If you’ve ever felt torn between the demands of home and the dreams in your heart, this week’s episode of The Love Offering Podcast is just for you.
I’m so excited to share my conversation with Rebekah Scott—a dynamic entrepreneur, designer, wife, mom, and fellow podcaster. In this encouraging episode, Rebekah invites us to consider work-life harmony over balance and reminds us that we don’t have to choose between our calling and our caregiving.
We talk about:
✨ The five systems that bring rhythm to her life: me, family, home, food, and work
✨ How meal planning can reduce mental load and daily stress
✨ Why “me time” and spiritual routines are non-negotiables
✨ Practical tips to prevent burnout and manage family dynamics
✨ How tools like ChatGPT (yes, we talk about it!) can simplify your day
✨ And the importance of asking for help and leaning on community support
Rebekah’s story started at a sewing machine, inspired by her mother—and grew into a thriving business and platform to encourage other women. Her wisdom and warmth will inspire you to take small, meaningful steps toward the life God is calling you to live.
🎧 Tune in here → Life Audio
Let’s stop striving for perfection and start embracing grace. You can thrive at home and in the world—Rebekah’s story proves it.
Summary
In this episode of the Love Offering Podcast, host Rachael Adams speaks with Rebecca Scott, a dynamic entrepreneur and designer, about her journey in balancing multiple roles as a business owner, mother, and podcaster. They discuss the importance of work-life harmony over balance, the systems Rebecca has implemented to manage her life effectively, and the significance of meal planning in reducing daily stress. Rebecca shares her personal experiences and insights on how to thrive in both personal and professional realms while encouraging women to embrace their dreams. In this conversation, Bekah shares her insights on managing family dynamics, food systems, and the importance of self-care. She emphasizes the need for communication within families, the significance of me time, and practical strategies to prevent burnout. Bekah also discusses the value of spending quality time with loved ones and how to effectively use tools like ChatGPT to streamline daily tasks. The conversation concludes with a reminder of the importance of community support and the courage to ask for help.
Takeaways
- Rebecca Scott emphasizes the importance of harmonizing roles at home and work.
- The Encourager Podcast was born out of a desire to help women find joy in their daily lives.
- Rebecca’s journey began with a passion for sewing, inspired by her mother.
- She believes that women can excel in both personal and professional lives without sacrificing one for the other.
- Work-life harmony is a more relaxed approach than striving for balance.
- Rebecca identifies five key systems: me, family, home, food, and work.
- Meal planning is crucial for reducing mental bandwidth and stress.
- Rebecca holds sacred time for her spiritual practice each morning.
- Her daily routine includes dedicated creative time in the mornings.
- Family and team dynamics play a significant role in the success of her systems. Communication is key in family dynamics.
- Establishing a food system can alleviate stress.
- Me time is essential for personal well-being.
- Burnout can be managed with small, incremental changes.
- Love is about the quantity of time spent with loved ones.
- Using technology can simplify daily tasks.
- It’s important to adapt systems to fit individual family needs.
- Asking for help is a sign of strength, not weakness.
- Flexibility in routines can prevent burnout.
- Self-care should be prioritized, even in busy seasons.
Sound Bites
- “I want to do both really well.”
- “What is your me system?”
- “I love burpees and Jesus.”
- “Do everything at 1%.”
- “Only ever do them at 80%.”
- “Love is spelled T-I-M-E.”
- “I need help.”
Transcript
Rachael Adams (00:00.984)
Welcome to the Love Offering Podcast. I’m your host, Rachel Adams, author of Everyday Prayers for Love, Learning to Love God, Others, and Even Yourself. Each week we dive into meaningful conversations about how to live out the greatest commandment, loving God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and loving our neighbors as ourselves. Whether through inspiring stories, practical tips, or biblical truths, I hope to encourage you to love boldly, live faithfully, and reflect God’s love in your everyday life.
My guest today is Rebecca Scott. Rebecca is a dynamic entrepreneur, designer, author, and podcast host dedicated to empowering women to harmonize their roles at home and work. As the founder of Rebecca Scott Designs, she offers custom-made purses that allow women to express their individuality through fashion. Inspired by her father’s timeless style, she also launched 1948 Leather, a line of genuine leather products that capture the essence of the American West. Balancing multiple roles as a wife, mother of four and business owner, Rebecca understands the challenges women face in juggling various responsibilities. This inspired her to create the Encourager Podcast, a platform dedicated to helping women harmonize their roles and find joy in their daily lives. Through her podcast, Rebecca shares practical tips, mindsets and systems to empower women to excel in their personal and professional lives.
