My 7-day Pledge {to Purge My Heart and Protect My Destiny}

But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses so that Christ's power may rest on me. 

2 Corinthians 12:9

Relaxed under the warmth of my soothing detox bath, it felt strange to feel heavy. After all, water is a place we usually feel lighter in weight, not heavier. 

But it wasn't my body that felt weighted. It was my heart. And hearts don’t follow rules of buoyancy.

Placing my book on the nearby stand I whispered to the Lord through confused lips, “Why do I feel this way?” 

Jesus responded to my heart in a word that flooded all understanding to my soul…Gluttony.

Oh how instantly my heart knew He intended that word to embody more than just the overindulgence of food. 

The thing about gluttony is that it seeps into all areas of our lives before we realize it. Then suddenly we feel the weight of disconnection and we long to know why. All the while, Jesus waits for us to turn our hearts back to self-discipline and an armored way of living. 

Longing for more of Jesus took over my senses. The hot tears began to stream and I cried, Anything. I will give up anything to be nearer to you and free from the sin of gluttony. Show me how. Give me clarity in the steps to take. And help me Jesus to do it.”

“Purge Chelsia.”

Jesus is so gentle but so honest with us. 

I know my heart well enough to know that some seasons of life require soft growth where God is working on growing me more silently in the unseen places of my being. Then there are times in which He asks me to take a stronger stand by harshly removing and replacing with the guidance of his strong, loving hand. 

God's dreams are big for you and me but the war waged against our souls by our enemy is big too, so we must keep our eyes open wide. 

The devil prowls around like a lion only to devour us. He saturates our culture and allures us with temptations of laziness, distraction, and even numbness to our own sin. 

But our mighty God waits tirelessly for us to choose His way of preparing and growing and nurturing our hearts and lives in order to live more fully. 

Wisdom is teaching me that adopting an eternal perspective is the only passage-way to fully living in the fullness of those God-sized dreams. Because short-sightedness is the friend of our enemy but grand vision is the friend of our Savior. 

And so dear sisters, I share with you my 7 day battle plan to purge in order to protect my destiny, my marriage, and my family. 

Just as going through my closet is far less productive without a purpose, so going through the closet of our hearts and minds is less productive without a plan. Within each area as I seek to re-center and re-fill with life-giving replacements, I have kept a list of specific things that I need to abstain from or that I need to begin practicing.

Focusing on 3 areas to purge, I will: 1) Make a pledge and 2) Meditate on scripture that encourages my growth in these areas.  

This is not a one and done deal, for God is always calling us deeper. This is simply a launching pad - a step toward offering myself as a sacrifice and asking God to make me more like Him. 

3 Areas to Purge

1. Heart
2. Health
3. Habit

Pledge 

I pledge to take all thoughts captive. To release to God those harmful thoughts that I’ve kept in the dark. And instead of allowing toxic thoughts and actions to take residence in my heart I will choose edifying soul-food that builds me and the church. (2 Corinthians 10:5, Philippians 4:8)

I pledge to abstain from indulging in food and physical laziness that tears my body down. Instead I will choose substance and exercise that fuels me with energy and fosters a healthy lifestyle. By doing this I am pledging to take care of the temple God gave me therefore being better equipped to serve others and live in the freedom and fullness Jesus promises. (1 Corinthians 6:20, 1 Corinthians 3:16-17)

I pledge to re-direct my unhealthy habits that steal time, energy, and life from the people that matter most in my life. Turning from idol living that squelches living to the full. Instead I will choose to implement life-giving habits to establish balance and promote a life more reflective of godly character. I will honor the gifts God has given me by using them wisely.  (Romans 12:2, Luke 6:45, 1 Peter 4:10)

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Going Deeper

1. What area from your own life came to your mind that you may need to purge?

 2. What holds you back from getting rid of gluttony-like living?

3. What step can you take today to walk toward a more free life??

How to change the world - RISE UP CHURCH - it begins with you

The church bells ring but there is no sound. 

For the sound of freedom, of powerful light and truth and love is within you and I.

