
Habits of Hope: Cultivating a Deeper Life with God
Are you looking to build rhythms of daily life that strengthen your faith and bring you closer to God? Habits of Hope is your guide for developing spiritual habits that nurture your soul and deepen your connection with God. Hosted by Ginger Harrington and co-host Larissa Traquair, each episode explores how small, consistent choices can lead to significant spiritual growth.
At Habits of Hope, we believe that cultivating a life rooted in hope comes through daily rhythms that help us trust God’s faithfulness, even in difficult seasons. Whether you're looking to refresh your spiritual practices or find encouragement during hard times, this podcast provides practical tools and biblical wisdom to help you grow spiritually.
In this podcast, we will help you:
- Feel more connected to God in your daily life through practical spiritual habits.
- Overcome stagnation in your faith by fostering consistent spiritual growth.
- Trust God’s faithfulness, even during life’s hardest moments.
- Establish and maintain daily rhythms of prayer, reflection, and scripture.
- Navigate life's stresses with spiritual and emotional encouragement rooted in faith.
- Reconnect with God when you feel spiritually empty or distant.
- Build a consistent and meaningful prayer life with simple, actionable strategies.
- Overcome doubt and find renewed hope in your faith journey.
- Release unhealthy comparisons and trust in God’s unique timing for your life.
- Discover purpose and meaning in everyday life through small, intentional habits of faith.
Each episode offers inspiring conversations, stories, and actionable steps to help you live a life of faith, hope, and purpose. If you're ready to build habits that foster a deeper connection with God, then you're in the right place. Let’s get started—because a deeper life begins now.
Habits of Hope: Cultivating a Deeper Life with God
29.Commit Your Work to God: How to Align Your Work with His Purpose
Struggling to find meaning in your work? Feeling like your success defines your worth?
*Get your free download that goes with this series.
What if true success isn’t about what you achieve—but about faithfulness to God? In today’s episode, we explore how committing your work to the Lord brings purpose, peace, and lasting impact.
We dive into Psalm 90:17 and uncover biblical truths about trusting God with your work, setting healthy boundaries, and learning to work from your worth—not for it. Whether you’re a professional, a ministry leader, a stay-at-home parent, or navigating career uncertainty, this episode will encourage you to see your work as an offering to God.
🔑 Key Takeaways:
- Commit your work to God through prayer—before, during, and after work.
- Your worth isn’t found in what you do—it’s found in Christ.
- Boundaries matter—overworking can steal your joy and impact your well-being.
- God’s favor in your work isn’t about results—it’s about relationship.
- If you’re constantly chasing the next big thing, you’ll miss the blessings of today.
📖 Scripture Focus: Psalm 90:17, Proverbs 16:3, Colossians 3:23, Philippians 4:11, Genesis 1:31
📌 Memorable Quotes:
- "Work from your worth, not for your worth." – Ginger Harrington
- "True success isn’t measured by our achievements, but by our faithfulness to God."
- "Give God your best, and trust Him with the rest."
- "God delights in the work of your hands—especially when you invite Him into it."
- "Boundaries with work aren’t just about stopping—they’re about making space for what matters most."
✨ Why You’ll Love This Episode:
- If you feel burnt out or overwhelmed in your work, you’ll gain practical wisdom to set healthy boundaries.
- If you struggle with tying your identity to success, you’ll be reminded of God’s greater plan for your work.
- If you long for God’s favor and direction in your career, you’ll discover how to seek His guidance in every task.
🎧 Listen now and take the next step in committing your work to God!
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Habits of Hope Podcast is for informational and inspirational purposes only. This podcast is not a substitute for professional advice—spiritual, medical, legal, or otherwise.
- Sign up for Ginger’s Newsletter and the Deeper Life Collection
- Get Ginger’s Book: Holy in the Moment: Simple Ways to Love God and Enjoy Your Life(affiliate link)
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- Larissa’s Website:https://www.gr8tfulchick.com/
- Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/gr8tfulchick/
- Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/gr8tfulchick
Ginger (00:09.707)
Welcome to Habits of Hope, the podcast that helps you integrate faith into your everyday life. Are you struggling to find meaning and balance in your work? Have you ever felt like your work defines your worth? Today, we're continuing our series on work and worth, and we're diving into Psalm 90, verse 17, to discover how God's favor can establish the work of our hands. By committing our work
prayer and to setting healthy boundaries and making the most of what God provides, we can experience a deeper sense of hope, purpose, and commitment in our work. Join us, Larissa Trequair and I am Ginger Harrington for a transformative discussion on our worth and our work.
