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...

My dad once told me (half-jokingly) to be careful when praying for patience, because you get lessons in patience and opportunities to be stretched in that area.  So I tried to avoid praying for patience. But then I met a really patient person who made me want to pray for patience. So here I am, in the middle of many lessons in patience that the Lord has given me.  And for the first time, I'm not just excited for the destination, but I'm enjoying the journey.

{one} electric blankets. {two} two days in a row off of work. {three} picking up my DSLR again. {four} roommate bonding. {five} personal growth. {six} the smell of new boots, still lingering. {seven} the encouragement endeavor. {eight} being in community with other single twentysomethings who love the Lord. {nine} cheese + grapes combo. I can't even explain its perfection. {ten} breaking free study by beth moore, and the weekly discussion dates with my sis. ♥

breakfast with dear friends . time with my momma . my dad's sense of humor . [passing my kidney stone] the smell of coffee . pumpkins and wreaths . my roommates . football season. Angels baseball. my life group . homemade bean dip. worship nights . new friends . {giggles} healed hearts . nail polish. chilly nights. time to sleep in . time in prayer . day dreaming .

Three of my dearest friends are graduating this Saturday from my alma mater. This weekend will mark one year since I received my bachelor's. Today I met up with these girls before we all disperse over the globe, and I began thinking about my life now. I am not where I thought I would be, not doing what I thought I would be doing, if you had asked me a year ago. But I am learning to be thankful. The time I thought would be spent elsewhere allowed me to become a youth group leader, to invest in the women around me, and for Father to bring healing to my family. I am learning patience, stillness, love, grace, mercy, and trust. The Lord has put desires in my heart that can only be from Him, which means I must've allowed Him in far enough for Him to scoop some ugly junk out and replace it with His beauty. Admittedly, it is often uncomfortable when people respond as though I haven't done a whole lot since graduating, but I no longer feel the need to justify where I am at. I d...