Not the towering steeple. 

Jesus hung on the cross to show us what it looks like to be love in front of the world for the world. He was not crucified quietly in the dark with no witness. He chose exposure to the world. The temple shook, the veil torn, the whole world aware of his earth-shaking, his life-quaking power. 

He did that so that you and I would, so that we could, live the same bold life. 

He came as love. But he was not a quiet coward. Love. Truth. They are loud. Superior to darkness. Love and truth outweigh darkness ten-fold. 

But not if hidden in the bodies of Jesus people.  Because the power within us is the mightiest force ever in existence. But only when we choose to hang on a cross as Jesus did. Not literally - for Jesus did that for us. No. We need to hang our pride, our selfishness and self-agendas and self-motivation and self-awareness and self-loathing and self-everything on the cross where Jesus laid himself. It is in the hanging place of self, the releasing of self, that the power within us will break free from us and change the world. 

Do you want to change the world? Then hang yourself on the cross with Jesus and live. 

Let the rising come like a flooding water. Like a tsunami of love and truth and abandoned living in order to give life to the world. 

“People get ready. Jesus is coming.” The lyrics to a song that have played over and over in my heart this weekend. I believe those words. I believe God is rising up the hearts of his faithful servants around the world because he is coming. 

While the world forms strategy to overcome the evil, I believe there is only one way to win this war against violence and evil.

“For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.”  Ephesians 6:12

The battle is not for lives - it is for souls. 

It’s never been about world power. It’s about a spiritual agenda. 

It’s not against Christians - It is the devil fighting against God. We are just the attempted pawns.

Remember that the “thing” fought for is almost never the “thing” it’s really about. Because at the end of this life we’ll all see that the battle really was raging in the spiritual realm. And the enemy was just trying to distract us - to take our eyes off Jesus. 

But take heart church! For “you are all children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness.” (1 Thessalonians 5:5)

Rise up! Rise up to fight for the souls of man you were made to fight for. 

Not with weapons of this world. But fight this way…

1. As one body. Ephesians 4:1-6
2. Counting everything a loss compared to knowing Jesus. Pursuing him above all else. Philippians 3:7-11
3. With the fruit of the spirit. Galatians 5:22-26
4. Fully trusting that Gods grace is sufficient for you, and his power is made perfect in your weakness. 2 Corinthians 12:9
5. Study love and live it shamelessly, offensively and profoundly. 1 Corinthians 13:1-13
6. As free children of God, free of FEAR! Romans 8:15-17
7. Believing that God is for us, we are more than conquerors through him and nothing can separate us from his love. Romans 8:31-39
8. Putting on the armor of Christ all day long. Ephesians 6:10-20

And then church - we will see the light explode in the darkness. It must begin in us first. Then the spirit of God will overflow through us and his power will overtake us and our land. 

He is mighty to save. 

He is ready to save. 

He is waiting for us to hand the world the greatest gift they’ll ever know. 

WILL YOU RISE UP?

Will you rise up in your place, wherever you are right now? Will you be the change in the world by allowing the power of God to permeate the world through you?

Will you rise up?

No matter the cost. Putting aside your view of yourself and believing that God has made you for such a time as this.

Will you rise up? 

And trust that God’s perfect plan for this universe actually wrote you in the story because he longs to know you and love you and love others through you.

Will you rise up?

By waking up. And abandon your safe, numb-faith for one that actually looks like Jesus. 

Will you rise up?

By grabbing hold of the fire of God within you and allowing it to change the world.

Rise. Up. Church. For God's glory is at stake. 

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If you answered yes but don’t know what to do next...

First, you must believe that Jesus died for you to cleanse you of your sins. (Read Romans 3:23) He then rose again to conquer death so that you can live eternally with him. (Read Romans 6:23) Repent by asking him to forgive you. Then believe that his love for you is everlasting and never changing. Ask him to be Lord of your life. (Read Romans 10:9) Now trust that you are a new creation in him! (Read 2 Corinthians 5:17) Commit to following him and having relationship with him and believe that your loving God wants nothing less and nothing more than to be with you. (Read Romans 8:38-39)

If you answered yes and have already committed your life Jesus....