Ginger (01:21.535)
Today We're going to continue our series on worth and work. Our last episode, we did redefining success strategies for grounding your identity in Christ rather than in your work. And that was so impactful. If you guys didn't get a chance to listen to that one, make sure you go back and take a listen to that one as well. But today we're going to be talking about
Our habit of hope today is commit your work to God. And that is such an important thing. And so As we get started, I want to just start with a scripture, Psalm 90:17. “May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us. Establish the work of our hands for us. Yes, establish the work of our hands.” That's in the New International Version. And then I also, because you
I like options. I also like the way, yes, I like the way that this is worded in the NLT. And in that one it says, “May the Lord our God show us his approval and make our efforts successful. Yes, make our efforts successful.” Different translations bring out nuances of meanings that are in the original language. It's not that they're competing with one another. They're just,
Ginger (02:49.551)
add layers of meaning. And that's one of the things that I, reasons why I like being able to look at something in more than one translation.
Ginger (03:07.625)
We spend a great deal of our time working and our worth. It's so easy in today's world to take your worth from your work. I think about when we meet somebody, what's one of the first things, sis, that you say when you meet somebody new?
Larissa Traquair (03:25.418)
You ask them, hey, what do you do?
Ginger (03:28.059)
Absolutely, what do you do? As if that's the only thing about you. And it does, I understand why we do it because it makes for an easy introduction into a conversation because everybody does something. I mean, even if you don't have a paid professional job, everybody does something. Our work is far more than our job. And so I want to make sure to make this point as we begin our conversation today.
Larissa Traquair (03:32.372)
I know.
Ginger (03:56.895)
that when we're talking about our work, we're talking about all of the things that we do in life in our various roles, not just our professional life, our family life, our role in our church, serving in our church, in our community, taking care of ourselves. There is an element of work in most of the things that we do throughout the day. And so just keep that in mind as we talk about this,
Specifically, it is so easy for us to draw worth, value, and life from our accomplishments, from our success, from our work, and our jobs, so to speak, or our ministries. Sometimes those can be professional, sometimes they're vocational, sometimes they are just service to the Lord, but all of that falls under the category of work. So taking a look at our scripture, you know,
When we commit our work to the Lord in prayer, I love the way this verse is a good encouragement. May the favor of the Lord rest on us. That is a desire of the heart. And it can be a prayer. You know, it can inform our prayer. Give us something to pray about our work. Lord, give us your favor on our work. And that word favor,
It's more than, you know, it's not a party favor from a birthday party or something like that, right? But it is that blessing. It's that kindness. It's that goodwill of the Lord at work in our lives. it's also reminiscent, it also touches on his delight that God delights in our way. He delights in our work,
Ginger (05:51.775)
particularly when we are working in partnership with Him and doing the things that He has called us to, that He has given purpose to or given dreams in our hearts to accomplish and pursue. It gives God great delight when we pursue those in partnership and dependence on Him. And as we work from our worth.
And this is something that we touched on last week, the importance of working from our worth, not for our worth and value. And that's total opposite of how the world system of work and success and value runs. But being able to ask the Lord's favor, what a beautiful way to start your work.
Larissa Traquair (06:26.1)
Yeah, keyword.
Ginger (06:44.565)
What are some of the things Larissa, when you are getting ready to do your work of the day, whether it's your broadcasting work or your work in your home or any other area of life, what are some things that you sometimes pray for your work?
Larissa Traquair (06:59.39)
One of the main things I pray is, Lord, always that my thoughts, my words, and my actions would bring him glory and that my words would be his words, less of me, more of him. And sometimes I say that very quickly and other times I'm able to give it more time. And the more time I can give it, being very intentional about the verbiage I use before starting any of my work makes a difference.
