In this episode, Belinda Pollard, Donita Bundy and Alison Joy interview Billie Jauss, author of the books MAKING ROOM and DISTRACTION DETOX. Billie speaks across America and hosts the Family Room Podcast. She shares what she’s learned about finding God’s purpose in our writing – even when it’s surprising – and finding real solutions to toxic busyness, self-doubt, shame and distraction.

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Episode summary:

• Being “dragged kicking and screaming” into writing. How Jesus opened unexpected doors and provided support.
• How 10 years of writing devotionals for a baseball website evolved into authoring a book.
• The secret blog Billie began when she became an empty nester.
• Adapting the devotional structure and content to create chapters of a book.
• Learning new writing skills through reading books and blogs, and observing what she liked and didn’t like about other people’s writing.
• Tackling imposter syndrome after the too-fast publication of her first book, and how it stopped her writing with purpose.
• Writing a list of negative thoughts that arose, realising she was her own worst bully as she would never say those things to someone else. Challenging each negative thought with the truth of scripture.
• Being too busy, and how to learn to say no so that there is time for God to speak into our lives. How we get in the way of someone else’s calling if we do the thing they are supposed to be doing.
• Finding moments of pause and listening to God. Listening to the Bible while exercising or driving.
• Changing popular culture by loving our neighbour.