Chasing My Creator
About Chasing My Creator
Welcome to ChasingMyCreator.com! This site is passionate about the topics of God and mental health and about blending those two topics together to provide you with tools to help you experience emotional freedom in every area of your life.
John 10:10 tells us that the thief (the enemy) comes to steal, kill and destroy. But Jesus tells us that He has come so that we may have life and have it abundantly.
Abundant living is not about gaining material wealth or increasing your social status; it is about accessing what Jesus made available to us through the cross. Not only did Jesus make a way for us to have eternal fellowship with God the Father, but He also has given us the ability to have a relationship with God for the remainder of our days here on Earth.
Abundant living is about pursuing God on a daily basis to the point where His character continually flows in and through us. Galatians 5:22-23 states:
"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law" (NIV). Just as we would not offer something to our children that we could not provide, neither would God.
Our hearts were made for more than just existing. We were made for more than living our entire life being defeated by shame, guilt, anger, fear, anxiety and the many other emotions that rob us from experiencing all that God has in store for us.
Our ability to emotionally thrive is less about our external circumstances and more about our internal state. When you make Jesus Lord of your life, it is possible to have peace during times of uncertainty and joy amidst our sufferings.
ChasingMyCreator.com is dedicated to seeking God in every circumstance, from the pit of despair to the joyous mountain top and every step along the way. The content on this site addresses common areas of daily struggle and areas we often need daily reminders about. It is a great place to gain practical tools to help you flourish in your daily walk.
I pray that the material blesses you.
With much love,
Shelley Beam
Chasing My Creator is based in North Texas
(Photo Credit: Matt Botsford)
John 10:10 tells us that the thief (the enemy) comes to steal, kill and destroy. But Jesus tells us that He has come so that we may have life and have it abundantly.
Abundant living is not about gaining material wealth or increasing your social status; it is about accessing what Jesus made available to us through the cross. Not only did Jesus make a way for us to have eternal fellowship with God the Father, but He also has given us the ability to have a relationship with God for the remainder of our days here on Earth.
Abundant living is about pursuing God on a daily basis to the point where His character continually flows in and through us. Galatians 5:22-23 states:
"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law" (NIV). Just as we would not offer something to our children that we could not provide, neither would God.
Our hearts were made for more than just existing. We were made for more than living our entire life being defeated by shame, guilt, anger, fear, anxiety and the many other emotions that rob us from experiencing all that God has in store for us.
Our ability to emotionally thrive is less about our external circumstances and more about our internal state. When you make Jesus Lord of your life, it is possible to have peace during times of uncertainty and joy amidst our sufferings.
ChasingMyCreator.com is dedicated to seeking God in every circumstance, from the pit of despair to the joyous mountain top and every step along the way. The content on this site addresses common areas of daily struggle and areas we often need daily reminders about. It is a great place to gain practical tools to help you flourish in your daily walk.
I pray that the material blesses you.
With much love,
Shelley Beam
Chasing My Creator is based in North Texas
(Photo Credit: Matt Botsford)
Free Printables
Daily Affirmation - Who I am in Christ
Too often we let past words, wounds and negative experiences dictate the way we see ourselves. One of the best tools to rebuild our self-worth is speaking God’s word over ourselves, until we identify more with what He says about us than what the world around us has said. This daily affirmation is not about puffing up your self-esteem. It is about becoming rooted in how God sees you. Your worth comes from Whose you are, not who you are. There is nothing God deems as more valuable than you. After all, scripture tells us that God created man in His image (Genesis 1:27) and that He sent his only son to die on the cross so that we could be reconciled to Him both now and for eternity (John 3:16). I encourage you to download and recite the provided affirmation over yourself out loud every morning. Why out loud? Because when you actually hear the Word of God spoken over yourself, the words resonate in a deeper part of your heart than you would experience just by silently reading them. I pray that this daily activity richly blesses you.
Daily Affirmation - Waves Be Still
Do you find yourself struggling with anxious thoughts? Do you have a hard time calming your mind when your circumstances feel out of control? God is sovereign over everything, even when it seems chaos is swirling all around us. Download the free affirmation and speak God's truth over yourself out loud on a daily basis, until His words supersede your fears.
