Things on my mind... :)

"I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obey God by what I have said and done - by the power of signs and miracles, through the power of the Spirit. So from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ" ~ Romans 15:18-19. 

Paul proclaimed the gospel, but accompanied His words with signs and miracles. There are numerous occasions in the scriptures where Jesus and Paul and other disciples perform miracles, and people believe the gospel that they had heard because of the signs that they had seen. In fact, most of the times the gospel is proclaimed in the gospels and Acts, miracles accompany it. It seems the Word teaches that "fully" proclaiming the gospel involves more than just words. I am a follower of Christ, and the Spirit of the living God dwells within me. I believe the Bible teaches that Jesus forfeited His divine powers when He became fully human. Every miracle He performed, He performed through the power of the Spirit. He sought God the Father in prayer before every decision He made. We all know Jesus spoke to God the Father, and I fully believe that the Father spoke right back to the Son. Jesus assumed full humanity here on earth. He promised that His followers would do even greater things than He did. Jesus raised the dead!!! His disciples raised the dead! I have the same Spirit dwelling within me that dwelt inside Jesus and His disciples. Do I believe what Jesus said is true? Heck yes!!! He said that if I pray for a sick person to be healed in His name and believe it will happen, then it will. He said I have the authority to cast out demons in His name(are only people in third world countries or people on the streets influenced by demons or have we, as Americans, been blinded by the enemy to the very real supernatural warfare that is waging all around us?). He said that when He gave me the gift of the Spirit, He gave me a spiritual tongue. Whoa! What?! I'm southern baptist... I'm scared of tongues. Umm... but I'm also reading the book of Acts where tongues accompanied and even proved that believers had been given the Spirit. So I am admitting, or rather, proclaiming, on the internet that my Lord gave me a gift for my birthday. I was praying loud on my way to Seattle the night before my birthday, and the Spirit prompted me to pray for things I hadn't really prayed for before.. with sincerity anyway. He prompted me to ask for the gift of tongues... and He told me to ask Jesus to give it to me for my birthday.. so I did. I went dancing that night and forgot about it. The next morning, I woke up early and spent time with the Lord. As I prayed, the Holy Spirit brought words to my mind that He gently pushed me to speak aloud. I was hesitant for a moment, but then experienced the sweetest peace and intimacy as I spoke words, not gibberish, that I did not know. The Holy Spirit overwhelmed me with His presence, and my heart cried out to Jesus. I knew some of what my heart was conveying, but not the words I was using. It was sincere and flowed, and I didn't want to stop. My spirit cried out to the Lord's Spirit and I felt the sweetest ecstasy in His presence. I did not try to do this or even think about it before it happened. I only remembered that I had asked the Lord for this gift as I was driving home. What a thoughtful, sweet God I serve. I have never wanted a tongue because I thought it was weird and uncomfortable, but God rocked me and gave me this sweet gift for my birthday. Wow! Feel free to ask me about it.. I know I'd have lots of questions if I was reading this about one of you. :) Anyway, all that to say I have been asking the Lord for an abundance of faith. If the Lord would have me heal or raise the dead or whatever, then that's what I want to do. Christians did miraculous things throughout the scripture. I am praying that the Holy Spirit would unleash his power and ignite believers' hearts with a passion to live extraordinary lives embracing the vast power and authority we have been given. I want people to be healed in the streets, and people raised from their coffins by the power of Jesus. I want people enslaved to addiction to be set free in a moment through the power of the resurrected Christ. I refuse to accept the status quo. Abortion will NOT always be with us! Young people in prostitution and addiction will NOT always be enslaved! How powerful do we believe the gospel is?! Jesus not only can, but will, set His people free in a moment. If we as believers don't believe it, how can a lost world ever hope to? And if we believe it, how can we not change our lives and our prayers and start praying crazy prayers of faith over the sick and lost and expect the power of God to fall??!!! Ok, so I could keep going, but I have to go now. The Lord is opening my eyes to truths I have always claimed to believe, but have never lived out. The Bible is exciting when read through unfiltered eyes. Thanks for reading my rants friends. Love, me. :)

I am overwhelmed!

