The Bite Size Podcast with Lorayne Michaels

What 2024 taught me! YIKES

• Lorayne • Season 2 • Episode 49

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Have you ever considered how a life-changing event, like a car accident, could become the catalyst for discovering new passions and deepening your faith? In this episode of the Bite Size Podcast, we explore how 2024 was a transformative year filled with unexpected challenges and joys that led me to embrace baking, gardening, and traveling. Anchored by the comforting truths of scriptures like Psalm 34:18 and John 15:5, we'll traverse the ups and downs of this journey, uncovering how these experiences fostered deeper connections with family, church, and personal development communities. Together, we'll consider how being present and open, rather than striving for success, can lead to true joy.

As we reflect on this year of growth, we'll discuss the significant shift from a checklist mentality to a meaningful engagement with faith, focusing on surrendering control to God's will. Learn how prioritizing faith above all else can bring peace and genuine connection, supported by the strength of community and a purposeful quiet time with God. With a look toward 2025, we'll share actionable habits to maintain this spiritual momentum, encouraging you to recognize what brings you joy and to rely on God's faithfulness. Join us as we embrace the process of staying connected to the divine "vine," flourishing through both joyful and challenging times.

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Email Me: LorayneMichaels22@gmail.com

Speaker 1:

Hello, hello, friends. Welcome back to another episode of the Bite Size Podcast. I'm so excited to be with you today and, as I'm recording this, on January 2nd and everyone is posting on social media their recap of 2024 and all the things that they're looking forward to for 2025. And there's a lot of reflection. This happens across the world. Every year, everyone comes up with their New Year's resolutions and they reflect on the previous year, and although those are all good things and I'm not saying one is bad, one is good, better than the other that is not what I'm saying. I'm simply acknowledging all of those right, and some work for some, and today I want to talk to you about refining right. What if I told you that the moments of my greatest joy and my deepest struggle in this past year in 2024, all had one thing in common, and it was that they were all a part of God's plan to reshape and refine me. And so I would like you to look at 2024 through that lens as well. What if I told you that all of your moments in 2024, your greatest joyful moments and your deepest struggles in 2024 were all a part of God's plan to shape you and to refine you? And so in this episode I really want to cover the highs, the challenges and the lessons that God taught me about my faith, about health and purpose and healing. So if I could frame this episode in one or two scriptures, because there's been a lot, but I would say on top of my head, psalm 34, 18 and John 15, five really anchored 2024 for me and I believe that there's a message in it for you too. So let me read to you Psalm 34, 18. Just, I know it as the Lord is. Did I say 34, 18? Yes, psalm 34, 18. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted. He rescues those who are crushed in spirit. I can read it verbatim, but that is the verse. And then the other one that has really anchored for me, that I've always known and heard and I can recite it, but it really rooted in for me John 15, five. I am the. I am this year.

Speaker 1:

2024 was probably the hardest year for me bar none, in so many different ways, in so many different ways, and it I don't want to say it was a struggle for me, because it really strengthened me, it really brought me to my knees, which is the best place to go, because I had to completely surrender and I had to completely let go of just everything I had to surrender control completely. And so those, those verses were incredible for me this year. And so the joy, the joyful moments. I had fun looking back because, again, like at the beginning um of the year I mean this is only the second, but you know, new Year's Eve and when I know that everyone's going through and they're going to post their highlight reel, you know what I mean I went back through my pictures because I wanted to really reflect on everything, because sometimes you can remember all the good, right, and you forget the hard times. But in the front of my mind, because 2024 was such a hard year for me, I obviously was remembering all the hard times and I didn't want to focus on the negative. And, although I'm not saying that it was a complete struggle, I'm looking at it as where I was stretched and how I grew from it and what I learned from it, right. So I'm really trying to look at it from a different lens and a different perspective of how I grew. It caused me to go back into my camera roll and look at all of the things that took place in 2024.

Speaker 1:

It started off New Year's Day 2024. I got in a big car accident. That is how my 2024 started and it's kind of like a foreshadowing. Yeah, wrecked me. 2024 wrecked me, but I guess in the best way possible. And so I just want to share some of my highlights and what really shaped me 2024, I found my love for baking.

Speaker 1:

I started baking sourdough bread and I really got into it. I started gardening. I really took a holistic approach on my life and with my family, my husband built me a beautiful garden, a beautiful area where I can just plant flowers and food and ground. It was such a special thing. I guess that took place. I mean it was a bonding experience. We got to build it together with my husband and my stepson and it was just fun. And so we started baking, we started gardening, traveling that was incredible this year.

