Let me ask you…Are you an automatic YES person? Do you always say yes when someone asks you to do something? Is that your default answer? Or, what about this one…Maybe you’d like to say no but you don’t know how to break that cycle. Or maybe you don’t even know what answer to give, is this something you SHOULD do or not…or perhaps you wonder…do I have a choice?? In today’s episode I am going to share with you some tips on how you can discover and learn whether you should say yes or whether you should say no…and we’ll also chat about HOW to communicate your decision.

3 Tips to Help You Discern Whether to Say YES or NO

Don't Give An Answer Right Away. Create space between the ask and the answer. Say something like, "let me check on a few things and get back to you." There is power in pausing. This helps use be thoughtful

Ask God. We tend to only ask God about the "big" things. But every yes adds up. God...

You know you want to create margin and integrate healthy rhythms into your life and leadership but where do you start? What are some ideas of practical things you can put into place. In this episode I’m going to share with you some ideas for margin to help you get started.

I was leading a workshop on making margin at a women's clergy conference and someone raised their hand and said...I know that this is going to be different for each of us, but what are some practical examples of what margin could look like in our lives? Where do we start?

I loved this question! Yes, the type of margin we need will be different for each of us. In fact, it will shift and change in our own lives as we live and lead through different seasons. But there are some ways you can begin. And in this episode I share how you can get started.

Ideas for Making Margin in Life and Leadership

• Sabbath
• Starts and Finishes
• Movement and Meals
• Add in Fun

Need More Help?

Grab the...

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...

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...

Are you having trouble figuring out what healthy rhythms and boundaries would work for you? Most pastors and leaders I talk with know that they need to put boundaries in place but they are just not sure what will work. And not knowing is what’s keeping them stuck in the unhealthy patterns of leadership.

How do you gain clarity so that you can make progress?

1. Ask God. God, what do you want for me? What’s your vision, God? What do I need to focus on? What do I need to make time for?
2. Write down what is most important to you in this season. What relationships are most important in the months ahead? What events are important? What roles, responsibilities do you need to make time for? What parts of yourself need time/attention/nurturing?
3. Start small. Pick one thing but start. We tend to try and do much too quickly. Do one thing, but do it! We tend to think about things over and over again. We'll talk with colleagues and friends, we'll meditate on what we...

Let's celebrate!

This is episode 100 of the Women in Ministry United Podcast!

From the launch in March 2019, the journey has been filled with twists and turns. If you've been with me for a lengthy period of time, you know that this began as the Giving Up Normal Podcast where we focused on giving up the normal things that are hurting your soul so that you could live as the person God created you to be. 

While that heartbeat continues, God's call for my leadership got more specific and as my ministry focused on helping women in ministry break free from the cycles of busyness and overwhelm and create healthy rhythms and boundaries...the name of the podcast changed to simply, The Women in Ministry United Podcast!

Today, as we celebrate the 100th episode, I share with you 4 lessons that I've learned from you, the community, as you share your experience creating and maintaining healthy rhythms and boundaries in your life and leadership. Exposing these common realities...

What Gets in Your Way of Creating Healthy Boundaries in Ministry?

This is a question I recently asked and the responses boiled down to 4 key things.

• I don't have a mentor. There is no one to help me figure out what this looks like and encourage me along the way.
• I don't know how to say no.  Am I allowed to say no? How do I do that? What do I say no to?
• I am genuinely interested in the things I am asked to do. I would enjoy it and honestly, I'd be good at it!
• I don't know how to manage all of the expectations.

If any of these barriers get in your way, join me for the Margin Maker workshop. We'll help you get clear on your priorities, learn how to say "no," create a plan, shift your mindset and help you establish margin (which means you have to create healthy boundaries) for the long haul. Enrollment ends April 16th at 6:00p CT. Learn more HERE.

Connect with Jen

If you are loving the podcast, don't forget to subscribe on your favorite platform so you...

Have you ever experienced pushback in ministry? Have people reacted negatively to the changes that you are making? They don't like it and they're letting you know that they don't like it! That may seem like a silly question. Of course we have experienced pushback...and if you haven’t yet, don’t worry...it’s coming! 

Pushback happens.. Pushback is normal.

What should you do when someone opposes or complains about the changes you are making?

Let’s start by talking about change for a second.

Change is a stressor (even good change).

People resist change.

Resistance creates friction, otherwise known as conflict. And we typically avoid conflict. But there is such a thing as healthy conflict. It is important to reframe your thinking that pushback is bad. You’ve got to remind yourself this is normal and it can be good. Healthy conflict helps create a healthy culture and healthy people with healthy relationships.

Key Tips Discussed:

• Reframe your idea of...

You want to make some changes. There are some good, healthy boundaries that you know will help you lead and live better but you just can’t seem to gain momentum. I want to share with you 4 progress killers that keep you from making the changes you want.

We wait for the perfect time.

We wait for just the right time before we make changes. We decide to wait until things slow down. We think it’ll be easier once we push through this busy season, or once a certain obligation is finished.  We wait until things are perfect!  But guess what?  It’ll never be perfect! There will never be a perfect time. If you don’t put in the boundaries you need, new obligations and new seasons of busyness will steal your space and margin.

We have an all or nothing attitude.

Many of us approach change and progress with an all or nothing attitude. If there is just one time we can imagine when the boundary or rhythm won’t work, we don’t even try! We...