YOU are powerful!

I am reading a couple different books right now, and as I read I'm noticing a common thread among them all...the power of positive thinking. We each have the power to control our thoughts, whether we choose to exert that power or not is up to us.  

"The Magic of Believing" is a small little book written in 1948 by Claude M. Bristol and it has had quite an impact on my daily life. I'm only about half way through the book, but I'm already seeing a change in myself since I began to implement his ideas. The whole idea of the book is that our thoughts actually carry an energy, so we need to continuously make sure our thoughts are positive, therefore creating positive outcomes in our lives. He gives many examples of the validity of his theory, and he also goes into a lot of scientific detail that I don't completely understand, but overall I grasped the concept. Think positively, and positive things will happen. Since I started his book I have felt more alive and been more successful than ever! I've been getting up earlier, being more productive, excelling in the work place, eating better, exercising more. And it's all happening because I've changed the way I think.

The second book I've been reading is "How Successful People Think" by John C. Maxwell. Now this book is nice because he writes with lots of bullet points and lists. His book feels more like, follow-these-steps-and-you'll-be-successful. Once again, a good portion of his book focuses on how your thinking determines your success, no matter what you're trying to be successful at. The third book is called "The Power of Positive Thinking" and I've only just started that one.

Each person has the power to determine how happy, how successful, how healthy and how wealthy they will be. It's all in your attitude and your thinking! I truly believe that. Everyone has insecurities and doubts, that's natural. But we each have the power to turn those insecurities into strengths and doubts into faith! YOU have the power to choose... Only you can change your thinking. It's difficult to be accountable for your thinking when no one can read your thoughts. But your words come from your thoughts, and chances are if you're being negative out loud then whatever is going on in your head is probably much worse. Find someone who will keep you accountable for the things you say. Let the people you're close to know that you don't want to speak negatively anymore. To train yourself to only speak positively you can try the rubber band trick. Wear a rubber band on your wrist and every time you say or think something negative snap yourself. That will condition your brain to associate pain with negative thinking. If you're finding that your friends aren't supporting you in being positive, then maybe you should evaluate your friendships. Do your friends encourage you to be negative? Do they have your best interests at heart? You are who you hang out with, so be careful who you spend the majority of your time with. 

The verse "be transformed by the renewing of your mind" is one that I've been thinking about a lot lately. We must constantly be telling our minds how to think. We can't just let our thoughts run wild, because we all know that's what gets us into trouble (especially those of us with anxiety!). We have to tell our subconscious mind how to think. If you want a promotion at work, you need to repeat in your head, "I'm going to get it. I have what it takes. I am qualified. They're going to promote me." There is power of life and death in the tongue, and the same goes for thoughts. What you think, will be. "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength," is a lovely little verse that I repeat over and over when I'm feeling a little unsure about something. 

I just want everyone who reads this to be aware of the fact that their thoughts have more power than they realize. Train yourself to envision things working out in every area of your life, and they will. And also, read "The Magic of Believing" and "The Power of Positive Thinking." Your life will be forever changed. 

Faith.Hope.Love.
Chelsea Rae

If you're going through hell, keep on going

These are life lessons that I have learned and things I try to live by. I’m looking forward to this list growing and changing as I get older, but I hope you can benefit from what I've learned in my life thus far. 


1. Get the negative people out of your life

Negativity breeds negativity. Don’t allow people to bring you down. Life is 90% attitude and 10% circumstance. You have the power to choose your attitude every morning.


2. “Act as if”

If you want to be a manager or leader at your job or otherwise, you need to act as if you are one already. Carry yourself as a manager would. Be early, stay late, be focused, take initiative, set goals, communicate with your leaders, set an example, be a leader.


3. Don’t let things get behind you

Know what events are coming up and start preparing way in advance. 


4. Take care of yourself

Get enough sleep every night, eat well, drink lots of water. More than that, you need to take care of yourself spiritually and emotionally. Don’t let your job become your relationship. Make time for the important people in your life and make time for God. He obviously made time for you when he created you and then died for you.


5. Have a plan

Where do you want to be in a year? 2 years? 5? Work from back to front. Plan out how you’re going to get where you’re going down to the month. “If you fail to plan you plan to fail.”


6. Be financially responsible

Budget your money, set a goal for how much you want to have in savings in 1 year, 5 years, 10 years and create a plan on how you’re going to do that. 


7. Stay on good terms with everyone you encounter, don’t make enemies

The more people you have on your side, the better. One key to being successful is networking. It’s not what you know, it’s who you know. The more people you know and who know you, the better.


8. Be a leader in all things

In fashion, in speech, in action, in the way you treat others, in lifestyle. Don’t conform to what everyone around you is doing. Set the bar high for yourself and don’t let other people dissuade you. You are different, you are unique, you have been called to a higher standard. You are not ordinary.


9. Be trustworthy

Reputation is everything. People are judgmental and a bad reputation will spread much faster than a good one. 


10. Talk yourself up

Sometimes there won’t be anyone to encourage you. You will only have yourself. Look in the mirror and tell yourself how awesome you are. 


11. Be balanced

It’s easy to be a workaholic. Make sure you make time for yourself and do things that fill you up and give you joy.


12. Always strive to be better

Everyone has negative qualities, and you have the power to change those qualities. If you’re not growing, you’re dying. Don’t settle for mediocrity, and don’t settle in relationships. Friendship or romantic. You have the power to choose the people who are in your life.



13. Stay humble

Humility will take you very far. While you need to believe that you’re awesome and that you’re going places, you also need to acknowledge that everything you have is a gift from God. Humility will bring you more respect from peers, friends, coworkers, and authority figures than pride will.


14. Know what you believe (morally and otherwise) and stick to it

Don’t be wishy-washy, that ruins your credibility. Keep your standards and morals high, even if people around you have lowered theirs. People are watching you, even if you don’t realize it, and if you slip and take the easy road just one time, that could ruin everything you’ve been working for. 


15. Don’t take yourself or life too seriously.

No one likes a person who has a stick up their ass. Know how and when to have fun. Learn how to laugh at yourself. It puts everyone around you at ease.


16. Be honest

Honesty is the best policy, always. 


17. Seek advice

Don’t pretend like you can do everything on your own. Find someone older than you who is in a position or place you want to be, and ask them how they got there. Be willing to learn. Have an open mind.


