There’s something both exhilarating and humbling about stepping onto a stage knowing you have just twenty minutes.
Twenty minutes to make people laugh. Twenty minutes to make them think. Twenty minutes to leave them with something that might change the way they live.
As I waited for Katie to introduce me, I wasn’t thinking about delivering a flawless presentation. I was praying one simple prayer: Lord, let every woman leave with exactly what she needs.
I’d spent weeks refining every story, every transition, and every pause. Twenty minutes doesn’t allow for wasted words. Every sentence has to earn its place.
As I looked across the room, I realized the women weren’t looking for another motivational speech. They were carrying full calendars, full responsibilities, and, if we’re honest, many were carrying full hearts.
That’s why I didn’t want to give a TED Talk.
I wanted to give a RED Talk.
RED stands for Rested. Equipped. Decided. Those three words have become more than a framework for a presentation—they’ve become a way I want to live.
The first truth I shared was simple, yet surprisingly countercultural: Rest comes first.
In a world that celebrates hustle and applauds busyness, choosing to rest can almost feel irresponsible. Yet Jesus modeled something entirely different. He regularly stepped away to pray, reflect, and reconnect with His Father. He understood what we often forget: rest creates clarity.
And clarity changes everything.
When we’re rested, we stop reacting to every request and begin responding to God’s direction. We discover that just because we’re capable of doing something doesn’t mean we have the capacity to do it well.
That single thought seemed to resonate throughout the room.
Capability asks, Can I do this?
Capacity asks, Should I?
Those are two very different questions.
Once we embrace rest, we begin to recognize how God has already equipped us through our experiences, gifts, and even our hardships. From that place of confidence, we can make decided choices—not based on guilt, pressure, or comparison, but on purpose.
After the talk, several women shared that they finally felt permission to stop trying to do everything for everyone. To me, those conversations mattered even more than the applause.
They reminded me why I love speaking.
If one woman leaves a RED Talk with more clarity than she had when she walked in, she’ll likely make a different decision tomorrow than she would have made today.
And sometimes, one decision is all it takes to change the direction of a life.
