Seminary and author of Socially Awkward Evangelism — about why sharing your faith can feel so uncomfortable, what psychology tells us is actually happening beneath the surface, and what a more biblical, grace-filled approach actually looks like.

Dr. Teasdale explains how fear of judgment, social anxiety, shame, fear of harming others, and deeply ingrained bad assumptions about evangelism can keep Christians silent. He and Dr. Paynter also unpack a fact that may change everything: research suggests it takes an average of 76 interactions with Christians before a non-Christian comes to faith. You are almost never closing the deal — you are one faithful link in a long chain. And the Holy Spirit is the one doing the converting.

This conversation also explores how tools like body awareness, prayer, and acceptance-based practices can help you recognize fear without being ruled by it — and why miracles follow mission when we take even small, faithful steps.

Note: Dr. Teasdale's publisher InterVarsity Press offers 14 free downloadable practice appendices from the book — including prayer and mindfulness exercises. No purchase required. Find them at the https://www.ivpress.com/Media/Default/Downloads/Excerpts-and-Samples/A1425-online-appendixes.pdf.

In This Episode, You'll Explore:

• Why evangelism often feels awkward, shame-filled, or like a dirty word — and why that's understandable
• How social anxiety and fear of judgment affect sharing your faith
• Why some Christians fear harming others or coming across as pushy and judgmental
• How bad evangelism training creates pressure, guilt, and long-term avoidance
• Why evangelism is not about "saving souls" yourself — and who actually does the converting
• The 76 interactions research and what it means for how you share your faith
• How prayer can be your first step when you're not ready to speak
• Why body awareness and mindfulness can help you notice and move through fear
• How to share your faith persuasively and ethically — without manipulation
• Why different Christians witness differently — and all of it counts

Episode Timestamps:

• 00:00 — Evangelism shame and why you are not alone
• 00:50 — Introducing Dr. Mark Teasdale and Socially Awkward Evangelism
• 01:35 — Why evangelism can feel like a dirty word
• 02:20 — Dr. Teasdale's background in evangelism and practical theology
• 03:04 — How social anxiety shaped the book
• 05:17 — Why de-churched culture makes evangelism harder
• 07:01 — Fear of being judged vs. fear of harming others
• 08:39 — Why this book is practical, not a psychology textbook
• 09:55 — Free online practices and appendices from InterVarsity Press
• 10:34 — Can Christians use mindfulness?
• 12:09 — Why the body matters in fear, anxiety, and evangelism
• 14:52 — Mindfulness as body awareness, not New Age spirituality
• 16:17 — Social anxiety, shame, and sharing the gospel
• 17:42 — Jesus calling people into socially uncomfortable witness
• 20:10 — Persuasion without manipulation
• 22:25 — Who actually converts people?
• 23:55 — Faulty assumptions about evangelism
• 26:38 — Shame from youth group evangelism training
• 27:48 — Different evangelism styles and spiritual gifts
• 30:04 — The 76 interactions idea and being one link in the chain
• 32:31 — Evangelism through acts of love and service
• 34:15 — Start with prayer before speaking
• 36:00 — Asking God for courage over time
• 38:26 — Miracles follow mission
• 39:27 — Where to find Socially Awkward Evangelism and Dr. Teasdale

Resources Mentioned:

• Socially Awkward Evangelism by Dr. Mark Teasdale (InterVarsity Press)

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=socially+awkward+evangelism&hvadid=778082422458&hvdev=c&hvexpln=67&hvlocphy=9033785&hvnetw=g&hvocijid=15095986227276099829--&hvqmt=e&hvrand=15095986227276099829&hvtargid=kwd-2481543952978&hydadcr=17809_13794547&mcid=229f3f4e12a933c3b56455ed6f4fdf1f&tag=googhydr-20&ref=pd_sl_5qh8risejz_e_p67

• Free downloadable appendices and practice exercises — https://www.ivpress.com/Media/Default/Downloads/Excerpts-and-Samples/A1425-online-appendixes.pdf
• Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
• Alan Hirsch and Tim Catchim's evangelism matrix (Permanent Revolution)
• Dr. Mark Teasdale's website: https://markteasdale.net/

About the Guest Dr. Mark Teasdale is President of United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio, and previously served as the E. Stanley Jones Professor of Evangelism at Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary. His work focuses on evangelism, practical theology, and how Christians can faithfully witness in today's cultural landscape. Socially Awkward Evangelism brings together psychology, social anxiety, persuasion theory, and Christian witness into one accessible, grace-filled guide.

