Make Space to Thrive
 

Make Space to Thrive

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Episodes

Meaningful and self-compassionate productivity for Christian women.

Episodes

Cultivating a Life-Giving Calendar with Sherrie Williams

Tuesday Jan 13, 2026

Tuesday Jan 13, 2026

🖨️ Download Sherrie’s free Value Filter → https://www.sherrieanne.com/cultivatevalues

✨ Join the Evergreen Entrepreneurs waitlist: https://www.evergreenplanner.com/pages/evergreen-entrepreneur

Before we dive in, you should know: this episode is really special.

It’s not just a beautiful conversation with our first official podcast guest—it’s a glimpse into how God used a breaking point behind the scenes of Evergreen Planner to reveal just how essential it is to apply Evergreen principles everywhere, including our business.

This interview was recorded during a season when things felt fragile. We’d just walked through a painful breakdown with a former contractor. Due to sheer inexperience on our part, the backend of the business we’d built in the margins of our motherhood was clunky. All of the untouched inefficiencies we’d hired the contractor to solve were draining the very margin we were teaching women to protect. I (Shelby) remember sitting down to record this conversation with a new acquaintance, holding back raw, weary tears. I had no idea how we were going to bring order out of the chaos.

God’s Providence is so astounding and kind. The woman you’re about to meet—Sherrie Williams—was His next step in answering our prayers.

At the time, she was “just” our guest: a homeschooling mama of six, a doula, and an online business manager with an uncanny ability to cultivate time with intention. I had no idea that God would later use her to bring life-giving order to our business in a way we’d never experienced before.

This conversation is about so much more than scheduling or systems. It’s about alignment. About building—whether a home, a homeschool, or a business—in a way that deeply supports what is most valuable in life instead of competing with it.

If you’ve ever felt the tug-of-war between being fully present for your family and juggling the opportunities that come your way, this episode will meet you right where you are.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

  • How Sherrie uses core values as a practical filter for her calendar
  • Why every yes costs something—and a rubric for deciding intentionally
  • How being careful with your “yeses” doesn’t mean pruning the unique, tiny ways God has called you to bless others
  • Real-life ways to stack functions so relationships, work, and homeschool support one another

Scripture mentioned

Genesis 1–2 (theme): God bringing order from chaos with beauty and intention

Genesis 2:15 (theme): Cultivating what God has entrusted to us

Resources & next steps

An invitation for fellow business mamas

We believe you have wildly important things to do in this world, too. Some of them may involve larger-scale operations than you yet know how to manage, working with a team, and other things that are requiring you to up-skill.

If you’re currently building a business, writing a book, or stewarding a project that requires real operations, decision-making, and sustainability—we’re creating something for you.

Very soon, we’re opening Operations Office Hours inside the Evergreen Membership, led bu Sherrie Williams.

These are live, open sessions where homeschooling mamas can bring real questions from their work—capacity, rhythms, systems, seasons, decision-making—and get grounded, life-giving help applying Evergreen planning principles to the backend of what they’re building.

As we describe in this episode, Sherrie has been applying these principles to the backend of Evergreen Planner itself—bringing order, clarity, and sustainable rhythms to our operations in a way that has been deeply life-giving for our families and our team.

If you’re already part of the Evergreen Membership, these office hours are included for you.

If you’re not yet a member, you can join the waitlist for more information: https://www.evergreenplanner.com/pages/evergreen-entrepreneur

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There is STILL Enough Time for a Peaceful Christmas

Tuesday Dec 23, 2025

Tuesday Dec 23, 2025

✨ Feeling behind this Christmas? You won’t want to miss the encouragement in this episode.

If you’re feeling the constant tug between slowing down to worship and scrambling to “pull Christmas off,” this episode is for you. In this gentle, honest conversation, we remind weary mamas of this freeing truth: you are not the provider of Christmas—Christ already accomplished it. There is STILL enough time for peace, reverence, and real joy, even if the season hasn’t gone according to plan.