"In my anguish I cried to the Lord and He answered by setting me free" ~ Psalm 118:5. I have been lavished! Some of you know what my life looked like a year ago. I have written about the lies I was living out of and the prayer I would cry out to the Lord in desperation, "God, don't give up on me... God, RESCUE ME!!!" My heart would scream these pleas out to my God who felt so distant. I was in a sin that was destroying me, and I could not break free. I have written some of the story in earlier posts... the punch-ling being that, without a bit of help from me, my Warrior King rescued me! His Spirit brought my heart to a place of brokenness and contrition and met me in my despair. He invaded the enemy's camp and claimed me back for Himself... but He did so much more than rescue me. He swept me away to Africa and loved me back to life. He romanced me with beauty and attention and intimacy. He pierced my muddy heart with His own sweet voice and dispelled the lies with His crazy-wonderful truth. He restored me and loved me and led me by the hand to Tacoma where He has continued this sweet love story. My Lord and Love has set me free! He has established my worth and identity in His own eyes, so that I need not look to anyone or anything else to fulfill me. He continually speaks in my ear, "I am enough." And He is! This is still a journey and a fight. I am still in the process of relinquishing control and trusting Jesus with my whole heart and present and future. I am still handing over to Him the past that I have held so tightly to my chest... but my sore fingers are relaxing their grip as He lifts my eyes to meet His gaze and I can't help but trust Him. This is a fight, but the King who has vanquished every enemy that would seek to destroy me and keep me from Him calls me His beloved. A glance of my eyes melts His heart... and I stand overwhelmed with the awe and honor of it. I praise the Lord from the depths of my soul... I cried out to Him in my anguish... I asked Him just to rescue me... HE ANSWERED BY SETTING ME FREE!!! And He hasn't stopped.. He continues to heap blessing upon blessing upon me... how can I stand under the weight of this joy! He has led me to some decisions about this upcoming year... I will keep you in suspense until I have some details worked out, but just know that He continues to be so faithful. I am excited and confident as I move into the next few months and have made some big decisions with relative ease and peace. More to come soon... so much to say about what the Lord has been teaching me here. :) 

It's been a while...

Well I am back in my favorite coffee shop in Tacoma enjoying a Roiboos latte and taking a break from orientation paperwork for my new travel RN position. I have been many places and many things have happened in my life since I last wrote to you. Here are the highlights... I spent a long 4th of July weekend at the beach in Florida with my oldest girl friends. We spent our days and nights catching up, relaxing, and doubling over in laughter. What a refreshing time! After Captiva, I came back to Alexandria, VA and continued to help Angela and Ryan prepare for baby. We had some memorable experiences with baby showers, nesting, and air conditioner failures in the 100 degree weather the night before Angela gave birth. Mom and I then had the privilege of helping Angela (in very small ways) as she endured her 24 hr labor. Her husband was the real hero of the night(well, besides Angela of course ;)) as he coached my sister with a lot of patience and without a wink of sleep. Labor is hard work! We were well-rewarded for our vigil as Elijah popped into the world, blond hair and all. What a beautiful child! I love him so much! It was such a joy to hold him and sing to him and pray and pray over him. I also experienced the "work" of having a baby firsthand. I had no idea! :) Three weeks after his birth, Angela and I flew to TN with Eli.. he was such a good little boy! I spent a week in TN visiting with friends and family. I was so happy to see my brother again, and it was lovely to pop into my "other life" for a while. I also got to scream in celebration with my beautiful friends, Alana and Hector, as they found out they are pregnant... such a blessing to be part of that! And now I am back in Tacoma. I'm just starting to work at a new hospital and praying for favor and opportunities to share Christ. I'm really praying that God would just instill a deep, supernatural love in me for those He wants me to connect with. My workplace has always been my natural ministry, and the Lord has been so faithful and kind in making it a joyful, easy thing for me to love the people and share Christ with them in ordinary conversation and acts of service. I went to my first day of orientation today, and, already, God is fulfilling my desires. I easily entered into conversation with the girl He divinely appointed to sit next to me, and I got to share parts of my testimony with her.. because she asked!!! She works on the floor I will be spending much of my time on, and I am looking forward to witnessing Christ's fervent pursuit of her. What a breath-taking thing to see! I think of Jesus' aggressive pursuit of some particular co-workers that I still hold very close to my heart, and I hope for them. There were times when the Spirit's work in their lives was almost tangibly evident... it makes me wonder if they will have any choice but to respond to Him or if they will have to answer to this passionate pursuer on judgment day.. I teeter on a doctrinal fence on that one. God is gracious in giving me such a burden for them. I have wondered about ministry outside of work. People have asked me where my passion lies... with what group of people. I have to answer that I don't know. I love the people I come across. I would love to jump into some ministry here in Tacoma, but I don't know where I would have something to offer. I'm asking God about it. :) I'm also asking God about my living situation. I'm staying in a friend's house until she gets married in two and half weeks, and then I'm moving to... :) I am confident God will simply place me where He wants me, so I'll let you know where I end up. So I guess that's all for now.. nothing too interesting. I miss my nephew.. it's good to be back in Tacoma.. and the Lord is still leading me on this wild, on-going adventure He began in January.. or really long before. love, me :)

