Chalcedony G.

Today, Chalcedony speaks to us about her beautiful New Years tradition, the solution to all problems, and how God is constant.

Chalcedony G.

Inspiring biblical passage of the moment: “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9

A verse that has comforted me throughout my move out of home to college on the other side of the country!

Spiritual growth focus at the moment: I am focussing on several things at the moment, but I shall only share two!

Trusting and believing! I’m learning to trust God like never before, with my career, friendships, passions and dreams. I’m just learning to blindly trust Him because I know He does good to those who love Him (you & me)! I’m also learning to really deeply believe that God is who He says He is. His Word is true, and He never changes! This has been especially helpful in times of doubt, and I’m more thankful than ever that I serve a God that’s constant in the midst of this ever changing world.

“I’m more thankful than ever that I serve a God that’s constant in the midst of this ever changing world.”

Profession: I’m a student. I am currently studying a pre-medical course called Health Science First Year. It’s a one year course that allows you to enter into the field of medicine.

A one sentence bio of yourself: I’m Chalcedony G., a young Indian woman who loves Jesus, helping people and exploring my beautiful home called New Zealand.

When did you first encounter God and how did you encounter Him? I’ve been blessed to have grown up in a Christian home my entire life, but the first time I experienced God for myself was when I was 15, at a church camp. The pastor was speaking about David and the biggest mistake he made in life. He explained David’s desperate heart (Psalm 51) for God’s forgiveness and presence and the Father’s never ending love for His children! After the pastor read through Psalm 51, my eyes opened spiritually! I could see! I had this moment where I understood the Father’s heart on a deeper, more real level! If you’re reading this, and you’ve had this experience, you’ll know exactly what I’m saying! Everything clicked and everything made sense! The song ‘I surrender’ played after the sermon and as you can imagine, I wept! I cried out of absolute joy, understanding and repentance. That day a spark was ignited, and I’ve never been the same, since!

What has helped you grow spiritually in this season?

Two things.

i) My quiet [time] with the Lord. Just being in His presence, reading His Word and meditating on it. There’s nothing more valuable than my time with Him.

ii) The online community. Whether it be blogs, Instagram personals or sermons on YouTube! They have all spoken to me and continue to do throughout the day. It’s so uplifting seeing other people all over the world living their best lives for Christ. There are some amazing Instagram profiles and blogs out there that write some amazing things, if you want some recommendations direct message me!

Just read/currently reading (and what has it taught you?)

I’ll share the three books I’m reading at the moment:

i) Bible: One book I’m reading is Psalms! As I’m reading these poems and song I’ve begun to understand the heart of David and His love and worship towards God. There’s a Psalm for each emotion and situation we’re in and it’s been amazing seeing how the writings of David, thousands of years ago can speak such truth in my life.

ii) God Is Good by Bill Johnson: From what I’ve read of this book, so far, it has proven to be very good. The way Bill explains how God is good despite anything that could happen to us, is incredible! I currently learnt about the purpose of the Old Testament which gave me a fresh perspective on the Old Testament.

iii) Awaken by Priscilla Shirer: This is a 90-day devotional about the God who speaks, and so far it’s been amazing! Each day, you get to read about how God speaks to us through our daily lives, followed by a thought question, you then write down your answer in the book itself. I love that it’s interactive and makes me really think, listen and observe God and how is He working in my everyday life.

Top three essentials: Bible, mocha, my bathrobe – it’s so soft and warm, and if you ask my dorm mates, they’ll all say I live in it!

How did God speak to you recently?Through His Word and faith-based blogs that I’ve been reading! I’ve always known that God speaks through His Word, but I’ve been amazed at how He can speak to me and my situation through other people, even if they’re on the other side of the world!

Hobby: I enjoy playing the piano, but I’ve recently been spending more time on journaling and writing so we’ll see how that goes. I also love exploring, whether it be new cities, stunning views of cafes – I’m always prepared!

Top three practical tips for staying spiritually strong?

i) Being in consistent fellowship and conversation with the Lord throughout the day. For me that looks like reading faith based books, watching sermons, listening to worship music and consistently conversing with God (prayer).

ii) Faith friends! You need to surround yourself with people who believe in Jesus and life their lives as followers of Him! These friends will be there to encourage, support and keep you accountable. This journey was not made me walked alone and nor can walk this race well alone – we were made to be in fellowship with others!

iii) WORSHIP! Whatever that may look like for you, whether it’s singing, playing an instrument, writing, painting, dancing or blogging – do it! There is immense power in worship, and it brings so much rest, joy and assurance to our soul. So, take time every day to worship God the way you want to, but also keeping in mind that even the mundane things we do should be acts of worship to God.

Favorite person in Scripture? Jesus would have to be at the top of my list. BUT my next would be the Proverbs 31 woman. We aren’t given her name or many details about her all really, but she was a BOSS LADY! And is the role model and person I want to grow into. She was someone who was so strong in her identity and authority she had in God and proved to show that in every relationship and area of her life!

