Explore every episode of the podcast Work and Play with Nancy Ray
| Title | Pub. Date | Duration | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 259 - End of Year Rhythms for Reflection | 10 Dec 2024 | 00:20:57 | |
If you do absolutely nothing else with this episode, then listen to the intro. I want you to listen to my encouragement to take time to reflect at the end of your year. Today, I am going to be sharing my three favorite rhythms (or traditions or appointments) I put in my calendar at the end of every single year to finish the year well. These are things that really make me pause and reflect on the things that I have learned, the mistakes that I have made, and how I want to change. That can make all the difference. Resources from this episode: How to Stop Worrying and Start Living book by Dale Carnegie Free Guide - A Vision for this Season Affiliate links have been used in this post! I do receive a commission when you choose to purchase through these links, and that helps me keep this podcast up and running—I truly appreciate when you choose to use them!
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| 258 - Christmas Favorites | 03 Dec 2024 | 00:24:09 | |
I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Now it’s time to get into the Christmas spirit. Today, I’m going to be sharing my five favorite Christmas traditions, my five favorite gifts to give at Christmas time, and my five favorite Christmas albums to listen to. Resouces from this episode: Calm Amidst the Chaos Podcast Series Made for People by Justin Whitmel Earley Relaxed by Megan Fate Marshman A Midnight Clear by John Nilsen Sufjan Stevens Christmas Collection Affiliate links have been used in this post! I do receive a commission when you choose to purchase through these links, and that helps me keep this podcast up and running—I truly appreciate when you choose to use them! | |||
| 250 - 20 Things for Fall | 01 Oct 2024 | 00:23:19 | |
Today’s episode is fun, lighthearted, and it’s all about fall. I am going to share with you ten things that I have tried and loved this time of year and ten things that I plan to try this autumn. Resources from this episode: Calm Amidst the Chaos Podcast Series Magnolia Hearth and Hand Candle Affiliate links have been used in this post! I do receive a commission when you choose to purchase through these links, and that helps me keep this podcast up and running—I truly appreciate when you choose to use them!
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| 161 - Book | The 4 Disciplines of Execution | 07 Jun 2022 | 00:21:06 | |
Hello and happy June! Today is a full and exciting episode because I have some updates for you for the Summer and it's a book club episode, which are always my favorites. This book kind of has a funny story with it—which I'll get to. We are out of school, we're getting used to new rhythms with all the kids home and I've got some fun Summer episodes coming up. Lots to talk about today, but today's book is called The 4 Disciplines of Execution and it was a doozy of a business book. There was a lot in there, but I'm really excited to simplify it and kind of translate it to how we can apply it to our work and our homes. It's going to be good. For the full show notes, head to nancyray.com/podcast/161 Resources from this episode: | |||
| 160 - Book | A Confident Mom with Renee Swope | 31 May 2022 | 00:48:28 | |
Welcome to May is for Mama's, when every episode in the month of May is dedicated to all you mamas listening with topics and conversations specifically designed for you! Today, we have the privilege of hearing from my friend and mama mentor, Renee Swope, who is a wife and a mama of three and an author and speaker and she loves Jesus so much! We are going to be talking all about her latest book, A Confident Mom, which is the perfect fit for my book club and May is for Mamas. You can get all the details about the updated 2022 Book Club at nancyray.com/bookclub. I am thrilled to talk about one of those books today with the author and Renee is just such a treasure of a friend to me. She's so wise and I love that she is ahead of me in the motherhood journey, she has so much to offer. You are going to love our conversation, I can't wait to share it with you today. For the full show notes, head to nancyray.com/podcast/160.
Resources from this episode: A Confident Mom, by Renee Swope The Hard Good, by Lisa Whittle Affiliate links have been used in this post! I do receive a commission when you choose to purchase through these links, and that helps me keep this podcast up and running—I truly appreciate when you choose to use them! | |||
| 159 - Raising Daughters with Shay Cochrane, Part II | 24 May 2022 | 00:38:38 | |
Welcome to May is for Mamas, when every episode in the month of May on the Work and Play Podcast is dedicated to all you mamas listening. Today, I am continuing my conversation with my dear friend, Shay Cochrane. She's a wife, a mom of two girls. We tackle all kinds of topics and I just couldn't leave anything out so I decided to split it up into two episodes. I hope you enjoy the rest of our conversation! For the full show notes, head to nancyray.com/podcast/159. Resources from this Episode: The Coaching Habit, by Michael Stanier The Creator in You, by Jordan Raynor Lies Girls Believe, by Dannah Gresh Affiliate links have been used in this post! I do receive a commission when you choose to purchase through these links, and that helps me keep this podcast up and running—I truly appreciate when you choose to use them! | |||
| 158 - Raising Daughters with Shay Cochrane, Part I | 17 May 2022 | 00:30:28 | |
Welcome to May is for Mamas, where every episode in the month of May is dedicated to all the mamas out there, with topics and conversations specifically for you. Today, I'm chatting with my friend Shay Cochrane, who is a wife and an entrepreneur, and a mama of two daughters. She owns Social Squares, which supplies elevated stock images and digital marketing education for female owned online brands. Her vision as a creator is to enable more women to find greater success, sharing their ideas and businesses with the world, and she does all that in just 16 hours a week! I love how she models her life and her parenting and I have loved this conversation with her today. We jumped into some hard stuff like, what it looks like to raise daughters in 2022—body image, style, confidence, work ethic, technology, teaching your kids about money. You are going to leave this conversation with some really practical parenting conversations and decisions, as well as some solid encouragement to keep up the good hard work we are doing as mamas. For the full show notes, head to nancyray.com/podcast/158.
