#25: Do Something That Delights You — Reclaiming Rest, Play & Personal Joy

When did you last do something just because it made you happy? Not because it was productive. Not because someone needed you to. Just because it brought you joy?

If you had to think about it — this episode is for you.

This is the series finale of The Reset — Permission to Take a Deep Breath, and we are ending on the best possible note: joy.

In this episode we talk about:
• Why purpose-driven women slowly forget how to play — and what that costs them
• Why delight is a spiritual practice, not a reward you have to earn
• How God built rest, beauty, and joy into the very fabric of creation — and what that means for you
• Simple, permission-giving ways to reclaim personal joy this summer: try a new recipe, read for pleasure, move in a way that feels like freedom, make something, rest without guilt
• What happens to your assignment when you are a whole, joyful woman

Key scriptures: Nehemiah 8:10 · Psalm 37:4 · Genesis 2:2–3 · Proverbs 17:22

This episode includes a declaration, journal prompts, a closing prayer, and a full series celebration — because you showed up for yourself this month and that deserves to be honored.

Also in this episode — novaCircle enrollment is open! https://www.thenovacompany.org/novacircle

Grab the free guide — 5 Daily Rhythms That Changed Everything — by CLICKING HERE.

You took your deep breath this month. Now go do what God made you to do.

✨ Next Step:

If you’re ready to continue this journey with support and community, join the Nova Community—a faith-filled space for women learning to live with clarity, peace, and faith-first rhythms

👉 Learn more at https://thenovacompany.org

✨ Private Mentorship Community:

If you are interested in applying to join my private mentorship community, email me: april@thenovacompany.org

✨ novaRetreat: 3rd Annual Dream with God Retreat

A Spirit-led weekend for women ready to abide deeply, align intentionally, & courageously advance as God reveals what’s next.

👉 Learn more at https://www.thenovacompany.org/novaretreat 

Subscribe to The NovaCo Podcast and share this episode with a friend who’s stepping into a new season.

