LifeWork:The Podcast

As part of Breast Cancer Awareness Month (BCAM), Natalie sits down with fellow Breastie Trisha Mobley to discuss her perspective on the journey she embarked upon. 

Trisha brings a science background and a no holds bar approach to being an advocate for your own health.  Regardless of age or circumstances, she believes that knowledge is power and we MUST ask the hard questions.  Her comparison to cookies will leave you hungry for more ;) 

Listen in as the conversation ellicits how to stay positive and just 'put some lipstick on and smile' through the good days and bad! 

Trisha's Favorites:

Football and Skiing!

This week's encouragement from God's word:

"Don't be afriad, for I am with you.  Don't be discouraged, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you and help you.  I will hold you up with my victorious right hand." Isaiah 41:10

This is how we make life work when battling breast cancer.  Christi and Natalie gear up for Breast Cancer Awareness month as they sit down to rehash the events of 2018. 

We are digging in unscripted with Natalie's story from her Breast Cancer Diagnosis and how God can take something horrible and turn into beauty. Going step by step through the journey, we touch on issues such as who does cancer discriminates against? What did the darker times look like? How do we prevent a mental downfall when trials hit? 

6 years later Natalie is using the hard to pay it forward and let God use her.  Through the founding of Tuman Breast Cancer Foundation, she has been able to make sense of the mess by helping others in her local community.  

Christi's Weekly Favorite: 

Pumpkins and Fresh flowers via Trader Joe's

Nat's Weekly Favorite:

Radiate: 90 Devotions to Reflect the Heart of Jesus

This week's encouragement from God's word: 

"Perhaps this is the moment for which you were created"-Esther 4:14

"I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world."-John 16:33

We're diving into unchartered terrirtory today. How do we make life work in the midst of political turbulence? No personal viewpoints here. Just some tangible advice on how we keep our peace when things around us are wild! 

Do we take the approach of avoidance to protect our peace? Or do we immerse ourselves in it? Bottom line...It's up to you as an individual. 

Education is key. We all have a responsibility to do the work. Understanding the policies of both candidates will lead to informed decisions and more healthy and productive conversations. How do you know if the info you're getting is unbias? We share out thoughts. 

Our biggest take away: 

The news is no longer your most trusted source of information. Feelings need not apply. Look to Gods word for widsom and answers!

Christi Weekly Favorite: 

Ollipop "healthy" Sodas

Nat's Weekly Favorite:

Amber Roll On by Nemat

This week's encouragement from God's word:

"God's eternal plan of redemption is always going off without a hitch."

"No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live. For I will be with you as I was with Moses. I will not fail you or abandon you." Joshua 1:5 

This is how we make life work when we are faced with grief and loss.  What does life look like when we unpack the vasntess of grief? 

Grief isn't just the loss of someONE. Sometimes we grive the loss of 'what was', a season, or even an unwelcome change.

And can we just 'catch a break'?  Probably not! Grief is like an ocean and waves come and go.

What does grief mean to each of us?

How do we walk through every season of grief?

Do we talk about it?

Do we retreat?

This week's ecnouragement from God's word:

Psalm 34:8

1 Thessalonians 5:24

Christ's weekly favorite: 

Wink Eyelash Clusters

Natalie's weekly favorite:

Hydrojug Tumbler

This is how we make life work when we say so many things that have become a part of our every day lingo…but are they ridiculous or genius?

A fun episode where we dissect some expressions such as:

• Penny for Your Thoughts
• Call It a Day
• It Is What It Is
• Break a Leg
• Take it with a Grain of Salt
• Get it Out of Your System
• Bite Off More Than You Can Chew
• Go Back to the Drawing Board

Plus some bonus ones to think about!

How do we interpret them?

Do we say them often?

Do we agree with them or are they ridiculous? 

Check it out and YOU decide! We'd love to hear from you so message us on Instagram and share some of YOUR faves.

This is how we make life work with the ups and downs of everyday life. What do we do in the gaps of the rollercoaster of life? 

We have really great days where everything is firing and then out of nowhere the bottom seems to fall out.  It's called life and it can be a bit of a roller coaster.  There are some really great highs and some really crummy lows, so what do we do in the 'gaps'...those drops in the roller coaster? 

