Inspiring Heights

In this episode, I dive into the world of time blocking, a time management technique I've been experimenting with over the past several months. I share an honest assessment of how it's worked for me, what hasn’t worked, and how I've adapted the method to fit my current season of life. I start by defining time blocking and acknowledging that while it might sound appealing, it’s not always feasible...

Do you ever feel overwhelmed by the thought of an entire season ahead, filled with challenges, uncertainties, and emotions? It's like the "Sunday scaries," but instead of worrying about the week ahead, you find yourself anxious about the whole season. Whether you're anticipating difficult news, already feeling exhausted, or just anxious about what's to come, you're not alone. In this episode, we t...

In this episode, we delve into the bittersweet transition from summer to fall. While the allure of pumpkin spice and cooler days is strong, it's important to savor the final weeks of summer. Join us as we explore seven practical tips to gracefully end the season, including reflecting on your summer experiences, planning for improvements, and tidying up your home. We also discuss how to prepare for...

Are you already sensing the arrival of pumpkin spice season? As we near the end of summer, it’s easy to feel like it's too late to change things that aren’t working—whether it’s dinnertime routines, morning rushes, or vacation plans. But here’s the secret, Sis: it’s never too late! Even in the eighth inning of summer, making adjustments where life feels clunky can help you finish the season strong...

What if we decided we weren’t going to let fear of failure, or looking like a fool, keep us from trying new things? Hi, I’m you host, Vanessa, a recovering quick mastery pursuer. As you’ll hear in a funny story on this episode, I’ve struggled with wanting to learn something new, well and fast for my entire life. My guess is, maybe you’ve struggled with longing for quick mastery once or twice too? ...

The transition from spring to summer is one of those season changes that can kind of blend together. There are similarities of the seasons (green grass, warmer weather, spending more time outside etc.), not to mention the transition itself it pretty subtle most of the time. But, there is indeed a distinction between the seasons. And if we don't make that distinction, we will catch ourselves bundli...

The way I see it, if something is going to happen over and over again in life, it deserves a system! Go mode - which I am defining as "multi-day activity or event that takes you out of or away from your normal routine", happens in our lives in most every season at some point or another. Hit play and grab your pens as we dive into five simple steps for quickly systemizing these life adventures! We...

Emotional intelligence has become a buzz word in the past decade. While the concept of EI isn't new, it's found its way to #trending in more recent years. Here's the thing though, emotional intelligence isn't just a "feel good" word, it's a real life skill we want to be honing if we desire growth in relationship with others and mental wellbeing for ourselves. Naturally (or perhaps obviously), EI p...

Welcome to the second episode in our three-part conflict series! In the last episode we talked about engaging in healthy conflict. In this episode, we are flipping the page, and doing a deep dive into the less enjoyable side of conflict, the unhealthy, unresolved, deep rooted kind. Deep rooted conflict can pop up in organizations, churches, and honestly even our day-to-day relationships with famil...

Welcome to the conflict management series part one. In this three part series, we are going to talk about all things conflict. Though conflict can be super uncomfortable at times, it is an essential part of life for growth, relational closeness, and efficiency. So I figured if we can't avoid it, we might as well learn from some of the best! In part 1, Stacy (my sweet sister) joins us to bestow her...

Have you ever noticed how organized people tend to have the most responsibility entrusted to them? In this episode, organizations role in productivity, we dive into this notion and talk about what it looks like to coach (others or ourselves) when organization doesn’t come naturally.  I am a firm believer that disorganization leads to inefficiency.  And in a world where very few of us are overloade...

Ever find yourself in the midst of a motivational funk? Like nothing sounds fun, or maybe even manageable? You are not alone! All of us will find ourselves in this space at different times throughout our lives.  In today’s episode, I share about five lessons I’ve learned for climbing out of the pit.  The five lessons we hit on are:  Doing a self-assessment  Identify what actually matters right now...

