Your children are grown, but you’re still busy. And when you finally sit down, your mind starts listing everything else you should be doing. How do you make room for rest when being productive has become such a familiar part of your life?

In this episode of Called to Rise: Empty Nest, New Season, we’re exploring the power of rest and what it means to build a next chapter with room for both meaningful goals and time to enjoy your life.

Drawing on Elder Patrick Kearon’s message “Peace and Rest, Even Now,” I share reflections on faith, productivity, and the habit of filling every available minute. We’ll also look at research on breaks during learning and try a simple practice for slowing down.

In This Episode:

• The connection between busyness, identity, and self-worth.

• Faith-centered reflections on rest and making room for your next chapter.

• A ten-minute practice to help you slow down.

This Week’s Practice:

Set aside ten minutes with no new input. Put your phone in another room, leave the podcast or book for later, and sit outside, take a slow walk, or lie down. Notice the urge to make the time useful without immediately acting on it.

Then ask yourself: “Where do I need less?” Choose one commitment or habit to reconsider.

5 Takeaways:

1. An empty nest doesn’t automatically create a lighter schedule. Making room for rest takes intention.

2. Your worth before God stays the same, whether you finish your list or leave things undone.

3. Brief breaks can support learning. Filling every pause with more information leaves little time for reflection.

4. Consider what you want to do less of as you picture your next chapter.

5. Rest belongs in the life you’re living now, even while some questions remain unanswered.

Resources & Links:

The Next Chapter Intensive:
Twelve weeks of small-group coaching to clarify what you want, work through the patterns that hold you back, and take practical steps toward your next chapter. Begins November 3, 2026. Tuesdays, 4–5 p.m. Mountain Time. Maximum ten women; includes one private coaching session.
https://calledtorisecoaching.com/move

Free Next Chapter Clarity Workbook:
https://calledtorisecoaching.com/free

Called to Rise Coaching:
https://calledtorisecoaching.com/

Elder Patrick Kearon, “Peace and Rest, Even Now”:
https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/patrick-kearon/peace-and-rest-even-now/

Research discussed: Rest and motor-skill learning:
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8259719/

Scriptures Cited:

Isaiah 30:15

Luke 5:16

Mark 4:38

Mark 6:31

Know someone who has trouble resting while there’s still something left to do? Share this episode with her, and follow Called to Rise: Empty Nest, New Season on Spotify or Apple Podcasts for new episodes every Tuesday.

The house may be quieter, friend. But your life is still speaking.

Do you keep putting off something important because you're afraid you won't do it well enough? Perfectionism can fuel procrastination, all-or-nothing thinking, and harsh self-talk, especially as you're figuring out what comes next after the empty nest.

In this episode of Called to Rise: Empty Nest, New Season, Denise Hines shares a practical tool called Purpose Over Perfect to help you move forward, learn from mistakes, and stop measuring your worth by what you accomplish.

If you're an empty-nest woman ready to get clear about what you want next and begin taking meaningful steps toward it, The Next Chapter Intensive offers 12 weeks of small-group coaching, practical tools, accountability, and a private coaching session.

Our next group begins November 3, 2026, with just 10 spots available.

Learn more: https://calledtorisecoaching.com/move

In This Episode:

• How perfectionism can disguise itself as responsibility, high standards, or even trying to be a good Christian woman

• Why all-or-nothing thinking leads to procrastination and keeps us from pursuing meaningful goals

• How to separate your worth from your accomplishments, parenting outcomes, and other things you cannot control

• The four Purpose Over Perfect questions that help you recognize what matters and take action

This Week's Practice: Choose one thing you've been delaying because you're worried you won't do it well enough.

Ask yourself:

1. What is the purpose here?

2. What matters most?

3. What does this need to accomplish?

4. What can get better later?

Then follow through on a reasonable first version.

Afterward, ask yourself: Did it serve its purpose? What did I learn? What might I do differently next time?

5 Key Takeaways:

1. Perfectionism can keep you stuck. Fear of making mistakes or disappointing others can make preparing feel safer than getting started.

2. Your worth is not measured by your productivity. An unfinished task, difficult relationship, or disappointing outcome does not determine your value.

3. All-or-nothing thinking makes progress harder. Small, imperfect steps still count.

4. You can take responsibility without controlling every outcome. Your efforts matter, and so do other people's choices and agency.

5. Evaluate your efforts instead of judging yourself. Learn what worked, make necessary changes, and keep moving forward.

Resources:The Next Chapter Intensive

A 12-week small-group coaching experience for empty-nest women who want clarity, confidence, and practical support in creating their next chapter.

https://calledtorisecoaching.com/move

Free Next Chapter Clarity Workbook

Start exploring what you want in this next season of life.

https://calledtorisecoaching.com/free

References:Ether 12:27: The Lord knows our weaknesses and offers grace to help us grow.

Let's Stay Connected!

Know a woman who is always hard on herself or keeps putting off something she wants to do? Share this episode with her.

Follow Called to Rise: Empty Nest, New Season on Spotify or Apple Podcasts for weekly conversations about faith, personal growth, finding purpose after the empty nest, and creating a meaningful next chapter.

Have you ever automatically said, “No, I’m fine. I’ve got it,” when you very clearly did not have it?

For capable women who have spent years figuring things out, asking for help can feel harder than it should. We know how to solve problems, take care of people, and keep moving. But somewhere along the way, “I can figure this out” can turn into “I should be able to figure everything out on my own.”

In this episode of Called to Rise: Empty Nest, New Season, I’m sharing how that pattern showed up in my own life, from a photography business I was almost too scared to tell anyone about to finally building Called to Rise with coaching, community, and support around me.

We’ll talk about why knowing what to do isn’t always enough, what may actually be keeping you stuck, and why accepting support doesn’t make you less capable.

In This Episode:

• Why asking for help can feel so uncomfortable

• What “Lone Rangering it” looked like in my own life

• The difference between knowing what to do and actually doing it

• Why support can help you see patterns you miss on your own

This Week's Practice:

Think of one area where you’ve been trying to figure everything out alone.

Ask yourself:

What kind of support would help me move?

5 Key Takeaways:

1. Being capable does not mean you have to do everything alone.

2. Knowing what to do and understanding why you aren’t doing it are different things.

3. Support can help you recognize patterns that are hard to see from inside them.

4. Asking for help does not take away your agency. You are still making the decisions and doing the work.

5. Sometimes progress begins when you stop preparing in private and let yourself be seen.

Resources:

Next Chapter Clarity Workbook - A free workbook to help you get clear on what you want in this next chapter: calledtorisecoaching.com/free

Next Chapter Intensive - Learn more about the 12-week coaching experience: calledtorisecoaching.com/move

References:

Exodus 18

If you’re listening when this episode releases, the next 12-week Next Chapter Intensive begins tomorrow.

If you’ve been circling something that matters to you and trying to figure it all out alone, come take a look:

calledtorisecoaching.com/move

If this episode helped you, follow Called to Rise: Empty Nest, New Season so you don’t miss what’s coming next.

And if you know another woman who insists she’s “fine” while carrying everything herself, send this episode her way.

Being capable doesn’t mean you have to do it all alone.