Ginger (07:30.121)
Right. my goodness. Yes. And I'm going to pull for those of you who are watching on the video, I'm going to pull up something that I have on my desk. wrong sign. And it says, take time to pray. It's just a little wooden sign. And it's a good reminder because I can get so excited about what I'm going to do. And sometimes I can be really pressured about how much I need to get done during the day. And then I just start on go.
Larissa Traquair (07:38.984)
Take time to pray. Yeah.
Ginger (07:59.273)
Take your coffee go juice in the morning and just start cranking it up and go. And when I do that, sometimes I forget to pray. Sometimes I forget to invite the Lord into what I'm doing. And like you say, Lord, give me your words and your life. One of the things in teaching water fitness, that's my day job around here folks is I teach water fitness, which is super fun and I love it. But one of the things that I've gotten into the habit
Larissa Traquair (08:10.41)
Yes.
Ginger (08:29.047)
as I'm walking into the building, into the front door, I'm committing my work to the Lord. I'm saying, Lord, I depend on you. Give me your energy, your life, your love for my clients, your creativity and expertise. Give me what I need to teach a great class today and let's enjoy teaching this class together. And I love that because
is it keeps me mindful that I'm working with God. I'm not working for God. I'm not working to get my approval from men or from God, but it is an invitation to join God in what he's doing, the work that he's given me to do. And so that prayer helps me set my mind, set my mind. Any other things that you pray about your work? And I know there's far more than we would unpack here, but before we move on to the next thought.
Larissa Traquair (09:26.538)
Right. Yeah, I just make sure that I pray right before again, even if it's a bullet prayer, because there was a time in my life where I would have thought you had to like be on your hands and knees and eyes closed and do this like very formal prayer. And the Lord is worthy of that, of course. And yet we don't always have time for that. Maybe the morning didn't start off well, and you don't have as much time.
Larissa Traquair (09:53.286)
And I still find that even the short bullet prayers are so, so important. And I just always want to glorify the Lord. And I love what you're saying about partnering with Him and finding the joy and doing it with joy. And it's okay to ask the Lord for that because I don't wake up like this every day. I don't wake up ready to jump out of bed full of joy to do the work or anything. And it's okay.
Ginger (10:15.21)
Right.
Larissa Traquair (10:22.228)
God invites us to ask for what we need. And I love that. And I also pray for myself as a leader. It's not just as a broadcaster, not that that's not important, also as a leader, because all of us are leading somebody, whether it's just ourselves, one other person, a child, a group, a small group, a large group. And it's important. It's important that we see ourselves as a leader and then also pray.
as for that leadership role and like you are leading a group of people getting healthy. So you are definitely in that particular case leading people and we want to honor the Lord as you said.
Ginger (11:03.775)
You something that you said that I want to come back to before we move from this point on on prayer. And, you you said I don't always wake up ready to roll with work and I don't either. And in fact, this last week, I've not slept well at night and I've moved slow in the mornings. I need to pray then especially, Lord help me to get going, Lord help me to wake up, Lord I rely on your ability because I'm not feeling it this morning. Starting and committing your work to God in prayer is so important. But let's continue on to our next point on this one of asking the Lord's favor and provision. You know, so oftentimes, I don't know that we think to ask God for his favor on our work.
Ginger (12:55.741)
His blessing to use our work for His purposes, His kingdom and His glory, and you touched on that just a moment ago, but also praying about opportunities, praying for open doors and next steps and wisdom and guidance of how to navigate the whole journey of our work, whether it is work as a parent. there are so many times where I needed the Lord's
provision and guidance and favor on my parenting work. Because there's a lot of days as a parent, you don't have any idea what to do next. You're just trying to hang on to your last nerve and make it through the day. And then in content creation, there's oftentimes where I'm not quite sure what the next best thing is going to be. And so really asking the Lord and committing some time to pray.
about the opportunities, which ones to take, which project to pull forward, where is God guiding and directing? I think that's a really important part of work. Is there anything on this part of praying and committing our work to God that's resonating with you, sis?