Well, hi Rebecca and welcome to the Love Offering Podcast. I’m so happy to have you.
Bekah (01:23.289)
Hello. Yes, thank you for having me. Yes it is. Yes, well it first started because I’ve been sewing since I was four years old. I, my mom is a master seamstress so I watched her sew and have a ton of joy. She would just sing and hum and so my mom’s happy place was well creating and it just deep seed in me of like,
Rachael Adams (01:29.922)
So I’m really intrigued about your businesses and as I’m looking at you, I’m like your business is right behind you. So tell us how it started, how it first started.
Bekah (01:55.221)
When people create, they have joy, which I do think is very true. So I watched that and then I started making stuff for people on the playground. When, you know, they’d be playing kickball, I’d be selling mittens and hats and that sort of thing. And then I figured out my middle school years that the trend was to wear boxer shorts, which is a whole other subject, right? But we wore boxer shorts to practice and I thought, mom, I’m going to make boxers. And she drew the line. She’s like, you cannot make boxers for people. So then I was a frustrated artist, like, I just want to keep sewing. And when we got married, poor newlyweds, and I didn’t know what I would make for Christmas gifts, but I had my trusty sewing machine and some fabric. And so I sewed purses, which I love purses, obviously. I’ve been doing it for 20 years. But I just think it’s the best way to update any outfit is if you have a great bag, you’re like, ooh, ooh, that gal. So I made purses and then I started getting orders. And I thought, oh gosh, I could actually do my entrepreneur dream, which would be to have my own business raise a bunch of babies and sew and be in my happy place like my mom did. And so thankfully, blessed fully, I’m still doing that and I’ve done Rebecca’s Got Designs for 20 years now. And then during COVID, I’ve always wanted to have a leather line, a genuine leather line. I grew up, it’s called West River in South Dakota. We’re divided by two areas. It’s called West River and East River. It’s like a whole thing, you guys. It’s like the West Side versus the East Side. By the way, the West Side is better.
And that’s where I grew up in on a big ranch and I wanted to honor my dad who’s just an amazing, amazing guy, loves Jesus and taught me pretty much all the knowledge that I have today, including my mom as well. And so I created a leather line called 1948 Leather. After the year he was born and it has the brand on it is the brand we put on our cows when we had the ranch. So that’s how that business started. But it’s really Rebecca Scott designs. It’s all together. 1948 is just the genuine leather. Part of it, the Rebecca Scott Designs uses a vegan leather, so we have both. And then when I started making all of the purses and really getting good at it and having quite a bit of inventory, I had 20 people on my team to help me keep up. P.S. I’m still my own seamstress, you guys. I have all this stuff in the background here. People kept asking me at the shows, like if I went to an art show, if you will, they would say like, how are you doing this? Like they could see a picture of my four kiddos. They could see that we currently farm in ranch as well. They could see like the sheer amount of inventory.
Bekah (04:14.856)
And they kept saying like, how do you do this? Well, I couldn’t tell them in the two to three minutes why I wanted them to buy a purse first. And then I’d be like, see, that’s a cute purse, buy the purse. But yes, I can tell you how I’m doing this. And so my degree is actually in radio and TV broadcasting. And so I thought I’ll just hop in a microphone. This was before podcasts were super trending. And I’ll just tell people I’m doing this because I did want them to know it is possible God would not give you the dreams that he’s giving you if he didn’t also see you fit.
Rachael Adams (04:21.612)
Yeah.
Bekah (04:43.747)
He’s a loving God. That would be incongruent. And so I jumped on a microphone and started telling people how I was doing these systems. But I will tell you this, Rachel. It was very, there was a very big moment, two moments that really launched the podcast to be able to tell people. And they were both very bold messages from God. Gus, my oldest son was 18 months old and my business was 18 months old. And I was running in and out trying to pack for an art show And Gus kept asking for a snack, you know how a toddler does and they won’t quit until you get the snack, right? Well, the fourth time he had asked me, I screamed at him. I was just like, stop! Because I was trying to get the show packed and all the notifications that could possibly be going off. And I can still picture his little blue eyes to this day welling up and it still makes me emotional. I sat on the floor after I got the snack and I just cried my eyes out because I wanted to do I wanted to do the business, but I didn’t want to do it at a sacrificial level for my son. And I wanted to do both really well. I wanted to be a great business owner and I wanted to be a really good mom. So in that moment, I actually canceled the show, which is a big deal in the show world because they think you’re an artsy fartsy artist or whatever. And they didn’t invite me back for six years. They were so mad. They were like, you’re out. But anyways, I knew that was the right decision at that moment. And I asked God, how can I do both?