We are human and frustrations can mount to a point of explosion, yet we almost can't enjoy those great days because we sense what might be coming. 

How do we give ourselves grace and how do we move through the 'Tuesdays'?

We have a REAL conversation with REAL examples of how the bottom falls out and how we cope. Bad days, bad mindset, bad self judgement, bad body image...ALL the things!!!

Grace can look like:

• Rally! Sometimes we just need to rally and get ourselves together. Our problems/moments/complaints can snowball.  One small issue can snowball and we can get more and more frustrated.  Just like a snowball traveling down a hill...you may not be able to push it back up but you can stop it! We may not be able to back track our day, but we can STOP the mindset and keep it from growing more negative day by day. 
• Gratitude!  Find thankful moments in the little things.  What are the small things that (even though life feels out of control) we can look at and say thank you. It's hard to be gracious to ourselves and grateful for what we have, but it's SO important.
• Live in it!  Not for the long term, but just be in it.  Accept it might be a bad day but not a bad life.  A new day is coming, it is PROMISED to us!  

Be aware, be mindful, figure out where it's coming from and move through it. 

Unpack and Unload

Whether it's with your person who you can be totally transparent with or journaling your thoughts, its' so important to let it out.  When we are able to unpack all of those things, we can look and see WHERE the problem lies, WHAT it looks like and HOW we can move forward.

Staying in the Word and staying equipped for hard moments sure does help.  Hide those words in your heart...NOT TODAY SATAN! Life wasn't promised to be easy, but finding grace and gratitude in those gaps is key.

Favorite Finds time!!!

RICE WATER?!?!  Is this something you can buy or something you make? Do you drink it or what?

Here's the deal...you make it and put it on your hair to help it get stronger, healthier, thicker and just BETTER! 

This is how we make life work when trying to establish boundaries.  Whether it's with friends, coworkers or family, how do we heed the same advice that we might lend to others?  Is our happiness being sacrificed to keep others happy? 

Are you a people pleaser or an empath?  Getting involved in others people's drama, trying to fix people and not saying NO can be a REAL struggle!  but our 'yes' puts our life into more chaos.  It's time to draw some boundaries!

Empaths feel EVERYTHING

The instict to fix it and make everyone feel better can put us over the edge.  We can still be helpful but not get pulled into it.  Sure we just want to be helpful but we somehow get in the middle of it. If we are fixing other people's 'stuff', we are just putting our 'stuff' to the side!

You dont have to say anything right away.

When others in turmoil, they will cling to those they feel are their saviors. Be aware so that you can draw that boundary line...here is the advice and back out! Do a real good gut check and see if it's worth it in the long haul to get involved.

What is the motive and intention?

If your motives are pure and intentions are good, then move forward.  But if you can say no to either of those, you have to take a step back.

It's easy to become the problem instead of fixing the problem if there is an unhealthy boundary.  

We HAVE to learn to say NO

Perspective and age play a big part in realizing what our life priorities are and where we need to start saying no.  We can set the stage upfrong to avoid conflict and guilt in the future. 

The pile on is real...by not saying no to getting mixed up in other's people junk, we sacrifice what really matters. We hurt those around us instead of doing the opposite.  Putting other people's happiness ahead of ours really doesn't work. It's a vicious cycle and SO real!

Contribute to other's happiness but don't be responsible for it!

We contribute to their happiness by just being ourselves.  We aren't responsible for other people's happiness...we can contribute but we are NOT responsible.  That is not our cross to bear and we haven't been called to play God. 

HOW do we set the boundary to NOT fix other people's junk? 

If praying is your jam, you need to pray about that! Ask yourself if you're helping them with the long game so they learn how to handle issues in the future with grace and wisdom. 

When it comes to saying no, draw up those life priorities.  Be ok with disappointing people, because we WILL. 

Think about what you would tell your daughter or son...how would you advise them on boundaries?  Take that into consideration and use it for yourself!

When it's all said and done, we just want to end the day well, so how does that look to each of us?? 

This is how we make life work when pondering balance. Christi sits down to talk about BALANCE...what is it? how do we attain it? DO we attain it?

Finding Balance in life is kinda laughable! 

When life feels like a tigh rope we just hope that there's a safety net under us.  