Published Books
Come Closer, God – It Hurts, is now available for purchase on amazon.com/author/shelleybeam
Book Description:
Healing from loss is an intentional process.
What we do in our season of grief has a tremendous impact on our future. The popular saying, "Time heals all wounds," does not apply to the loss of a loved one. Time merely marks the number of calendar days since a loss occurred. It is what we do with the time that matters. Emotional healing after the death of a loved one requires intentionality and can only be fully attained when we invite God into the process.
Come Closer, God – It Hurts, combines personal experience, professional expertise, and biblical truth to help you navigate life after you lose a loved one.
Shelley Beam writes from the candid and compassionate lens of a mother who witnessed the death of her daughter and from the perspective of a professional counselor who has over a decade of experience in the mental health industry. This biblically sound resource takes an honest look at life during grief and walks with you through your grief into a place of emotional healing.
Shelley provides practical guidance infused with the hope found in scripture to help you:
This book is for people who are grieving a recent loss, struggling with unresolved emotions from prior loss, those who desire to better support their grieving loved one, and for the helping professional who strives to successfully guide their client through the tumultuous waters of grief in a way that promotes healing.
“I wrote the resource I wish I had available to me when I was in a season of deep grief. I want people to have an easier time walking through their grief than I did. I have navigated this process from multiple perspectives and there really are tools that can help.” -Shelley
Book Description:
Healing from loss is an intentional process.
What we do in our season of grief has a tremendous impact on our future. The popular saying, "Time heals all wounds," does not apply to the loss of a loved one. Time merely marks the number of calendar days since a loss occurred. It is what we do with the time that matters. Emotional healing after the death of a loved one requires intentionality and can only be fully attained when we invite God into the process.
Come Closer, God – It Hurts, combines personal experience, professional expertise, and biblical truth to help you navigate life after you lose a loved one.
Shelley Beam writes from the candid and compassionate lens of a mother who witnessed the death of her daughter and from the perspective of a professional counselor who has over a decade of experience in the mental health industry. This biblically sound resource takes an honest look at life during grief and walks with you through your grief into a place of emotional healing.
Shelley provides practical guidance infused with the hope found in scripture to help you:
- Understand what to expect from your grief cognitively, emotionally, physically and spiritually.
- Implement therapeutic strategies that promote emotional healing and deepen your faith.
- Effectively navigate through the subsequent losses, such as loss of companionship, loss of identity, loss of hopes and dreams, etc.
- Work towards gaining peace about the difficult unanswered questions.
- Lessen the power of unwanted emotions, with specific chapters dedicated to the topics of denial, guilt and anger.
- Avoid common coping behaviors which prolong your grief.
- Prepare for anniversary dates and holidays which can amplify your emotional pain.
This book is for people who are grieving a recent loss, struggling with unresolved emotions from prior loss, those who desire to better support their grieving loved one, and for the helping professional who strives to successfully guide their client through the tumultuous waters of grief in a way that promotes healing.
“I wrote the resource I wish I had available to me when I was in a season of deep grief. I want people to have an easier time walking through their grief than I did. I have navigated this process from multiple perspectives and there really are tools that can help.” -Shelley
Inspirational Graphics
Articles
About Shelley
I was in my eighth-year teaching elementary school when my world was unexpectedly sent into a tailspin by the death of my then, only child. In a matter of four months, I lost my marriage, daughter, career, and house. By the world's standards, I had nothing left. But God did not leave me in that hurting space indefinitely.
Amid my grief, God pursued my heart. I subsequently went back to college, obtained a master's degree in counseling from a christian university, became a licensed professional counselor and a certified grief counselor. Fast forward ten years and I write this from a place of gratitude about all that God carried me through.
The loss of my daughter also brought up additional unresolved past wounds and highlighted for me that my self-worth was too attached to the fleeting things of life – man’s opinions of me, past words and wounds that sowed into my life seeds of rejection.
It was when I seemingly lost everything that I learned God really was enough. As I used the opportunity to rebuild my life on what God says about me and how much He loves me, what resulted was true emotional freedom. Regardless of how I feel on any given day, scripture tells me in Isaiah 43:1:
"...Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine" (NIV).
What this means for me is that the creator of the entire universe saw the broken, messy, worn-out pieces of my heart and life and proclaimed to all of creation, "Shelley! I want her to be mine!”
