Interview: Bestselling Author, Rebekah Lyons on ‘Rhythms of Renewal’

Bestselling author Rebekah Lyons is shifting paradigms in the lives of women across the country with her national bestseller, Rhythms of Renewal: Trading Stress and Anxiety for a Life of Peace and Purpose Lyons suffered from intense panic attacks for years until she found the key solution – four rhythms that have kept panic attacks from reoccurring in her life. A faith-filled, busy mom of 4, Lyons recently spoke with me about ways to ease anxiety and stress as a result of finding 4 life-giving rhythms of renewal for her life that she now shares with others. Those four rhythms are: Rest, Restore, Connect, Create.

It has been said that books just come to authors in various and unique ways before they are written. How did the inspiration for this book come to you?

I had a panic attack four months into my time in New York City. I was on a flight from Atlanta back to LaGuardia, and it started then and just continued for over a year on planes, trains, elevators and in crowds. It was very much just this constant panic attack triggered by living in New York city. I remember just crying out to God and asking for some help, some rescue. Then, I remember a moment where I was just flooded with peace and I didn’t really have language for what was happening or what the journey would look like, but I knew I was starting on a path toward healing. Over the next few years, I began to incorporate these rhythms that I knew I would need for sustained emotional health. So they slowly narrowed down into this book. This is my third book on the topic of mental health.

Many people in our society struggle with worry, stress and anxiety. In your opinion, is worry inherited genetically, a spiritual matter altogether or both?

I think worry and stress have a lot to do with our personality. We might have been modeled that way as young kids. I don’t know if it’s like a genetic thing beyond the fact that we are responding to our circumstances. People respond a lot of different ways. I also think that sometimes hard experiences in our life can trigger worry, where something felt unsafe, got lost or you think of all the things that can happen in someone’s childhood where it just creates some sort of panic or reaction. Somebody gets sick or has to go to the hospital, or you lose your pet. I mean, you name it. It could be all kinds of things. I do think sometimes later in life we’re still dealing with some of the fallout of circumstances that might’ve happened while we were growing up.

In your book, you discuss four rhythms of renewal. Do you mind sharing your thoughts on the rhythms: rest, restore, connect and create?

Rest, restore, connect and create. Rest and restore are the input rhythm, and connect and create our output rhythms. Rest is all about your inner life and your spiritual health. The rest and restore chapters in the book discuss topics like detoxing, morning routines or routines for deep sleep, and placing things in your life that will make more room for prayer, gratitude and making sure that you have some quiet time. Making sure that you’re just resting your mind, and restoring your physical health. And that’s about eating food for fuel, and raising your heart rate so that it releases serotonin in your body and adding that natural happy hormone that makes you feel positivity and accomplishment.

So, those are the first two rhythms, and I think we all should put those to use in our lives every day. You know, if we’re just mindful about how we’re moving our body, and what we’re putting in our body for food, as well as making sure that we’re getting quiet and taking some time out to rest and spend time with God–you will see a positive shift and feel more renewed. So, the last two rhythms are connect and create. Connect is all about our relational health. It’s all about our relationships, our marriages, and our friendships. The connect rhythm deals with topics like being the friend that you wish to have, leading with vulnerability, or have people in your home and don’t worry about things being perfect. All of these things, give you feelings of connection and belonging that people are looking for. People are truly emotionally starved. We have an epidemic of loneliness in our society, and connecting addresses this. This is what connecting is about. Creating is about the actual practice of creating.

One takeaway that I appreciated most from your book was the concept of taking inventory. What are the benefits of taking inventory of your life, and how does this lead to a shift in renewal?

You don’t know what you need to change until you actually stop, pause, and ask yourself the important questions. The point of the take inventory chapter is just to answer four questions which are: “What’s right?”, “What’s wrong?”, “What’s confused?” and “What’s missing?” And sometimes we have no idea. All we know is that we feel the physical symptoms of stress, that we never feel very rested, that we always feel inadequate, overwhelmed, or like we just can’t keep up.

After year after year, it’s time to stop. It’s time to just ask ourselves some of these questions so that we can become intentional about healing. I love that intentionality. What is your favorite quote that addresses worry and anxiety?

My favorite scripture is 2 Timothy 1:7, which states “For I’ve not given you a spirit of fear, Rebecca, but power, love and a sound mind.” That’s one that I learned as a young kid and it still to this day has much impact for me. The other one is “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; ⁷ and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” So that tells me, even if I wake up with stress or worry, or regret or shame that I can say, “God, I give this to you. I thank you that you are who you are and that you created me for a purpose. You created me to give you glory and that my life is not mine. It’s yours. I know that I’m beloved by you.

About The Author:

Rebekah Lyons is a national speaker and bestselling author of You Are Free: Be Who You Already Are and Freefall to Fly: A Breathtaking Journey Toward a Life of Meaning. An old soul with a contemporary, honest voice, Rebekah reveals her own battles to overcome anxiety and depression—and invites others to discover and boldly pursue their God-given purpose. Alongside her husband, Gabe, Rebekah finds joy in raising four children, two of whom have Down syndrome. She wears her heart on her sleeve, a benefit to friends and readers alike. Her work has been featured on Good Morning America, CNN, Huffington Post, The Tennessean, Publisher’s Weekly, and more.

In her new book, Rhythms of Renewal: Trading Stress and Anxiety for a Life of Peace and Purpose (Oct. 1, 2019), Lyons pulls from her own journey with anxiety and depression to guide readers through four life-giving rhythms to overcome fear and live an abundant, vibrant life.

Note: this interview has been condensed due to length, and for clarity. To hear Lyons speaking more about Rhythms of Renewal, click HERE. To learn more about Rebekah Lyons or to purchase this book, click HERE.

Lynnette’s interview with Rebekah Lyons was originally published on Moms.com on December 6th, 2019.