Work and Play with Nancy Ray

Today's so special because I have a long-awaited guest joining me. Jess Ray is a singer/songwriter/producer from Raleigh, North Carolina. She has her own series of albums that hold some of my favorite songs ever written, and she's part of a worship band called Mission House. She helps lead a local movement of worshipers here in Raleigh under the ministry named Feast and Feast. Her musical career has weaved in and out of Christian spaces, mainstream circles from house concerts, including my backyard to historic venues like the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. More than all of this, Jess has a beautiful soul and the humblest of hearts. She loves Jesus. If you're ever at a show of hers, she'll look you in the eyes and give you a giant hug afterwards. She's the real deal, and I'm just the luckiest ever to have her as my best friend since the ninth grade, who also turned into my sister when I married her big brother. I'm so excited to talk with her today about fresh creativity. Oh, and one more thing…you know the music you hear every single week when you listen to this podcast? Yep. It's from the song "Too Good" by Jess Ray. You should go listen to it, and I hope you enjoy today's conversation. Resources from this episode: Episode 185 - The Minkies Jess Ray Music Instagram - Jess Ray Born Again Podcast 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 is the 200th episode of work and play with Nancy Ray. I am so excited to celebrate with you. I can't believe it. I can't believe I've done 200 of these episodes. That's crazy. I'm so grateful that you have been listening. I hope today's episode is just fun. I thought of 200 of my favorite things, which is kind of wild, and it also took me a really long time to come up with 200 of my favorite things. But the hope was that maybe there are some things that I'm enjoying in my life that you don't know about. Maybe there's things I'm loving that you already know and love as well. Either way, I hope it's fun, lighthearted, playful, something to celebrate. I've brought a few helpers along. If you were here for the hundredth episode, you remember my kids helped me out with that, and that was when I just had three kids and Beaufort was a baby, and now I have four, and Benji's the baby, and it has been so fun to incorporate them into this episode. Makes me a little teary, really happy and I hope you enjoy it. Thanks for listening to the 200th episode of Work and play with Nancy Ray. Resources from this episode: Mildliners Golden Coil Planner Olive & June Nail Polish Chi flat iron Aquaphor The Little Tinkle Razor Becca Under Eye Brightner A'del Cream Blush Vaseline Rosy Lip Therapy A'del Bashful Eyeshadow or The Dusk Billie Razor Ursa Major Golden Hour Face Recovery Cream Ursa Major Forest Alchemy Eye Cream Kenra Hairspray My Caraway pots and pans Pure Komachi knife True & Co Bra Altra shoes Barefoot Dreams robe Colorfulkoala joggers Wind Blown Jewelry Jubala Sola Summer Moon Angus Barn Happy and Hale Bartaco Alpaca Taza Grill 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!

This week, we're diving back into our 2-part series as Will and I celebrate 15 years of marriage (crazy, I know)! This week, we'll be talking about kids and home life—from how we balance everything after adding kids to the mix to how we keep our home running smoothly amid the day-to-day busyness. It'll be a fun one, so listen in! Resources from this episode: Episode 198 - 15 Years Married : Part 1 Parenting: 14 Gospel Principles That Can Radically Change Your Family by Paul Tripp Deebot Vacuum Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters: 10 Secrets Every Father by Meg Meeker 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!

Back in January, I did a big survey of all of my podcast listeners and one of the most requested people that I was asked to interview on the podcast was my husband, Will! Today, we'll kick off a two-part episode series just to cover some of the most-asked questions about travel and finances for us. We'll talk about kids and home life next week. Resources from this episode: Episode 068 - 12 Years of Marriage, Part 1 Episode 069 - 12 Years of Marriage, Part 2 Episode 124 - We're Debt Free AGAIN! Nancy Ray's Instagram REI Hiking Backpacks God and Money by John Cortines Dave Ramsey: Financial Peace University The Blessed Life by Robert Morris The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel 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!

Summer is here—and after a long school year of hard work, it's time to kick up our feet and play! Today's episode is going to be fun and two-fold. First, we'll talk about the practical: how to plan your summer well. Then, we'll dive into part two and talk about the actual summer plan and what kind of mindset can help you have a summer filled with both rest and play! Resources from this episode: The Corner Store Nancy Ray Book Club Mildliner Creative Marker 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 is the last episode of May is for Mamas this year, and I hope you have loved it as much as I have. Today, I get to have a conversation with Kari Trent Stageberg, the author of The Blessing. Her story is unbelievable, as you'll hear in today's episode, and her simple encouragement to speak life and be a blessing to not only your children, but to everyone you encounter, was just the reminder I needed. Resources from this episode: The Blessing Social Media: Strong Families Kari Trent Stageberg 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!

