Creative Soul Sanctuary Podcast with Kiyaana Cox Jones

Overcoming Fear of New Creative Seasons

July 22, 2024 Kiyaana Cox Jones Season 1 Episode 4

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Have you ever felt stuck, unable to move forward in your creative journey? Join us at Creative Soul Sanctuary, where we share how a "power moment" mindfulness exercise helped one of our listeners regain their personal power and foster a sound mind. Through deep breathing and relaxation techniques, we guide you to release tension, reflect on your current life season, and understand the importance of timing. Drawing inspiration from Ecclesiastes, we emphasize that every phase of your life has a purpose and encourage you to trust in God's timing, even when things don't go as expected.

Transitioning from one creative project to another can be a daunting experience, often filled with fear and self-doubt. In this episode, we discuss how to navigate these creative and faith transitions. By recognizing different seasons in our lives, letting go of past successes, and trusting in what lies ahead, you can move forward with confidence. Personal anecdotes, including a shoutout to Captain Dens, a local coffee shop, and reflections on embodying the character of Ursula from "The Little Mermaid," offer relatable insights and humor to help you on your journey.

Overcoming people-pleasing tendencies and fostering a deeper relationship with God are key themes in this episode. We explore how taking inventory of what to leave behind, journaling to track growth, meditating on scripture, and engaging in joyful activities like dancing with family can enhance your creativity and emotional well-being. With prayers and encouragement, we remind you to hold on to faith and trust in God. Stay creative, believe in your dreams, and remember to reach out with your experiences and prayer requests as we navigate these transitions together.

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Speaker 1:

Well, hello there. I've been waiting for you. Yes, I have. You're like who? Me? Yes, you. You driving in the car, you listening in your bedroom, you listening while you clean the house, or you just listening, wherever you are minding your business. I've been waiting for you. I've been waiting to have this conversation with you. Welcome to the Creative Soul Sanctuary, and I'm your host, kiana Cox-Jones, and I am excited to be in community with you, to be a creative soul like you and to help you really embrace your creativity and understand how God intends for you to use it and how he intends for you to show up in using it. And it looks differently for everybody, but the one thing that is the same is that he loves you and that you have a gift.

Speaker 1:

Now, before we get started with today's podcast, I want to take a moment to do what Power moment Now, if you're just joining us, a power moment is our mindfulness moment to regain our power. Sometimes, with life and how it lives, we lose some of ourselves, and I'm reminded of the scripture that says God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind. So it's so important that we regained our power, because sometimes we are truly walking in fear. So this moment is to regain the power, to remind ourselves of being still, to remind ourselves to have a sound mind, and so let's get started. So go ahead and get yourself relaxed round yourself. If you're sitting, let your feet touch the floor a little bit, or you can sit crisscross. Applesauce that's what I say to my daughter. If you're driving, keep your eyes on the road, but just relax those shoulders. You may want to roll them back a little bit. You may want to roll that neck back a little bit. You may want to roll that neck. Look, you've been busy. You've been creating, you've been doing, and I want to remind you that, as much as you do, you need to often be still Quiet.

Speaker 1:

Time is important for the mind and it's important for your relationship with God. If you're talking way more than you're listening, that's a problem and it can impact your creativity severely. So, to ground us, I want to share with you this quote from Ecclesiastics 3 and 1. To everything, there is a season and a time for every purpose under heaven and a time for every purpose under heaven. With that, just begin to become aware of your breath. Take a moment to center yourself. What do I need out of this moment? Do I need stillness? Do I need to remind myself that I'm worthy? Do I need to step out of fear and step into faith? Where did I leave my power? Was it on the stage? Was it a rejection at an audition? Is it in the trash with the first draft of a writing that you were not in love with? Is it in the boardroom where someone silenced your voice? Where did you leave it?

Speaker 1:

We're going to take a deep breath in for two and we'll release on four. Deep breath in for two, one, two and release on four. One, two, three, four good stuff. Make sure that when you are exhaling, you're releasing the tension in your shoulders as well. Sometimes we hold so much in our shoulders, you know, as a singer. As a singer, we talk about clavicular breathing and how, when we hold everything here, it doesn't allow the notes to flow the proper air. So you want to relax yourself. Deep breath in on two, one, two. Release on four. One, two, three, four, good.

