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Resources from this episode:
Work & Play Episode 335 : Partnering with God in Your Work with Shay Cochrane
Work & Play Episode 212 : Narnia, Harry Potter, and the Wingfeather Saga
Show Notes:
Life right now is heavy and busy and full and good and I am sure yours is too, but God is faithful and good. I am just here to give you an update about this season of my life, but more importantly than that, I want to share four ways that I am choosing to finish strong and slow down during the busiest, craziest part of the year, while keeping my shoulders back and my chin up.
For the full episode, hit play above or read through below.
Shownotes
There is something about fall that makes me just want to take a deep breath and slow down. I am loving these cooler mornings on my back porch with a warm mug in my hands. And I'm finally starting to see the leaves changing. More than ever, for so many reasons, I need God's Word to meet me right in the middle of my very real life. As a busy mom, I can't always sit down and open my Bible like I want to. So when I can't read, I listen and the Dwell app is how I do it. You can choose your narrator, your translation, and your background music. So it feels less like a box to check and more like a gift. Lately I have been pressing play while I've just been sitting drinking my coffee or nursing the baby or while I'm driving in my car. Honestly, there's just a lot going on in our house. We're redoing our living room and there's some construction workers here in and out a lot and I just need a minute to breathe. I love that I can do that with the Dwell Bible app. It's just so accessible and easy. So if you have been thinking about trying the Dwell Bible app, now's the time. Don't wait till the new year. Head to dwellbible.com/workandplay. You can get 25% off a one year subscription or 50% off a lifetime subscription. With Christmas right around the corner, I will say the lifetime subscription is the perfect thing to put on your list. So go check it out at dwellbible.com/workandplay. The link is in the show notes.
Hi, it feels so good to be back recording this podcast. I just want to start by being honest with you. This podcast, I love it. It is such a joy to me, but it has not been at the forefront of my mind in this season of my life. To be completely honest, I don't know what to do with that because life is just full. I don't have childcare right now and I'm homeschooling four kids for the first time with a growing toddler at home, which is so fun and there's just a lot going on.
Also, I've had the most incredible conversations on this podcast that I have had in a very long time. I had Jen Wilken on this podcast. If you missed that episode, please go back and listen to it. I promise it's gonna be so worth your time. It was such a gift to talk to her. I mean, what a bucket list moment for me personally to have her on. Then right after that, I had this really precious conversation with my friend Shay, who I've known Shay for a very long time, but the Lord told me not to prepare for that podcast episode and so I didn't and I really didn't know what we were gonna get into when we started talking and the Lord was so good to take that conversation in such a beautiful, like, I could just cry thinking about it, the direction that he took that episode in. So go back and listen to those if you've missed him, okay?
But this is where I'm at and I'm just giving you a quick update. God has been so kind and incredible to bring those guests to this podcast and I'm so grateful. And also, how do I make time for solo shows right now in my life when I don't have childcare and I'm homeschooling and we're redoing our living room, just getting like built-in shelves put in, a new fireplace, that kind of thing. But there's construction workers. It's noisy. Like nap time is noisy. It's just a lot. And on top of all that, there's just some hard stuff going on right now and that's just for me and my family and it's not something I'm gonna share with you, but I don't want to pretend like it's not there either.
So here's kind of where I've landed. Life is heavy and busy and full and good and God is faithful and He's good and being a grown-up sometimes is way more complicated and hard than you could ever expect or imagine. All of that can be true at the same time and I am sure because you are probably navigating a lot of similar things in life that I am right now. You're living in some sort of tension. It probably isn't exactly like mine, but you have hard things too on your plate. Maybe it's a diagnosis, maybe it's a hard season in your marriage, maybe it's a kid that you're really worried about. Maybe it's a job or financial situation that's unsteady. Maybe it's just a calendar that feels so overwhelming. I don't know what it is for you, but whatever it is, no matter what you're going through, I just want to take today and encourage you, shoulders back, chin up, God is with you. He's not gonna leave you. I just want to kind of record the podcast that I need to hear in some ways. I'm not saying like fake it till you make it or like pretend that everything is fine. I want to encourage you and encourage me to choose where we fix our gaze when everything is not fine or as you expect it to be.
We're looking at finishing October, which October went by so fast. Here we are, November and December, the fastest, craziest, fullest months of the year. They're gonna fly by. They always do. Today I just pray that this will be a gift for you and for me, for us to just stop and I'm gonna share four ways that I plan to slow down and finish this year grounded and strong. Not perfectly, but strong.
1) Eyes on Jesus
So number one, eyes on Jesus. Eyes on Jesus. Eyes on Jesus. Eyes on Jesus. Always, eyes on Jesus. Don't let your emotions or your circumstances take away the most important thing. It might be cliche or maybe you've heard it a million times, the story of Peter walking on the water in Matthew 14. But if you can just stop with me and use your holy imagination for just a second and think about the fact that he was walking on water. What a crazy sensation. I still don't understand how that happened, but he was doing it and the moment that he looked around at the wind and the waves, he started to sink. Not just like sink, like drown. Like he was afraid for his life when he looked down. The waves and his circumstances around him actually didn't change, but his focus did and what did Jesus do? He immediately reached His hand out and he caught him. Even when Peter took his eyes off Jesus, Jesus was still there to catch him. But I just want to encourage you : don't take your eyes off Him. Don't look down. Don't look down and feel like, how can I do this? What am I doing? Just keep your eyes on Jesus.