Speaker 1:

Going to all the events that took place. You know my the personal development stuff, because all of that is super important to me, continuing to grow. So those events, connection that creates connection, um, with other people, you know networking and getting together and connection with our members of the church and our small group. That was so important to me this year and those moments, you know, between baking and traveling and gardening and grounding all of those things, when I'm looking back, created space for peace, connection and creation and those are so important in life but also to me, because that is who God created me to be. Because that is who God created me to be. He created me to be someone who loves and thrives on connection and grounding and, you know, all those things bring me joy, all those things light me up and give me energy Baking, traveling, encouraging, connecting with people, whether it be church or events, and you know, nurturing and family and how God has placed each of these people in my life.

Speaker 1:

And it really reminded me that joy doesn't come from striving but from being present and being open. And so, as much as when I started 2024 with this zeal and this passion for my business and connecting, and I just had this go getter attitude and this striving for success attitude, and there's nothing wrong with that, that is. That is excellent, right, um, because if you don't have goals and ambition, then you're kind of just floating around. So, although I had those goals and dreams and ambitions and and drive to do, what I have found now in looking back, god has caused me in 2024, to slow down and to connect and instead of striving for the goals and accomplishments, it really caused me to be present and to be open, to be open to his correction, to be open to the pruning I talked about that a lot this year of how God was pruning me over and over again through different situations and scenarios and scenarios.

Speaker 1:

I was so challenged this year in my marriage and the challenge and God's faithfulness. I really saw a connection and you know to be completely vulnerable and also to bring you some hope. You know this is my third marriage and I came into it with a lot of broken pieces and I knew that, but I didn't know to the extent of it and I knew, and I still know, that something has to change and I need to release control and I really needed to let God heal me if I wanted this marriage to work. And this year has been the most difficult and challenging I have ever experienced in marriage and normally I go, normally I'm like, hey, this isn't working. You know we're two different people. Um, you know, biblically, you, you stepped out on me, you're abusive, whatever. There there's always been a reason, whether it was infidelity, abuse. Um, there's been a reason why I stepped away from my previous two marriages or why the two ended biblically was I don't want to say okay, because I divorce is just awful and ugly and I hate it and God hates it. But there is really reasons why some are okay, right, and so in this one there was no reason for it. There was no infidelity, there's no abuse, there's no addiction. There's nothing biblically that would constitute a divorce. And so it forced me to really dig deep and look within and take ownership of my part in it. And how can I be better? How can I do better? What can I do?

Speaker 1:

This year has taught me so much about mental health and the importance of mental health in my mental health. I struggled so much with depression this year and I really had to get still before God. I had to get still before God and I really had to ask God to come in and refine me, to heal me, to show me the pieces of me that needed to heal, that I needed to allow God to surface, because a lot of times we stuff it or mask it. A lot of times we avoid the healing because of the pain that it is going to cause, because in order for something to heal, we have to bring it to the surface In order for something to become healthy. We have to get the rotten out, we have to get the roots, we have to get down to the root of it. It's just like gardening you have to prune off the dead, the decrepit, the dying, what is not bearing fruit. We have to take that off. We have to prune it in order for the fruit to come, in order for that plant to flourish. And I know I've used that example before, but it's so true and it's so relatable.

Speaker 1:

I love word pictures, um, and so I just love how God showed up this year, um showed up this year, and the stillness when I was alone. I wasn't alone because I asked God to come in and to sit with me and to talk to me. And while I'm reading the Bible, while I'm reading his word, his love letter to me, I invited him in to show me the parts of me that need to be healed, to really speak to me through his word. And he showed me so many Bible verses that I know and have read before. But I was able to look through a different lens that really spoke to the strongholds that the enemy can have on our mind with depression and negative thoughts and hurtful thoughts, and I really had to lean into that and hold on to the words, like I had mentioned, john 15, five. I am the vine, remain in me and I and you and you will bear fruit. And I was reminded that I was not remaining in him. I was reading my Bible and journaling, just to check off the list. I wasn't really spending time with God.

Speaker 1:

And when I sat down and when I was intentional and I asked, I invited God in to sit with me and speak to me, that's when the word came alive. That's when I was able to see scripture differently and it really it hit me different. And it's so funny that you can read a scripture over and over again, time and time again. But when you invite God in and you ask him to speak to you and to speak through his word to you, that same verse that you've read a hundred times before hits different and you see it differently. And then what I do is I use a study Bible and when I find that verse and it links another verse to it, I follow to the next verse and then I read that verse and then that verse it'll have a clip or a reference to another verse that is connected or linked somehow, and then I'll go and I'll find that verse and then there'll be, you know, like a little passage of, like a devotional, and I'll read the devotional and it'll tell me how those verses apply to this and it really connects it in real life scenarios. That's the benefit of a study Bible is you can rabbit hole down different scriptures and make it all connect and it makes sense.