18. Love everyone

Don’t be a hater. Treat others how you want to be treated. Allow yourself to care about people, not just about things. 


After reading this through again, I am so motivated to do all of these things even more than I do them now! I really hope this encouraged and motivated you!

Faith.Hope.Love.
Chelsea Rae

Sometimes I don't know what I believe. And that's okay.

I'm forewarning you all that this post is very honest and may be a little offensive to some. I may not be 100% theologically correct in this particular post, but keep in mind these are my thoughts and ideas. They change all the time. Bear with me.

So, I think everyone just needs to start being more honest with themselves. God does not expect us to know all the answers. I'm tired of people trying to give the impression of perfection. It takes SO much effort to seem like you have it all together!

It's okay to say, "I don't know." Sometimes, that is an acceptable answer. For example, people talk about marriage equality a lot. "Do you support same sex marriage?" It's okay to say, "I don't know." You don't always need to have an opinion or a point of view. If you can't explain why you do or don't believe something, then don't take a side! Just be open minded, research the topic, and form your opinion as you live your life.

Some Christians try to preach black and white. There are no "gray areas" so to speak. I disagree. I think there are plenty of gray areas and we each have to use our best judgement to determine what we believe.

I stumbled upon this amazing website, deeperstory.com, and I encourage you to check it out.

As a person, whether you are Christian, Buddhist, Mormon, Atheist, etc--I challenge you to question your belief system. Play the devil's advocate. Why do you believe what you believe? When did you first believe it to be true? Ask questions, do some research. Dare to dissect your belief system down to its very core. That  takes guts.

If we're talking honestly, which we are, I will admit that I have disdained the organized Christian church for some time. Not necessarily one specific church or sect of Christianity, just the way we do church these days. I want more. I feel that modern day church doesn't line up with what Jesus preached during his lifetime. I understand that Jesus commanded us meet and fellowship with each other regularly, but I don't see why going to church every week is the way we're supposed to do that.

I have so much more on my mind, but I'm getting sleepy. I will write more soon. Thanks for reading. =)

Faith.Hope.Love.
Chelsea Rae

All the single ladies

When I was about 15 I started to develop this idea in my head that I would be married by the time I was 22. I don't know why I chose that age but it became almost like a deadline. If I wasn't married by that time then something was wrong with me and I was never going to find someone to love me.

I did a leadership/pastoral internship at my church for two years right after high school, and I figured that was the perfect place to find someone! I had no doubt in my mind that I would meet someone and we would start dating after graduation and I would be married well before my "deadline". Start having kids by the age of 25, be on staff at church and have a wonderful husband who adores me and makes just enough money for us to live comfortably. There you have it. My life plan. I never really got to planning anything past the getting married part.

Well...guess how old I am. That's right--22. Am I married? Nope. Am I at least dating someone? Nope. Is it the end of the world like I thought it was going to be?

Not at all.

I can honestly say that I have never been more happy to be single than I am right now. There's plenty of people around me in healthy, long lasting relationships, but I just don't want that right now. I really never thought I would say that. The thought of being single and alone has consumed my thoughts, fears, dreams, goals for so long I can't even tell you when it first began! All I wanted was to be married. And I can't even tell you why. I think I thought it would make me into a whole new person and I would be like super woman or something. But now I see girls in their teens with the sole ambition of getting married and I worry.


As women, why do we define ourselves by what men think of us?


Better yet, why does our outer appearance generally determine our confidence and self worth?


Aye. These are the type of questions none of us want to ask ourselves. I work in cosmetics so some people might say I'm a hypocrite, but makeup doesn't define me. It is, however, part of me. I'm an artist. Makeup is my paint and your face is my canvas. But now I'm getting off topic.

My whole point is that life is not about finding that perfect person to spend the rest of your life with. I grew up feeling that way (probably from all the romantic fiction novels I just loved to read), and I know a lot of other women feel that way too.

I challenge you to dream. To set goals. To travel. To be independent.

We are just as intelligent as men. We can be doctors, lawyers, engineers, astronauts, scientists, missionaries, artists. So why not? What's stopping you? Someone once said, "Youth is wasted on the young." And that person was right. In our youth we long to be adults. We rush to get married and start families. Five years down the road we feel trapped and stuck, we don't have dreams or goals anymore.

I challenge you to take advantage of your youth and do the things you won't be able to do once you're settled down and have a family. Make a difference in this world. Pursue what you're passionate about. Find a way to be happy without the affection of a man. You shouldn't need a boyfriend to make you happy, you need to find joy within yourself. True joy comes from knowing God, so that's a great place to start. Seek His heart and you will find many things--some that you didn't even go looking for.

Faith.Hope.Love.
Chelsea Rae

You are loved

I want to offer some encouragement for anyone who is feeling down. Whether you're feeling depressed, alone, purposeless, unloved, unattractive, bitter, left behind, forgotten, unworthy, ashamed, unlovable... Just know that God loves you. And as Phu said tonight, God has confidence in you.

God knew you and had a plan for you before you were born. He cares about you. He will never leave you or forsake you.

It's so easy to think God has abandoned us. It's easy to let ourselves get overwhelmed by the thought that we're alone and God has deserted us. That's honestly what we deserve. Every single one of us. We're all just rotten, sinful people. We live our lives trying to minimize our sin so we don't feel guilty about it, even when the Bible says it's just as bad to think a bad thought as it is to murder someone. We're selfish, self-righteous, prideful, ignorant people. We absolutely must be honest with ourselves and admit that we're all in the same boat. In God's eyes, even the most sinless person's heart is like a dirty old rag you just cleaned the toilet with.

It's only natural to feel that God has abandoned you and left you to fend for yourself. After all the sins you've committed? How could He stay? How could He have any confidence in you whatsoever? You don't even have confidence in yourself at this point.

We do not in any way deserve His love or His presence in our lives. But guess what? His love isn't like ours. It isn't based on circumstances or emotions or feelings. He loves us because He created us and chose from the very beginning to stick with us each individually no matter how hard we try to push Him way. He has already forgiven you of your sins before the words "I'm sorry" can pass through your lips.

He has not abandoned you.

He has not disowned you.

He has not forgotten you.

And He never will. He created you with a plan in mind. You are one of a kind. Your combination of gifts, talents and skills is unique and beautiful. YOU are beautiful.

I challenge you to sit still and think for a moment about how God sees you. As His most precious creation, the only thing He made in His image.

