Week #12 – Enough (with Jennifer Bryant) - Rise and Write with Grace & James

Week #12 – Enough (with Jennifer Bryant)

In Episode #12 we interviewed Jennifer Bryant — writer, speaker, author, podcaster, student, teacher, and restaurant owner! (Did anyone say “fish tacos?”) We talked about education, enough-ness, and how exactly she got her very first book (an Advent devotional) printed and published in just two short months! (Available now on Amazon!)

I expected to talk to Jenn about her new book (which is beautiful, by the way!) and just how she got it printed and published in such a short time. What I didn’t expect was to get into the topic of “enough-ness” and how that transcends the heart of busy homeschool moms — to affect creatives as well!

Because how many times do we feel that we aren’t “enough?” That what we have to offer isn’t enough? What we have to say isn’t enough? Or how about who we are? How much time we have? Our time? Our resources? Our money? Our worth?

And oh, her take on education! Can we just talk about this quote on the battle of information vs. understanding:

“The more that we’re aware of ourselves and other people, how to think about things, the more personal power and autonomy we have to affect positive change in this world.”

And as creatives, isn’t THAT exactly what we are setting out to do?

In addition to education and enoughness, here’s what else we talked with Jenn about:

00:00 – INTRODUCTION – we introduce Jenn Bryant: writer, podcaster, author, student, teacher, restaurant owner, and ask her what it means to have a “practical family?”
01:00 – PRACTICAL FAMILY – Jenn explains what “practical family” means: domestic life, practical, pragmatic, education, organization, worry about the stuff that really matters; emotional/moral support that you don’t have to do all the things to be worthy as a mom; enough-ness; science and theory behind “enough ness”
06:00 – ENOUGHNESS – Jennifer talks about how to give yourself permission to be “enough;” the all or nothing thinking for moms and creatives that keeps us from feeling “enough”; and her use of timer as an antidote to “enough”
08:30 – WHERE DOES IT COME FROM – we ask Jenn where “enough-ness” comes from; family of origin; any grown up who’s raised you, internalized messaging that manifests as perfectionism, paralysis, boundaries; how it manifests in creatives
14:00 – MOST RECENT WIN – Jenn tells us about her book and how it came to be; how she self published through Amazon and Ingramspark; using repurposed content; “How hard can this be?” Turns out, Jenn admits, it was pretty hard!
16:45 – PARTNERSHIPS – Jennifer talks about the people that she worked with to get it done; “working in partnership with folks who can do certain pieces for you of the publishing process was gold.”
17:30 – KEY POINTS – repurposed material; repackaged; hiring on Fiverr; asking for what you want things to look/feel/sound/etc.to get the product you’re happy with.
19:49 – TIMELINE – September to November
21:00 – INTERACTIVE – using recipes and lyrics to create an interactive experience
22:19 – STRUCTURE – for Jenn, every day is different; time blocking works; timers; using google calendar for color blocking time; using Calendly for scheduling and coordinating time; “As a creative, you have to know yourself; you have to be kind to yourself; and you have to put tools in place that help you.”
28:30 – QUESTIONS – Jenn talks about how she’s handling questions about “how to publish a book;”
31:00 – EXPECTATIONS – Jenn talks about the importance of asking questions and sharing information in order to move projects forward.
32:50 – WHAT TIME DO YOU START YOUR DAY – Jenn admits that she gets up a little later (7am) and doesn’t start the kids until later; (mom of the year right there!)
34:24 – EDUCATION – Jim asks Jenn why education is so important to her (for kids and adults) and what it means to be “educated.” “The more that we’re aware of ourselves and other people, how to think about things, the more personal power and autonomy we have to affect positive change in this world.” The battle of information vs. understanding; the more we press into understanding each other, the more empathy we have for each other; the more we able to love better.” “To help others, to love others better, and learn to be an effective force in the world.”
38:25 – WHAT’S NEXT – focusing on “enough-ness” in 2022; Jenn shares her whiteboard with us;
41:25 – WHERE TO FIND JENN – praticalfamily.org; TikTok; YouTube; podcast
43:00 – TROLLS – why Jenn’s book appeared on atheists’ Facebook feeds; and how it affected her book sales!
44:30 – GRACE & JIM WRAP UP – wrestling with enough; what’s enough, who’s enough, how do you know it’s enough?

What about you?

Want to add to the conversation? We would love to talk with you about your experiences with content creating, collaborating, and keeping fun company for the journey! Join us in our private Facebook group where we break these discussions down each week, share tools and techniques, and hold each other accountable to the work we have been called to create.

Because we know it’s hard…we want to talk about how!

Up next: Tune in to our Facebook page tomorrow when Jim and I celebrate Week #13 with a quick recap of our first “season” of vod-cast episodes, what we’ve learned, and where we’re headed!

Until then, set your alarm for whatever time YOU feel most creative and productive, and then…

Rise and Write!
Grace

About Our Guest:

Jennifer Bryant is a writer and podcaster at PracticalFamily.org. She is the host of the Practical Family Podcast and coaches moms through their homeschooling and parenting journeys. She holds a degree in Christian Studies (Bible Theology and Philosophy), certification in Christian apologetics and Master’s level training in education. She hosts book studies with women and families in person and online on motherhood, parenting, and Biblical education. Jenn and Bruce have been married 15 years and together they own the best fish taco restaurant in town. They live in Honolulu, Hawaii, raising two precious pre-teens, and enjoying homeschooling in Hawaii and on the road as often as they can travel. Follow her fun videos of family and mom life on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. Podcast interviews available on YouTube.

LINKS
NEW BOOK: 25 Days of Jesus: An Advent Journey through the Gospel of Luke
Available on Amazon & Barnes & Noble https://practicalfamily.org/25daysofjesus/

BLOG/PODCAST: https://practicalfamily.org