Speaker 1:

I want you to think about the season that you're in or the season that you just came out of. What is it teaching you? What do you not want to repeat? What do you want to take with you to the next season? Making sure that you are fully aware and understand that where you are is temporary. Things are constantly shifting. That's why the bible talks about for everything there is a season. So if you're a college student, this is a season.

Speaker 1:

What do you do after the next three or four years or the next year? What do you do after this particular job? What do you do if you are getting ready to retire? What do you do after this show closes? What do you do after you write this book? What do you do when you finish this book, when you finish this collection, when you finish this painting? What do you do once this song is complete? What's the next thing is not what you should be thinking about, but how am I resting, recovering and creating a harvest for the next thing? And sometimes harvest looks like stillness.

Speaker 1:

I'm going to do in for three and out for six. In for three, one, two, three and out for six. One, two, three, four, five, six. Good, push it out, push it out. And I want to say what I feel God has not forgotten about you. Just because the last season did not produce what you expected does not mean that God is not being God, but timing is essential. We work in chronos, chronological time, but God operates in kairos time, the appointed time, and so if it didn't happen yet and he promised it, then it was not the appointed time. I'm going to do in for four and out for eight. This time, when we release on eight, we will release with a sound. This idea of releasing with the sound. Again, this work comes from Dr Frida Rundell, who does a lot of somatic work.

Speaker 1:

Deep breath in on four, one, two, three, four and release on eight with the sound. Make sure that when you're releasing, you're dropping that jaw. Make sure that when you're releasing, you're dropping that jaw, any tension that may be held in the face, just dropping that and relaxing that jaw and relaxing those shoulders and pinpointing where that releases that sound. When you feel the sound of the vibration, where is it in your chest? Is it in your stomach? Where is it coming from Thighs? Where is it coming from All right Last time. Coming from All right Last time. Deep breath in on four, one, two, three, four and out on eight with the sound, and out on eight with the sound. Um, just sit still for a few seconds, repeating it after me. To everything there is a season and a time for every purpose. Purpose, repeat, purpose under heaven. Okay, all right, slowly start to bring yourself back into this space.

Speaker 1:

Well, hello, as I sip my tea, you know I have my lavender tea. I did a lavender fog today and from my understanding it's, you know, essentially tea and then lavender, and then you add milk. I use oat milk. So I have lavender and chamomile tea and I steeped it and then I added oat milk and I used honey as a sweetener. It's so good. My normal spot makes it well too.

Speaker 1:

Now, how are you sitting? Still, what are you drinking? You don't tell me what. Are you sitting? Still, what are you drinking? You don't tell me what are you drinking. And normally I only go to 50 for a bean. But I want to be open. I don't want to be biased to all other coffee shops. So if you know a coffee shop in the Hampton Road area or the 757 the peninsula is what I'm believing it's called forgive me if I am using the wrong terminologies to represent the 757. I'm still learning, but if you know some place, please let me know.

Speaker 1:

I would love to go visit, sip it and tell y'all what I think on my social media and that way I can, you know, support other people as well. I did go visit a place called Captain Dens Captain Dens, I think that's what it's called, but the coffee was good there and they do this thing where I think they have a coffee of the week or coffee on Mondays, where when you purchase that, then a certain percentage goes to human trafficking or whatever cause they have for that particular month. So it's something like that, but it is. It's quite dope. And so I do want to shout out Captain Dens, and they Dens. And they are in Newport News, not too far from right, actually across the street from Christopher Newport campus. I'm saying it all wrong, but you all know.

Speaker 1:

So today let's discuss navigating creative and faith transitions, and when I was talking in my private time with God, this was something he was like. This is something I want you to talk about with the creative souls, because we not all, but many of us do not transition well in our creativity and when we are coming out of one space into the other, and what happens is it normally also impacts our faith, because then we start to operate in that fear. So remember, in the beginning of that power moment, that fear of am I good enough? Why is this over? Why is this closing?

