Proverbs 11:25 (NIV) “A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed

**Transcription Below**

Elizabeth Dixon is currently the Manager of Hospitality Strategy at Corporate Chick-fil-A Inc. in Atlanta, Georgia. Elizabeth previously worked in the department of health and wellness and she is a gifted writer and speaker. She is a devoted wife to John and mother of two young children. She is savvy in countless ways, she is intentional, and she desires to help others excel at what they are doing!

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Gospel Scripture: (all NIV)

Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”

Romans 3:24 “and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”

Romans 3:25 (a) “God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood.”

Hebrews 9:22 (b) “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.”

Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Romans 5:11 “Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.”

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

Romans 10:9 “That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

Luke 15:10 says “In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who rents.”

Romans 8:1 “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”

Ephesians 1:13–14 “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession- to the praise of his glory.”

Ephesians 1:15–23 “For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.”

Ephesians 2:8–10 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God‘s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.“

Ephesians 2:13 “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.“

Philippians 1:6 “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

**Transcription**

[00:00:00] <music>

Laura Dugger: Welcome to The Savvy Sauce, where we have practical chats for intentional living. I'm your host, Laura Dugger, and I'm so glad you're here.

[00:00:19] <music>

Laura Dugger: Hi friends, welcome to this week's chat with wife, mother, wellness expert, and business leader, Elizabeth Dixon.

Today we will discuss finances, practical tips for making nutrition and fitness a priority, and personal development tips to stay motivated to continue growing and developing. You are going to love the energy Elizabeth brings today. I hope you enjoy the chat.

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Allison does all the planning for you, including the easy-to-follow shopping lists and prep-ahead instructions so that you know what to prepare and when. Just imagine all of your meals prepped and ready to go for the entire week. We like to call this Mealtime Bliss. Keep listening to find out more. [00:01:28]

Elizabeth and I met over a decade ago when we were both living in Atlanta and she has always had the best reputation. She is savvy in countless ways, she's intentional, and she desires to help others excel at what they're doing.

Currently, Elizabeth is the Manager of Hospitality Strategy at Corporate Chick-fil-A. Actually, today we're thrilled to be recording in Orlando as we are meeting with 6,000 of our friends at the annual Chick-fil-A conference.

Welcome, Elizabeth.

Elizabeth Dixon: Thank you. Honored to be here.

Laura Dugger: Well, it's so wonderful to get a chat with you today. Let's just start. Can you give us a snapshot of your life?

Elizabeth Dixon: Yes. Right now in our season of life, I'm married to my best friend and the love of my life, John. We met through Chick-fil-A, so we call that a Chick-fil-A-tionship. Then we have a precious little four-year-old boy and a little two-year-old girl that are just complete joy, full of energy, abundant questions and curiosity, which definitely inspires me in many ways to stay curious. [00:02:38]

Laura Dugger: Well, we love your family. Something inspiring about Elizabeth, for all you listeners who don't know her yet, she is someone who aligns her values with her actions.

Elizabeth, you have a full plate, yet you're managing your different roles well. Can you share how you're doing this?

Elizabeth Dixon: Well, I'm honored to hear you say that. It's certainly something I aspire towards. Not every day is perfect, but I think that it's interesting to be in the season of life that I'm in.

My dream was to be a wife and a mom. And then to find myself that the Lord had plans to put me in the corporate career world first and then bless me with meeting and marrying my husband and having babies, it's interesting because it's a life that I absolutely love, but I never anticipated it would look like this. [00:03:31] I never thought I'd have these plates spinning.

So I think it's a really important question to first assess what are those values and then ask, how are my choices aligning to those? It reminds me of a quote I saw on the wall three weeks ago. I was out in Waco visiting Magnolia Market, and we've gotten to do some work with them as they think about their customer experience.

And I saw this quote. It said, "It's not hard to make decisions when you know what your values are." Roy Disney. And I was really inspired by that. Like the man who created Disney World, thinking about how your decisions become easy when you know what your values are.