Fall on your knees and honestly repent of all your sin because that is what separates us from God. With your Bible open, and a heart ready to live more boldly for Jesus, ask God to show you what he desires from you. Then believe that he made you for more than mediocre christian living. He will speak to your heart because he made you for this. 

Are You Building the Wrong House?

“Unless the LORD builds the house, the builders labor in vain.” 

Psalm 127:1-2 (NIV)

The toiling in our lives can amount to much. 

Or it can amount to nothing mountable at all. 

Imagine waking up one morning and realizing that you missed it. The life you’d dreamed of filled with the fullness of joy and all things that make a soul sing, just passed by. 

We all ache to make something of our lives. To build purpose from our existence and leave behind a noteworthy legacy. 

But what if we’re laboring night and day only to turn up empty on our results?

Back in high school I excitedly announced that I planned to attend beauty school. As a child I played with old-fashioned-cone-hair-dryers and fake hair spray for more hours than I can count. I loved the work of making women feel beautiful. 

But some of my friends crushed me with their opinion that beauty-work is not “Christian enough” work. 

I didn't attend beauty school for other reasons, but those words festered in me for years. They bothered me. They temporarily tainted my view of what is considered holy work. 

Over the years God gifted me new lenses to see that when Jesus is involved, all work is holy.

Just as the sunrise awakens the world each morning, so our gifts awaken the world to see Jesus. 

Jesus uses your gifts, your passions, your dreams, to make you into an artist that sings of His glory just by being who He made you to be. Just as He is intentional with painting the beautiful sky each morning, so He is intentional about the work you were made to do. 

What the Lord creates of our lives is artful-beauty. He brushes his supernatural against our natural and makes it something miraculous.

No work is too small if Jesus is at the helm. 

But when we leave Jesus out of the equation and choose selfish gain over surrendered living, we lose out on the gift of our natural work miraculously becoming His supernatural work. 

The greatest heartache of this life will not be about missed promotions or a messy home or a lack of time to commit to more. The greatest heartache of our life would be to devote our lives to building our own kingdom and miss the gift of Jesus’ very presence in our lives.

Dear sisters, let’s not toil for a home we were never meant to build. Let’s, together, lay down our vain-tools and pick up the ordained-tools we are meant to work with. Toiling daily to build a home that is hand-stamped by Jesus. 

For that is the most beautiful legacy of all.

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Going Deeper

1. What house are you building now? Yours? Or God's?

2. What natural work were you made to do? 

(Hint: The things that make you feel alive and fulfilled)

3. How can use those natural gifts to allow God to do supernatural work ?

Moving Onward and Upward When You Can't See Where You're Going

Deeper are the waters we long to go. 

We even pray for it - asking God to make us more like Him. To lead us to new places and grant us new purpose in life. 

But the process of moving upward and onward doesn't always play-out the way we envisioned it. 

I’ve watched my darling five-year old, Charlotte, blossom into a lover of crafts. Pulling out her containers of craft supplies, she begins with a picture in her mind of the completed masterpiece. However, more times than not, as she begins her art form of piecing together something from nothing, she huffs and puffs with frustration as step-by-step she struggles to form her art into what her heart envisioned it to be. Sometimes she goes so far as to throw it away and start all over.  

The space between the starting point and the finish line can feel a lot more like laying under the mercy of an art process we don’t fully understand.

It’s a beautiful tension of hard and harmony. 

Much like the picture of an open wildflower field that stretches far and wide. Imagine the confusing beauty of scanning the vast acres of soft moving tall grass and undisciplined weeds. Painted with colors of tea green and golden wheat it feels peaceful - and uncertain. 

There is no building to move toward or clearly marked path to travel on.

Just you. And the quiet, serene field where Jesus’ ever-present spirit hovers whispering, “Sweet one, trust me.”

This is often the process of moving forward. In the midst of serene quiet, we wrestle with the tension of where we are going. God may grant us vision or instill passion and dreams but for a time, only equip us with a wide lens and very little directive in the small in-between steps.

