Women- we are beautifully complicated creatures. We want to love and be loved. We want to belong and be valued. We want to be heard. We want to be confident in our choices even if we change our minds frequently.
We want our lives to have impact & purpose- to achieve the goal that when we take our last breath, we will have no regrets! Nothing left undone.
The key to all of this is…. FREEDOM!
Freedom from the insecurities, the fears, the shame, the doubt, and the lies. Freedom to walk in truth- knowing exactly who we are, to whom we belong, and the power we have within!
You're tuning into the Gigi in Hawaii Podcast because you are ready --- ready to find your freedom & live your best life now with no regrets!!
I'm your host, Noelle LeBlanc. Welcome to the show.
Wow, today’s the day…. MY FIRST OFFICIAL EPISODE…
I’m so excited and a little nervous. I’ve got so much I want to share that I’m not sure where to start… guess the best place is the beginning. How I even came to Hawaii the first leap in this amazing journey! But before I get into that- let me tell you a little bit about myself.
I’m a Southern gal who grew up in Richmond, Virginia- I came from a Christian household. I guess you could say we were more like the classic “CEO Christens” “the Christmas & Easter” kind. I had a unique start in life ( but that’s a story I will save for another day) For the most part I had a typical middle-class upbringing. After graduating high school, I didn’t really know what I wanted in life so, much to my family’s surprise, I joined the Air Force and ended up being stationed in Fairbanks Alaska. Which was NOT my choice but it’s where I met my rajun-cajun husband (of 33 years), Chad and our daughter was born.
We eventually moved to Charlotte, North Carolina where we lived for 27 years. Now, life in Charlotte was good- we lived on my family’s compound & we did all the standard things -- went to college, had a career, built a home complete with a front porch, rocking chairs, and the family dogs, we joined the local church, and raised our daughter. A daughter who followed in our footsteps with her own military service and she’s now married with her own family.
Life was rolling right along until everything drastically changed in 2019 & 2020…
We’d been praying for over 12 years for our home and family property to sell (after basically being squeezed out by urban sprawl.) God finally answered our prayers and the property sold right when my husband was eligible for early retirement. So, we found ourselves in a unique position- debt free, no home, and no need to report for work! We were saying good-bye to a family legacy with an historic home close to 200 years, saying good-bye to two careers and making room for a fresh start- a whole new beginning.
But, with that perfect new beginning came so many questions… Where should we go? What should we do? When? How? Why?
The only thing we knew for certain was that we didn’t want to waste this new beginning – the world was literally opened at our feet. We had family and friends all along the East coast, Texas, and Louisiana. We even had job prospects in Colorado. Yet, nothing seemed right. We spent 6 months deliberating, dreaming, talking, and doing a ton of praying!
We finally concluded that we would go wherever God wanted to take us but, we needed to hear Him very clearly and and we needed Him to guide us. Honestly, up until this moment I couldn’t have said that I’d ever heard God before. So, in my A-type personality- I sat down and wrote out a list of everything that was important to me in a new home. I wanted a solid home that was older, built with character- at least built in the 1950’s.) But it had to be remodeled so that it looked and felt new. I wanted it to have a basement. Three to four bedrooms for guests. I even listed out the color of the walls (white) and the floors (hardwood-grey) like the ones in our temporary apartment!
Needless to say, my list was pretty detailed and when I was done, I went into my bedroom closet, got down on my knees and I cried and I prayed. I told the Lord, that I would surrender to Him, that I knew He was a good Father and that I could ask Him anything. I read my list out loud to Him, and I told Him that this was the desire of my heart but, I would go anywhere He wanted…. My only ask was that He would plant me somewhere He knew that I would bloom and He would make it so clear that there was no way I could mistake His wishes.
Now, I do have tell you- the one thing missing from my list was the LOCATION. I had a soft spot in my heart for Hawaii (after we vacationed on the Big Island). And admittedly I had become somewhat addicted to watching recorded episodes of Hawaii Life (just not the episodes featuring Hilo Hawaii- I mean who wants to live in a rain forest?!) For the fun of it, I even created a search query in Zillow for houses in both Hawaii and Colorado. But, man, all the houses in Hawaii were always so out of our price range that I finally gave up and turned the notifications off for Hawaiian homes.
Here’s what’s so funny…. I thought Hawaii was completely impossible- yet, God had other plans!
Within two weeks of that prayer, (on my husband’s birthday) I sat down that Sunday morning, fortified with a strong cup of coffee, to pay bills and check emails. Now, the very first email that popped up was the most beautiful house that it caught my breath so naturally I had to click on it. To my amazement, despite my turning off the notifications for any Hawaii home, here was my house in Hawaii. Exactly like my list- it even had a basement (which is rare in Hawaii) and had the exact grey flooring and white walls. I couldn’t believe it- it was even in our price range! The only catch was… it was in Hilo, Hawaii (yep, the very place I said I wouldn’t want to live because it rains all the time.) Yet, I couldn’t deny it was my house! I had the list to prove it & I never exactly said where I would want to live! (God really does have a sense of humor!)
