Let's take a few minutes to dream about life and work and lay out a game plan for the next five years.

Often times, this is the time of year where we go a little off the rails with our eating, our spending, with our planning. We just do too much of all of it.

So, my encouragement to you today is that if you want to finish this year strong, you have to start now.

In it, Rebecca outlines four rhythms for a life of peace and purpose. I couldn't help but think back to my episode just a couple weeks ago on self-care, because I feel like this book is a deeper dive and how we can live out these rhythms and have a healthy, mature life as a believer. All in all, I love the book. I feel like Rebecca is somewhat of a soul sister and I can't wait for you to hear my top takeaways.

Today, I brought Emily on to have a conversation about camping, kids, and slowing down. You're going to love Emily. She has a depth and a graciousness that is unmatched, and I love her. It's why she's been my friend for so long. So, I'm so excited to share our conversation today.

We are constantly hearing and seeing the message of self-care. Take time for yourself. Don't forget to care for yourself. Drink water. Exercise. Go get your nails done. I have had so many mixed feelings about the phrase “self-care” for a long time.

So, today, I'm going to dive into the good and bad of self-care and offer a better, more holistic approach.

Today I'm talking with my friend, Chrystal Evans Hurst, and let me just say, this woman, I love her. This is for you if you maybe feel stuck in a rut with your prayers, or, like she talks about in our conversation, if you want to activate the voice of the Holy Spirit in your life to be more real, and fresh, and conversational.

Today's episode is short and sweet, and I am talking about why I have a business journal—a work journal.

Yes, a separate journal, completely dedicated to my work. And I'll be telling you why I think you should have one too.

As we were starting to do research and kind of figure out what content we wanted to make when I was just starting this brand and podcast, a friend asked me some really good questions, and recommended this book: The Pumpkin Plan.

It challenged me to push pause on all of my own ideas, to zoom out a little bit, to get some more perspective, and ask better questions, not only of myself, but of my clients, my audience, and my work. I'm really excited to dive in today and share what I learned!

School shopping as a parent. It's not always so pretty. There's a lot to manage. There's a lot to take hold of. And I've learned this: there's a lot of different correspondence and papers, a lot of different things going on.

I don't have a ton of years under my belt, but I am committed to putting systems, and rhythms, and routines into place as we go back to school that will allow us to flourish instead of being stressed out.

For the most part, mission statements / purpose statements / "what's your why" statements are just too wordy and a bunch of gobbledygook that doesn't help you or clarify your vision.

So if you've never written one for your work, or if you have one, but you can't recite it right now off the top of your head and you don't really believe in it: this episode is for you.

Today, I want to encourage and kind of pause and coach you through a few exercises and questions that will hopefully help bring clarity to this year, to exactly where you are, and show you that it's not just important to cast vision for your life or your work years down the road, but it's also important to have a vision for the current season of life that you are in, and dare I say it, even for 2020.

I'm not a huge fan of novels or fiction books, but I think The Nightingale may have changed that for me. I could not put it down. On the night I finished reading the book, I was in the bed, wiping tears from my eyes as I finished the last pages, not wanting it to end. If you're looking for a good book to read this summer, this is it. Be prepared to not want to put it down.

All in all, this book has given me the gift of perspective. And for that, I'm so grateful.

I'm chatting with Allie Casazza today, and she shares about her conviction about building a life that serves you, happening to your day, being the CEO of your own home, and stepping into the authority that you have as a believer.

Listen, this episode gets hype. It's inspiring. It's challenging, and it's full of practical advice that will help you in your actual life.

"Have I not commanded you be strong and courageous? Do not be frightened and do not be dismayed for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go." - Joshua 1:9.

It is the middle of summer. I know you know this, but sometimes it's good to hear a reminder of where you are, so you can reset your thinking and really make sure you're on the right track.

So today it's simply going to be like a quick glance at your compass in the middle of 2020 to make sure that, hey, you're on the right track—you're living the life you want to be living!

Today's episode is one that I hope you will bookmark and come back to. Actually, I'm almost positive this is one that you will bookmark and come back to. That's because I'm going to share with you the simple steps and how to have a really hard conversation—a crucial conversation—steps that will help you think through what you will say before you say it, and tools that will change your marriage, change your family relationships, your work relationships, all for the better.

Today, Will (my husband) and I cover a huge range of topics. We talk about how we fight, parenting, intimacy, communication, faith, money, date nights, everything. I'm really excited to wrap up Part 2 of our conversation together!

Today, I have my favorite human as my guest, my husband Will Ray. We are doing a question-and-answer series all about marriage and we cover a huge range of topics, and because of that, you don't just get to hear from us this week, you're also going to hear from us again next week.

Back in Episode 041, I shared my plan to work one day a week this year, which was quite the change after I closed my business last year. This episode is simply a check-in to tell you how it's been going so far.

Today I’m humbled and grateful to have Pastor Dorrell on the Work and Play Podcast. We’re going to talk all about the racial crisis that we’ve been in and how the church, how believers, how you and I should respond during this time, during a racial crisis, and even more than that how to bounce forward, not bounce back, when the current storm we’re in starts to quiet.