There is something about the arrival of a new football season that makes me feel like anything is possible. Maybe it is the energy. Maybe it is the anticipation. Maybe it is the familiar sound of a stadium coming alive, the excitement of game-day conversations, the jerseys, the rivalries, the traditions, the tailgates, and the collective belief that this could be our season. Or maybe it is something deeper. Maybe football season reminds us that before the whistle blows, before the first touchdown, before anyone knows how the season will end, every team gets a fresh start. A new season… A new opportunity… A new chance to show up, make adjustments, trust the process, and play the game in front of them. And honestly? I think that is exactly where many of us are right now. We are standing at the edge of a new season. Not just football season. Fall season. Faith season. Becoming season. The kind of season that asks us to look at where we have been, honor what we have learned, and prepare ourselves for where we are going next. So before I move forward, let me say this: I took a brief break from blogging. Not because I had nothing to say. If you know me, you know there is always something happening in my mind, my heart, my vision, and somewhere between my prayers and my purpose. But I needed to regroup, reconnect, and I needed to sit with my vision and ask myself what deeper meaning I wanted to create through Talk To Ingrid in this next season. I needed reflection, rest, and I needed room. Because sometimes you have to step back from the noise so you can hear yourself again. Sometimes you have to pause long enough to remember what God told you before everybody else’s opinions, expectations, urgency, and timelines got involved. And sometimes you simply need to take care of you.
I know we live in a world that celebrates constant movement. Always posting…Always producing…Always building…Always showing up…Always available…Always trying to prove that we are working toward something. But let me remind you of something I had to remind myself: Rest is not quitting. Regrouping is not giving up. Taking a pause is not losing momentum. Needing time to reconnect with your purpose does not mean you have lost your purpose. Sometimes the most powerful thing you can do for yourself is stop long enough to breathe. To evaluate, heal, to dream again, to get still, to let your mind catch up with everything your life has been carrying, And yes, to give yourself some grace unapologetically.
I want to encourage you in this season to give yourself permission to do the same. Give yourself grace. Give yourself time. Give yourself space to regroup, rest, renew, and reconnect—not because you are weak, but because self-preservation matters. We cannot keep pouring from places within ourselves that have been running on empty. We cannot expect clarity while constantly surrounded by confusion and noise. We cannot pray for a new season while refusing to prepare ourselves emotionally, mentally, physically, and spiritually for what that season may require. That brings me back to football. Every great season requires preparation. Before the lights. Before the cameras. Before the sold-out stadiums. There are practices nobody sees. Film sessions, training, recovery, adjustments, rest days, strategy meetings, lessons from losses, and preparation for the opponent ahead. The game may be exciting, but preparation is what positions you to perform when the opportunity arrives. So what if this season of your life is preparation too? What if the pause you have been frustrated by is actually part of the plan? What if the rest you have been resisting is the very thing helping restore the strength you will need for what is coming? What if God has been giving you time to regroup because the answers to some of the things you have been praying and believing Him for are closer than you think?
Are you ready? Not just excited. Not just hopeful. Not just praying. Ready? Because sometimes we spend so much time asking God for the blessing that we forget to prepare ourselves to carry it. We pray for bigger opportunities but neglect our peace. We pray for expansion but refuse to rest. We pray for abundance while operating from burnout. We pray for relationships but forget to nurture ourselves. We pray for open doors without considering who we need to become when those doors finally open. And let me lovingly say this: Keeping the faith requires nurturing yourself.
Faith is not always loud. Sometimes faith looks like getting the rest you need. Sometimes faith looks like stepping away from something that is draining you. Sometimes faith looks like saying no. Sometimes faith looks like asking God for clarity instead of forcing a decision. Sometimes faith looks like choosing peace over performance. Sometimes faith looks like believing that you do not have to exhaust yourself to prove that you are worthy of the blessing. Keeping the faith requires treating your mind, body, and spirit with the same kindness, attention, and maintenance that you would offer to someone you love. Read that again. Would you talk to someone you love the way you sometimes talk to yourself? Would you tell someone you love to keep working when they are exhausted? Would you expect someone you love to carry everyone else’s needs while ignoring their own? Would you deny someone you love rest, grace, healing, or time to recover? Probably not. So why do we sometimes deny those things to ourselves?
This new season, I am choosing to be more intentional about that, and I hope you will too. As the weather begins to shift, as football season brings its excitement, as the leaves prepare to change, let this be your reminder that transformation does not always happen loudly. Sometimes change begins quietly. In the pause. In the reflection. In the prayer. In the rest. In the decision to come back to yourself, and that is exactly what I have been doing. Regrouping, reconnecting, reflecting, preparing, and getting excited about what is next. Because Talk To Ingrid is entering a new season too. A season with deeper conversations. Fresh features. New content. More intentional storytelling. More lifestyle inspiration. More opportunities to connect. More space to talk about the things that matter—the beautiful, complicated, faith-filled, purpose-driven journey of becoming the woman you are called to be, and I am so excited to welcome you into what is coming. So as we prepare for kickoff and fall settles in, I want you to ask yourself:
What season am I entering?
What do I need to release?
Where do I need to rest?
What part of myself needs nurturing?
And am I preparing for the very thing I have been praying for?
Because the season is changing, and maybe, just maybe, so are you. Take the break if you need it. Rest if you are tired. Regroup if you feel scattered. Reconnect if you have lost sight of your vision. Give yourself grace if the journey has not looked the way you expected, and then, when it is time? Get up. Get ready. Suit up. Trust God. Keep the faith, and step into the field of your next season knowing that you do not have to have every answer to be prepared for what is coming. You just have to keep nurturing the woman who is going to receive it. The season is changing. The game is almost here, and baby, I have a feeling we are about to see some things we have been praying for.
Welcome back to Talk To Ingrid. The conversation is just getting started.
Cheers to this Season,
Ingrid