I waited impatiently for my husband to rise, get his cup of coffee and have a look. He couldn’t argue- it was the house!
We really didn’t have a clue about buying a home in another state but, we clicked the button to say we were interested and within an hour- a realtor calls - young man by the name of Spencer and the journey began. I kept pinching myself along the way- thinking any moment something would fall through and I shouldn’t get my hopes up. Yet, I couldn’t deny the list and just kept telling myself- If this is what the Lord wants nothing will be impossible with Him! He will make it happen- He will make a way. He will show us favor.
And boy did He!
We put in an offer for less than asking price and within an hour it was accepted. Before we knew it, we had bought a house over the internet, without seeing it first in person. We hadn’t told anyone in our family that we were basically moving to a place we had never been before, didn’t know a single soul, and had no job prospects. Frankly, we both began to wonder if maybe we had lost our minds!
Then to make it even scarier- a week after we closed the whole country shut down due to C-virus!! We had so many hurdles and obstacles to overcome to move our entire household across 4,000 miles during the worst pandemic the world had ever seen.
But God showed up every single time.
For every obstacle, there was an answer of favor upon favor, solutions and people willing to go above and beyond to help us! From movers willing to come out during quarantine, to our relator willing to accept power of attorney, and literally get our home and utilities setup, and even taking possession of our cars and our entire household goods. Believe it or not, all our stuff arrived weeks ahead of time before we could physically fly out to the Big Island!
It was like we were unstoppable!
The true test was when we arrived wondering how I would feel in this new place. So, I held my breath when we pulled into the driveway and when I finally stepped foot into our new home it FELT LIKE HOME! Even unique pieces of furniture saved from our historic family home fit right in place like they too were meant to be there!
We even have a miraculous story in how the Lord brought our two dogs, Skylar, and Bentley to us when the country was shut down and no airlines were flying pets! (That one I will save for another episode!)
The best part of this whole saga…. The very place that I would have said no to- a rain forest- is the very place that I have indeed bloomed like never before! Call me crazy but, maybe God really does know best & he knew that I needed the rain?!
Anyway, It took us five months from the day we first saw the house on Zillow to arriving on the island and in those five months- each time an obstacle or doubt arose- I clung to Proverbs 3:5-6 that says:
“Trust the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. Seek His will and He will direct your path!”
And each time a fear would rise- I would take those thoughts captive and pray – Psalms 143:8-11 which says:
“Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I entrust my life. Rescue me from my enemies, LORD, for I hide myself in you. Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground.”
I learned in all this that God’s word is alive and true and His timing is perfect! When you can’t see clearly- when you are in foreign place, when you know no one and you don’t know what’s up ahead – But God.
He is a good Father, He hears us, He sees us, He cares. He heard all my cries- He listened to me reading my list AND HE ANSWERED!
As I reflect on all this today,
None of it would have been possible if we weren’t willing to take that first step of faith! To do the unthinkable- to do what seemed crazy! To leave all our loved ones, everything we hold dear, everything that we know to embark on a journey where there are far more unknowns than knowns.
Yet, we couldn’t have said yes to God and His plan without first having some understanding of HIS PERFECT LOVE.
I realize that all my pre-Hawaii days, God was laying a foundation for me. Years of Him being faithful- I just never stopped long enough to fully see and appreciate it.
I have since changed (maturing if you will) and I can finally see that when we align ourselves completely with Jesus nothing is impossible. His greatest desire for our lives is to be reconciled to Him and to be His ambassadors!
2 Corinthians 5:19 through 6:2 reaffirms this truth where The Apostle Paul writes:
"That God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.
God made Him (Jesus) who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. As God’s co-workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain. For (the Lord) says:
In the time of my favor, I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.
I tell you; NOW IS the time of God’s favor; NOW is the day of salvation!”
Friends, the Lord, wants all of us to be in such an intimidate relationship with Him- that we do not take His grace for granted.
He wants us to be willing to be His ambassadors to the world! It is a choice!
Here’s my questions for you today- What are you waiting for? What’s your heart’s desire? How do you need God to show up in your life?
Are you willing to turn it over to the Lord and trust Him?
It honestly takes just one single step done in faith to claim the truth of God’s word!
I know it might sound scary & you might be doubting right not in this moment- but I’m here to tell you that God is no respecter of persons- meaning- What He has done for me and my husband- He will do for you!
All you have to do is:
MAKE THE ASK,
LOOK FOR HIS RESPONSE
TRUST IN HIS TIMING, & JUST SURRENDER.
You can trust Him- He loves you & wants to be in your life in such a way that you will bloom and shine for Him!
HE CANNOT FAIL!
NOW is the time!
The time of God’s favor, the day of salvation!”
Don’t miss it! It truly is life changing!
Mahalo for tuning in today. I hope this time served you well. If so, PLEASE SUBSCRIBE and join me each week as we explore how we as women can rise to our fullest potential and walk in the knowledge of truth where shame fades away, fear diminishes, and boldness emerges, rendering lives that freely thrive & shine!
So let’s level up ladies- it’s time to get brighter & “glow” for Jesus!