Building Physical Resilience - a lesson in perseverance

I have been living with depression and anxiety for more than a decade. It affects how I think, feel and behave and has led to a variety of problems (and solutions). In this blog I will focus on the physical impacts and the godly wisdom my support crew has provided along the way.

Two significant symptoms of depression, lack of motivation and lack of enjoyment, eat away at my physical resilience. When I am in this state it is difficult to maintain a routine let alone practice the disciplines necessary for my physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well-being. I share more about doing what needs to be done in a blog I penned in 2016.

https://calledtoloveabundantly.blogspot.com/2016/02/do-what-needs-to-be-done-even-though.html

While Romans 12:1 commands me to be a living sacrifice to God and I know that God considers my body as His temple; Every. Single. Day. I fail to worship Him this way. Verse 2 commands me to let God transform me into a new person by changing the way I think. Anyone who knows me knows how much I wrestle with stinking thinking. It is the root of my physical demise. Of my own will, I am not able to change it yet Every Single Day I must set it aside to meet my body’s basic needs for hydration, nutrition, exercise, rest, creativity, peace and joy in the Lord.

As a person with chronic migraines, IBD as well as complicated mental health conditions you may notice that I have less stamina and can be more cautious in my choices. I may even cancel plans or prefer a phone call to a face to face meeting.That’s because I am trying to control my energy level/capacity (https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/social-instincts/202405/spoon-theory-can-change-the-way-you-view-mental-health) so that I can Get.It.Done. Then. Crash and either do something numbing, sleep for hours or become a recluse until my energy is renewed.

This behavior, although familiar, was not effective because it did not sustain my energy or maintain the disciplines necessary for my well-being. My current journey involves learning to pace myself, accepting that my capacity is different than it used to be, setting aside comparison and being compassionate to myself.

It’s ok not to get it right or perfectly! It’s okay to start small and adjust incrementally! It’s ok to start again tomorrow! To compare is to despair! It is important not to quit or give up!

With God, nothing is impossible! Not only can He transform me into a new person by changing the way I think. He can give me the strength and willingness to change, persevere and pace myself.

In my daily meditation I “Asked God to give me the strength to change. When you ask God to change you, you must at the same time fully trust Him. If you do not fully trust Him, God may answer your prayer as a rescuer does that of a drowning person who is putting up too much of a struggle. The rescuer must first render the person still more helpless, until he or she is wholly at the rescuer’s mercy. Just so must we be wholly at God’s mercy before we can be rescued. I prayed that I may be willing to be changed. I prayed that I may put myself wholly at the mercy of God.” Quoted from the app 24 Hours a Day.

Personal Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you for your faithfulness and unfailing love. Thank you for the abundant variety of food available to nourish me - thank you for allowing me to work with a professional to transform my gut health. May I be steadfast in my pursuit of healthy nutrition. Remind me to stomp on the enemy when fear rises or distorted thinking takes me away from “trust and obey”. I declare today that doubt, dread, discouragement and despair cannot dwell in me because I am seeking you first - your will, your power and your strength will carry me safely through this experience. I believe that you will transform my poor health to great health. Amen.

Then, following this prayer, we went on with our day which included a visit to the hospital to remove my kidney stent. Next, we went to ProResp to be fitted for a mask and rent an APAP machine to begin therapy/treatment for sleep apnea. We started off so early that by the time we were back home, I was exhausted. Having lived with pain, chronic or otherwise, most of my life, I have had a tendency (used to have) to focus on the problem and become discouraged. Add to that the fact that I used to have difficulty with change and I had the perfect recipe for worry and anxiety. I told Sean “no sooner is one problem taken care of yet another problem needs to be dealt with”. He reminded me that my God is greater than all my problems and encouraged me by saying “you are moving from one solution to another solution. Not from one problem to another”.

Wow!! This was divine inspiration!! My mindset changed and I was heartened and emboldened. God is good! God is faithful!

