November Reflections for Body, Soul & Spirit
#47: On today’s episode, I’m going to do an November recap of what has been supporting me in my body, soul and spirit. I get a little vulnerable on this episode and share my emotional journey over the past five and a half years, touching on themes of grief, isolation, and the struggle for connection.
These are just a few of the things I will be sharing. I hope this episode inspires and encourages you to do your own reflection.
Let's go to the show.
Key Take-aways:
- 07:40 - Reflections on Life Choices
- 13:00 - Finding Calm in Nature
- 19:22 - Navigating Change and Isolation
- 24:18 - Navigating Seasons of Change
- 34:25 - The Journey of Grief and Healing
- 39:21 - Embracing Change: The Journey of Branding and Inspiration
Resources:
- Ep. 5 - How Are You Created in God's Image
- Ep. 44 - October Reflections for Body, Soul & Spirit
- Living Libations (where I purchased the Open Sky Eye Serum)
- The Beauty In Letting Go by Angee Wiser Robertson
- Instagram Post by Mary Marantz
- Grief post by Mary Marantz
- Grief post by Emily P. Freeman
- AngeeRobertson.com website
Heavenly Position Guidance Challenge:
For this week’s HPS Challenge, take out your journal and spend at least 15 minutes in a quiet space if possible. Take some time to reflect on the month of November for yourself and your three parts, body, soul and spirit and the makeup of each area.
Make sure you don't miss a future episode! You can subscribe to receive email notifications when new episodes release. Visit spiritledlifepodcast.com to sign up.
Want to support this podcast? We have Spirit Led Life Gear available. Everything from hats, t-shirts, mugs to tote bags and anything in-between.
Want to connect with Angee? You can find her on Instagram @angeewrobertson or at angeerobertson.com
Transcript
I'm Angie Robertson and you're listening to the Spirit Led Life podcast, episode 47.
Angie Robertson:On today's episode, I am going to do a November recap of what has been supporting me in my body, soul and spirit.
Angie Robertson:I'll be sharing things like what journaling has been doing this past month, what a walk on the beach has done, and also something that I recently read that has impacted me in a season of life that I have been experiencing for the last five and a half years.
Angie Robertson:And this has really helped me to embrace this season rather than struggle with it.
Angie Robertson:These are just a few of the things I'll be sharing and I hope this episode inspires and encourages you to do your own reflection.
Angie Robertson:Let's go to the show.
Angie Robertson:Welcome back to the show.
Angie Robertson:On this podcast we explore who God is so we can know who he has made us to be and learn how to live our lives by the Holy Spirit.
Angie Robertson:For those of you who are new here, or maybe you haven't listened to a reflection episode before.
Angie Robertson:Back in episode five, we learned that we are made of three parts, body, soul, and spirit.
Angie Robertson:And each of those parts has three parts for the body, its speech, the five senses, and action.
Angie Robertson:Our soul is made up of our mind, will and emotions, and our spirit is made up of our conscience, fellowship, and intuition.
Angie Robertson:And at the beginning of each month, I reflect back on the previous month on what has supported me in each of those areas.
Angie Robertson:So we're going to dive in and talk about that.
Angie Robertson:But before we do, while you are listening to this podcast, if you are able to, if you're not driving, I want you to look at your podcast player and look and see where you can click the follow link.
Angie Robertson:If you can go ahead and click that.
Angie Robertson:If you aren't currently following this podcast, I want to invite you to do so also.
Angie Robertson:You can also share this podcast with those that you know might benefit from learning how to live by the Holy Spirit a little bit more and have a little more of the Holy Spirit's guidance in our lives.
Angie Robertson:Who doesn't need that?
Angie Robertson:So please share this podcast when you like and share.
Angie Robertson:And even when you leave a comment on the podcast and like you rate the podcast, it helps others to find it and I really, truly appreciate it.
Angie Robertson:We are in the process of building this community out and I want more and more of you to bring your friends, bring your family and invite them to join us because I love getting in your ears every week and being able to connect with you.
Angie Robertson:And then also through the Journaling with Jesus gatherings that we have that's another way for us to actually get face to face.
Angie Robertson:So you'll learn more about that later.
Angie Robertson:But I just want to take this opportunity to thank you for liking and sharing and supporting this podcast.
Angie Robertson:It means so much to me.
Angie Robertson:So let's get started and begin with the body.
Angie Robertson:Here is what supported me in November, starting with the five senses.
Angie Robertson:In the last reflection for October, I shared that I'm doing a whole new dental routine and it's a more holistic, natural way to take care of my teeth.
Angie Robertson:And that's going great.
Angie Robertson:By the way, just to update you, it's been a month now and it's been going really well and I've seen a significant difference in my teeth and my gums and I'm going to continue with the process until I visit my dentist, which won't be until like February of next year.
Angie Robertson:So I'll let you know even more then how what they say it's doing.
Angie Robertson:But I can certainly definitely tell a difference and it's helped tremendously.
Angie Robertson:This company that I'm using to get some of my cleaning supplies, if you will, for my teeth from is called Living Libations and I'll be sure to link to them in the show notes.
Angie Robertson:When I went to their site to buy some of the tooth powders and the serums and things like that for my teeth, I found one for your eyes.
Angie Robertson:It's called Open Sky Eye Serum.
Angie Robertson:And I bought it because I've been dealing with a lot of eczema on my eyes.
Angie Robertson:I get that from time to time as I've grown up, you know, but it's been really bad the last several months and I went to my eye doctor, she prescribed some cream, some ointment and it's not doing anything for it.