Do you believe that He believes in you?

Colton's international adventure

My precious, amazing, special, gifted, humble, God-fearing younger brother Colton is on a 5 month long mission trip right now and this is his most recent email back home. His is working with YWAM (Youth With a Mission) and he will be going to 3 or so different countries in a 5 month period. I love and miss him dearly and I wanted to share this email! I will be posting updates about him more regularly, but if you want to receive these emails regularly just give me your email address and I will have him add you to the list. =)

______________________________________________________________

Dear Friends and Family,

From the Dominican Republic I want to wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
It's been about two weeks now since I arrived to the Domincan Republic and things are going great! It's really hot here compared to Washington weather, for example its about 80 degrees at 10 o'clock in the morning and it's also very humid. I'm starting to get used to the weather and don't really mind it. It is true that literally everybody here loves baseball. The Dominican is huge on baseball and especially San Pedro, the city we have been in the last two weeks. We saw our first wild taranchula the other day too and it was...well...big. There is another DTS group here on base from Denver doing there Outreach too. So altogether there are 40 people on base and 5 staff. It's a small base so it has a really busy feel to it right now which I like especially over the Holidays.

So far we have been doing a lot of ministry with kids from the ages of 4 to 18. Our team goes to different churches and poor communities everyday and we teach lessons and share our testimonies. I've had the opportunity to share a message with a group of kids and also shared my testimony a few times. It is sometimes difficult to go day after day and pour yourself out to these kids when it's hard to see if there is any fruit but I was really encouraged when I heard a boy about 10 years old singing. He was singing "Christo es mi Superheroe" which means, Christ is my Superhero, to see the joy on these kids faces as they sing about Jesus is amazing. We have also been doing about two dramas everyday which have been really good, except on our first time where my friend Gabby broke her toothe during the drama. No one knew it happened until we finished and she got it fixed the next day. So yes the dramas do get pretty intense sometimes!

Here in San Pedro there is a lot of witchcraft and voodoo going on which was a surprise to us because we thought that was mainly in Haiti. It isn't something to fear but we have been praying a lot over this area and base and taking authority over those things in the name of Jesus. I know God has big plans for this YWAM Base here in San Pedro, which is only 9 months old, because this city definately needs the light of Christ and this base is bringing that light.

We'll be going to Santo Domingo, the capital, on the 2nd and will be there one week working with a pastor. Then we return to the base here in San Pedro for one week where we will be building houses for families. Then on the 17th we fly out to Oaxaca, Mexico.

Please keep my team in your prayers, to keep seeking God's heart and giving our all to the ministries we are part of. Thank you all for your love and support!
Also I've attached some pictures as well to this email.

In Christ,

Colton Faverty

I love gay people!

Will anyone be offended if I'm extra blunt today? If you are, well that's too bad. Sometimes the truth hurts. Just saying. (Of course everything I just said was in a sarcastic tone) ;)

I want to talk about stereotypes. Isn’t it easy to judge people based off of their religious beliefs? Or their style of clothing? How about their skin color? Their family background? Their accent? Their weight? Their sexual orientation? Their financial status? How do stereotypes even get started in the first place?

All it takes is one.

One person to start a trend.

One person to start a rumor.

One person to start a movement.

It saddens me that most homosexuals don't feel welcome in churches. We gladly welcome alcoholics, couples who are sleeping together outside of marriage, drama queens, liars and gossips into our churches, yet we look down on gays? That doesn't make sense. We need to stop looking at homosexuality as a big scary issue. Is it a choice or is it not a choice? Is it only sin if you act on it or if you're just thinking it and trying to not think it? What if you've always felt this way since you can remember? Honestly I don't know all the answers! I don't know if anyone will. But what I do know is that homosexuality is just sexual sin. Just like porn, or sleeping with your boyfriend or girlfriend, or cheating on your significant other. It's all sexual sin and that's the issue we should be addressing. I know that the generation before us was raised in a more conservative way regarding homosexuality, but I say our generation should be the one that reaches out to the gay community in love. They should feel welcome in the church. They should not be afraid to go to church because people "will judge them".

It's time for change. We need to change the way we see homosexuality, how we react to it, and what we're doing about it. If you're reading this and you're gay, I want you to know that I LOVE you (and of course I LIKE you too, lol) and you're welcome to come to church with me any time. Or if you just want to hang out that's okay too. ;)

I don't want anyone to feel like I'm targeting gay people, I just think Christians have made a huge deal out of homosexuality when it's just sin. Just like my sins that I struggle with every day. Everyone justifies their own sin and tries to make other people's sin look so much worse. I mean, isn't materialism a sin? And I would say almost every single person I know has completely given in to that sin. Who really needs a 4,000 square foot house? Or even 2,000? We could be taking the money we spend on our mortgage every year and give it to the millions of children dying of starvation in other countries. Just a thought.

Anyway, to sum everything up, we're all jacked up. Every single one of us. Some of us are just much, much better at hiding it. That's why we're saved by grace. Because no one has all the answers, and no one is going to get it right every single time. If you're messed up like me, say AMEN! Lol

I hope this post was thought provoking.

Faith.Hope.Love.

Chelsea Rae

Just DO it

You know what I did today? I bit the bullet and I applied at Pierce College. I am learning something right now that I thought I already knew. Obedience. But you know when you "know" something but you don't really know it? You know something to be true but you don't act on it. Well...that's where I've been for the last year and a half.

During my second year in MI (Ministry Institute) I sat down with God and asked Him what He wanted me to do after the program was finished. Was I supposed to stick around Puyallup, move to another state, work full time, go to a four year university, do another internship at another church somewhere, enroll in community college while working full time...there were so many choices! I felt very strongly that I needed to enroll in school. Didn't matter where, just go to school. Well it's been about two years and guess what I haven't done?! Wow. My stubbornness and stupidity amazes me sometimes. I've been asking God for months, "What do you want me to do now? My life isn't going anywhere, I'm not moving forward. Why aren't you directing me? Why aren't you telling me what you want? Hello? Are you even listening?!" What a whiner! But He already told me what to do and I ignored Him! I've known all along that's what I need to do. Do you ever do that? Just push aside the voice of God hoping He'll stop pestering you? Well, let me just inform you, HE DOESN'T GO AWAY. If God wants you to do something, He will keep whispering in your ear and bugging you until you do it.