And I didn’t get the message like you’re gonna have to choose. You have to wait to do your business until he’s older. I didn’t get that message. I didn’t get that feeling. I’m not gonna make it all holier than now, you guys. I just thought, I know I want to do both. I want to create and I want to raise children. So I set to making these systems that we can talk about, but I really dialed those in. then I had pretty soon I had four kids still running the businesses and one of my seamstresses arrived at the parking lot to exchange the load. So the load is like what she was going to sew for the week and what I was going to sew for the week. And she arrived in like her tracksuit and her hair was like all bedhead and the kids had all their PJs on. And my kids probably look like little ducklings. And the reason I’m spelling it out guys, don’t think that you have to be my case versus her case. That’s not what this story is about. But we did look put together and ready for the day, right? And she was like, my gosh, tell me you’re not always like this. And she stared at the kids and stuff. And I said, gosh.
Bekah (07:07.446)
No, we’re not always like this. We have mornings like that too. And this is where God punched me in the gut. And the truth was I was being falsely humble. Because the truth was I did have it put together and I did have systems in place. So I arrived ready to do both home and work life and do it with joy and show others how to do that. And that moment with that female is what launched the podcast. I was like, you know what? I’m going to tell people how to do this because I’m not doing anything special.
I’m just doing what God has laid before me and being a good steward of the resources that he’s given me. And so that’s what launched the podcast and my book and all the things that I do so I can keep teaching women to do both. I think the world tells us very frequently that you have to choose, like she’s a really great business owner, but you should find out about her marriage and her kids, know, or it’s the reverse. Like she’s a great mother, but she didn’t get to launch her dream because she had to wait for everybody else. And I don’t think that is, I don’t think that is true. If the dream has been planted, he has plans in store for you to make it happen.
Rachael Adams (08:09.572)
I’m so intrigued by this conversation because it’s, those are the cries of my heart too. I want to be a great wife. want to be a great mom. I want to be a great friend. I want to be a great daughter. You know, I want to be a great Christian, but I also, you know, have passions to write and to speak and into podcasts. And so I think that maybe it is a little bit of a disclaimer that you can’t have it all. and so I’m excited to continue to dive into this conversation, but we’re going to take a brief break to hear a word from today’s sponsor. And when we come back, we’re going to talk about this work life harmony.
Welcome back everyone. We are going to talk about work-life harmony rather than balance. I think that’s interesting that you use that term. So can you explain the difference and why it’s important for mom? How do you say it?
Bekah (09:03.925)
Well first of all, when we say the word balance, doesn’t your stomach immediately tighten? Like your abs are like, okay we’re balancing! That’s gross. It’s not possible. Plus when you’re balancing, it is a constant stress level to keep them both balanced. But harmony, when you think of the word harmony, you might recall your choir teacher from years ago who was like, guys, guys, hit the pitch. When you’re harmonizing both roles together, and that is a way more relaxed approach to it so you will not hear me say the word balance very often because it just makes me tighten up immediately thinking of it. So that’s why I call that because I want you to be able to interweave them together.
Rachael Adams (09:38.766)
So what does a realistic picture of modern work-life harmony look like for a busy mom who also wants to thrive at home? Like why doesn’t it require more, sorry, and why does it require more hustle or 4 a.m. wake up calls? Like we don’t want to wake up at 4 a.m. Please tell us that you don’t.
Bekah (09:55.836)
No, no. Or cold plunge now at 3 30, right? No, I think what it means is that you’re making pre decisions on the roles that you already have and that you have five distinct systems. So, for example, I think everybody has this, whether you have kids or not, or whether you’re married or not, you work within these five things. And this was after the crying fit by my son Gus that I figured out these systems is like, OK, there’s a me system how you’re taking care of yourself. And everybody’s gonna look different. Some people want to go for a run, some people want to take a bubble bath. It’s gonna look different. But what is your me system? How are you filling yourself up, getting a full charge? Then we have the system of family. So that means like, am I living the legacy that I also want to leave behind and do those two match up? Because chances are you’re like, I know this is the legacy I’m gonna leave behind. But are you doing practical everyday things that equal that legacy? So then there’s a family system. Then there’s a home system and that’s just like, well, how are you taking care of your sanctuary? How are you doing the laundry? How are you cleaning? How are you planning ahead for different changes of life in your family, which also is family system. So there’s home system. Then there’s the food system, which guys, that one takes up the most mental bandwidth. Like you’re constantly asking the question, what’s for supper, right? So that’s a big system. And then of course your work system. And that is just answering the questions who, what, when, where and why you’re doing your work. So within these five systems, if you can pre-decide some things and get some things in place for each one of them, when you’re feeling overwhelmed and things aren’t living harmoniously, you’re like, everything’s broke and you’re burning out. Chances are it’s actually one of those systems that’s just really, really, really broke. And you just need to take a look at that system, make some small tweaks, and then you’ll feel a little bit more harmony for the others. And you’re like, okay, I actually also need to fix my me system. But first of all, can we please decide what is for supper? So that’s how those kind of work out by giving us more time at the end of the day because the systems are working with each other and not against each other.
