Work and Play with Nancy Ray
245 episodes - English - Latest episode: 14 days ago - ★★★★★ - 615 ratingsWork and Play with Nancy Ray is a weekly podcast all about learning to balance the two most competing areas of our lives: work and play.
She dives into topics like productivity, work life balance, leading a team, time management, contentment, play, sabbath, marriage, parenting, and rest, always pointing back to scripture, the ultimate guide for a life of faith. This is a podcast all about learning to work and play well, which ultimately leads to a healthy soul and a fulfilling life.
Homepage Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
Episodes
045 - How to Journal
February 18, 2020 11:00 - 22 minutes - 15.3 MBJournaling has been a big part of my life since I was around age 11. Yeah, I've been journaling for over 20 years, which is kind of crazy, but it's provided a lot of clarity for me. It's been an outlet for my emotions. It's deepened my walk with the Lord. It's allowed my brain the time and space needed just to process life. This episode is entirely devoted to journaling, and I'm going to share what I actually write in my journal and how my journaling habits have changed throughout my life. ...
044 - How to Track Your Time
February 11, 2020 11:00 - 22 minutes - 15.2 MBThe first time I tracked my time was back in 2014 I think. I just finished reading 168 Hours by Laura Vanderkam (In case you didn't know, that's how many hours there are in a week.). At the time, I was juggling a growing photography business, and I was married to a youth pastor and training for a half marathon. To be honest, my life felt out-of-control busy. I would stay up late every single night working, and I did that a lot back then. I never felt close to being caught up. It just felt ...
043 - Book | You Are The Girl For The Job with Jess Connolly
February 04, 2020 11:00 - 1 hour - 42.8 MBI think you're really going to enjoy this conversation I had with my friend Jess Connolly, who is the author of You Are the Girl for the Job, which is the first book in the Nancy Ray Book Club of 2020. I'm really excited. We talked about a lot of different things, and I'm just going to let you jump into the episode and listen, but I wanted to give a brief introduction to Jess in case you weren't sure who she was or you've never heard of her before. Jess Connolly is a woman who wants to lea...
042 - Book | Switch On Your Brain
January 28, 2020 11:00 - 20 minutes - 13.8 MBSwitch On Your Brain by Dr. Caroline Leaf is one of the most interesting and impactful books I've read. Of all the books I read last year, this one is probably my favorite simply because it's full of scientific knowledge about the brain and how it works, which is something I really know nothing about, and how God designed us. There are a few areas in life that I feel should be mandatory to learn about in school that really aren't. It's not taught in school, or if they are, I totally misse...
041 - My Plan to Work One Day a Week
January 21, 2020 11:00 - 19 minutes - 13.3 MBFor the last 12 years I've worked my tail off. I've built a business, Nancy Ray Photography, and I closed the doors at that business last year. I went from working six or seven days a week, no joke in the early years, especially with weddings and double wedding weekends, it's just crazy, to working four days a week after my first baby was born and I say four days a week, but it was Monday through Thursday plus weddings and sessions, so maybe five days a week. Then transitioning to working th...
040 - Living Intentionally in a Distracted World with Lara Casey Isaacson
January 14, 2020 10:00 - 49 minutes - 34 MBThe word "intentional" has become kind of a buzzword these last few years. I've seen it everywhere on social media and with good reason. Being intentional is the opposite of living haphazardly or living distracted, which is all too easy to do today. Today I'm going to be chatting with my friend, Lara Casey Isaacson, two-time author and owner of Cultivate What Matters and the creator of the PowerSheets. And we're going to be talking all about what it looks like to live intentionally in a di...
039 - 5 Things to Include in Your Annual Goal Setting Routine
January 07, 2020 11:00 - 20 minutes - 14.3 MBWell, Happy New Year! It’s the first episode of the year, of the decade, in fact, and we're about seven days into 2020 and I'm full of expectation for what's ahead. I hope you are, too. I don't know about you, but I've found such inspiration through the years from listening to how other people prepare for a new year or set your New Year's resolutions and set their goals. So I thought it'd be fun to share a little bit of my goal setting routine with you in five things I love to incorporate ...
038 - My Birthday Episode! Ask Me Anything
December 31, 2019 13:06 - 31 minutes - 21.6 MBResources from this Episode: Contentment Challenge Nancy Ray Book Club Nancy Ray’s Library Show Notes: It's my birthday today! I’m turning 33. This is a fun episode where I'm answering questions from YOU, so listen in. One person asked if I could share 33 nuggets of wisdom that I’ve learned over the years and I think that’s a great idea, so I’m answering that one last! Don't forget that I'm hosting the Contentment Challenge* again this year! Head here to join in for free! Y...