This week I just hit one of those points where I was like really, really tired and really overwhelmed and I was reminded… my friend Cheyenne shared this prayer with me from her church. It came from Elevation Worship, that song. You may have heard it. All Of A Sudden. I love this worship song. Go listen to it. I'm gonna share some lyrics with you and then I'm gonna share this breath prayer that you can pray. My friend Cheyenne shared it with me, I think a couple years ago, and I've never forgotten it and it popped back into my mind this week and it was very timely. I just needed it and I just want to bless you with it and share it with you because it is a great prayer to pray when you feel like you're underwater or when you need help. But the song, All Of A Sudden, the lyrics say, “I breathe you in, I breathe you in. Come fill me, Holy Spirit, with your mighty rushing wind. When you come, all of a sudden, I am strong again.” It's based on the story of Pentecost in Acts when all of a sudden this mighty rushing wind comes in on the disciples when they're praying and the Holy Spirit fills them.
So this prayer is so simple and it's so beautiful and I remember driving in my car this week and I just prayed it out loud in my car and took a few like really deep breaths. The prayer is this:
“I breathe you in, Holy Spirit and your strength comes suddenly and your peace fills me completely. I breathe you in, Holy Spirit and your strength comes suddenly and your peace fills me completely.”
Hebrews 12:2 tells us to keep looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, or the author and perfecter of our faith. He's the one who started this whole thing, this whole journey that we have with him, but He's the one that will finish it too. So, number one, just keep your eyes on Jesus.
2) Be where you are
Number two, be where you are in your life and be aware. Don't be afraid. Look around, look back, look forward, look down, look up, take a deep breath, and fully be present in the life that God has given you. My dear friend and sister-in-law released this amazing album called Mama this year and one of my very favorite songs on it is Thy Kingdom Come. One of the lines that just hit me straight in the chest when I heard it. One of the lyrics says, “to open my arms and kiss the face of my own life as it comes my way.”
That thought, that visualization of like kissing the face of my own life is such a beautiful thing because life just isn't always what we expect it to be. That's my encouragement for you is just to be exactly where you are in your life. Know where you're at with God, know who you are, and don't shy away from the hard stuff. Like work through it.
You know, like I said, we're about to be in this crazy fast wild season of life and here are some practical things that I am gonna be endeavoring to do as we finish out this year. I just want to look around and enjoy the ride. Like what's actually happening in my home right now. Practically there's a lot of mess there, you know, homeschooling four kids and having a toddler make little messes while I'm doing that. There's a lot of paper. There's a lot of books, there's just a lot of stuff multiplied times four. I have a hard time keeping it all organized and orderly. It's something that we are all working on. Also, learning can just be messy and that's how it is.
Then on top of that, this whole living room project is gonna be so great. I told someone the other day, the amount of questions that I'm being asked on a daily basis are at an all time high between like my kids and answering their questions and then also all of the different workers that are coming in and out. There's an electrician that had a rewire staff, you know, there's a carpenter who's making these custom shelves, there's the fireplace install team, and then there's another guy who's building a custom mantle. Then there's the painters and I'm having to make all these little decisions about every single step in this process and I really want to just look around and be like, this is a joy. This is a joy. We have been wanting to do this for so long. Yes, my house is so loud and so messy and it's very unfinished right now. But you know what? I'm gonna just try to live in that phrase that is so cheesy that's like “the joy is in the journey.” Right? Let's just enjoy the mess while we can because it's gonna make the finished product that much sweeter.
So I wanna look around at my life. I also wanna look back. I'm starting to think back through 2026 and all that it has taught me and all that it has given me. What has God done this year? Where has it been really hard? Where has He been so faithful in those hard parts? I want to spend some time really journaling and thinking about that. I don't know if you're starting to feel that, but as the year is kind of coming to a close, I'm already starting to think like, what do I want to hold on to from this year? And I'm already starting to look forward to what is coming. Not with worry or concern, but with joy. I want to prepare well and I want to walk forward with peace. For me, that means planning well.
I want to look down, like what is in my hands today? What is my next faithful step today? What is the next right thing for the next hour? Usually it's small and it's not that big.
I want to look up. Who is God? Who is He? Who does He say that I am? What is He saying to me? I don't want to neglect the hard stuff. I want to work through those things with Him. I want to be so honest with God and the close people in my life that I'm not shying away from things, but I'm looking up and I'm keeping my eyes on Him.
So I just want to encourage you with all of that. Like look down. What's in your hands? Look up. Keep your eyes on the Lord. Look around. Like, where are you right now? Where are you with yourself? What is one hard thing that you might need to work on this week or bring into the light this week? Be very honest with your station in life right now because that is a gift that you will give yourself.