Rachael Adams (12:02.478)
So tell us about your typical day. What does that look like in your life?
Bekah (12:06.373)
Okay, I usually, not this morning, but usually guys, I get up at about 5.15 and I do exercise sometime with Jesus and then I get showered and then I wake up my first kiddo for their bus. Then I wake up the second kiddo for her bus. Then I wake up the third kiddo and the fourth kiddo. We have four different exits in the morning, two different school districts and four kiddos. So the hours from like six to eight is just kids and breakfast and that kind of thing and getting people on their buses. Then I come home and I read my Bible. It’s sacred. I don’t start any work meeting. don’t start I don’t book anything from the hours of eight to nine and I know some people are like, what I start I just don’t and I hold it sacred so that hour is just for Jesus or for prepping the food for the day and then at nine o’clock I enter into my studio space and I usually do all my creative work in the morning So I actually don’t usually set a lot of with the exception of today I don’t set a lot of meetings from nine to twelve because it’s when I’m most creative and so I want my hands on the fabric so I’m designing I’m doing my work order, I’m doing anything that is actually hands-on in the business. And then in the afternoons, a little bit more low energy, so that is when I am doing meetings with my staff or problem solving on the websites or recording podcasts. Then I pick everybody, not everybody, but the majority of them up around three or depending on their activities. And I usually am back in the studio about four o’clock. We take a long, like pick up the kids and snack break, because I want to check in emotionally, you know what they’re like after school. So can I take that time and just like feel everybody out? How’s everybody doing? And then get back into the studio for about an hour or two hours before the evening starts. I go to bed around like 10 p.m. I’m in that unique phase where I have an 18 year old now and I have a son who is almost 15 and so they stay up a little bit later but I’m always like, can we please help just go to bed? But I also, he’s 18 and these are like the last, you know, months that he might be at our house so I’m like, ugh. You are ruining my sleep patterns, but I’m gaining so much information by him being an adult now. I do use that in quotations, which probably isn’t fair, but it’s more interesting to have conversations with him now as we coach him rather than parent him. But anyways, that’s the majority of my day.
Rachael Adams (14:14.948)
So you seem high energy. Do you live on caffeine? No. No. So it’s interesting you should say that. Guys, I’m going to say it because Rachel didn’t. I’m her first guest to stand during the interview.
Rachael Adams (14:30.308)
That’s true, she is. After 350 plus people, she’s the very first.
Bekah (14:36.248)
It would be like watching a toddler in church guys if I was sitting down. So I am high energy. It just comes naturally. So some of this is just genes. My parents are both very like high movers, high production. And I have to stay away from caffeine because I just make coffee so nervous. Like it’s like why I just met my match. So I do black tea. I’m not a coffee drinker, but I do black tea and then it’s just one one bag and the rest is like non caffeinated. I did have a moment just last week. I was talking with my husband about it and he’s like Maybe you should just go all decaf. And I was like, I’m starting to tremor, which is something that my dad and both of my brothers did and I think it’s starting for me. So I think I’m going to have to go the decaf route here very soon.
Rachael Adams (15:22.468)
Well, let’s keep on with this food conversation because one of the things that you said was we’re always thinking about what are we going to eat? And our kids are always asking like, what am I going to eat? You know, I don’t have this or whatever it may be. So what do you meal plan like on a Sunday and get all your grocery and meal prep and do all the things or tell us about what that looks like for you.
