Last week, I had the pleasure of being a guest on April McKinney's podcast "20,000 Words." April and I first met about 7 years ago when we planned her, and her sweet husband's, wedding together. Working with the soon-to-be McKinneys was one of those first experiences where I felt the Lord meeting me in my work. They wanted to have a fun and beautiful wedding, but more than anything, they wanted their relationship with each other, and with the Lord, to grow in the process.
I also got to see the first glimpses of the cool things God was going to do with April's life as she tried to take the next steps of obedience with her giftings. She has a beautiful story and I love that she's sharing it and encouraging other women to share theirs through her podcast. You should DEFINITELY hit the subscribe button here, so you can follow along on this journey. You can also find our conversation there, or here on her blog.
If you had a chance to listen to our convo, April asked me questions that hit topics across the board: owning and running a business, wedding planning and how to start that process well, marriage, motherhood, and trying to be in the Word in the midst of it all. I struggle to see myself as an expert at ANY of those things, but I can definitely speak authentically from my own experiences and what God has taught me in the process. I listed off quite a few resources and such that have helped me along the way, or that are available now, to perhaps help you where you are. I have listed all of them below (if I missed one you are looking for, shoot me an email!) and I hope that they are helpful to you in your journey.
xo,
Em
*Resources to look in to for next steps in your business that we mentioned (and some extra ones too!)
The Propel Series
-Megan Martin (Branding and Coaching, also leading the Propel Series)
-Ashlee Proffitt (Branding)
-Kristin Kaplan (Business Coaching, particularly in pricing strategy)
-Sage Wedding Pros (For those of us who know NOTHING about business and marketing, this changed my life.)
-Kristen McCall (Social Media Consulting)
*Resources we mentioned for Time/Balance/Boundary/Life Support Shenanigans: (and some I thought of later!)
-The Best Yes: Making Wise Decisions in the Midst of Endless Demands by Lysa Terkeurst
-Lysa's Time Tracker
-She Reads Truth (Online Bible Study and App)
-First 5 (Online Bible Study and App)
-Beth Moore and Living Proof Ministries (there are a million Bible Studies... Truly, any of them would be a great place to start!)
- Armor of God by Priscilla Shirer
-Boundaries: When to say Yes, How to Say No to Take Control of Your Life -by Henry Cloud & John Townsend
-Our worship Spotify playlist(s)
-"Marvelous Light"- Ellie Holcomb
*Scripture References:
-"While the people of Israel were still at Rephidim, the warriors of Amalek attacked them. Moses commanded Joshua, “Choose some men to go out and fight the army of Amalek for us. Tomorrow, I will stand at the top of the hill, holding the staff of God in my hand.”
So Joshua did what Moses had commanded and fought the army of Amalek. Meanwhile, Moses, Aaron, and Hur climbed to the top of a nearby hill. As long as Moses held up the staff in his hand, the Israelites had the advantage. But whenever he dropped his hand, the Amalekites gained the advantage. Moses’ arms soon became so tired he could no longer hold them up. So Aaron and Hur found a stone for him to sit on. Then they stood on each side of Moses, holding up his hands. So his hands held steady until sunset. As a result, Joshua overwhelmed the army of Amalek in battle." - Exodus 17:8-13
-"He has made everything beautiful in its time." - Ecclesiastes 3:11
-"The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance," - Psalm 16:6
-"But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession, to proclaim the virtues of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light." - 1 Peter 2:9
- "He will restore the years the locusts have eaten." - Joel 2:25
- "Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.” The Lord is good to those whose hope is in Him, to the one who seeks Him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord." - Lamentations 3:21-26
The full quote I mentioned from Jen Hatmaker's book For the Love: Fighting for Grace in a World of Impossible Standards, is worth listing out in its fullness for two reasons. 1) Its so true and is worth repeating. 2) It makes me giggle:
"Balance, its like a unicorn; we've heard about it, everyone talks about it and makes airbrushed T-shirts celebrating it, it seems super rad, but we haven't actually seen one. I'm beginning to think this isn't a thing."
For kicks and giggles, because there are many of you who have no idea what MySpace is, this is for you!
Annnnnd finally, remember that one time I mis-quoted my own instagram handle on a podcast? Whoops. I'm definitely not simplyyoursem, My personal/writing/essentially anything not business or wedding related instagram is simplyemhumph. I'm blaming that on the lack of caffeine in my life. Or something.
*Photo featured in the 20,000 words graphic is by my dear friend Courtney Davidson Photography