Summary

In this episode, Jennifer Parr explores what it means to win in life according to God's design, contrasting it with worldly standards. She discusses the importance of redefining success and failure, focusing on service over self, and the necessity of rest for productivity. The conversation emphasizes living with intentionality and purpose, serving others, and recognizing one's worth in God's eyes.

Key Takeaways

• Winning in life is about God's design, not worldly standards.
• Success is connected to intentionality and purpose, not just happiness.
• Service to others is more valuable than self-centered pursuits.
• Rest is essential for productivity and well-being.
• Women are essential and valued in God's eyes.

Jennifer

Hi, I'm Jennifer Parr, a wife and a mother of two. A few years ago, I stepped away from a highly successful corporate career to focus on a different calling. One centered on my family and fulfilling God's purpose for my life. Along the way, I discovered something important that true winning isn't about how much money you make or the titles that you hold.

Jennifer

It's about living a life of significance in aligning your success with God's plan. Welcome to the Winning Women podcast, where we redefine what it means to win but win God's way, not the world's way. Whether you're thriving in your career, navigating a season of transition or a stay at home Mama, this beat is for you. Together, we'll explore how to embrace purpose, balance, success, the significance in our God in every season of life.

Jennifer

If you're ready to become a winning women in every season of your life, you're in the right place. Let's get started.

Jennifer

My friends, I'm so thrilled to have you join me as we kick off this journey together. If you've ever found yourself feeling pulled in a million directions, thriving in some areas while struggling in others, or wondering if the life you're building is really what God intended for you, then this episode is for you. Today we're diving into a topic that's foundational for everything we'll talk about on this podcast, and that is what it truly means to win in life, not by the world's standards, but by God's design.

Jennifer

We'll explore how shifting our perspective can lead to greater fulfillment and how embracing God's way can bring clarity, peace and purpose to every season of life. So grab your favorite drink, settle in, or if you're multitasking, because as women do that very well, just stay focused. But let's start unpacking what it means to win God's way. So before we dive into what it means to truly win and be successful as a woman, I'm going to briefly talk about a topic most women shy away from, and that's failure.

Jennifer

Because let's face it, women, nobody I mean nobody, including myself, wants to fail. But honestly, that's exactly how I ended up here. See if you saw my life on the outside. I was driving, but I was also tired. I was winning in my corporate job as a boss babe. But I felt like I was failing as a wife.

Jennifer

I was winning as a team and people leader. But having a hard time submitting to my husband's leadership at home. I was nurturing mentees, but really not having time to nurture my own kids, let alone the energy. And mommy guilt was so real. Now can we talk about sleep? My watch tracked and reminded me that I was having a hard time shutting my brain off and sleeping less than 5 hours a night.

Jennifer

So battling insomnia and feeling unfulfilled despite what quote unquote, success looked like. Through that failure, I learned some very important lessons. So when you look at your life, do you feel like some areas are thriving but you feel unfulfilled because other areas are being neglected? Or maybe success in one part of your life is creating tension in another.

Jennifer

And if that's the case, are you really winning? If you were burnt out, your spouse and your children feel neglected or you're not really growing spiritually. Thinking about all of this made me realize that we might have the definitions of success and failure completely wrong. As women see, the definition of success is not connected to what makes you happy or keeps you busy, but is connected to your intentionality and purpose.

Jennifer

And that's the first point, my friends, is that winning as a woman, God's way versus the world's way is actually living an intentional life versus living a happy life. I think this is hard because while you're not going to want to hear this and most women don't, and if I'm honest, I didn't want to either. But as winning women, we are not called to an easy life, were called to an intentional life of purpose.

Jennifer

I really, really don't want you to be a winning woman because you want an easier life. For example, you may want that job because if you make more money, you feel like you will be happier. But what if working at that particular job or position is actually keeping you from the things that are more important than being rich?

Jennifer

What if God is calling you to something deeper than what the world defines as happiness? What if he's calling you to pursue a fulfilling life instead? The world might tell you, Hey, if you're not happy, leave that marriage. Quit that job. Move on. But considering that you're not in danger, what if those challenges are actually part of God's plan to make you holy and not just happy?

