What It Really Means to Be Faithfully Present: A Conversation with Adam Ramsey

How an Ambitious Christian Mom Can Build a Meaningful Life Without Missing the Moments That Matter Most

I spent a lot of last year feeling distracted. Overwhelmed. Constantly hurried.

Physically folding laundry but mentally running through tomorrow's to-do list. Sitting at dinner with my family but replaying conversations from earlier. Tucking my kids into bed but already stressing about whether I'd hit my goals for the month.

I was there... but I wasn't really there.

And I KNEW I had to work on it. I KNEW there had to be a way to be an ambitious mom who's wired to be goal-driven AND also be a very present wife and mother like the Proverbs 31 woman. I knew there had to be a way to feel peaceful while working toward big goals.

So I read this book called Faithfully Present: Embracing the Limits of Where and When God Has You by Adam Ramsey.

And it wrecked me in the best way.

I was so inspired and convicted by this book that I reached out to the author and asked if he'd come on my podcast. He said yes (from Australia, no less!), and the conversation we had was everything I needed to hear, and I think you need to hear it too.

The Problem Every Ambitious Christian Mom Faces

If you're reading this, chances are you're like me. You love your family deeply. You want to honor God in every area of your life. But you also have goals. Vision. Things you're building. Dreams you're chasing.

And somewhere in the middle of all that striving, you feel like you're losing yourself.

You're physically present, but mentally you're already in next week. Next month. Next year.

Adam describes this perfectly when he talks about what happens when we DON'T live faithfully present:

"We are gonna feel hurried all the time. Just a constant sense of being hurried along. And we look back and think, 'Where did the time go? How did we get to here already?' And there's now this sense of like, 'Ah, I wish I could redo some of these seasons of life.'"

That hit me hard.

Because I don't want to get to the end of my life and realize I was so focused on the next goal, the next income level, the next season that I missed the life I was actually living.

What Does It Mean to Be Faithfully Present?

So what does "faithfully present" actually mean? Is it just another way of saying "slow down" or "do less"?

Not at all.

Adam is a church planter, author, pastor, husband, and father of five. He's not sitting on a beach somewhere sipping coconut water telling us all to chill out. He's living a full, fruitful, purpose-driven life.

But here's what he said that completely shifted my perspective:

"Whatever the season you're in right now, with all of its complexities, are you fully attentive to God in the middle of that, to the state of your soul in the middle of that, to the people around you in the middle of that?"

It's not about doing less. It's about being where you are while you're there.

It's about managing your priorities within the time you've been given, not trying to control time itself.

Adam shared this gold:"I like to talk about priority management, not time management. If you try to do time management, you'll just be frustrated because you'll look back and go, 'How did this year already get to December?'"

Friend, that's it. That's the shift.

We can't manage time. But we CAN manage our priorities within the time God's given us.

The Proverbs 31 Woman Was Faithfully Present

As I was listening to Adam talk about faithful presence, I kept thinking about the Proverbs 31 woman.

She was BUSY. She was productive. She was profitable. She had a business. She was investing in real estate. She was making and selling things. She was managing her household. She was serving the poor.

But here's what stands out to me every time I read Proverbs 31:

She wasn't panicking her way to productivity.

Verse 25 says, "Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come."

She LAUGHS at the future. Not because she's ignoring it, but because she's faithfully present in her today, trusting God with her tomorrow.

Verse 21 says, "She is not afraid of snow for her household, for all her household are clothed in scarlet."

She's prepared. She's diligent. But she's not anxious.

And verse 27: "She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness."

She's attentive. Present. Engaged.

That's the model. That's biblical womanhood. Productive AND present. Ambitious AND peaceful.

The Biggest Obstacle to Being Faithfully Present

So what's keeping us from living this way?

Adam didn't hold back on this one:

"If we all look into what is right now either in our pocket or our handbag or on the desk in front of us, there's this little rectangular device... we treat this little device oftentimes wrongly as a portal into a diluted omnipresence where we think we can be in more than one place at any given time, meaningfully."

Ouch.

Our phones.

Now, Adam's not anti-technology (neither am I, I literally run my business from my phone!). But he's right that we've let this tool become a hindrance to being where our feet are.

He said something that will stick with me forever:

"When you get to the end of your life, when you get to the final page of the story God has been writing through you... not one of us are going to ask for our phone. We're all going to ask for these people with names and faces to be with us in those moments, because that's what that faithful presence in life really was most about."

Real life happens in front of you. With people who have names and faces.

Not through a screen.

Practical Rhythms for Faithful Presence

Okay, so we know the problem. We know the why. But HOW do we actually live this out when we have businesses to build, kids to raise, goals to reach, and a calling to pursue?

Adam shared three levels of rhythms that have transformed his life:

1. Daily Selah Moments

"Selah" is a Hebrew word that means "pause and reflect." You see it all through the Psalms.

Adam has alarms set on his phone three times a day:

• 11:55 AM- Pause at the end of the morning

• 5:25 PM- Pause at the end of the workday

• Before bed- Pause at the end of the day

In those moments, he simply:

• Gives thanks for what was

• Confesses where he missed it

• Reconnects with God

• Looks ahead with gratitude

This blew my mind because it's SO simple, but it builds pauses into a fast-paced life.

I've already started implementing this and it's been such a gift.

2. Weekly Sabbath

A whole day of rest. Not producing. Just receiving the life God's given you and enjoying it to His glory.

Adam has an entire chapter in his book on how to build this out, but the point is: God commands it for a reason. Our souls need it.

If Jesus in His humanity needed to withdraw and rest, how much more do we?

3. Strategic Withdrawals Throughout the Year

Adam schedules 2-3 times a year where he gets away for a night or two with just his Bible and a couple of books to be alone with the Lord.