037 - 3 Things To Do the Week After Christmas
December 24, 2019 11:00 - 10 minutes - 7.4 MBMerry Christmas, friend. It is Christmas Eve, which means that my family is gearing up for our favorite family traditions and I'm sure you are, too. We are all so full of anticipation for Christmas morning. More than ever I'm believing that Christmas is about the awe and wonder of what it means that our God actually became a human to live with us and to save us. If you stop and think about it, it will blow you away. It's also about time spent together with those you love most, slowing down...
036 - Living a Content Life with Rachel Cruze
December 17, 2019 11:00 - 27 minutes - 19.1 MBI am convinced that contentment is something we have to fight for and pay attention to. It's not something that comes naturally in our culture, when everywhere we look, we are hearing silent messages of you need this, you don't have enough, you have to buy this to be happy. Today, I'm talking with Rachel Cruze all about contentment, and fun fact, this episode was recorded before she had her baby boy, and now she's a proud mama to two girls and a boy, just like me! Rachel is known for finan...
035 - Book | The Life Giving Home
December 10, 2019 11:00 - 23 minutes - 16 MBWe can never underestimate the power of a life-giving home. My strongest childhood memories are rooted in my childhood home, as I'm sure yours are too. I also have vivid memories of going to the homes of friends and feeling so welcomed, so loved, and so grounded when it felt like my own home and family were falling apart. Last year when we moved into our current house, my dear friend, Callie, gave me a book called The Life Giving Home as a housewarming gift. And this year, we've been reading...
034 - Follow Through: An End of Year Pep Talk
December 03, 2019 11:00 - 5 minutes - 3.85 MBThis year isn't over yet. It's not over, and if we keep looking to the future and making plans and setting goals and dreaming about the next thing, we are going to miss the moments right in front of us. Today we are all going to take a pause and just remind ourselves to be present and enjoy the last days of this year to their fullest. Every December early on, I send out an email to my email list. It's the same email every year. I send it over and over. And every time I do my inbox gets f...
033 - Our Favorite Thanksgiving Tradition
November 26, 2019 14:52 - 18 minutes - 12.4 MBCan you even believe it's the week of Thanksgiving? I know I can't. Well, happy Thanksgiving, friend. I'm grateful you're here. Today's episode is going to be short and sweet all about my favorite Thanksgiving tradition that any family can do, any couple can do, and it's the most wonderful practice of just opening your eyes to the beautiful, good life around you. I hope this week you find yourself in the midst of not so much work and a whole lot of play. It's Thanksgiving week. It's a week...
032 - How to Become a Reader
November 19, 2019 11:00 - 16 minutes - 11.3 MBI don't know that there's a subject I'm more passionate about than this. Reading has changed my life. I don't say that lightly, I'm not trying to be dramatic, but I truly have seen more positive results in my life as a result of reading than just about anything I've ever done. When I was thinking about this podcast, Work and Play With Nancy Ray, I was thinking about what category this falls into: Is this work or is this play? The beautiful thing about reading is it's really both. I know so...
031 - My #1 Parenting Tip
November 12, 2019 11:00 - 16 minutes - 11 MBParenting can be so overwhelming at times. Some days I feel like I'm doing it pretty good, I'm a good mom and other days I feel like I have tried to do everything right and my kid's behavior is still wild and defiant and they know how to push my buttons and they do it over and over and I kind of lose my mind on them. Yeah, I'm going to go there right at the start of this episode because I don't think it helps anyone listening if you think I'm the perfect mom or I've got it all together becau...
030 - Balancing Life as a Working Mom with Emily Ley
November 05, 2019 12:00 - 1 hour - 48.6 MBI am so excited to have Emily Ley on the Work and Play podcast today. She is one of the most authentic people I have ever met, I kid you not. She’s been a friend of mine for several years now. I've watched her grow as a mom, as a business owner, but she never loses that on authenticity. Every time I hang out with her, she makes me cry, and it's not in a bad way. It's because her heart for life, her heart for her people, it moves me. She really wants the right things in life. She's doing som...
029 - Book | The Coaching Habit
October 29, 2019 11:00 - 21 minutes - 14.9 MBWelcome to the Nancy Ray Book Club where every once in a while I'll review a book I've just read with many of you. A book that I believe is worth reading and I'll share my top three takeaways from that book. Today I'll be sharing my thoughts on The Coaching Habit, and a few ideas and practices that have really stuck with me since reading it. Okay, have you ever seen the show Friday Night Lights? It's a show all about high school football in Texas and what a big deal it is. If you've never...