Larissa Traquair (14:13.344)
I like that reminder to pray about all those things, especially in contrast to what I talked about right before I go live. Then there's this element of setting aside intentional time to meet with the Lord because when we partner with someone, and in this case, we're talking about partnering with the Lord, we meet with them. You have to have communication. You and I have to communicate to make the podcast work, right? We don't just both show up accidentally at the same time and it
comes together swimmingly. And those of you who podcast know this. So getting to take some time and being intentional about asking the Lord, inviting him and then looking for next right steps. love
Ginger (14:56.983)
yeah. And this is something that as a parent of adult children, that my children are young adults, they're all in their mid to or mid twenties to early thirties. And so they are in the introductory years of their professional lives. And that's a tender season as an adult.
and you know, they're newly married. My son is going to have a baby in two weeks. Well, his wife is going to have the baby, but I know. so, you know, praying for them in their work. then throughout my husband's career, there were many times where I would pray about his career path and challenges he was having at work. you know, just taking that time, whether it's for ourselves or for others.
Larissa Traquair (15:28.886)
Wow. Right. Yes. So exciting.
Ginger (15:52.681)
to pray about our work, invite God into it, to entrust Him with it, is an important way and a practical way of committing our work to God. And that's such a powerful habit of hope that impacts our work in a special way. So take us on into our next point, Larissa.
Larissa Traquair (16:09.449)
Amen.
Okay, we are going to talk about setting boundaries with our
This is what we're, is, yeah. So setting boundaries, a key practice in committing our work to God is actually setting boundaries. Beware of allowing work to take over your life. Setting boundaries create guardrails and protect time and energy for family, health, community, et cetera. Love this. This is so, so good. So what are your thoughts on this? Setting boundaries with your
Ginger (16:20.231)
Absolutely. Yes. Come
Ginger (16:45.895)
It is so easy for work to start to take over other parts of your life, particularly if you work from home. I can remember when I was writing Holy in the Moment. It was a short book contract. And so it was an unusual season of high pressure and a very real due day and a very large project. Plus it was the first time I had ever written.
Larissa Traquair (16:52.874)
Yes.
Mm -hmm. Yes.
Ginger (17:14.887)
a long project like an entire book. And so I was working all the time. And particularly I would work into the night and then I wouldn't sleep well at night. wake up in the middle of the night, I would be working and I was exhausted by the end of that when the manuscript was due, I was exhausted. And I also struggled physically with some repetitive use issues with my wrist, my neck and my back.
from spending not attending to my health and even just healthy movement and variety of movement during the day. And I, you know, that was just an area where my work took over everything. It impacted time with my family. It impacted my health. It impacted my ability to rest. And it was for a short season. And sometimes we will have a season where there is something specific that requires more.
of our work. And I'm not saying that that's a bad thing, but that's not, we don't want that to be our everyday, all the time habit of allowing work to take over all of life. Because one of the things that happens when that does is there are many important areas of our life that are not our work. They're not our job, so to speak.
Larissa Traquair (18:37.581)
Yes.
Ginger (18:40.831)
But if we're using all of our time and energy and mental bandwidth to work, things get left, things fall through the cracks. We start, you if you use the juggling analogy, we start dropping balls and some of those balls are really important. So some thoughts on this, my friend.
Larissa Traquair (18:59.262)
Yes. Yeah, setting boundaries has been something, it's a newer thing for me because in my season, I don't have my late husband, as you all have heard me speak about in regards to being a widow, to also help set some natural boundaries. There's this natural boundary if you have children at home or a spouse, somebody says something or kids have to go to bed at a certain time.
whatnot. So I'm having to be very intentional here. And I was kind of figuring out, I won't say I'm burnt out, but I was getting to a place where I was kind of like, maybe not feeling the joy that I was used to. And I was realizing I'm working during the day, I'm working at night, I'm working weekends. And we have talked about Sabbath before. So I definitely have implemented a Sabbath practice. And I wanted to
implementing not working on weekends, if at all possible. Sometimes, of course, like you're saying, special projects will warrant that and being better about not working into the evening and not like taking my laptop to bed with me. so those I'm still in process and I feel like just identifying that and knowing what I need to do and starting to make movement towards that has made
a big difference in setting those boundaries because I am not called to work 24 -7, even though I can, not physically, but I can. I deserve a break as well. Just because you work at home doesn't mean then you're available 24 -7. So we have to be, again, using that word intentional about
Ginger (20:45.993)
Yes, and in different seasons of life, our what we're doing, the pace of it, changes and transitions, whether it's family life and parenting, the work involved with parenting small children versus supporting and loving adult children is totally different. My husband has made several major career shifts in his life. He started out as a US Marine.