In this episode, McCauley and Shelby discuss…

  • Why the pressure to perform intensifies during December—and the mindset shift our hearts need to truly rest
  • The difference between celebrating what Christ has done and misaligned strivings
  • How children remember the spirit of the home, not a “Christmas success” checklist
  • A gentle reframe from the traditional liturgical calendar that can offer relief, margin, and worship—even in sickness, chaos, or unmet expectations

🎧 Listening Note: This episode was recorded during the annual virtual Christmas Planner Party we hosted within our Evergreen Membership! 🎄

After concluding the live podcast segment, we went on to cozy up with our hot drinks and have a lovely discussion with our Members. We were especially thankful for the wisdom on liturgical rhythms shared by our new partner, Allison Misulia, from Married and a House.

Afterwards, we all walked through a practical planning exercise for tackling any last-minute Christmas overwhelm and enjoyed a Q&A!

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Scripture mentioned

  • Isaiah 9:6 — “For to us a Child is born…” (Prince of Peace)
  • Matthew 1:23 — “They shall call His name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.”

Resources & next steps

🌿 Ready to uncover enough time for everything God is calling you to do?

Enroll in Renew January 2026, our live 6-week onboarding into the Evergreen Planning Method. This is the practical path out of endless striving and into a life-giving planning rhythm that keeps Christ at the center of your days. Our course integrates modern research in executive function with timeless Biblical principles to present a system that develops to supports you throughout any season. Our students call it “life-changing!”

Doors close on Renew January on 1/10.

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If you’re finding your spirit groaning “I just want to enjoy Him and my family without feeling behind,” this episode is your cue to lay the pressure down and let Christ carry the weight of Christmas.

Shop: evergreenplanner.com

Instagram: @EvergreenPlanner

YouTube: @EvergreenPlanner

Quiz: evergreenplanner.com/quiz

SEO: Christian time management | planning for homeschool moms | biblical productivity | sustainable daily rhythms | reducing overwhelm | setting ROOTED goals | women’s goal setting | functional planning

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Numbering Our Days: Our Story & Renew Course Overview

Tuesday Dec 09, 2025

Tuesday Dec 09, 2025

Time-management is, in and of itself, a SKILL that takes time to learn.

This is a long episode, but worth it if you want a full overview of our methodology (and a whole lot of practical encouragement along the way).

In the first part, we tell the origin story of Evergreen: how a 9 page to-do list, a breaking point, and Psalm 90:12 led us to ask God for wisdom in our approach to time-management—and how over the next decade He led us to see that His Word was overflowing with answers to the challenges we faced each day.

In the second part, we walk you through a full overview of the Renew course. We recorded this before our recent rebrand so the language in the course will be a little bit different here and there. But the heart and life-changing promise remains the same—there is enough time for everything God is truly calling you to do.

Note: we mentioned a video a few times in this episode but ended up changing the way this episode was released. We eventually may put something together with the photos we mentioned inside our membership!

Scripture mentioned

  • Psalm 90:12 – “Teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.”
  • Genesis 1:14–19 – God placing the sun, moon, and stars as markers for “signs and for seasons, and for days and years.”
  • 2 Peter 1:3 – God giving us “everything we need for life and godliness.”

Resources & next steps

  • You Are A Tree by Joy Clarkson
  • Learn the full Evergreen Planning Method inside our six-week Renew course, where we walk you step-by-step through the exact practices we talk about in this episode.
  • Want to stay consistent with a life-giving daily habit? Our analog planner makes it simple to apply the Evergreen Planning Method in a screen-free, nourishing environment that anchors you in the quiet authority you’ve been given to take radical personal responsibility for the hours of your real life.

If your heart keeps whispering, “There has to be a better way…”—this episode is your invitation to stop trying to figure it all out under pressure and on the fly and start making the space you need to take dominion of the way you invest your most precious resource, time.

P.S. In this episode, we mentioned our productivity personality. You can learn yours now, free and in about a minute, at evergreenplanner.com/quiz

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Web: evergreenplanner.com

Instagram: @EvergreenPlanner

YouTube: @EvergreenPlanner

Get started with the Evergreen Planning Method by taking our quiz: https://www.evergreenplanner.com/quiz 

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SEO: Christian time management tips | planning for homeschool moms | planning for family business | self-care | Reducing decision fatigue | Biblical self-care practices | Christian productivity strategies | Building daily routines | How planning reduces stress | Setting priorities with intentionality | Creating margin in your life | Faith-based time management

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Episode 27: Why Planning is the Most Underrated Form of Self Care, Part 2

Thursday May 22, 2025

Thursday May 22, 2025

✨ Overwhelmed? Knowing your productivity personality makes all the difference: https://form.typeform.com/to/X1h33hT5

🗣️ Submit a question for the podcast: https://www.evergreenplanner.com/pages/podcast

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Here's the rest of Shelby and McCauley’s conversation from September about why planning is one of the most powerful, yet underrated, forms of self-care.

