45. The Shift — When Less Is More

Lately, I’ve sensed God inviting me into a shift — from striving to faithfulness. From doing more to loving more deliberately.

In this episode of Courageous Retirement, I share how retirement created space for Scripture to speak more deeply into my life — and how Romans 10 and 1 Corinthians 13 reshaped the way I see this season.

Retirement isn’t a winding down. It’s an invitation.
An invitation to steward our time with eternity in mind.
An invitation to reflect God’s love more intentionally.
An invitation to finish well.

As we approach Lent and consider what it means to quiet the noise, I also share a personal decision I’m prayerfully considering — and a gentle invitation for you, if you’ve been feeling that same nudge.

If you’ve sensed God calling you to simplify, refocus, or live this season with deeper purpose, this episode is for you.

Because sometimes, the most powerful shift is discovering that less truly is more.

Thank you for stopping by today! Remember to Engage Your Faith and Live Your More as you reap the benefits of Courageous Retirement!

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Learn more about the show, author Vona Johnson, and more at vonajohnson.com!

Schedule a free 15 minute Your Path to More call with Vona.

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Transcript

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Lately I've sensed God calling me to shift from striving to faithfulness, to step away from the constant pull to do more, and instead steward what he has already placed in front of me. If you've been feeling that same nudge, to step back, to simplify, to refocus, this episode is for you. Do you fear? What lies beyond retirement? What if it's a gateway to a life filled with purpose, meaning, and adventure rather than an end? Discover peace and fulfillment as you boldly enter this new chapter in Courageous Retirement, a Christian podcast. I'm your host, author, and coach Vona Johnson. Let's get started. For most of my life, I did meaningful work that kept me busy, productive, and responsible. Like many people, my faith mattered deeply to me, but it often had to fit into the margins of a very full life. Everything shifted. When I retired for the first time, I had space. Space to slow down, space to sit with scripture instead of skimming it. It was in that quiet that Romans 10:14-15 stopped me in my tracks. How can they believe if they've never heard, and how can they hear unless someone tells them? I realized something both humbling and urgent. I might be the only person in some people's lives who will ever share the hope of Jesus. That awareness changed how I view my time, my conversations indeed, this season of life. Retirement wasn't an ending for me. It was an invitation. An invitation to answer God's call to more. More peace. More fulfillment. More intentional living. As the years since that quote, gold watch moment pass, I've become increasingly aware that my time is limited. The urgency of eternity comes into a clearer focus with each passing year, I feel a deep responsibility not to do more, but to live more faithfully, to speak when God nudges. To encourage others who are stepping into retirement, to see it not as a winding down, but as their best season, A season to finish well and to live their more. That's why I do the work I do today through courageous retirement coaching, speaking and writing. I am not a guru. I am simply walking with others who sense there is still more God wants to do in and through them because the message is too important to keep to ourselves, and the time we've been given and the faith that we have is a gift that is meant to be shared. And perhaps this is the part of the shift that God is inviting me into, not doing more, but loving more deliberately. It reminds me of Paul's words in one Corinthians 13. Paul wasn't writing a Valentine. He was writing a way of life. These verses are often reserved for weddings and romance, but they were never meant to be confined to candlelight and cards. They were written to shape how we live, how we treat one another, and how we reflect God's love, especially in the everyday rhythms of life. Love is patient. Love is kind. Not as a poetic sentiment, but as a daily calling. In retirement, when schedules slow and priorities shift love often becomes more visible, not just in what we do, but how we do it. We admire these verses. We quote them, we share them, but living them asks more of us. Patience when expectations go unmet. Kindness, when relationships feel strained. Humility when plans change, love that doesn't keep score or insist on its own way. Sometimes we celebrate love without fully living it. Sometimes we treasure the words while resisting doing the work they ask of us. God's love is constant and complete. When it shines through us, what shows up matters. That reflection reveals when we are aligned and where God may be inviting us to shift. This Valentine's Day. Perhaps the invitation isn't simply to feel love or to speak about it, but to pause and ponder it. As you step into or walk through this season of life, where might God be asking you to reflect his love more deeply, right where you are? Before I close today, I wanna share something personal as we approach Lent. I've been doing some honest reflecting. Since retiring, I've had the gift of space. Space to slow down, to listen more closely to God's nudges and to respond with greater intention. It's been during this quieter season that that verse in Romans 10 and really began to weigh heavy on my heart. As I realized again that I may be that only person that some people will ever hear about Jesus from the awareness completely changed how I want to use the time that I've been given. With that in mind. I've been considering for some time stepping back from Facebook and Instagram and every time I would go to do it something, something probably fear kept me from doing it. Because what if? What if you know nobody finds me? What if nobody knows I'm there? And lately God has just been telling me, Like he has in every turning point in my life, he's just whispered, don't worry, we've got this. So I am stepping back during Lent, at least as long as Lent goes on, not as a statement, not as a reset, but simply as an offering. Less noise, more room for what matters. More room to write the project god has placed before me. More room to love well. If you've been feeling the pull to take a break, I want to extend a gentle invitation to you. Some time ago, I created a space off of social media called Club More. It's a quiet, faith centered place for believers who sense there is more. More depth, more purpose, and more attentiveness to God in this season of life. It's intentionally unhurried, not loud, not crowded. Just a place to reflect, connect, and encourage one another as we seek to finish well and to live our more as we continue to have conversations with people that really matter. There's no pressure to post, there's no expectations to perform. Just simply an open door, a place to have conversations, to ask questions about what might be troubling us, and a place to share our joys during this season. If a social media pause feels right for you, this Lent and you'd appreciate a calm place to land. You are warmly welcome to join me there. Either way, I'm just grateful that you are here. The fact that you spend some of your precious time listening to courageous retirement blesses me more than you will ever know. I'll see you back here in two weeks. Until then, go be blessed, finish well, and always, always live your more