Doing Life with Christ: Living with Intention- Dr. Chanel, San Bernardino, CA (2026)

I'm a gal after God's heart whose true desire is to share my life journey with you from single parenting,being a leader within the four walls of church to out in the community,making an impact in corporate America all while serving Jesus.

09/14/2026

New season! I took a hiatus and now I'm back with new content. It's been almost 7 years since starting this blog and I'm excited to share what been happening: the ups, the challenges, and the in-betweens from getting married, career promotion, family, licensure, and new God-opportunities into the final quarter of 2026. Stay tuned. Love & Blessings!

09/12/2026

“He Called You by Name, ” the title of chap 1 of my recent book, “All God Needs Is your Yes: Successfully Walking in your Full Authority” (2025).

I began the chapter with, “But now, thus says the Lord, who created you, Jacob, and formed you, Israel: Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name: you are mine. When you pass through waters, I will be with you; through rivers, you shall not be swept away.” - Isaiah 43:1-2

This scripture hits home even more since passing my Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) written exam in August!

The 17 year journey it took to get to this point… to God be the glory as I count it all joy.

2009: Masters degree & uncertain if I wanted to pursue licensure.
2014: As a Single mom, 3 jobs, doctoral student, involved parent, single mom ministry leader decided to pursue licensure & work on hours.
2019: Promoted to Supervisor in 2019
2022: Promoted to District Manager
2023: While on July vacay 🛫 with future husband, I began studying- but life happened.
2024: June, began studying
July, became a fiancé 💍& wedding planning
Sept, Interim Deputy Director
2025: May, wedding 👰🏽‍♀️
June, began studying again to take the exam on 8/4/25.
July, Promoted to Deputy Director
July, My beautiful niece died unexpectedly and as I took the exam the 1st time, every scenario I read, I thought about her. My mind and my heart wasn’t ready. I failed.
2026: Feb 3, Began studying again
Feb 13, My mother had a major stroke; becoming a secondary caregiver & POA. I chose to be present for my family as we navigate through this new chapter.

Then in my prayer closet on June 24, 2026, I poured my heart, my fears, onto the Lord and asked, if this is Your Will God, I will go & take this exam. But Lord, I truly can’t do this again if I fail a 2nd time. I am done.” Took a vacation, studied, prayed, and prayed some more. And on 8/4/26, my last BBS date to re-take the exam- I passed.
Sometimes we believe that everything will align perfectly. But it is in the midst of the imperfect, the inconvenient, the difficult that God whispers…ITS TIME.He’ll give you grace, mercy, favor to persevere. You’

08/16/2026

God -Convos… Create the space, the environment to cultivate the woman whom God is calling you to become in this next season.

This birthday year, chapter 45, hits differently.

January: God whispered my “Word of the Year” in my spirit “DEVELOP.” I knew that this meant a season of cultivating was taken place. Walking in the ministry of marriage as a new wife; Serving in executive leadership as a Deputy Director; Equipping women into positions of leadership & upward mobility; Guiding my college son thru navigating life & business; & Making pivots as an entrepreneur/ businesswomen.

February: Life changed suddenly, becoming POA, making caregiving decisions, holding family meetings determining who will tend to which tasks, going to their home daily & alternating shifts with fam, and learning what life looks like helping a parent who’s had a major stroke (she is doing phenomenally well being home *) while helping my father learn to navigate life differently.

I did what I had always done… put on the mask, step into social worker mode, hardcore during the day while sitting at the feet of Jesus and burying my head into the arms of my husband in hysterical tears at night.

June, I asked God, “Father, 1st, I need a new powerful word in this season, new fresh anointing. 2nd, how will I know that this season has ended?” He whispered, “for the new season, the God strategies of the past; although, were what was needed then, are no longer the God strategies needed in this season.”

- I then asked God, how will I know when I can slow down… within the hour, mom called excited to tell me that with the contracted arm, she was able to now fold laundry, mop safely from the wheelchair, and safely cook because she missed cooking some good ole southern food. I screamed in excited and told her how proud I was of her. We hung up and I cried tears of joy and praised God for the work He was doing …. He answered my question.

*Capacity- building*
*Peace*
*Simplicity*
*Boundaries over apologies*
*Self-care* (embracing this)
*Vulnerability*
*Communication*
*Shifting, Re-prioritizing, Postponing* doesn’t make you “weak” or “less than;” it makes you “WISE” “STRONG” and “Courageous”

Y’all, I say this to say… count it all joy. Every trial, challenge, different experience is an opportunity for growth, for development. In every season of life as the different chapters noted in these photos, don’t waste the lessons that God is teaching you Beloved ❤️

05/06/2026

“The Power of Partnership; Doing More with Less, Partnership at its Best” is the theme for our upcoming Conference.

Join us next Wednesday, 5/13/26 for our 38th Annual Dept. of Aging and Adult Services-Public Guardian (DAAS-PG) APS MDT Conference at DoubleTree Hilton in Ontario.

This year’s Conference is set to be a record-breaking event, with over 500 attendees, 29 specialized workshops & panels (CEs available), 45 expert presenters, and 32+ premier vendors and sponsors. Exceptional opportunity for a day of networking and professional development!

Check out some of our workshops-

“A Community Assistance, Recovery and Empowerment (CARE) Court Story: Mental Health Crisis to Accomplishments” - Gregory T. Armstrong, Sarah Bogar, Crystal Nieblas

“A Multi-Disciplinary Collaborative Approach to Chronic Homelessness” - Julio Burgos, Brianna Camacho, Sophia Hernandez, Marcelle Wess, Noe Zepeda

“Fentanyl Awareness and Narcan Training” - Alexander Cordova & Gustavo Cisneros

“Navigating the Current Assisted Living Waiver Program” - Marie Vernon

“Strengthening Veteran Well-Being Theough Connection and Community” - Demarius Carmichael

“Braided, Not Broken: Aligning Funding, Partners and Outcomes in a Resource-Constrained Environment” - Shanikqua Freeman

“California’s Aging and Adult Services MSW Training Program” - E. Maxwell Davis & Jennifer James

“Home and Community-Based Alternatives Waiver (HCBA) and California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal (CalAIM) with Institute on Aging” - Lola Ramos

“Program Design and Implementation for Adults and Older Adults” - Dr. Wenli Jen

“Partnering with Paws” - Brandi Schlater

“Bridges Out of Poverty” - Princess Osita-Oleribe & Briana Vasquez

Purchase your ticket today and share with your colleagues!

https://web.cvent.com/event/dbc7baca-6cad-49f7-97f4-c44c6ecec7a5/summary

Address

San Bernardino, CA
92401–92408, 92410–92415, 92418, 92420, 92423, 92424, 92427

Website

http://doinglifewithchristblog.wordpress.com/

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Doing Life with Christ: Living with Intention- Dr. Chanel