In this episode:

  • Unexpected directions your self-care will take when you use a planner
  • Cultivating deep seated happiness that cannot be robbed by external circumstances
  • How making progress on your goals actually nourishes your life

Biblical References:

  • Acts 16:16-40

Resources Mentioned in This Episode:

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Web: evergreenplanner.com

Instagram: @EvergreenPlanner

YouTube: @EvergreenPlanner

Learn the Evergreen Planning Method: https://www.evergreenplanner.com/pages/epm-membership-classic-renew 

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SEO: Christian time management tips | planning for homeschool moms | planning for family business | self-care | Reducing decision fatigue | Biblical self-care practices | Christian productivity strategies | Building daily routines | How planning reduces stress | Setting priorities with intentionality | Creating margin in your life | Faith-based time management

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Episode 26: When Life Falls Apart: A Personal Update from the Evergreen Founders

Tuesday May 13, 2025

Tuesday May 13, 2025

✨ Overwhelmed? Knowing your productivity personality makes all the difference: https://form.typeform.com/to/X1h33hT5

🌿 Discover "enough time" with our Free Crash Course for Homeschool Mamas: evergreenplanner.com/homeschool

In this personal update, Shelby and McCauley reflect on walking through a recent “wildfire season”—a time of deep personal trial and pruning. Drawing parallels to redwood forests, they explain how literal wildfires are necessary for redwoods to thrive, clearing out competing growth and enriching the soil. In the same way, God often uses spiritual wildfire seasons to burn away what’s no longer serving His purposes in our lives—making space for something stronger and more enduring to grow.

They share how they had to lay down their business plans, rhythms, and even personal productivity systems during this season and enter into a period of deep surrender and trust in the Master Gardner.

Now, emerging into a season of rebuilding, they are using the Evergreen Planning Method not as a tool for control, but as a way to faithfully redeem the time and flex with God’s Providence. They discuss the reality that planning isn't about preventing hardship—it's about tenaciously following through on personal responsibility while remaining surrendered to the word God is doing.

The Evergreen Planning Method is designed to support women through all seasons of life—including the messy and unpredictable ones. This episode looks at the EPM from the vantage point of grabbing ahold of a Revival Season after the trials of the Wildfire.

Resources Mentioned in This Episode:

  • **Homeschool Mama Mini Crash Course** - Weave wonder, discipleship, and rich learning experiences into your days—without ignoring all of your other responsibilities or burning out.
  • The Renew Course – A 6-week deep dive for organizing your schedule and mastering a Christ-honoring approach time-management using the Evergreen Planning Method.
  • The Evergreen Planner – Redeem your time with this gorgeous leather-bound system.

📖 Scriptures Referenced: Romans 8:28; James 4:13-15; Psalm 90:12; Genesis 1; 2 Peter 1:3; Matthew 3:12-14; Hebrews 12:29

🤓 Nerd note from Shelby: Since recording this episode, I’ve learned that the National Park Service is now claiming that there are thousands of redwoods between 2,000-3,000 years old and a few possibly as much as 4,000 years old. Using the traditional Biblical chronology, Noah’s flood would have been in 2350 BC—about 4359 years ago. While researching for the kids’ lessons on this topic, I came across an article by the Institute for Creation Resource that connected the planting of the redwood forest to Noah’s flood. We say in this video that the redwood forests are older than all of the wonders of the world, but the National Park Service now says that earlier published ages for the redwoods were exaggerated. Even so, the groves themselves still could technically have been planted before the pyramids were built—even if the oldest original trees do not still remain.