Bekah (15:39.32)
Oh, I love this. Okay, so this is what we call the food system. And again, everybody’s going to look different. But what I always recommend for your food system, no matter what it is, is just make sure that you do two things. And one of them is to be super decisive on it. So that is the meal planning or the meal, what I would call it meal planning. So for us, I do it on Sunday nights and it’s on my weekly agenda. I don’t have a planner. It’s big controversy, but I even recorded a podcast on it. Why I threw my planner away. It’s just one sheet of paper and on there, is lunch, snack, and supper. You even plan our snack because when they are so ravenous, if you can provide the answer about what they’re eating for a snack, they just relax a little bit, okay? So I plan that on Sunday nights and then in the morning, so the one thing I always recommend in the food system, plan your meals. And guys, it could be daily. If you’re just in a phase where you’re overwhelmed, just do daily, but just making the decision helps your brain relax throughout the whole day when you say, my gosh, when am I gonna feed him? And you’re like, wait, I already decided.
It’s goldfish for snack and it’s whatever pasta for supper. Like you’ve made the decision so your brain steps the loop because we always have these loops, right? So meal plan, whether that’s daily or weekly, we do ours weekly. And then the other thing for the food system is just making sure that you prep as much as you can. Again, it’s just another close to the loop. for example, today is a Friday lunch or breakfast is just very routine for us. It was just eggs. Lunch today, I did not plan lunch today because my son will be with his team, my husband’s not coming home, and I love it because then can just skip it. So today might be a good day. But tonight we have a basketball game. And if I don’t feed them, then they just eat crummy concession stand food and then I’m dry of money, right? So I am making a meal called omgullium. But basically I will put out the meat. So the meat is ready. I put out the rice. I put it on the countertop and I put out the two cans to make it.
Bekah (17:33.275)
Everything is there. So my brain is like, we’ve already made the decision and there’s even some prep work Now again, I always give permission here if you were like the uber planner and you would want to have it done in advance I love that. I love that good job But even just prepping the food is like level two if you will and then if all you can do is make the decision That’s good, too But it will help the overwhelm of what’s for supper in the food decision asking all day long What am I gonna make for supper? Ugh, what am I gonna make for supper? Also, like you mentioned, I’m high energy. I need all of that amazing energy to serve me in my creative fields, because that’s what I do for a living. And I don’t like to spend my creative energy on food. That’s me. Some people that I coach love it. You know, I’m like, good, then let’s make up a plan that works for your love for it. So any time that I’m thinking about supper is creating something that is outside of what I actually do want to create, which is purses. So I make all those pre-decisions.
Rachael Adams (18:29.348)
So is your family on board with all the systems? the, and, and the people, your employees, you know, like we’ve got to be, should I be calling you Becca instead of Rebecca? Okay. Now that, now that, now that we’re really close friends. so like, yeah, are all the people like, okay, this is Becca’s system. So this is what we do. So everybody’s on board.
Bekah (18:39.316)
Sure, yes, yes, all the above.
Bekah (18:51.517)
Well, I didn’t know it was bossy until they all started respecting it and honoring it and then they started adopting it for themselves in small ways. And so then I was like, gosh, it’s just like you just need someone in the group to be like, hey, we’re gonna work from nine to three, I’m available. After that, hit and miss, because I’ll be at ballgames. And they’re like, got it, right? My family is on board. They will push back when a system changes. So for example, because the thing about the systems is it’s not like I decided these after the crying moment with Gus and they never changed. They’re always evolving, but the beauty of that is is I can isolate them and be like, why is this one not working anymore? Well, because you have two teenagers and they’re eating all the time. So your food system is shot and everybody’s not getting nutritious foods or whatever. So this year, my son is going to play college football. So he had to gain another 15 pounds. my gosh. Do you know how hard it is to gain 15 pounds when their metabolism is like as high energy as I am?
So I kept complaining to my husband like I just I I’m really struggling with this and so Nick came on board my husband and helped me with like planning his protein like can you just take it like can that just be your thing? So rather than having a breakdown about how I’m failing to feed my children Nick was able to come in and help me adjust the food system. So do my family members get on board? Yes, but they will push back for example if my work system which I do love my work getting to be really heavy and they’re like, out of the studio. Then I can talk to them about like, okay, what what’s going on and they’re like, you’re just distracted and the after school hour or you’re distracted in the evenings and that’s check like, okay, I have to be able to put the work down for a little bit or and sometimes I will have we have family meetings to talk about like retail season for me is November, December, right? Christmas time.
So we in advance tell the kids, mom’s gonna be in the studio late because this is my harvest season. We farm in ranch, so harvest is a very easy concept for them. It means dad’s out until 2 a.m. farming to bring in everything in. Well, harvest is the same thing for me during Christmas time. So then I have the honoring and the respect that like this is mom’s go time, this is her harvest season. But also like then they encourage me and cheer me on. Because it’s been clearly communicated, hey, this is the harvest season, this is fun. So they usually join me in the studio and we do the spelling words while I’m sewing. I have the privilege, you know, I always give this out there too, my job sewing, I can do with multiple interruptions. If you are a big writer and stuff, you can’t do the interruptions like I can. So there’s a little bit of flexibility there for my work system, but that’s how I, that’s kind of how I keep them on the same page is just a lot of communication and finding out from them. They’ll tell me like, if a system is broke, they know them so well that they’re like, I want to talk about the food system. Okay, what are some changes that you think we should be made and everybody votes on it? That kind of thing.