Not to make it sound like God is annoying, He just knows what's best for us. The morale of the story is this: If you aren't getting any direction from God, take a look into your past and see if you did the last thing He told you to do.

I haven't even started classes yet and I already feel a weight lifted off my shoulders! Chad Veach once said, "Obedience brings confidence." When you know for a fact that you're walking in the will of God you just feel better. There's a reason God says He desires obedience over sacrifice. Because He knows all the benefits of being obedient. It's easier to smile, easier to be generous, easier to resist temptation...you literally feel lighter. I would encourage you to try it.

Well, it definitely felt good to get that off my shoulders! Now, take a look in the mirror, my friend. Are you being obedient?

Faith.Hope.Love.

Chelsea Rae

Grace

I went to Puyallup Foursquare Church this weekend and had the privilege of hearing Rick Bezet speak. He said as Christians we are called to "preach grace but never forsake truth" and that's what I am going to write about today.

Have you ever been caught doing something wrong? You know that feeling of complete horror and shame you get? It's so embarrassing getting caught!

Here's a little story...

_______________

There once was a girl name Rose, and she was very beautiful. Her dad left her and her mom when she was 5 years old, so she never had a strong, reliable man in her life. Throughout high school she had fooled around with different guys but was never in a real relationship. She went to church every week and tried to be a good person, but she never really felt like she fit in there. Wednesday afternoon Josh, a guy from school, asked her to come over instead of going to church that night. She had messed around with Josh before so she just assumed that's what he had in mind. She knew she should go to church because that's what her mom wanted, but it was always so awkward there. Every time she walked into that building she felt everyone staring at her and she could swear she saw them whispering about her. I mean, she wasn't perfect, but who were they to judge her? None of them were perfect either. After arguing with herself for a few minutes, she agreed to go to Josh's house that night.

She had only been at Josh's house for 30 minutes and things were just getting started when suddenly someone slammed open Josh's door. To Rose's horror it was her pastor! He was in a rage--he demanded that she get dressed and follow him. Filled with shame and indignation she grabbed her clothes and left the house. How did he know she was there? And what was he going to do? Was he going to tell her mom? What would her mom say? Was he going to tell everyone at church? Oh no, that would be even worse than her mom finding out!

Once outside, he practically dragged Rose out into the street in front of Josh's house and she sees a group of people. Some other church leaders, some kids from school--what was this? They were all gathered around a man, who Rose recognized as Jesus, the one who claimed to be the Son of God.

"Jesus!" cried the pastor, still gripping Rose's arm. "I caught this girl in the act of sexual sin! How should we punish her?" He roughly threw her at the feet of Jesus.

Rose's mind was racing. What were they going to do to her? Beat her? She looked around the circle, her eyes desperate to find a way out. This Jesus would probably be the one to initiate any sort of punishment, he was supposedly perfect. How did this happen? She was completely surrounded! She could hear her pulse pounding in her ears, da-dum, da-dum, da-dum...

She closed her eyes, waiting to hear the verdict.

Jesus looked at each face in the crowd and said this, "Whoever is without sin, you can decide how we should punish her." Everyone was silent. Rose began to here the shuffling of feet and looked up to see the crowd slowly dispersing. It was then she felt the tears streaming down her face. Shocked and confused she looked up at Jesus. To her surprise there was love and compassion in his eyes.

"Where are your accusers now? Has anyone condemned you?" He said with a gentle smile on His face.

"No, they haven't, they're gone," Rose said in awe.

"That's right," he said, "and neither do I condemn you. Now go, and sin no more."

_______________

Now, you tell me, how does the story end? Does Rose ride off into the sunset and live a perfect life? Or does she go right back to her old ways? You decide.

Jesus has given every one of us that choice. He has looked at each of us and said, "Grace, my child. Don't feel guilty, I have forgiven you. Now go, live your life differently. Don't make the same mistakes." It's up to us to decide how we're going to respond. Are we going to take advantage of his grace and keep on making the same exact mistakes? Or will we make a change and continually ask God for strength to do what's right?

If you want to be that person that "goes and sins no more" then there's some things you absolutely have to do. First, you need to take a hard look at your life and the areas that you struggle with the most and surrender those things to the Lord. Second, you need to identify the people that are encouraging you to sin, or even just allowing you to sin and not challenging you to make better choices. You need to put some distance between yourself and those people. Third, you need to have something to fill the void. If you're cutting things, habits, places, people out of your life, you have to replace them with something. Find a new hobby, make new friends, find a church to get involved in, listen to more uplifting music, go back to school, join a smallgroup. Find something to occupy your mind and time, or you will more than likely fall right back into your old life. Fourth, you have to remember that you are not perfect. Just because you're following all the right steps and praying and reading your Bible, that doesn't mean you're never going to sin again. That's why we're saved by grace, not by our works.

Be encouraged, friends. Jesus doesn't look down on you and judge. His desire is that you would love him more than you love your sin and live your life accordingly. Lay down your pride, admit that you need a Savior, and fall into the loving arms of Jesus. He's waiting.

Faith.Hope.Love

Chelsea Rae

Seventy times seven

Forgiveness: (n) the act of ceasing to feel resentment toward something or someone

Just reading that word "forgiveness" makes me get all defensive inside.

Some people don't deserve to be forgiven. Some people take advantage of your forgiving spirit. Sometimes a hurt goes so deep, a wound is so painful, that you can't imagine forgiving that person. They may not even realize that they hurt you. They may not care that they hurt you. Every time you think of that person or situation you feel angry, betrayed, bitter, sad, rejected, alone, taken advantage of, belittled, and flat out miserable. Do you know what that's like? If not, I envy you. But more than that, I respect you.

How many of you have been hurt by the church? Maybe a pastor or church leader, maybe a family member who is a Christian. I know what that feels like, and I know what it looks like to let my hurt and anger cause me to shut God out. I let my hurts caused by people affect my relationship with God. That doesn't seem very fair, does it?

It's so easy to let our emotions control us. Instead of putting our foot down and having self-control we let our minds go rampant with negative thoughts. We need to remember that we have been given a spirit of a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7), and we've also been commanded to control our thoughts. To bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ (2 Corinthians 10:3-6). So we know that it's possible to control our negative thoughts. Now that brings us to a fork in the road.

Are we going to control our thoughts or let them control us?

