It's been so fun sharing real-life friends with you during this Christmas season, and this week is no different – Megan Alexander and I have been friends since preschool! Today, we talk about her television show, Small Town Christmas, and children's book (inspired by the show), The Magic of a Small Town Christmas.

During this episode, Megan and I chat about how impactful it's been to tell stories from around the country as small towns share their traditions because they remember how to do things slower and aren't so easily caught up in all the busyness of it all. Allowing us all a peek inside traditions of their towns, Megan reminds us all that it's not all the big stuff we do during Christmas that creates memories, but rather the things with intention behind them.

In this episode, you'll hear:

🎄 Some of Megan and my memories from childhood

🎥 Filming in places like Branson, MO; Pigeon Forge, TN; and North Pole, AK

🎅🏾 Her favorite parts of filming + why she loves volunteers and impromptu Santas

🥰 The importance of the rretelling of old stories and traditions

Links to all the things mentioned:

• Small Town Christmas - Seasons 1 + 2
• (Season 3 airs on Fox Business Network beginning December 16th!)
• Books:
  • The Magic of a Small Town Christmas
  • One More Hug
  • Faith in the Spotlight
• Instagram
• Website

Let's Connect!

• Sign up for my signature course, Living Lighter
• Instagram
• Website
• Grab a copy of one of my books!

This podcast was produced by Pivot Media Co. The music was produced by Anu Alphonse.

Does your Apple Watch remind you to breathe? How's your anxiety + stress? I'm so excited to share this conversation with you because not only is it with my BFF of about 25 years, Kiesha Yokers, but also because she teaches us some MASSIVELY HELPFUL breathing exercises that benefit us during every season, especially during the stress of Christmastime. In this conversation, Kiesha and I discuss somatic work and the benefits of breathwork, exploring the concept of soma, which encompasses the body, emotions, and sensations. Kiesha leads a grounding and centering exercise to help regulate the nervous system and discusses the importance of breathwork in managing anxiety and depression and improving overall well-being.

It is mind-blowing to learn the benefits of breathwork and how it can help with various health issues, like strengthening the immune system, improving lung function, and regulating the nervous system. Kiesha shares a box breathing exercise, the four-seven-nine breathing exercise for better sleep, and the ladder breathing exercise for relaxation. You will learn so much and return to this episode again and again!

In this episode, you'll hear:

• What the word Somatic means (derived from the Greek word, body) as it focuses on the body, emotions, and sensations and can help regulate the nervous system.
• Three simple breathing exercises:
  1. Centering practice (great to do every morning) helps with focus and clarity while feeling more rooted and connected.
  2. The Four-Seven-Nine breathing exercise is effective for promoting better sleep.
  3. The Ladder breathing exercise - an excellent practice for relaxation.

Links to all the things mentioned:

• Sign up for a FREE breathwork session on Kiesha's website
• Free 14-day trial for Lindywell - Reduce stress, regulate your nervous system, build strength, and tone your body! 2023 Women's Health Fitness Awards "Best Pilates App"!

Let's Connect!

• Sign up for my signature course, Living Lighter
• Instagram
• Website
• Grab a copy of one of my books!

This podcast was produced by Pivot Media Co. The music was produced by Anu Alphonse.

I always enjoy interviewing my real-life friends, and Alex is no exception! In our conversation, she talks about her experiment to relish Christmastime, which turned out to be the perfect way for her to lead her family in slowing down and enjoying every aspect of Advent, even during a year of heaviness.

As we discuss her fantastic book, Loving My Actual Christmas, I think the below quote captures it all:

"So here we are at the front end of Christmas, and once again, I am determined this year will be different. When I consider what I want to remember, or what I want my children to remember, a year from now, ten years from now, it's not an exhausted, overwhelmed, slightly crazed Christmas woman who is determined to make every moment magical and in the process gets angry and resentful. I know there must be a more sanity-infused way. One that involves not overdoing, but working toward relishing the here and now." -Alexandra Kuykendall

This is the PERFECT episode to listen to if you want to live a little lighter this Christmas season.

In this episode, you'll hear:

♥️ Alex's experiment to be completely present in her life as it is during the holiday season.

🎄Themes of Advent, Christmas, and Christmastide

✨ Us reflect on hope, love, joy, and peace while relishing the season with practical advice on common Christmas stressors, such as finances, schedules, and extended family.

Books discussed on today's show:

• Our Time to Rise Podcast
• Alex's Instagram
• Free Downloads for Loving My Actual Christmas
• Alex texted me after we recorded, saying she said the wrong title of the book she mentioned! The correct book/title is: The Lives We Actually Have

Grab Alex's Trilogy:

• Loving My Actual Christmas: An Experiment in Relishing the Season
• Loving My Actual Life: An Experiment in Relishing What's Right in Front of Me
• Loving My Actual Neighbor: 7 Practices to Treasure the People Right in Front of You

Connect with Teresa:

• Instagram
• Website
• Grab a copy of one of my books!