Larissa Traquair (21:11.518)
Yes.
Ginger (21:14.955)
and did 24 years in the Marine Corps. And you talk about praying for his career, you know, when he retired, I breathed this huge sigh of release and like, survived. I was so grateful for that. And then he worked for the federal government for a period of years. And then in January, he's just transitioned to ministry work. He is actually a missionary.
Larissa Traquair (21:15.304)
Yay! Hurrah!
Larissa Traquair (21:28.818)
Yes.
Ginger (21:41.653)
to the Marine Corps with an organization called Tun Tavern Fellowship, and it's named after that Tavern where the Marine Corps was established. so now he is shifting gears. And I think we both thought this would be kind of like a retirement job, kind of, you know, not too hard, really fun. Girl, he is working harder and longer.
than when he had a professional career in this ministry. And I can see that, you know, it's a transition of learning, learning a new job and learning where am I going to put the boundaries because his time is it flows so differently than it used to. And so we're still in the process of establishing what's going to work and where those boundaries between ministry work and
Larissa Traquair (22:23.274)
Yes.
Larissa Traquair (22:28.416)
Yes.
Larissa Traquair (22:31.934)
Yeah, it's early. Yeah.
Ginger (22:38.639)
and relationship and rest and just all of the things. So that is super important. You know, and I think this is not to be cliche, but we think about people, you know, at the end of their life, and there are very few people who regret that they did not work enough.
Larissa Traquair (22:58.376)
Amen. Good point. Remember.
Ginger (22:59.647)
but there are many people who regret that they worked too much and did not protect and attend to the important things of life. People, relationships, God, their relationship with God. It's very easy to put your relationship with God on the back burner • when you've got a lot of work going on. And this kind of gets into the whole heart of Habits of Hope podcast.
is developing these habits and practices in our lives that keep us deeply connected to God, relying and trusting on him in all areas of our life. And so this is super important to be able to establish the practice of setting boundaries with our work. Thinking about this, let's talk about Genesis 1.
When we think about the creation story, we often don't think about it in terms of work. You know, we think about it in terms of the creation of the world. And we think about six days God worked and on the seventh day he rested. And we think about the power and majesty of what God has done. But in days three through six, at the end of the day, God, it showed that the day was finished.
and it says, and God saw that it was good. And on the sixth day, it's the Genesis account says, and God saw that it was very good. And so one of these parts of establishing boundaries is having an end to our work and not just stopping the clock. You know, for those who people who work on a time clock, like at work for the aqua fitness, I work on a time clock.
Larissa Traquair (24:36.256)
Very good. Yes.
Larissa Traquair (24:45.043)
Mmm.
Ginger (24:55.657)
the line, the border between when I'm at work and when I am not, it's on that clock. And so it's very easy to have that boundary. But it's not just having the, now it's time to stop work. But there's this sense of enjoying, appreciating, marking it is done. And if you are in a kind of work that doesn't have that clock at the end of the day where you can wrap everything up neat and tidy,
Larissa Traquair (25:14.923)
Yes.
Ginger (25:24.905)
Sometimes we don't have a sense of accomplishment. We don't have a sense of finishing because there's so much more to do tomorrow. I felt like that when I was a school teacher. I taught English for several years. I felt like I was never done. As a content creator, I very rarely feel like it is all done. And you have alluded to this about working into the evening, you know? And so this...
Larissa Traquair (25:33.204)
Yes.
Larissa Traquair (25:41.066)
Yeah.
Larissa Traquair (25:50.805)
Yes.
Ginger (25:53.333)
practice that the Lord has given us in Genesis of marking the end of the day and calling it good. Now there might be days where my work didn't go great and I'm not going to say, that was great work today, but appreciating what has been contributed that day, appreciating the work that I was given to do that day, evaluating and
entrusting it to the Lord. A great practice in this point. Back to prayer again. Lord, I offer you the work that was done today. I ask for your blessing on it now that it is complete. Help me to step back and rest. Any thoughts on
Larissa Traquair (26:30.43)
Amen.
