Be Encouraged Single Ones!!!

So... today I had a rough day. On top of the stress of my parents home in that storm, lately I've been struggling with being lonely and, well..... single. You see, all of my local friends are married.. ALL OF THEM. This isn't a bad thing. They all have amazing spouses and you can see God's hand in and on each of the marriages but sometimes it gets to me that I'm the only one not wed yet.

Thats it!! ... Pity party is over because God revealed this amazing truth tonight after finishing my bible study with Beth. My bible happened to be opened to Hebrews 4 because she asked us to look up a verse to show us a point and so after room check (because I live in a dorm now!)  I just picked it up to read the highlighted part because that color is what I used while I was in Ghana, so it must have been important or encouraging.  So I read Hebrews 4:14-16 which reads:

¹⁴ Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast ourconfession. ¹⁵ For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. ¹⁶ Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.(NASB via Bible Gateway)

Then it hit me. Jesus was 30 and single when he started his ministry.

Let me say that again..... Jesus was a single.

I have always known this fact in bible trivia that he never had a wife but I just realized tonight that he was single. He knows what its like to live in a world where all of his peers have started their families and he was "left behind". I can just see the old ladies sitting in the corner at that wedding at Cana in Galilee (John 2) figuring out which of the young ladies would be a perfect match for this talented young man.

What a relief! This is a struggle/temptation that He actually knows exactly what we are feeling and in it he did not sin. He did not waste his time but He was growing in preparation for the task He had ahead of Him. And thats what we should do, no matter what our relationship status. There is always a next step that we can be preparing for in our time waiting for God to say "go left up here at the stop sign".

Be encouraged dear friend. I am... I have been reenergized and even motivated to do some of my homework (I know, shocking right?!) He really does know those longings in your heart and he really can sympathize with your predicament. Draw near him and receive his mercy and grace in your time of need knowing that He's been there too.

Until next time!
Chels

Day One... A Success!

Like the title says, day one of my getting back on track was a success! I usually do really great on day one so its not that big of a deal but its ok to celebrate the little things!

I will be posting later this week on my specific goals and plans to reach them so get excited!

One important part of this journey that I want to share with you today is that I have to give this to God, every time, all the time. While still laying in the bed this morning I committed this day and my eating habits today to Him. I can't do this without Him, and I know that!

Back in 2010 when we got serious about losing weight for all the weddings in our apartment it was all Him (My weight  dropped 30 lbs in 2 months). We started off the South Beach program with a fast and each time we felt hungry, we reminded ourselves and each other that "My God is greater than my Hunger." This is a statement that I will need to repeat over and over to myself through this journey. I'll probably paint it on something and put it near my microwave/fridge in the dorm just to remind myself when I'm being tempted!

Until Next Time!
Chels

PS....
Pray for me today. I've got to take my permit test for driving a school bus and I'm not as prepared as my dad says I should be so I'm nervous. Thanks!

Time to Get Back on Track

So I've kind of been off track with a lot of things lately but sometimes a break isn't a bad thing. It's time now though to get back on track with those things and one of them is blogging, another is my weight loss, and yet another is getting serious on preparation for my future ministry.


God has provided me with an amazing and crazy year to get my mind in the right place and priorities in order and now its time to make those theoretical priorities my actual priorities. I wrote a blog post back in March of 2011 that I have recalled often recently. You can read it here but its pretty much a realization that I needed to get it together back then.. and I did for a while, but I lost sight of my goals as life has happened (and believe me its been a roller coaster of a year). So Now its time for me to get those goals back in my sights and not stop until I reach them. 


This is going to be an adventure and I love adventures! Some of you know that I am starting a new job next Monday, working for the student activities department at Mississippi School for Math and Science and I am so excited and I am thinking that starting this new job in this new place is going to give me the opportunity to start some new habits.


Pray for me as I start this journey. It's not gonna me easy but its gonna be worth it.. and I'm gonna try to keep you updated as much as possible. If you think its time for me to update you ... TELL ME!! 