This podcast was produced by Pivot Media Co. The music was produced by Anu Alphonse

If you're just so exhausted from all the "stuff" of Christmas: the consumerism, the busy pace, the well…everything of it all. OR if you're waking up on December 26th and just feel like you "missed it," you're going to love today's episode as Greg Holder and I talk about the movement, Advent Conspiracy.

In his book, he mentions "Our hyperconsumption leaves us empty. We worship less. We spend more. We give less. We struggle more."

He then goes on to say, " Time and nerves stretch thin, and we reduce family and friends to a card, or a resent that costs the "right" amount to prove our level of love…our quest to celebrate the mystery (…or the magic!) of Christmas exhausts us."

As we're exhausted about how 🎁 consumerism has stolen Christmas, we talk about how to choose a counter-cultural way to celebrate instead:

🙏🏼Worship Fully…because Christmas begins and ends with Jesus

💸Spend Less…free up your resources for things that really matter

✋🏿Give More…of your hands, your words, and your heart

💕 Love All…including the poor, the sick, and the forgotten

🎄Will your kids get on board? Guess what…Greg talks about how kids are generally more apt to hop on more quickly than we adults are.

Links to all the things mentioned:

• Advent Conspiracy book: https://amzn.to/2RAp1RC
• Advent Conspiracy explainer video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yfnlhvmr-k
• Advent Conspiracy free resources: adventconspiracy.org/resources
• Group Study: adventconspiracy.org/groups
• Instagram I @gregholder_

Let's Connect!

• Sign up for my signature course, Living Lighter
• Instagram
• Website
• Grab a copy of one of my books!

This podcast was produced by Pivot Media Co. The music was produced by Anu Alphonse.

Welcome back for part two of our conversation with Wendy Trigsted from the Peaceful Homestead! Last week, we talked about creating peace in our homes even before stepping into the Christmas season and some of the things that trip us up (bye, clutter). We also hear her tips and wisdom once the Christmas season has officially begun (If you haven't listened, stop right now and go back to that episode first! It's so good!) 💞

Today's episode is a continuation as we talk about how adding things to our calendars is like adding more things to our homes …and it just becomes too. much. clutter. And it (of course) stresses us out (hello, the opposite of living lighter)! I've said Yes to too many things during Christmas, and I bet you have, too (even if they're all GOOD things!), so we need to decide what to say Yes and No to. We also talked about how Christmas comes at the same time every year, so why do we allow ourselves to feel ambushed by it every year? Wendy has some fantastic ideas and wisdom to share with us as we do Christmas well this year so we can concentrate on our families and the real reason we're celebrating: the birth of Jesus. ⭐

In this episode you'll hear:

✨ It's ok if things are semi-homemade or not homemade at all

✨ It's ok if we (or our kids) show up to a party empty-handed

✨ How we both ruined our own Christmases one year

✨ How Advent looks when our kids are young versus when they're older

✨ How we continue Christmas traditions with older kids, and no one seems to be home at the same time.

Links to all the things mentioned:

• The Peaceful Homestead
• InstagramI @thepeacefulhomestead
• Peace on Earth Candle
• Peaceful Scripture Cards
• The Twelve Days of Christmas scripture card set
• Advent book by Paul David Tripp

Let's Connect!

• Sign up for my signature course, Living Lighter
• Instagram
• Website
• Grab a copy of one of my books!

This podcast was produced by Pivot Media Co. The music was produced by Anu Alphonse

What if we had peace in our lives and our homes even BEFORE stepping into the season of Christmas? I know, I know… it would change everything, right? We would be so much more present and calm. In this first of two episodes, Wendy and I talk about some of the things that trip us up, including some of my own struggles (I see you paper piles!).

As we maintain peace in our homes, Wendy shares tips and wisdom on how to keep calm in our homes all season long, and how to end it well. The most important way to calm our homes, however, is remembering the reason we're celebrating in the first place: we need to have a posture of remembrance that it's Jesus we're celebrating…not more stuff.

In this episode you'll hear:

• "Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful." - William Morris
• "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." - Matthew 6:21

Links to all the things mentioned:

• Wedny's website
• Wendy's Instagram
• Peace on Earth Candle
• Peaceful Scripture Cards
• The Twelve Days of Christmas scripture card set

Let's Connect!

• Sign up for my signature course, Living Lighter
• Instagram
• Website
• Grab a copy of one of my books!