Speaker 1:

And a lot of people you know, it's proven that a lot of people don't do transition well, transitions well, that going from one season to another is a burden for them. However, there's a reason why we operate in the fall, summer, spring, winter. But even biblically, spiritually, there are different seasons and times. That are appointed times by God, and if you stay in one season way too long, you will neglect what the next season has to bring. Let me say that again If you say stay in one season way too long, you will neglect what the next season will bring. And so I really want to have this, this honest conversation with you about what the Lord is saying, about navigating these creative and faith transitions, transitions and when I say faith transitions, the Bible tells us that faith now faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. When we are transitioning, you are leaving one thing, but you have no idea what you're going into. So if you're transitioning from one show to another, writing one book to preparing for another, writing a song to eventually putting it out there, there are all these spaces between what we create and what we present and when we present it, or sometimes there are just opportunities when we create something and it's done, it is done.

Speaker 1:

Dr Miles Monroe once said this quote that resonated deeply with me. He said don't ever get caught with what God used to use. I was like woo, dr Monroe, and what this was referring to is he was using this as and you might have seen this as a clip on Instagram or social media, but he was referring to when Samson had used the bone to slay the 1000 enemies and then, after he finished it finished winning he threw the bone away and that he didn't continue to use it and pass it on to generations. I look at this bone, look at this thing, look what I did with it and tried to sell it for money and all these other things it was done in that season and then he threw it away. And as creatives, I believe there's a struggle with this worked really well in this last season. It was profitable, it brought me a significant amount of joy, and now it's over and the transition impacts our faith.

Speaker 1:

It shouldn start to wonder, lord, what's next for me? We start to question like can I do something better than what I just did. Especially if what you just did was epic you start to feel inadequate, like I don't know if I can do that again. I don't know if I'll ever have another season like that. I don't know if I'll ever love like that. I don't know if I'll ever have another church like that. I don't know if I'll ever have good friends like this. I don't know if I'll ever have a great job like this. I don't think I'll ever have a supervisor like that. I don't think I will ever. And so if you are creative, who said I don't think I'll ever?

Speaker 1:

This is for you as I sip my tea. For you as I sip my tea. That's my Ursula voice. Ps. That's a role I want to play one day. One of my best friends killed it, veronica killed it, and I was like, oh, I want to play that role.

Speaker 1:

Just Ursula's like slyness and how she laughs and how she flows. I was like, oh, I'm going to help somebody get delivered, cause y'all some Ursulas out here. I'm sorry, you know, one of our community agreements is that laughter is good for the soul. So I'm going to laugh out here because sometimes we can be Ursula, cause I've been to Ursula before. When you just you over there plotting and looking at you know, you know, ariel, like let me tell you something, your father stole something from me and I want to get you back. But yeah, if you know what a little mermaid is going to be in a 757, you let me know, cause Ursula's here, okay, anyway, let me jump back into this. Oh so let me say this transitions can be challenging, especially when moving from one creative space to another, one creative space to another, one creative space to another.

Speaker 1:

That is so important because, remember, another one of our community agreements is that everybody is a creative, and so when we're moving from one creative space to another, what does that mean? You were created by the creator, and so, in every space that you're in, you should be creating, you should be coming up with ideas that further, take the vision further, and not just the vision of the company, but the kingdom vision that, by the way you show up, by the way in which you talk, by the way in which you present it further, makes people want to say who are you and how? How are you? How are you flowing the way that you are flowing? Because of the God that I serve, but I remember a time when I felt stuck between my past projects and future aspirations, and it was a season of uncertainty. But it taught me the value of releasing the old to welcome the new and it makes me think of the scripture and the Bible.

Speaker 1:

That is is not in my notes for the show today, but the scripture in the Bible that talks about new wine and old wineskins. That's a that's a sip your tea moment. That is a sip your tea moment. And this idea of that new, oh old wine and new wines skins, thank you, thank you. And that the new wine skins, um, can't expand the way that they need to. And this old wine has been sitting as long as for sitting for a long time. It it it's fresh in its taste and I'm not even I'm not a wine person, so I don't even I'm going by like research and things that I've read, but this idea that this old wine has is stronger than the new wine and this new wineskin can't hold the old wine.

Speaker 1:

And I think about there's so many of us who are transitioning into new seasons as a new, but we want to take all this old stuff with us and we can't hold it. The Bible even tells us that the wineskins will burst when you put old wine into new wineskins, so you need new wine into new wineskins. What does that mean Kiana talking about? I don't know. I don't read the bible and that's okay, because we're gonna, we're gonna dig in here.