Join the Community 

Are you a Christian woman navigating faith, anxiety, and whole-person health? Join Christian Women Health and Wellness: Support for Anxiety, Hormones, and Faith — a free Facebook group for encouragement, practical health conversations, and weekly discussion tied to the podcast. 👉 facebook.com/groups/christianwomenhealthandwellness

About the Host Dr. Tanya Paynter is the host of The Christian Clinician, a podcast built on the belief that true whole-person health rests on five pillars: physical health, mental health, emotional health, relationship with God, and Christian fellowship — all connected and communicated through the nervous system. As a licensed naturopathic physician, Dr. Paynter bridges biblical truth and clinical science — helping Christians understand how faith practices like worship, prayer, Sabbath, and community shape stress physiology, nervous system health, and long-term wellbeing. If you're searching for a faith-based functional medicine approach to health that addresses body, mind, spirit, and community together, The Christian Clinician was recorded with you in mind.

Connect with Dr. Tanya Paynter & The Christian Clinician:

• 🌐 www.psalmmedical.com
• 🎙️ psalmmedical.com/podcast
• ▶️ @thechristianclinician
• 📘 TheChristianClinician
• 👥 Christian Women Health and Wellness
• 📸 @christianclinician

Why does the church feel so tired?

Many Christians know they need rest, but even after a day off, a vacation, or a slower weekend, the deeper restlessness often remains. In this episode of The Christian Clinician, Dr. Tanya Paynter talks with Dr. Amy Erickson and Dr. Gregory Wagenfuhr about their book Sabbath Gospel and a renewed vision of Sabbath, work, rest, and the mission of the church.

This conversation moves beyond Sabbath as a personal health practice or weekly day off. Dr. Erickson and Dr. Wagenfuhr explain Sabbath as a much larger gospel reality: God’s rest, God’s kingdom, and the household of God breaking into a restless world. They discuss why the church is weary, how Christians often try to create rest on their own terms, and why false versions of rest can leave us more anxious, self-focused, and disconnected from one another.

Together, they explore the idea of the “dream home”—the personal, cultural, and institutional ways we try to control life enough to finally feel secure. But that kind of rest never satisfies for long. True Sabbath rest is not found in control, success, productivity, or self-protection. It is received from God and then lived out in community as we learn to carry one another’s burdens.

This episode also connects Sabbath to stress physiology, nervous system health, and Christian formation. When we stop seeing church as only a worship event and begin seeing it as a formative household of God, rest becomes more than something we take for ourselves. It becomes something we receive, practice, and give.

• Why the church feels tired, weary, and spiritually exhausted
• How Sabbath Gospel reframes Sabbath as more than a weekly day off
• The difference between taking rest for yourself and giving rest to others
• Why trying to build your own “dream home” often leads to deeper restlessness
• How Sabbath exposes the false promise of control, success, and self-protection
• Why Sabbath is connected to God’s kingdom, not just personal wellness
• How the church can become a household of rest instead of another system of exhaustion
• Why serving through your God-given gifts can become restful, life-giving work
• How community, burden-bearing, and Christian fellowship shape stress physiology and formation

00:00 Sabbath, physiology, and why church forms us

00:45 Introducing Sabbath Gospel

01:38 Why write a book on Sabbath and the tired church?