Until Next Time!
Chelsea- Lou

Remember when...

This is an interesting fact that only my close friends (until now when I am putting it on the internet) know about me.

I have a really fantastic memory.

Like I can tell most people i know what I was wearing and where I first met them (or even saw them). Its kind of a weird memory thing because I forget assignments and names like crazy but I never forget a face!

Well on Monday God revealed something to me. God gave me this memory exactly like it is for a reason. That reason is for the ministering he wants me to do to people. He revealed it in a very profound way and I want to share it with y'all.

This story starts on Sunday. I am up there singing in the choir loft. From our perch up there we get to see everyone, who is not there, who comes in late, and who is not sitting in their normal spot. Well, this Sunday a cute little couple came in late and I noticed them because she is 7 months pregnant. I didn't think much more about it after I thought to myself "Isn't she cute?!" and went on with the rest of my day. I didn't make it a priority to get back to talk to them because there was another couple that joined us in sunday school and I wanted to make sure they felt welcomed.

But you see God had it all worked out.....

Monday we didn't have school for the MLK holiday so I was running my errands around 11:30 instead of my 3:30 usual time and I got to the CVS parking lot and a young couple with their toddler caught my eye. It was this same couple. I went in, pick up my meds and headed back to my car praying the whole time, "What do I do God? I know I need to do something What do I need to say?" and I drove off to the gym (located about 50 feet from CVS but it was looking like bad weather). But I couldn't just leave them there.. They had a look of distress and I just had to go back.

I am so glad I did.

It turns out that they have run on some hard times. He's looking for work and she's looking for somewhere to bring their new one home that is not a hotel room. They've been working with the pastor at our church to get some help for the past few weeks and had been coming to services and I didn't even know. (I'm absent a lot) Anyways....I got to eat lunch with them and just got to share with them and become friends and just listen. We got to pray together. Then I had $5 bucks back at CVS so I bought the baby some cold medicine and gave them my number.

They came back to church tonight and its amazing how God has just provided for them over the past few days. A job, a friend to live with and a trailer that needs some work but its affordable. Also just their faces.. you can see the relief and joy of being provided for by the Creator of the Universe.

God is so good. He loves us so much!!

On my drive back home Monday it just hit me... "I've given you this gift of memory so that you can minister to people in need." I've been thanking him for this revelation ever since. And praising him for the blessings he has given this little family!

Until Next time!

Chels

Things I learned at Seminary , Day 1

Well by the name of this post I learned something today! That means day one of Grad School/Seminary is a Success.

Woo Whoo!!

Shot of the beautiful campus of NOBTS

But I'm really excited about this because even though it was meant for a certain context, It works for every situation I can think of where you want to succeed. First I will give you the info as pertaining to education and then to another situation I'm dealing with recently, Weight Loss.

Dr. Steve Lemke, The Provost of NOBTS, spoke to us this morning about our time at seminary and gave us

5 Tools to Help Us Succeed At NOBTS.

They were (along with my notes of his speech):

1) Be Determined ... about your seminary education. Don't look back and be faithful to the path that God has laid before you.

2) Be Devoted ... Classes are not a replacement for your personal devotional time. You must be devoted to the Holy Living God.

3) Be Dedicated ... DO your Calling! Don't just prepare to do it. Find ways to continually be working in ministry.

I think this is were he talked about Timmy (Tebow that is). Dr Lemke stated that Tim is one of the most respected athletes of all time joining the likes of Muhammad Ali and others of that caliber. He has not earned this honor by his Super Duper Mad skills on the field (He is a really good QB, no doubt about that). He has earned this honor because he laid out a certain lifestyle, honoring the one true God, and he has dedicated his life to living it out... no matter what it takes.

Then Dr. Lemke posed this question to the room of students. What if we had Tebows in Banking, Churches, Preschools, High Schools, Drive Thru windows, and Coffee Shops? Why can't we be a bunch of Tebows when we walk off this campus, letting the world know who we serve and how dedicated we are to him? Whoa... talk about a great metaphor!! and a wake up call.

