I don’t beg often. But here it goes. . .please, please don’t miss this week’s interview.
If you’ve struggling in a season of waiting. . .
If you’ve had to walk into God’s plans that differ from your own . . .
If your life has been messy and hard and it’s spilling out in front of others. . .
If you’ve known the strain of managing work and motherhood. . .
If you want to grow your faith with “quiet time” but your home is far from quiet. . .
If you want to be intentional but don’t know where to begin. . .
Then this episode is for you.
Today’s guest, Lara Casey, vulnerably shares her own experience with all of the above. How God graciously led her through challenging several seasons. How “good things come out of hard things.”
Not only is Lara the mom to three little ones but she is a successful business owner. Here are a few of her ventures: “Southern Weddings Magazine” founder, Powersheets creator, Cultivate what Matters Shop Owner, Making Things Happen Conference hostess and “Make it Happen” author.
Don’t let her achievements intimidate you. Lara is also down-to-earth, kind, humble and offers grace to our weary souls:
You don’t have to be perfect to grow an intentional life. God will use you right where you are.
This was one of my favorite conversations this year. Which is even more special because it was my last interview of 2016!
Connect with Lara:
Featured Sponsor:
Cultivate What Matters Shop
The Write the Word Bible journal is unique. With Lara Casey’s small business, and three littles running under the same roof, her “quiet time” each day is pretty loud! She prayed one morning for God to give her a simple way to connect with Him, right in the thick of it, and the Write the Word journal was born.
On each page, you’ll get a selection of specially-selected key verses to write out, along with space to write your thoughts, prayers, or whatever God places on your heart. Use your Write the Word Bible journal in whatever ways you wish! These journals are all about grace and digging into God’s life-giving truth.
Each volume has a different set of verses from both the Old and New Testaments.
What we chat about:
- Keeping hands open to God in the waiting of prayer AND in His answering of it
- How good things come from hard things – true in the Bible and in our lives today
- When life’s messiness spills out and other people see it (gasp!)
- The tension between motherhood and work, and how it changed Lara’s business
- How God drew Lara to change the way she told her story, unfinished and imperfect
- The lesson we can see through the window: God works in seasons and rhythms
- Cultivating what matters and choosing a few things over everything
- Intentionally growing with God in the messy seasons and not waiting for a better time
- Identifying your priorities and pulling the weeds that hold you back
- Bibles on cake stands (and elsewhere throughout the house)
- LOUD quiet times and letting the kids have a front row seat to your faith
- The “clues” in our complaints and approaching them differently
Links Mentioned:
- Goal setting books and PowerSheets from: Cultivatewhatmatters.com
- Make It Happen: Surrender Your Fear. Take the Leap. Live On Purpose **
- Cultivate What Matters Shop
- Write the Word Journal
- Revolutionary Parenting: What the Research Shows Really Works**
How to listen to the podcast:
1.Listen on the blog. Click through to GodCenteredMom.com and click the play button at the beginning of this post.
2. Listen on your smartphone, iPad or iPod Touch – There are a lot of great podcasting apps. Apple has a free one (that I mentioned) in the app store, there is also one called Downcast. It allows you to search for shows, subscribe to them and even speed up the audio. If you don’t have an iDevice, you can listen via Stitcher.
3. Subscribe to the Podcast – access the podcast in iTunes (Click here to access via iTunes). You can also search for it on your smartphone app (like the ones listed above) and subscribe.
Ohhhh my stars! Heather! I’ve been listening and sharing episodes with friends for about a year and a half now. I have been so encouraged and have learned so much via your podcast and I am forever grateful! I was just sending a group message to some friends and said, “what a blessing this resource is to us!” And that was before I listened to the Cultivate What Matters episode! I could write a tome here, but just know that God used this podcast in so many ways! I was brought to tears cooking my family’s dinner–feeling overwhelmed with God’s goodness towards me. Your questions and comments were so good and Lara’s experience and wisdom were helpful and provoking. Thanks for what you do! Have a wonderful Christmas season with your family. We will miss you but are so glad you are taking time off. Looking forward to more podcasts in 2017!
Just wanted to thank you for all you done this year. I’m forever grateful to God to have found your podcast. Have a wonderful Christmas!! Sending you so much love!❤️
I just started listening to your podcast and I am so thankful I found it. I have scrolled back and listened to a few from the previous months and have been so encouraged. Since I had my son, (he is 8 months now) I have felt so disconnected from God. I felt like if I couldn’t give Him enough time in my day then I had failed. Slowly, I just drifted all together. God has used your podcast to show me that spending time with the Lord doesn’t have to be the great formal event. Even in craziness of life, I can still honor and praise Him. Thank you for sharing and bringing joy back to this young mom’s heart. I am striving to find joy and purpose in the day to day. I can’t wait to hear what you have to share in the coming year!
Wonderful podcast! A breath of fresh air!
You have been vulnerable yourself (thank you!) in a couple of your podcasts about the pull and effects of social media on your health mental, physically and spiritually. Do you have any podcasts that have more insight and encouragement into that. I know when I am on blogs and listening to podcasts to much it brings me down and disconnects me from my husband and from God. Not good. I know that, but I am still so weak.
So I am going to be framing two quotes from this podcast!! I was listening to your podcast right before I went into Hobby Lobby (by myself – whoot, whoot) yesterday to put together a Christmas gift for my husband. I will be framing this quote for me, my daughter and sharing it with many people—“She believes she couldn’t so God did.” And it was funny (God’s perfect timing more like?) that I saw the original quote she was referring to all over the girls decorating section. “She believed she could and so She did.” I wonder if I would have bought it without putting the thought Lara Casey put into. SO THANK YOU LARA!
And will be framing:
“Good things come from hard things.”
Question:
What is the God Centered Mom Club?Sounds interesting
This morning when I woke up it was like any other morning. My husband got up at 4am for work, went to the bathroom to shower as he typically does. Then when he comes back to our room, he will ask me if I am going to join him for a cup of coffee. So, sleepy eyed and hair all a mess, I slip on my slippers and follow him downstairs. We sit at our dining room table sometimes in silence sipping on our coffee. This morning we chatted about our daughters, 15 and 12, bringing home friends to go to youth group with them today. My husband’s company is one that is moving to Mexico this year. We just got word yesterday that he could be laid off as early as March or April. So we are trying to be mindful of our finances which obviously includes grocery shopping. He is concerned about being able to provide for our family and if we have (3-4teens) extra mouths to feed it will limit what we have for our actual family. So after he left he called and vented, it left me feeling somewhat attacked and alone. I am a stay at home mom and we have a total of 6 children (15, 12, 11, 11, 9, 2) so I felt like I am not doing my share. That I am not contributing financially so I am not helping. After getting off the phone with him I went to get my shower and start my day. I scrolled through past podcasts that I haven’t had the opportunity to listen to yet and accidently clicked on your interview with Lara Casey! Right there in the shower listening to her speak I began to cry and thank God for showing me that I don’t have to be perfect. I can guide my little people just how I am. I CAN make it happen with my own business that I have. I can be the wife my husband needs! I have a beautiful painting hanging in my office above my desk that reads, “God is with her, she will not fail!” I have been in a great season of struggle and that interview just reinforced all the devotions and bible lessons and even church sermons that I have encountered this last week! God is always in every thing! Especially when I can’t feel Him he is there in the middle of struggle! Thank you for your ministry! It has been such a huge blessing to me in my life!