Personally, the next day I was asked to go speak at an event, and I was very honored at that, but it didn't align. And it was really hard. And I think that's a reminder, certainly for myself, that it doesn't make the decision easy when you know what your values are, but it gives you peace. [00:04:36]

That you know we have a certain amount of boundaries of nights away that I'll be away from the kids, and we try to limit that as much as possible, even if that means taking a round-trip flight in a day. I want to be home at bedtime to tuck my little ones in.

So it doesn't always make, for me, the decision easy, but it makes me have peace that it's the right thing to do because I know what those values are.

We've had to sit down and write those in different seasons. What are those boundaries? What are those key things that are important for our marriage, for our family, whatever elements that we're involved in, whether that's work or philanthropy, whatever? What are those boundaries? And then it allows us to be able to say yes and no.

I remember hearing, too, an author talk about how when you say yes to one thing, you're actually saying no to thousands of other things. Even though in that moment it feels like it's so painful to say no, you're actually then saying yes to your priorities. [00:05:44] So I think that can be a really interesting concept to think about that by saying no, you're saying yes to what matters.

Laura Dugger: That's great. Really living your life on purpose.

Elizabeth Dixon: Yeah, absolutely. Personally, I found a great way to assess, because I think we can drift, I can drift easily, because, oh, there's a great opportunity, I want to say yes, and okay, well, let's realign, rewrite our values. No, not the answer. So it's easy to drift.

But for us in our family, and I heard this years ago, but the best way to look at what your priorities are is to look at your checkbook and your calendar. The two elements in life that are fungible, you can spend them any way you want, but you can only spend them one time, is time and money. And so when you look at where you're spending those resources, it's really clarifying to go, really, what is priority in life?

Laura Dugger: I love that. What are some examples of ways... let's start with your checkbook. Do you make sure that your checkbook is aligning with your values? [00:06:53]

Elizabeth Dixon: Well, it was a very painful process in the first year of our marriage when he was called budget boy, my husband, insisted that we keep every receipt. I hated that because I've always been a saver, but I didn't want to keep a budget. I think deep down, I just didn't want to be held accountable to it. And so it was very painful that first year.

But one practical thing for us is keeping a budget and saying, "This is where we ultimately want to be. This is what financial freedom is. This is what our dreams are. And so, therefore, this is our allotted amount to spend. And that's just important for our family." So I think budgeting.

Then the other is a rule, per se, that I had growing up that I actually love now, did not at the time, which is the two-week rule. I realized later in life that this was not something anybody else had in their upbringings. [00:07:53]

Where the two-week rule came from was I was in a Toys R Us with my brother and my mom and I saw this puffy pink yellow and purple journal that I really wanted to buy and it had this little locket part where you would put the key on the front and I was enamored with it.

Well, my birthday was two weeks away, and little did I know my brother had bought me this beautiful leather-bound journal with gold leaf paper and I insisted, though, on buying this purple, pink, and yellow puffy journal. Well, when my brother saw me buy that, he took the journal that he bought for me back, and I never got it. And I was devastated when I found that out.

Well, somehow within that circumstance, my parents had instituted that we would have a two-week rule. That you could identify anything you wanted in a store, but you had to wait two weeks before you could come back and buy it. [00:08:49] Because inevitably you wouldn't want it anymore, similar to that pink puffy journal.

So growing up, you know, you get older, you graduate college, and you go off to live life, and then you suddenly find yourself in a mall with your friends, and you identify a pair of shoes you like or whatever, and your friend says, "You should buy them," and when you look at them and say, "Well, I have to wait two weeks." And they look at you like you're crazy, and you look at them like, I mean, why wouldn't I wait two weeks? And then you have to explain that it's just become ingrained in you that the two-week rule is a part of living.

But it's been really helpful, because it's true. Whether it's a lamp I want for the family room or a pair of shoes or something, if I don't love it in two weeks, I will have regretted buying it anyway. And you can only spend your money once. That's been a practical, helpful tool: budgeting and keeping the two-week rule alive.

Laura Dugger: I love that. Great examples. [00:09:50] You also have a history of work in the field of health and wellness. Can you share some of your best practices with us?