Speaker 1:

But essentially what I'm saying to you, what that scripture is saying to you, is that as you are moving forward, be careful taking old things and trying to put them into your new season. Be careful taking old people. And it's not this, this is not cancer. I'm not saying cancel people, but I'm saying that I remember my mom telling me that people come into your life for a reason, a season and a lifetime, and figure out which one. And that's not. And really it's about taking it to God to say which one. Because if you try to take seasonal people with you for your lifetime, you are always find this like conflict Old wine, new wineskins, but even old mindsets can't go into this new season. Old habits cannot go into the new season. So just because you did it and it worked in that old season does not mean it's going to work in the new season.

Speaker 1:

But furthermore, I want to talk to you about something that I have been exploring with Dr Frida Rundell as well as my therapist. So every time I transition in seasons well, let me say this, not every time, but specific hard seasons my body does a shift and I could not figure this thing out, and it normally happens around the same time, as like transitioning from summer into fall. But my body does this thing that if I'm transitioning from an old place and moving into a new season, the moment my body feels safe to relax and to begin to transition to the next season, there is some kind of flare up with this, with the autoimmune I don't want to call it mine but with the autoimmune disease. And prior to understanding that it was flaring up in the autoimmune, I was just like in my body. But I also realized that there are things that happen in one season of our lives as creatives, that we need to release before we get into the next season. So in this book called the Body Keeps the Score you need to get this Now let me say, let me give a disclaimer. You want to read it in pieces and take care of yourself, because it could be, it can be a little jarring as you're walking through certain things. Ok and so. But in the book, the author, he explains how our bodies store memories of trauma and stress and when we don't allow ourselves to transition and release properly, it can manifest physically and emotionally. That's a sip your tea moment, mm, hmm of doing an inventory of what was lost, what was gained and what's completely missing from me from the last season.

Speaker 1:

Creatives, you give of yourself in a very supernatural way. A very supernatural way, not supernatural as spooky, hokey, hocus, pocus, but supernatural in that it is when you are tapped in and truly using your gift the way God called you to use your gift. It's all of you, it's your mind, your will, your emotions, spirit, body, everything. You are exhausted. And so this downtime is not downtime just to get ready for the next project. It is downtime so that you can release and take inventory of what the last season was like. What did that last production? What did that last job? What did that last relationship? What did? Because you can be creative in your relationships, you're giving of yourself, because if you're creative, so you don't turn it on and off, so you're giving of yourself creatively, even even in that relationship. But what in that last whatever did you give of yourself in such a way that now, in this downtime, you need to release, way that now, in this downtime, you need to release.

Speaker 1:

It is crucial to create space for understanding and accepting these transitions. I did a training it's called Courageous Conversations, glenn Singleton and I remember in the training one of the community agreements is accept and expect non-closure. Accept and expect non-closure. Accept that you may not have the closure you wanna have after the last season. Accept that what you created was just that and maybe you wanted that project or maybe you wanted whatever it is that you were creating, to go a little bit further, but that's not the, the plan God had. So expect, expect it. Expect that I may not have the closure I want, but that is okay because I'm trusting God. And then it says so accept it and expect it and accept it. And I'm getting wiser where now I'm aware, like the way that I want this to end may not be how it's going to end, and that is okay. But when it's done, it's done.

Speaker 1:

And some of us, creatively, are so attached to what we used to do in the last season that you don't want to let it go. Yeah, I'm going to sip my tea on that one. You don't want to let it go. Yeah, I'm gonna sip my tea on that one. You don't want to let it go. You are so attached to how God showed up in the last season that you can't even believe that he's going to show up differently. And here's the matter You're so attached to what happened in the last season that you haven't even allowed yourself to grieve from it, to grieve the expectation that maybe that season didn't meet, to grieve the um, the way in which the project ended. Maybe it it was abruptly, maybe God said done, or maybe there was a beautiful transition and it it blessed your heart. But you didn't want to let it go. You have to.