Angie Robertson:I mean it a little bit, but nothing.
Angie Robertson:I've gotten some, you know, over the counter eczema cream and that helped a little bit, but still not so I thought I'm going to give this a try.
Angie Robertson:It's all natural, it's botanical oils, things like thyme oil and lavender and Blue Tinsy and all these great, fantastic essential oils are in it and I'm going to give it a try.
Angie Robertson:So I bought the oil and I've been using it and it has been amazing and I love it.
Angie Robertson:I still have a little bit of eczema I'm dealing with, but it is, it is gone, is far better than what it has been.
Angie Robertson:But the extra benefit that I've seen from it is, you know, I'm 53, I have a lot of fine lines around like under my eyes especially my dark circles are prominent.
Angie Robertson:I've always had dark circles.
Angie Robertson:I don't even try to hide it as much anymore because it's just.
Angie Robertson:It is what it is.
Angie Robertson:And I have tried all the concealers and all the things but this, this Open sky oil, which again, I'll link to it, I.
Angie Robertson:And I'm not sponsored by them, I'm not getting paid by them, I'm not an affiliate.
Angie Robertson:I am just simply sharing it because I have seen is in my 53 years of taking care of my skin and I am very.
Angie Robertson:I wash my face in the morning and I wash my face in the evening.
Angie Robertson:I use all the things.
Angie Robertson:I have taken my care of my skin since I was, gosh, probably in junior high.
Angie Robertson:My mom drilled it into me to take care of my skin.
Angie Robertson:I have noticed a significant difference in the lines under my eyes using this oil.
Angie Robertson:It has been amazing.
Angie Robertson:So much so that the Living Libations company, they actually do consultations, free consultations.
Angie Robertson:You can schedule an appointment with one of their experts, their skincare experts or whatever.
Angie Robertson:They sell all kinds of things.
Angie Robertson:It's not just skin care.
Angie Robertson:They sell body care, skin care, oral care, you name it, they sell it anyway.
Angie Robertson:So I scheduled an appointment with one of their specialists to find out what else I could be using on my face because it's a little overwhelming.
Angie Robertson:When you go to their site, they have so many different serums and oils and things and I wasn't sure which would be best for me.
Angie Robertson:So I scheduled an appointment with them, told them what my concern areas are, what I want to accomplish with my skin care and they were able to give me a regimen that actually is really simple.
Angie Robertson:It's not complicated at all.
Angie Robertson:And so I've ordered the things and I.
Angie Robertson:I have not gotten them yet to try them, but I'm sure in my December.
Angie Robertson:Although we might do a little different December reflection.
Angie Robertson:But anyway, I'll get to that.
Angie Robertson:I will be sure to share as well how that's going.
Angie Robertson:But any.
Angie Robertson:The Open sky serum for my eyes has been amazing.
Angie Robertson:I can't wait to see what the other serums will be doing for my face.
Angie Robertson:So I'm excited about that.
Angie Robertson:So that is for my five senses and actually it really is because it's not only is it helping my skin and improving my skin, but the smell is amazing.
Angie Robertson:I absolutely love the smell of the serum, the oils.
Angie Robertson:Oh, it's so amazing.
Angie Robertson:So again, I'll be sure to link to it.
Angie Robertson:All right, moving on to action.
Angie Robertson:Dave and I took a belated 25 year anniversary trip.
Angie Robertson:I think I've talked about this several times now, but we had originally scheduled to take a cruise.
Angie Robertson:That cruise got booked up.
Angie Robertson:Then we decided we were going to go to Asheville, North Carolina because we, that was one of our very first trips we ever took together.
Angie Robertson:Even before we got married.
Angie Robertson:We took a trip to Asheville.
Angie Robertson:And I've heard people say that if you travel together before you get married, then you should.
Angie Robertson:Your marriage would survive or anything.
Angie Robertson:If you can survive a travel, you can survive anything.
Angie Robertson:And so I had a great time on our trip.
Angie Robertson:But anyway, we decided maybe we would go back to Asheville and kind of relive that experience.
Angie Robertson:And then of course, the hurricane came through and devastated that area.
Angie Robertson:So that trip was out.
Angie Robertson:And then on our anniversary, our cat sitter was out of town.
Angie Robertson:So we couldn't take a trip the week of our anniversary.
Angie Robertson:And we finally was able, we were able to get the cat sitter a date.
Angie Robertson:And that was in November, like mid part of November.
Angie Robertson:We were able to get away.
Angie Robertson:So we ended up going to St.
Angie Robertson:Augustine Beach.
Angie Robertson:Surprise, surprise.
Angie Robertson:This is our third time going there this year.
Angie Robertson:But we love the area.
Angie Robertson:I mean, we lived in Jacksonville for 11 years.
Angie Robertson:We were 20 miles south of.
Angie Robertson:No, north.
Angie Robertson:Excuse me.
Angie Robertson:We were 20 miles north of St.
Angie Robertson:Augustine.
Angie Robertson:So we visited there all the time.
Angie Robertson:And then if we had family come into town or friends come into town, we would play tourists and take them to St.
Angie Robertson:Augustine.
Angie Robertson:It's a beautiful.
Angie Robertson:It's the oldest city in our nation and it's absolutely beautiful.
Angie Robertson:If you ever get a chance to go, I highly recommend it.
Angie Robertson:You won't be disappointed.
Angie Robertson:It is a lovely city.
Angie Robertson:It's kind of Spanish in style, which may be why I'm so drawn to it.
Angie Robertson:I was born in Spain.
Angie Robertson:I'm not Spanish.