Resources from this episode: | |||
| 157 - Using a Timer in Motherhood | 10 May 2022 | 00:18:01 | |
This is the epitome of combining Work and Play for mamas there's work to be done. Plenty of it. Folding clothes, meal planning, unloading the dishwasher, picking up toys, tackling the junk drawer, cleaning out the pantry, cleaning up the kitchen and on and on and on. Well, why not turn those work items that are not optional in our lives into some play? The magic missing link for you could be using a timer. When you set a timer before tackling a task, you turn it into a game. And before you know it, you're trying to beat your personal best and the kids are actually helping and using the timer, too—and it's really kind of fun! Today's episode for May is for Mamas is all about using a timer in motherhood. This is going to be fun. For the full show notes, head to nancyray.com/podcast/157. Resources from this episode: Affiliate links have been used in this post! I do receive a commission when you choose to purchase through these links, and that helps me keep this podcast up and running—I truly appreciate when you choose to use them! | |||
| 156 - Speak Scripture Over Your Children | 03 May 2022 | 00:14:52 | |
This is the first episode of May is for Mamas, which is one of my favorite things I do on the podcast every May! Each episode this month will be made for the mamas listening and I hope it will be a mix of uplifting, helpful, encouraging, and maybe even a little lighthearted cause we all need that right now. This first episode is all about speaking scripture over your children and how powerful that can be for your kids and for you. Today is also the day I'm launching my Patreon page(!), which I'm so excited about. You can head to patreon.com/workandplay to get access to a community of like-minded friends who are Work and Play listeners like you and for as little as $1 a month, you can help keep the Work and Play podcast going. I'll occasionally have discussion threads or polls or exclusive episodes just for those of you who decide to become patrons. But even if none of that exclusive content or community interests you and you just like the Work and Play podcast as it is, and you want to support it and help me bring it to you, Patreon is the way to do that. So head to patreon.com/workandplay and know I am so genuinely grateful for your support. For the full show notes, head to nancyray.com/podcast/156
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| 155 - State of the Podcast | 26 Apr 2022 | 00:16:48 | |
Today, I'm veering off the normal podcast course and I'm breaking a few rules and I just want to share some of where I am in my own work and play and how that affects this podcast moving forward. I'm really excited about where I'm headed and I want to be very honest with you and take you along in this journey with me. I value you, I'm grateful for you listening, especially those of you who listen every week. I'm so, so grateful and I'm excited just to share my heart with you today. For the full show notes, head to nancyray.com/podcast/155 | |||
| 154 - My Two Favorite Work Routines | 19 Apr 2022 | 00:08:53 | |
Today, I'm going to share my two favorite work habits and that is: how I start my workday and how I finish my workday. I'm just going to go ahead and put this out there—they're pretty nerdy. Some of you are probably going to laugh and be like, I'm never going to do that, and that's fine, but they've worked for me and I really like them. I'm trying to get back to them after this fourth baby, it takes a little bit to kind of get them in your system again, but I tell you what, when you can rock these routines, your workday is amazing. For the full show notes, head to nancyray.com/podcast/154. Resources from this episode: Two Second Lean, by Paul Akers Affiliate links have been used in this post! I do receive a commission when you choose to purchase through these links, and that helps me keep this podcast up and running—I truly appreciate when you choose to use them! | |||
| 153 - Getting Past Tension | 12 Apr 2022 | 00:26:28 | |
We all have tension in our lives. And a lot of times that manifests itself in anxious thoughts and just feeling like we can't get our heads around something or we can't move through it and that's just part of being human. It's just part of living life and this isn't the episode that I had planned for today, but it's the episode that God put on my heart. So I'm just going to talk about tension and anxiety and how to get through that, how to get past it, how to get through to the other side. I'm going to share some practical things that I've walked through in my life very recently and I'm going to share the things that helped me get through it. And then at the end of this episode, I'm just gonna to be honest and share a little bit about what's going on with the podcast and what you can look forward to in the coming weeks and months. For the full show notes, head to nancyray.com/podcast/153. | |||
| 152 - The Family Meeting | 05 Apr 2022 | 00:10:07 | |
There's something about meeting regularly as a family that brings you together, not only in a practical way—which it does—you can talk about the calendar and your schedules and your plans, but emotionally you can connect and you can share things you're looking forward to or problems that you're having and I didn't have this growing up. We didn't meet regularly as a family, but it's something that we've started to do recently and it has been such a joy. Today I'm going to share with you the simple outline that we follow for our family meeting and I hope it's helpful to you. For the full show notes head to nancyray.com/podcast/152.
Resources from this episode: Affiliate links have been used in this post! I do receive a commission when you choose to purchase through these links, and that helps me keep this podcast up and running—I truly appreciate when you choose to use them! | |||
| 249 - Unplugged with Hannah Brencher | 24 Sep 2024 | 00:49:28 | |
Today I have the privilege of talking with my friend, Hannah Brencher, the author of The Unplugged Hours: Cultivating a Life of Presence in a Digitally Connected World. Hannah is such a gift! I am so excited to share her with you today and the message of her new book that is already changing my life. Resources from this episode: Affiliate links have been used in this post! I do receive a commission when you choose to purchase through these links, and that helps me keep this podcast up and running—I truly appreciate when you choose to use them! | |||
| 151 - Book | The Psychology of Money | 29 Mar 2022 | 00:19:24 | |
Welcome to the Nancy Ray Book Club, where every month I read a book and then I share my three biggest takeaways from that book with you here. This month, I read the Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel. A book that came really highly recommended to me by a few trusted friends and it did not disappoint. So yes, today we are talking all about money and our relationship with it. For the full show notes, head to nancyray.com/podcast/151.