You know what is sure, but hard? Change. We all experience it - it is one of those unavoidable life things. Relationships, jobs, locations, our days, they all change as we grow.  We wish there was an easy button to conquer the mountains change can bring.  Though I can’t give you an “easy button”, I do have seven hacks for leaning in and living present during change.  Tune in today to learn more! ...

As a podcaster who loves to talk about seasons of life, it seemed fitting to start a seasons change series to talk about the physical changes of the season! Welcome to the first episode in the series - seasons change, spring edition! Nature has a lot to teach us about life if we are willing to pay attention. As with the new life spring brings, new adventures, relationships, jobs, hobbies and more...

Our needs. Most of us don’t like to talk about them much. In fact, we would like to pretend we don’t have them. Let’s talk about you and your needs instead, that is much more comfortable. Except, we can only deny our needs or fail to even consider what they might be for so long, before our bodies, hearts, and minds wear out.  Why do we let ourselves get to the brink of breaking before we are willi...

Tune in to hear a life update and our wildly exciting plans for 2024! We talk about all that has happened in the past couple of months, and our dreams for the upcoming year. Here are some important links to note! You can follow Inspiring Heights on: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/inspiringheights/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/InspiringHeightsPodcast Sign up for exciting (not spam) upda...

As we discussed in episode 48, January 2024 is going to be a month of throwbacks to the archives! This first one is a deep throwback all the way to the beginning; Identifying Your Season! Seasons are one of my favorite things to talk about on the show. I hope this throwback is inspiring and helpful to you! "Autumn Day" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution...

Friends! I hope you had an amazing Christmas season! I am excited to tell you a few things! First, I am taking the month of January off to re-set and renew in preparation for 2024. We will be re-running old beloved episodes while I am away. I have so many exciting ideas I can't wait to bring you when we return in February! Check out the podcast for more details. Thank you for an amazing year! "Aut...

The shepherds, like so many others in the Christmas story, exhibited quick obedience on their call to visit Jesus in the manager. Through their obedience came great joy which spilled over in their conversations with those around them. Our hope as we dive into this conversation, is that we all leave inspired to let the joy of The Lord in our hearts, spill over into our daily conversations and actio...

We are introduced to the shepherds of the Christmas story in Luke 2. Just as Jesus does in His time on earth, God's choice for the shepherds to be one of the first groups to hear about the birth of Christ, is ladened with beautiful imagery. Join in for this episode as we talk about God's heart and these humble shepherds. The music in today's episode is "Angels We Have Heard on High" Kevin MacLeod...

Worship can so often be tied to somber reflectiveness, which is one beautiful component of worship. The wiseman show us worship can also be loud and joyful, yet another beautiful component of worship. Join us today as we unpack the Wiseman's confrontation with king Herod and their interactions with Mary and Jospeh. The music in today's episode is "Angels We Have Heard on High" Kevin MacLeod (incom...

We are first introduced to the Wiseman in Matthew 2. The Wiseman experienced an unexpected call on their time and their focus to visit Jesus when He was born and proclaim Him King of the Jews. Join us today as we dive into the Wiseman's story of their visit to Jesus. The music in today's episode is "Angels We Have Heard on High" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)   Licensed under Creative Commons: By...

Show of hands, how many of you skip over all those big, long, hard to pronounce names we find in Matthew 1!? I hear you! But, while those names are hard to pronounce, God's word gives us the genealogy for a critical reason! Tune into today's episode while we unpack this long line of names and why they matter, even today! The music in today's episode is "Angels We Have Heard on High" Kevin MacLeod...

As we are introduced to Joseph in Matthew 1, we get a glimpse of his heart of obedience to the unexpected call God has placed on his life. Join us as we unpack Jospeh's role in the Christmas story and learn from his willingness to say yes. The music in today's episode is "Angels We Have Heard on High" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)   Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License   h...

After Mary visits Elizabeth, we see this dramatic shift in her processing of what is to come. She transitions out of what we can only imagine to be shock, into a complete heart of worship. We can learn a lot from Mary about what it looks like to hold a posture of worship, even when circumstances are challenging. Join in today as we unpack Mary's song in Luke 1:46-55. The music in today's episode i...