Jennifer

Second Corinthians 418 reminds us to fix our eyes, not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. Because the eternal outweighs the temporary every time. See, during seasons of learning how to be intentional. Your obedience has to be laser focused forward on where God has taken you and what He's giving you influence over whether that's your home, the family, yourself, people, whoever you serve, and whatever that may be.

Jennifer

Maybe it's even society. Keep in mind that meant leaving my corporate job, that job that I loved so much, but not leaving it because it was easy to leave it because God was calling me to focus on my family in that season that my firm, that was not an easy decision. I'm not saying is for quit your job, sis.

Jennifer

I'm simply asking you what area is God calling you to have a fresh perspective in so that he and only he can grow you. But you have to silence the noise of what I call the pressures of the world to be able to even see that and how you purposely set yourself up for a life that you deserve can be done by one way, and that leads me to the second point, and that is winning as a woman is to focus on service over self.

Jennifer

It's so easy to focus on yourself because messages that glorify self are all over. I mean, think about it. We're encouraged to look inward and always go on a journey of self-discovery. Do things that make us happy. Perhaps ignore judgment. Maybe you've even been told to follow your heart and focus entirely on yourself. And while it may be healthy to focus on yourself for a season, to heal, to grow, to grieve, I think long periods of what I would call selfishness.

Jennifer

BE What has led you to feeling unfulfilled in certain areas of your life? I think God encourages us to love him and serve others, but it's hard. It's so hard to do this when we're more consumed with ourselves. Self ideology doesn't only impact how others views, but I think it affects our confidence as women to being self-confident can easily be faked.

Jennifer

We can Photoshop it, we can throw out all these positive affirmations. We think of stage our photos and so forth, and act confident, but still struggle with insecurity on the inside. And this is shame for believing in yourself. I think while that's healthy to use as short term encouragement, the truth is that believing that you can save yourself is directly opposed to the gospel truth that we all fall short.

Jennifer

We desperately all need a savior to redeem us in transformers from the inside out so the world may tell you to look inward for self-confidence and self-worth, but God's truth reminds us to rely on him. And I think either extreme of having this high self-confidence or believing in yourself and all these self messages lead us away from God's plan for us.

Jennifer

Because when we place our trust in Him instead of ourselves, we are equipped to win in ways that truly matter. I think living a life of service is just way more fruitful, in my opinion, than winning in a life where you look back and you really only served yourself. I can confidently say that ever since I prayed about creating more margin for me to serve my family better, leaving my job and going to a one income household for my family, a ministry in all the areas of our life has significantly increased.

Jennifer

So once again, I'm not saying quit your job, but I'm simply asking you what is God calling you to have a fresh perspective in so that he can grow you? So instead, shifting your focus from not seeing things on what you can get as simply what you can give. I can't speak for all men, but if you're single, I can't say that one of the most attractive traits to a man is a woman with a servant heart, because they know that that posture alone can transform any environment in a positive way.

Jennifer

So you may be listening and you're like, This just sounds like a lot of things that we have to do as women. So finally, let's talk about rest, something that many of us, including you, probably struggle with. And so the third and final point, when it comes to winning God's way, I think it means learning to work from a place of rest instead of working to rest.

Jennifer

If you're listening to this is how are you doing? Like, really? How are you telling? I think rest is something that we hear a lot about. But do we really know how to rest, especially as women? The world's solution is work, work, work. And then maybe find time to rest whenever you can. But how is that working? Are you honestly able to have a healthy, consistent life of rest?

Jennifer

I learned this the hard way, and I don't care how strong women we are because we are. We are pretty strong. I mean, we're pretty resilient. Our bodies respond to a very differently to stress. For me, I break out. I can always saw seasons where I'm a little bit more stressed because my skin reflects it. But for you, you may gain weight, your shoulders may tense up Women.

Jennifer

Sometimes we develop tumors since our bodies have an incredible way of telling us it's something. Something is imbalanced. But do we listen? Do you listen? Winning as a woman is being productive, but working from a place of rest. For me, that looks like starting my day, prioritizing God's presence above all else, and letting that guide how I serve my family and community.

