Subscribe
Share
Share
Embed
A Christian podcast for women in their 40s and 50s navigating perimenopause, hormone shifts, and soul fatigue. Each episode is like a letter—offering grace-based encouragement and holistic healing rhythms for your body and soul.
This podcast is rooted in the real, restorative work I offer through Ingrained Living: Functional Nutrition & Holistic Hormone Health. Whether you’re feeling stretched thin by emotional overwhelm or curious about the connection between your faith, food, and fatigue—there’s space for you here.
Some episodes are poetic and reflective.
Others are practical—grounded in functional nutrition, nervous system support, and rhythms of restoration.
All are designed to help you live with intention, alignment, and grace—even in the storm.
Come walk with me.
There’s space for you here.
May you remember:
Rest isn’t something you earn.
It’s something—and Someone—you return to again and again.
This is about living from rest.
And you don’t have to do it alone.
🫖 Take your first step toward feeling steady again: www.ingrainedliving.com
Maybe your voices sound differently.
Maybe they say: ‘If I rest, I’ll fall behind.’
Or ‘If I stop, everyone will think less of me.’
Or even: ‘If I don’t do it, it won’t get done… or it won’t get done well.’
Whatever your voices sound like, the first step is noticing them. Naming the story.
Just a little note before we begin—you may hear a little voice or some footsteps in the background. My 4-year-old is keeping me company nearby today. It feels fitting, doesn’t it? Because rest and margin happen in the middle of real life, not in perfect silence.
“You can’t hack your way to healing.
You can’t hustle your way to wholeness.
You have to return… to rest.
Welcome to Nourishing Her Midlife Rest: Body & Soul.
I’m Bethany Thomson, and I walk with women as a Registered Dietitian, functional nutritionist, and holistic Christian life coach.
This podcast is for weary Christian women navigating perimenopause, menopause, and the sacred middle seasons of life—where flourishing isn’t about pushing through, but learning to receive: grace, wisdom, and rest… body and soul.
Yes, on this podcast we talk about nutrition and hormone health—and I’ll be diving into that even more deeply in the weeks ahead. But I want you to know something important: before we can talk about supplements or lab testing, we have to prepare the soil of your life. Rest, presence, and margin are the foundation. If the soil isn’t healthy, nothing else will thrive for long. So in these first episodes, we’re starting with rhythms of rest and ways to nourish your soul—because when that foundation is in place, the nutrition piece has so much more impact and your hormones begin to rebalance… naturally.
In my practice, I meet with so many women in perimenopause and menopause who are struggling—stubborn weight that won’t budge, energy crashes that wipe them out by mid-afternoon, digestive issues that make them feel like strangers in their own bodies. And more and more, I see the toll of stress showing up as autoimmune conditions and chronic inflammation.
And here’s the hopeful part: I’ve seen women’s bodies return to rest in swift spans of time. With the personalized pathway I lead women through, they often begin to feel lighter, steadier, even like a new person within 10 to 14 days. Inflammation calms, digestion resets, and energy begins to rise. Those incredible changes are worth celebrating.
But here’s what I’ve also noticed: even when the body begins to shift quickly into a state of calm, the most transformative work is returning to rest deep in our souls—and that can require even more dedication. Because you can restore your gut, balance your blood sugar, or follow an anti-inflammatory plan to calm your immune system—but if your soul is still driven by exhaustion and guilt, your body will never truly feel safe for long.
That’s why, here on the podcast, I want to start with rhythms of rest. Because when your soul is nourished, the physical shifts don’t just happen for a season—they actually take root. They become a way of living.”
Not long ago, I found myself sitting in my van in the church parking lot on a Sunday morning. My family was inside, and part of me felt guilty—like I should be serving, greeting, doing something. And another part of me knew: I needed this space.
If you’re a woman in midlife, maybe you know that tension too—that push and pull between what you feel you should be doing and what your soul is quietly craving.
And if you’ve been listening to earlier episodes, you may remember when I shared that this is my full-sail season. My husband and I agreed that right now my biggest commitments have to be my family, my business, and my clients. And that means this is not the season to give as much as I normally would in my local church. That was hard for me to admit, but it’s the truth for this season.
The story running through my head that morning went something like this: If I step back from serving, I’m not committed. I’m being selfish. Good leaders don’t hide away.
And practically, I kept thinking: if I’m not teaching preschool, then that slot is open—I should just commit to something else. If my family is already at church in Sunday school classes, shouldn’t I be doing something useful during that time too?
Maybe you’ve heard a version of this yourself: If I rest, I’m lazy. If I pause, I’m letting someone down. If I stop, I’ll lose ground.
But here’s the truth I’m learning: rest is not a reward. Rest is a gift.
Just because I have an open time slot doesn’t mean I have to fill it. Just because there’s a gap in the schedule doesn’t mean I need to rush to plug it in.