028 - The 3 Priorities Exercise
October 22, 2019 11:00 - 13 minutes - 9.53 MBOkay, I feel like there are two ways to start my day. Version one: I wake up, and I'm just running so hard. The kids are already awake. I'm getting ready, making breakfast, emptying the dishwasher, cleaning the kitchen, drinking my coffee, gathering up things, taking care of the kids, getting them dressed, starting work, immediately jumping into my inbox, answering Slack and everything my team needs. I just start doing it all in no particular order. I just am accomplishing all the things. ...
027 - 6 Questions to Ask Your Spouse Every Week
October 15, 2019 11:00 - 17 minutes - 12 MBEvery Sunday night my husband Will and I ask each other six questions that help us have a deeper level of understanding and emotional intimacy. Now, while they were designed to be asked within a marriage, I want to talk to my single friends for just a second and say, don't disqualify yourself from listening to this episode. It's really perfect for building deeper roommate relationships or dating relationships, too. Now, going back to the marriage piece, what I love most about these questio...
026 - My Favorite Business Book of All Time
October 08, 2019 11:00 - 19 minutes - 13.3 MBI was introduced to the book Traction by my husband. We both love entrepreneurship and I get a lot of really great resources from him. And a few years back, he said, "Nance, you would really love this thing called the Entrepreneurial Operating System." I was like, "What are you talking about?" And he was like, "It was introduced to me. It's this book called Traction. It's really pretty incredible, and I think Nancy Ray Photography could really benefit from it." I was kind of like, "It sounds...
025 - Work Hard, Sabbath Hard
October 01, 2019 11:00 - 27 minutes - 19.2 MBI'm going to be the first one to say I love to work. It's a blessing and a curse. I can kind of be a workaholic sometimes. But truly, at the end of every day, I love the feeling that I gave it my all, checking off my list, being on my game, seeing my inbox dwindled to zero, sending completed projects to clients. I love it. I love the fulfillment that work brings, and God made us to work. I believe that work is good and it feels good to know that you've done a job well at the end of your da...
024 - 5 Ways to Become a Leader People Want to Follow
September 24, 2019 11:00 - 25 minutes - 8.68 MBNow, I truly believe that leadership is a learned skill. I believe that about parenting, too. I believe it about playing the piano, about doing your hair. You have to learn these skills to be good at them, and guess what? If you have influence, you are a leader, right where you are. If you can speak into someone else's life, if you are just a little more advanced than they are in some area, you are a leader. We all find ourselves in leadership positions at some point or another, but it's up ...
023 - The Fear of Becoming a Mom with Katelyn James
September 17, 2019 11:00 - 1 hour - 38.8 MBFor the longest time I was really afraid of becoming a mom. I thought that I should have these longings to be a mother or I really should want to have a baby, but I never did. I was really happy with my marriage and my life before babies. I loved my work, and I was really fearful of what it would do to my life, my body, my sleep, a lot of different things. I remember having a conversation with my friend, Katelyn, about this and was nervous saying it out loud. She looked at me and was like, "...
022 - Hiring, Part II: Hiring the RIGHT Person, and Keeping Them
September 10, 2019 11:00 - 16 minutes - 18.6 MBYou know what's pretty much the worst job in the world? Having to fire somebody. You know what's even worse than that? Keeping somebody on your team that needs to be let go, but you feel so bad, you don't want to have that conversation. You'd rather just keep them around and deal with it. Then eventually you have the conversation and it's just a big mess. You know what could solve all of this? Hiring the right person the first time. Now, I'm not perfect by any stretch, but I decided way b...
021 - Hiring, Part I: 5 Ways to Know You're Ready
September 03, 2019 11:00 - 22 minutes - 20.5 MBI get the question all the time: How do you do it all? My answer every time is: I don't. I don't do it all. I ask for help. I have a team that works hard behind the scenes in my business, and I have a lot of family members that help out with the kids. We have a nanny. I ask for help. Now, I want to preface this by saying we're going to start a two part series, this week and next week, that's all about hiring. But if you're reading this and you're like, "Nancy, I don't own a business....
020 - Book | The Sacred Enneagram
August 27, 2019 11:00 - 20 minutes - 19.7 MBBack in Episode 18, I shared how I was introduced to the Enneagram, a little bit about my type— I'm a type three. I also gave a glimpse into my life and thoughts and struggles and strengths as an Enneagram type three. But I don't want to assume everybody listening knows what this weird word the Enneagram means. So I kind of want to go back to basics for a minute before jumping into the book, The Sacred Enneagram, so let's start with this. What the heck is the Enneagram? Basically, the Enne...