Elizabeth Dixon: Sure. So prior to being in marketing and leading hospitality strategy, I was fascinated by the human body. God has created such an incredible human body. I worked in wellness to create wellness programs for companies and specifically at Chick-fil-A.

So through that process, it was critical that I lived it out myself. It's hard to teach something if you don't practice it. The challenge for me came after having kids. So I think before there was a little bit more discretionary time that was truly about the discipline of making it a priority. But then after having kids, it's like, wow, I've got to get up early.

That's what works for me now is I get up before the sun comes up and before my little babies are up and get my exercise in. And I think going by a motto of some is better than none and more is better than some, [00:11:01] so some days it might just be 15 minutes or it might be one mile or it might be 10 push-ups. But it's something moving towards that goal of being healthy physically and being the kind of mother that I want to be, having the energy for all the priorities that I have in life. I think having that "some is better than none and more is better than some."

The other thing I think is having a passionate "why". I think it's really easy to hit snooze and roll over and not do it. Or maybe someone's time to exercise or eat well is later. But I think having a compelling why is critical for me to make sure that I practically apply.

Laura Dugger: That's a great point. What would you say your practical "why" is?

Elizabeth Dixon: My practical "why" is that I want to have the energy for all of the priorities in my life. I think I notice at the end of the day, if I don't exercise and if I eat poorly... and by eating poorly, a practical tip that I've learned is just eating those small bits every three to four hours.

My energy lasts so much longer if I just eat those little meals where you feel like you could go for a walk. You don't feel lethargic and you need to sit down, but you're just eating those small meals throughout the day. [00:12:24] I have that energy at the end of the day to play with my kids.

I want to be able to look back and my kids say, "Whenever I said, 'do you want to play tag?' Mom always said yes." And it breaks my heart on those days when I'm just so tired and I say, "Why don't we do a puzzle or something?" So that's my personal "why".

Laura Dugger: Well, and if somebody wants to implement these ideas today, let's throw out just a sample menu for the day, what would some options be? Maybe they're stuck in a rut or they just need some ideas. What would you eat for that day?

Elizabeth Dixon: For nutrition, I think eat the things that you really love and eat in moderation the items that are not natural, that God didn't necessarily create — they came from a factory somewhere. Try to limit those.

A tip could be shop on the outside perimeter of the grocery store. [00:13:18] So from produce to lean meat, all of that. Eating lots of good fruits and vegetables is so helpful. I think for me, it's like when I'm trying to limit the treats and the sweets, don't necessarily cut them out. I found my personality at least is like if you tell me I can't have it, that's all I want. So maybe just replace it.

Recently I've been obsessed with Talenti ice cream, which is really expensive and really high calorie. And then I swapped it for an equally expensive option of the Halo Top ice cream. I went from having 600 calories at a sitting to 100 calories at a sitting, but it still tasted great. And so I find replacing and swapping those treats out is really helpful.

Then snacks, 100 to 150 calories, typically, for a female that's active, obviously if you're training for a marathon or something like that, you would need more calories. But 100 to 150 calories for a snack with fiber and protein in it, because the fiber and protein helps you feel full longer and it prevents your blood sugar from dropping. [00:14:31]

Laura Dugger: I love it. One more follow-up question with that. Let's say there's another listener in your season, a busy mom, kids at home, only has five minutes to get herself something for lunch. Do you have any recommendations for an easy, quick snack or a healthy go-to?

Elizabeth Dixon: Yes. There's this awesome restaurant called Chick-fil-A. But seriously, getting kids meal of grilled nuggets and fresh fruit, that's an awesome option. Diet lemonade, or if you're an Arnold Palmer type, diet lemonade, and unsweet tea just adds a nice little bit of caffeine for the young moms out there, but a little bit of sweetness too.

Some other kinds of on-the-go things. The little 100-calorie packs of almonds that they have. They make so many more snack-size options. So if that's nuts or an apple, different bars that you can keep with you in your purse that are delicious and help prevent that feeling of ravenous. Because a ravenous person is not a rational person, I have found. [00:15:39]

Laura Dugger: That's so good. What if we play it out the other way? What are the dangers of us neglecting our own health because we think we're too busy?