Jennifer

That means starting my day, even if it means waking up at 530 and connecting with God and caring for my temple, which as a result allows me to serve my family, my job, our ministry has been and others way better than if I started my day off in a different mindset. You may not have family or you may just be in a different season of life, but no matter what season of life you're in, starting your day, resting in God's presence is one of the most valuable things that we can do as women.

Jennifer

And rest isn't just about taking a nap or going on vacation. While that is nice, but it's really centered around five things that I learned from the ruthless elimination of Hurry. And that's a book by John Mark Coleman. And he talks about rest in five categories. Relaxing, reflecting, reconnecting, relating and rejoicing to relaxing simply means that is crucial to understand that we're more than just working machines.

Jennifer

As women, our bodies and minds need rest to function well. Another way to rest is by reflecting. And that means taking time to think about your life, focusing on areas where you can grow in areas where you've already made progress. Another area or type of rest is reconnecting, maybe taking a break from the business of life and focusing on reconnecting with God, spending time in his word, being in his presence without any distractions.

Jennifer

Also relating that simply setting aside uninterrupted time to strengthen your relationship with loved ones. And then finally, a form of rest is also rejoicing, taking joy inches, simply reflecting on and appreciating what God has done in your life. So what does this look like for you or your family? Maybe if you're single, you're dedicating a day to limited technology.

Jennifer

Maybe you're reading Slowing down, learning a new trade, a passion project. If you're married, maybe they're scheduling a date night, weekly free on the calendar. Get the babysitter. If you're retired, maybe that's taking time to enjoy and reflecting and appreciating on what God has done for you in your life. These are all ways that we can rest without assuming.

Jennifer

The rest means that we have to be asleep or not be doing anything. And so as I close, you may be hearing this and thinking about your worth and your significance. Maybe you've been told that women really don't matter as much as men and women are the sacrificing. We're the ones that give up our careers. We're the ones that come and save the day.

Jennifer

We're the ones that are giving up whatever it is so that the man can succeed. Men. I could do a whole study on this topic alone. But while the world says that women may not matter, God says women are essential. We are a masterpiece. That comes straight from Ephesians 210. I mean, he put Adam to sleep to create Eve, but he created her in such a tender way, which matches women leaning into being soft and tender.

Jennifer

So if no one ever made you feel like you matter, or you're in a season where you're questioning your worth or your value since you matter to God, and that is enough. And so as this episode comes to a close. Fast forward to that career in life that had me thriving but left me so tired to my new life as what I would call being the CEO chief encouragement officer of my home.

Jennifer

And whew, I feel like I'm more loving and probably a nicer wife. You have to ask, Alan, but I think you would agree. I mean, I'm definitely a more intentional mom, and I only say yes to opportunities and things that align with my purpose. That includes relationships. And so I'll close with this question. What do you benefit if you gain the whole world but you lose your soul?

Jennifer

Winning God's way may look different from the world's perspective, but it leaves the true fulfillment internal rewards. Let us run with perseverance. The race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and the perfector of faith. That's been Hebrews 12. So recapping this episode, remember that winning God's way is understanding that you're not entitled to a carefree, happy life, but we're called to an intentional life of purpose instead.

Jennifer

Maybe be more intentional about serving others when it's uncomfortable. Be more intentional to love your neighbor or that person who thinks differently from you, even when it's hard. I mean, true. Winning isn't easy, but it's so worth it. Select commit to living with intentionality, serving others, and working from a place of rest. And together we can live in ways that honor God and bring lasting fulfillment.

Jennifer

I pray that you stick around this season because we're going to unpack so much more. But for now, feel free to download this episode story. Add it to your favorites so you can come back to it. And weapons any time. In the meantime, I'm also on Instagram and Facebook where we can connect, and I would love to hear how God may be growing you, which is nudging you to have a different perspective on winning as a woman.

Jennifer

So says, Thank you for listening. Go win this week. They'll be great and make God proud. Bye for now.