Rachael Adams (21:49.646)
So what do you do for your me time? You said you work out.
Bekah (21:52.975)
Yes, I love it. I love burpees and Jesus. And you asked the question like, how do you stay so energetic? I always say it’s, if you wonder where all this light and energy comes from, it’s Jesus. That’s what I tell everybody. I, for my me system, for me, I take a bubble bath on Tuesday nights and it’s sacred. I don’t care if we’ve been at a ball game that’s two hours away, like everybody knows when you get home, mom’s getting in the bathtub. So that’s the way that I can fill up my whole tank. It’s also not always alone, especially as the girls get older, they’re sneaking in the bathroom to like, I think because I’m in a vulnerable state where I’m chilling out that they want to talk about all of life’s intricate details. Some nights I’ll say like, I just need a minute by myself. So also permission in your guys’ me system is not always by yourself. And that’s okay. Also because we don’t want to be the society that the world tells us right now. Me, me, me, me, me. Like, no, We don’t just serve ourselves And another part of my me system is tea. Like I love to make tea and that’s something that I like the ceremony of pouring the tea on. That’s just something that gives me a full charge.
Rachael Adams (23:03.204)
All right, well, we’re gonna continue this conversation, but we’re gonna take a brief break to hear from our today’s sponsor. And when we come back, we will hear about burnout. We’re gonna talk about burnout.
Welcome back. So burnout is something that a lot of us face and I’m just thinking about you like in some ways if I’m being honest it it makes it hearing you makes me almost tired like I can’t do this like it almost makes me like I just give up before I even begin, you know, and then like we get so focused on achievement and production that’s like, we need some rest. So what does but in some ways I’m also hearing you say by doing these systems it actually helps prevent you and helps you to have time to rest so I don’t know talk to us about that.
Bekah (23:49.648)
Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Well, okay, so I always give these permissions. Do everything at 1%. That is the smallest effort you could possibly make. So like in Rachel’s case where she’s like, I don’t know whether to feel encouraged or discouraged by what I’m saying. You might be at a stage where you’re like, I’m just really wore out. Okay. So then let’s just make a 1 % decision for your food system because we were talking about that. It’s likeOrder all your food. If that’s in your budget and they have all these cool systems, we don’t have as many of them in South Dakota, but like where you get the food to your door. Guys, do that. Do that. Then you’ve made a decision for your food system and you can relax. Like you immediately go, okay, I just made a decision and try it for six weeks. If it’s not working, then you readjust. But I always say the rule is six weeks. Like, cause the first couple of weeks, it’s like unbearable. You’re like, was dumbest decision ever. And then the two weeks after that, it’s just uncomfortable And then the two weeks after that, it’s like, okay, you got past it. So try that. Or 1 % your me system. If a bath is not what fills you up or you can’t have a girlfriend date or whatever, what’s the tiniest one thing you could do to fill yourself up? And it might just be a worship song or a nap. Like what is that 1 % thing? So I always encourage like within these systems, when you start running them, you’ll just start one at a time. You’re not going to take all five systems and go for it. You’re going to take the one that’s most broke and work just the 1 % of it. And then here’s the other part, only ever do them at 80%. So if you’re the overachiever, which is me, or if you’re the high energy person, you’re like, I’m not kidding, like don’t, I always say no, no, no, no, we’re only gonna go to the 80%, if you will, of that system, because that’s still the excellent level, but it gives you permission that if you wanna take the next 20%, because you’re an overachiever and you feel like you can do it, or just to quit just to stop at the 80 % that is good enough and that is excellent. So that’s kind of how I like make sure people don’t get overwhelmed. But I will say this, when you have approached these at your 1%, which eventually turns into 10, which eventually turns into 100%, like, okay, I think I got our food figured out for at least the next six months or so, then you can try another one, you’ll have so much freedom on the other side of these systems for whatever you want to do. It’s like when you finally do a budget and you put the money on there and then there’s leftover and you’re like, my gosh, look at all this freedom. It’s the same thing with these systems. When you block these things in and you make these decisions, you’re like, what do want to decide about now? What should we do? So there’s a lot of freedom after you dial them in for everybody’s unique circumstances, which is why within those systems, make sure you’re actually telling the truth about what works for you. Some people don’t like working out. Then don’t do that as part of your me system. Like, no, no, no, go for the long walk, go for the nap, decide for yourself and your family, because all of our dynamics are different too. What would work for your unique families?