Elizabeth Dixon: I mean, I play my life out 10 or 20 years from now... and there are plenty of things I can't control, right? There are different diseases or disasters, things like that that I can't control. But when I think about the things that are within my control, I want to have a relationship with my children and grandchildren where I'm active and playing with them.

I think about my 91-year-old grandmother who gets on the floor and plays with my children, her great-grandchildren. I admire that so much. But she didn't just happen into that. She's up and walking every morning. She's physically active throughout the day. [00:16:34] She eats well, very nutrition-focused.

So those things in life, they don't just happen. You don't just drift into success. You don't drift into health. You have to be intentional about it. I think if we don't do it, and we go with that mentality of putting the oxygen mask on the other person first, you can't give out of what you don't have.

I think that it can be a trap that very generally speaking that I think females we can fall into and moms of young ones we can fall into where it's like, I'm going to put them first and I'll go second. But at some point when your well is dry, nobody wants that.

So I think figuring out, spiritually being grounded and rooted and growing, physically having that energy that we need, emotionally being connected with friendships and healthy relationships in our marriage. Like all of it starts to come together. And I think when we neglect ourselves to the point that we can't pour into others, we're actually neglecting others. [00:17:50]

It seems contradictory at the beginning that we would put ourselves first because we truly want to serve others. But if we don't, we can't serve others. So I think that's a powerful question that we have to play out in all of our minds of what happens if we don't.

Laura Dugger: That's so counterintuitive, but what you said is so wise. You personally live this with not only intentionality, but also consistency. And when you put those two together, something incredible happens. So if somebody wants to start being consistent today, you mentioned some days it may look like only 10 pushups, but what other tips do you have for just getting started?

Elizabeth Dixon: Pick something that you love. If it's physical health, it's exercise, or nutrition, like pick something that you love and make that good decision easy, right? Whether that's stocking your pantry and your fridge full of the healthy foods, whether that's putting... I always put my tennis shoes and my exercise clothes right by my bed because I don't want to have to talk myself out of it in the time it takes to open my drawers and find something to wear to work out.

And P.S., if you have a cute outfit to work out in, it makes it just a little bit more fun and something to look forward to. I think making those good decisions where they're easy, and the easy decisions that we make, the good ones, I think that helps tremendously. [00:19:18]

Just find those things we love. So if you love to dance, go find a Zumba class. And if you love to walk and listen to an awesome podcast like The Savvy Sauce, then do that for 30 minutes every day.

If you love to ride a bike, go pump up the tires and dust off the seat on your bike and go do that. And ride it with your kids. Do stuff with your kids. Don't feel like it has to be separate time if that's not an option. I love teaching David how to ride his little tricycle and run beside him. You get some good sprinting in that way because those little toddlers can really ride fast.

I think it's just find those things that you love, make that decision easy to say yes to. And then reward yourself. I'm a big fan of setting goals and then rewarding yourself for them. So maybe you say, for 30 days, I'm going to be active every day. Or five out of seven days for a month, I'm going to be active. And then decide what you're going to do to reward yourself.

Maybe that means going and buying a new exercise shirt, or going out to dinner with your husband, or taking a bath with some fancy little bath bomb or something. [00:20:34] But pick something to reward yourself and celebrate the success.

Laura Dugger: I love that.

Hey, friends. I just wanted to give you a quick reminder that we're asking for ratings and reviews on whatever platform you use to listen to this podcast. If you would be willing, could you also hit subscribe to the podcast and share this with a friend? Thanks for listening. Now back to the show.

Beyond physical health, you seem to have high standards for your own personal development. How do you stay motivated to keep learning and growing?

Elizabeth Dixon: My dad set a really powerful example for myself and my brothers of being someone who's a continual learner, constantly curious and reading and learning.

He's retired now, but he still reads like he was running his business. I mean, he's just one that's very inspirational in that way. And so that's been something, whether I've caught it or was taught it, or it's just a part of my DNA of something that I always want to be true in my life. [00:21:42]

I think what's helpful is when we surround ourselves with other people that are curious and we read... The quote I've heard often is, you're the same person tomorrow as you are today, with the exception of the people you meet, the books you read, and the experiences that you have.