Hello and welcome to another episode of May is for Mamas. I am so excited about the guest that I have today on the podcast because I kept thinking "If I could choose someone who would deliver a lot of value to my listeners who are mamas this month of May, who would it be?" And I kept thinking about Megan Michelson. Megan is the co-creator and co-host of Birds & Bees, an online course with an amazing woman named Mary Flo Ridley. The two of them teach about sex and how to talk to your kids about sex in a healthy way. Let me just say—it is such a fabulous resource. Will and I have watched the course, we have taken so many notes, and I have even watched it a second time. It is such a great resource that I thought "You know, if I could have her on the podcast to share this information with you guys, it would be a game changer." Megan has three kids of her own, is married, and lives in Dallas, Texas, and she is just a wonderful human being. And if you are interested after listening to this conversation in getting your own Birds & Bees course, you can use the code: WORKANDPLAY and get 20% off. I am very grateful to their generosity to you and I hope you enjoy! Resources from this episode: Instagram Website Course Use the code: WORKANDPLAY and get 20% off 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'm back with another May is for Mama's episode, and today I'm releasing one of my Patreon-only episodes into the world. This episode was published to my Patreon community last year, and it's the first time I've ever done this, but I love this precious woman so much, and I loved what she had to say so much that I knew eventually I had to share it with everyone. Elizabeth Ray, who we affectionately call Grammy in our home, is my husband's mom, so she is my mother-in-law and she is one of my favorite people on this earth. Now, it's not lost on me that I am calling my mother-in-law one of my favorite people. I realize this is very rare and it is truly the greatest gift. Now, she always told me that she had the privilege of having an incredible mother-in-law herself who modeled that to her and now I am receiving that gift because she's now passing it down to me and I'm learning what that looks like. I'm learning it because I'm watching it in action and I love that we have such a good, healthy relationship. But let me just say, whether you have a great relationship with your mother-in-law, a mediocre one, or maybe even a terribly painful one, I know you'll be encouraged today as Grammy simply shares about what she's learned from her mother-in-law—the power of words. And we can all take notes and decide now the kind of mother-in-law that we want to be one day. Now, don't forget the Legacy Photo System is on sale for the month of May. Head to legacyphotosystem.com and use the discount code mamas MAMAS to receive $50 off. I hope you'll enjoy this conversation as you listen to one of my exclusive Patreon interviews with one of my favorite people, Grammy. Resources from this episode: The Work & Play Weekly Checklist (Free Download!) The Work & Play Mastermind! The Legacy Photo System (Code: MAMAS for $50 off)

Welcome to another episode of May is for Mamas, and this is Mother's Day Week! We are approaching Mother's Day and I had the thought, I want to create a podcast episode that is a gift to any mom who is listening. And oftentimes for Mother's Day, we wanna get a massage or we wanna get away, or we want a new bag, or we wanna be served breakfast in bed. And all of these things are good and of of course, of course we want most of all those homemade cards from our kids that is the best. And just the acknowledgement of all the work and love that we pour into our families and all of that is so good and right and wonderful to want and receive those things. But sometimes, sometimes more than anything, I just want some words of life spoken over me. I need a fresh wind of the Holy Spirit to empower my steps. I want to to hear scripture and words that can speak to me in the dark moments that hold me together when I feel like I'm falling apart. The words that give me patience when I lose my temper, the words that give me wisdom when I need it most. And so today I am gonna be sharing my favorite scripture verses for mamas. And of course there are endless scriptures that I could share. There are so many more that I could pull from, but these are some of my personal favorites that I just want to read over you and share with you today. Also, I wanted to let you know as another Mother's Day gift, I'm giving you $50 towards the Legacy Photo System. If you want to take advantage of that, just use the code MAMAS when you check out. Lastly, I wanted to let you know that there are still a few spots available for my mastermind group, which is kicking off in June. If you are interested to learn more about that and apply, head to nancyray.com/mastermind. Applications close May 17th so make sure you go and apply before then!

Welcome to May is for Mamas, where I dedicate every episode in the month of May to the Mamas listening. We are kicking it off with a beautiful, encouraging conversation with Ashlee Gadd on why it's so important to keep creating in the margins of motherhood. Ashlee is the author of Create Anyway, which is a beautiful book. It just came out and I could not get my hands on it fast enough. Y'all. It's so good. Listen, Ashlee is a wife, a mom of three, a follower of Jesus, a writer, a photographer, and she founded Coffee and Crumbs, which is a beautiful online space that brings mothers together through storytelling. Ashlee is just the kind of person who has a beautiful heart, and I'm so grateful I got to spend time with her today. Also, side note, Coffee and Crumbs has a podcast and it's one of the very few podcasts I actually listen to regularly, and what a gift it was to just to get to know Ashlee, to get to know her heart. I know you're gonna love our conversation on creating in motherhood. Resources from this episode: The Work & Play Weekly Checklist (Free Download!) The Work & Play Mastermind — price goes up on May 5! Create Anyway, by Ashlee Gadd Coffee & Crumbs Podcast Ashlee's Website The Legacy Photo System (code: MAMAS for $50 off through the end of May)