Washington DC

So here I am all snuggled into bed in my sister's guest room. I've been here for a week, and I think I am just now settling into this new phase of my ever-changing life. A couple things have changed since my last post. For one thing, I'm not working while I'm here. I had a job all lined up, then I thought maybe I should ask the Lord if He even wanted me to work this summer. He said no, confirmed His Word through a friend, and also gave me peace about the decision (which was kind of a hard one to swallow as I enjoy working and feel lazy when I'm not). Now that I'm here, I see that my time with my sister is a treasure, and I would have been anxious away at work with my hugely pregnant sister at home about to pop. By the way, for those of you who haven't seen my facebook pictures, my big sister is BEAUTIFUL!!! She is due in a couple weeks, but we have been asking the Lord to make it earlier, and I just don't know how much bigger that baby boy can get! :) It has been such an unspeakable joy to be here with my sister and feel my little nephew kicking around in her belly. My sister is a lovely little pregnant person. She is joyful and sweet, and we have laughed until we both cried. I loved my time in Tacoma, and the people there welcomed me into their community with open arms, but there is just something about being around family, the people who have known me since there was a me, that reminds me who I am. I kinda feel like I'm letting out a deep breath. The first few days here were busy with going to work with Angela, touring the national mall with a friend from Tacoma, and throwing Angela's baby shower. Since then, Ang and I have concentrated on getting the house ready for Elijah. She is entering her nesting phase, which means she feels every nook and cranny of this house needs tending to. :) I'm glad I'm able to be here so my pregnant sister doesn't go into labor from pushing a vacuum around.. not that my brother-in-law would let that happen.. he's been a sweet husband to her, and it's so fun to see him with his mouth squished up against her belly asking his son to kick his nose. :) 

I went to Starbucks this afternoon and spent some time with the Lord while Angela was getting a massage (a gift from Ryan). :) I asked Him to meet me despite all the distraction bustling around me, and He did. I opened to Hosea 14, and He spoke to me of the idols that I run to, especially as I move from place to place. They are pretty, dead statues that I desperately fashion with my own hands because somewhere in me I don't believe my God. He says He is enough, and I say, "I know, but I made this just in case." My King tells my heart what my head knows.. that the sparkly idols I worship with my thoughts and strivings will fail me every time. His sure, strong voice speaks, "I am enough," and my tired hands fall limp at my side and rest in His. I wonder how long it will take me to learn that lesson... I think I'm learning it in parts. My God is a gentleman... He will not overwhelm me. He is my dad... He will not let me go astray.

It's late, so I'll go now. I'm leaving for Miami tomorrow to spend a few days on the beach with my girlfriends who I've known since 8th grade. They're like family, and I'm looking forward to laughing hard and catching up. Jesus, thank you for friends! Goodnight. :)~

Monday night

I am, once again, writing from work. I promise I actually work while I’m working, but sometimes I don’t. So I’ve decided to move back to Tacoma in August. Most anyone who would be reading this knows that by now, but I just thought I’d include that anyway. I feel just as confident and peaceful about this decision as I did when the Lord told me to move here Himself. My life is kind of unsettled right now, and sometimes I feel like my head is full of little doors with a little chelsea screaming behind each one (that probably sounds awful, but it’s a funny image for me). Little chelseas sit there worrying and wondering about the details of my life, and every now and then I have to knock on the doors and tell them to please quiet down. In two weeks, I’m moving out of my cute little house into another house which, I’m sure, will be just as cute. My sweet roommate is moving away to Africa, and I am finishing up my contract in Olympia. God has given me an earnest love for my co-workers, and I am sincerely sad to be leaving them.. I feel like I’m abandoning my ministry (but I know I’m being obedient). In three weeks, I will move to DC to be with Angela and start a new job I have not completely pinned down yet. Then I will be an aunt… hooray! In August, I will drive Ang and Eli to TN and hang there for a couple of weeks until I fly back to WA to start work on August 18. I have not, however, decided where I will be working yet. There are a few other big changes going on in my life, but these are the ones I feel like putting on the internet. So each little chelsea is wanting to make sure her particular concern is taken care of and settled, but I think the Lord is peeping His sweet head into each room asking the mini-mes, “Do you trust me?” And though every now and then, a stray little scamp lets out an anxious scream, my over-arching chelsea spirit looks back and remembers that God has come through every time and responds with a resounding yes. So that’s where I am right now. Oh, I also wanted to tell you that God has been particularly sweet to me lately in concerning Himself with the trivial desires of my heart. There have been many ways He has done this, one being that He sent me out dancing twice in one weekend. I serve a fun God! My mom also came to visit me this weekend and got to see this beautiful place where I live, experience Newsong, and meet some friends. It was good for my heart to see her and for her to see me here. Ok, that’s all…buh-bye. :)~

Sunday night.. or Monday morning

I'm sitting at work right.. it's usually quiet for 4 hours after midnight, barring any crazy, poopy, dying, attention-seeking, or just very sick patients. I'm writing for the third time today because I'm on the verge of making a decision I've been trying to make for months. Friday night, I went to my first baseball game with a friend. It was so fun! The weather was crisp, but clear, and the whole experience was new and exciting... even if the Mariner's did lose...pitifully (sorry Shane) :)~.

