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You do not have to earn your way back to yourself. Small counts. It always has. And it still does today, right here, as you are.

Welcome to The RISE Experience — a podcast for women who are finding their way back to themselves. This is a space to slow down when everything feels loud, to lead from steadiness instead of urgency, and to finally hear yourself think again. Here we talk about identity, faith, and the quiet inner wisdom that gets buried under all the doing. A place to pause, reflect, and rise from clarity instead of pressure.

Episode Highlights

In today’s episode, the focus is on what it really looks like to start again without waiting for the right mindset, the right morning, or the more “put together” version of yourself to arrive. The lens is small, ordinary choices that actually count, like turning the music back on in the car, rolling the windows down for fresh air, or taking five quiet minutes outside, and how those moments become evidence that you have not abandoned yourself. There is an honest look at why nervous systems shut down under pressure and all-or-nothing plans, and why gentle, manageable steps are the ones that hold in real life. The story of Elijah gives a picture of God meeting you in rest and nourishment instead of performance, and the invitation is simple: find one small thing that makes you feel a little more like yourself and let that be enough to begin again.

Episode Outline

• Finding Relief and Starting Over
• Personal Transition and Music
• The Importance of Small Acts
• The Role of the Nervous System
• Scriptural Reflection and Practical Application
• Encouragement to Start Now

Episode Chapters

00:00 Welcome and setting the tone

00:28 Why starting over feels so heavy

03:10 Closing a long chapter and feeling the emptiness

06:05 Turning the music back on in the car

09:25 Letting small moments count as “showing up”

11:40 Nervous system, safety, and pressure

13:55 “Small is how she comes back”

15:20 Elijah, exhaustion, rest, and nourishment

17:10 Choosing your own “music in the car”

18:35 Prayer and blessing for the week

Conclusion

You do not have to wait for a perfect morning, a perfect plan, or a perfect version of you before anything counts. The ten minute walk, the rolled down window, the song you forgot you loved, the quiet no that protects your energy, all of it is real and all of it matters. That is the language your nervous system understands. That is how you tell your body and your soul, “I have not abandoned you.” The woman you have been trying to find never left. She has been here under the pressure and the starting over, just waiting for you to let the small, faithful moments count again.

Action Taken

• Choose one small act that makes you feel more like yourself:

  - Turn on music you actually love in the car  

  - Step outside for a few minutes and breathe fresh air  

  - Make your coffee slowly and with intention  

  - Say no to one thing you usually say yes to out of guilt  

• Let that one act stand on its own without turning it into a big plan or perfection goal  
• Notice what happens inside: the exhale, the sense of relief, the reminder that you are still here and you still matter  

CTA

If someone came to mind while you were listening, share this with her. Tell her the moment is now, that small counts, and she does not have to earn her way back to herself.

Visit the links provided to stay connected.

• Instagram: @risewithshannon
• Facebook: Shannon Denniston
• LinkedIn: Shannon Denniston
• Business: https://msha.ke/shanden
• Coaching: https://msha.ke/risewithshannon
  
  
  

Thank you for being here. The fact that you paused long enough to listen and to consider one small step toward yourself speaks loudly, even if no one else sees it. Keep choosing the gentle, ordinary moments that help you breathe again. That is where your rise begins.