Larissa Traquair (26:38.6)
I love that. Yeah, I love that you brought prayer back into this because something I wanted to say earlier and you touched on it then and touched on it again. We get the opportunity to pray before. We can also pray during. And one of the things I do is pray after for much fruit. I say that to the Lord on the Lord's part. I have done what I can. I prepared the best I could and I did the work.
but that there would be much fruit and that many would be blessed. So I love that you brought that up because that's so good because there's goodness that can keep happening after the work is done. When you're talking about fitness, it doesn't just stop at the end of that water fitness class. The benefits keep going. And just to bring that to the Lord and to bring to our remembrance.
Ginger (27:18.719)
Yes.
Larissa Traquair (27:34.442)
that there's work that's continuing to do even though we're done with the official work.
Ginger (27:39.282)
Right and to bring this point back into that idea of our worth and value on days when I don't feel like my worth was up to par or it's not garnering the response or the it's not moving forward you know working in a publishing industry and content creation and social media and all these things it's a really
It's not a cut and dried kind of thing. And oftentimes you don't feel like you're finished. Oftentimes you can't see what God is doing with something, but you can see stats and you can see rejection letters and you can see things that can be very discouraging. And so this is where this point actually came out of a season of my life where I was struggling with my self -worth in my work and the Lord
Larissa Traquair (28:07.912)
Ambiguous?
Ginger (28:35.807)
brought me to this process, this passage in Genesis, and he was like, let each day have a stopping point and stop and reflect and appreciate. Thank me for what's been done that day and entrust it to me. Celebrate your wins. Celebrate what went well. Enjoy the work.
Larissa Traquair (28:57.066)
Yes. Yes.
Ginger (29:00.817)
Even if it's not at the end stage or it's not in a published book or it's nobody liked it on social media or whatever the thing is. First and foremost, your work is an offering to God in partnership with God and being able to enjoy it with God is a spiritual practice and a habit of hope. This really important that I don't know that I've ever heard anybody talk about.
Larissa Traquair (29:28.202)
Yeah, great point. That is so, so good. Yeah, yeah.
Ginger (29:30.411)
That's true.
Anyway, so, so setting boundaries with our work, it's good for our relationships, it's good for our health, it's good for our hope level and our self -worth. And it, you know, another piece of that is when we set boundaries with our work, it enables us to come back to our work fresh because we've had a chance to step away. And oftentimes, studies show, at least I've heard this, that when we have
reasonable level of work and it's not bleeding into all of our life but we have those boundaries in place where we step away and we have time to rest we have a time to do the important things of life as well as work we are actually more productive working longer does not necessarily mean necessarily mean working better or being more productive at the end of the day and so God always does it best
Larissa Traquair (30:17.43)
That's great to know.
Ginger (30:30.633)
So following God's pattern is a great habit to build in our work. Well, let's hop into our third point today because we are cruising down in our time today. So building with what God provides. This one is another aspect of work that the Lord has given me through my own quiet times and my own journey
Larissa Traquair (30:30.795)
He does.
Ginger (30:59.915)
work as an author. It takes a long time for many of us to break into traditional publishing. takes a long time. For me, it was almost a 10 -year process. And a lot of professions, you're going to see success at a much faster rate than that. And so I think this is one of the reasons why the Lord has spoken so much to
Larissa Traquair (31:20.904)
Yes.
Ginger (31:27.067)
about worth and work is it has been a long journey and it's a journey still in progress. So one of the things that the Lord really impressed upon me at one point in time was to build with what He provides and to make the most of what He's given, the opportunities and the blessings and the people and the resources, the
We have a tendency in today's world to chase every shiny new thing and to try to go really broad, do all the things, show up in all the places. And sometimes it's just too much. And we don't, I often felt like I was trying to do so much that I couldn't do any of it well. And particularly if you are a perfectionist, which I have been guilty of doing at times of being at times, this is a hard one. And
Larissa Traquair (32:18.75)
Yep, me too.
Ginger (32:23.317)
Building with what God provides can be a really great habit to put into your life. Any thoughts on this, my friend?