Angie Robertson:My dad was in the Navy.
Angie Robertson:I was born in Spain.
Angie Robertson:And I just, I'm so drawn to the Spanish culture.
Angie Robertson:So anyway, we went there and we did a little different trip.
Angie Robertson:We stayed a little further out of St.
Angie Robertson:Augustine proper.
Angie Robertson:So we stayed in a town called Vilano beach.
Angie Robertson:And we stayed in a house that was right on the marsh.
Angie Robertson:And the house was.
Angie Robertson:Okay, I'm not going to link to it, I'm not going to talk about it because there's an influencer on Instagram that, you know, I follow her or used to follow her.
Angie Robertson:And I remember when she redid this house.
Angie Robertson:And so I had high expectations going to the house, but I was really disappointed with the house.
Angie Robertson:But again, I'm not going to.
Angie Robertson:I'm not.
Angie Robertson:I'm not going to badmouth somebody's business.
Angie Robertson:That's just not good business.
Angie Robertson:But the view of the house and where it was situated made up for any of the faults of the house itself.
Angie Robertson:It was right on the marsh.
Angie Robertson:And Jacksonville area has really extreme tides, so you can have a five.
Angie Robertson:A four to five foot tide.
Angie Robertson:So when the tide goes out, it takes basically all the water with it to where you see the land of the, you know, at the bottom of the water.
Angie Robertson:And then when it brings it back, it brings it back.
Angie Robertson:When those tides would go out, all the waterfowl, so egrets, cranes.
Angie Robertson:We had storks.
Angie Robertson:We had what were called.
Angie Robertson:I think they're called rosette spoonbills.
Angie Robertson:I don't know if that's how you say it, but they're like.
Angie Robertson:They're pink spoon bill birds.
Angie Robertson:I originally thought they were flamingos, but then when we looked at them, they had the spoon bill beak.
Angie Robertson:And then I looked it up and noticed that it.
Angie Robertson:It's.
Angie Robertson:They're actually called rosette spoonbills because of the color.
Angie Robertson:They're more.
Angie Robertson:They can go from, like a deep magenta color to a light pink color.
Angie Robertson:All kinds of birds.
Angie Robertson:We have herrings, all the things, everything.
Angie Robertson:And I'm.
Angie Robertson:I mean, they would come in, dozens of them whenever the water would go out so that they could eat all the crustaceans and things and feed.
Angie Robertson:It was amazing.
Angie Robertson:Beautiful sunsets, beautiful weather.
Angie Robertson:The weather was absolutely perfect.
Angie Robertson:We had an amazing time.
Angie Robertson:And one day we went for a walk on the beach because we weren't.
Angie Robertson:We were literally within walking distance.
Angie Robertson:The ocean was across the street.
Angie Robertson:So we would walk down the street where we were at and go across the highway and go on the beach.
Angie Robertson:And we only got to walk one day because just our schedule and things we were doing.
Angie Robertson:And then the weather, the rain.
Angie Robertson:There was a rain day one day and things.
Angie Robertson:So we decided to go for a walk on the beach.
Angie Robertson:And it just did my body good.
Angie Robertson:And like, anytime I grew up on the beach, the water, the ocean, the waves has always been a calming rhythm to my life.
Angie Robertson:And anytime I needed to go think or just be, I would just go walk to the beach.
Angie Robertson:We, my mom and I, we lived in an apartment that was across the street from the ocean.
Angie Robertson:And I know that sounds like, ooh, bougie.
Angie Robertson:But believe me, it wasn't bougie.
Angie Robertson:We weren't.
Angie Robertson:We weren't bougie at all.
Angie Robertson:It's just where we were living was very like the beach closed down.
Angie Robertson:It was a very touristy town.
Angie Robertson:And we just have to happen to live within walking distance.
Angie Robertson:And I'm grateful for it.
Angie Robertson:I mean, that was one of the many blessings I had in my life.
Angie Robertson:But I would just go walk on the beach or journal on the beach or whatever.
Angie Robertson:And it was nice to go and walk and stick my feet in the water, albeit they were.
Angie Robertson:It was freezing, the water was cold.
Angie Robertson:It kind of went away after a while because just feeling the water and the sand in my toes and hearing the rhythmatic waves and the sun beating on my face, it really recharged me.
Angie Robertson:And I needed that.
Angie Robertson:And the most amazing way possible, I needed that recharge.
Angie Robertson:So I really.
Angie Robertson:The walking on the beach was my action for no for November.
Angie Robertson:Moving on to speech.
Angie Robertson:In October, I launched Journaling with Jesus, which are these zoom gatherings that we get together.
Angie Robertson:I invite you, it's free to anybody.
Angie Robertson:And I hold them once a week.
Angie Robertson:They're not recorded.
Angie Robertson:They're times for us to gather together, be in the presence of God and just have a moment to breathe.
Angie Robertson:Which one of the participants actually said that?
Angie Robertson:She said it was nice to just step away for one hour.
Angie Robertson:And it wasn't even.
Angie Robertson:Sometimes it's an hour, sometimes it's less than, it's 30 minutes.
Angie Robertson:It just depends on how many people show up on the.
Angie Robertson:On the actual gathering.
Angie Robertson:It was night.
Angie Robertson:She said it was nice to step away for one hour to get in the presence of God and just be in his presence and have a moment to breathe.
Angie Robertson:That was her words.
Angie Robertson:And I loved that because I felt the same way.
Angie Robertson:And that's exactly what I'm doing.
Angie Robertson:I'm inviting you in for just to step away from your life for just an hour and get into the presence of God and actually commune with Him.