This podcast was produced by Pivot Media Co. The music was produced by Anu Alphonse.

Sometimes we're in a season where daily quiet time seems unrealistic, or maybe you don't know what to do even if you did have the time ... but other times, we're in a season that just feels different, heavier maybe, and what you've done before doesn't hit right. ♥️ In this episode, I talk about how I've needed to change how I spend my morning quiet time because this season feels a bit unwieldy.

And though my quiet time looks a bit different right now, it doesn't diminish it in any way. Listen in as I share how God uses different daily rhythms to reach me in different ways as I grow in my relationship with Him. Maybe it'll inspire you as you might be looking at quiet time a little bit differently right now, too. ✝️

In this episode you'll hear:

📚 Prayer books, devotionals, and studies I'm using right now and have been using lately

✨ How to pursue a closer relationship with God as you learn different ways to spend time with Him

⚒️ Tools to implement as you give yourself permission to do quiet time differently in this season

Mentioned in this episode:

• Prayers that Avail Much: Scriptural Prayers for Your Daily Breakthrough
• Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals
• The Monastic Heart: 50 Simple Practices for a Contemplative and Fulfilling Life
• When You Pray: A Study of Six Prayers in the Bible
• Circle of Quiet

Connect with Teresa:

• Instagram
• Website
• Grab a copy of one of my books!

This podcast was produced by Pivot Media Co. The music was produced by Anu Alphonse.

You are going to LOVE this episode! I am sitting down with Aaron + Jennifer Smith to talk about their love story – which is one of resilience, faith, and a passion for strengthening marriages worldwide. Together, they have co-authored several books and I am SO excited to talk with them about their latest release, The Marriage Gift. 🎁

I encourage you to listen to this with your spouse and we hope it brings conversations into your marriage that strengthen it. ♥️

In this episode you'll hear:

🙏 How prayer has impacted their relationship, starting while they were dating

💪 Practical ways you can build habits of prayer into your marriage

✝️ Why the posture behind prayer matters more than the words you speak when you pray

Connect with Aaron + Jennifer:

• Grab Jennifer + Aaron's new book, The Marriage Gift

• Website: https://marriageaftergod.com/

• Instagram: Marriage After God

• Facebook: Marriages After God

• YouTube: Marriage After God

• Jennifer's Instagram

• Aaron's Instagram

Let's Connect!

• Sign up for my signature course, Living Lighter

• Instagram

• Website

• Grab a copy of one of my books!

This podcast was produced by Pivot Media Co. The music was produced by Anu Alphonse.

International Day of the Girl is TODAY! 💞 And I am incredibly honored to sit down with Cindy Bultema who is not only passionate about instilling hope in the lives of young girls, but hopes to inspire you to do the same.

In this conversation, Cindy shares her powerful testimony of overcoming loss and addiction, an eating disorder & a near-fatal overdose. And we dive into ways we can encourage the next generation of women to change the future of our families, church, and world. 🌍

Whether you are listening on International Day of the Girl or another day, let's celebrate the girls in our life together!! ✨

Cindy Bultema is the Executive Director of GEMS Girls Clubs, a global ministry serving thousands of girls; she leads thousands of young girls into a loving relationship with Jesus through GEMS.

Connect with Cindy:

• GEMS Website: https://gemsgc.org/

• Cindy's Website: https://www.cindybultema.com/

• GEMS Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GEMSGirlsClubs

• Cindy's Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cindy.bultema

• GEMS Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gemsgirlsclubs/

• Cindy's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cindybultema/

Let's Connect!

• Sign up for my signature course, Living Lighter

• Instagram

• Website

• Grab a copy of one of my books!

This podcast was produced by Pivot Media Co. The music was produced by Anu Alphonse.

Health can be a soft spot for many people. From things spoken over us as children to society pushing us to look and act a certain way – it can be easy to lose sight of truly connecting with our bodies. In this episode, we are continuing the conversation with Robin Long as we dive deeper into health & wellness, and what it can look like for you! 💛

Robin's goal is to help you understand how to live your life balanced and connected with your body! As we dive into changing those negative mindsets, practical tips, and consistency - know that we are both cheering you on every step of the way. I hope you enjoy listening in on this conversation & you walk away feeling ready to commit to making time to be the best version of you possible 🌿

Connect with Robin:

• Instagram

• Website

• Grab her book!

Robin would love to give YOU a FREE month at Lindywell ($37 value)! Grab your free month by following this link: lindywell.com/freemonth/

Let's Connect!

• Sign up for my signature course, Living Lighter

• Instagram

• Website

• Grab a copy of one of my books!

This podcast was produced by Pivot Media Co. The music was produced by Anu Alphonse.