04:12 Who this book is for: pastors, churches, and thoughtful Christians

06:14 Sacrifice, Christ’s blood, and Sabbath in the biblical story

10:02 The “dream home” and the false promise of control

13:53 Sin as something we commit and something we are caught in

16:26 Sabbath as more than a day off

18:14 Giving rest, not just taking rest

20:25 Sabbath as heart posture and practice

22:41 Sabbath, the Ten Commandments, Sabbath year, and Jubilee

26:40 The danger of using Sabbath only as a health practice

30:39 Why the church is tired: wrong work vs life-giving work

35:13 Church as a place of formation, not just a worship event

38:19 Practical questions for churches and communities

42:09 Where to find Sabbath Gospel and the authors

Christian Women Health and Wellness: Support for Anxiety, Hormones, and Faith

Join us for encouragement, practical health conversations, and weekly discussion tied to the podcast.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/christianwomenhealthandwellness

• Sabbath Gospel by Dr. Amy Erickson and Dr. Gregory Wagenfuhr
• https://www.amazon.com/Sabbath-Gospel-Narrative-Time-Church/dp/1514009544
• Matthew 11: “Come to me, all who are weary…”
• 1 Corinthians 12 and the body of Christ
• Dr. Gregory Wagenfuhr: www.gpwagenfuhr.com
• Dr. Amy Erickson: https://stmarks.edu.au/about-our-people-dr-amy-erickson/

Dr. Gregory Wagenfuhr is a pastor, theologian, and co-author of Sabbath Gospel. His work explores theology, church formation, Scripture, and the life of the church in a tired and restless age.

Dr. Amy Erickson is a theologian, scholar, and co-author of Sabbath Gospel. She serves at St. Mark’s National Theological Centre in Canberra, Australia, and brings deep biblical and theological insight into Sabbath, rest, the household of God, and the work of the church.

Dr. Tanya Paynter is the host of The Christian Clinician, a podcast built on the belief that true whole-person health rests on five pillars: physical health, mental health, emotional health, relationship with God, and Christian fellowship — all connected and communicated through the nervous system. As a licensed naturopathic physician, Dr. Paynter bridges biblical truth and clinical science — helping Christians understand how our relationship with God and faith practices like worship, prayer, Sabbath, and community shape stress physiology, nervous system health, and long-term wellbeing. If you're searching for a faith-based functional medicine approach to health that addresses body, mind, spirit, and community together, The Christian Clinician was recorded with you in mind.

Learn more at www.psalmmedical.com

Visit the podcast webpage at https://www.psalmmedical.com/podcast

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thechristianclinician

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheChristianClinician

Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/christianwomenhealthandwellness

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christianclinician/

What if anxiety, poor sleep, and mood shifts are your body's way of telling you something about your relationship with God?

In this episode of The Christian Clinician, Dr. Tanya Paynter closes the Sabbath series with a deeply personal application episode — sharing her own story of taking a priority assessment that revealed her actual life looked nothing like the priorities she believed she held. God, family, health, and business were ordered one way in her mind. Where she focused her time and resources told a completely different story.

This episode is about the gap between the priorities we believe we hold and the ones our daily lives actually reflect — and what to do about it. Dr. Paynter explains how anxiety, disrupted sleep, irritability, and mood shifts can serve as early warning signals that our Godward orientation has drifted, and that we may be substituting learning about God for actually spending relational time with Him.

From there, she walks through four practical, grace-filled steps to begin building micro-Sabbath habits into everyday life — small, sustainable ways to reorient your day around God rather than fitting God around your day.

This episode is especially for you if you feel like you never have enough time, struggle to make God your first priority, find yourself substituting theology podcasts and worship music for actual conversation with Him, or notice stress and anxiety rising as your days get fuller.

In This Episode, You'll Explore:

• Why Sabbath rest is a daily orientation, not just a weekly practice
• How your actual priorities — revealed by how you spend your time and resources — may differ from the ones you believe you hold
• Why anxiety, poor sleep, irritability, and mood shifts can signal spiritual and relational drift
• The difference between learning about God and spending relational time with Him
• How to include God in ordinary daily tasks
• How stress, sleep changes, and mood shifts become your early-warning system for spiritual drift
• How we can use a small daily sacrifice of time as our worship to Him

Episode Timestamps:

00:00 — When your stated priorities don't match your actual life

00:53 — Practicing Sabbath as a daily habit with God

02:10 — The priority test that exposed what was really first

05:02 — What your time and money reveal about your true priorities

06:42 — Learning about God vs. spending relational time with God

08:33 — Anxiety as a warning signal that something is off

10:13 — Bringing God into the ordinary tasks

11:29 — Practical Step 1: Evaluate

18:37 — Practical Step 2: Invite

19:22 — Practical Step 3: Remind

23:22 — Practical Step 4: Dedicate

26:23 — Recognizing stress, sleep changes, and mood shifts as signals

28:17 — Closing encouragement

Christian Women Health and Wellness: Support for Anxiety, Hormones, and Faith

Join us for encouragement, practical health conversations, and weekly discussion tied to the podcast.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/christianwomenhealthandwellness

Scripture Referenced:

• Romans 12:1–2 — living sacrifice; renewing the mind
• Psalm 1 — meditating on the Word day and night

Dr. Tanya Paynter is the host of The Christian Clinician, a podcast built on the belief that true whole-person health rests on five pillars: physical health, mental health, emotional health, relationship with God, and Christian fellowship — all connected and communicated through the nervous system. As a licensed naturopathic physician, Dr. Paynter bridges biblical truth and clinical science — helping Christians understand how faith practices like worship, prayer, Sabbath, and community shape stress physiology, nervous system health, and long-term wellbeing. If you're searching for a faith-based functional medicine approach to health that addresses body, mind, spirit, and community together, The Christian Clinician was made for you.

Learn more at www.psalmmedical.com

Visit the podcast webpage at https://www.psalmmedical.com/podcast

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thechristianclinician

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheChristianClinician

Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/christianwomenhealthandwellness

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christianclinician/

Sabbath often gets reduced to "a day off." But what if Sabbath isn't just stopping work — what if it's a whole way of life that exposes anxiety, reshapes identity, and restores the nervous system over time?

In this episode of The Christian Clinician, Dr. Tanya Paynter sits down with Dr. Natasha Tubbs to explore how practicing Sabbath as a way of life helped resolve debilitating anxiety, restore sleep, and reduce chronic pain and inflammation. Natasha shares her journey through burnout, overwhelming anxiety, and a nerve condition that affected her ability to speak and work — and what shifted when God revealed she was confusing capability with grace: saying yes to everything because she could, while her body was clearly saying no.

Together, they unpack Sabbath not as self-care, not as a catch-up day, and not as something you earn by finishing your to-do list — but as worship. Natasha explains how a weekly 24-hour Sabbath reshaped the other six days of her week, helping her live from rest instead of crashing into it. The results were measurable: anxiety resolved, mental clarity returned, sleep improved, and pain and inflammation decreased.

This episode is especially for the high-achieving Christian woman who feels like rest is irresponsible, who ties her worth to productivity, or who has tried "time off" but still doesn't feel restored.

In This Episode, You'll Explore:

• Why Sabbath is more than a day off — it's a way of life that reshapes the other six days
• How anxiety can be rooted in identity, worth, and chronic over-functioning
• Capability vs. grace: why you can do more than you were ever meant to carry
• Why Sabbath is worship, not self-care — and why catch-up days don't restore the nervous system
• How micro-Sabbath habits build rest throughout the week
• How Sabbath practice can improve sleep, mental clarity, and stress reactivity over time
• Why Sabbath exposes the "doing over being" problem and invites deeper trust in God

Episode Timestamps: 

• 00:00 — Sabbath exposes anxiety and the "doing over being" pattern
• 01:33 — Introducing Dr. Natasha Tubbs
• 02:37 — Burnout, nerve pain, and anxiety: what life looked like before Sabbath
• 05:36 — Capability vs. grace: why "yes to everything" breaks the body
• 07:22 — Sabbath as a way of life, not just one day
• 09:55 — What Sabbath looks like practically in different seasons
• 12:25 — Sabbath vs. self-care vs. catch-up day
• 17:28 — Worth, performance, and why anxiety grows
• 20:12 — What changed: anxiety resolved, sleep restored, pain and inflammation reduced
• 23:22 — Micro-habits to start: put away the list, practice presence, build slowly
• 29:25 — Where to find Dr. Tubbs 