“Perseverance is the one virtue that really does multiply the value of all of the others. Faith has more impact when it perseveres. Love has more impact when it perseveres. Prayer can move mountains, when it perseveres. Carried by the Holy Spirit you continue to persevere, holding fast to the confession of your hope without wavering, because you know that He who promised is faithful!” - Quoted from a fellow prayer warrior

Building Spiritual Resilience - Lessons in Letting Go

If my past is any indication of my ability to turn things over to God and leave the results to Him. Then, as long as I am breathing, surrender may continue to be a struggle. Thankfully, God loves me enough not to leave me as I am or once was.

Paul’s moment of surrender occurred on the Damascus road after he was knocked down by blinding light. For others, less drastic methods are needed. Regardless, surrendering is never just a one-time event. As Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15:31  I die every day—I mean that, brothers—just as surely as I glory over you in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Years ago, most days, when I couldn’t surrender, I simply prayed for God to make me willing to be willing. While less than an ideal form of letting go and letting God, it introduced me to the practice of surrender, which is moment by moment and lifelong.

It is as important as a road to Damascus experience because for someone like me who lives with depression and anxiety it is critical to be present with God instead of dwelling in the past or being anxious about the future. Also, it helps me to differentiate my wants from my needs.As Jesus said in Matthew 16:24 If people want to follow me, they must give up the things they want. They must be willing even to give up their lives to follow me.

Following my divorce, I returned to work full-time and quickly realized that I needed to release the things that were outside of my control if I wanted to survive let alone succeed. But I had a hard time delegating, or even wanting to delegate, because at the time (2008) I justified my existence through my hard work, and equated success with struggle; I equated results with struggle. And so I sort of wore my struggles like a badge of honor. And all of that was the opposite of trusting God & allowing Him to be in control.

I came to realize that the standards and expectations I set for myself were unreasonable. Through God's grace I embarked on a journey which gave me permission to give myself a break, lighten up, be easier and go slower. Take it easy, have more fun. Love myself more, laugh more, appreciate more and accept that mistakes were OK and that when it came to my to-do list I would never get it all done and tomorrow was another day.

The bible tells us in Matthew 6:34 Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.

Then in 2012, on a hike to Saratoga Springs, God prompted me to pick up a bit of nature that represented the fear, worry and anxiety that weighed me down and held me back. I carried that branch with all its thorny twigs to the highest point of Saratoga Springs and released it over the edge letting it go once and for all. Yet here I am now, over a decade later still struggling, to a much lesser degree, with the thorns of distorted thinking, discouragement and disappointment. 

Again, in 2013, in an act of faith and obedience, I held fear, worry and anxiety in one hand and God’s word in the other while I walked through the baptisms of water. 

Three days later, my world and I came undone, and I stopped denying the depression that held me captive. – After almost 10 years in the same job, I found myself without, as the result of a reorganization. During this time, I desperately searched for God through whichever means I could find. Most days I could barely utter a simple prayer like “Jesus help me” let alone read, write and memorize scriptures and confusion would set in – I was stuck in a downward spiral. Then I came across mindful worship – Thank you God! This audible meditation on Lamentations 3:21-26 repeated over and over “His mercies are new every morning” it gave me hope - pushing me to remove the covers over my darkness, get out of bed and get into the business of living life– it built me up and encouraged me to reach for God’s new mercies. In an attempt to  surrender I released my worry, anxiety and fears to God and He began to restore me. I began to hope again particularly when I remembered: The faithful love of God never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh each morning.

In 2017, at a women’s event, I shared how the saying “Let go and let God” still drove me crazy. It was easier said than done. No sooner would I let something go than it was back causing havoc with rumination, fear, worry, anxiety and depression. Finally, I came to realize that if I could trust a stranger to stay on his side of the road while driving, how much more could I trust my God, the King of the World, to take care of me.  Once I opened my heart to the redemptive power of God’s love, He started to transform my fears into faith – fashioning an unshakeable assurance in His promises. With the revelation that God is about relationship not rules and progress not perfection, I willingly started giving my cares to Him. Trusting Him completely – This saved me much, worry, anxiety, and wasted time trying to figure things out for myself. As in Zephaniah 3:17 “with His love, he calms my fears.”

Then 2020, God reached into my brokenness and began to heal trauma from my past. I was reconciled to my younger self and my heart was open to receive all that God had for me - forgiveness, acceptance, unconditional love - I began to experience freedom from crippled emotions and self-loathing and was filled with self-compassion - without self criticism or judgment I was able to let my guard down, be open, honest and willing to ask and accept help, to  trust God and others, and to relinquish control and surrender.

