Chels in Progress

I never thought of myself as an ungrateful person.  That's the thing about sinfulness though, it gives you a false sense of self. Jesus Calling , April 6th: "Before Satan tempted Eve in the Garden of Eden, thankfulness was as natural as breathing ." Though I hadn't considered myself an ungrateful person, I knew darn well thankfulness wasn't as frequent, nor as imperative to me as breathing. Jesus Calling , continued: "When you focus on what you don't have or on situations that displease you, your mind also becomes darkened. You take for granted life, salvation, sunshine, flowers, and countless other gifts from Me. You look for what is wrong and refuse to enjoy life until that is "fixed". " Straight to the heart. Today's devo entry could not have come to me on a more perfect day.  You see, on Wednesdays I care for my mom.  I love her, but our days together are hard.  Sometimes physically.  Mostly though, emotionally.  When s...

" Rejoice evermore.  Pray without ceasing.  In every thing give thanks : for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 It's so easy to dedicate one single day to giving thanks.  If we even do it on that day.  But it's difficult to give thanks to the Lord unceasingly .  To thank Him for absolutely everything .  But it's also one of the most freeing things we could learn to do. Last night started out beautifully.  My shift ended with a huge compliment from my manager, a free turkey, the turkey fitting perfectly in my freezer, my dad making me a delicious burrito for dinner, and a tea party and Christmasy crafts with two very dear friends.  I was really excited for everything, and ready to go to sleep peacefully.  And then I got home.  The night completely shifted into something less than beautiful, the least of our problems being how very colorful my language turned in response to the ch...

What is man that You remember him, the son of man that You look after him? You made him little less than God and crowned him with glory and honor. Psalm 8:4-5  Oh my heart.  Sometimes, I am just straight up baffled at why the Lord desires to know me and use me and bless me and love me, because I just don't seem lovable enough.  But then I am grateful, because unworthiness the platform for grace .  So then, in my ugliness and chaos, I am in the perfect place to accept God's love.  Which is beautiful , because that's usually when I need love the most. I will always be grateful for this season of life.  It is definitely not where I imagined myself now, and it is definitely not how I would have planned it for myself, but it is so beautiful.  So desperately , perfectly beautiful, in a very countercultural way.  You see, I thought I'd be married right now.  I never set many career goals.  I never had any financial plans.  I ju...