In Matthew 18:21-22 Jesus talks about forgiveness with his disciples. Peter asked him how many times he had to forgive someone who wronged him. (Sidenote: Isn't that so typical? As Christians, sometimes we get so caught up in legalism that we forget about grace and unconditional love.) Jesus responded with this, "I tell you this, not up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven." Did you just try to do the math in your head? Haha, I know I did! Seventy times seven? That's a lot! But Jesus didn't say that so we would count how many times we forgive each other, he said that to make a point. We need to forgive so often that we lose count.

We are told to love our neighbor as ourselves, to consider others more highly esteemed than ourselves. Part of loving others is forgiving them. Read 2 Corinthians 13, it emphasizes how important love is! One verse says that love keeps no record of wrongs--in other words, we aren't allowed to hold grudges. Think about all the things Christ has forgiven you for. We're told to forgive as we have been forgiven, and Jesus has forgiven us of every sin we've ever committed--past, present and future. Also, practically speaking, it's healthy to forgive others. I promise you will physically feel better when you let go of those hurts you've been holding on to.

Now here is the challenge I bring to you. Who are you going to forgive this week? I'll bet there's at least one person that you've been thinking of while reading this. I challenge you to pray and ask God to forgive you for being bitter, and then go to that person and let them know what's going on in your heart. Maybe even ask them for forgiveness for holding on to whatever they said or did. I will also be doing this challenge, my friends. We're all in this together.

Ask God to soften your heart, he will help you let go of those hurts. "If he leads you to it, he'll get you through it."

Faith.Hope.Love.

Chelsea Rae

Hot or cold

Just thinking about what I'm going to write about right now makes me scrunch my nose in distaste and think, "Ugh..." because this topic is convicting. Take a look at the verse Revelation 3:16. It says, "So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth." (NKJV) As Christians it's easy to ignore the Scriptures we don't want to think about or come to terms with. This is one of those verses that I don't like to really study because I'm afraid of what I might see when I apply this to my current circumstances. Am I on fire for God? I encourage you to ask yourself the same question.

You might be thinking to yourself, "Hm, I don't know if I'm on fire for God. I love God, I feel like I know God, I talk to God and serve Him. Does that mean I'm on fire for God?" Well let's take a look at what the Bible has to say about that.

In Matthew 7 Jesus talks about fruit. He says you will be known by your fruit. As a human being you have influence, and everything you do and say influences those around you. How you influence people is evidence of the fruit you are producing. Are you pointing people toward God or away from him?

Your works and your fruit are not the only things that define you as being "hot" for God. The most important thing is that you remember your love for Jesus! Revelation 2:2-4 says, "I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars; and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name's sake and have not become weary. Nevertheless, I have this against you, that you have left your first love." It breaks my heart to read that! How often do we get so caught up in serving God that we forget to sit at his feet and enjoy our relationship with him? The best way to love God is to have relationship with him, that's why he sent Jesus to die for our sins. We were separated from God because of our sin and he sacrificed everything so we can enter into his presence and be near to him.

I, for one, don't want God to spit me out of his mouth. I can't imagine that would be a pleasant experience. It's easier to live on fire for God when you decide to make each day count.

How are you going to live passionately for God today? How are you going to make today count?

Hot or cold, you choose.

Faith.Hope.Love.

Chelsea Rae

God knows why, we don't need to

We don't always need to know why. In fact, we're not always meant to know why. But isn't that the most common question we ask God? We fall on our knees, we cry out, "Why, God? Why did this happen? Why now? Why me? Why didn't you stop this from happening?"

I don't have all the answers, and no pastor, teacher, parent or scholar is going to have all the answers. The only one who knows everything is God. Instead of trying to figure out God's plan and trying to guess his next move, let's just obey. I am the worst at obeying, I really am, so just know that I'm speaking directly from my heart. But 1 John 5:3 (NIV) says, "In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands..." We need to ask less questions and do what we know we should do.

This is where faithfulness comes in. David could have asked why many times in between the time he was anointed king and the time he actually became king. But what did he do? He served God faithfully and didn't question God's plan. We have a tendency to forget the perfection of the God that we serve. He knows exactly what he's doing, and he is not bound by time. Let us not forget in the darkness what we were told in the light. It's easy to doubt God when we're going through a tough season, but I encourage you to run back to God. Fall at his feet and surrender your plans and your future to him once again. Even if you've done it a thousand times. God won't give up on you, don't give up on him. Don't let your fears, your mistakes, your pride, your hurt, your anger, your relationships, your job keep you from the Lord! That's exactly what the devil wants. Don't let him win, I know I have. If I get one thing across to you today let it be this: the devil is out to steal, kill and destroy YOU and you can either fight or surrender. I say let's fight. "Resist the devil and he will flee from you." (James 4:7 NKJV) I'm always up for a challenge. =)

Faith.Hope.Love.

Chelsea Rae

Free for what?

1 Peter 2:15-16

(NKJV) "For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men--as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God."

(ESV) "For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God."

Well I must say this verse hit home with me. I am free, you are free, God gave every one of us free will. Once we've surrendered our lives to Christ we have a responsibility to use our freedom in a positive manner. As Paul said, it is not I who live, but Christ who lives in me. By choosing to live for Jesus we sacrifice certain things.

I know that I took advantage of God's grace many times in the last few months. You know that feeling when you're in the car on your way to go somewhere, see someone, do something you know isn't going to honor God? It might not necessarily be that you're "sinning", but you know it's probably not the best decision you could make...well I've been there! We all have. You do something even though you know you shouldn't. I sinned knowing God would forgive me the moment I asked him to, and that's exactly what we shouldn't do! Jesus sacrificed everything so we could be free to have relationship with him, not as an excuse for us to do whatever we want whenever we want because we know he'll forgive us. We've been instructed in this verse (1 Peter 2:16) to use our free will to do God's will--how are you going to use your free will?

Now what exactly is God's will? That's a common question and it can actually create a fear in us that inhibits us from moving forward. It's terrifying to take a step forward when you don't even know if you're going the right direction. God speaks to us various ways, but the most reliable avenue of communication is His Word. Instead of just asking God what his will is for you, why don't you start out by looking at what the Bible has to say about it? The two greatest commandments are to love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself. When you go back to the basics and you do what God's will is for every one of us, he will begin to show you what his more specific will is for you. Ultimately, it's all about relationship.