I have been on a journey which is moving me from knowledge toward understanding and application of God’s truth and promises. Because I choose to trust in God, trust in the journey and trust in myself I am no longer consumed by worry and fear. But for God this would not have been possible. I am a lifelong learner ready to let go and grow - I will never live the perfect life but I can confidently say that I am living my best life. God didn’t wait until I was fixed to walk alongside me and he will meet you where you are when you surrender yourself and your heart to His will, love and mercy.

Because I know there is no longer anything to fear and trust that God will carry me through, I am willing to live one day at a time and make the best use of what time I am given. For me that includes working a 12 step program, 2 way prayer, meditation, and worship.  Despite not doing it consistently, I am committed to read the word daily, pray the word, seek the word expectantly and live the word joyfully.

PS - 2024 has been a real test of my ability to let go and let God. I have been on a leave of absence from work since January. Although it was precipitated by a mental health condition, it has also manifested as pain in my physical body. Currently, my medical team and I are managing, treating or exploring treatments for migraines, pulmonary functions, sleep apnea and kidney stones. Believe me when I say everyone of my struggles has been given to God - I don’t even know when I will be able to get back to work. So I created a “give it to God box” which I can plainly see as I write down my fears, worries and anxieties and turn them over to my Lord.

On August 2nd, I will be undergoing a 4th medical intervention for this stubborn kidney stone - it just won't let go and has gravity working in its favor! That’s okay because I do let go and I have God working in my favor! This is the nudge in the Spirit that prompted me to pen this post. I hope it encourages you - we may not see how much we have grown but God does.

Chantale,

Child of God, open to love and be loved because of God’s unfailing love

Building Mental Resilience - a lesson in humility

Yesterday, I told my husband that I wasn’t sure what was more enjoyable and satisfying when working with Lego Blocks - the nostalgia of my childhood, sorting and organizing blocks, completing a set or simply following step by step instructions which keep me focused and alleviate overthinking. 

I have long held the belief that #creativity is my therapy. I know that creative projects keep me in touch with the present (mindful), help me to focus and concentrate, and are a means to worship and honor God. 

In an article by Well+Good, psychotherapist Melissa Lapides expresses the benefits of using Lego to reduce stress and anxiety. She says: “When you’re focusing on creating something, you’re pointing your mind in the direction of what you’re creating. This doesn’t leave room for unwanted thoughts to penetrate your brain.” She goes on to explain that the hand-eye coordination required for this creative pursuit helps to induce the brain into a meditative state, reducing uncontrollable thinking, which can help to decrease anxiety. 

I say Amen to that! 

2024 has been a challenging year so far! Due to mental exhaustion, depression and chronic stress, I came to a full stop. No longer creating, exercising or socializing. Finally, at the end of January my doctor prescribed a leave of absence from work. Despite still being on leave, I am grateful that I need not be concerned about finances as I qualified for disability. One less thing to worry about! Thank you God! 

On the other hand, I continue to experience many physical issues which require advocating for myself, doctors’ visits, diagnostic tests and treatments. It’s a full-time job! I am having a difficult time letting go of the “push through it” mindset that used to serve me and getting the rest my body so desperately needs. 

Prayerfully and intentionally, I am shifting my mindset to “press on in faith” instead. - It is still a work in progress - as recently as yesterday, I found myself pushing through yet another migraine instead of closing my eyes and resting. Today, I am at a crossroad and find myself worrying about what I should be praying - do I ask for a complete healing or do I accept these chronic migraines as the “thorn in my flesh” that keeps me close to God and relying on Him. As I write this, I am reminded that either way, I need to rest my weary head in God’s hands and leave the results/outcome to Him. 

For the past few weeks, I have been studying the Psalms, particularly those that declare that God is my refuge. My favorite Psalm is Psalm 91. This Psalm describes God’s protection and promises in the face of life’s challenges. He doesn’t promise an easy life with no pain or discouragement; rather he offers help - to walk with me - to comfort me - to calm my anxious thoughts and quiet my fears as I learn to live and rest in His protection and unfailing love - as I learn to trust and obey according to his ways. 