Angie Robertson:So we have a time of being able to practice and commune with him.
Angie Robertson:And you get a chance to journal.
Angie Robertson:You have 10 minutes to journal.
Angie Robertson:It doesn't sound like a lot of time, or it may sound like a lot of time to you, I'm not sure.
Angie Robertson:But it's a perfect amount of time for you to really connect with God and communicate with Him.
Angie Robertson:And I love these calls.
Angie Robertson:Like I've led several so far.
Angie Robertson:We try to do them once a week and I vary the times of days that we offer them to meet everybody's schedule.
Angie Robertson:And you can register for all the calls, or you can register for none of the calls, or you can register for a few of the calls.
Angie Robertson:Really all I ask is that you just show up.
Angie Robertson:Because we don't record the calls.
Angie Robertson:They're not recorded so you can't register and get the recording for later.
Angie Robertson:I actually am holding the space for everybody to attend and be on these calls live and really have a moment to be in a safe space where they can breathe.
Angie Robertson:And so recording would just ruin that ambiance, if you will.
Angie Robertson:You can go to journalingwithjesus.com if you are interested and you can pick a date that works for you and sign up.
Angie Robertson:If they all work for you, feel free to sign up.
Angie Robertson:Like I said, I try to stagger the times.
Angie Robertson:I'm doing them in the mornings, afternoons, evenings and just kind of staggering them.
Angie Robertson:So the only time I won't do calls is during holiday weeks like Thanksgiving week or we didn't do one and I won't be doing one the week of Christmas or the week of New Year's.
Angie Robertson:But other than that, I've been trying to do them every week.
Angie Robertson:So I would love for you to join us again.
Angie Robertson:It's a way for us to come together as a community and we have two way communication.
Angie Robertson:Instead of me just being in your ears, you actually get to commune with me as well, which I love.
Angie Robertson:Now moving on to Seoul.
Angie Robertson:So for my mind, sitting on the dock and watching the sunset was huge because I feel like I have been going and going and going for.
Angie Robertson:When we lived in Jacksonville, at the end of the day, everybody would come out and we would gather in somebody's driveway.
Angie Robertson:Whether it was our driveway, our neighbors across the street, our neighbor down the road, whatever.
Angie Robertson:Every single day we would come out of our houses and we would all gather or people would be coming home from work and we would sit in a driveway and we would just chit chat, we'd have a cocktail, we'd share snacks, we'd share stories, we'd laugh, we'd have fun.
Angie Robertson:It was just a great time.
Angie Robertson:And it was a way for me to decompress from work, especially working at home.
Angie Robertson:I needed that shift and that socialization and nobody was looking at their phones.
Angie Robertson:Nobody brought their phones.
Angie Robertson:Really.
Angie Robertson:It was amazing time for us just to be and just have be in the present moment.
Angie Robertson:Now that we've moved to Tallahassee, it has been very different.
Angie Robertson:Our neighborhood doesn't operate that way.
Angie Robertson:Nobody comes out of their house.
Angie Robertson:We've tried several, several times and then I'll keep trying, but nobody really comes out.
Angie Robertson:Nobody really sits in the driveway, nobody does anything.
Angie Robertson:And Dave and I work at home and we don't really get that socialization or away time from the screens like we used to.
Angie Robertson:We try to be more intentional about that, but it's really hard when you're at the house and all your technology is there.
Angie Robertson:When we went on this trip, we spent less time on our screens.
Angie Robertson:And one evening in particular, it was the last.
Angie Robertson:I think it was the last night we were there.
Angie Robertson:We decided to just.
Angie Robertson:We had gone earlier that day and picked up something for dinner so that we didn't have to go out that night.
Angie Robertson:The weather was beautiful.
Angie Robertson:It had just rained earlier that day.
Angie Robertson:We decided, you know, it was getting sunnier as the day went on.
Angie Robertson:We decided we were just going to sit on the dock, have a cocktail, or in my case, a mocktail, and just watch the sunset.
Angie Robertson:And that's what we did.
Angie Robertson:I did bring my phone only to take pictures, but I really intentionally made sure I didn't pick my phone up and looked at Instagram or emails or texts or whatever.
Angie Robertson:And I only picked up my phone to take a sunset, which I took some incredible sunsets.
Angie Robertson:And I'll have to share them in the newsletter.
Angie Robertson:That was a respite for my mind to just watch nature.
Angie Robertson:And the tide had gone out, so all the birds were coming in to feed.
Angie Robertson:Watching the sunset, watching sailboats way off in the distance in the deeper waters go by, listening to the birds call to each other and cackle and be territorial.
Angie Robertson:I needed that break in my mind.
Angie Robertson:It was lovely to just be.
Angie Robertson:And I know that Dave and I, we go for walks.
Angie Robertson:We intentionally go for walks.
Angie Robertson:We intentionally sit on a bench at the park that we walk at so that we can have that clear mind.
Angie Robertson:But this was an extra layer.
Angie Robertson:It just reminded me of those times when we would go sit in the driveway of our neighbor's house and just be the moment for my will.
Angie Robertson:I'm going to be a little vulnerable here.
Angie Robertson:The last five and a half years have been really challenging for me.
Angie Robertson:They've been a struggle, a big, big struggle for me between moving to a new city, Dave's cancer, being in a city where we don't know anybody, and I know God moved us here, and trying to hold on to that and knowing that there's a purpose for us being here, but also feeling the depths of loneliness, especially when Covid hit.
Angie Robertson:I mean, we already work at home.