🌿 Related Resources:

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🎧 Subscribe on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/make-space-to-thrive/id1588587854

Instagram: @EvergreenPlanner

▶️ Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/mpkcLD2Ej6o

🛒 Shop Planner: evergreenplanner.com

📚 Learn the Method: evergreenplanner.com/renew

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SEO Tags:

Evergreen Planner | wildfire season | Christian time management tips | Biblical time stewardship | Planning with God in mind | Christian productivity for moms | Proverbs 31 | Spiritual growth through hard seasons | Biblical approach to planning | Trusting God with time | Rhythms and routines for Christian women | What to do in seasons of crisis | Planning after burnout | Gospel-centered planning tools | Redeeming the time | Time management for Christian homemakers | leather planner | travelers journal | bullet journaling

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Episode 25: Why Planning is the Most Underrated Form of Self Care, Part 1

Tuesday Sep 24, 2024

Tuesday Sep 24, 2024

✨ Overwhelmed? Knowing your productivity personality makes all the difference: https://form.typeform.com/to/X1h33hT5

🗣️ Submit a question for the podcast: https://www.evergreenplanner.com/pages/podcast

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Spent? In this episode, Shelby and McCauley dive into why planning is one of the most powerful, yet underrated, forms of self-care. They explore how intentional planning not only helps you manage your time but also reduces stress, preserves emotional bandwidth, and supports your goals for your relationships.

Throughout this episode, they explore:

  • The power of proactive planning and why it’s essential for taking care of your future self
  • How planning can help reduce stress, decision fatigue, and mental clutter
  • Why rhythms and routines provide the margin you vitally need to manage an abundant life
  • How planning allows you the relaxation you need to consistently pour into your loved ones instead of feeling like you always need to hide from them in a bubble bath
  • Why self-care fundamentally requires you to take the time you need to reach a state of mental clarity and peace about your life’s direction

Biblical References:

  • 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 – “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.”
  • John 10:10 - “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”

Resources Mentioned in This Episode:

  • “How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives. What we do with this hour, and that one, is what we are doing. A schedule defends from chaos and whim. It is a net for catching days. It is a scaffolding on which a worker can stand and labor with both hands at sections of time.” — Annie Dillard, The Writing Life
  • The Evergreen Planner – The core planning tool discussed throughout the episode, designed to help you proactively care for your time, reduce decision fatigue, and create rhythms that support your life.
  • The Renew Course – A 6-week challenge to help you to start working with the strengths of your personality, organize your entire life with the Evergreen Planning Method, and set up sustainable rhythms that actually make sense in your season of life. (We guarantee that your future self will thank you for taking this course.)
  • The Evergreen Collective – An exclusive online community where you can connect with like-minded women, access resources, and receive support on time management and intentional living. Available to planner subscribers or Renew course students.
  • Other Podcast Episodes:

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Web: evergreenplanner.com

Instagram: @EvergreenPlanner

Learn the Evergreen Planning Method: evergreenplanner.com/renew

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SEO: Christian time management tips | Proactive planning for self-care | Reducing decision fatigue | Biblical self-care practices | Christian productivity strategies | Building daily routines | How planning reduces stress | Setting priorities with intentionality | Creating margin in your life | Faith-based time management

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Episode 24: There IS Enough Time

Tuesday Sep 17, 2024

Tuesday Sep 17, 2024

✨ Overwhelmed? Knowing your productivity personality makes all the difference: https://form.typeform.com/to/X1h33hT5

🎙️ Submit a question for the podcast: https://www.evergreenplanner.com/pages/podcast

——

Overwhelmed? In this episode, Shelby and McCauley delve into the profound truth that God has given us everything we need for life and godliness—including enough time.

Throughout this episode, they explore:

  • the real reasons why we often feel like there isn’t enough time in the day, despite the biblical promise that God equips us for every task He calls us to
  • the challenge and high calling of time-management
  • the time boundaries God built into creation itself
  • how to combat perceived stress
  • the importance of creating rhythms, setting priorities, and combatting decision fatigue through proactive planning

Biblical References: Genesis 1:2-3; Genesis 1:14-19; 2 Peter 1:3

Resources Mentioned in This Episode:

  • The Evergreen Planner - The core planning tool discussed throughout the episode, designed to help you manage your time according to biblical principles in just 15 minutes each day.
  • The Renew Course - Our 6-week course that dives deeper into the Evergreen Planning Method, providing detailed guidance on how to apply it to your unique life and circumstances.
  • The Evergreen Collective - An exclusive online community where members can access time-management resources, join in discussions on intentional living, and receive support from like-minded women. Hosted in a private app, away from social media to foster focus and intentionality. Open to planner subscribers or students of Renew.
  • Other Podcast Episodes:
    • Make Space to Thrive - An episode from Season 1 that shares the story behind the phrase "Make Space to Thrive."
    • Planning while Postpartum - An episode from Season 2 that offers tactical advice for managing time during the postpartum period.
    • The Rooted Goals Podcast Season - Binge Season 3 where Clari and Shelby unpack the Rooted Goal Setting System and share practical examples of ROOTED Goals in their own lives.