It is no coincidence that on the same day that I finished studying the psalms about God being my refuge I came across a podcast about God’s love as a refuge. God is so faithful - I can always count on him to connect the dots between my life and His word. In this podcast (July 10, 2024) Stasi and John Eldredge explain why seeking refuge in God’s love is essential. Once again God honored my longings and desires while deepening my understanding of His love and what it means to take refuge in His love. 

Loving One Another: 1 John 4:7-8; 15-17 7 Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. 8 But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 15 All who declare that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God. 16 We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. 17 And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world. 

Over the past 20 years I have learned and come to understand that Satan uses our humanity to shake up our love and righteousness in God. He has used pain, depression, anxiety, fear, hurt, loss, discouragement, heartache, disappointment, and grief to separate me from the love of God - and in my brokenness, there are times when I have succumbed to his tactics instead of surrendering to God wholeheartedly. 

So from this day forward (as recommended by my therapist), when chronic pain strikes I will choose to; 

Sit with the pain. 

Be with the pain. 

Invite God into the pain. 

Be still and check in on what feelings I am experiencing. 

Acknowledge my feelings then release them to God. 

As I begin to experience relief, I will ask God for complete healing and a fresh revelation of the triggers and attitudes that impact my chronic migraines. 

This practice is a worthwhile lesson in humility - I already have the solution! Instead of trying to run away from my pain and wish my problems away, I can pray for humility! Humility will heal the pain. Humility will take me out of myself. Humility, that strength granted to me by that "power greater than myself," is mine for the asking! Humility will bring balance back into my life. Humility will allow me to accept my humanness joyously (taken from a daily reflection from A.A).

So, this morning, when I woke up with a migraine I practiced the steps outlined above and it turns out I was feeling apprehensive, which is another of 100 synonyms for fear. Rather than judge or criticize myself aka beat myself up for being weak, weary and useless, I listened to daily encouragement from Joyce Meyer. And guess what? The words she prayed were exactly what my weary heart needed to receive because resting and taking care of myself is hard for me. Yet as I write this, this is what God is revealing in the present moment. May it bless you as it blesses me.

You are a child of God, you are valuable to God’s kingdom purposes! You are loved, you are safe, you are forgiven for all of your sins and weaknesses. 

May you remember and recognize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you (1 Corinthians 6:19). You are a living stone ( the root meaning of my name is “stone” - “building material”) that God is building into his spiritual temple (1 Peter 2:5). 

You are weary because you rely on yourself to get things done. Instead, Come to me and I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28). Rather than being worn out, may you get the right amount of rest, sleep, laughter and enjoyment (the last two I am enjoying more easily since reconciling with my younger self). All this will be added on to you as you choose to seek me first and live righteously (Matthew 6:33). 

As you invest in yourself and confidently step out in faith, let go of the path you are on, trust and obey, you will abound in joy (part of my scripture verse for 2024 is Psalm 28:7b He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy) because you will be serving the desires of your heart - the desires of God’s heart for you (Psalm 37:4). 

I have been writing creatively for a decade, sometimes it ends up as a blog, like this, other times, it is a message I share at recovery meetings, often it is captured in my journaling and recently it is being transformed into my personal prayers to the Lord. 

Surely, by now you are asking yourself what any of this may have to do with working with Lego Blocks… 

Due to repetitive strain injury in my hands, I have had to set aside knitting and sewing. And for the longest time I had little motivation to create anything. Until one day, the nostalgia of my childhood grabbed my heart - I used to love building houses out of lego from the base plate up. After witnessing my husband’s calm demeanor following lego play I considered giving it a go. Perhaps this would be the way I would fulfill one of my dreams of building a Christmas Village - only I could display it all year round as it would feature all four seasons and as the grandkids get older they may like to demolish and rebuild one for themselves (we bought our granddaughter megablocks for her 2nd birthday and the next time we visited her dad had added 250 more blocks - we are confident that lego play will remain part of her activities 🙂). 

