george.

I headed down to Covenant Soup Kitchen to volunteer the way I do every Thursday. I prepared dinner for a bit, then finally got to get out into the dining room and hang out with the guests. I approached Jose and Pedro and a few of their friends who were playing dominos. I had played with Jose and Pedro in the past and had gotten to know them quite a bit.

I sat down and began talking to Jose.

"Be quiet. There's no talking across the table," George said.

"How come? I haven't seen Jose in a few weeks and I'd like to catch up," I asked.

"This is a game of concentration.. we don't talk to each other while we play. Besides, I keep to myself and barely talk to no one," George said as he pulled out a bottle of vodka and took a swig.

"Please don't tell Paul," Jose pleaded.

"George, please keep it away while we're playing and you're here. You're so lucky to be able to eat here, please don't abuse the privledge," I said.

He agreed and we continued to play and Jose and I caught up, being sure not to talk specifically about the game.

George got in a verbal argument with one of the men there, who he had recently "kicked the shit out of" as he put it. I prayed silently as the guests were served and George huffed and puffed about.

As I was leaving, George was outside smoking a cigarette and stumbling around. I told him that I hope he would have a good week and that I looked forward to seeing him next week. He asked if I was driving back to school and I answered yes and asked if he needed a ride somewhere.

I drove George home about 5 minutes away and we talked on the way and then for about 20 minutes in his driveway. He spoke about his love for his kids and how they had turned their back on him because they were fed up with his ways. I talked to him about how hard it was for me growing up with a father who was an alcoholic and how it is still very hard for me today. He was grateful to hear the other side of the story and told me that he saw God in my eyes when I spoke to him. I told him that God has a great plan for his life and that with each breath he is given new life and a brand new chance.

He thanked me repeatedly and as I told him he was so very welcome, he began to cry. I wept with him, crying because I knew that God was present in that moment and we had opened it up to Him in our conversation. I wept because I felt so bad for George living all alone, pretending he wasn't lonely.

Before I left he said "Chelsea, I probably won't remember who you are tomorrow-- because I'm so drunk right now, but I want you to know that you have touched my heart."

I told him that I would introduce myself again if he should fail to remember and we parted ways.

...... George.

Ash Wednesday

This past Monday at 3, the ECSU small group entered my room and we got comfy on my couch, bed and floor. I made a few announcements at the beginning-- one of them being that there would be an Ash Wednesday service at SPCC. I extended the invitation and said I would be glad to drive. One of the members who is a new believer asked what Ash Wednesday is. "I don't know" I replied. No weird looks, no "what do you mean you don't know?!"'s.

The small group that I lead is made up of 5 college students, some of us have believed for a long time, some of us not long at all. I think that we all have in common the fact that we haven't been following for an extended period of time. A few of the members said they would love to join me at the service. What a blessing!

Tonight's service absolutely ripped open my heart. It sounds grusome and awful but it was absolutely necessary and surprisingly healing. I knelt there, hands raised while tears flooded from my eyes. God opened up my heart and poured Himself in, more than ever before.

My heart was challenged.
My behaviors were challenged.
My thoughts were challenged.
My intentions were challenged.
I... was challenged.

Thankfully, Jesus died on the cross and rose again for me.. and for you. God loves us so much that He gave His one and only Son. He still loves us this much today and draws us near to Him time and time again after we turn and run in the other direction.

Let us remember His love with every act, every word, every breath.

Day 20- Better Together

"we're chosen to fellowship together by being patient with one another"

I will say that by God's great and never ending grace, I have learned a lot in the patience department. Being impatient may have been one of the worst characteristics of me my entire life. I remember stories my mom told me about how I couldn't wait for anything and would get such an attitude when I couldn't have what I wanted, when I wanted. The attitude part seemed to get worse with age. Then after about 16, I passed through the attitude phase but still quite the impatience problem.

I, as well as family and friends have noticed a huge difference in the level of patience I have with people. I thank God for showing me what it means to love through being patient. Of course I still have a lot of growing to do in this area, but I am so thankful for the growth so far.

By learning about the patience Jesus had for all of the people he came in contact with and by thinking about how patient God is with each and every one of us-- I can only strive to reach that kind of love!

God has placed people and caused certain things to happen within the last year that I have shown me what it means to love through patience and I am grateful for His mysterious workings and for those people and circumstances.

Let us all try and love like Jesus by being more patient today than we were yesterday.

day 13- better together!

Last week Steve and I were reading the daily devotional together. I was reading out loud and had forgotten to grab my pen before we got comfy to read. "He calls us to be action figures, but he never wants us so busy saving the world that we ignore the interruptions of those in need." I jumped up and got my pen. These were words that needed to be noted, needed to be read over and over and prayed about.

As a college student I find myself the head of a student organization, an RA, head of a small group, active member of SPCC, in classes of course, peer mentoring and the list goes on and on. Often times I am asked why I am so busy and why I don't give something up. The answer is always the same-- I love all of the things that I do and each has taught me so much. I have managed to balance my time so that I can give enough to each and not get burnt out.