019 - The Top 3 Reasons I Built a Team
August 20, 2019 11:00 - 14 minutes - 18 MBBack in 2012, Will and I were sitting across from each other in a coffee shop discussing the big picture future of my business, Nancy Ray Photography. We were at a crossroads trying to decide if we wanted to stay on the quote unquote, "Husband and wife team" route, that most photographers take, or if we wanted to do something different: take a risk and hire associate photographers to form a team. When Will and I began talking about what it would look like to actually hire someone, to actua...
018 - Life as an Enneagram Three
August 13, 2019 11:00 - 30 minutes - 33.6 MBSo this crazy Enneagram thing seems to be around every corner, doesn’t it? For those listening who aren’t familiar with it, the Enneagram is a personality typing system that illustrates nine types of people and their basic motivations. For those of us who understand the Enneagram, you know it can be such a helpful tool to help us understand ourselves, our motivations, our fears, and how we look at and relate to the rest of the world. Now, I’m an Enneagram three and I’m just going to share ...
017 - 3 Steps to a Successful Monthly Budget
August 06, 2019 11:00 - 18 minutes - 25.6 MBOkay. How do you feel when I say the word "budget"? I know that word can make some people feel handcuffed, and it can make some people feel kind of nerdy and excited. It can make some people feel like they want to roll their eyes. There's just a lot of emotions tied to that word. To me, budget simply means one thing: accountability. It's staying accountable to your money, to your spending habits and to your financial goals. And accountability is good. It takes a mature person to want to be a...
016 - How to Lead a Team Meeting
July 30, 2019 11:00 - 17 minutes - 24.8 MBWhen I first started leading my team, I would host weekly team meetings. I thought I was really good at them, but over time, while my team members were really good sports about it and very gracious with me, they let me know I covered a lot of information that didn't really pertain to them. Sometimes it felt like a waste of time. I wasn't really sure how to lead it or what to cover. They would be long, and we'd often get distracted. All in all, I needed a solution, and thankfully I found one....
015 - Book | The Year of Living Happy
July 23, 2019 11:00 - 13 minutes - 21.8 MBWelcome to the Nancy Ray Book Club where every once in a while an episode will be comprised of my thoughts on a book worth reading and my top three takeaways from that book. Today we'll be looking at the book The Year of Living Happy and a few ideas that have really stayed with me since reading it. I picked this book up because I heard an interview with the author, Alli Worthington, where she said a few things that really resonated with me. She said a lot of times today happiness can sound...
014 - Living Fully Awake
July 16, 2019 11:00 - 14 minutes - 22.5 MBThe other day my friend said something that has stuck with me so profoundly because of how it's resonated in my heart. When I asked her, "What's one thing that you could do this year to really make this year a win?" She responded, "Slowing down and creating more empty space. Finally getting up the nerve to be less connected. How dare I? Less always going so that I can just live a simpler, more present life?" Then she said these words, "I'll also say that that sounds impossible. Isn't that...
013 - My Morning Routine
July 09, 2019 11:00 - 18 minutes - 25.7 MBGet ready, because I love a good morning routine. Fair warning: I am such a nerd about this. I know this sounds kind of extreme, but having a morning routine in place really enhances the quality of my life. I'm not kidding. It gives me something to look forward to at night. It starts my day off connected with the Lord and with a healthy mindset. It allows me to start my day in a place of abundance, which really determines so much of the rest of my day. So whether you have a solid morning rou...
012 - 3 Habits to Put Social Media in its Place
July 02, 2019 11:00 - 20 minutes - 27.3 MBListen, we all struggle with social media. It is an incredible tool of connectivity, but it's literally designed to keep us scrolling, even when we don't want to be. Now in my best moments, I've connected with people I've never met. They have brought me hope or encouragement in a time I have desperately needed it. But in my darkest moments, I've thought some pretty terrible thoughts about myself as a wife, or a mother. I've wanted to escape a messy house or crying baby, or even worse, I have...
011 - How to Lead a Plus Delta Exercise in 5 Steps
June 25, 2019 11:00 - 15 minutes - 23.8 MBBefore I walk you through how to lead a Plus Delta exercise for your team, you might be wondering what it is or really what purpose it serves. In a nutshell, it's a team building exercise that celebrates their successes and the things you're doing well, which are the pluses, as well as highlighting the things that need to change, which are the deltas. Now, in math, the plus symbol means addition or a positive number, and the delta symbol, which is a triangle, is a symbol for change. So, t...