Every step of lego play whether it be sorting and organizing (spiritual gift 🙂), following step by step instructions or completing a set is very satisfying. I am in awe at the level of detail and creativity in each set - It reminds me of how much more majestic God's creation is after all He is the Creator and we are his masterpieces. I also appreciate how simple it is to follow step by step instructions and how quickly I notice I have gone off course when I have skipped a page or skipped ahead solely based on what I imagine the next build should look like 🙂. The latter brought me fresh revelation about the importance of reading and understanding the bible - basic instructions for life. And how much simpler my life would be if only I chose to follow its instructions step by step.

In the evening, when I review my daily attitudes I ask myself have I experienced more peace of mind? And I pray that God may protect me, and grant me serenity for the things I cannot change, courage for the things I can change and the wisdom to know the difference. I pray that I may go forward tomorrow unafraid and in humility recognizing that apart from God, I can do nothing.

Chantale

Child of God, Open and willing to love and be loved because God has redeemed me.

God, guard my heart and calm my anxious thoughts- Asking God for the gift of living for today!

 Today I want to talk about how I am learning to guard my heart and calm my anxious thoughts. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efs201uHR8c (20 minute testimony - from all addictions recovery meeting held August 9, 2023 - Ashes to Rubies - Life Lab)

In 2004, shortly after I came to a personal relationship with Jesus, God revealed to me the  first scripture that  would help me with anxious thinking, worry and fear. Matthew 6:25-34 repeatedly tells us not to worry; as I trust God for my life I can trust in Him to provide for every detail of my life. There is a hidden gem in the midst of all these worries - it can be found in verse 33 - seek first the kingdom of God and all these things will be added unto you. Yet for years I focused primarily on verse 34. I memorized it, spoke it outloud, repeated it in prayer and tried to transform my thoughts - it was exhausting and all I gained at the time was more knowledge, not the peace of mind I was so desperately seeking.

25 “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? 27 Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?

28 “And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, 29 yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. 30 And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?

31 “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ 32 These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. 33 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.

34 “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.

Fast forward to April 2013 this is the year my world and I came undone, and I stopped denying the depression that held me captive. – after several years in the same job, I found myself without, as the result of a reorganization. After 6 weeks without sleep accompanied with 24/7 intrusive and pervasive thinking, I finally conceded that my current state was not solely due to loss of employment but possibly the sign of something greater. Asking for help and admitting my suffering was challenging.

In addition to prescribed medication for depression, I began the daily practice of mindful meditation through my ever-growing faith in God instead of my self-reliance. It is that hope that pushed me to remove the covers over my darkness, get out of bed and get into the business of living life – it built me up and encouraged me to Seek God first and surrender my worry, anxiety, and fears – then slowly but surely my restoration began. 

Where I used to fear, I pause and consider if the threat is real or learned.

Where I used to worry, I pray and ask myself what would be the worst case scenario. And if I am ok with it I can move on to the next thought.

Where I used to criticize, I create. No longer using my time as an artist as a reward but as an act of worship.

Where I used to judge, I motivate. I have been called to LOVE abundantly and time and time again I am choosing to lead others to victory through encouragement, edification and exhortation.

Thankfully I can counter worry with 365 scriptures - one for each day about “fear not” “do not fear” “do not be afraid.” While these verses are direct in saying to “not fear” - I recognize that “trust the Lord '' or “trust in the Lord” also implies not to worry and/or fear. In essence, the whole Bible is full of scripture that demonstrates evidence/proof of God’s care for me - It provides reminders of God’s love and faithfulness - and I can trust that  if he did it before-He will do it again.

If I want to anchor my faith I need to be willing to Trust in God and follow Jesus.

Did you know that the average person thinks over 67,000 thoughts a day and thinking is to create so if I don’t manage my thoughts one thought can easily trigger another thought and my mind cascades into a spiral of intrusive thinking and before I know it, I speak and act out of a place of doubt (anxiety), insecurity, and fear. 

You may be wondering how I learned to manage my thoughts actively and consciously?

It was a progressive learning curve that began with prayer and meditation and evolved into the search for opportunities for growth (relational, emotional, mental and spiritual).

1) meditate and pray with scriptures such as:

• I was not given the spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind.

• Create in me a pure heart and renew in me a firm spirit.

It was in these promises that I learned that the opposite of fear is not faith or peace, but unconditional love from God, for God and for and from one another. This precipitated a transformation of my obsessive thoughts. 