Join The Christian Clinician Facebook Group

Christian Women Health and Wellness: Support for Anxiety, Hormones, and Faith

Join us for encouragement, practical health conversations, and weekly discussion tied to the podcast.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/christianwomenhealthandwellness

Resources Mentioned

• Psalm 46:10 (be still and know)
• Mark 2:27 (Sabbath made for man)
• James 2 (faith and works)
• Rich Villodas (quoted about Sabbath and worth)
• Dr. Natasha Tubbs’ website: sabbathandshalom.com

About the Guest

Dr. Natasha Tubbs is an adjunct professor specializing in apologetics and leadership at Manna University in North Carolina. She is a writer with Women in Apologetics and contributes to ethical training in religious studies for AI. She is also transitioning into UX design and Python programming to help develop human-centered, ethically informed AI tools.

Connect with Dr. Natasha Tubbs:

Website: https://sabbathandshalom.com

Instagram/Facebook: Natasha Tubbs

About the Host

Dr. Tanya Paynter is the host of The Christian Clinician, a podcast exploring faith, physiology, and the nervous system—how biblical practices shape stress response, emotional resilience, and long-term physical health. As a licensed naturopathic physician, she helps Christians pursue health without separating the body from the soul.

Where to Find Dr. Tanya Paynter

Learn more at www.psalmmedical.com

Visit the podcast webpage at https://www.psalmmedical.com/podcast

Follow The Christian Clinician on Social Media

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thechristianclinician

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheChristianClinician

Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/christianwomenhealthandwellness

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christianclinician/

Sabbath is one of the most misunderstood practices in the Christian life — and one of the most healing ones, physically and spiritually.

In this teaching episode, Dr. Tanya Paynter walks through the biblical foundation of Sabbath from creation through the Ten Commandments, then shows how Sabbath ultimately points to Jesus — our true rest — under the New Covenant. This is not a legalistic rule to follow. It's an invitation into something deeper.

Dr. Paynter also connects Sabbath to stress physiology and nervous system recovery. A weekend off does not automatically produce real rest if your body is still carrying chronic stress, low control, and unresolved strain. True Sabbath rest reorients your mind and attention toward God in a way that actually calms the stress response and allows the body to recover over time.

This episode also introduces a new, yet Biblical, concept — Sabbath doesn’t have to be an entire day. It can include “micro-Sabbath” moments—short, intentional pauses throughout the day to step out of task-to-task pressure, check in with God, and let recovery accumulate even when a full day of rest feels impossible.

If you feel exhausted even after time off, struggle to truly rest, or have wondered what Sabbath really means for Christian women today — this episode gives you a clearer, more freeing picture.

• Why Sabbath is more than “a day off” and what Scripture says about how it’s tied to relationship with God
• Sabbath in Genesis and the Ten Commandments: why it’s grouped with God-relationship commands
• How Sabbath points to Jesus and the finished work of Christ (rest under the New Covenant)
• Why a day off doesn’t always restore the body when stress remains high
• What research suggests about Sabbath, burnout, wellbeing, and recovery
• How micro-breaks and “mini Sabbaths” can reduce stress reactivity during the week
• How Sabbath becomes reorientation—resting in God, not just resting from work

00:00 Sabbath isn’t just a day off

01:40 Sabbath in Genesis: creation and ongoing rest

03:17 Sabbath in the Ten Commandments and why it matters

06:10 Sabbath under the New Covenant: rest in Christ (Colossians 2; Hebrews 4)

09:03 What Sabbath looks like practically: worship, connection, delight

11:31 What research says: Sabbath, wellbeing, burnout, recovery

14:32 Why a day off doesn’t always equal recovery (stress load + control)

16:54 Micro-Sabbath breaks: rest throughout the day

18:50 Key takeaway: reorientation toward God, not just stopping

22:48 Invitation: micro-Sabbath throughout your day + next steps

Join us for encouragement, practical health conversations, and weekly discussion tied to the podcast.