Larissa Traquair (32:35.156)
This is a good one. mean, they're all really good, but just remembering that God is our provider and that he has given us provision. And in that provision, we can remind ourselves that we get to. This is one of the things that I constantly am reminding myself when I'm sitting on the couch and my snoring bulldog is laying next to me and it's raining outside and I don't have to go anywhere because I'm creating content sitting on my laptop. I get to do this. And that is such a great way.
remember that God provided. God provided the opportunity years ago to start broadcasting and then also with my membership community. And as you're talking about this, of course, we remember practicing contentment, which I believe leads to gratitude, and gratitude can lead to contentment. And it goes back to that get to, I have so much gratitude that I get to do this.
in this season and that God has provided, God has also called me, and in that He has given me provision to do the
Ginger (33:40.487)
I love that. And I love this cyclical or, or, you know, kind of yin and yang kind of feed into one another aspect of contentment and gratitude and get to versus have to. That is such a simple mind shift. That's a game changer.
Larissa Traquair (33:55.926)
So good, right?
Ginger (34:03.667)
I can remember this in parenting small children. Like I've said, our work involves so many different areas of life. But with small children, sometimes you feel like you're never finished. You feel like they're never gonna get onto the next stage or finally be potty trained, finally slip through the night, finally graduate from high school, whatever the challenge of the day is. But being able to have that mindset of I get to, I get to do this and being grateful.
Larissa Traquair (34:31.114)
Yeah.
Ginger (34:33.449)
being content with where we are in the season. It is so easy to look ahead, the grass is greener, life will be better, life will be good. I'll be okay when I get here or when my kids get there or when my work gets here. And then we are robbed of the joy of today. And you know, we have a tendency, nobody likes to be a beginner.
Larissa Traquair (35:01.642)
No.
Ginger (35:03.039)
Nobody wants to be in process, you know, and in today's social media curated world, we see everybody's highlight reels. We don't see their process and it's very easy to compare ourselves or to think, you know, it's not being in the muddy middle in the dippy dailies. That's one of your phrases from way back in the day. Being in the dippy dailies is not okay. Yes, it is.
Larissa Traquair (35:27.136)
Yes.
Larissa Traquair (35:32.35)
Yes, it is. Amen. It is. Yes.
Ginger (35:33.351)
It is okay to be in process. You don't have to be there yet. And this building with what God provides enables us to be content with today and to enjoy today, notice the blessings of today. If we're always trying to get there, my gosh, this reminds me of one of the funny things I used to say in some of those skits we used to do.
Larissa Traquair (35:39.519)
Amen.
Larissa Traquair (36:03.354)
no.
Ginger (36:03.907)
You can never get there. The problem with trying to get there is you can never get there because by the time you get there you're gonna be here so you're never actually there and I know that's that's that's some of my silly isms.
Larissa Traquair (36:18.069)
I learned such a great point.
Ginger (36:20.539)
But we do have that tendency to always be looking off at the horizon at the next big thing and not appreciating what God's doing today, not appreciating what got done today or where we are today, whether it's for ourselves or someone else. And so this is such a beautiful point. And, you know, sometimes we can neglect
Larissa Traquair (36:23.19)
Absolutely, I do.
Ginger (36:48.243)
or not give the time and attention and energy to some of the less shiny parts of our work or people in our life. And when we really focus on building with what God has given us and where we are right now in this season, it enables us to be more present. It enables us to show up better, to show up with a whole heart instead of a divided heart chasing after the next thing.
and not giving the value that today needs or the people right in front of us need. And the application of this in various areas of our lives can take so many different forms. But I think it's really important to, and it kind of comes back to holy in the moment, trusting God in this moment, giving God our best in this moment.
Larissa Traquair (37:41.035)
Yes.
Ginger (37:43.445)
doing our best work, appreciating our blessings in this moment, that enables us to build on what God provides.
Larissa Traquair (37:52.278)
So good. Yeah. And Paul, I love what Paul teaches us in regards to contentment because he talks about learning to be content in Philippians 411. And I have really struggled with that, being content. And I remind myself, hey, Paul says that he learned to be content. So he's teachable. I want to be teachable. I can learn to be content. So it's not necessarily going to be natural and automatic. We have to
Ginger (37:54.099)
Yeah.
