Work and Play with Nancy Ray

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. Resources from this episode: Birds and Bees (code WORKANDPLAY for 20% off) Episode 195 - Birds & Bees With Megan Michelson Jen Wilkin - None Like Him 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!

Today, I am so excited to share with you one of my very favorite things to do. I know this is really nerdy of me, but I love writing out my ideal week. This is something that I do at least twice a year, sometimes three times a year, because there are different times in my year that just look different. An ideal week looks different, and today I'm gonna walk you through my process of how to create an ideal week so that you can be living the life that you want in and week out with a lot of joy. Resources from this episode: Birds and Bees (code WORKANDPLAY for 20% off) Ideal Week Planning Worksheet Episode 168 - Theme Days Episode 173 - How We Sabbath 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!

So we all know that play is such an important part of our lives. It's easy to talk about work all the time, and it's a little bit more difficult as we get older to talk about play and incorporate play into our lives. But what I found out is it's so important to do it in small ways every day. If you can incorporate small play into your life on a daily basis, it really makes your lives and your work that much better. And that is what we are talking about in today's episode. Resources from this episode: Play by Stuart Brown Time Timer Positive Parenting Solutions The Work & Play Patreon 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!

Well, it is back to school for the Ray family this week. I know everybody starts school at different times, but for us, school starts back this week. I'm so excited. And with school comes a lot of different ideas about new rhythms and routines that we wanna implement as a family. I personally get really excited about it, but one thing that God has been putting on my heart over and over again this year is implementing rhythms of faith to go alongside our rhythms of school and that is what today's episode is all about. Resources from this episode: Episode 182 - University Model School & Why We Chose It The Work & Play Patreon 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!

Today's so special because I have a long-awaited guest joining me. Jess Ray is a singer/songwriter/producer from Raleigh, North Carolina. She has her own series of albums that hold some of my favorite songs ever written, and she's part of a worship band called Mission House. She helps lead a local movement of worshipers here in Raleigh under the ministry named Feast and Feast. Her musical career has weaved in and out of Christian spaces, mainstream circles from house concerts, including my backyard to historic venues like the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. More than all of this, Jess has a beautiful soul and the humblest of hearts. She loves Jesus. If you're ever at a show of hers, she'll look you in the eyes and give you a giant hug afterwards. She's the real deal, and I'm just the luckiest ever to have her as my best friend since the ninth grade, who also turned into my sister when I married her big brother. I'm so excited to talk with her today about fresh creativity. Oh, and one more thing…you know the music you hear every single week when you listen to this podcast? Yep. It's from the song "Too Good" by Jess Ray. You should go listen to it, and I hope you enjoy today's conversation. Resources from this episode: Episode 185 - The Minkies Jess Ray Music Instagram - Jess Ray Born Again Podcast 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!

Today is the 200th episode of work and play with Nancy Ray. I am so excited to celebrate with you. I can't believe it. I can't believe I've done 200 of these episodes. That's crazy. I'm so grateful that you have been listening. I hope today's episode is just fun. I thought of 200 of my favorite things, which is kind of wild, and it also took me a really long time to come up with 200 of my favorite things. But the hope was that maybe there are some things that I'm enjoying in my life that you don't know about. Maybe there's things I'm loving that you already know and love as well. Either way, I hope it's fun, lighthearted, playful, something to celebrate. I've brought a few helpers along. If you were here for the hundredth episode, you remember my kids helped me out with that, and that was when I just had three kids and Beaufort was a baby, and now I have four, and Benji's the baby, and it has been so fun to incorporate them into this episode. Makes me a little teary, really happy and I hope you enjoy it. Thanks for listening to the 200th episode of Work and play with Nancy Ray. Resources from this episode: Mildliners Golden Coil Planner Olive & June Nail Polish Chi flat iron Aquaphor The Little Tinkle Razor Becca Under Eye Brightner A'del Cream Blush Vaseline Rosy Lip Therapy A'del Bashful Eyeshadow or The Dusk Billie Razor Ursa Major Golden Hour Face Recovery Cream Ursa Major Forest Alchemy Eye Cream Kenra Hairspray My Caraway pots and pans Pure Komachi knife True & Co Bra Altra shoes Barefoot Dreams robe Colorfulkoala joggers Wind Blown Jewelry Jubala Sola Summer Moon Angus Barn Happy and Hale Bartaco Alpaca Taza Grill 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!

This week, we're diving back into our 2-part series as Will and I celebrate 15 years of marriage (crazy, I know)! This week, we'll be talking about kids and home life—from how we balance everything after adding kids to the mix to how we keep our home running smoothly amid the day-to-day busyness. It'll be a fun one, so listen in! Resources from this episode: Episode 198 - 15 Years Married : Part 1 Parenting: 14 Gospel Principles That Can Radically Change Your Family by Paul Tripp Deebot Vacuum Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters: 10 Secrets Every Father by Meg Meeker 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!

Back in January, I did a big survey of all of my podcast listeners and one of the most requested people that I was asked to interview on the podcast was my husband, Will! Today, we'll kick off a two-part episode series just to cover some of the most-asked questions about travel and finances for us. We'll talk about kids and home life next week. Resources from this episode: Episode 068 - 12 Years of Marriage, Part 1 Episode 069 - 12 Years of Marriage, Part 2 Episode 124 - We're Debt Free AGAIN! Nancy Ray's Instagram REI Hiking Backpacks God and Money by John Cortines Dave Ramsey: Financial Peace University The Blessed Life by Robert Morris The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel 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!

Summer is here—and after a long school year of hard work, it's time to kick up our feet and play! Today's episode is going to be fun and two-fold. First, we'll talk about the practical: how to plan your summer well. Then, we'll dive into part two and talk about the actual summer plan and what kind of mindset can help you have a summer filled with both rest and play! Resources from this episode: The Corner Store Nancy Ray Book Club Mildliner Creative Marker 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!

Today is the last episode of May is for Mamas this year, and I hope you have loved it as much as I have. Today, I get to have a conversation with Kari Trent Stageberg, the author of The Blessing. Her story is unbelievable, as you'll hear in today's episode, and her simple encouragement to speak life and be a blessing to not only your children, but to everyone you encounter, was just the reminder I needed. Resources from this episode: The Blessing Social Media: Strong Families Kari Trent Stageberg 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!