Rachael Adams (26:47.394)
Yeah, I’m really glad you said that because what works for my system or your system isn’t what will always work. It’s not a one size fits all approach.
Bekah (26:53.511)
No. No, no. And they do have to evolve so we can’t get so rigid in them either or our family will buck it too. They’re like, no, this feels and you yourself will because it’s burnout. So you got to be flexible within them.
Rachael Adams (27:07.49)
Yeah, yeah, there’s grace in the process. So this season, I’ve been asking all of my guests, is there a biblical concept of love that you think applies to this topic?
Bekah (27:17.543)
Yes, well I don’t know that it’s a biblical concept but I do love it and it’s the phrase that says love is spelled T-I-M-E and I love that because I have noticed with my own children it is not the quality of time I spend with them it is the quantity. So it’s not if we go on these fancy vacations or do whatever but the sheer amount of time I put into spending with them where I take these purposeful breaks and we spend our evenings and we enjoy our farm and those things, that is what they will remember and it means so much love because of the quantity I’ve spent with them. So that’s the concept there. And then, that’s it. I wrote down notes in our little preview of you. Sorry, Rachel.
Rachael Adams (28:00.068)
No, it’s okay. I can edit. Well, I agree. mean, I am a quality time person and I was actually just thinking, so I have a 16 year old and a 14 year old and just thinking, gosh, I only have like a little bit of time left with them while they’re in my home. And I really, as they get older, they’ve got their friends and their own interests and don’t really want to spend as much time with us as they used to. And so when I get the chance to be with them, I just cherish it and I don’t want to waste it. And so I think that that is just so important. I’m glad you brought that up. So tell us something you are loving right now.
Bekah (28:38.47)
Okay, I have permission because we talked about the food system a little bit. My first one is Fix It and Forget It cookbook. I got it. I don’t even know who the author is, but it’s Fix It and Forget It. It’s 20 years old at least. I got it at our wedding shower. I swear by the crock pot, you guys, because of our busy, like, we are in basketball. We went to 13 games this week just for perspective. So the crackpot is so nice and I can prep the ingredients. So that’s something I obsess over in the winter time. And then my other thing that I’m loving right now is chat GPT. And we try, it’s, you guys, it’s, and food system, you guys, if you plug in like what our family likes to eat and please don’t put a burger back to back or please don’t put pasta back to back, it’ll kick it out to you and then done, walk away. It’ll even create the menu list for you. It’s so great. gosh, yes, enter your favorite like,
Rachael Adams (29:27.224)
Really? I’ve never used it for that!
Bekah (29:33.284)
I have a cheat sheet inside our pantry of like these are our favorite pork recipes, chicken recipes, beef recipes, pasta recipes. We’re not big seafood people, but those are in there. So I plugged in my cheat sheet into ChatGPT and said, can you organize this in a six week meal plan with none of them overlapping back to back? And then it asked me, would you like me to make a grocery list? Yes. But I had to say, yes, make a grocery list, but don’t include meat because we’re producers. We farm and ranch, so I don’t need the meat. And it did that.
Rachael Adams (30:01.137)
You’ve just changed my life just now.
Bekah (30:04.384)
Nobody cares about what the actual interview is. I know what you guys, you’re just going to see how GPT You can use it for every one of the systems, I promise you. And the best part is, it’s not cheating if you guys are dragging your feet. It’s actually providing more creativity and more room for relationship. That’s what I’m, because I’m like, it would have spent me, it would have taken me two hours to do that food list. It’s like 30 seconds and I’m like, hey, you guys wanna go play something? Because you’re free, you’re free.
Rachael Adams (30:31.268)
Hours? Hours, yeah.
Rachael Adams (30:39.18)
Okay, okay. Well, give us another example of one of your other systems how you’ve used chat GPT.
Bekah (30:44.683)
Home system. Home system has like, I think it’s seven different bullet points. I have a digital course on all these systems. those seven things, I’m like, you know Our cleaning has changed. because of all the things during the week, we can’t, I used to have a chore alarm that went off at 5.30 on my phone and everybody knew like, okay, go do chores. We’re never home at the 5.30 hour anymore. So now we do it on Sunday afternoons about three o’clock and the kids were arguing about, I get the bathrooms every week, mom. And I was like, no, you don’t. So plug in our chores to chat to BT, ask it for six weeks time, and what the actual prompts for the chores were, like bathrooms, room, cleaning rooms, and then asked it to, I don’t know what the word I used, randomize, so that the same kid didn’t have the same thing week to week. Printed it out. No more fighting.