4) Be Disciplined ... The two biggest hinderances to finishing well at seminary studies usually boil down to two things. Time Management and Financial Management. Work to be good at both of these things and your time at seminary will go much smoother. It will still include lots of hard work but if you manage your time and money well that added stress won't be there.

and

5) Be Disciple-able ... This means to be teachable. How much you learn is up to you, not your professors. (I also took this advice to also mean "Look for people to learn from, not just in the classroom but in ministry and in life")

Now...

Let me relate this to my latest and on-going struggle.

Weight Loss.

1.) Be Determined... Set your goal and stick to it. Don't look back. This fat girl cannot exist anymore... no.. eyeing that second serving at dinner is like the home that Lot's wife looked back on, It ONLY ends in DISASTER.

2.) Be Devoted... Be Devoted to the Holy Living God. He is the one that can change your body, he is the one who can give you the endurance to stay on track with workouts and he is the one that can give you the strength to say NO!! to that Coca-Cola hidden in the fridge down in the basement.

3.) Be Dedicated... Work out. Eat Less. Don't talk about working out and eating less, DO IT. Do it. do it. do it. do it. DOOOOO IIIIIIT!!!

4.) Be Disciplined... Time management. Make time to do the things you need to to get to your goal. Diet Management... Eat the foods you should, don't eat the ones you shouldn't. It really is that simple, not easy but definitely simple. Financial Management...Remember that you will need lunch at work tomorrow and if you eat that leftover chicken from dinner tonight that means you'll have to spend money on lunch instead of saving it for the Bakery or school. Even though a $3 lean cuisine doesn't sound too expensive but that $15 a week really adds up quick.

5.) Be Disciple-able... Look for someone who has the same goal as you and do it together. Learn from each other, support each other.

Now... you figure out what you need to succeed at this year. See if these five rules apply and will help you reach it successfully and Let me know!! and More importantly.. pass it on!!

Happy Succeeding!!!

-Chelsea Lou

Struggling

I'm struggling today.

My back is hurting in a weird place so I didn't get to work out this afternoon.

Also after I rested a while, I got up and at dinner and started trying to check and make sure all things were on track with my scholarship and other moneys before I head over to orientation at the end of the week and I realized that I missed a deadline for part of my scholarship, by 3 days.

SO frantically I tried to complete it, messing up twice, and emailing the financial aid office in hopes of trying to figure out some way of getting this scholarship even though I missed the deadline. I'm frustrated at myself for not double checking that date. I was counting on this scholarship so I wouldn't be really broke, just a little broke. Ugh!!

STRESSED!!!!

And now I want to eat. It doesn't matter what. I just want to eat. I've already had 2 cuties and a couple of bottles of water to ward off that hunger... But its only 7... and there is still a football game to watch.

I just needed to share that today has been a rough diet day.

Thanks for listening!

Chels

The Rodgerses: Nightgown Party

The Rodgerses: Nightgown Party

4 th Annual Nightgown Party photos!!

Man I love these Girls!!

Night Gown Party 2012 is gonna rock!!

Man I'm Hungry!!

So as you have read in my last post I have set on an adventure to get fit. This week I have killed it in the gym more than I ever have in a week's time before.

Wednesday I completed Week 1 Day 3 of Couch to 5K.

Thursday I completed 90 minutes of Power Yoga

Today (Saturday) I completed Week 2 Day 1 of Couch to 5K plus some upper body work

One thing I didn't think about when I began to work out is how hungry it makes you. You see, I have tried to start eating better and less than normal and have been able to do a relatively good job at it other than on special occasions and Holidays but, since I've started this work out regimen, I have been so hungry. Not just boredom hunger but like real hunger.

It was weird. and unexpected. so then I did what any college educated girl would do...

I googled it.

and I found an article by Times Health.