Angie Robertson: ou know, since, for me, since: Angie Robertson: And for Dave, I think it was: Angie Robertson:So when everything locked down and shut down, it wasn't too much of a Stretch for us because we were already working out of the house and already isolated, if you will.
Angie Robertson:But we had friends.
Angie Robertson:Like I said, we had an amazing neighborhood.
Angie Robertson:I thank God for that neighborhood every single day.
Angie Robertson:I don't think we would have been sane if we didn't have that neighborhood.
Angie Robertson:And for the better part of my business, we lived in an amazing neighborhood.
Angie Robertson:And before that, when I were.
Angie Robertson:The neighborhood we were in when I first started my business, again, amazing neighbors.
Angie Robertson:We had family there.
Angie Robertson:Definitely different dynamics since we've been here with all of that.
Angie Robertson:And then compound Covid and the lockdown and not really being able to get out.
Angie Robertson:So we're even further isolated than what we already were.
Angie Robertson:Working at home is taking a toll on me mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and I've tried really hard not to and reframe and really look at it differently.
Angie Robertson:One thing that I will say is, during all of this, my communication with God is greater and stronger than it ever has been.
Angie Robertson:I communicate with him more than I ever have in my entire walk with Jesus.
Angie Robertson:My trust in my experience of God, which I've talked about that before, how most of my life, my Christian walk, my faith walk with Jesus, I allowed the church to tell me how I should think, feel, behave as a Christian.
Angie Robertson:And I never trusted my own experience of God and my own what I felt like, how I experienced God.
Angie Robertson:And that was something that I have really embraced in these last five and a half years.
Angie Robertson:I have extremely embraced it.
Angie Robertson:This podcast is part of that.
Angie Robertson:It's a overflow of that, if you will.
Angie Robertson:All that to say, while it's been an amazing growth in my learning of who God is, it's also been a growth period of finding out more of who he made me to be.
Angie Robertson:And it's been an amazing journey.
Angie Robertson:That part has been amazing.
Angie Robertson:The external, I guess, social part, if you will, has been what's been a challenge.
Angie Robertson:And add to it that Dave and I both have strained relationships with our family.
Angie Robertson:My mom and I haven't spoken in several years now.
Angie Robertson:I haven't seen her, and it'll be 10 years in December.
Angie Robertson:So I'm being very vulnerable here.
Angie Robertson:It is definitely not by my choice at all.
Angie Robertson:I have reached out and reached out and there's, you know, I mean, this is where I have to release and allow God to handle that situation.
Angie Robertson:And he knows what's best.
Angie Robertson:And I've definitely communicated with him about it and I've definitely received an answer from him and what to do and how to approach it.
Angie Robertson:All I can do is continue to Pray for her and just be open and loving and willing and like ready and available for when the day does come that we do connect again.
Angie Robertson:And with that lack of family and as we're aging and getting older and our own family didn't come together like we thought, it has really been playing on my mind the last five and a half years.
Angie Robertson:It has been a struggle.
Angie Robertson:And I started this podcast and then I, you know, you start something like this, it's, it's something completely different outside of what the work I've been doing for the last 22 years.
Angie Robertson:And it's new and I am learning and God is showing me.
Angie Robertson:And this is something I know that God has called me to do.
Angie Robertson:And I question it still.
Angie Robertson:I think I talked about this on an episode before of considering quitting, and I've referenced Mary Morantz many times before on this podcast.
Angie Robertson:I don't know her personally, I just follow her.
Angie Robertson:And she has some very prolific things to say and prophetic things to say, if you will, sometimes.
Angie Robertson:And she recently posted something that said how to trust a hidden season.
Angie Robertson:And that intrigued me.
Angie Robertson:And I was like a hidden season because I feel like I'm in a season for sure.
Angie Robertson:I'm in a season.
Angie Robertson:So I decided to read the post.
Angie Robertson:I mean, I've literally just read this, so I am still processing it, but it has helped tremendously for me to look at this season of my life in a completely different way.
Angie Robertson:And I'm not going to read all of it, but I'll be sure to link to it so that you can read it for yourself.
Angie Robertson:But I'll just hit some highlights of what stood out to me.
Angie Robertson:One of the first things she said is before every new level, there is a time of preparation.
Angie Robertson:She said that some of the best things that ever happened to her were often preceded by some of the hardest years of her life.
Angie Robertson:A time of isolation, dry seasons, loss of friendships, and burnout.
Angie Robertson:And when I read that, that hit to the core of my being because that is exactly the way that I've been feeling.
Angie Robertson:I feel isolated.
Angie Robertson:I feel like I'm in a dry season in some respects.
Angie Robertson:Not every area, clearly in this podcast, I feel like we're God is really pouring out of me to you.
Angie Robertson:I've had loss of family and I've had experienced burnout.
Angie Robertson:I experienced burnout from my previous vocation, which was my virtual assistant business.
Angie Robertson:Definitely felt burnt out from that.
Angie Robertson:I was.
Angie Robertson:There wasn't even a word for how burnt out I was on that particular profession.
Angie Robertson:Like, I loved what I was doing.
Angie Robertson:And I think I went, you know, there's that saying, you've overstayed your welcome.
Angie Robertson:I completely overstayed my welcome in that business, mainly because of the fact that it was a security for me.
Angie Robertson:It was secure, it was reliable, I could count on it.
Angie Robertson:I could depend on it.
Angie Robertson:Or so I thought.
Angie Robertson:Like, really?
Angie Robertson:No, it was God.
Angie Robertson:And then that's when I started to realize it wasn't the business, it was God sustaining me and shifting the gratitude and the realization to who was doing it not.