Christian Women Health and Wellness: Support for Anxiety, Hormones, and Faith

https://www.facebook.com/groups/christianwomenhealthandwellness

• Exodus 20:8–11 (Sabbath command)
• Colossians 2:16–17 (Sabbaths as shadow; Christ the substance)
• Hebrews 4 (rest in Christ)
• Ezekiel 20:12 (Sabbath as a covenental sign)
• Mark 2:27 (Sabbath made for man)
• Commentary referenced: Enduring Word by David Guzik
• https://enduringword.com/
• Research
• Speedling BB. Celebrating Sabbath as a Holistic Health Practice: The Transformative Power of a Sanctuary in Time. J Relig Health. 2019 Aug;58(4):1382-1400. doi: 10.1007/s10943-019-00799-6. PMID: 30972608.
• Cheng A, Lee MH, Djita R. A Cross-Sectional Analysis of the Relationship Between Sabbath Practices and US, Canadian, Indonesian, and Paraguayan Teachers' Burnout. J Relig Health. 2023 Apr;62(2):1090-1113. doi: 10.1007/s10943-022-01647-w. Epub 2022 Sep 1. PMID: 36048354; PMCID: PMC9434070.
• Tsuchiya M, Takahashi M, Miki K, Kubo T, Izawa S. Cross-sectional associations between daily rest periods during weekdays and psychological distress, non-restorative sleep, fatigue, and work performance among information technology workers. Ind Health. 2017 Apr 7;55(2):173-179. doi: 10.2486/indhealth.2016-0140. Epub 2016 Dec 24. PMID: 28025423; PMCID: PMC5383414.
• Albulescu P, Macsinga I, Rusu A, Sulea C, Bodnaru A, Tulbure BT. "Give me a break!" A systematic review and meta-analysis on the efficacy of micro-breaks for increasing well-being and performance. PLoS One. 2022 Aug 31;17(8):e0272460. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0272460. PMID: 36044424; PMCID: PMC9432722.
• Aziz S, Meier B, Wuensch K, Dolbier C. Take a break! Leisure participation moderates the workaholism-work stress relationship. Career Dev Q. 2023 Dec;71(4):315-329. doi: 10.1002/cdq.12336. Epub 2023 Oct 17. PMID: 38390370; PMCID: PMC10883458.

Dr. Tanya Paynter is the host of The Christian Clinician, a podcast exploring faith, physiology, and the nervous system—how biblical practices shape stress response, emotional resilience, and long-term physical health. As a licensed naturopathic physician, she helps Christians understand how spiritual health affects both physical and emotional wellbeing, without separating the body from the soul.

Learn more at www.psalmmedical.com

Visit the podcast webpage at https://www.psalmmedical.com/podcast

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thechristianclinician

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheChristianClinician

Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/christianwomenhealthandwellness

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christianclinician/

Do you feel guilty for enjoying your hobbies? Like reading, baking, or camping somehow pulls you away from God instead of toward him?

In this episode, Dr. Tanya Paynter sits down with Brianna Lambert — author of Created to Play: How Taking Hobbies Seriously Grows Us Spiritually — to talk about why Christians so often compartmentalize their faith from the things they love, and why that divide was never meant to exist.

Brianna shares how she once felt deep guilt over the activities she enjoyed most, and how understanding God's character as the source of all beauty, goodness, and creativity changed everything. They explore how hobbies are not a distraction from worship — they are an opportunity for it.

• Why the secular/spiritual divide in our daily lives is a false one

• How play and hobbies connect us to our identity as image bearers of God

• The difference between rest that restores and escapism

• How shared hobbies build relationships — and open doors to the gospel

• Practical ways to start small and find God in your ordinary, everyday moments

00:00 Why hobbies and shared activities build real relationships

03:26 Guilt, “secular vs spiritual,” and learning to receive good gifts from God

06:46 Rest vs escapism: how to discern the difference

07:50 A better definition of idleness: not doing what you were created to do

11:27 Redefining worship beyond singing and guilt about “not enjoying worship”

23:47 Play in community: family hobbies, church life, and everyday evangelism

31:30 The 10 “titles” of play + deep joys and temptations

35:13 What it means to take hobbies seriously (without turning them into performance)

41:36 Practical steps to start small and release productivity guilt

• Created to Play: How Taking Hobbies Seriously Grows Us Spiritually — Brianna Lambert
• Stuart Brown (play and lifelong development)
• The “scholastics” framing of idleness/laziness (concept discussed)

Brianna Lambert is a writer and author from a rural community outside Indianapolis. Her articles and essays have appeared in Christianity Today, The Gospel Coalition, Common Good, and Mere Orthodoxy. She serves on staff at Gospel Centered Discipleship and in the women’s ministry at her local church. She is the author of Created to Play: How Taking Hobbies Seriously Grows Us Spiritually.