BUT.. do I always allow myself to stop and embrace those little "interruptions"? Probably not. Since reading those words, I have been praying that God would help me to be sensitive to these moments and to sacrifice the few minutes of down time between classes or walking into class a minute late. Neither of these things are going to wear me out.. not when I am led by the Spirit.

This past week I have found myself stopping to talk to people on the way to class instead of rushing by and saying I'm almost late. I stay on the phone a few extra minutes and realize that 2 minutes less of sleep isn't going to be the end of the world. The personal relationships and the help that I can offer someone is what is going to make the difference. It doesn't matter how many extra curricular activities in involved in or how my resume looks.

So, I will continue to be involved in the things that God is blessing each and everyday. I will work within those venues, and outside of them of course- to keep my heart open to the promptings of the Spirit. I will invest in people and reach out my hand when necessary and keep praying for the help and the patience I will need to do so.

We are called to be action figures, but behind the scene fights with spiritual weapons will certainly do the trick :)

so many beautiful things.

This is a continuation of my post on celebrating next steps!!

I mentioned my best friend Delia and my friend Sue at the end of that post and said that they had both taken small but significant next steps in their faith... listen to this!!

Last night before church Sue text messaged me and asked me to pray for her at church. I of course told her yes and texted her after church to let her know that she was for sure in my prayers. She then told me that she would like to come to spcc at some point. This is amazing! She came to Imagine Christmas this past year and loved it and when I invited her to a weekend service she told me "I have sinned way too many times to ever go back to church." What a beautiful opportunity to share the gospel. I have been working on doing that ever since and oh my goodness God has worked in beautiful ways.

Twenty minutes after hearing this from Sue, Delia came into my room along with our boss who is a beautiful follower of Christ. At first, I thought we were going to have a work related talk and that made me a bit nervous considering it was a weekend night and my boss wasn't working. However, the words that she said next were the most beautiful I had ever heard. "Chels, I prayed to God today.. for help. I can't do it by myself," Delia said.

There are no words to describe the excitement and thankfulness and just joy that entered my heart. at this moment. We then went to her room and prayed together which was simply beautiful.

I write all of this tonight still overwhelmed by God's greatness and I hope that it inspires you as much as it does me to hold onto all that we believe and continue to love radically in order to win hearts for Christ.

celebrating next steps

In class 401 Ben made a great point-- one that I knew was true but can, and do sometimes forget. It is not we who save lives. God does. He chooses to use us to help, but it is Him.

Related to this, Ben reminded us to celebrate next steps-- no matter how small.

There are so many people in my life who I have seen take next steps, even though they may seem so tiny. They have all been extremely encouraging to me and it's believe that some of these things have happened! God is working in amazing ways.

Just last night.. Steve and I went to dinner for Valentine's Day and then had plans to go bowling. On the way out of Bertucci's, he asked if we could go to Barnes and Noble "for a few". We ended up in the store for close to an hour just browsing the backs of books-- in the Christian section. Steve had found a book in the SPCC library that he was able to read a bit of and wanted to buy his own copy.

After shopping we decided against bowling and went home to read instead! We read the daily devotionals together and prayed.

For some people this may seem lame and like no big deal-- after all- isn't this what we are called to do in relationship? YES! It is!! That is why I am so excited to celebrate these next steps.

My sister, my best friend Delia, my friend Sue and my mom have also all shown next steps in faithfulness and I have never had a happier heart.

God is good.

a great lesson learned

It's 2:30AM. I am woken up by a smoke detector going off in one of my resident's rooms. I roll out of bed and sleepily go to see what has happened. There was no fire or danger, simply a misfunctioning of the detector. I still have to call the campus police so I do so. Ten minutes later I walk back to the room with the police officer who is swearing at the young man accusing him of smoking marijuana. I was taken back by the tone of her voice and the language she was using.

I was mad, really mad. What kind of person is she? "I can't stand her", I thought to myself.

The next day I called the Chief of Police and told him about what had happened. He explained that maybe she was having an off day or something and that he would talk to her about what had happened. "Yeah, okay-- she's obviously just not a nice person," echoed in my head.

Fast forward a couple of months.

I'm in the office on duty and she is here visiting on her rounds. She is talking to the other RA on duty and then invites me into the conversation. She gets to talking about a trip she took to Russia and later I shared my stories from Panama. We laugh and talked for quite a while. She leaves having asked me if I would be available to house sit on occasion because she thinks that I am a responsible and trustworthy person.

She comes back tonight and we get to talking again. This time she asks about my trip to New Orleans this spring break. Then she tells me she would like to help me fund the trip! We talk for awhile more and she leaves for the night.

What a lesson in not judging someone by how they act on on occasion. Perhaps she was having an awful day. Maybe she was completely out of character.

How many times have I acted out of character? I wonder how many people have judged me because of those times and have negative attitudes of me now. This was a lesson times two.

1. A great reminder not to judge others. Ask questions, forgive and continue to pursue the person to get to know them.
2. Be careful how I act because some people may catch me on a "bad day" when I am not acting "up to par" so to speak and have a negative view of me from there on out.

These kinds of moments are the greatest teacher's in my life.