Welcome to another episode of May is for Mamas, and this is Mother's Day Week! We are approaching Mother's Day and I had the thought, I want to create a podcast episode that is a gift to any mom who is listening. And oftentimes for Mother's Day, we wanna get a massage or we wanna get away, or we want a new bag, or we wanna be served breakfast in bed. And all of these things are good and of of course, of course we want most of all those homemade cards from our kids that is the best. And just the acknowledgement of all the work and love that we pour into our families and all of that is so good and right and wonderful to want and receive those things.

But sometimes, sometimes more than anything, I just want some words of life spoken over me. I need a fresh wind of the Holy Spirit to empower my steps. I want to to hear scripture and words that can speak to me in the dark moments that hold me together when I feel like I'm falling apart. The words that give me patience when I lose my temper, the words that give me wisdom when I need it most.

And so today I am gonna be sharing my favorite scripture verses for mamas. And of course there are endless scriptures that I could share. There are so many more that I could pull from, but these are some of my personal favorites that I just want to read over you and share with you today.

Today I have some simple encouragement for you, which is just a glimpse into what God has been teaching me lately. I have found that when I complete another contentment challenge, it's good for me to take a minute to recap the biggest lessons the Lord has taught me during this fast of sorts. Because I find that every time I give up shopping or extra spending for a limited time, which is what the Contentment Challenge is, it frees up space for him to do things in my life and to address some spiritual things going on in my heart, in my mind.

And today I'm just gonna share three simple things that the Lord has been teaching me this year up to this point.

Just a few months from now, in the start of 2023, that will mark 10 years since I did my first Contentment Challenge, where I give up shopping for three months straight to pursue a more content life and a closer walk with the Lord.

A few years ago, I came up with a core purpose statement for my work and this podcast, and that is: Practical tools for an integrated life. That is what I'm after. I want my teachings, my content, everything that I give to you or anyone who's listening to be very practical, and I want them to be implemented into an integrated life.

Everyone right now is telling us that we should be buying more, that we should have more, that we should be dressing in cuter clothes and decorating more perfectly. And today, I just want to be a voice that says: You don't.

I am gonna share with you simply how we practice the Sabbath and hopefully give you some practical things that you can do, too.

Today I'm talking with my dear friend Nicole Jacobsmeyer, who is a fellow mama of four. She is an author and a kindred spirit. Her first book, Take Back Your Joy, just came out and if you open the first two pages of the book, you'll read my endorsement, which is so much fun! I hope you enjoy our heartfelt conversation today.

This is the first episode of May is for Mamas, which is one of my favorite things I do on the podcast every May. This first episode is all about speaking scripture over your children and how powerful that can be for your kids and for you.

We are living in a tense time. Cultural pressures are really high. Our nation feels like it's falling apart some days and is super divided in it. It's hard and more than anything, the dark world around us is begging for light and truth. T his episode is simply an encouragement for you to be bold and strong and to live out your faith in every aspect of your life and to cling to Jesus every day.

The key to success is contentment.

I mean, think about it—if you can find a way to truly be content, to be happy in every circumstance, wouldn't it be awesome? Every day it would be incredible. I mean, we'd wake up so grateful and so happy because we're content! This episode is about fighting for contentment with simple habits in our lives. Habits that can help us pause and realize just how good we have it. Habits that help us to live at ease and to live content.

I recently shared the news that after this year, my twelfth year of business, the doors of Nancy Ray Photography will close. I’m sharing with you the three questions that I asked myself during this journey, and I’ll ask you as well.

I think it's pretty safe to say that when it comes to our work, we want to be part of something that we are called to do— something that is full of meaning and has purpose, something that is in line perfectly with our passions and giftings. But today I want to challenge our way of thinking, and really the language that we use describing our work and our calling.

Today, I have a conversation with a friend and author Hannah Brencher. Hannah is such a breath of fresh air. She is a writer, a TED speaker, an online educator with a heart for building leaders. She has written three books. Her third, which we're talking about today, is Fighting Forward. It has been exactly what I have needed to read. It's incredible. I think you're going to love our conversation today about how you can fight forward in your own life.

Well friend, this is my last episode of Work & Play before I take a two month break from the podcast and a six month break from work and social media. I just want to use this time and space to encourage you. And I want to speak life over you. And I want to encourage you to speak life over the people around you.

Over the last several months, I have been working on a project I haven’t told anyone about, but you, my dear work and play podcast listener, are going to be the very first to know about it.

Today’s episode is part 1 of a three part episode series giving you a glimpse inside this new audio course (I honestly hesitate to call it a course because it’s more of a comprehensive way that I look at my life broken down into three categories: faith, home and work).

Welcome to the Nancy Ray Book Club, where every month I share a book worth reading and invite you to read it along with me. Today's book is The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry by John Mark Comer—highly recommending this one friend.

Today we are diving into one of the most difficult seasons of our friendship, the season of five years where my best friend and sister-in-law, Sam, was walking through infertility and I had three babies. I'm just so honored to share today's podcast episode with you, because what it feels like for me is a precious gift that I'm giving to you, that you can hear Sam's heart and her story. And it feels like we are sharing this really vulnerable part of our journey together as friends and sisters with you.

Today, I'm going to share with you the value of doing this, the value of giving up something in your life that's easy and convenient and even good, to challenge yourself; and specifically the value of the Contentment Challenge this year and what I learned this time around.