Speaker 1:

So I'm always like, okay, well, what do I need to do? So of course, I am taking inventory, and so if you're listening or and or watching this, I want you to take notes on this idea that. So, then, I call them soulful practices training and teaching about restorative practice in communities and educational environments and institutions. And what does it look like to build community to and then to restore harm when community, when harm has happened in that community? But then also, how do we use restorative practice to restore oneself through God? Because God does the restore and you create, you create the time for it to happen, because a lot of times we're like well, lord, you're not doing it, he's like you're not.

Speaker 1:

Still, and in my process of doing this, I've created some soulful practices that I need to do in different seasons of my life, and so one of them is that when I am transitioning from one place and I'm in the holding space before the next transition, before the next season, I do an inventory and it's essentially just three columns of what did I have going into that season or into that place, into that job, into that project, into that relationship. And is it still here? Because sometimes seasons take things from us as creatives. What did the last season take from you? Did it take your confidence, friend, look here, creative soul? Did it take your joy? Did it take your joy? Did it take your trust, whatever it took being in a space to say, like Lord, what does this look like being renewed? What does my joy look like renewed? What does my trust look like renewed? What does my peace look like renewed? What does my piece look like renewed? What does my creativity look like renewed, you know? And then, in that last column, um, in regards to like what I came in with. I also think about like so what? What went missing? And then that last column is how has this thing shifted? What's new? Because I don't. We shouldn't always focus on like the bad, we shouldn't always focus on like what's missing from me, but what's new? Look here, creative soul friend, oh, creative soul friend. Y'all look at us coming up with new names for each other. Hey there, creative soul friend, this is what I want to say to you Not everything was lost, my gosh.

Speaker 1:

Not everything was lost. Now let me tell you I'm ministering to myself right now. Not everything was lost. Not everything was lost. Some things were lost. Some things were gained and some things needed to be lost, some things needed to not come back. You know, you like. Give me an example, kiana. Let's talk about this idea of people pleasing needed to be lost.

Speaker 1:

In my last season, I started off wanting to please people, even though I was not in a healthy space, because I was still trying to figure myself out, still trying to figure out a new regent that God had assigned me to. I wanted so badly to please people that I did not create boundaries, and in not creating those boundaries, I felt rejected, but I can't blame that rejection just on others. I have to blame some of that on myself because I didn't create any boundaries. Some of that on myself because I didn't create any boundaries or I wanted to be validated by people in a way that was not healthy to God and that impacted my creativity, because that I wanted my creativity to show up in a certain way that God was like that's not what I told you, I don't care how they're going to receive this, what did I tell you? I don't care how they're going to receive this, what did I tell you? And so, as I begin to dig deeper into my relationship with God, so faith. So then here's a faith transition. So, as I'm digging deeper into my relationship with God, he says I need you to transition your faith from a little bit to more key, to hear me, in a way that you do exactly what I say when I say do it.

Speaker 1:

And in that faith transition, people pleasing begin to fall away. Because that's what I walked into that season with when I took inventory. I walked into that season with people pleasing mentality. But I am to announce to the creative soul, friends, universe okay, I'm I'm glad to announce to you that it's not on the inventory list. It ain't there, no more, and it's okay. I don't need nobody to bring it back up in here. I don't need to bring it back in here because I found, like um comfort and a home and in in God, like through Christ Jesus, there's an adoption that I am comfortable with. So certain things don't need to come back. If your creativity was um used in a way that brought that, that was giving other people glory and not god glory, yeah, that don't need to come back. So I I encourage you, as a soulful practice, to take inventory.

Speaker 1:

Another soulful practice is to journal and I would say, journal throughout your whole entire next season, so that way you can go back and look and see how far you've come. I love going back to looking like, ooh, what was I thinking? This reminds me I have journals from like high school high school journals and I was looking back like what was I thinking? What was I crying about? Why? Why, kiana that's my grandmama used to call me Kiana why? So journaling is a very great soulful practice that allows the soul to release, allows the emotions. That's a great way to emote on a paper and not emote on people, especially if it's not safe spaces.