Resources from this episode: The Pyschology of Money, by Morgan Housel The Millionaire Next Door, by Thomas Stanley Affiliate links have been used in this post! I do receive a commission when you choose to purchase through these links, and that helps me keep this podcast up and running—I truly appreciate when you choose to use them! | |||
| 150 - Two Parts to Being Truly Productive | 22 Mar 2022 | 00:25:18 | |
I have been doing a lot of thinking lately on productivity and how to be productive, mostly because right now I have very limited amounts of time that I can devote to projects. As a breastfeeding mama, my windows of time are very limited—they're limited when I need to feed the baby next. So in a lot of ways it forces me to think strategically about my time. As I manage a household with four little kids and a lot of stuff, as well as my online business, I've realized there are two parts to productivity. Those are also the two places I tend to get hung up, but when I get them right, they are key. So hopefully today's episode will unlock some insight for you, too, and will give you some helpful tips on how to be truly productive. For the full show notes, head to nancyray.com/podcast/150.
Resources from this episode: What's Best Next, by Matt Perman My Favorite Pens (Pilot G2 Ultra Fine) Some of the links in this post are affiliate links, which means that I do receive a commission when you choose to purchase through these links! Those commissions help me keep this podcast up and running—I truly appreciate when you choose to use them! | |||
| 149 - 5 Ways to Make the Most of Being Sick | 15 Mar 2022 | 00:24:40 | |
Having four small children six and under simply means that over the last six years there has been a lot of sickness in our house. And for two and a half years of that time, we have lived through the pandemic, our culture has been hyper-vigilant and very fearful of any kind of sickness because of COVID. And while there's really no right or wrong way to be sick, because you're just sick, I have learned a few things. I've learned ways to cope with sickness, ways to cling to Jesus, ways to pray over your children during sickness, ways to perhaps make sickness a little less miserable and that's what I'm going to share with you today. For the full show notes head to nancyray.com/podcast/149.
Resources from this episode: How to Raise a Healthy Child in Spite of your Doctor, by Robert Mendelsohn | |||
| 148 - A Time for Bold Faith | 08 Mar 2022 | 00:10:58 | |
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 and it's hard, and more than anything, the dark world around us is begging for light and truth. I sense there's just so much spiritual confusion and a drought in people's lives spiritually. This 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. I hope these words encourage you. For the full show notes, head to nancyray.com/podcast/148. | |||
| 147 - Book | The Self-Driven Child | 01 Mar 2022 | 00:23:12 | |
Welcome to the Nancy Ray Book Club, where once a month I tell you about a book I'm reading and loving and I share my top three takeaways from that book. To learn more about the books I'm reading this year head to nancyray.com/bookclub. And to get even more out of these episodes, I encourage you pick up these books, join me and read them alongside me. Now, today I'm going to be talking about The Self-Driven Child, which is a book that's going to stay with me throughout the rest of my parenting journey. One that I am highly encouraging Will to read alongside me and one that I'm committing to picking up and reading again when my kids get a little older. It's that good. Think about it—who doesn't want a self-driven child who grows up to be a self-driven adult. Now the tagline of the book is "The science and sense of giving your kids more control over their lives." If you have kiddos of any age, I think this episode is going to be really helpful and will hopefully give you some things to think about and act on that will help you raise motivated, driven children. For the full show notes, head to nancyray.com/podcast/147. Resources from this episode: The Self-Driven Child, by William Stixrud and Ned Johnson Affiliate links have been used in this post! I do receive a commission when you choose to purchase through these links, and that helps me keep this podcast up and running—I truly appreciate when you choose to use them! | |||
| 146 - Life and Work Without Social Media with Shanna Skidmore | 22 Feb 2022 | 00:58:24 | |
Well, today is part two of a wrap-up of my break from social media, and I took six months off and I'm just talking about the impact it's had on my life and my work. And today we're going to get practical. I'm going to answer some questions about, practically, how did I pull myself away from social media? What did that look like? How did I fill my time? But I'm most excited about my conversation with my friend Shanna Skidmore(!), which will happen later in this episode. So, I'll answer some questions first, then I'll ask Shanna some questions, and we had the most amazing conversation about it and how to build a life that you want. For the full show notes, head to nancyray.com/podcast/146. Resources from this episode: The Blueprint Model + Nancy’s offer Affiliate links have been used in this post! I do receive a commission when you choose to purchase through these links, and that helps me keep this podcast up and running—I truly appreciate when you choose to use them! | |||
| 145 - My 6 Month Break From Social Media | 15 Feb 2022 | 00:19:43 | |