As women, we are overwhelmed by so much and we always feel guilty.  Do we put that pressure on ourselves or does society? Who are we listening to?

Too busy is NOT a good badge to be wearing! 

We recognize that our to do lists are ridiculous, but that badge of honor needs to be taken off. 

The simplicity isn't held to the same standard as it used to be because we want MORE. 

Let's reframe the phrase of BALANCE...HOW???

Realign!  Stop and look at where we are and where we want to be.  What has to come off of our lists?  What doesn't bring joy and get us closer to where we want to be?

Check in on our priorities...take the difference makers and make our days work around those.  Measure the mundane against those difference makers.  If it doesn't align, it's an easy NO.  Align, Realign, Check, Recheck.

Adaptability! Realize that each day may have to look different and be ok with making those changes. Things come at us unexpectedly all the time, so we have to really think through and learn how to adjust. Be able to reset and make it work for YOU!

Restore! Where's the restoration in BUSY? Restoration can be different for each us, but it's SO important!  Maybe it's scrolling, maybe it's reading, maybe it's getting in the word.

You have to keep the main thing the main thing!!!

This is how we make life work when we want to go from surviving during the holiday season to THRIVING!  Natalie sits down with Dr. Desire Taylor to dissect all things during this time of year. 

Dr. Taylor is a clinical psychologist with her private practice in the Dallas area.  She grew up all over the world as her parents were both in the military.  She eventually settled in Texas where she obtained her bachelor's degree in African American Studies from the University of Texas at Austin.  From there, she earned her doctoral degree in Counseling Psychology.  Her training continued with an internship at the University of Colorado School of Medicine in Aurora, Colorado.  Then she completed her post-doctoral fellowship at the South Texas Veterans Health Care System in San Antonio, Texas. 

We discuss some GREAT topics along with strategies to combat the struggles! 

Why are we so stressed this time of year? 

• Holidays have become taxing.  We are preparing, consuming, acquiring, and out of our rhythms. 
• Great deal of expectation/comparison/pressure
• Many of the things take a lot of physical and mental energy which leads to being overwhelmed and overloaded
• This time of year seems to highlight relational conflict/challenges whether with family/friends or alone

Why do we seem more emotional during the holidays? 

• This is a sacred season, we are meant to feel and be moved during this time, BUT we don't consider that and treat ourselves as such
• Holidays highlight grief and loss in a real way
• Unrealistic expectations mean we are not prepared for the realities of our beautiful but dysfunctional families.
• We might shift into being more rigid and less flexible to try to meet those unrealistic expectations
• We go into feeling personal failure, criticism, judgement, all of which disconnect us from ourselves and loved ones

Why are holidays harder after trauma?

• The message is that this time of year is supposed to be joyful and cheer but those who are experiencing the impact of trauma feel anything but that.
• If we edge into faking it, it makes the situation even worse
• We have memories of past holidays where the trauma was NOT there so it can act as a reference point and highlight a clear before and after
• Nervous system is hyper vigilant following trauma, so adding more stress to a body that's already pretty taxed is a tough combo

How do we deal?

• Treat this as a holy time, a sacred time
• Shift away from what the holidays should look like and and ask yourself 'How do I  want to FEEL after the holidays are over?' to allow that to be your guide through the season
• Pause...physically, mentally, schedule wise.  Really make sure quiet time is locked in and respected
• MAKE SPACE...what does that mean?? THIS is good!!!!!!
• Identify and take stock of your common triggers beforehand.  Figure out how you want to navigate that and how you might retreat
• Challenge the expectations!!!

You can follow Dr. Taylor for more of her amazing wisdom via her Instagram at @doctor.desi and reach her via emal at [email protected]

This is how we make life work when we untangle the Christmas season. How do we focus more on Presence over Presents?  Is it even possible? 

We don't have the answers and know the 'how tos' for it all BUT we want to just have a living room chat and see what comes up. 

There are some things we aren't going to negotiate on such as memory making with gingerbread houses and all the mess that comes with it.  But what CAN we cut back on?  Maybe it's drawing boundaries with families so that we can stay put on Christmas morning.  Maybe it's realizing that in one year from now our kids won't remember the gifts they got. 

Come hang out with us and let's see what we can do together to validate the craziness of Christmas while keeping the joy of the season!