In this delightful episode, I sit down with my daughters Ali and Maggie for another surprise guest reveal featuring our beloved friend Jordan Hester—complete with confetti and celebration, as always! Jordan is a professional home organizer in the Sarasota area and a certified leadership coach who has become like family to us.

We dive into Jordan's journey from six and a half years in church ministry to finding his calling in home organization, where he combines his gifts of hospitality and encouragement to help people during some of life's most overwhelming transitions. Jordan shares candidly about navigating a "desert season" in ministry, losing his father in 2020, and how grief shifted his perspective on work, life, and heaven.

This conversation covers the art of biblical community during hard seasons, what it takes to be a great leader, and how Jordan has cultivated his remarkable ministry of presence—including why he always carries confetti and never misses an opportunity to celebrate others. We also explore how he's learned to ask for help and find his own sources of encouragement while pouring into so many others.

Whether you're in ministry, going through a difficult transition, or simply need encouragement about finding purpose in unexpected places, Jordan's story is a beautiful reminder that God uses every season—even the desert ones—to shape us for His purposes. Plus, you'll want to grab some confetti after listening to this one!

In this episode, I share about one of the loneliest and weirdest seasons I've walked through in recent years—the strange territory of being nobody where you used to be somebody. It's been over a year since I stepped away from church staff, and I'm only now finding words for this peculiar experience.

When you transition away from ministry leadership, you don't just leave a job—you lose your immediate answer to who you are and what you do. You enter an awkward no man's land where you're still supposed to show up every week because it's "church family," but your role and relationships have fundamentally changed in ways nobody really prepared you for.

I talk honestly about the identity earthquake that happens when your name is no longer attached to a spiritual job description, the grief of going from essential to optional, and why learning to be a normal person is harder than it looks. I also share about the unexpected freedom I've discovered in functional obscurity and why I now pray for this gift for all my ministry friends.

This episode is for anyone navigating the awkward dance of staying put when everything has changed, for those wondering if they've made a terrible mistake or discovered a beautiful freedom, and for ministry leaders who need to know they're not crazy for feeling what they're feeling during transition seasons.

Sometimes the most profound spiritual formation happens not through addition but through subtraction—and sometimes God reveals who we are not by giving us more responsibility but by taking away what we thought defined us.

In this tender episode of Everything Made Beautiful, I sit down with my dear friend and beloved worship leader Christy Nockels to talk about transitions, lullabies, and the sacred art of letting go. Christy has just released her second lullaby album, "King Who Never Sleeps: Anthems for Rest," and our youngest daughters have just graduated high school—flying the nest together just like they started preschool together 14 years ago.

This conversation is for anyone navigating the bittersweet beauty of seasons ending and new ones beginning. You are seen in every season! We dive deep into why lullabies aren't just for babies (trust me on this), the unexpected emotions of empty nesting, and how to cultivate identity beyond the daily rhythms of motherhood. Christy shares the story behind her newest songs, including one called "Fly The Nest (Carry You)" that she wrote specifically for this season of releasing our children into the world.

Whether you're a young mom wondering who you'll be when the daily parenting season ends, or you're already walking through the tender transition of kids growing up, this episode offers hope, wisdom, and the reminder that God has beautiful things ahead in every season. Plus, Christy sings a lullaby over all of us at the end—and it's absolutely perfect.

If you've ever needed permission to have a good cry over the passage of time, or if you're looking for encouragement that your faithfulness in the hidden seasons will bear fruit, this conversation is for you.

Christy's Website: https://www.christynockels.com/
Christy's New Record: https://cnock.lnk.to/kingwhoneversleeps
Christy's Book: https://tinyurl.com/9x97y42x
Christy's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christynockels/