For those of us who live with chronic illness or pain, winter sometimes hits like a slap in the face. The cold weather causes pain to increase, mobility becomes more difficult and the winter blues can set in quickly. 

I want to encourage you to catch the slap by the wrist and say, "Not this year!"

Over the next winter months, I will be sharing some tips that I use to help stay proactive in my own self-care re: pain etc. and also digging into some deeper spiritual exercises and disciplines that help me draw near to God and stay there. Winter months, whether the actual change of climate or 'winter' because of circumstances, can be a valuable time of anticipated growth in our lives. Let's approach it with courage and faith that God is already here, already preparing the way for us, and already providing for what we need!

"Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."

2 Corinthians 12:8-10