010 - 5 Ways to Work Through Overwhelm
June 18, 2019 11:00 - 15 minutes - 23.5 MBToday we're going to talk about five ways for you to work through that feeling of overwhelm that honestly overtakes us every once in a while and leaves us feeling so helpless. For me, it often comes when my schedule is full and overflowing and I just don't know what to do next. It's like a paralyzation that comes over my body and my mind, oftentimes leading to tears, and it's just so overwhelming. But I know that abundance and overwhelm can't really coincide, and I know that the life God p...
009 - The Secret to Success in Business
June 11, 2019 11:00 - 19 minutes - 26.2 MBYou probably clicked on this wondering, “What in the world is the secret to success in business?” Well, I'm going to go ahead and tell you. In one word, it's service. If you want to excel in your work, serve others. Serve your boss, serve your team members, serve your clients, serve your vendors. Serve them well, and success will simply follow. This is something I’ve come to learn more than anything over the last 10+ years of growing my photography business. In this episode we’re talking...
008 - Planning for Maternity Leave in 10 Steps
June 04, 2019 11:00 - 26 minutes - 31.3 MBA little bit about me, in case you don't know. At the time of recording this podcast, I'm a mama to three little ones: ages three, and one, and five months. Yes, we are very busy. I have taken off three to four months each time I've had a baby, and it has been the best gift I could ever have given to myself and my family. I'm going to walk you through 10 steps that I take to prepare for maternity leave, so that I can be fully present with my little one, and then I'm going to end this episo...
007 - You Were Made For Hard Things
May 28, 2019 11:00 - 21 minutes - 27.5 MBI'm going to start this episode with stating something that is very obvious: life is hard. I don't care how old you are, I don't care what gender you are, I don't care how much money you have, I don't care what status you are, you're going to experience hard things. It's just part of life. But I'm also here to tell you: “You were made for hard things.” You were made for hard things. You were made to actually push through them and come out the other side a better person. There have been se...
006 - Book | Anonymous
May 21, 2019 12:00 - 14 minutes - 22.6 MBToday’s episode is part of the very informal Nancy Ray Book Club. Every once in a while, an episode will be comprised of my thoughts on a book worth reading and my top three take aways from that book. Today we'll be looking at the book Anonymous and the ideas that have really stayed me with me since reading it. To give you a kind of a brief synopsis of the book, the title is Anonymous and the subtitle is Jesus's Hidden Years… and Yours. Because if you think about it, Jesus lived an anonym...
005 - Calling vs. Assignment
May 14, 2019 11:00 - 21 minutes - 27.4 MBI think it's pretty safe to say that when it comes to our work, we want to be part of something that we are called to do— something that is full of meaning and has purpose, something that is in line perfectly with our passions and gifting. But today I want to challenge our way of thinking, and really the language that we use describing our work and our calling. Ever since I was a young girl, I've wrestled with my “calling.” What am I called to do? What is the thing? What is God's calling ...
004 - Seasons of Business
May 07, 2019 14:04 - 34 minutes - 36.3 MBI recently shared the news that after this year, my twelfth year of business, the doors of Nancy Ray Photography will close. This was one of the hardest, most difficult decisions of my life. I love this work, I am going to miss this work, but the bottom line is this: God gently made it clear to me that this season has come to an end. This was a massive decision for me personally and for my family, and it all started one year ago. Today, it feels like I've turned the page into the next chap...
003 - The Contentment Challenge
April 24, 2019 21:18 - 33 minutes - 35.6 MBWhat is the Contentment Challenge? In a nutshell, it is a commitment to giving up shopping for clothes, accessories, household decor, stuff, really anything excessive, for 3 months straight in order to focus your heart and your mind on the root of true contentment. It's also a commitment to replace shopping with activities experiences and relationships— the things that really matter in your life. We live in a world where money seems to kind of fly out of our bank accounts with the simple p...
002 - Rule of Life
April 24, 2019 21:12 - 28 minutes - 32.7 MBI don’t know about you, but I love to imagine my life working seamlessly as I ease into the day, transitioning in and out of work without any stress. Me, walking with God and listening to Him throughout my day, breathing deeply and contently as I drift off to sleep at night. But does that happen in reality? Well, no. But there are simple practices that we can embrace throughout our days, weeks, months and years that will point us back to the Lord in a rhythmic way. It’s called a Rule of Life...
001 - Work and Play
April 24, 2019 21:02 - 17 minutes - 24.5 MB“In all we do in work or play, help us to be more loving every day.” There are countless opportunities to fill our minds with knowledge and messages, and it is so important to be intentional and filter that because of how it affects us and how it affects our home, our work, and the people closest to us. My hope for this space is that you will find words that will lift you up, that will inspire you to live a life that is not numb or sleepy or unaware, but that we together will learn to l...