For the last six months, I've taken a break from social media and it has been so good. Today, I’m going to give you an update on how I liked it, what I missed, the best lessons I learned and how I'm going to do things differently when I come back. This is a topic I'm passionate about; I strongly believe we can't just let technology into our lives without being extremely thoughtful about it. Because I want to leave you with my heart and my thoughts from my own experience, along with some practical tips on how to use social media rightly in our lives, and what rhythms did I replace social media—with and all that good practical stuff, I've actually decided to separate this into a two-part series. So this is going to be part one, which is the “heart” part of it—lessons, all about what I've learned and next week is going to be the practical side of it, and I'm going to have a special guest (and I'm really excited about that!). Now, before I jump into part one, I want to let you know about my special guest and an amazing live webinar that she's teaching on February 17th. Her name is Shanna Skidmore. I admire her SO much. I have learned so much from her and she actually runs her entire business without social media and it's for creative entrepreneurs—in a space that you would really think she should maybe be on social media. And one of the comments I get all the time is, oh, you know, I wish I could take a break from social, but my work depends on it, or I can never take a break from social media because it's directly tied to my income, or I'd leave it if I could, but I can't because my work depends on it. My friend Shanna has kind of challenged that thought and has been a trailblazer and honestly, such an example to me on how to run a successful business that's profitable without social media, or if you'd rather—with limited social media. Now, the webinar is called The Art of Six Figures: How to Build a Thriving Business on Your Own Terms. And that's the point! It's building a business that you love, and engaging with your work and with social media on your terms, with healthy boundaries and clarity. Okay, I could literally talk about this all day because I love her. I've learned so much from her. And I think she answers a question a lot of creatives are wondering, which is how you can do this. So I wanted to share this resource with you! You can sign up right here! Also—spoiler alert—Shanna and I are going to be teaming up for something really good about this topic and about her webinar. So if you want to be in the know, be sure you're on my email list, and I'll be sure to tell you there or tune in next week and you'll learn a little bit more about it then, as well. For the full show notes, head to nancyray.com/podcast/145. Resources from this episode: Shanna’s Webinar: The Art of Six Figures Free Download: A Vision For Your Season Episode 042 - Book | Switch On Your Brain The Self-Driven Child, by William Stixrud and Ned Johnson Episode 135 - An Update On My Social Media Break Episode 088 - Book | Digital Minimalism Episode 138 - 3 Habits to Put Social Media in its Place (Ep. 12 Replay) Affiliate links have been used in this post! I do receive a commission when you choose to purchase through these links, and that helps me keep this podcast up and running—I truly appreciate when you choose to use them! | |||
| 144 - 10 Questions For Your Next Date Night | 08 Feb 2022 | 00:07:40 | |
Well, it's almost Valentines Day and I just wanted to give you something fun to do. I am giving you 10 fun questions to ask on your next date night. Now, you can use these on Valentine's Day, or maybe you can use these on a date night at home after the kids go to bed, but the point is for you to take a break from normal life discussions and conversations, and just to get to know each other more. I hope you have fun with this! For the full show notes, head to nancyray.com/podcast/144. Resources from this episode: | |||
| 143 - Book | The 12 Week Year | 01 Feb 2022 | 00:29:41 | |
I'm just going to say, I hit it out of the park with my first book choice of the year. The Nancy Book Club is off to a great start for 2022. If you want to see all the books that I'm reading and join in with me for any of them, or all of them, head to nancyray.com/bookclub to see. But today I'm going to be talking about my first book, The 12 Week Year and why this book was just what I needed to read at the start of this year, between having baby number four and this pandemic. I don't know about you, but it felt so hard to plan and to dream and set goals—but 12 weeks? 12 weeks? I can do that. I can plan the next 12 weeks. This book teaches kind of how to throw out that annualized thinking and truly treat every 12 week group like an entire year. And today I'm going to teach you how to have a 12 week year based on the book, and of course I'll share my three biggest takeaways as well.
Resources from this episode: | |||
| 142 - 5 Money Mindsets | 25 Jan 2022 | 00:19:19 | |
Money is a part of our life. Whether we like it or not, we need it to live and we can choose to either manage it well and let it be a blessing to us and those around us, or if we neglect it, we'll likely end up with not very much of it and it will be a continual point of stress for us. Today I'm excited to share five money mindsets that Will and I have embraced throughout our marriage that have been such a blessing to us and have kind of been the foundation of how we handle our money. This episode will be full of practical advice, but all of that practical how-to is going to stem from these money mindsets, and I hope that they're a blessing to you. For the full show notes, head to nancyray.com/podcast/142. Resources from this episode: Episode 124 - We’re Debt Free Again! | |||
| 248 - Get Quiet, Then Go | 17 Sep 2024 | 00:20:19 | |
This episode of Work & Play with Nancy Ray is simply called, “Get Quiet, Then Go.” Resources from this episode: Affiliate links have been used in this post! I do receive a commission when you choose to purchase through these links, and that helps me keep this podcast up and running—I truly appreciate when you choose to use them!