The quiet Sunday morning hour I have to myself before the worship service has become one of my protected spaces. And I want to be really honest—it’s not usually a long devotional time or extended prayer. For me, that hour is more often personal reflection and thinking time.
As an introvert, that’s how I recharge. I need quiet, uninterrupted time for processing. During the week, between seeing up to six clients a day, caring for five children, and investing in my marriage, there isn’t much margin left. Protecting this time on Sunday morning is part of how I can show up well everywhere else.
And honestly, those Sunday reflections are what fuel this very podcast. I can’t just create on the spur of the moment—I need time to process, to let ideas breathe. That space is what allows me to show up here each week with something real to share.
It’s not wasted time. It’s fuel. It’s what allows me to be mentally and emotionally present for the people who need me most.
So here’s what I’ve been journaling about this week—maybe it will help you name what’s true for you too.
First, I had to notice the story I was telling myself.
When I slowed down enough to listen, I realized there were different voices in me:
The critic voice: ‘If I step back, I’m selfish. I’m shirking responsibility.’
The achiever voice: ‘Good leaders don’t hide away when everyone else is gathering.’
The performer voice: ‘You’ve got to hold it all together on Sunday morning, because everyone’s watching.’
The anxious explainer: ‘People won’t understand unless you explain yourself.’
And then finally, there was the compassionate voice: ‘Of course you feel drained—you’ve been holding space for people all week long. You’ve been carrying their stories and emotions, and now you need a space that will hold you.
Maybe your voices sound different. Maybe for you, the voice says: ‘If I don’t do it, it won’t get done—or at least not done right.’ That’s a heavy one too, because it puts the weight of the world on your shoulders.
Whatever your voices say, the first step is noticing them. Naming the story.
Second, I had to separate facts from assumptions.
The fact was simple: I wasn’t teaching preschool this year. That’s neutral.
But here’s where my assumptions came in: That means I’m letting people down. People will notice I’m not as involved. If I’m not serving actively, then I don’t belong. I am only lovable if I’m useful.
And that one—If I don’t serve, I don’t belong; I am only lovable if I’m useful —stopped me in my tracks.
Because it revealed a story I’ve been carrying for a long time.
I wonder if you’ve carried that too—that subtle but heavy lie that your belonging depends on your usefulness. That you are only valuable when you’re pouring out for everyone else.
Dear one, that’s not the gospel. That’s not the voice of Jesus. That’s a weight our Heavenly Father never asked us to carry.
So the third step was to imagine a truer, more life-giving story.
Old story: ‘If I step back, I’m selfish.’
New story: ‘By choosing rest, I’m honoring how God designed me—with limits. Rest is not selfish—it’s stewardship.’
Old story: ‘Good leaders don’t hide away.’
New story: ‘This pause is not weakness; it’s leadership. My leadership is deepened by renewal.’
Old story: ‘I have to serve to belong. I am only lovable if I’m useful.’
New story: ‘My belonging is secure because I am God’s daughter. Even when I rest, I am loved. Even when I’m not serving, I still belong.’
That was the truer story I needed to hear. And beloved, you can write your own. Start with the loudest old story in your head and then ask: What’s the truer, life-giving story God is telling?”
And finally, I had to name one small next step to practice that truth.
For me, it was protecting that Sunday morning hour. For you, it might be turning off your phone 20 minutes earlier at night. Or letting the laundry wait one more day. Or sitting with a cup of tea before you dive into the next task.
It doesn’t have to be dramatic. Just one small practice that says: I am loved even when I rest. I belong even when I pause. Rest is not selfish—it’s stewardship.
If you’d like to go deeper, I’d love to invite you into a Welcome Hour at ingrainedliving.com/welcome-hour.
It’s a quiet space to be heard and to begin uncovering what your body and heart most need right now to find your steady in this season of perimenopause and midlife. That might look like taking a deep dive into your hormone levels, nutrient stores, and gut health through specialized labs… or it might look like designing rhythms and spiritual practices that steady your soul. Either way, the Welcome Hour is where we begin.”
And if this episode gave you a breath of rest, would you share it with a friend who might need the same? If you haven’t yet, I’d be so grateful if you’d like, subscribe, and leave a review wherever you’re listening. Those simple steps help this podcast reach more women in midlife — so they too can find rest for their body and soul.
So let me ask you: Where in your life are you treating rest like a reward you have to earn
Dear one, you don’t have to wait until you’ve done enough. Rest is not something you earn. It’s not a prize for working hard enough. [gentle pause] Rest is already yours to receive—a gift from the God who made you with limits, and who delights to meet you in them.
May you lean into the God who meets you—even here—as a Good and Gentle Shepherd.
And may you know…
You are not behind.
You are not broken.
You are deeply loved.
Right in the middle of your season.
Thanks for joining me today. I’m so glad to be walking this pathway with you.
Until next time…
Grace and peace,
Bethany