Judah Smith spoke tonight at United Night at UG, and he talked about how Jesus is the point of everything. Jesus is the manifestation of the glory of God. Sometimes as Christians we try to look beyond Jesus for something that will fill us, satisfy us. We ask for God's presence, his glory, his power, his healing, his attention...but all we should be asking for is his essence. We should be desperate to know God, not only to feel him.

We are free so that we may know him who made us so. God isn't going to force you to love him, he's not going to make you seek him. His desire is that you would want to know him. And that's what I want to be able to say on judgement day, that I sought the heart of the Lord and my deepest desire was to know him. What do you want God to say to you on judgement day?

Faith.Hope.Love.

Chelsea Rae

Back to plan A...

I need a plan...the best way to accomplish something is to plan out how you're going to accomplish whatever that thing is you want to accomplish.

I want to go to Hillsong, that's the goal right now. So I need to save at least $10,000 (that's the very minimum) before I leave. I would be leaving in December of 2012. So if I want to be safe I need to be putting aside $1000 a month...LOL

I only say "lol" because that's a lot of money save every month. My income would have to almost double what I was making. And that's another problem...I am currently unemployed. If you know anyone who's hiring let me know. I actually have a couple second interviews this weekend so I'm hoping to have a job by next week! Cross your fingers for me!

So let's say I do get a job next week and I start saving...I don't realistically think I'll be able to put aside $1000 a month. So that means I will have to think of another way to bring in the money. Maybe do a bake sale? I haven't done one of those before...anyone have any ideas on ways to raise money? Oh, by the way, if anyone is interested in learning more about Hillsong International Leadership college you can go to their website:

http://www2.hillsong.com/college/home.asp

I also need to apply to the college, I guess that's kind of an important part of the process. I got accepted once before back in 2008, so I don't think that should be a problem.

Well it's a beautiful day outside, hopefully you can go out and enjoy it! It's been strangely warm this fall so far. But I'll take it. =)

Faith.Hope.Love.

Chelsea Rae

My story. What's yours?

My name is Chelsea Rae Faverty, I'm an abnormal girl who chose to live a very normal life. I let life control me for a good 7 months but I'm ready to change that. The word "testimony" has become over spiritualized, but I am going to share my testimony with you in hopes that you can relate to some part of it and be encouraged. Your testimony is simply your story, and this is mine.

I grew up in a conservative Christian home with two amazing parents and two equally amazing younger brothers. We went to church every Sunday and participated in all the church camp outs, BBQs and Bible studies. I went to a few different private Christian elementary schools but finally settled in at Cascade Christian School. Starting in 7th grade I began to lead worship for chapel each week. Even at the age of 13 I had a real relationship with God. I let him guide me in my decision making and I could feel him near me. I wasn't just one of those kids "going through the motions."

I always had a little bit of a rebellious streak but it started getting worse as I got older. My parents did everything they could to tame that part of me but I always had to learn things the hard way. (Honestly, I think I will always have some hardheadedness in me no matter how old I get.) I got grounded every couple weeks for one thing or another (my parents were really strict), and I started to think about transferring to one of the public schools in the area because I was tired of being known as a goody-goody. I began to get depressed around the age of 16, every day was a roller coaster. Sometimes I could force myself to snap out of it, my dad always told me attitude is a choice, but other times I just felt like dying for no reason at all. My life was great, I had no reason to be so sad. That's something I still struggle with that today, actually. But even with all of theses things going on, I loved God with all of my heart and I always tried to do his will. I went on mission trips, I cut certain friends out of my life if I felt God leading me to, I forgave people who hurt me over and over.

At some point in all my years spent at Cascade I realized I was meant for something more. I don't know the day or the time but it seemed only natural and expected that I should go into vocational ministry. I decided to go to Bible college. Since my junior year I knew I wanted to go to Hillsong International Leadership College in Australia. It's an expensive school of ministry, but I knew that my God was not limited. I idolized Hillsong and once I found out they had a school for ministry I didn't want to go anywhere else. I didn't look at any other schools because that's what I wanted. No exceptions. No plan B.

Well, God works in mysterious ways and I started to get involved in the Jr. High ministry at Puyallup Foursquare Church. The Jr. High pastor there told me about a program called Ministry Institute, put on by Puyallup Foursquare. It was a program focused on raising up the future leaders of the world. You lived in dorms next to the church and you took accredited classes from NW University. Wow! This was the perfect alternative to going across the world and spending thousands of dollars! Just a couple months before the deadline, I applied and got accepted into MI. Turns out I went with plan B.

MI is an incredible program and it changed the way I see God and myself. I don't regret one day I spent in that program. But here's the kicker, Hillsong has been in the back of my mind since I was 17. The desire, urge, tug at my heart strings is still there 4 years later. I took the easy road by doing MI. Close to home, much less expensive, I knew a few people. It wasn't risky at all! And since when does God ask us to play it safe?

Growing up, I had these great dreams of becoming a women's speaker, worship leader, author, song-writer, and yet I was doing nothing to move toward these dreams. I set huge goals and had no plan to reach them. I was waiting for God to get on the loud speaker and tell me exactly what he wanted me to do. That never happened. Eventually, I got tired of feeling like a failure and I decided to stop dreaming big. I stopped holding myself to that higher standard that I've always lived by and I settled for a mediocre life. I got a full time job in sales and lived life like most 21 year olds do. I stopped going to church, stopped reading my Bible, stopped praying. Just worked hard and partied harder.

Now it's 7 months later and I am tired of living this normal life. I used to be so above average, I used to be exceptional. And now I'm normal, average, mediocre--but it's because I'm choosing to be. I know what I'm capable of yet I'm giving it up for what? The freedom to do what I want when I want? To have no accountability, no one telling me how to live? People will always tell you how to live. And you're never really free. There will always be rules, whether they're from man or God. It's time to start dreaming again.

One of my biggest fears is failure. I hate messing up. Whether it's saying the wrong thing at the wrong time, getting fired, starting something and not finishing it, disappointing people. I have let that fear inhibit me my whole life. I am not a risk taker. I would rather play it safe and be positive of the outcome, than take a leap of faith and risk failure. Is that really how I want to live my whole life? Honestly, no, not at all. Big accomplishments require big risks. Risk takers are history makers, and that's who I want to be--a person who makes history.

Who do you want to be? What's your story? Share with me, I'm all ears. My email is chelseafaverty@gmail.com or you can find me on facebook.