Rachael Adams (31:32.984)
Well, okay, so even that, mean, just be, I’m usually like, okay, Sundays are my cleaning days, but my family is just like, usually just kind of chilling. So even you being like, nope, the whole family is doing it.
Bekah (31:42.468)
no, no, not anymore yeah, because then it only takes like, it probably takes us an hour to do our house and our house is dirty because we farm in ranch, there’s always a lot of dirt and we used to fight about it but now that we’ve, I probably took three weeks of like intense like guys stop fighting during this, that now they just do it automated and now it’s even better because the chat gpt the enemy and not me because it determined who would do what so I’m like, she’s awful isn’t she? Yeah.
Rachael Adams (32:12.324)
Okay, all right, this is you have inspired me. I’m excited. I know my first 1 % of what I’m gonna do. I know I wanna stay connected with you. I’m sure listeners are going to want to so tell us how we can best do that.
Bekah (32:23.956)
Good. Yeah. If you go to theencouragerpodcast.com, all my podcasts are on any platform you listen to, but that also has an awesome cheat sheet, you guys. It is the pop-up on the website. It’ll say the top two hacks for each system. So I gave you the me system during this interview. Download that, okay? Fill it out. The one that is the hardest to fill out, this is another little cheat for you. The one that is the hardest to fill out is probably your most broke system. So you’re gonna start with that one. If this one is like, don’t want to fill that, that’s probably actually where you need to start. So let’s just 1 % and listen to 300, over 300 episodes or take my digital course. It’s only $97. You can consume the whole thing in less than six hours. So you can do it on a Saturday or do one system a night. And then that’ll give you all the teeny tiny decisions to make. And you’ve got them set up. It’s so awesome.
Rachael Adams (33:16.868)
Awesome. We’ll put it in the show notes. Well, I would just be honored if you would pray for us as we close.
Bekah (33:25.491)
Thank you so much for this opportunity. Thank you for a platform that can just permeate our lives. Father, I pray that the woman out there who feels energized, that you would increase that today and that with the energy, she actually feels clarity. Father, I pray for the woman that is overwhelmed, that you would remind her of the 1 % and you would remind her that you’re standing right next to her, whether she’s cleaning or cooking or creating, that you’re right next to her and that you do in fact have a plan that is good and you have prepared her for all the roles you have put in her life. Remind them to listen to your message and not the world’s. We love you God. Amen.
Rachael Adams (34:02.538)
Amen. You know, and I was going to completely close the interview, but as you just prayed, I’m thinking he is with us and he can empower us to do what we can’t in our own and just to accept help. You know, like it’s okay to ask people for help, your family, your husband, your children, your friends. Like we, we have, God’s given us a community for a reason. It’s not all on us, right?
Bekah (34:27.013)
Right? Put two sticky notes in your house. The reason you need two is because the one you’ll end up forgetting. That say, I need help. Three most vulnerable words ever for a woman, I need help. And then when you see it, you’re like, do I? And then you’ll start thinking about it. And maybe he whispers to you, yeah, you do need help. Or maybe he’ll whisper the person, but put those sticky notes up, I need help.
Rachael Adams (34:48.068)
Amen. Well, thank you for helping us today. I have enjoyed today’s conversation so much and I appreciate your time.
Bekah (34:50.109)
Yes!
Bekah (34:56.208)
Awesome. Thank you so much, Rachel.
Rachael Adams (34:58.744)
Thank you so much for listening to the Love Offering Podcast. I hope today’s conversation encouraged you and inspired you to love God, love others, and even love yourself a little bit more. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend and leave a review. It helps others to find the show and spreads the message of love even further.
To connect with me, visit my website at rachellekayaddams.com. While you’re there, be sure to download the Love Offering Calendar, a free resource filled with simple daily ways to love those around you. Don’t forget to pick up a copy of my new book, Everyday Prayers for Love, Learning to Love God, Others, and Even Yourself. It’s available now wherever books are sold, and I pray it is a meaningful resource for your faith journey. A special thank you to Life Audio for supporting this podcast and making it possible. To find more great podcasts, visit lifeaudio.com.
Thank you again for joining us today. Until next time, let’s make our lives an offering of love.
*Transcript is AI generated.
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