Speaker 1:

Another soulful practice that is helping me in between my transition is meditating and meditating on God's word. So in my meditations, constantly repeating hey, here's another thing that when you're doing that, it is also helping you memorize scripture. Yeah, I'll give you that one. So I love doing that. I have like a specific scripture that is my scripture of the week or month, like if I'm like okay, I need more time on this one Because I want to be able to he that dwelleth in the secret place of the most high God shall abide under the shadow of the almighty. But see, my mama used to do these things with me, where she would like quiz me and go okay, key, what's this, what's this, what's this? And we would constantly repeat them every morning. It was our ritual. And so as I started to get older and wiser and learn different practices, I was like I'm going to incorporate this into my mindfulness moments and so always finding a scripture that I can read and bring my mind to, so that way when I'm going through, it is there, you know.

Speaker 1:

And then, of course, another soulful practice is finding something that brings you joy cooking, painting, dancing. So sometimes, with my daughter, we will put on music. It's my both, my, my baby, my baby boy and my baby girl. We will put on music and just dance, dance, dance, dance. We will just dance. We will just spend time dancing, laughing, doing, trying new moves, doing a robot. It's, it's, it's. It's a beautiful thing that really brings me joy, dancing. Um, I used to teach at my daughter's dance school and will be getting ready to do a few classes again because teaching dance really gives me joy.

Speaker 1:

So, journaling, well, one taking inventory, a soulful practice. What did you come into that season with? What's no longer there and what's new, okay, and then journaling. And if you haven't journaled through the whole process in this next season of your life, make sure that you're journaling so that way you can have moments where you can pause to see how far you've come, to see thoughts. And also my journaling is helpful for when I'm meeting with my therapist as touch points for things.

Speaker 1:

I want to discuss that sometimes, when you are just releasing, when the soul is just releasing, you're just writing and you're not even aware of it. And then I go back and I'm like, oh, my goodness, I didn't know, I felt that way, or there it is. That's the thing I was thinking about. We talked about meditation, using scriptures and allowing the body to be still stretching the body while you do it as well, and allowing that breath, breathing and releasing on those sounds with the scripture, that the combination of them, you're going to stand up feeling like you done worked out. It's really light on the body, but you also going to just feel so refreshed.

Speaker 1:

You may cry. Yeah, I want to tell you that you may cry because we're so busy as creatives we don't give ourselves space to be, still to feel. We feel so that we can create. We don't feel so that we can heal. Yeah, I'm going to sip my tea on that one. Creatives, you feel so that you can create, but we rarely feel so that we can heal, because once you allow yourself to feel, then the emotion is the scripted response based off of that. That's why there are certain spaces where you have an emotional response and you, like I don't like how I just showed up because you haven't created a private space to feel, to heal and release. I say some things in my journal and some things to God that I don't have to say to other people because it's I was able to release it there and then then, if I need to dig more into it, literally the Holy Spirit will tell me that's something to dig in deeper with your therapist. I want to share this with you.

Speaker 1:

In our faith, we can also pray for guidance and strength to embrace these transitions with grace. Transitions are going to happen. How you respond to them is up to you. You will transition from one thing to another, from one project to another project, to creating one thing in this season to creating another thing in another season. Ask God for guidance to handle these transitions with grace. What does that mean? Not always freaking out because you have to transition.

Speaker 1:

Some of us are having like temper tantrums, throwing a hissy fit, crying because God said that season is over. He's God, he knows the end from the beginning. He already knows what's next for you and I think it could be just that you don't believe that there's something else better there is. You will recover from this. Now, this is particularly for those who had a hard last season. I want to tell you you will recover from this, and I don't even know why I'm stuck here. It makes me feel emotional because I feel like someone listening or someone who is watching just feels like he, I don't feel like I'll recover from what the last season did, that when you are taking inventory you're like I came in with all these things and I'm not leaving out with a lot. May the Lord multiply that which you are left with. I believe him to do it. I have had seasons where I've left pretty much empty, but I had God, I had my faith. It was small, probably the size of a mustard seed, but that's all you need. Baby, that's all you need. All you need is the size of a mustard seed, but that's all you need. Baby, that's all you need. All you need is the size of a mustard seed. So I feel that for someone that you will recover from this last season and your creativity will grow and be even better than you've imagined, better, better, better. It will be better than you've imagined.