• When insecurity, doubt and anxiety begin to show up I rely on meditation from Philippians 4:6-9 or take a 5 minute pause using the https://www.pauseapp.com/.

6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

8 And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. 9 Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.

2) resist, redirect and renew my thoughts by expressing my gratitude in all circumstances, finding healthy ways to distract myself, and turning to solving a different problem. When an intrusive thought enters my mind, I visualize a stop sign and take my thought captive in my hands, throw it on the ground and stomp it with my feet.

3) I have a positive and unconditional regard for others; show love regularly, share my heart with others, be an encouragement, smile, give of myself and watch as the answers come to them.

4) When a change occurs that can cause stress, I recognize it, I accept it, I adapt, and I adjust as necessary by choosing to look at growth opportunities rather than negative challenges. Focus on what is instead of what could be - through therapy I learned and practiced changing the narrative of my story (belief) writing 5 other stories which remind me of my identity in God and block the lies the enemy has had me believing for too long.

5) Express gratitude: Psalm 56:3-4; Isaiah 43:19; Romans 8:38, 39

Chantale

May you be richly blessed, highly favored and deeply loved.

Create a great day and live a better life in the arms of your Creator!

PS - There is nothing I embrace more than God's faithfulness. I am forever amazed every time He connects His Word to my life! Matthew 6:33 is the first promise I stood on and continue to stand on as I am working on recovery. Tonight, as I was preparing to publish this post, He reminded me of the first Christian artist and songs I clung to in in a very difficult season almost 20 years ago - before I knew Jesus "you told me not to worry" Living for today - Natalie Grant. 

God's faithfulness has stood the test of time, carrying me through the hills and the valleys, sorrow and joy, chaos and peace. I give Him all my praises! I honor Him in worship and continue to express gratitude because He chose me. He waited patiently for me to turn to Him. For me to seek His love and receive forgiveness. His word tells me to delight in Him and He will give me the desires of my heart. That in itself is a beautiful promise, yet how much greater is God to me that my desires become His will for my life! Amen!

Be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD

 

I can wait on the Lord by trusting him!

I can wait on the Lord by seeking him!

I can wait on the Lord through prayer!

While I wait on the Lord I dig deeper into His word, seek His intimate presence, worship Him and give Him all my praises.

No matter how anxious I may feel or how uncomfortable it may get I am trusting God by obeying the word he gave me for 2023 and reminded me of yesterday - (Psalm 27:13-14) Chantale you can believe that you shall look upon the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living! Chantale wait for the LORD; be strong, and let (allow and accept) your heart take courage; wait for the Lord.

God is so faithful. I love the way he connects the dots between his word

and my life. This year’s word started with a prayer to be still and know God. Sometimes during my recovery zoom meetings I color, but this time I reached for a different box of pencils and imagine my surprise when I saw this and read the scripture confirming my posture for 2023: Wait! 

In the dictionary, the definition for wait is  to delay action until a particular time or event.

In God’s kingdom wait translates to trust. Trust is the action I take because of faith.

Faith is defined as “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen”

(Hebrews 11:1).

Faith involves trusting in something I cannot prove. Faith is inseparable from trust;

it’s the confidence/ hope I have that God can and will do what He says in His Word. 

Waiting for God is not easy. Often it seems that he isn’t answering then I

get fearful and go about figuring it out instead of trusting and hoping in him.

Ann Voskamp says: "Waiting isn’t passive — waiting is passion: waiting is loving long

enough to suffer. Waiting is the patience of the long suffering of letting go.

Letting go of the plan, the dream, the map, the vision. Letting the ground of things,

the things that you made your ground, letting them give way.

Waiting is a letting go to let something grow."

https://annvoskamp.com/2022/09/essential-secrets-to-how-to-wait-well/

Got questions . org helped me to better understand what it means to wait

on the Lord. And what if anything I could do to maintain that posture.

“Patient, confident trust in the Lord is the central idea of the exhortation to wait on the Lord.”

“Waiting on the Lord involves the confident expectation of a positive result

in which we place a great hope. This expectation is based on knowledge of

and trust in God. Those who do not know the Lord will not wait on Him;

neither will those who fail to trust Him.”