Faith.Hope.Love.

Chelsea Rae

Patience makes perfect

Remember that feeling right when you're about to graduate high school and you still haven't decided what college you're going to? Or if you even want to go to college? And if you do, you have no idea what you're going to major in. I'm learning that that feeling comes back later in life. That feeling of irritation and dread ever time someone asks you, "So what are your plans for next year?" As I learn and grow,

Let me encourage you

God has perfect timing. Maybe you are out of high school and you're serving in church and working and you don't quite know what you want to do next. Maybe it's not that you don't know what you want to do, but it's that you know exactly what you want to do and you just don't have the opportunity to do it yet.

God has a plan.

He will not leave you hanging. "'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'" I encourage you to read Psalm 139; it talks about how God knit you together in your mother's womb, He knows the amount of hairs on your head, he knows what you're going to say before you say it. That's the God that we serve. A God who knows everything. A God who cares about us. He wants to use you more than you want to be used.

Just be patient.

Pray, seek His will, desperately desire His presence, serve, be faithful, never lose hope. Faith, hope, and love. Those three things will never disappoint. When we draw near to God He will draw near to us.

Faith.Hope.Love.

Chelsea Rae

Half time and hopping fences

Story of the Day: Half-time and Hopping Fences

Characters: (in order of appearance)

• Myself
• Kailyn Cook
• Mean ticket lady
• My parents
• 45 year old man with no sense of personal space
• Inner fat kid

Setting:

Sumner Stadium, around 8:15 pm, drizzly.

I have a very good friend whose name is Kailyn. Now, a little bit about Kailyn is that she is never one to disappoint. She repeatedly says and does things that surprise me, all the while remaining true to herself. Because if you're always doing the unexpected then that becomes part of who are, right? She is hilarious, and beautiful, and has incredible character. I keep telling her to start a blog because I want everyone to be able to take part in all the wisdom God has blessed her with!

To start this story off let's talk about the weather. It's a drizzly (you know, that typical Washington weather where it's not quite raining but it's enough to make your hair frizzy) Saturday night, and we decide to go to Sunset Stadium in Sumner to watch the Cascade Christian Cougars play football. We get there right after half time and we decide to use that to our advantage - we go up to the ticket counter fully prepared to get in for free. (Plus, I'm alumni, shouldn't that count for something?) Anyway, even with all my skills at persuasion (some would call it manipulation, but it's not my fault people are easily swayed) the ticket lady made us both pay full price! Seriously disappointing. My mom said she saved us two seats but when we went to sit down we were so squished we couldn't even turn around to talk to the people behind us. (I know, I know, I'm at a football game, I should watch the game instead of talk!) Being a little selfish, I let Kailyn sit next to the 45 year old man who didn't mind having an up-close and personal conversation and who must not have known the meaning of personal space. Naturally, we were also sitting in the middle of the row at the very top of the stands. To get in and out we had to inconvenience about 10 people and make them stand up, all the while missing the precious moments of the their freshman son getting his thirty seconds of fame on the field for the first (and probably the last) time all year!

You know when you go to a sporting event to watch a specific person, and then they aren't even in the game? Well, I'll bet you can imagine what happens next! My brother couldn't play because of his ankle. And go figure, he played in the first two quarters when I wasn't there. Awesome. It's definitely time to bounce. Kailyn and I prepare ourselves for the onslaught of glares and grumbles we're about to receive and stand up to leave. To avoid the mean ticket lady we decide to go around back of the stadium. As we approach the gate we realize it's locked. Our feet are squishy, our pants are soaked up to our knees, and now we have to walk all the back and around! Gah! My car was so close and yet so far...

I size up the fence and say casually, "You know, we could always hop the fence." I laugh a little, knowing that's just the little fat kid inside of me (you know you have one) that doesn't want to walk back. I turn around and Kailyn has already shimmied to the top of the fence! So I follow her example and climb over. She stops at the top (you know that's the worst place to stop because all the metal is jabbing you!), and she groans, "I think I pulled a muscle!" She makes her way down and we walk/hobble to our cars, successfully eliminating the mean ticket lady and an extra 100 yards of walking.

Se acaba. El fin.

Faith.Hope.Love.

Chelsea Rae

"Attitudes are contagious. Are yours worth catching?" - Dennis and Wendy Mannering

What are you doing to change yourself? Your community? The world?

If you're feeling discouraged, feeling like you can't make a difference because you're just one person, I want you to continue reading.

Attitude is everything. Someone once said that our lives are 10% what happens to us and 90% how we choose to react to what happens to us. Winston Churchill said, "Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference." Attitude is a choice. Just like choosing what we're going to wear, eat, say - we choose to be optimistic or pessimistic. Some people substitute the world "realist" for "pessimist", but I want to clarify that those two words, while somewhat related, are very different. The definition of a realist is as follows: Realist: (n) a person who tends to view or represent things as they really are. This is the definition of a pessimist: (n) a person who habitually sees or anticipates the worst, a person disposed to be gloomy. So a realist sees things realistically, that makes sense. A pessimist anticipates the worst, that's a little different. Because, realistically, the "worst" doesn't always happen. A pessimist looks for the worst. And as followers of Christ we are not called to be pessimists or realists; we're called to be optimists, to cling to hope at all times, and to never lose faith. We are to always expect God's best!

I don't want anyone reading this to feel condemned. I know some people are naturally bent towards being more down to earth and realistic, but, let me repeat, that is totally different than dwelling on the negative and seeing the glass as half empty. It's easy to lose hope and feel discouraged when we let all the negativity in the world consume our thoughts. That brings me to this point, we have to focus. When it comes to making a difference we have to choose one thing we want to do first. After you get that one thing going, you can expand that idea or possibly start a new one. But instead of hearing all the statistics about - how many starving children there are, how many homeless people there are, how many animals and plants are dying because of pollution, how many people are unemployed - and letting them weigh you down, you have to figure out what you're passionate about and focus on that.

Take Blake Mycoskie for example. He is one man who had one idea. Since 2006 he has given away over 1 million pairs of shoes to children in need! Do you really think he knew he was going to be that successful when he started selling shoes made out of canvas and burlap? I highly doubt it. Do you have an idea that could potentially change the world? Well, you'll never know until you try! Believe in yourself and the creativity that God has put inside of you. He puts dreams and desires in your heart for a reason, because knows that He will equip you to accomplish them if you rely completely on Him! Now if that isn't enough to inspire you, then...I don't know what else to tell ya.