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| 141 - Contentment Habits | 18 Jan 2022 | 00:20:59 | |
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. Now, for those of you who just started the Contentment Challenge, you can do this! I hope this is going to be encouraging to you. And if you're listening and have no idea what I'm talking about, it's a challenge I host every year to give up shopping for things for three months, it's saying a temporary goodbye to Amazon Prime and Target and instead, focusing on the things that bring true contentment and fulfillment. It started January 10th, but the beauty about the Contentment Challenge is you can do it any time of year when it works for you. Head to nancyray.com/contentmentchallenge, where you can learn all about it. For the full show notes, head to nancyray.com/podcast/141. Resources from this episode: | |||
| 140 - Best of 2021 | 11 Jan 2022 | 00:19:17 | |
This episode is going to be a fun one. I firmly believe before we can look ahead and move forward, we need to pause and look back, and this episode is going to do just that. It's going to be all about 2021. The things that happened in my life that were highlights, experiences—I recommend trips that we took, books that I read, things I tried and liked, and more. Here is the best of 2021! For the full show notes, head to nancyray.com/podcast/140. Resources from this episode: Up From Slavery, Booker T. Washington’s autobiography Episode 103 - Book | Up From Slavery The Gospel Comes With a House Key, by Rosaria Butterfield Where the Crawdads Sing, by Delia Owens Blog: Children and the Passing of Time, by Emily Thomas Joanna Gaines’ mac and cheese recipe Affiliate links have been used in this post! I do receive a commission when you choose to purchase through these links, and that helps me keep this podcast up and running—I truly appreciate when you choose to use them! | |||
| 139 - Work and Play in 2022 | 04 Jan 2022 | 00:15:37 | |
Hello and happy new year! I am so excited to be back, to be bringing you some fresh episodes of the work and play podcast moving forward, and to start this year off on the right foot, encouraging you in your work and in your play. Happy 2022! For the full show notes, head to nancyray.com/podcast/139.
Resources from this episode: Take the Work & Play Podcast Survey! | |||
| 138 - 3 Habits to Put Social Media in its Place (Ep. 12 Replay) | 28 Dec 2021 | 00:21:22 | |
Listen, we all struggle with social media. It is an incredible tool of connectivity, but it's literally designed to keep us scrolling, even when we don't want to be. Now in my best moments, I've connected with people I've never met. They have brought me hope or encouragement in a time I have desperately needed it. But in my darkest moments, I've thought some pretty terrible thoughts about myself as a wife, or a mother. I've wanted to escape a messy house or crying baby, or even worse, I haven't wanted to escape those things, but I've been scrolling none the less. I want to say is that technology isn't good or bad. Social media isn't good or bad, it is simply a tool. Just like money can be used to bless other people, and you can help eradicate poverty, do amazing things with money. Or you can spend it on some pretty terrible things and fuel addiction. Just like you can use bricks to build a hospital or a foundation that helps people in need. Or you can take a brick and throw it through a window and bring destruction. It's just a tool, right? Money is a tool, bricks are a tool, social media, technology, they're tools that you can use. It's not good or bad, it's how we use it or how we choose to use it that determines its outcome. With that said, it's incredibly important for us to know that this is just a tool, but it's also important for us to understand how it has been designed and refined over time. I want to enhance your understanding of its design, so that you can be aware of it and take responsibility for your life and your scrolling habits. It can be helpful. It can provide income. It can be addictive. It can be a trap. Today, I want to talk about simple practices that I have found incredibly life-giving to keep social media in its place. For the full show notes, head to nancyray.com/podcast/138. Resources from this episode: A Good Podcast Episode on the Subject BBC Article: Social Media is ‘deliberately’ addictive The Tech-Wise Family, Andy Crouch | |||
| 137 - Finish Strong | 21 Dec 2021 | 00:04:37 | |
I have three quick things for you before I dive into a very brief, but hopefully very encouraging episode for you today. First, would you head to nancyray.com/survey to help me make this podcast even better for you next year? Listen, I choose the episode content based on three things: 1) what I believe God wants me to say, And since I'm off social media and can't ask you there, this is the way I'm able to ask you, what do you want me to talk about next year? So I would love for you to head here to let me know. And I appreciate it so, so much. It should only take a minute, it's just a couple of questions and thank you in advance for doing that. Second, the Contentment Challenge is starting again on January 10th! Head to nancyray.com/contentmentchallenge to learn more and sign up if you want to be part of that. And the third thing is my book club. You can see the books I'm reading for 2022, and you can join in with me on some of them or all of them or none of them, or you can just see what I'm reading next year if you want. Whatever you want to do, it’s very casual, but you can head to nancyray.com/bookclub to check that out. And now for the shortest podcast episode of 2021, I hope this encourages you and is just what you need today. For the full show notes, head to nancyray.com/podcast/137.
