Today I'm talking with my friend, Paige Brunton, who is a website expert; specifically in Squarespace. She teaches others to design their own Squarespace websites and she also teaches others how to become professional Squarespace web designers which is pretty cool. She has totally ditched social media, but has an amazing online business and a very engaged Youtube following. She now lives in Switzerland with her husband, which is amazing. I know you're going to love her and whether or not you have a Squarespace website, you're going to be so encouraged to know the most important thing that you need to do with your website after listening today.

Every once in a while us moms find ourselves in a very perplexing situation: We have an unexpected hour of time and we have no idea what to do with ourselves. Today, we're gonna get a game plan.

During the month of January, I read the entire Bible and this episode is all about how I did it.

My friend, Val Marie, is such a gift. She's the founder of Val Marie Paper, she's an author and she designed the lovely yearly prayer journal which I have used time and time again. Val has given me so much perspective on prayer and has been such an encouragement to my walk with the Lord. And today we're talking about what prayer can actually look like in our lives and how to make 2024 a year of prayer, for you, for real.

I'm back. It's 2024. I'm so excited to be here for my beloved State of the Podcast episode. I hope you enjoy listening to Work and Play with Nancy Ray episode 221.

Have you ever heard of wintering as a verb? Well, now you have because today I am going to share with you 5 ways that I'm wintering this year.

So this year I'm doing something a little different. I decided early in November that I am not thinking about or planning for next year until next year in January. I am all in for 2023. I want to be present and finish this year strong. My eyes are on my kids, my husband, Christmas, and New Year's, and I just, for whatever reason, feel so strongly in my spirit that I need to not take time and energy in this month to plan and look at it. This is so different for me. Okay. I am a planner. I am a forward thinker. But there's just been some different life circumstances that have led me to this, so this episode is all about some end-of-year rhythms for reflecting on your year and how you can finish this year strong.

Today is my annual book club episode where I share my very favorite books that I read this last year in 2023 and also what I have planned for 2024. You can always find that current list updated at nancyray.com/bookclub or you can follow along and read with me if you choose. It is very relaxed or you can just catch up on the podcast episodes as I release them. So I’m excited. I read some really good stuff this year and I have some exciting picks for next year and I can’t wait to share them with you today.

Get ready for the icing on the cake for the best kept secret to a holiday season full of joy and contentment. You ready? It's giving. It's giving. It's being intentional about giving away the resources that God has blessed you with. We're wrapping up this holiday series with the best episode of them all, holiday giving.

There is something so sacred about food during the holidays. The taste of your grandma's casserole or your aunt's monkey bread, or your mom's Christmas Eve dinner. It can fill your heart and mind with so many wonderful feelings and memories. Food represents so much more than just a meal. It represents feelings of nostalgia and it represents just the most important parts of the holiday season, which is bringing people together around the table in love. I'm so excited just to have a little bit of fun on this episode and encourage you just to think about the food that you are having in your family over this holiday season.

I'm pumped to talk about a Christmas budget and Christmas gifts today. Guys, this can get so outta hand so fast, and also it can have such a negative connotation to it. Just making a Christmas budget feels like it's stifles all the Christmas cheer. But I'm here to say it doesn't. It doesn't. Making a Christmas budget actually brings me a lot of joy because it helps me to stay organized and focused on what I really, really want to be spending my money on.

And it helps me not get so carried away that in January I look back and have a lot of regret. I don't. When I make a Christmas budget, I don't. And so today we're gonna talk all about how to make a simple and effective Christmas budget for you to follow, as well as how to create a gift tracking document so that you can keep track of everything really well this Christmas.

Okay. Deep breath everybody. It is time to tackle the holiday schedule. Dare I say, this is the main source of stress that we encounter during the holidays. There are so many different invitations, obligations, so many people and organizations who are all asking something of us. And today I am here to remind you, you get to choose your yeses and your nos.

Today I'm kicking off a new series on the podcast, and I am giddy about it because it's all about the holidays. We're all thinking about it already. It's the last week of October. We're looking at November and December, and I think we can feel equal parts overwhelmed and excited. So today I am starting a five-part podcast series. It's gonna be very short podcast episodes just to get you thinking about how you can create holidays that are full of joy and contentment.

And I'll get into all the details of it. But here's what you can expect. The first episode, which is today, is gonna be about traditions. Next week it's gonna be about creating your holiday schedule. Then the next week, your holiday budget, and then your gifts, and then food. And I'm gonna be sharing all of the things that our family does while also just inviting you to think through and really, I don't know, analyze and consider what you want your holidays to look like. And I'm excited. I'm so excited about this. So I'm glad that you're here. Let's jump in.

There will never be adequate words to describe what these book series have meant to me over the last year. They have been some of the best parts of my life. I kid you not, over the last 12 months, I sobbed at the end of each one. Not an exaggeration. And if I'm honest, today's podcast episode almost didn't happen because I already know it's gonna fall short of what I want to say about each of these series, but I decided to move forward with it because if it encourages you to read them with a kingdom mindset, I believe it will have been worth it. Let's dive into the three best children’s series of all time.

One thing I have realized recently is that all of us in one way or another are seeking wisdom from God in our work. Whether that is working in our home and serving our kids and raising them, or whether it is running a business, managing a team, developing a new product, just maintaining something that we've had for years. As we get older, we need more wisdom. Life continues to get more complicated and more challenging, and especially in our work. And today's episode is gonna be simple. It's gonna be about three promises that we can find in scripture regarding wisdom in our work.

Okay. I felt like it was just time for a more lighthearted podcast episode and that is why I am bringing you 10 things that are saving my life, fall edition. Are they actually saving my life? No, but they’re really helping it and I think they’re making my fall a little bit better, and I’m just gonna share those things with you today. So I hope you enjoy listening.

I had a friend recently ask me, “How in the world do you do chores in your family with all four of your kids?” And I thought that would be a great podcast episode. So today I am gonna share with you how we do chores in the Ray household.

Okay, confession. I am a major time management junkie and I love it. I love planning. I love buying my new calendar for the year and getting my favorite pens and highlighters and making a plan and writing an appointments and making lists. I love managing stuff. I love managing my time. And today I'm gonna share with you five of my favorite time management tools that have really helped me through the years because we all have 24 hours in a day, but it all comes down to how we manage our time.

Today, I am gonna be telling you all about how I create a strategy for my life. And I know that sounds very broad and possibly overwhelming, but hang with me because I feel like I have been given some amazing tools to help me in four main areas of my life: my faith, my home, my work, and my legacy or my life overall.

So that's what we're gonna talk about today, how to create a strategy for your life. If you're feeling like you need some clarity, then this episode is for you.

While so many women wear multitasking as a badge of honor, I will readily admit that I am the worst at multitasking. I—it's terrible. I get so distracted and cannot do it. And I'll be frank, this has not served me well in motherhood because the interruptions are great and we'll talk a little bit about that. But today I just wanna share my thoughts on multitasking and how it doesn't help anyone and how it's so much better if we can focus on one thing at a time.