Angie Robertson:And taking it off my own might, if you will.
Angie Robertson:It wasn't my will, it was God's will.
Angie Robertson:And thank God he sustained me.
Angie Robertson:And thank God he met me where I was at and where my faith was at at the time.
Angie Robertson:I'm grateful for that.
Angie Robertson:So this was a reminder to me that doing this podcast, it's at.
Angie Robertson:It's a new level.
Angie Robertson:And there is a time of preparation, and I have to have that time of preparation.
Angie Robertson:And these last five years have been that preparation for this moment.
Angie Robertson:And she.
Angie Robertson:Her.
Angie Robertson:One of her other slides was being set apart often means walking alone.
Angie Robertson:And she says when she found herself alone, oftentimes what ended up happening was that she found herself.
Angie Robertson:And that is exactly what has happened to me during these last five and a half years, is I've been discovering who God made me to be.
Angie Robertson:And I didn't know that.
Angie Robertson:And I didn't know that he could love me if I just for me, not because I had a virtual assistant business, not because I was the wife to David Robertson, not because I was a daughter or a sister or a friend or someone that does some work at volunteer work at the church or someone who, you know, helps a neighbor.
Angie Robertson:He loves me for just me, not the things I do, just me.
Angie Robertson:Now she goes on to talk about how this is a time to put in your reps and build muscle memory and how the work that you do during these.
Angie Robertson:The season is what helps you to become stronger and to be able to stand out more.
Angie Robertson:And she said that the first time she ever spoke at a conference, there was 12 people who showed up.
Angie Robertson:And the following year it was standing room only.
Angie Robertson:She said what happened during that 12 months is that she kept showing up and kept speaking.
Angie Robertson:And that's what I've been doing with this podcast.
Angie Robertson:While I don't have millions of listeners and I don't know if I ever will, it would be great because I want God's word out there.
Angie Robertson:I want God's work out there.
Angie Robertson:I don't know what he has how many people that means that's for him.
Angie Robertson:But I want to keep showing up consistently.
Angie Robertson:One of the other things she says is that if you find yourself in a hidden season, a time when nothing you say is getting through or nothing seems to be working, ask yourself what it would look like to rest well instead.
Angie Robertson:That is the part that I have been missing during this five and a half years.
Angie Robertson:A lot of times when I start to spin and spiral a little bit like, oh my God, I'm going to be like this for the rest of my life.
Angie Robertson:I'm going to be alone the rest of my life.
Angie Robertson:A lot of times the Holy Spirit will say, you need to enjoy this time now because you'll wish you would have later.
Angie Robertson:And I know, I know this from experience in my life.
Angie Robertson:There was a time where I was unemployed and I was so I struggled so much during that time when I was unemployed.
Angie Robertson:I felt like I needed to find a job.
Angie Robertson:I should be working, I've got to contribute, you know, we need the money, all those things.
Angie Robertson:And looking back, I wish I would have just enjoyed that moment and enjoyed that time because it went away fast and then I was busy and then the next thing you know, I was wishing that I had that time back.
Angie Robertson:That is something that I try to remind myself of and it's gotten, it's something that it was nice to read that and remind myself, yes, I need to enjoy this time right now.
Angie Robertson:So she goes on and I'll let you, I'll link to it.
Angie Robertson:But those were the things that stood out to me in that post.
Angie Robertson:A definite something that I needed and for my will to know that like while I, my will is saying, oh my gosh, you need to do something, you need to fix this, you need to step in.
Angie Robertson:That is not the place I want to be at and I don't want to get into that place.
Angie Robertson:We can always, I always remind myself of Sarah when she wanted a child so desperately that she decided to have Abraham take on her maidservant.
Angie Robertson:And then we know, we all know how well that went.
Angie Robertson:And if you haven't read that story, be sure to go check that story out because you will see I don't want to be in that place of taking things matters into my own hand.
Angie Robertson:I don't want to do that.
Angie Robertson:And that is so human nature of us to take, try to take things out of God's hands and into our own hand instead of just embracing the season that he has me in right now.
Angie Robertson:And know that he, you know, you know, you know, you hear the things and you know, intellectually, but it's not really helping you, your will and your emotions to kind of align up with that.
Angie Robertson:So that was very helpful for my will.
Angie Robertson:Kind of along those same lines.
Angie Robertson:Moving on to emotions again, I read a couple of posts, a post from Mary Marantz and Emily Freeman, which, again, you know, I love Emily Freeman, and Emily Freeman wrote a post and it said, when we fail to mourn properly our incomplete lives, then this incompleteness becomes a gnawing, restless, bitter center that robs our lives of all delight.
Angie Robertson:All honeymoons die.
Angie Robertson:But the upside is that God is always giving us something richer, deeper life and fuller spirit.
Angie Robertson:And that's a quote from Ronald Rolheiser, I think is how you say his name.
Angie Robertson:And then it wasn't long after that that I read this quote from Mary Marantz.
Angie Robertson:And she says, one of the things you'll have to do before you can change your story moving forward is to grieve the story you thought you would be living by now.
Angie Robertson:That grief of how you thought things would turn out, the regret for every mistake, wrong turn and long way around.
Angie Robertson:They don't have to be carried like a heavy burden if you'll let them.
Angie Robertson:They can be a roadmap pointing you to the person you are becoming.
Angie Robertson:Yes, a perfect version of you could have gotten here faster, but this version of you had to stop first to heal.
Angie Robertson:And I thought that was so interesting that both of those messages were kind of around the same time.