Quick links from this episode: | |||
| 136 - The Contentment Challenge (Ep. 3 Replay) | 14 Dec 2021 | 00:33:37 | |
What is the Contentment Challenge? In a nutshell, it is a commitment to giving up shopping for clothes, accessories, household decor, stuff, really anything excessive, for 3 months straight in order to focus your heart and your mind on the root of true contentment. It's also a commitment to replace shopping with activities experiences and relationships— the things that really matter in your life. We live in a world where money seems to kind of fly out of our bank accounts with the simple push of an Amazon button on your phone or the irresistible one spot at Target. We keep buying more and more to make us happy, but does it really? Does it really foster a deep, centered posture of joy and contentment? A few years ago, God asked me to give up shopping for 3 months straight and at first I was not happy about that. This episode is all about that journey and the profound difference that it's made in my heart and in my life. The simple act of abstaining from shopping for extra things for a short amount of time opened my eyes wide to the weird way that I was living life is a consumer and it revealed the actual way that I want to live—full of gratitude and Grace. I have actually taken the Contentment Challenge many times over the years, and in this episode I share the three things I learned during my most recent time through (Jan-March 2019). This also includes a lot of our financial story. Some of which, quite honestly, hurts my pride a little to share, but I pray that God can use it to benefit you! I hope this episode causes you to pause and think about your own life and how content you are today. Who knows? Maybe you need to take the challenge, too. For the full show notes, head to nancyray.com/podcast/136. Resources from this episode: Take the Contentment Challenge (begins Jan. 10, 2022!) | |||
| 135 - An Update on My Social Media Break | 07 Dec 2021 | 00:21:22 | |
Taking a long-ish break from social media has been on my heart for quite some time, and having Benji, our fourth child, just seemed like the perfect time to do it. So when he was born at the end of July, I decided to go off social media completely for six months. I'm currently four months in—and yes, Benji is already four months old, which I cannot wrap my mind around—but this episode is all about what I've learned in the last four months from my social media sabbatical so far, I can't wait for you to hear it. For the full show notes, head to nancyray.com/podcast/135. Resources from this episode: The Tech-Wise Family, by Andy Crouch Some of these links are affiliate links, which means I do receive a commission when you choose to purchase through them, and that helps me keep this podcast up and running—I truly appreciate when you choose to! | |||
| 134 - 5 Ways to Work Through Overwhelm (Ep. 10 Replay) | 30 Nov 2021 | 00:15:56 | |
I have an invitation for you today: choose the courageous thing and slow down. It's time to live a simpler, slower life than the one that you're living. Does that feel impossible? Does it feel like it just cannot happen for you? Do you feel scattered and a bit out of control? I know sometimes I do. Maybe you feel like your life can't actually change right now because of work, kids, or a schedule that you really can't change. Well, friend, I have good news. Even though your life can't change, you can. You can change. The feeling of living out of control and always in the chaos can absolutely change because you can always change.
For the full show notes, head to nancyray.com/podcast/134. Resources from this episode: FREE DOWNLOAD: 5 Steps to Creating Calm Amidst the Chaos The Effective Executive, by Peter Drucker What’s Best Next, by Matt Perman Affiliate links have been used in this post! I do receive a commission when you choose to purchase through these links, and that helps me keep this podcast up and running—I truly appreciate when you choose to use them! | |||
| 133 - Seasons of Business (Ep. 4 Replay) | 30 Nov 2021 | 00:34:29 | |
I recently shared the news that after this year, my twelfth year of business, the doors of Nancy Ray Photography will close. This was one of the hardest, most difficult decisions of my life. I love this work, I am going to miss this work, but the bottom line is this: God gently made it clear to me that this season has come to an end. This was a massive decision for me personally and for my family, and it all started one year ago. Today, it feels like I've turned the page into the next chapter of my life. Now, I'll be honest, I could've kept going. Part of me really, really wanted to just keep going. I was good at it. I was confident in it, but this quote from Richard Blackaby explains why I'm letting it go: "Our problem as leaders is we do everything we know to do. That's not enough. We need to do everything God wants us to do." That says it all. I just know that in order for me to everything that God wants me to do, I need to let this go. I simply know that God wants me to do something different. I'm going to walk you through how I got to this point and how I finally made the decision and how I listen to God's voice every step of the way. I'm going to share some questions, some hard questions, that I had to ask myself and I'm going to ask these questions to you, too. So I'm going to start this episode by asking these questions and hopefully as I share my story, you're going to understand a little bit more about what those questions mean. And as I finish the episode and come back and ask these questions again, maybe you'll have a fuller understanding about where you are today. My hope is that as I share how I navigated this huge decision, you’ll hopefully walk away with some helpful tools for he next time that you step into a new season, too. For the full show notes, head to nancyray.com/podcast/133. Resources from this episode: The Seasons of God, by Richard Blackaby Lioness Arising, by Lisa Bevere Affiliate links have been used in this post! I do receive a commission when you choose to purchase through these links, and that helps me keep this podcast up and running—I truly appreciate when you choose to use them! | |||
| 132 - Balancing Life as a Working Mom with Emily Ley (Replay Ep. 30) | 16 Nov 2021 | 01:10:27 | |
I am so excited to bring this special episode with Emily Ley back to the Work and Play podcast today. She is one of the most authentic people I have ever met, I kid you not. She’s been a friend of mine for several years now. I've watched her grow as a mom, as a business owner, but she never loses that on authenticity. Every time I hang out with her, she makes me cry, and it's not in a bad way. It's because her heart for life, her heart for her people, it moves me. She really wants the right things in life. She's doing something really wonderful with her work and her play. For the show notes, head to nancyray.com/podcast/132. Resources from this episode: When Less Becomes More, by Emily Ley | |||