At first I was really discouraged that all this hard work in the gym was for naught in my ambitions to lose weight, but as the last 24 hours has marched on I came to realize something. I am not going to the gym to lose weight. I am going to change the body I have into a healthier more fit version of myself. A body that can do more. A body that can run a 5K. A body that can last through any yoga class an be able to do every move.

A body, although it may not be perfect but is known for persistence.

This is what I have to do to lose the weight:

Quit putting calories in my mouth.

Remind myself that a Coke is so much better when you haven't had one in a while.

Choose good stuff over Junk.

Have everything in moderation, even the good stuff.

Eat breakfast.

Stay away from sugar.

Believe in myself.

So this is my plan. Please Encourage me!

I have to remember: I am slim and trim and I weigh 125 lbs. (see Resetting My Appestat... to be posted soon)

Until Next time,

Chelsea Lou

The new year is looking bright!!

I'm growing up and realizing now is the time to start living like I want to live to the best of my ability. Here are a few ways 2012 is going to be great!

Number 1:

2011 is going to be my last fat year.

Next new years I will be slim and trim and I will be much more athletic.

You see. I am a runner now. I mean its only been 4 trips to the gym since I began but I'm doing it. I used to not even be able to think about running without my back spasming. I've found that if I run on an incline on the treadmill my back doesn't hurt! I am so amazed with this. I've started the Couch to 5k Program and will be a real deal 5K-er in just 10 weeks (well 9 now because I'm already a week in!)

Now I've got to get this fat girl mind trained to be a fit girl. It will come. I know it!

Number 2:

I'm getting control of my finances.

In August when I got my Big Girl job I started keeping a Excel sheet for my savings accounts and It has really opened my eyes to how important it is to keep up with all the debits and credits in any account. It makes you more aware of what you are spending and makes you think about how necessary each purchase is. Tonight I added sheets to my Excel file for my checking accounts so that I start thinking about how I am spending my spending money.

I'm really excited about this because I am looking to save more money and spend less. I think this tool will help me reach my goals.

I've also decided to put $10 each paycheck into savings for the Bakery we will be opening one day. Its time to really start investing in my future monetarily. I know its not much but every little bit counts and I know that God will bless my giving and planning for the future!

Number 3:

I'm starting GRAD SCHOOL.

In just 1 week I'll be heading over to NOBTS for orientation. I am nervous and excited about this adventure. I'll be studying for my Masters in Christian Education with a specialization in Women's Ministry. This is another reason that I've really got to start paying attention to my spending. Seminary is pricey!

Please be in prayer for me over this. There are lots of things going on this semester and I need to stay focused and I want to stay focused on this. I'll post next week for specific prayer requests on this subject.

I'm sure that there are some other reasons this YEAR is going to be AMAZING but those are the big 3 on my mind tonight!

I just wanted to keep you guys updated on my life! I hope to blog more over this next year too. Hopefully with great updates to these adventures!

Until Next Time,

Chels

Something that has been on my mind...

So as I am now part of the church choir and as the daughter of a fantastic and very prepared music minister I have already been listening to the CD for the Christmas Cantata and it got me thinking about something....

I have always felt an intense connection with Mary the mother of Jesus. Not in a catholic "Ave Maria" sort of way but our characters are the same... or I want them to be. I want to live my life as she did. Obeying and loving God to the point of total obedience in something that would end her life as she knew it. I want to live in a way that, if God were looking for a young woman to carry the hope of the world in 2011 he would have me as an option.

I'm just imagining how scared she must have been but also there is another feeling that totally eclipses that fear. How thankful and blessed to be chosen to carry and rear the ONE who would take the sins of the world away. How proud she was of her son who hadn't even been born yet.

Wow. My eyes tear up and my nose gets all runny just thinking about it.

This lead me to another question:

Does everyone have a bible figure they relate with as intensely as I?

Comment and Answer

Love Y'all,

Chelsea Lou