And here's what really convicted me: he does the same for his wife (who homeschools their five kids AND runs a side business). He schedules at least three retreats a year for her to get away, walk the beach, Uber Eats good food, and just be alone with Jesus.

He said:"If you don't plan for it, if you don't budget for it, you'll never do it. You'll never FIND space. You have to MAKE space."

Ladies, talk to your husbands about this. Your soul needs it.

The Laughter-to-Frustration Ratio

One of my favorite parts of this conversation was when Adam shared his personal metric for whether he's living faithfully present or not:

The laughter-to-frustration ratio.

He asks himself: When was the last time I genuinely laughed?

If it's been a while, that's a red flag. It means he's not noticing beauty, not noticing the playfulness of God, not noticing the ridiculousness of life.

He said, "We take the Bible seriously, not ourselves."

I love that.

For me, it's laughter AND singing. When I'm present, content, and peaceful, I sing. When I'm hurried and stressed, I don't.

What's YOUR metric? How do you know when you're living faithfully present vs. just going through the motions?

Living the Given Life, Not the Planned Life

One of the most powerful quotes from the entire conversation came from a poet named Wendell Berry that inspired Adam to write this book:

"We live the given life, not the planned."

Friend, read that again.

We're all trying to live the life we THINK we should have instead of faithfully living the life we DO have.

And Adam said this:

"When we stop lamenting the life we don't have and faithfully live the life we do have, we find all kinds of purpose woven into that life."

How much mental energy are we wasting wishing for a different season, a different income level, a different schedule, instead of being fully present for the life God's actually given us RIGHT NOW?

The Secret Isn't Balance, It's Contentment

Adam shared that the biggest benefit of living faithfully present is contentment.

Not happiness. Not perfection. Not balance.

Contentment.

Paul said in Philippians 4:11-13:

"I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me."

That's the secret. Contentment in the given life. Peace with God in your present circumstances. Trust that your times are in His hands.

And when you have that? You can be fruitful AND present. Ambitious AND peaceful. Productive AND joyful.

Just like the Proverbs 31 woman.

What About Moms Who Work from Home?

I asked Adam a question that I know so many of you are wrestling with:

"What wisdom can you offer a Christian mom whose work is mostly done on her phone or her laptop in the same places and spaces as all of her most important relationships?"

His answer was gold.

First: Make intentional time to get OUT of that blended space to be alone with the Lord. Those daily, weekly, and strategic rhythms are even MORE important when your work and home life blend together.

Second: Clarity is kindness.

Give your family clear indicators of what "mode" you're in.

He shared the story of Susanna Wesley (mother of John and Charles Wesley) who homeschooled 10-12 kids in a tiny house. When she needed time alone with God, she would flip her apron up over her head like a turtle going into its shell.

Every Wesley child knew: When the apron is up, mom is doing business with the Lord. Don't interrupt.

What's your "apron"? How can you give clarity to your family about when you're working vs. when you're present?

Maybe it's a closed door. Maybe it's a specific room. Maybe it's a hat you wear. Whatever it is, clarity is kindness.

Where to Start If You Need a Reset

If you're reading this thinking,"I need this. I need to break some bad habits and start living faithfully present,"Adam's advice is simple but profound:

Start by making peace with your limitations.

You are not God. And that's a GOOD thing.

Your limits, the hours in your day, the days in your week, the place where your feet are, those limitations are not your enemy.

They're the place where you can be most human and most fully alive to what God has put right in front of you.

When you make peace with your limits and trust that God is sovereign over your "where" and your "when," you can start to implement all the things we've talked about:

• Daily Selah moments

• Weekly Sabbath

• Strategic withdrawals

• Priority management

• Noticing beauty

• Laughing more

• Being where your feet are

It all flows from that posture of humility that says: My humanity is not something to cast off. It's the way God made me, and it's good.

Listen to the Full Conversation

Friend, I've only scratched the surface of this incredible conversation.

Adam and I talked for nearly an hour about:

• The theology behind God working through means

• How to know if you're trusting God or just striving

• Why Jesus was never in a hurry

• The temptations of Jesus and what they teach us about patience

• The sunset practice that changed everything for Adam

• How to live with vision without letting it steal your peace

• The one thing every homeschool mom needs to do for her soul

👉🏻 Listen to the full episode here: "What It Really Means to be Faithfully Present with Adam Ramsey"

Seriously, go listen. Put it on while you're folding laundry, driving to practice, or taking a walk. Let these truths sink deep into your soul.

And if it blesses you, would you do me a favor and share it with a friend who needs to hear it?

Your Proverbs 31 Journey Starts Here

If you're an ambitious Christian mom who wants to live a Proverbs 31 lifestyle, present with your family, purposeful with your time, and yes, profitable in your endeavors, I want to help you.

Take the free Proverbs 31 Self-Assessment: Find out where you're thriving and where you have room to grow. Take the quiz here.

Grab Adam's book: Faithfully Present: Embracing the Limits of Where and When God Has You- This book will transform how you think about presence, limits, and calling.

Connect with me:Follow me on Instagram for daily encouragement, behind-the-scenes of my life as a mom of six building a multi-six-figure business, and practical wisdom for living a Proverbs 31 lifestyle.

One Last Thing

When was the last time you genuinely laughed?

When was the last time you noticed a sunrise or sunset and let your heart worship?

When was the last time you felt truly present—not hurried, not distracted, not mentally in tomorrow?

Friend, if it's been a while, that's okay. No guilt. No shame.

But maybe it's time to make some space.

To pause.

To breathe.

To remember that you are not God, and that's a really good thing.

To trust that your times are in His hands.

To live the given life, not just the planned one.

Because real life? It's happening right in front of you.

And I don't want you to miss it.