Speaker 1:

Okay, so you know, here on the Creative Soul Sanctuary we do something called sanctuary soliloquies, our creative soliloquies, where in the moment we kind of create, or sometimes people bring these beautiful soliloquies that are very sacred and beautiful, and so I'm not going to lie to you and tell you I created this one on the moment, because y'all know I can, but this one was one of my release. I needed to release, and so I do this thing called Mono Prayers. It's monologue and prayers together, and I want to share it with you, if that's okay. You ready? So let me get my monologue moment on. Let me sip a little tea too. And so it's called Seasons of Faith and Creativity.

Speaker 1:

Dear God, dear God, the season has shifted yet again and my body and creativity feels like the change within. It's bittersweet the way. I'm happy to transition, but sad to start over. You said in your word forget the former things, do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing. New thing. New thing. New thing now it springs forth. Now it shall spring forth, do you not perceive it? So he's making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.

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So why do I feel inadequate in this transition? And I'm reminded of Travis Green's. You made a way when our backs was against the wall and it looked as if it was over. You made a way and we're standing here only because you made a way. So I'm preparing for the fall, yet falling away for what I knew. I'm feeling the heat of this summer, knowing the cold front will soon come through.

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I am preparing for the new ways in this season in which this season, this season, oh this season, this season will manifest. This season, oh this season, this season will manifest. Yet the closure of the past chapter is putting me, yo, to the test. One breath, kiana, I must move forward to embrace a new version of me. Two breaths, key, and then I release. I must ask myself what have I learned?

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What not to repeat, what not to repeat. What not to repeat, what not to repeat inadequacy. What not to repeat people. What not to repeat? Control your breathing. What not to repeat? Control, what not to repeat. Control. What not to repeat. What not to repeat. What not to repeat? You'll be fine. Keep, sit still, stop moving Slow the thoughts in your mind.

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The shift is not to hurt you, but to prepare you for what's next and leave what's behind. And if you don't let go, you'll regret not stepping out of faith, not moving with intention, not trying something new, new, not heeding direction. This shift is necessary and comes with an obligation. You must not get content where God has already been. Say what you must not get content where God has already been. Trust the plan he has for you. Trust the plan, believe that in the end, it's not not about you.

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So goodbye last season and hello anew. Hello, it's me, your new season that you're looking for. There you are, darling the fearfully and wonderfully made you. Now the last door is closed and the new one is opening just for you, woo and scene. Thank you for sharing and listening to that. I hope it inspires you. I want to encourage you to reflect on your own transition, transitions, transitions, transitions, transitions. There it goes Trans transitions, and consider creating something that represents your journey, whether it's a painting, a writing, a song, a dance, something and then share your creative expressions with our community. Send me a message creativesoulsanctuary at gmailcom. I would love to celebrate with you in regards to how you are creatively seeing your transition.

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So, before we go, let's close with a moment of prayer. Dear God, thank you for guiding us through life transition. Help us to release what no longer serves us and to embrace the new opportunities, lord, the new opportunities that you have in store for us. Yes, jeremiah 29 and 11 says for you know the plans you have for us, declares the Lord. They are plans to prosper us and not to harm us, to give us hope and a future. So give us strength and wisdom to navigate these changes with grace.

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I pray, lord, for the places that did cause wounds that you would allow us to heal, that you would show us how to heal. Take us to the word. We can go to the word, and let the word be ointment unto our souls. Let the word guide us to healing, to peace that surpasses all that we understand and all that we can see. Lord, let us hold on to hope.

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I pray for those who feel like I can't do better than this last season, and I pray, lord, that you will remind them that they can, they will and they shall if they hold on to you, if they trust you, if they lean not to their own understanding, but in all their ways, acknowledge you because you are going to direct their paths. Lord, if you bless us, we shall be blessed, and if you keep us, we shall be kept, and if you love us, we shall truly be loved. And if you've given us this creativity, what you have, then we shall create good work. We declare and decree that it is so, and so shall it be, in Jesus name, amen.

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Well there, creative soul friend, thank you for joining me today. Remember you can always reach out with your experiences and prayer requests at creativesoulsanctuaryatgmailcom. And don't forget to subscribe, rate and review our podcast. Send us some fan mail, share this episode with someone who might need encouragement in their season of transition, creatively and in faith. But until next time, stay blessed, stay creative and remember the curtain will rise on your dream again. See you later, friend.