Some weeks we feel unwell: a head cold, a hard season, a Sunday-night heaviness we can't quite name. And our first reach is for a little sugar. Recorded partly from Miches in the Dominican Republic, this episode starts at a steakhouse table where Marlena said no to dessert, then goes back to a Friday evening when her whole house went down with a cold, and the whisper she heard in the middle of it: "I was already healing you, even before you started getting sick."

In this episode:

• Why the little nudges are often God preparing you, the way Joseph filled the barns before the famine
• The Sunday scaries and the everyday sugar we reach for: scrolling, snacking, over-planning, numbing out
• Two ways we strive: the woman who feels she's not enough, and the woman who believes she always has to be the strong one
• Protection, not punishment, and what an empty field teaches about waiting
• A word for anyone living with chronic illness, and for the caregivers beside them
• Abiding grace: the grace that stays, wave after wave
• The recipe for restoration: rest, nourishment, and time

This week's one step: The next time that Sunday-night heaviness rolls in, or you catch yourself pushing through a day you have no business pushing through, stop for one breath and ask: Am I reaching for sugar, or am I letting God heal me?

This week's challenge: Pick one thing on your list and let it wait, on purpose. Then do the restful thing instead.

Mentioned: The Abiding Grace Planner — a gentle place to catch the nudges and walk your season with Him.

Stay connected: If this episode spoke to you, share it with a sister who needs it.

Resources

• Purchase the Abiding Grace Planner: https://livingsimplyredeemed.com/product/abiding-grace-planner/
• Socials and Such on Linktree: https://livingsimplyredeemed.com/product/abiding-grace-planner/
• Subscribe to the LivingSimplyRedeemed Newsletter: https://living-simply-redeemed.ck.page/6803ad07bb
• Official Website: LivingSimplyRedeemed.com

Where to Listen & Subscribe

• YouTube Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@marlenajsmith
• Apple & Spotify Podcasts via Transistor FM: https://livingsimplyredeemed.transistor.fm/

New episodes release weekly!

Subscribe, share with a friend who needs this encouragement, and drop a DM to share how this episode resonated with you.

What does safety mean to you? Not the safety someone else promises, but the safety you carry because of whose you are. In this episode, Marlena reflects on a powerful moment from Tracee Ellis Ross, two lenses of safety in Scripture (resting in God's shelter and standing in His authority), hitting "the wall," and what Peter teaches us about resisting God's work. You'll also hear the story of a loaf of Brazilian cheese bread, a prep kitchen, and a woman named Dani who made room.

Stay for the gentle self-check, "Which One Am I In?", a word for the one who's anxious to please, and one small step to take this week.

In this episode

• Tracee Ellis Ross on reestablishing safety for yourself
• Two lenses of safety: "I've got you" and "You have authority in Christ"
• A self-assessment: five everyday women and three quiet questions
• A word for the one who's anxious to please
• Hitting the wall, perimenopause, and the holy "no"
• Peter, "Get behind me, Satan," and the difference between resisting the enemy and resisting God
• Test everything, and hold on to what is good
• "Simply Redeemed" and being a daughter of the King
• Dani's cheese bread, and making room

Key Scriptures

Psalm 4:8 · Proverbs 18:10 · Deuteronomy 33:27 · Ephesians 6:10–14 · Luke 10:19 · 2 Timothy 1:7 · Galatians 1:10 · 1 Peter 3:4 · Ephesians 4:26 · Matthew 5:37 · 1 Kings 19:1–8 · Matthew 16:18–23 · 1 Peter 5:8–10 · James 4:7 · 1 Thessalonians 5:21 · Job 12:13 · Isaiah 43:1–2 · Genesis 50:20 · 2 Corinthians 1:4 · Psalm 46 · Zephaniah 3:17

A few Resources mentioned

• Emotionally Healthy Spirituality by Peter Scazzero:
  https://www.amazon.com/Emotionally-Healthy-Spirituality-Participants-Expanded/dp/0310132126

• Anxious to Please: 7 Revolutionary Practices for the Chronically Nice by James Rapson and Craig English:
  https://www.amazon.com/Anxious-Please-Revolutionary-Practices-Chronically/dp/1402206526

• 2027 Abiding Grace Planner by Marlena Smith:
  https://livingsimplyredeemed.com/product/abiding-grace-planner/

• Dani's Brazilian Cheese Bread:
  https://www.danisbraziliankitchen.com/

Episodes referenced

Ep. 2: Overwhelmed & Carrying Too Much? · Ep. 3: Stop Apologizing for Your Mess · Ep. 4: Strike the Ground Again! · Ep. 5: Hearing God in Your Coffeehouse

Resources

• Purchase the Abiding Grace Planner: https://livingsimplyredeemed.com/product/abiding-grace-planner/
• Socials and Such on Linktree: https://livingsimplyredeemed.com/product/abiding-grace-planner/
• Subscribe to the LivingSimplyRedeemed Newsletter: https://living-simply-redeemed.ck.page/6803ad07bb
• Official Website: LivingSimplyRedeemed.com

Where to Listen & Subscribe

• YouTube Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@marlenajsmith
• Apple & Spotify Podcasts via Transistor FM: https://livingsimplyredeemed.transistor.fm/

New episodes release weekly!

Subscribe, share with a friend who needs this encouragement, and drop a DM to share how this episode resonated with you.

What if the noise of everyday life isn't the problem, just the room we practice in? In this episode, Marlena opens the door to a busy coffeehouse and asks when we became so enamored with noise. She shares the story of an unexpected altar call at a table, walks through Priscilla Shirer's seven keys to discerning God's voice, Dr. D'Ann V. Johnson's Seasons of a Woman's Life, and the Abiding Grace Planner's seven-step path to hearing God. Plus: a little of Steven Bartlett's Signal vs. Noise recommendation, reimagined for the Kingdom.

Resources & Freebies mentioned

• Discerning the Voice of God — Priscilla Shirer
• The Seasons of a Woman's Life — Dr. D'Ann Johnson
• Abiding Grace 2027 Planner
• Stephen Bartlett - Behind the Scenes of The Diary of a CEO - Signal vs Noise - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzVuNxEVScs
• FREE DOWNLOAD — Hearing God worksheets from the Abiding Grace Planner

Stay Connected

• Socials and Such on Linktree: https://livingsimplyredeemed.com/product/abiding-grace-planner/
• Subscribe to the LivingSimplyRedeemed Newsletter: https://living-simply-redeemed.ck.page/6803ad07bb
• Official Website: LivingSimplyRedeemed.com

Where to Listen & Subscribe

• YouTube Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@marlenajsmith
• Apple & Spotify Podcasts via Transistor FM: https://livingsimplyredeemed.transistor.fm/

New episodes release weekly!

Subscribe, share with a friend who needs this encouragement, and drop a DM to share how this episode resonated with you.