Angie Robertson:What I found interesting in that was about, like, grieving and the importance of grieving.
Angie Robertson:And I loved how Mary Morant said grieving what you thought would be.
Angie Robertson:And I think that's a little bit of what I've been kind of going along with what I was just talking about in my will and what that post was that Mary was sharing was that there is.
Angie Robertson:There was a level of grief that I had to go through in these last five and a half years of what would be like.
Angie Robertson:I thought we would have a family.
Angie Robertson:I thought, you know, I never knew that I would have things that were taken away when Dave had cancer.
Angie Robertson:And we can't kiss like we used to kiss.
Angie Robertson:We don't have the same enjoyment with food, or he doesn't have the same enjoyment with food that he used to have, which was one of our.
Angie Robertson:We were foodies, we love food.
Angie Robertson:There was just a lot of things that I had to grieve and let go of.
Angie Robertson:And I think these last five and a half years, what were it Was a time for me to grieve, to be able to say, okay, my life isn't what I thought it was going to be at this point in my life.
Angie Robertson:But it's not to say that it's not good.
Angie Robertson:And I'm still processing some of that grief, I believe, which is where the loneliness comes in and the things.
Angie Robertson:But I have to process these things, otherwise I'm not going to be able to move on.
Angie Robertson:So, again, another message that was just very pivotal for me and something that I'm.
Angie Robertson:I'm processing in my emotions is that grief of the things that I thought would be where they are and they're not.
Angie Robertson:Well, we have covered body and soul.
Angie Robertson:Kind of gotten a little deep and heavy.
Angie Robertson:I told you I was going to be a little vulnerable.
Angie Robertson:Hope you don't mind.
Angie Robertson:So now let's move into spirit.
Angie Robertson:So for my conscience, the journaling with Jesus and how God has been speaking to me during those sessions, we have 10 minutes to journal.
Angie Robertson:And you can turn your camera off, you can mute yourself.
Angie Robertson:I play a little music in the background, and I put on a timer and I'm, you know, nobody sees a timer.
Angie Robertson:I just put it on so I can keep track.
Angie Robertson:And we take 10 minutes to journal, and it can be whatever you want.
Angie Robertson:You can journal a gratitude list.
Angie Robertson:You can journal a dialogue with Holy Spirit.
Angie Robertson:You can journal a vision that God's given you.
Angie Robertson:Whatever it is, whatever God's leading you to do, it's a.
Angie Robertson:It's a moment for you to be in his presence.
Angie Robertson:And for me, during those times, I'm journaling and I'm actually having a dialogue with God.
Angie Robertson:So, like, one of the sessions that we had, one of the gatherings that we had, God actually gave me something that he wanted me to share with the ladies.
Angie Robertson:So I wrote down what he said to me and then I shared it with him.
Angie Robertson:Other times, he's just dialogued with just me, and it's something personal that he, you know, it's been nice to have that time even for myself, even though I.
Angie Robertson:Every morning I have time.
Angie Robertson:Sometimes I'm either, you know, reading or reading past entries or reading an email that I got, you know, a devotional, whatever it is.
Angie Robertson:Sometimes I don't necessarily journal every single morning.
Angie Robertson:So it's been nice to know that, you know, I'm going to have this time that dedicated with God, and it's been amazing.
Angie Robertson:Moving on to fellowship, again with the journaling with Jesus gatherings, it's hearing the feedback I shared earlier about the feedback of one of the Participants and how she said that it was a moment for her to breathe and be in the presence of God and just be in the actual present moment of time and not be thinking about, like turning off her brain about her to do list.
Angie Robertson:Because when we start the sessions, I actually do a little bit of a meditation and I have you close your eyes and we kind of go do a body check and see where you're holding tension and releasing that.
Angie Robertson:Then we do a prayer where we ask, invite the Holy Spirit in.
Angie Robertson:Then we do a little scripture reading, and I give you some questions that you might want to ponder and consider and contemplate.
Angie Robertson:And then we go into our journaling time together.
Angie Robertson:I love the feedback that I'm getting of how people are experiencing it.
Angie Robertson:And it's been a refresher and they leave refreshed, which is amazing.
Angie Robertson:And I love.
Angie Robertson:So again, just the.
Angie Robertson:For the fellowship, just being with you all and being in that place and being able to connect and see you on the other side of the screen.
Angie Robertson:Instead of me just talking kind of into this right now, a pillow is in front of me so that it deadens the sound.
Angie Robertson:So instead of looking at a pillow and talking to it, I actually get to see your face, which I absolutely love.
Angie Robertson:So I'm loving the fellowship of these.
Angie Robertson:Journaling with Jesus.
Angie Robertson:Please, please, please.
Angie Robertson:I invite you to join us.
Angie Robertson:You can go to journalingwithjesus.com to sign up for any date or time that works for you or all of them.
Angie Robertson:Finally, for my intuition, I got super inspired in November to redo the Spirit Led Life podcast website and my angerobertson.com website.
Angie Robertson:And I was able to completely revamp them, redesign them, make them much more attractive, easy to navigate, much more visually appealing.
Angie Robertson:I will say this, the photos that I used are what I have on hand.
Angie Robertson:They're.
Angie Robertson:It's an older photo shoot, but I am in the process of doing a new photo shoot, and part of me struggled with redoing these websites, but I felt inspired by the Holy Spirit, so I went with it.
Angie Robertson:And I can always change the images out later, at least the foundations there.
Angie Robertson:But it does have older images of me.
Angie Robertson:I mean, I look pretty much the same.