Larissa Traquair (38:22.056)
intentional about that. And it gives me hope. It gives me that's definitely a habit of hope of, can learn to be content and enjoy this moment in my work with friends or whatever. So good stuff and lots of places in the Bible that can help us get
Ginger (38:40.265)
Right. you know, one of the ways that we can build with what God provides that I want to touch on before we wrap things up today is when we're looking off for that next big opportunity, that next big project, that next big job or whatever it may be, not only can it rob us of giving our best today and maximizing the blessings and opportunities that are in our hands now,
It also can stunt our growth, I think. And I think one of the things that we can do when we're in the process, when we're waiting for an opportunity, is it gives us a chance to work on expertise. It gives us a chance to learn and to practice and to develop and grow. Growth takes time and good work takes time.
Larissa Traquair (39:31.476)
Yes, does. Yes, it does.
Ginger (39:33.483)
And so friends, if you feel like things are not coming together in your work right now, entrust that to the Lord. And maybe this is a season for growth and development. Maybe it's a season for education and practicing. You know, they tell us that it takes 10 ,000 hours to develop a level of expert. To be an expert takes 10 ,000 hours. I'm not going to do the math, but that's a lot, a lot, a lot of time.
Larissa Traquair (39:55.025)
Mm, so good.
Larissa Traquair (40:02.602)
Mm -hmm.
Ginger (40:02.643)
And so oftentimes we're in such a hurry to get to the next big thing that we're not giving ourselves or God time to create skill and experience and maturity and expertise. And so, you sometimes we just need to be okay with what our work is today and partner with God and trust Him in all of it. Any thoughts on that one, friend?
Larissa Traquair (40:31.722)
It's interesting that you talk about slowing down because I feel like the Lord is saying that to me in several different, He has said this in several different ways, several different conversations. And there's just a sweetness in that, that the Lord would want us to slow down and spend time with Him and learn to be content. Because I think it's hard to be content when you don't slow down. And there are seasons we have to kind of run, like you said, when you've got a deadline.
Ginger (40:56.618)
Right?
Larissa Traquair (41:00.502)
God's with us there too. And I just wonder, and I'm excited to see where the Lord goes with me and through me and maybe you as well. And maybe this is something that we unpack at another time. There's sweetness in that slowing down process. And I wonder how much of that could be incorporated into that 10 ,000 hours. Because 10 ,000 hours takes a while to get there. That is not fast. cannot
10 ,000 hours fast.
Ginger (41:32.807)
No, cannot. friend, what a great conversation today. So friends, I want to thank you for tuning into Habits of Hope today. We're going to recap real quick. First, commit your work to God through prayer. Second, commit your work, invite him into every task. Set healthy boundaries to protect your well -being and to honor God's rhythm for your work and rest. And third, build with what God
Larissa Traquair (41:34.407)
you
Ginger (42:02.485)
provides focusing on blessings and opportunities already in your life, finding contentment and gratitude in what God's doing now, giving yourself time to grow into what's going to come next. Remember, true success isn't measured by our achievements, but by our faithfulness to God. So keep this in mind, friends. Your worth is found in Christ, not in your work.
Larissa Traquair (42:31.123)
Amen.
Ginger (42:31.253)
Which one of these practices do you most need to apply in your life right now in your work and how you see your worth? Can I challenge you friends to choose one of these three practices that we've talked about today and invite God into that plan, how you can activate that, practice it in your life this week. I promise you it will make a difference both in your sense of self -worth and in your
So before we say goodbye, I just want to say check out the show notes because we're going to drop into the show notes a list of all of the habits of work that can be accessed from this series. So it will be a nice little downloadable PDF for you. So you might want to get that. And also I want to point out in my book, Holy in the Moment, there's a chapter on work that
lots of points about work and how to entrust your work to God that we didn't touch on today. So friends, those are a couple of calls to action to just help you go deeper and farther with this topic. Let me ask for you, if this episode has been meaningful to you, please share it. We would love for you to subscribe and leave us a review. And until next
May you find your worth in your identity in Christ as you commit your work to God. Work well friends and enjoy the process. Larissa, bye friend.
Larissa Traquair (44:09.12)
Goodbye.