Do you feel far from God? Is it hard to hear Him? Do you struggle to see the ways He is working around you? When we feel far from God it plays a role in our soul health. And when we feel depleted, worried, even alone, it impacts the way we relate to God and others.

In this episode, I'm sharing a call that I recently had with a group of women taking the Margin Maker Workshop. We just completed the first session, "Getting Ready for Change" where we asked the question, "How's your soul?" In this conversation we talked about how we might be feeling and what assurances we can take with us on the journey to wholeness in our relationship with God and margin in life and ministry.

Scriptures Referenced

• Isaiah 53:6
• Psalm 25:8
• Psalm 23

If you'd like to join me for our next Margin Maker Workshop in a few months, you can get on the waitlist HERE. Or, if you're not quite sure what your next step should be but you know you need to make a change, let's have a discovery call....

You are loved by God. Not because you are in ministry. Not because you said yes to leadership. Not because you are compassionate. It is not because of anything you have ever done or will ever do. It is because of who God is.

As the song Jireh, says: You have never been more loved than you are right now. God loved you and chose you because it gave Him great pleasure to do it!

Many of us struggle to anchor ourselves fully in the complete love of God. We worry about disappointing Him. We want to make Him so glad that He chose us. He does choose you and He would do it over and over again because He is love. And His love and acceptance has nothing to do with your ministry.

If you struggle with the idea that you are loved by God apart from ministry, this episode is for you.

Scriptures Referenced

Ephesians 1:4-5

Ephesians 2:1-6

Romans 5:8

Romans 7:22

Isaiah 30:15-18 (verse 18 in the Amplified Version)

Isaiah 43:4

YOUR AFFIRMATION

If this was for you, let me know! Send me at...

Are you feeling marginalized as a woman in ministry? Is your contribution and leadership not valued? Are your ideas ignored? This is a common challenge that many women face, even in denominations and churches that say they welcome women in ministry.

If you haven’t experienced this, I’m thankful and I would encourage you to listen to this episode because I am willing to guarantee there is someone you know who has, even if they are in a denomination or church that embraces an egalitarian model of ministry.

Boundaries are intricately tied to the challenges of being a woman in ministry.

If we aren’t careful we over extend ourselves. We will try to prove them wrong if they question our leadership. We will over compensate and do more. We won’t stop because we are afraid that we’ll be judged or we won’t be seen. And we can spend endless amounts of time and energy trying to fight and make our case for why we belong in ministry. We...

Are you spending time on things that are working in ministry or are you building structures, programs and paradigms that simply just don’t work anymore?

This is a question that continues to come up in conversations with pastors and leaders around the country. We are all feeling the loss of community. We are grieving what church once was or what we hoped it would be. People have drifted away. Others remain on the sidelines. The programs we did and the way we did them don’t seem as effective.

Some of these shifts are temporary but many of these trends may be here to stay. The church has changed. The truth is, it was changing before COVID and now the pandemic has accelerated trends that were already unfolding. And it has become incredibly difficult. 

Our tendency is to try and figure out how to get people to come back. How do we fill the room again? How do we get people back to what used to be? It’s exhausting. It’s painful. Because of our...

There is so much going on in our lives, in our communities, and in our hearts. Our lives are full…full of overwhelm, full of responsibility, and full of worry. Today we are going to trade in our overwhelm for thankfulness by doing the 5 for 5 Challenge. All you have to do is write down 5 things for 5 days (and it will only take you about 5 minutes!)

5 for 5 Challenge

Each day write down these 5 things:

1. Something you can celebrate.
2. Something that made you laugh or smile.
3. A way God loved you or you experienced His grace.
4. A person you are thankful for in your life.
5. A ministry win.

This easy exercise will shift your mindset and help you see the ways God is working in you and around you. As you are able to shift your perspective it will relieve the burden, give you room and space, and help you experience Christ's joy, peace and power.

Connect with Jen

Facebook

Instagram

Do you have everything you need for ministry?

Many of us feel like we don't have everything we need in order to do ministry. We often think, if we just had:

• more tools more programs,
• people attending
• more engagement
• more resources
• more education and training
• more time
• more energy
• more ideas
• more help

...then we would be able to make some progress!

What if I told you that you have everything that you need? That's right, everything is available to you in order for you to share Jesus and build the Kingdom. Would you believe me?

If you are feeling discouraged, if you feel like you just don't have enough, then this episode is for you!

Scripture from Ephesians 1:15-23

Ever since I first heard of your strong faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for God’s people everywhere, I have not stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly, asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of...

Are you busy in ministry?  Is it ok to be busy in ministry?

I will admit that there was a time when I didn’t think it was ok to be busy and I’m now rethinking this idea. I think it depends on what we mean when we say “busy.”

Here are some definitions of busy:

• activity or fully engaged or occupied
• Crowded with or characterized by much activity
• Constant at work, diligent; active.

My friend Amber doesn’t use the word busy. She substitutes the word busy with productive. For her, busyness means a time of increased productivity.

So, if we think about those definitions and concepts of busy there is really nothing wrong with being fully engaged, productive, diligent, and active. Jesus was all of those things. He was active in the work God gave Him. He was focused. There isn’t anything wrong with having seasons where there is a lot to do. Even seasons where you might have to make adjustments for the short term...

"Margin is the space between our load and our limits." -Dr. Swenson

We all need margin. We were built for it. We need margin from things like being in change, constant activity, overwork, noise, running around, the news, and social media.

We also need margin set aside for things like rest, relationships, play, silence, God, eating uninterrupted, processing our feelings, and moving our bodies.

We want margin but sometimes we struggle to make it a reality in life and ministry. Here are some reasons why.

4 Mistakes Ministry Leaders Make When Creating Margin 

They don’t have a vision. They know they can’t keep doing it the same way but they don’t know what they want and if you don’t know the target, you’ll miss it every time.  

They rarely evaluate. They rarely reflect and see if they are living into that vision. Did they honor the commitments they made to the things that mattered most? Did They spend their time the way...

Do you feel like your time and energy is being taken over by all there is to do? Is the pressure from all the things weighing heavily on you? Do you feel like you’ve lost control? Are you in a constant cycle of putting out fires and feel like you’re trying to keep your head above water. Do you sometimes feel like it is just too much? 

That's overwhelm.

Now, I realize that overwhelm is a word that you may not use readily in your vocabulary.  In fact, you may shy away from it or flat out deny that you are dealing with overwhelm. The idea of overwhelm has been connected to weakness because one of the definitions of overwhelm is to be overpowered by something that is stronger. And we like to think we’re in control, even when things are out of control. We think that as long as we manage the mess, we’re not overwhelmed. 

Let me share for a moment, a bit more about what overwhelm can be.

• To bury or drown beneath a huge mass
• To defeat...

Is the pace of life and ministry unsustainable? Are there too many things to manage? Do you wish you could slow down? 

In today's episode, I interview Jodi Grubbs who is a slow living advocate. Here are some of the things we talk about:

• What happens when you don't slow down
• The importance of soul care and community
• Slow living in the scriptures and how it relates to our relationship with God
• The role of people pleasing
• Tips to slow down the pace
• Obstacles to watch out for as you slow down

Favorite Quotes from Jodi

If you're passionate about something, slowing down will help you.

You are not going to hear God say, "I need to hustle more!"

If we are doing this for God and not for other people, we need to take seriously all the slow living that Jesus did.

More About Jodi

Jodi is a former island girl and is passionate about coming alongside women who long for that shift to slower living. She is a writer and the host of Our Island in the City Podcast where she loves...