Angie Robertson:The only thing is just my hair is a little browner and grayer, but otherwise I'll look the same in them.
Angie Robertson:So I did use older images.
Angie Robertson:But like I said, my goal is I've got.
Angie Robertson:I got inspired to do a complete brand shoot, which the photos that are on the sites now are from when I had an inspiration last Time, which kind of goes along with what I was saying earlier about being in the season and how God's preparing me.
Angie Robertson:I remember during that time being in a different season and all of a sudden I got inspired to do a brand photo shoot.
Angie Robertson:And I didn't know that the photos I took that day were like a year or two before I actually launched my book.
Angie Robertson:And I ended up using that, one of the photos from that shoot on the COVID of the book.
Angie Robertson:And it was absolutely perfect for the title of the book, the Beauty in Letting Go.
Angie Robertson:And I'm holding balloons.
Angie Robertson:And God inspired me to do a photo shoot with balloons.
Angie Robertson:I don't know why.
Angie Robertson:I just was so.
Angie Robertson:It was like drawn to get the balloons and I went and bought the balloons and it worked out perfect and I absolutely loved the shoot.
Angie Robertson:So I've got another inspiration to do another photo shoot.
Angie Robertson:So I'm in the process of getting kind of some of the supplies and things like that.
Angie Robertson:So I'm hoping and love would love to do it at the first of the year, if not sooner.
Angie Robertson:Were kind of coming up to the year of the podcast and I'd like to do the next year in a different brand, if you will.
Angie Robertson:Getting this, these websites done gave me the foundation.
Angie Robertson:So all I have to do is just change out photos.
Angie Robertson:And I already know the photos I want to take.
Angie Robertson:I've already done a Pinterest board, pinned them on there.
Angie Robertson:I probably use the same photographer I used for the other photo shoot.
Angie Robertson:And so I last time I sent her my Pinterest board so she could see the type of shots I was wanting to capture.
Angie Robertson:And then I gotta just get the different props that I need.
Angie Robertson:So I'm very excited about it.
Angie Robertson:But anyway, love the new sites.
Angie Robertson:I personally enjoyed doing them.
Angie Robertson:I did run into a little snafu with one of them because I'm using.
Angie Robertson:I'm actually using Canva for the websites.
Angie Robertson:Probably not the most ideal, but I love how easy Canva is to do websites.
Angie Robertson:Way easier than WordPress.
Angie Robertson:I was using Mailerlite, which is my platform that I use to deliver emails.
Angie Robertson:I had my websites through there, but it was very limiting on the design and the templates and I didn't really like them.
Angie Robertson:Canva gave me so much, so much more freedom in design.
Angie Robertson:I went with Canva and I'm not.
Angie Robertson:I don't regret it.
Angie Robertson:But in the back end, it's not the most, it's not the best.
Angie Robertson:So I ran into a little snafu with links and then I had to go change like 50 pages for links.
Angie Robertson:So anyway, but I'm very happy so check them out.
Angie Robertson:I'd love your feedback and want to know what you think about the websites.
Angie Robertson:Go to spirit led life podcast.com and then you can also go to angierobertson.com and it's a N G E E Robertson R O B E R t s o n.com check out the sites.
Angie Robertson:I would love to know what you think.
Angie Robertson:Hit me up on social media.
Angie Robertson:You can hit me up on Instagram at Angie W.
Angie Robertson:Robertson or if you subscribe to the weekly email that I send out, reply to one of those emails and you can sign up for the emails if you aren't on the list by going to spiritledlifepodcast.com or Angie Robertson.com and you'll see where you can subscribe and be able to receive those emails.
Angie Robertson:And I share things in those emails that I don't share anywhere else.
Angie Robertson:So even here on the podcast.
Angie Robertson:So I'd love to have you join us.
Angie Robertson:That's where you can also get information about the upcoming journaling with Jesus calls as well.
Angie Robertson:Well, there you have it.
Angie Robertson:What supported me Body, Soul and Spirit for the month of November for this week's Heavenly Position System Challenge.
Angie Robertson:As always, we're taking out those journals and you could even come to a Journaling with Jesus session and do your own reflection on the month of November for yourself and the three parts your body, soul and spirit and the makeup of each of those.
Angie Robertson:My hope for this episode is it drew you a little bit closer to God and understanding and accepting yourself.
Angie Robertson:More I will end today's episode with some excerpts from a Loop for Women with Gatherer Ministries and Jennifer Camp.
Angie Robertson:You know, I reference her a lot.
Angie Robertson:I'm not going to read the whole post that she sent out.
Angie Robertson:I'm just going to read some things that stood out to me and I thought this message was very timely given that I just read the things that I've read to you from Mary Morantz and Emily Freeman.
Angie Robertson:It seems like a recurring thing that God is trying to drill into my head and maybe this might be helpful for you.
Angie Robertson:It says you don't have to figure out how to make this day special, how to make it worth something.
Angie Robertson:It's okay to rest, so stay with me and I will equip you for more.
Angie Robertson:Stay with me and I will pour into you vision and wisdom and the steps one by one as you watch where my feet fall.
Angie Robertson:You cannot go anywhere until you know where I am with you and how with me it is always best for you to stay for then we can go and you won't have to have a bit of it figured out.
Angie Robertson:My daughter.
Angie Robertson:To God be the glory.
Angie Robertson:Thank you for joining me on today's episode.
Angie Robertson:This episode was produced, recorded and edited by me, Angie Robertson.
Angie Robertson:I look forward to joining you each Thursday for a new episode as we explore together how to have a spirit led life.