Connect with Brianna Lambert:

• Website: https://briannalambert.com
• Substack: https://briannalambert.substack.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/briannalambertauthor
• Book availability mentioned: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Walmart (online)

Dr. Tanya Paynter is the host of The Christian Clinician, a podcast exploring faith, physiology, and the nervous system—how biblical practices shape stress response, emotional resilience, and long-term physical health. She is a licensed naturopathic physician.

Learn more at www.psalmmedical.com

Visit the podcast webpage at https://www.psalmmedical.com/cc-podcast

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thechristianclinician

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheChristianClinician

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christianclinician/

When most Christians hear the word worship, they think singing. And while singing is a biblical expression of worship, worship is far bigger than a Sunday morning moment.

In this episode of The Christian Clinician, Dr. Tanya Paynter closes the worship series by reframing worship as the Godward orientation of your entire life — your body, your choices, your attention, your obedience, your resources, and your daily routines. She also shares a personal tension: she doesn't naturally enjoy singing, yet came to realize that worship isn't always about emotion or enjoyment. Sometimes worship is sacrificial — doing what honors God even when you don't feel spiritually moved.

Dr. Paynter then walks through five practical ways to worship God in daily life — many of them built into responsibilities you already carry. She explains how these everyday worship practices also directly shape stress physiology: reducing rumination, retraining the nervous system, and lowering chronic fight-or-flight patterns over time by reorienting the mind and body toward trust, humility, and obedience.

This episode is especially for you if:

• Worship has felt limited to a church service or a style of music
• You've felt guilty for not "feeling worshipful" during singing
• You want a practical, faith-based approach to honoring God in the middle of ordinary life
• You're a Christian dealing with chronic stress, anxiety, or nervous system dysregulation and want to understand how spiritual practices affect your physiology

In This Episode, You'll Explore:

• Why worship is more than singing — it's a whole-life orientation toward God
• Why some worship is sacrificial (obedience and faithfulness when you don't feel it)
• Worship through daily work: excellence, chores, and ordinary faithfulness as spiritual practice
• Worship through stewarding your body: movement, food choices, and physical discipline as honor to God
• Worship through creating beauty: art, craftsmanship, meals, gardens, and generosity
• Worship through humility: asking for prayer, receiving help, and accepting your limits
• Why these practices retrain the stress response and reduce nervous system reactivity over time — and what the science says

Episode Timestamps 

• 00:00 — Why worship is more than singing
• 01:29 — Singing as a sacrifice (when you don't enjoy it)
• 02:58 — Defining worship as whole-life orientation toward God
• 04:46 — 1) Worship through obedience when you don't feel like it
• 06:36 — 2) Worship through excellence in ordinary work and chores
• 08:52 — 3) Worship through stewardship of the body (movement, food, discipline)
• 12:56 — 4) Worship through creating beauty with your gifts
• 14:25 — 5) Worship through humility, asking for help, and accepting limits
• 19:21 — Why chronic stress rises when we refuse limits
• 21:50 — Closing: expanding your picture of worship

Scripture References

• Ephesians 5 — psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs
• Colossians 3:23–24 — work heartily as for the Lord
• 1 Corinthians 10:31 — do all to the glory of God
• 2 Corinthians 12:9–10 — power made perfect in weakness

About the Host Dr. Tanya Paynter is the host of The Christian Clinician, a podcast built on the belief that true whole-person health rests on four pillars: physical health, mental and emotional health, relationship with God, and Christian fellowship. As a licensed naturopathic physician, Dr. Paynter bridges the gap between biblical truth and clinical science — helping Christians understand how practices like worship, prayer, gratitude, forgiveness, and community directly shape stress physiology, nervous system health, and long-term wellbeing. If you're looking for a whole-person, faith-rooted approach to health that goes far beyond symptom management and addresses body, mind, spirit, and community together, The Christian Clinician was made for you.