So, stretching myself to read new and different books, even if they might oppose an opinion that I have, but challenging my thinking in that way. Or having conversations with people that think differently than me so that it helps me understand others better, have more empathy, and then having experiences that stretch me and challenge I think are really important in staying curious. Even listening to podcasts and things like that. Even if you don't have a lot of time again, some is better than none.

Laura Dugger: Such a good principle. And speaking of books, any that you are currently reading or ones from the past that you would like to recommend to someone today?

Elizabeth Dixon: One that I'm reading that has to do with customer experience, similar to work-related is called The Power of Moments by Chip and Dan Heath. [00:22:54] They wrote the book Made to Stick, which is a very awesome book too.

But this one is talking about the moments that we have, whether it's in a customer experience, which would be more work-related for me, but it's very applicable to moments that we create in our family's lives. How can we be intentional to celebrate the big moments and walk through the challenging moments with those that we care about and love the most? It's a very fascinating book.

Next on my list is Warren Berger's book, A More Beautiful Question. I've been really challenged in thinking about: how do I ask better questions? So I'm really excited to read that book as well.

Laura Dugger: Let's take a quick break to hear a message from our sponsor.

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Laura Dugger: Why do you think questions are important? Why is that something you want to learn to do better?

Elizabeth Dixon: I find that the questions that we ask set up and determine the quality of the conversations we will have or the experiences we create. [00:24:57]

I'm going to host a group of different hospitality professionals from other industries in a few weeks and I've been thinking a lot about what are the questions that I'm going to pose for the discussion. Because I find when you ask a question of a group, whether that's a small group of women that you meet with or whether it's a corporate group, the questions we ask determine the quality of that conversation.

We have a girls group. We meet every other week at night after our babies are tucked in. We roll out of our houses virtually in our pajamas and get together and pray and challenge each other in scripture and where we're learning and growing. And when we set our conversation up with questions, really intentional questions, then I think it determines the output of the conversation and where that goes.

I'll give you an example. I saw this question the other day and I've been chewing on it. And it was, if the Lord answered all of your prayers today, would it change your life, or would it change the world? [00:26:04] And I was like, "Oh snap." Like, how much of my prayers have to do with Elizabeth and my family, and what directly impacts me? But how much do I truly want my prayers to be about the world and kingdom-minded and eternity-focused?

I think the power in questions is the intentionality within the question that we ask ourselves or others and determines the quality and the richness of the conversation and the output, which I think leads to different directions that we decide to take in life. So there's something rich in questions, and I want to continually be one that learns and grows in how to ask myself and others better questions.

Laura Dugger: Wow. I could not agree more. I love how you articulated that. I didn't mean to interrupt. Were there any other books that you wanted to recommend that we could add to our show notes?

Elizabeth Dixon: Oh, the other one I've been reading at nighttime, I like to read fiction because it just kind of helps me drift off to sleep and not think about all of the details of life. [00:27:14] I've been reading through Francine Rivers, her Mark of the Lion series. And I have been really challenged just thinking about the faith journey at that time in Rome and Ephesus and what it must have been like to have been so incredibly persecuted.

It's actually showed up and changed some decisions I've made in my day-to-day life and helped me be a little bit more bold, you know? Because I'm like, man, if she can go face lion in an arena, I can certainly talk about my faith in a pretty safe place. That's one that's been really refreshing for me.

Laura Dugger: Can you give an example? You said you've already applied it to your life. Is there anything that comes to mind?

Elizabeth Dixon: It's kind of silly. But I was at an event, I was speaking at an event and they asked that I share a song for walk-up music. And I knew at this particular event that most of the music would be super cool and the greatest showman music or, you know, more fun pop kind of stuff. [00:28:21]

But the song that I really love right now, we sing it driving into school each day is Zach Williams' Old Church Choir, which is a really fun upbeat song. Something in my heart just felt like, that's the song, that's your song.