Through patient, courageous, active trusting, seeking, and prayer,

I am obediently learning to wait on the Lord.

https://www.gotquestions.org/wait-on-the-Lord.html

While I wait on the Lord I dig deeper into His word, seek His intimate presence,

worship Him and give Him all my praises.

Chantale,

Create a great day and live a better life for God's glory!

Out at sea - without a care in the world

The closer I get to nature, the closer I get to God. His creation is awe inspiring, majestic and crushes any doubt one may have about His existence and control over all the earth.

There is nothing my soul craves more than to experience the presence of God in the ordinary things of day to day life. The first time I felt the touch of God’s Spirit upon me was during an early morning walk along the shore of the ocean. It was quiet and I was reflecting on the truth of God’s word  and the weight of His promises. In prayer and meditation I asked God to touch me in a tangible way. Next, I felt the wind rolling in from the waves and blushing my cheeks with the breath of God’s Spirit.

As I write this, I am coming in from taking a Recovery Zoom Room meeting with a small group from the Ottawa area which I took from the porch of Sean’s uncle’s house in Cap d’Espoir, 15 minutes from the Rocher Perce. Once again, He has used the breeze to blush my cheeks and filled the yard with dancing trees. I cannot help but want to praise God! In His majesty and sovereignty he continues to  reach down from heaven to remind me that He is near - as near as my next breath and that He will meet all my needs because I am His.

What a wonderful time we had catching up with family and witnessing God’s magnificent creation at every turn.  The majestic scenery of the Perce rock and capes filled my heart and left me breathless. My heart swells with every memory - memories that I will hold dear because they remind me of the importance of perseverance in life and in my faith.

On the day we took the boat to tour Perce rock and Bonaventure island the fog was so thick that, from the shore, within a matter of minutes, we saw the Perce rock “disappear” from our line of sight. WOW! Once we boarded the boat, and set out to sea I experienced the power of water (a blog on this at another time) and the perseverance of wildlife in a habitat that, while foreign to me, has been the home to Atlantic puffins since 1758.

They are a strong bird, able to withstand all weather conditions, loyal to their mate and loving parents. Risk takers and explorers, to watch them fly between the rocks, scuttle from oncoming boats and run along the top of the waters to get airborne, they are true adventurers. They embody everything good and are passionate, loyal and helpful.¬Teresa Dawe (Hamilton, ON)

Although they are only 25 cm in height, puffins are fabulous flyers, flapping their wings up to 400 times a minute and speeding through the air at up to 88 km an hour. Even though I could not capture their flight in pictures it was amazing to watch them go and move about so easily despite the crushing waves. But what inspired me most is their ability to rest on the waves despite their surroundings and circumstances. Puffins spend ⅔ of their life on the sea- without a care in the world. Meaning they have no worries at all. 

Human beings on the other hand, are anxious over worldly cares with deceptive hopes and promises of riches and happiness. This causes us to abandon the great concern of our souls and seek in its place worldly things. 

Despite God’s word in Matthew 6:25-34  which repeatedly tells us not to worry I have been guilty of hyper-focus on worry - unable to cast my cares on God I chose to stress and obsess. Meaning I did not believe, have faith or trust in God to provide what is necessary for my health, welfare, maintenance, and protection.

After many delays and difficulties in attaining what I believed was needed for a personal relationship with God I heeded Paul’s word to Timothy - But you, Timothy, are a man of God; so run from all these worldly things. Pursue righteousness and a godly life, along with faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness. 1 Timothy 6:11 (NLT)

Furthermore, I realized and accepted that It’s impossible to please God apart from faith. And why? Because anyone who wants to approach God must believe both that he exists and that he cares enough to respond to those who seek him. Hebrews 11:6 (MSG)

Lastly, because I was tired of experiencing resistance to people, places and circumstances I chose to humble myself, relinquish my illusion of control and surrender to the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt me, casting all my worries on him, because I believe and trust that God cares for me as he cares for you also. 1 Peter 5:6-7 (emphasis added is mine)

May you be richly blessed, highly favored and deeply loved today and always.

Chantale

Create a great day and live a better life in God!