Speaker 1:

And so God showed up for me in my darkest times this year and in the stillness he spoke to me. Another way he showed up for me is through my community and I've talked about this multiple times this year about how your circle matters and through me, asking God to reveal to me the things that needed fixing. One of them is I push people away. When I'm hurt, when I'm scared, when you know things are tough, my defense mechanism is to put up my walls and to push people away. And there has been people in my life that cared about me but for whatever reason whether they did not know how to, uh, walk with me through a difficult time, they departed, whether it was because I pushed them away and they did not know how to respond to that. And it hurt them, I'm sure, but because I pushed them away, they left.

Speaker 1:

Right now, the community that I have is so important and is so detrimental to my walk, my life, my everything. He surrounded me with a community, this core group, our marriage group, has been so incredible and they have held me accountable. They have stuck with me through the storm. They have listened when I needed an ear. They have called me out on my crap. They have helped me see things in different perspectives and through different lenses. They have prayed over me, with me and for me, and that has been so different than the past and God has shown me that and I'm so grateful for that. I'm so grateful that these people are in my life, that are, you know, the army that God has chosen to surround me with. It's been incredible.

Speaker 1:

My husband, tony, his steadfast love and determination to love God more than anything else, has shown me what true love is. Because he loves God and he chases after God's heart, he is able to love me the way he's supposed to love me, the way that I needed to be loved. Again, when I'm hurt, scared you know I'm I put up my walls and I push people away and he won't be pushed away, and I'm so grateful for that, because normally I run and this time I'm not running, and as hard as it is, I'm facing the storm and I'm facing my demons, um, and you know the difficult parts of me that need to be healed. I'm allowing God to heal and I'm allowing other people to point those out and, instead of being defensive, work through it Right, and I am just so grateful for that that he continues to pursue God and I continue to pursue God because it roots us in with Jesus and it roots us closer together, and so I really want to anchor all that in with Psalm 34, 18. God is close to the brokenhearted and he rescued me not by fixing everything overnight, but by teaching me to surrender and to trust his plan. You know it says when you pursue God, when you chase after God, when you seek him, he is there. He is there with you, and the lessons that I learned in faith and in health and in purpose, 2024 taught me that faith comes first.

Speaker 1:

I always said it did, but 2024 really forced me to walk that out, to really practice what I preached and, like I said before, you know, it was a matter of checking the box. Like I read the word. I was in the word, I journaled, but it was more checking the box. I really wasn't letting the word penetrate me and change me. I really wasn't, you know, diving in and and really, um, you know, when you, when you research something and you and you rabbit hole no other way of saying it but you rabbit hole and you read one thing and it leads to something else and leads to something else, like when I am in the word, like that and I am reading God's word, like that, where I am searching for something, um, not necessarily searching for an answer, but searching, or I don't know how else to explain it other than letting it change me. Someone I can't remember his name, I think it's Preston, oh, I can't remember his name.

Speaker 1:

I was listening to a podcast and they were saying that when you read the Bible to let it change you versus reading the Bible to understand it, then it penetrates your heart, then it really makes a difference, because when you're reading it to let it change you and to let it transform you rather than to understand it, because I don't want to read the Bible and gain knowledge so that I can just spout off scripture so that I can just um have knowledge, cause I don't want that. I want to be changed by the word. I want to be transformed by the word. I want the Bible to really change me and shape me into the person that God created me to be, and so my relationships and my marriage come second to that. So 2024 taught me that my faith comes first, and my relationships and my marriage follow that, then my health, and last is my business, because when I tried to reverse that order, I felt lost, but when I really surrendered control, I found peace.

Speaker 1:

So when I was forcing, you know, to show up every day on social media to do podcasts, to make connections, to do, do, do, when I was down doing that, I was coming and showing up with a different kind of energy. It was very task oriented and very stressful and I put all the most important things on the back burner and I suffered greatly. It caused me stress, it caused me strife, it caused me disconnection, and those are the things where I flourish the most, those are the things where I get the most energy is through connection. I said that in the beginning, whether it's baking, gardening, networking, um, like getting into live events and also spending time with my family, with my church family, with my husband and my stepson like those connection pieces fuel me. And if I'm not doing that and I'm not intentional with that then I don't have the energy and the zeal and the love and the drive that I need in order for my business to do whatever God intends it to do, need in order for my business to do whatever God intends it to do, and that's the other thing is, I don't want it unless if it's God's will, and that was another thing that I learned in 2024.