But I felt ashamed for a moment. Like, no, I mean, this is a pretty cool event, like, I need to come off as like, you know, cool. But it was like, no, that is a cool song, but it is a Christian song. But it just was a moment where I thought, No, that's my song and that represents me and no one's going to steal my joy, as the song says. So that's what we played.

Laura Dugger: That's exciting that you read that fiction book that inspired you to action. That's great. And all of your intentionality in all these different areas also comes in handy with your current work. So, what are some of the most beneficial business leadership principles you've learned with your career at Chick-fil-A? [00:29:25]

Elizabeth Dixon: You know, Laura, it is so rich the amount of leadership development and the role modeling that happens at Chick-fil-A. I think that's something that I love.

I think about Truett, our founder, who has passed away, and I know we all miss him so much. My husband was his assistant for eight years, and so we actually lived next door to them for the first five years of our marriage.

I think back to what an incredible leader he was and the legacy that he created and the richness that he has left behind of care. I think that he was an incredible example of someone that was a savvy businessman. He had great, incredible intuition, but he truly was a servant leader.

There's a number of organizations that embody servant leadership well, and Chick-fil-A is one of them, and I pray it always remains to be true, of putting others first.

I think in some ways that kind of contradicts what we talked about with making sure that you're being your very best. I think we do have to make sure that we can show up and have that baseline foundation of being our best physical activity and nutrition and spiritual growth and all of that. Like that's just table stakes to show up to the game. [00:30:53]

But once you're there, I think it's having that mindset that we're here to serve. I think that that has been one of the most inspirational things for me to observe and experience and I aspire to live out is when you watch the CEO of the organization pick up your trash and take it to the trash can. There's a moment there where you go, Whoa, he doesn't have to do that, but he cares so much that it's not a show, it's just who he is.

I'm trying to figure out a good way to wrap that up just in a principle. But that's been one of the most powerful leadership lessons that I've had, is that it's not about me. It's not about whether it's a speaking engagement, it's a meeting. Whatever it is, it's not about me. It's about that other person. [00:31:52]

And when I get so wrapped up and consumed that it's about me, then I think that whatever it is I'm working on will never be and never fulfill the potential that it could have when that's my focus. But when my focus is on others or it's about the concept and putting that concept out into market and serving others and caring for them, then I feel like that's where God shows up and does remarkable things in all of our lives. Because it's about His glory and His credit and it's not about ourselves and our own little kingdoms.

Laura Dugger: That's so well said. And as you bring up Truett, you walked alongside him for years. Any other favorite stories to share or any of his quotes that really resonate with you?

Elizabeth Dixon: He often said, for Chick-fil-A, he would say, we're in the people business and we just happen to sell chicken. I love that because I think it's easy, whether it's our personal lives or businesses, to get our purpose off focus. [00:32:57] And he kept it on focus, that it's about the people.

He'd often say, the three most important decisions that you make in life are three Ms: your master, your mate, and your mission. I love that. And he said in that order is critical. So who is your master? Who do you serve?

His hope was always that you'd serve the Lord, as he did. And your mate, second most critical decision you make in life. And just trusting the Lord that if that's the path that he has for you, that he'll bring that person in the perfect time. And I know that was a story for me.

Then your mission. What is it? What is your "why"? What is your purpose? Why do you wake up each day and go chase something? He always said that those are your three most important decisions that you make in life.

And he was just funny. He was just such a funny, down-to-earth kind of guy some days. Because he came to work every day until he was 90, 91. Some days when he'd leave a little bit early, he'd say that he just worked really quick that day. [00:34:10] He would tell other staff, maybe someday you can work quick like me. But he was a really, really awesome, awesome man who left a really big legacy behind.

Laura Dugger: Thank you for sharing that. He truly is a hero. Here at the podcast, we're called Savvy for a reason. Savvy means practical knowledge, discernment, or understanding. And we want this podcast to increase our capacity to make good judgments. So we would all love to hear some of your practical applications from your own life so that any of the listeners can leave today with their own action item.

So that leads us to our final question. Elizabeth, what is your savvy sauce?