Connect with Dr. Tanya Paynter & The Christian Clinician

• 🌐 Website: www.psalmmedical.com
• 🎙️ Podcast Page: psalmmedical.com/cc-podcast
• ▶️ YouTube: @thechristianclinician
• 📘 Facebook: TheChristianClinician
• 📸 Instagram: @christianclinician

Worship is not only singing. It’s a whole-life response to God—and Scripture shows that worship can be practiced in many forms that shape both spiritual life and stress physiology.

In this episode of The Christian Clinician, Dr. Tanya Paynter continues the teaching on worship and the body by focusing on two worship categories that often get overlooked: corporate worship and fellowship, and meditation on Scripture as a worshipful act. She explains why community is one of the strongest protective factors for emotional health and why communal worship tends to have stronger effects than private practice alone. She also explores Scripture meditation as a focused, Christian form of attention that supports nervous system regulation by reducing rumination, reorienting the mind toward God’s truth, and reinforcing Romans 12:2 “renewing the mind” patterns.

This episode also includes an important caution: not all religious practice is automatically regulating. Worship rooted in fear, shame, performance, or distorted theology can increase stress and intensify fight-or-flight. The benefits are strongest when worship is grounded in trust, truth, gratitude, surrender, and a secure relationship with God.

If worship has felt limited to Sunday singing—or if you’ve wondered why your body responds to some “spiritual” experiences with stress rather than peace—this episode offers a bigger, more biblical picture of worship and why it matters for the nervous system.

In this episode, you’ll explore

• Why corporate worship and fellowship are part of a worshiping life—not optional extras

• Why community and group prayer can reduce isolation and improve emotional health

• How worship practices shape stress physiology and fight-or-flight reactivity over time

• Scripture meditation as worship: focused attention, reduced rumination, and renewing the mind

• Why worship isn’t about personality type or enjoyment, but can be sacrificial worship

• A caution on fear-based religion: how bad theology can increase stress

• Why worship “works” because we were made for God—our bodies respond by design

Episode Timestamps

00:00 When worship increases stress (important caution)

01:14 Corporate worship and fellowship as worship (Acts 2; Hebrews 10)

05:06 Community and health outcomes (social support, isolation, shared meaning)

05:44 Singing, vagus nerve, and the parasympathetic shift

06:09 Scripture meditation as worship (Nehemiah 8; Isaiah 66)

09:02 How worship practices regulate attention, rumination, and stress appraisal

11:45 Fear-based worship vs trust-based worship + invitation to expand worship this week

16:56 Why worship heals by design + gospel moment (John 4)

18:51 Closing and review request (Numbers 6)

Resources Mentioned

• Acts 2:42; Hebrews 10:24–25 (community and gathering)

• Nehemiah 8:5–6; Isaiah 66:2 (receiving God’s Word as worship)

• Romans 12:1–2 (living sacrifice; renewing the mind)

• John 4:23–24 (worship in spirit and truth)

• Numbers 6:24–26 (closing blessing)

• Research referenced:

VanderWeele, T. Invited Commentary: Religious Service Attendance and Implications for Clinical Care, Community Participation, and Public Health (2022) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33977296/

Shanshan, Li et al. Religious Service Attendance and Mortality in Women (2017)

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5503841/

About the Host

Dr. Tanya Paynter is the host of The Christian Clinician, a podcast exploring the intersection of Christian faith, physiology, and whole-person health. As a licensed naturopathic physician, she helps Christians understand how biblical practices—like worship, prayer, gratitude, and forgiveness—shape stress physiology, nervous system regulation, emotional resilience, and physical health over time.

Where to Find Dr. Tanya Paynter

Learn more at www.psalmmedical.com

Visit the podcast webpage at https://www.psalmmedical.com/cc-podcast

Follow The Christian Clinician on Social Media

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thechristianclinician

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheChristianClinician

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christianclinician/