Speaker 1:

So in October, I deleted everything. I chopped my hair off, I got rid of, you know, my um, all my social media. I deleted it all I've I've had to start all over and I don't even know if I'm going to continue down that road. I'm definitely going to keep my podcast in YouTube, but as far as Instagram and Facebook, like those things don't even matter to me, because I know that if God is going to give me a platform or, you know, allow me to make some type of connection, or allow me to make some type of connection worldwide, nationally, whatever it may be, I trust that it will happen on God's time and in God's will, as long as I surrender my plan to his will, to his control, and that's all I want. I want his will, not mine control, and that's all I want. I want his will, not mine. And so my priority is my faith and deepening my relationship with God and deepening my relationship with my mindset. Um, just by emphasis, emphasizing how intentional I need to be, and I am now with my quiet time in journaling. Like I said, it's not about checking the box, it's about meeting God where I am every single day and inviting him in to meet with me. And so, you know, wrapping this up for growth and practical habits, reflecting on my mental health and my spiritual growth.

Speaker 1:

This year, this past year, was absolutely a stretch year. It stretched me and tested my faith like never before. It was so uncomfortable but it was so transformative. It hurt me and I felt the most alone but yet the most seen. I felt the most pain but yet the most love. And it was because of my faith and it was because of how much I leaned into God and Jesus and the Holy Spirit and just really inviting him in to heal and transform me. And it wasn't about, you know, god, fix this. God, take this away. God, change him, change them. It wasn't that. It was changed me. Transform me, heal me. What is it in me that needs to be uprooted and taken out and dealt with? And it was really a year of reflection of how can I be better, how can I do better, and so I want to share with you three actionable habits that will help you grow in 2025.

Speaker 1:

The first one is to be intentional with your quiet time with God, to invite God in to where you're at and to invite God in to show you the ugly parts that you don't want to see, hear or deal with, but to ask God in and to invite him to show you so you know what to change, so you know what to work on and allow other people in on that as well, to walk beside you in that and to help you through that, because you can't do it alone. Um, it's not by your strength, but God's strength in you, and as long as you invite him in, he will do that. The second thing is journaling to process emotions and to hear from God, and what I mean by that is something that has helped me. I jump on a chat GPT and I ask a chat GPT to help create journal prompts in order for me to reflect on my spiritual growth or to reflect on, basically. I mean I tell chat GPT what I'm trying to accomplish, what I'm trying to get at, and they chat GPT gives me a prompt and then I'm able to reflect on that and pray through it and, you know, look up scripture. So, journaling to process your emotions and to hear from God.

Speaker 1:

And really honestly, this was the most profound experience I'll never forget. On Christmas Eve, I literally asked God in, and when I was asking God to reveal certain things to me, I was quiet. My mind started to go places and I started to think of scripture and I had to hush my mind. I had to stop, literally stop, and like imagine nothing, like it is so weird, but I literally had to visualize nothing and that took intention and it. It was very hard for me because my mind is never quiet, and so I literally had to just say stop thinking and be quiet before the Lord and just keep asking the Lord to speak to me and asking the Lord to reveal to me. What scripture do I need to read? What are you trying to tell me right now? And just close my eyes and visualize nothing, so that I can hear from God and it worked and it was so incredible.

Speaker 1:

The third thing surrounding yourself with supportive, faith filled people, people that are going to call you out and call you up, people that are going to lovingly walk with you through the fire, and I really want to tie it all together. I kind of want to wrap it up with with a bow right. Psalms 23 reminds us that God leads us to rest, he renews our strength and he stays with us even in the darkest valleys. And I've lived this truth in 2024. And I know you can too, because it was the hardest, darkest year for me in the best way. And I really want to challenge you to reflect on the year and take some time this week to reflect and ask yourself what brought you joy? Go back through your camera roll and don't get lost, but go back through your camera roll and reflect on the moments of joy, the things that brought you joy and energy, what were your challenges, how did God show his faithfulness to you, and what lessons are you going to carry to 2025? And I really want to end with encouraging you Remember that you're not alone.

Speaker 1:

You are not alone in this journey is meant to be difficult. It's meant to stretch you and challenge you. If you let it, and if you stay connected to the vine, you will bear fruit. If you stay connected to the vine, because apart from him we can do nothing. So, staying connected to him and rooted in him, you will flourish, you will produce fruit, you will have the friends, the family, the things that you need. I'm so glad I'm ending this right now because my dog is dreaming very loudly but you will bear fruit. If you connect yourself to the vine, you will bear fruit and you are never alone. You will bear fruit and you are never alone. And if you seek him, you will find him, in the goodness and even in the dark times. If you seek him, you will find him.