Elizabeth Dixon: I love this question. I'm going to answer your question with a question. A question that I have been asking myself in different seasons and giving myself permission to have different answers in different seasons is, how am I being the best version of myself? [00:35:14] How am I being the best version of who God created me to be and who He is calling me to be?

With young kids right now, it feels like the seasons are really fast. Like, what has worked, a system that has worked for a little bit suddenly is disrupted and a new season is needed. Whether that's just based on how they're sleeping or whatever that might be. I find that those seasons shift quickly. And so how am I being the best version of myself?

Typically, my answer there'll be one element of health that arises. So, my physical health. I'm not being the best version of myself physically. I'm not being the best version of myself spiritually, my marriage, as a mom, my career, financial.

I think everything has an ebb and a flow to it. And leaning into that to say, what is the best version of myself look like in this season? [00:36:11] And then just prayerfully leaning into what God has for me is what I've been aspiring toward and trying to do to make sure that I'm being a faithful steward of the life that I have.

Laura Dugger: That's a great way to conclude today. Love that question. We can all ask ourselves. Elizabeth, you're such a strong woman in so many ways. I love your enthusiasm. And when I spend time with you, I experience double joy, I then leave feeling empowered to pursue my own continuous growth. So thank you for sharing your savvy tips with us today.

Elizabeth Dixon: Well, thank you for doing this podcast. I'm honored to be a part of it. I feel double joy when I'm with you.

Laura Dugger: Well, you have a great day. We'll talk soon.

Elizabeth Dixon: Okay, bye, friend.

Laura Dugger: One more thing before you go. Have you heard the term "gospel" before? It simply means good news. And I want to share the best news with you. But it starts with the bad news. [00:37:11] Every single one of us were born sinners and God is perfect and holy, so He cannot be in the presence of sin. Therefore, we're separated from Him.

This means there's absolutely no chance we can make it to heaven on our own. So for you and for me, it means we deserve death and we can never pay back the sacrifice we owe to be saved. We need a savior. But God loved us so much, He made a way for His only son to willingly die in our place as the perfect substitute.

This gives us hope of life forever in right relationship with Him. That is good news. Jesus lived the perfect life we could never live and died in our place for our sin. This was God's plan to make a way to reconcile with us so that God can look at us and see Jesus.

We can be covered and justified through the work Jesus finished if we choose to receive what He has done for us. Romans 10:9 says that if you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. [00:38:23]

So would you pray with me now? Heavenly, Father, thank You for sending Jesus to take our place. I pray someone today right now is touched and chooses to turn their life over to You. Will You clearly guide them and help them take their next step in faith to declare You as Lord of their life? We trust You to work and change their lives now for eternity. In Jesus name, we pray, amen.

If you prayed that prayer, you are declaring Him for me, so me for Him, you get the opportunity to live your life for Him.

At this podcast, we are called Savvy for a reason. We want to give you practical tools to implement the knowledge you have learned. So you're ready to get started?

First, tell someone. Say it out loud. Get a Bible. The first day I made this decision my parents took me to Barnes and Noble to get the Quest NIV Bible and I love it. Start by reading the book of John.

Get connected locally, which basically means just tell someone who is part of the church in your community that you made a decision to follow Christ. [00:39:29] I'm assuming they will be thrilled to talk with you about further steps such as going to church and getting connected to other believers to encourage you.

We want to celebrate with you too. So feel free to leave a comment for us if you made a decision for Christ. We also have show notes included where you can read Scripture that describes this process.

Finally, be encouraged. Luke 15:10 says, "In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents." The heavens are praising with you for your decision today.

If you've already received this good news, I pray that you have someone else to share it with today. You are loved and I look forward to meeting you here next time.

Welcome to The Savvy Sauce

Practical chats for intentional living

A faith-based podcast and resources to help you grow closer to Jesus and others. Expect encouragement, surprises, and hope here. Each episode offers lively interviews with fascinating guests such as therapists, authors, non-profit founders, and business leaders.

They share their best practices and savvy tips we can replicate to make our daily life and relationships more enjoyable!