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?

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...

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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."

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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

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

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

"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

Steward: (v) to manage, to care for

I Timothy 4:14, "Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by the prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership."

Hm...this is convicting. I've been in a slump of sorts this summer, transitioning out of M.I. and all. Feeling unmotivated, frustrated, overwhelmed, lost. The next verse reads as follows...

"...take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you."

We can assume that if you do "this" and "that" happens, then if you don't do "this" then "that" won't happen. So, if Timothy studies the doctrine and takes heed to himself, two things will happen - he will be saved, and so will others. Let's apply this to our own lives. Myself, for instance. What is the gift inside of me? What gifts have I been given? Am I stewarding those gifts well? Am I using them? If not, why? I believe the Lord has gifted me in natural ways and also in supernatural ways. I didn't receive certain gifts until I asked God for them and had men and women of God lay hands on me in prayer. Some things only happen through prayer. Let's give an analogy.

So you want the iphone 4 really bad and you ask your parents to buy it for you multiple times. You ask and ask and they just won't give in. Your birthday roles around about a month later and they surprise you and give it to you with a blue tooth headset, a car charger, and multiple cases! You're ecstatic and you thank them over and over. Now, what if you used the phone for a day and then went back to using your old flip phone? How would your parents feel? They did you a huge favor, went above and beyond what you asked, and then you just toss it all aside because you feel like it. I think that's kind of how God feels when we ask him for things and then we don't use them. Do you think He's going to want to give us anything else after that? He probably won't be as inclined to.

So that analogy might not have made sense, but the point is that we need to use the gifts we've been given. This is really challenging me with where I'm at right now. I am learning new ways to stay motivated and hopeful. In my last blog I wrote about the flesh vs the spirit and if you allow your lower nature (let's call it our "dark side") to take over you won't be allowing the spirit to use you. We all have a dark side. Instead of getting up early so we can take care of things, we press snooze. Instead of leaving our credit card at home so we don't spend money we don't have, we leave it in our wallet.

So back to the point I was making in the beginning, if we don't steward (use, take care of) the gifts we've been given what will happen? Other people will be affected. Not always, but sometimes people will miss out on hearing about the love of Jesus because we keep silent.

What it comes down to is this: Are we going to be selfish or selfless?

I don't know about you, but I find it hard to be selfless sometimes. It's natural to want to look after our own well-being before someone else's. If you have the good news of Jesus inside of you, share it! If you have a prophetic gift, prophesy! If you are good at understanding and teaching, teach! If you love to bless others financially, give! Other people's lives and happiness could be at stake.

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God, I thank you so much for the gifts that you have bestowed upon me. Help me to be grateful and use those gifts on a daily basis. Help me to be a bold witness and ambassador for you! You are so good to me, I don't deserve it. I love you, Lord. I surrender this day to you. Use me today. Help me see opportunities to help others today. Would I abound in love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control today. Above all, help me to show your love today. Your love never fails! In your Son's precious name, amen.

Faith.Hope.Love.
Chelsea Rae

"I've got the joy, joy, joy, joy..." (down in my heart)

"Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you." I Timothy 4:16

If, then. Cause, effect. This is a fundamental idea in life - everything we do has a consequence, whether good or bad.

Now, I'm sorry I haven't written in a while. For the first time in my life (although I haven't lived that long) I have two jobs. Learning to balance church, family, friends, work, myself, has never been harder. Even when I was in Ministry Institute I don't remember it being this difficult. Part of that is because in M.I. I had structure. Now my work schedule changes every week and I don't serve every weekend and sometimes I even miss church because of work. But life is good and I'm grateful for this opportunity to grow.

Isn't that how we should all feel when it comes to trials in our lives? James says "Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing." (NLT) We are to actually be joyful when we face struggles. We're not just supposed to avoid complaining. We're not just told to keep our mouth shut...we're told to be joyful. Let's take a look at what joyful means. According to dictionary.com joyful mean, "showing or expressing joy, as looks, actions, or speech." Showing or expressing joy, which is "the emotion of great delight or happiness." So...we're to be greatly delighted and show it outwardly when something sucky happens to us. That doesn't seem like the natural thing to do. And that's because it's not. There's a constant battle going on between our flesh and our spirit. Galatians 5:16, "So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature (flesh) craves. The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions." Another verse says, "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." It is so hard to have joy in our trials because we have a sinful nature. We don't naturally want to do what's right. That's why we have Christ! He has made a way for us to conquer our flesh and do what He would do. Paul says to cast away our old self and put on our new self! We are no longer enslaved to our flesh, no longer in bondage in our sinful thoughts and actions. We have been freed by the blood of Christ to do what's right. Been set free from guilt and now able to walk in confidence. We are now able to have joy in our tribulations because we know that everything happens for a reason. We know that God never gives us more than we can handle (I Corinthians 10:13).

Do you feel encouraged? Do you feel lighter and freer? I do!

Now, how are you going to apply this to your life? Is there a situation you are just being grumpy about? Is there a person you can't even force yourself to smile at because you dislike them so much? Are you taking out your frustrations on the people you love the most? Do you find yourself being negative and complaining a lot?

How bout this: For one whole day let's only say positive and uplifting things.

I know it might sound daunting, but I believe you can do it! Philippians 4:13, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." You can do it, friend! And if you're feeling especially courageous, you could try a whole WEEK being positive! =)

I didn't begin this blog with the intention of writing about joy and positivity, but that's how it turned out! I wanted to write about actions and responsibility and walking worthy of what we've been called to. I guess I'll have save that for another time.