| 247 - Rebel with Graham Cochrane : Part 2 | 10 Sep 2024 | 00:25:09 | |
Welcome back to part two of my conversation with Graham Cochrane about his new book, Rebel, which is so great. If you haven’t listened to last week’s episode, definitely go back and listen to that one first. This is a continuation of my conversation with Graham. I told him when I was talking with him, “I feel like this is a sermon for me. How is it that we’re talking about your book called ‘Rebel’ right now?” It’s so good. I hope you enjoy our conversation. It was such a challenge and such a blessing to me all at once. I know you’re going to love it. Here’s part two of my conversation with Graham Cochrane. Resources from this episode: Affiliate links have been used in this post! I do receive a commission when you choose to purchase through these links, and that helps me keep this podcast up and running—I truly appreciate when you choose to use them! | |||
| 131 - Calling vs. Assignment (Ep. 5 Replay) | 09 Nov 2021 | 00:21:33 | |
Get ready for another one of your past favorites! Today's episode was originally Episode 005: Calling vs. Assignment. I hope you enjoy. 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. For the full show notes, head to nancyray.com/podcast/131. | |||
| 130 - Book | Fighting Forward with Hannah Brencher | 02 Nov 2021 | 00:59:20 | |
Welcome to the Nancy Ray Book Club, where every month I share a book I'm reading, and three big takeaways that I have from that book. And you can always find more information about the books I'm reading at nancyray.com/bookclub, where you can join in reading them with me. Now, I've got a quick update on the book club for the rest of 2021. I did not realize in the beginning of this year that I would be needing a six month sabbatical and that I'd be taking off six months from work and this podcast and social media, which simply means I'm going to be putting the Book Club on hold until 2022. Fighting Forward, this interview, is going to be my last 2021 Book Club episode, and all the other books I did not get to are simply going to be pushed back to 2022. I just want to thank you for your grace in this. Listen, you know, my approach with this book club is very relaxed anyway—read what you'd like to read, participate as you can. If a book doesn't sound interesting, you don't have to read it with us. I personally hope to do a lot of reading while I'm away, but realistically I have a newborn baby and three other children. So I just appreciate your grace towards me, as well, while I kind of redirect and do things a little differently to serve my work and my play and my life and my family and you guys, as best as I can during the season of my life. 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. First, If You Find This Letter. Second, Come Matter Here. And third, which we're talking about today, Fighting Forward. It has been exactly what I have needed to read. It's incredible. Her heart for change and for fighting for the life that God has for you is something that you do not want to miss. I think you're going to love our conversation today about how you can fight forward in your own life. For the full show notes, head to nancyray.com/podcast/130.
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| 129 - My Morning Routine (Ep. 13 Replay) | 26 Oct 2021 | 00:19:05 | |
Get ready, because I love a good morning routine. Fair warning: I am such a nerd about this. I know this sounds kind of extreme, but having a morning routine in place really enhances the quality of my life. I'm not kidding. It gives me something to look forward to at night. It starts my day off connected with the Lord and with a healthy mindset. It allows me to start my day in a place of abundance, which really determines so much of the rest of my day. So whether you have a solid morning routine or if you don't have one at all, this episode is for you. PSA: This was recorded when I was not knee deep in newborn life! For the full show notes, head to nancyray.com/podcast/129. Resources from this episode: Michael Hyatt & the Lead to Win Podcast Allie Casazza & The Purpose Show What the Most Successful People do Before Breakfast, by Laura Vanderkam Affiliate links have been used in this post! I do receive a commission when you choose to purchase through these links, and that helps me keep this podcast up and running—I truly appreciate when you choose to use them! | |||
| 128 - You Were Made For Hard Things (Ep. 7 Replay) | 19 Oct 2021 | 00:21:44 | |
Life is hard, and sometimes it just seems we can't move forward in our lives until someone speaks some words of life to us. So that's what I'm here for today. If you're facing something really hard, I am here to tell you, you were made for hard things. For the full show notes, visit nancyray.com/podcast/128. | |||
| 127 - Work & Play (Ep. 1 Replay) | 12 Oct 2021 | 00:17:25 | |
As you may know, I'm currently taking a six month break from work and social media to be fully present with my family, which means that every Tuesday on the podcast, you're going to be getting a mix of new episodes, old episodes and interviews. This episode of the podcast is one of my earlier most popular, most downloaded episodes, which means it's worth repeating. This is the first episode ever of Work & Play with Nancy Ray, I hope you enjoy it. For the full show notes, head to nancyray.com/podcast/127. Resources from this episode: | |||
| 126 - My Home Birth Story | 05 Oct 2021 | 00:39:12 | |
Hello! I am back after a two month break from this podcast! I'm happy to be back and today I'm so excited to share with you a huge life event that took place over the last two months for us, which is the birth of our fourth baby, a son, Benjamin Valor Ray. And today I'm going to be sharing his birth story with you. I'm going to go into the details of why we chose a home birth and just the story of how God used his birth to really heal me and rid me of so much fear and just show me how beautiful birth can really be. It was such an amazing experience, and I'm so excited to share it with you today.
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| 125 - Speak Life | 27 Jul 2021 | 00:09:00 | |
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. I'll also tell you a little bit about what to expect from me for the rest of the year. It's going to be a short and sweet episode, and I kind of hope it feels like a little podcast hug, and I'm excited to know I'll see you again soon. For the full show notes, head to nancyray.com/podcast/125.