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Web: evergreenplanner.com

Instagram: @EvergreenPlanner

Learn the Evergreen Planning Method: evergreenplanner.com/renew

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SEO: Christian time management tips | How to manage time biblically | Overcoming overwhelm as a Christian | Biblical approach to time management | Christian productivity strategies | Faith-based time management | Managing stress as a Christian | daily routines for Christians | Setting priorities as a Christian mom | Combatting decision fatigue | Reducing overwhelm in Christian life | Christian goal-setting strategies | Intentional living for Christian women | Time stewardship for believers | redeeming the time

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Replay: How to Cultivate Peace & Avoid Seasonal Overwhelm this Christmas

Monday Dec 04, 2023

Monday Dec 04, 2023

✨ Overwhelmed? Knowing your productivity personality makes all the difference: https://form.typeform.com/to/X1h33hT5

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This podcast is a replay of a live masterclass I (Clari) taught for the Evergreen Collective in November.

Advent and Christmas are my favorite times of the year, but it also happens to be the one of the busiest times for the business, which means I need planning strategies that are easy to implement and help me do what I most want: to celebrate the birth of Christ in very meaningful ways with my family and to be a person who exudes peace while doing it.

You can access the video replay of the masterclass & the free workbook here: https://www.evergreenplanner.com/pages/how-to-cultivate-peace-avoid-seasonal-overwhelm-masterclass

✨✨✨

May this Christmas be your most peaceful yet!

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Web: evergreenplanner.com

Instagram: @EvergreenPlanner

Learn the Evergreen Planning Method: evergreenplanner.com/renew

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Episode 23: Developed by Providence

Saturday Feb 18, 2023

Saturday Feb 18, 2023

✨ Overwhelmed? Knowing your productivity personality makes all the difference: https://form.typeform.com/to/X1h33hT5

📖 Get the ROOTED Goals Workbook: evergreenplanner.com/rooted

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In this episode, we talk about the sixth and final letter in the ROOTED acronym: Developed by Providence. The ROOTED Goal-Setting System reminds you that the Kingdom of God does not rise and fall by your efforts—but that you do have the responsibility to do your part, exercise your influence, and steward your resources.

Having a Christian growth-mindset allows you to set goals with an "amen" posture towards God's unknown plans for the future, knowing that when you give your goals back to God, you can trust Him to develop them in the best of ways.

Join us as we talk about how this Christian growth-mindset has played out in our real lives and goals over the last quarter (including our goal of recording this podcast)! We chat about goals that have had to change, how we stay motivated in the messy middle of goal development, and how our planner enables us to pivot effectively into new or changing goals as we follow the Lord’s leading.

Links we talk about in the show:

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Web: evergreenplanner.com

Instagram: @EvergreenPlanner

Learn the Evergreen Planning Method: evergreenplanner.com/renew

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Episode 22: Etched Into Your Memory

Saturday Feb 18, 2023

Saturday Feb 18, 2023

✨ Overwhelmed? Knowing your productivity personality makes all the difference: https://form.typeform.com/to/X1h33hT5

📖 Get the ROOTED Goals Workbook: evergreenplanner.com/rooted

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In this episode, we talk about the fifth letter in the ROOTED acronym: Etched Into Your Memory. For a goal to be sustained in the long-run, it has to stay top of mind. Enabling your brain to think about your goal often and easily will ensure you can make progress on your goal even in the most chaotic of seasons.

Join us as we talk about the exact process we take to make sure our goals aren’t forgotten in the busyness of everyday life and responsibilities! We talk about how we use our planners to support our goals and to train our working memories to take action whenever possible, enabling us to make steady progress until a goal is accomplished.

Links we talk about in the show:

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Web: evergreenplanner.com

Instagram: @EvergreenPlanner

Learn the Evergreen Planning Method: evergreenplanner.com/renew

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