Faith.Hope.Love.
Chelsea Rae

Think it, be it

Have you ever had a moment where you wanted to quote yourself? I had one of those today. I was texting my friend about some personal stuff and I had a few revelations. Let me just type them out for you...

"Grace and forgiveness are things we need a better understanding of. If we truly understood those two things we wouldn't beat ourselves up over stuff and we would be able to move on and receive God's best for us because we would know we are worth it and we deserve it. But because we don't accept God's grace we live with this feeling of inadequacy, always reverting back to what we know is unhealthy because we feel that it's all we deserve."

Now, how many of you can identify with that? The mind is a curious thing. Your greatest asset and yet your worst enemy. You can either use your mind or let it use you. If you don't control your thoughts, they will dictate who you are. Who you think you are is who you will be. Take a second and listen to your thoughts. We don't do that often enough. Take a little listen to the things you say to yourself. Are they positive and encouraging? Are they pessimistic? Angry? Depressed? Spiteful? Do they build you up or tear you down? Your thoughts have so much power and most of us don't use them to our advantage, we let them direct us.

2 Corinthians 10:5 says, "We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." Now that tells us that we do in fact have the ability to control our thoughts. And our thoughts have a huge impact on our feelings and emotions, which in turn dictate what we say and do. Now who would love to able to control what comes out of their mouth more effectively? It's like the toothpaste analogy, once you squeeze it out you can't get it back in! You can't take back the things you say, no matter how hard you try. I would love to be able to completely control the things I say. It all starts in your thought life.

Now, how do you start controlling your thought life? Romans 12:2 says, "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will." How do you renew your mind? You read His Word. You put good things into your head rather than worldly things. Try turning off the radio for a while. What you see is what you'll think about. What you hear is what you'll think about. What are you looking at? What are you listening to? You have the ability to control those things, which means you have the ability to control your thought life. This isn't to say that we should always be in control of everything, because ultimately God is the one in control. But He has given us the ability to guard our minds and our hearts by using our own God-given discretion.

How is your thought life these days?

A friend of mine said today, "I have to talk myself up because I can't count on other people to make me feel good about myself." I think that's a lot of people's mentalities, and yet, we still judge ourselves and beat ourselves up over the past. Over our flaws. Over our bad decisions. I say it's time to move on, move forward. To forget what is behind and press on toward what is ahead, as Paul states in Philippians. Let's stop thinking about the negative and focus on the positive.

My challenge for you: How are you going to begin to [or more closely] monitor your thought life?

You can do it, I believe in you! Start small, but start now. Don't wait. Remember, the turtle won the race! Keep it slow and steady. =)

Faith.Hope.Love.
Chelsea Rae

Everything happens for a reason

I went to Creation yesterday and I had a total God moment...

I am sitting on the grass in this huge crowd of people and we're all holding lit candles. The man on stage says, "If you believe in Jesus Christ as your Savior and you believe that He is the light of the world raise your candle high in the air!" Almost everyone in the audience raises their candles and starts cheering. I felt a sense of unity in the body of Christ that I have never felt before. One purpose. One goal. One body. It was incredible. I hate being the person that says I almost cried (because if you didn't actually cry then it must not have been that moving), but this is an instance where I just need to say it...I almost cried. Almost.

I remember last year at Creation (when it was at the Gorge) sitting on a hillside overlooking the river and watching the sunset. I got out my journal and wrote a letter/poem for my future husband. (I know that sounds cheesy and weird, but if you're a girl, you probably know someone who does that or you have done it yourself. Some guys do it too, actually) If you haven't ever thought about writing to or praying for your future husband or wife, you should. You never know where they're at in life or what they're going through. I have been praying for my husband since I was 16. I know that God is raising up a man after His own heart for me and I believe my prayers have made a difference and continue to make a difference.

Ladies (well guys too, actually)...don't settle. God cares about the little things. The thing your friends might call "stupid" or "unrealistic" or "idealistic", God wants to make those things happen for you. Don't be afraid to pass up someone who is theoretically perfect for you because the "spark" just isn't there. That's okay! There are so many people in this world, that isn't the only person that's ever going to love you! I know it seems like if you pass up a great guy or girl, you might not get another chance. You might think, "Well what if no one else ever falls in love with me? What if no one else ever wants to be with me?" That is unrealistic. Out of the millions of people in the world your age, you think that no one else will want to be with you? Yeah, that's what I thought. Unrealistic.

The bottom line is, we need to be content where we're at. If you're single, there's a reason for it. Everything happens for a reason. If you're dating, there's a reason for that as well. In every season of life, there's things to be learned. A mistake is nothing but an opportunity in disguise. Let's choose to learn from our mistakes. Let's choose to take our experiences and use them to benefit others. Let's not be selfish with the things we've learned, the knowledge we've accumulated, the love that we know in Christ.

I would ask you this: What challenging situation or person are you going to embrace as an opportunity to better yourself or someone else?

God says He works everything together for good for those who love Him. Every trying situation can be used for something good, something beautiful. Remember that we see the temporary and God sees the eternal. He has the bigger picture in mind at all times. He is always looking out for your best interest because He loves you SO much! Never forget that--God is always looking out for you. Always. You never leave His mind.

Faith.Hope.Love.
Chelsea Rae