Well it has been one whole year of our little Ray family embracing the Sabbath as a weekly rhythm. This episode is a conversation with myself and Will all about how it has changed us forever.

We are back with the second half of my conversation with Jess Connolly talking all about rest because the month of April on the Work and Play podcast is all about the importance of rest in our lives. I’m so grateful you’re here! I can’t wait for you to listen to the rest. If you haven’t listened to part one already, go back to last week’s episode and start there.

Well, I’m trying something new here at Work and Play with Nancy Ray and that is months that have themes. So the theme of April is rest and this conversation is not going to disappoint. I’m talking to Jess Connolly today all about why women are so tired. We’re all so tired and this conversation is full of practical and spiritual answers as to why we’re so tired and what we can do differently. Guys, this conversation was so good, I decided to divide it into two episodes. I can’t wait for you to hear it and I think it fits perfectly with the theme of rest for this April. Enjoy and come back next week to hear part 2!

We live in a time where rest and play are very hard to come by. It can even be looked down on in our culture and often it feels impossible with the busy nature of our lives and schedules. Today’s episode is hopefully going to be encouraging to you to make time to rest and play a little bit more.

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.

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 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.

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.

Be where your feet are. This simple phrase has brought me back time and time again from feeling scattered and overwhelmed to simply being present. It's taught me a lot about my own limits and how God is limitless, and I found a lot of encouragement in that. So today's episode is all about that phrase, be where your feet are. And I hope you find it encouraging.

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.