See you in a few months! To sign up for my monthly emails during the podcast break, head to nancyray.com/emails. | |||
| 124 - We're Debt Free AGAIN! | 20 Jul 2021 | 00:40:46 | |
I am so excited about today's episode! Today, Will and I are going to be sharing about how we are debt-free again, as we just paid off our house! If you followed us for a while, you know, we are passionate about financial stewardship and financial freedom, and you also might know that we paid off our first mortgage when we were just 25 and 26 years old. And today we will be telling you a little bit about our journey and how we went back into debt for the house we live in now and how we were able to pay that house off this year. Our hope more than anything is that you would be inspired and know that with some hard work and intentional planning, this could be possible for you, too. For the full show notes, head to nancyray.com/podcast/124. Resources from this episode: Episode 068 - 12 Years of Marriage, Part I Episode 069 - 12 Years of Marriage, Part II God and Money, by John Cortines and Gregory Baumer The Total Money Makeover, by Dave Ramsey Rich Dad, Poor Dad, by Robert Kiyosaki Affiliate links have been used in this post! I do receive a commission when you choose to purchase through these links, and that helps me keep this podcast up and running—I truly appreciate when you choose to use them! | |||
| 123 - Why I'm Taking 6 Months Off of Social Media | 13 Jul 2021 | 00:24:07 | |
Before we jump in, this is your quick reminder that today is the last day you can purchase An Integrated Life, which is an 18 lesson audio course—basically 18 podcast episodes with a workbook that you can keep coming back to, and it outlines a framework for you to grow deeper in your faith. Take authority in your home and gain clarity in your work. All for the kingdom of God had to nancyray.com/integratedlife to grab yours today. And if you're listening to this and the deadline has passed, feel free to still go to that link to sign up for the wait list, so you'll be the first to know when it comes back out again. So I have decided to take six months off of social media. No Instagram, no Facebook, no Twitter, no social media. As soon as our fourth baby arrives, I'm going to be spending time with my family and friends in real life, being present and free myself from any obligation to post or share anything for six whole months. In today's podcast episode, I'm going to share more about why I'm doing this and why you might consider doing it, too. Resources from this episode: An Integrated Life (An Audio Course) Episode 012 - 3 Habits to Put Social Media In It’s Place Episode 088 - Book | Digital Minimalism Episode 093 - A Year of Contentment with Reagan Reynolds, Pt. 1 Episode 114 - BFFs, Infertility, and Miracles with Samantha Ray The Graham Cochrane Show, Ep. 105: A Year off Social Media (The Update) Shanna Skidmore’s blog: I Quit Social Media for a Year. Here’s Why. The Tech-Wise Family, by Andy Crouch Digital Minimalism, by Cal Newport Affiliate links have been used in this post! I do receive a commission when you choose to purchase through these links, and that helps me keep this podcast up and running—I truly appreciate when you choose to use them! | |||
| 122 - Book | Parenting | 06 Jul 2021 | 00:20:33 | |
Before we dive in today, I just wanted to remind you that my new audio course, An Integrated Life, is still available. An Integrated Life is an 18 lesson audio course, think: this podcast you listen to meets an online course meets an audio book. It's something you can come back to over and over again. Anyway, it's a course that outlines a framework for you to grow deeper in your faith, take authority in your home, and gain clarity in your work, all for the Kingdom of God. And it's available for purchase until July 15. So, if you buy the bundle for $50, you can actually listen to it on your phone like this podcast. So while I'm taking a two month break from this podcast with the new baby, you can keep listening. Head to nancyray.com/integratedlife to learn more and sign up. Welcome to the Nancy Ray Book Club, where I'm sharing a book that I'm reading and my top three takeaways from that book. You can join in anytime at nancyray.com/bookclub. Today's book is Parenting by Paul David Tripp. He outlines 14 gospel principles that can radically change your family. This book isn't as much a practical book on how to handle a tantrum or discipline your child or what to feed your kid or how to raise teenagers, instead, it's a book that speaks to the "why" of parenting—the heart of parenting—and really how to view our role of parents as believers. | |||
| 246 - Rebel with Graham Cochrane : Part 1 | 03 Sep 2024 | 00:33:54 | |
Get excited for today’s episode (and next week’s episode) because I get to talk with Graham Cochrane, who is a dear friend of mine. He and his wife Shay are good friends of mine and WIll. He is also my business coach. He has coached me in different seasons of my business and he just wrote a book. He loves the Lord. He is a brilliant entrepreneur, thought leader, author. It is a joy to get to talk to him and ask him questions one on one. You guys are in for a treat. The episode was packed full of so much goodness, I decided to break it up into two episodes. So don’t miss next week’s episode as well, as Graham and I talk all about his new book, Rebel. Resources from this episode:
Affiliate links have been used in this post! I do receive a commission when you choose to purchase through these links, and that helps me keep this podcast up and running—I truly appreciate when you choose to use them! | |||
| 121 - Foundations in Work | 29 Jun 2021 | 00:20:14 | |
Today's episode is the last of a three part series, giving you a glimpse into the new course I'm releasing TODAY at noon eastern time. So today is all about work, and my foundational approach to it. To learn more about An Integrated Life and to go ahead and get access today when the doors open, head to nancyray.com/integratedlife. | |||
| 120 - Foundations in Home | 22 Jun 2021 | 00:15:39 | |
Today's episode is part two of a three part episode series, giving you a glimpse of this new audio course. Today you'll hear about my outlook on the home and how important home life is. I hope you enjoy it. And the course is almost out! So be sure that you head to nancyray.com/integratedlife to hear more about it and grab it before the doors close on July 13th. For the full show notes, head to nancyray.com/podcast/120. Resources from this episode: The Life-Giving Home, by Sally & Sarah Clarkson An Integrated Life (my newest audio course!)
Affiliate links have been used in this post! I do receive a commission when you choose to purchase through these links, and that helps me keep this podcast up and running—I truly appreciate when you choose to use them! | |||
| 119 - Foundations in Faith | 15 Jun 2021 | 00:19:35 | |
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). You’re going to hear Lesson 1 from the Faith section which includes my testimony and really just the foundational outlook I have on my faith. Learn more about my newest audio course: An Integrated Life. | |||