But God did not just do this for me; this is how much God loves you also!
It has been quite a journey for me to move from a place of reading the scripture, to learning it, to applying it, to fully believing it. I listed believing last, because while I believed in God and believed that Jesus was my Lord and Savior, initially I really struggled to wrap my mind around my worth and just how much God adores me.
For too long, I let my past short-comings and my undesired circumstances dictate how I saw myself. But when I began to see myself as valuable because of Whose I was and not at all about what I have done or what was done to me, everything changed. This is not to be mistaken for any form of self-elevation, for my worth is directly tied to my creator. Internalizing the truth that God desires to be in a relationship with me and His love for me never wavers has beautifully culminated into an overflow of joy.
Today as I write this, it is an ordinary morning within my home. I am currently sporting a messy bun and leopard print leggings. My two elementary age children are roller skating through the house in their pajamas and my now, sweet husband is taking advantage of some extra Saturday morning sleep. But within these four walls is an opportunity to reflect on the goodness of God and His astounding provision. As I do this, the ordinary moments become much sweeter.
Reminiscing about all that God has carried me through, reminds me of Genesis 50:20, what the enemy meant for evil, God intended and used for good.
I now live in an emotional space where I am acutely aware that no matter what this day holds for me, good or bad, celebration or unexpected trauma, my Heavenly Father has it all under control. What do my days hold at this point? Most of my time is spent going on family adventures, working at an addiction recovery center, writing, and speaking/teaching on an array of topics whenever I am able.
However, amid the busyness of life's ever-changing circumstances, I know that I do not have to worry about anything today. I can rest, fully at peace, in God's provision and providence...because I I know, without a doubt, that I belong to Him.
Amid my grief, God pursued my heart. I subsequently went back to college, obtained a master's degree in counseling from a christian university, became a licensed professional counselor and a certified grief counselor. Fast forward ten years and I write this from a place of gratitude about all that God carried me through.
The loss of my daughter also brought up additional unresolved past wounds and highlighted for me that my self-worth was too attached to the fleeting things of life – man’s opinions of me, past words and wounds that sowed into my life seeds of rejection.
It was when I seemingly lost everything that I learned God really was enough. As I used the opportunity to rebuild my life on what God says about me and how much He loves me, what resulted was true emotional freedom. Regardless of how I feel on any given day, scripture tells me in Isaiah 43:1:
"...Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine" (NIV).
What this means for me is that the creator of the entire universe saw the broken, messy, worn-out pieces of my heart and life and proclaimed to all of creation, "Shelley! I want her to be mine!”
But God did not just do this for me; this is how much God loves you also!
It has been quite a journey for me to move from a place of reading the scripture, to learning it, to applying it, to fully believing it. I listed believing last, because while I believed in God and believed that Jesus was my Lord and Savior, initially I really struggled to wrap my mind around my worth and just how much God adores me.
For too long, I let my past short-comings and my undesired circumstances dictate how I saw myself. But when I began to see myself as valuable because of Whose I was and not at all about what I have done or what was done to me, everything changed. This is not to be mistaken for any form of self-elevation, for my worth is directly tied to my creator. Internalizing the truth that God desires to be in a relationship with me and His love for me never wavers has beautifully culminated into an overflow of joy.
Today as I write this, it is an ordinary morning within my home. I am currently sporting a messy bun and leopard print leggings. My two elementary age children are roller skating through the house in their pajamas and my now, sweet husband is taking advantage of some extra Saturday morning sleep. But within these four walls is an opportunity to reflect on the goodness of God and His astounding provision. As I do this, the ordinary moments become much sweeter.
Reminiscing about all that God has carried me through, reminds me of Genesis 50:20, what the enemy meant for evil, God intended and used for good.
I now live in an emotional space where I am acutely aware that no matter what this day holds for me, good or bad, celebration or unexpected trauma, my Heavenly Father has it all under control. What do my days hold at this point? Most of my time is spent going on family adventures, working at an addiction recovery center, writing, and speaking/teaching on an array of topics whenever I am able.
However, amid the busyness of life's ever-changing circumstances, I know that I do not have to worry about anything today. I can rest, fully at peace, in God's provision and providence...because I I know, without a doubt, that I belong to Him.
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