What do you want people to learn about God when they look at you? You know, the world doesn’t need religion or a set of rules to follow. They need love. And God is the love they need. So, all I want people to see is the love of God in me, in the way I live my life, and how I deal with circumstances. I need them to see that they are loved despite any of their doing and their past.

Favorite season: Spring! A little cold, a little warm and a lot of pretty blossom trees! New Zealand is especially beautiful in spring because there’s still a little snow on the mountains but you can also enjoy the beautiful beaches and lakes!

Favorite holiday: Easter! I really enjoy Good Friday, the Saturday and Palm Sunday! A weekend of deep thought and sadness but ends with an overflow of joy, hope and redemption. I always find myself going back to the centre of Christianity and really focussing on the death and resurrection of Christ.

A dream you have? Something that exceeds my career goals is the dream of being a wife and mom, one day. There’s something beautiful in being a wife and having a union that resembles Christ and His church and being mom and raising a family that represents Christ on Earth. What a witness that can be to non-believers!

A special tradition you and your family engage in or keep: This is a tradition that was brought to my family by my mother, as she had grown up with it. So, on December 31st, Mum would have a box of biblical promises that she wrote on pieces of card. Just after the clock strikes midnight, Mum would allow each of us to pick a card from the box – we were told not to show our one to anyone else. This was now our promise for the year, a verse we would meditate on and a promise we would claim for the coming year. Then, at the end of the year, on December 31st we would share our testimonies with family and friends that night of how God worked that promise throughout our year.

“This was now our promise for the year, a verse we would meditate on and a promise we would claim for the coming year.”

Question you will ask when you get to heaven? Why spiders, Lord? Why? What was there purpose on Earth? Why 8 legs? Why can they jump? Why?

(I’m a little scared of spiders as you may tell…)

No, but in all seriousness, I think I have thousands of questions I would love to ask God. When I get heaven, I would love to watch a movie (if that’s a thing in heaven) of humanity. Starting from creation, Adam and Eve (with the actual characters) all the way to the 21st century and till whenever Christ returns. Not only biblical stories, but stories that were not put into the Bible or were never recorded. The movie must be narrated by God, and I want him to explain His thoughts on us. What did He think of certain events that took place, what were we meant to do but didn’t do in certain situations…? So, I’ll probably ask if that could happen! Completely random, but if you think about it, it would be pretty cool!

Thing you want to raise awareness about? JESUS and the wonderful life He offers to every human on Earth!

I was watching a documentary series a while ago called “Traffickers” (would recommend) about the black market industry and how everything can be bought at a cost including, exotic animals, sex, human body parts, children and gold. The journalist explains how everything is corrupted, even things that look as innocent as child adoption!

Each episode talked about a different topic and after every episode my heart felt so heavy.

I asked myself, “When did the world get this evil? How did all this happen? And why didn’t anyone stop this?” I then questioned myself and said, “I can’t sit around while this happens. What can I do?” And the sad truth is, not much. I can’t save all the girls getting trafficked for sex, all the animals that are being poached or all the kids who are getting adopting whilst still having a family that loves and wants them.

And the reality is, it’s not going to get any better. The Bible states that in the world is only going to get worse (2 Timothy 3:13). However, we need to understand that CHRIST HAS OVERCOME THE WORLD! (John 16:33) He has overcome ALL evil – the deaths of innocent people, the girls being sold and the endless injustice done to children. Understanding this gave me a burst of hope and shifted my heart from complete heaviness to overflowing worship!

Of course, I want to raise awareness about child poverty (I’m planning to sponsor a child soon), animal poaching and sex trafficking, but more importantly, I want to and I need to raise awareness about Jesus! We’re not able to solve all the problems in the world, but we know someone who can and that Name must be made known!

“We’re not able to solve all the problems in the world, but we know someone who can and that Name must be made known!”

What do you usually do before 9 am? This is my usual routine before 9 am! Wake up, pray, drink water! I’ll then get dressed, go have breakfast and pack my bag for class. I always try have a couple of minutes before leaving to read a devotion or Bible verse. After that I’ll leave for class, which goes from 8-9 am. Some days, my first class is at 9 am, so I’ll spend longer in my quiet time, reading the Word or journaling! I’ve been aiming to not check social media until after I’d had my time with the Lord because that’s my priority. And that’s pretty much it!

What is on your nightstand? Nothing. I don’t have a nightstand in my college dorm room! But if I did, it would have a lamp, hand cream, drink bottle, my glasses, a book and my phone!

Define Christianity in a sentence: A relationship with Jesus Christ who came to bridge the gap that was created by sin, between humanity and God, and who did by dying on the cross for all of us, so that we can live a life of purpose, full joy and hope!

Note from Chalcedony: Hope you all had fun getting to know me! If you want to keep up with my life and the adventures I get up to follow me on my Instagram: @chalcedony.gali

Till then, stay gold beautiful people!

For more Chalcedony:

Instagram: @chalcedony.gali

Until next time, keep witnessing!

XOXO