I wrote previously about how God told me very directly to come to Tacoma. I have been waiting on Him to tell me where to go next ever since I moved here. I am going to DC to be with my sister for the month of July to welcome Elijah James, my beautiful nephew, into the world. I have been believing that God would clearly tell me where He wants me to go in August. I think God totally spoke to me about this through a friend on Friday. A friend told me about his experience in which the Lord had told him to go overseas very clearly, but when he was trying to decide whether to come back, he didn't hear anything from God. Eventually, God just told him he needed to make a decision and have faith that He would bless it. My friend, by way of explanation, imagined that God had a sort of "faith checklist." He says, "what will chelsea do when I tell her to go? She goes.. check. Now what will she do when I don't tell her anything? Will she trust me?" This totally spoke to me as I realized my great fear has been that I will make the "wrong" decision. Some people have said it took great faith for me to come here on God's command.. honestly, it was really easy and didn't even feel like faith because God told me to go so clearly, so it wasn't scary or uncertain at all. It makes so much sense to me that God would seek to grow my faith by asking me to make my own choice and trusting that He will be with me in whatever decision I make and will not let me stray from His will since I am earnestly seeking to obey Him. God gave me a brain and His Spirit which gives me wisdom, so I can make this decision. It pleases the Lord for me to inquire after His will, but after asking Him about it this weekend, I believe my step of obedience will come in weighing my options, making a decision, and trusting the Lord in His silence. I think I have decided what to do in August, and I feel peaceful about it... which I think is a way God confirms His will.. but I am still waiting to work out the particulars, so I won't tell you what I'm thinking just yet. I was absolutely set on God doing one thing, and He graciously let me know that He's doing another.. even in His silence, He speaks. :) Ok.. so I think that's enough for a while.. thanks for caring about what's going on with me and for reading this so I don't have to tell the same story over and over again. Love, me. :)

My week...

Last Friday night, a team from the International House of Prayer (IHOP) came to Newsong and led a two-day conference. Worship was incredible, and the Holy Spirit's presence was undeniable as the packed-out sanctuary entered the Lord's throne room and sang to Jesus. Okay, so this might sound cheesy, but you're my friend, so I'll be vulnerable. Sometimes when I worship and the Spirit quiets every distraction and fills my heart and focuses my eyes solely on Jesus, I feel like I'm worshipping with the saints. I see this picture of the Lord on His throne, and I am surrounded by the multitudes of believers in Heaven worshipping our King. And though I only feel like this when my focus is solely on Christ, it is in these times when I feel closest to dad. Anyway, one of the speakers spoke on the Song of Songs. I have never studied this book, and I have only read it a few times and not in years. She spoke of the bride as the church and the believer and the lover as Christ. The story tells of the bride's journey from immature love that is self-focused to a mature love that focuses on her lover. Christ calls His bride beautiful and says that He can hardly stand her gaze because it so overwhelms Him. Christ's heart is moved deeply and passionately by His beloved's voice, her gaze, and even her immature love. The Lord pierced my heart! The heart of Christ is passionately moved by my weak love! The Jesus that I nailed to the cross hushes all of Heaven and leans in when I pray just waiting to hear what His beloved will ask because He longs to grant my request. My Lord's heart melts when I turn my ever-roaming eyes towards Him. He calls me His sister and His bride. He knows all that I am.. all the darkness and falseness and infidelity that lurks within my heart... and He loves me to death! I wrote earlier that I thought the Lord brought me here to teach me about who I am and my worth.... I now know He brought me here to continue this great lesson about His overwhelming love for me.. and my identity and worth flows naturally from this truth that digs down deep into my heart and spreads out into every dark space. Before Africa, God said, "She must know how deeply and desperately I love her." My Jesus is revealing His love by layers.. I wonder if He only takes me by steps so as not to overwhelm my weak heart. I love my sweet God, but the breathless, crazy, too wonderful for words truth is that my God loves me! Read and study Song of Songs... and if you dare, simply ask Jesus, "Do you love me?" He will answer you! :) K... going to work... love you friends and family!