3) Speak truth out loud
Okay, the third way that I really want to finish this year strong and and slow down is to speak things out loud. Not just things, like speak truth out loud. Say scripture out loud. Pray prayers out loud. Tell God who He is. Say out loud who I am and whose I am. Declare that I am a child of God. I'm a daughter of the Most High God. I have His peace. He has given it to me.
I did a whole podcast episode a long time ago about the Wingfeather Saga, The Chronicles of Narnia and Harry Potter. So feel free to go back and Google that if you want to listen to it. But we are rereading the Wingfeather Saga as a family. The first time I read it, it was just me and Will. It's so good. It's by Andrew Peterson. It's one of our absolute favorite series. It's a four-part series and there's this one part that I love so much. Even if you've never read this, just hang with me. Okay, so Janner, the older brother, is talking to his little brother, Kalmar, and he makes himself repeat this phrase over and over again, which is simply his identity, like who he is. And so he says, like, “Who are you?” and Kalmar replies, “I am Kalmar Wingfeather, son of Esben Wingfeather, High King of Anniera” and Janner will be like, “Who are you?” “I am Kalmar Wingfeather, son of Esmond Wingfeather, High King of Anniera.” If you don't know the story, just know that it's very powerful and important for Kalmar to say this. I'm not gonna tell you any spoilers, but if you've read it, you know. You know what I'm talking about. But for me, it has been such a simple and powerful reminder to remind myself out loud who I am and whose I am.
There's something about saying truth with your actual voice. There's something about praying out loud that is different. It just does something different than thinking it. You hear it, your heart hears it. Sometimes your kids hear it, and that's a good thing. David did this. He does this in the Psalms. He talks to his own soul. Psalm 42:5. “Why are you downcast, my soul? Why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God. For I shall praise Him again, my salvation and my God.” He didn't just listen to his soul, he preached to it. He spoke to it. So I encourage you and I'm encouraging myself. Let's say truth out loud. Speak scripture, memorize scripture.
One of my favorite things, I've talked about this before. I do my stop sign walks and I will just walk to my stop sign and back. It's so short. It's like just right in front of my house and I will just declare who I am. I am a daughter of the king. I am loved. I am forgiven. I am not alone and I will just pray out loud to the Lord. So say things out loud. I really think that is gonna be such a gift as we finish out this year to speak truth throughout every moment, throughout every day, through every season, the hard, the busy, the crazy, the beautiful season, everything that we're looking at these next few months. Saying that truth out loud is going to be such a gift.
4) Look ahead with hope
Okay, the fourth and final way that I am hoping that I just finish this year strong is to unashamedly look ahead with hope. Don't lose hope. We are a hopeful people. Dreaming about the future is powerful and good. I'm already starting to dream and think about next year. Now, I turn 40 at the very end of this year. It's getting me so excited and so nostalgic all at the same time. You know, it just makes you want to pause and get all the perspective of what life has given you so far. Also, I'm already looking at planners for next year. I am who I am, okay? I'm already like trying to decide what planner I'm gonna use for 2027. I've come to terms with the fact that that's good. That's a good thing. Because you know what? It shows that I am hopeful and looking ahead to making really fun plans next year. I think that when life is heavy, which it has been heavy for us many times this year, it's tempting to feel paralyzed and to stop dreaming, to just survive. and sometimes surviving is the faithful thing to do for a season. But don't let those hard seasons steal your hope. Because hope in Christ, it's not wishful thinking. It is confident expectation because it's anchored in who God is and who He says He is and what He has promised us.
So I want to read Romans 15:13 over you as we close this episode.
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.”
That's what I keep coming back to. You know, I want to keep my eyes on Jesus. I want to know exactly where I am. I want to look back and down and up and around, but I also want to just confidently look ahead with hope and worship.
So, yeah, more to come on that whole turning 40 thing. I don't know. I feel like there's probably a podcast episode in the future talking about me turning 40. I just want to encourage you, like in these next two-ish months that we have… gosh, this year has flown by. Take some time to like just take a deep breath and maybe write a few verses on little note cards that you can say out loud that can just carry you through the rest of this year. Keep your eyes on Jesus and don't lose hope. There is good coming your way.
So here they are. Four ways I am finishing this year grounded and strong. Number one, eyes on Jesus. Eyes on Jesus always. Number two, be where you are. Number three, speak truth out loud. Number four is to look ahead with hope.
Friend, I don't know what you're carrying into these last couple months of the year, but I know who's carrying you. Shoulders back, chin up. Be honest with God and worship who He is because He is faithful. The year may be flying by, but He is not in a hurry and He is not going anywhere.
Thank you for being here. Even in a season when this podcast looks a little bit different, it always means more to me than you know.
Thanks for listening to episode 335 of Work and Play with Nancy Ray. Everything I've mentioned today can be found in the show notes at nancyeay.com/podcast/336 and you can find me at nancyray.com or follow me at @nancyray on Instagram.
I'm going to close with words from Lamentations 3:21-23.
“But this I call to mind and therefore I have hope. The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. His mercies never come to an end. They are new every morning. Great is your faithfulness.”
Thanks for listening and I'll catch you next time.