Dare to dream! Dare to make a difference! Dare to try! Dare to fail! You know how the old adage goes - If you shoot for the moon, you'll land among the stars. Never lose hope, and determine in your heart to be an eternal optimist.

What attitude are you going to choose?

Jesus glasses

"So he answered and said, ' "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind," and "your neighbor as yourself." ' And He said to him, 'You have answered rightly; do this and you will live.' " (Luke 10:27-28 NKJV)

In Matthew 9:35 Jesus has compassion on the people because they were "harassed and helpless like sheep without a shepherd." In the parable of the Good Samaritan it says that the Samaritan had compassion on the man on the side of the road. In both of these instances compassion is what made the difference, compassion moved both of these men to act upon what they had seen. In my last blog entry I wrote about 4 steps that will help you see change - see, feel, think, do (thank you, Andrew Gard). We know that without love everything is meaningless. You can be the wisest person in the world and still fall short without love. Out of love stems compassion, or maybe it's the other way around. The two ideas are closely related, you will have one if you have the other.

How can you and I show compassion more often, and love more ferociously?

I believe the best way to learn how to love people is to learn what love actually is, then to study how Jesus lived and loved. If you don't know what love is, it will be difficult to carry it out. Jesus said that "love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things." (I Cor 13:4-7 NKJV)

If you have read that passage before I want you to go back and read it again. And go slowly this time, really let each attribute of love sink in...

Isn't that a little overwhelming at first? I know I thought so. So if love is all those things, how are we supposed to accomplish that? We're supposed to love God and people that way. On top of that, we're supposed to love God with all of our heart, soul, strength and mind. What's the difference between loving God with your heart, with your soul, with your strength, and with your mind? I believe heart is in regards to our feelings and emotions. We need to love him like we would love a Father, king, and friend. Our strength refers to our physical bodies; we need to take care of ourselves because our bodies are holy temples unto the Lord. Loving God with our mind is perhaps the least emphasized part of this verse. God has given us a powerful mind and we need to take full advantage of it. That means studying the Word, learning about new things, pushing our mind to its limit.

Here are a few things to remember when thinking about how you can love others more.
1. True, godly love is unconditional. You treat everyone the same, no matter if you know them or you're complete strangers. If someone is rude to you, you still love them. If someone cuts you off on the freeway, you still show love. If your brother or sister tells on you, you still treat them with kindness and respect.
2. True, godly love puts others first. Their problems and desire are more important than yours.
3. True love always forgives. No matter how much it hurts or how much you've been hurt, you forgive.

Now that we've talked about how to love people, how can we be more compassionate? It's hard to love people when you don't really care about what they are going through. We need to look at people through Jesus' eyes. What moved Jesus to have compassion? He said they were harassed and helpless. Jesus knew what it meant to be harassed, he was harassed by the devil himself. He put himself in their shoes. That is the key to having compassion - putting yourself in the center of someone else's life. What would it be like to be them? How would you feel? Would you want someone to care about you enough to encourage you, help you, listen to you?

This blog entry is full of challenges, so I won't give you another one, but I would encourage you to try implementing a couple of these things into your life today. Try to show an act of love or compassion that is out of the norm for you. The only way we grow is when we're put under pressure. We're "refined by the fire," so to speak. But don't forget that loving God is the most important commandment. Nothing should come before God in our lives.

Faith.Hope.Love.
Chelsea Rae

See, feel, think, do

I went to The "U" last Friday, which is the college age ministry at my church, and Andrew Gard preached a message about the process of changing your city. He said the keys to change are see, feel, think, and do. Here's what Jesus says in Luke 6:46-49

"But why do you call Me 'Lord, Lord' and not do the things which I say? Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock. But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell. And the ruin of that house was great." (Emphasis added)

The modern equivalent to this would be a person who goes to church, worships God, hears a fantastic message from the preacher, but then wakes up the next morning and lives life the same as always. If you've been raised in church or you've been going to church for a long time you might gasp and think, "How could they?!" But let's pause and think for a second - how many things have we heard our whole lives that we haven't acted upon or perfected yet? We all hear things in church that make us want to change and want to help others and want to do something to change the world, but how often do we actually do those things? How often do we even take time to plan out how we would reach those goals and dreams? We see the problem, we feel compelled to do something about it, yet we fall short at either the thinking or the doing stage. Those are the most important! Hearing without doing is sin. Knowing and not acting is sin. It's a sin of omission rather than comission, so in our minds we feel like it's not as bad. We justify it with excuses like, "Well I'm not really doing anything wrong, I'm just not doing anything at all." All sin is equal; not doing anything is just as much of a sin as doing something wrong.

How can I begin to act upon the things I hear? What do I want to do but haven't taken the time to plan out how? And what have I made plans to do and not followed through with?

It's time to live our lives with God's higher purpose in mind. It's time to act upon the things that are most important. Where did our urgency go? The disciples had an urgency to see people saved, they lived every day like it might be their last. Do you have dreams and desires that you don't dare say out loud because of how outrageous they seem? Do you see celebrities as real people who are desperate for God's love and grace in their lives and you wish you could help them? Do you see the poor and needy and realize how much more you could be doing to help them? Is there something you're passionate about and good at but you keep it to yourself? It's time to act upon these things and make time for them. We need to get our priorities in order. Reaching the lost should be on our radar at all times, not just the day after church.

As you're reading this I challenge to exit out of this webpage and open up a word document on your screen, a memo on your phone, or a journal in your lap, and begin to write. Write what you're passionate about. Write of the injustices in the world that outrage you, write of the things that pain you and bring you to tears. Once you've expressed what you see and how it makes you feel, write about how you are going to make a difference. List 3 practical things you can do to see that particular problem or injustice rectified. Maybe you're going to recruit others to help you. Maybe it's something you need to do on your own. Maybe you're going to need to travel to make it happen. Maybe you're going to have to do some research before you can go any further. Whatever it is, go do it. Our beliefs and morals are useless if we don't act upon them. It's like having a cure for cancer and hiding it.

I am praying that God gives every single one of you the courage and boldness to accomplish what you set out to do for His kingdom! We only have a short time on this earth and it's our job to steward that time wisely.

Faith.Hope.Love.
Chelsea Rae