Hey there! You're in the right place for Work and Play with Nancy Ray. A quick note—the podcast will be taking a break this week (November 2), but I'll be back next week with an exciting new episode. See you then!

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.

Christian Healthcare Ministries

Nancy Ray Book Club

Chronicles of Narnia

Harry Potter Series

The Wing Feather Saga

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!

One thing I have realized recently is that all of us in one way or another are seeking wisdom from God in our work. Whether that is working in our home and serving our kids and raising them, or whether it is running a business, managing a team, developing a new product, just maintaining something that we've had for years. As we get older, we need more wisdom. Life continues to get more complicated and more challenging, and especially in our work. And today's episode is gonna be simple. It's gonna be about three promises that we can find in scripture regarding wisdom in our work.

Resources from this Podcast:

• Christian Healthcare Ministries
• Proverbs 8:1–11
• James 1:5
• Proverbs 3:5–6

Okay. I felt like it was just time for a more lighthearted podcast episode and that is why I am bringing you 10 things that are saving my life, fall edition. Are they actually saving my life? No, but they're really helping it and I think they're making my fall a little bit better, and I'm just gonna share those things with you today. So I hope you enjoy listening.

Christian Healthcare Ministries

Artificial Pumpkins from Walmart

Option 1

Option 2

A'Del Cosmetics

Lululemon Socks

Sam's Club

Summer Moon Coffee - Moon Milk Creamer

Every Moment Holy Books

William Sonoma - Mulling Spices

Chunky Knit Blanket

The WingFeather Saga Series

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!

I had a friend recently ask me, "How in the world do you do chores in your family with all four of your kids?" And I thought that would be a great podcast episode. So today I am gonna share with you how we do chores in the Ray household.

Chore Chart

Dry erase pockets

3M small Hooks

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!

Okay, confession. I am a major time management junkie and I love it. I love planning. I love buying my new calendar for the year and getting my favorite pens and highlighters and making a plan and writing an appointments and making lists. I love managing stuff. I love managing my time. And today I'm gonna share with you five of my favorite time management tools that have really helped me through the years because we all have 24 hours in a day, but it all comes down to how we manage our time.

Windblown Jewelry

Boundaries by Henry Cloud & John Townsend

Episode 204 - Ideal Week

Ideal Week Planning Worksheet

Time Timer

168 Hours by Laura Vanderkam

Weekly Time Log

Mastermind

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, 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.

Episode 002 - Rule of Life

Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business by Gino Wickman

Secrets of Happy Families by Bruce Feiler

Emotionally Healthy Spirituality by Peter Scazzero

Mastermind

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!

While so many women wear multitasking as a badge of honor, I will readily admit that I am the worst at multitasking. I—it's terrible. I get so distracted and cannot do it. And I'll be frank, this has not served me well in motherhood because the interruptions are great and we'll talk a little bit about that. But today I just wanna share my thoughts on multitasking and how it doesn't help anyone and how it's so much better if we can focus on one thing at a time.

Single Tasking by Devora Zack

Episode 205 - Be where your feet are

Deep Work by Cal Newport

Time Timer

Mastermind

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!

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.

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.

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!