🎸 Intro music produced by Cory Valjien. https://spotify.link/Ot87eEITRDb

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

When you read a book that has nothing to do with ministry or business, but it makes you come alive, that is holy. When you laugh until your stomach hurts, that is holy. Stop treating joy like it's a reward you haven't earned yet. It is a gift that God built into your design. So receive it. The Nova Co podcast is a faith-filled lifestyle podcast for women who desire clarity, peace, and alignment in their everyday lives. I'm your host, April Nova Scipio, and I want to welcome you not just to the podcast, but especially if you are brand new, welcome you to the community. We are a Nova community. We are a group of women and we live differently. We are creating rhythms in our lives that support us moving forward in our God-given assignments. We're building authentic friendships all centered around God's word, and we want you to be a part of that. And so click on the link in the show notes of this episode and get connected with us today. There is room for you. We are in the final episode of our reset series. If you have missed any of the weeks, just go back and listen. We are at week five, and let me tell you, I am so proud of us. We took a deep breath together this month. We talked about your body, your soul, your home, your relationships. We gave ourselves permission to slow down, to scale back, to return to the basics. And today we're ending on my favorite topic of the whole month. We're talking about joy, not productivity, not purpose, not assignment, joy. Because I think a lot of us, especially purpose-driven women, especially women who have been grinding under the weight of responsibility, have slowly, quietly forgotten how to just enjoy life. We forgot how to play, how to rest without a purpose, how to do something just because it makes us happy. And today I want to give you permission to remember. Nehemiah 8.10, it says, the joy of the Lord is your strength. Joy is not a luxury, it's not a reward for finishing your to-do list. Joy is a source of strength. And most of us have been trying to run on empty when the fuel we needed was right here all along. I want to ask you something. When was the last time you did something just because it made you happy? Not because it was productive, not because someone needed you to do it, not because it contributed to your goals or your business or your calling, just because it brought you joy. Now, if you had to think about it for a while, then this episode is especially for you. Here's what I've noticed in the women that I mentor. The more purpose-driven a woman is, the more she tends to tie everything back to productivity. Even her rest becomes strategic, even her hobbies become side hustles, even her downtime becomes content. And somewhere in all of that, the simple, uncomplicated joy of doing something you love just gets crowded out. How do I know this? Because I'm right there with that girl. That's me, y'all. I had to really reset this month and just remember things that I love to do. Even things that I used to do so long ago that I can't remember the last time I did them. Right? I was thinking about how I love playing card games. I love to go bowling. I like to go roller skating, you guys. There are things I really love to do, but I am resetting so I can make time to do them and do things with intentionality that puts me in a position to enjoy life. We were not created to be productive machines. We were created in the image of a God who looked at what he made and said, It is good, who built rest into the very fabric of creation, who invented beauty and taste and music and laughter. Your joy is not incidental, it is intentional. God put delight in you on purpose. Take delight. That is not passive, that is active. It is a choice to lean into joy, to open yourself up to things that make you happy, to pleasurable things, to receive the good things God placed in your life without guilt. I want to make a case for something that may sound a little counter-cultural, I would say, in some faith circles. Delight, rest, play, joy, leisure. It is a spiritual practice, not a guilty pleasure, not a break from spiritual life. It is a part of it. Look at how God designed us. He built a day of rest into the Ten Commandments, not as a suggestion, but as a commandment. He created this concept of Sabbath before he ever gave Israel the law. Rest was not an afterthought. It was built into the blueprint. And beyond rest, look at the beauty of the world he made. The colors, the flavors, the textures, the music, the laughter. God did not have to make the world beautiful. He chose to because beauty and delight are a part of who he is. And we are made in his image. Genesis 2, verses 2 and 3. It says, by the seventh day, God had finished the work he had been doing. So on the seventh day, he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy. He blessed the day of rest and made it holy. Rest is not just permitted, it is set apart, it's sacred. So when you take a walk with no agenda, that is holy. When you try a new recipe and it turns out delicious, or it turns out, you know, with some opportunities of growth, that is still holy. When you read a book that has nothing to do with ministry or business, but it makes you come alive, that is holy. When you laugh until your stomach hurts, that is holy. Stop treating joy like it's a reward you haven't earned yet. It is a gift that God built into your design. So receive it. Okay, here is where I just want to give you some ideas, some permission slips, some small invitations to reclaim the joy you've been setting aside. How about you try something new? This month, try one new thing: a new recipe you've been saving, a new hiking trail, a new coffee shop, a new art form, a new genre of book. It doesn't have to be significant, it just has to be different. New experiences remind us that life is bigger than our routines. Another suggestion is to read for pleasure, not a business book, not a devotional, a novel, a biography of someone who fascinates you, a memoir, something that makes you lose track of time. Reading for pure enjoyment is a lost art and is worth reclaiming. Something else to do is to move in a way that brings you joy, not obligation. A dance class, a hike with a beautiful view, a slow walk in the neighborhood while you listen to music you love, movement that feels like freedom instead of a chore. You can also make something with your hands, cook a new meal, bake something, plant something, write something, create something that has no purpose other than the joy of making it. There is something deeply restorative about using your hands to bring something into being. We are set, okay. Repeat after me. I am a woman made in the image of a joyful God. Delight is not a reward that I have to earn. It is a gift I am allowed to receive. Rest is not laziness, it is wisdom, it is worship. I give myself permission to play to laugh. To try new things, to rest. My joy is not selfish. It is the fuel that keeps me going. I will not wait until everything is done to let myself enjoy life. I am allowed to take a deep breath. Starting right now. We have some new rhythms that we have going on that we're gonna just get to continue in, and that's exciting. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, thank you for this entire month. Thank you for the invitation to slow down, to breathe, to return to ourselves and to you. God, thank you that you are finishing what you started in us at the beginning of this reset. Thank you that this reset becomes our real life and the rhythms that we've created, Father, let them be just established in everything that we do. And God, I thank you that the peace that we're getting from these new rhythms, they're taking root, Lord, and we're going to experience the fruit of all of it. And Lord, let us be marked by joy, not the forced kind, not the performed kind, but the deep, settled, unshakable kind that comes from knowing we are loved, held, and carried by you. Father, teach us to delight in you, in our lives, in the people around us, and the small and beautiful things you've put in our paths every single day. And Father, as we step into July together, let us walk in with more clarity, more energy, more of us to bring and show up. Father, we have all taken a deep breath and now we are just excited to continue to move forward and just do what you created us to do. We love you, we honor you, and we praise you in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen, you guys. We made it to five weeks, five deep breaths. And again, I am so genuinely proud of you for showing up for yourself this month. Before we get out of here, just a few things. First, if you haven't grabbed my free guide, Five Daily Rhythms That Changed Everything, go get it now. It's in the show notes. It's the practical foundation for everything we talked about this month. It's completely free to you. Go grab it. All right. Also, I want just to take a real moment for this and just talk to you about Nova Circle. It is my faith-based mentoring membership. It's a private community of Christian women who are done doing this alone, who want a mentor walking with them, a circle of women who get it, and a framework to actually move forward in their God-given assignment. And we meet on Zoom. I get to go through the NovaCo Grow method to help us build rhythms and gain clarity and walk confidently toward what God has placed in us together. And this community is so special to me. I have been running this community for a few years now, and I am opening it up for you to be a part of what we have going on. On July 1st, we are officially welcoming in just a new group of women. If your heart has been stirring during this reset series, like you've been feeling like you want to go deeper, like you're ready for more support, like you don't want to do this alone anymore. That is your sign. The link is in the show notes. Go check it out, read more about it, pray about it, of course. And if it's for you, say yes, and I'll be just there, ready to welcome you into the Nova Circle. Thank you for taking this deep breath with me this month. You showed up for yourself this month, and I want you to know that is not a small thing. That takes a lot of courage. We've spent all of June really exhaling, taking that deep breath. Now, July, we build again with more of ourselves to bring. I can't wait. I love you so much. Make sure you subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss it. And uh yeah, I'm excited about what's ahead for us. If this episode inspired you in any way, please share it out on socials and tag me at April Novascipio. And I'll see you soon again. This is April Novoscipio, and this is how we live faith first rhythm always. Be blessed. Love you guys.