The hope we must cling to is that Jesus is an artist with a grand vision. He has never left us alone in that field. He stands sovereign; guarding his pearly gates and gazing upon us in delight as he gently leads us upward and onward.

It’s tempting to run to the left or right in the field, searching for purpose. We may even want to throw away the uncertain art we hold in our hands because it doesn't look how we imagined. 

So what can we do in these seasons of wandering and wondering? 

Sisters, I've learned that we must pick up the perfect art brush of love painted in the most famous love-book. We must lean into the greatest commandments: Love God. Love people. 

Right where you are, in your place. It is there that we find the peace in the pieces unfolding. 

No sprinting. No tossing away what God has begun in you. Just the quiet steps of a faithful heart. 

I’ve seen time and time again in my own life, eventually we find that these seasons of growth starting in a field of unknowns lead us to an oasis we never dreamed. 

My favorite pieces of art by Charlotte are the ones where she begins to work slowly. Then she sets it down and comes back to add to it. Repeating that process until her masterpiece is complete. 

Today, hold tight to this: The beauty of life is not found by sprinting to a breathless finish. The beauty of life is found in embracing God’s work of piecing together the story in his divine, effortless way.

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Going Deeper:

1. If you are in a season of not knowing the next step, how can you embrace God’s process and perfect plan for you, today? 

2. What might you need to lay down in order to pick up what God has next for you? 

3. How can you encourage others to press onward in their faith story with Jesus?

 {Consider listening to this beautiful version of a timeless hymn. Reflect on how you can embrace a life of Jesus as your first love and true vision.}

{You Are Brave} Doing the Thing We Don't Want to Do

There are things in life that we resist like oil resists fusing with water. 

Moments. Events. Relationships. 

Big and small new things that threaten to rattle us. We know deep in our veins that fighting it breeds consequence after consequence but our shaky hearts and wobbly self-confidence tosses out convincing arguments. 

But if we fail to press into the hard and choose to be brave, we cannot flourish or grow. 

Not an easy truth to swallow but a life-altering one to embrace. Think of those goals you have, the vision and dreams you store up in secret places of your sacred soul. Those are the monuments to be achieved by choosing your brave, surviving the nervous sweat-beeds, and facing the fears. 

Just this morning my wee little one reminded me why we must not back down from the things that make us better. 

A bundle of nerves for weeks, she confessed over and over how scared she was to start at a new school. “But baby, you are brave and kind and adored. Never forget how loved you are and how special God made you. You will do wonderful! Don’t be afraid.” 

I willed my words to change her heart but still she begged to coward from her classroom. Sure, in the parking lot she mustered a smile for me in her innocent, adorable way. But inside, her deceived bones were screaming, “You can’t do this. Be afraid. You are too shy. You aren’t enough. You need to be more.”

Because we love our Naomi so and believe big things for her, we prayed over her and kissed her and safely placed her hand in the teachers hand. We chose to help her walk into a new brave because she couldn’t do it alone. 

My baby didn't want to go, but I understand. You do too, don't you? We fight to pull back from the things that we think we cannot do. We arm wrestle God hoping to win an invisible battle but the battle has been won and we’ve already been deemed victor. Because He is Victor. And when we press into our God while pressing into our brave, we find that bravery is not about doing the brave without fear. 

Bravery is choosing to believe that the dream, the vision, the goal, weighs mightily more important than the momentary difficulty.

And the whole, "you need to be more", lie ... You and I get that too, don't we? Thinking we need to be more than we really are. 

Today, might you and I remind the enemy of our souls that that is the oldest lie in the book  - to be more than who we are - and we know it. And might we also remind him that the Mighty One has overcome his weak kingdom and given power to those of us who take hold of it, offering unbridled strength much like how the ocean sways to the moons-tide. 

Your brave might be getting up in the morning when you want to give up, or finally signing those college admittance papers, or working two jobs to support your babes, or teaching that class, or joining that team, or giving up that addiction. 

If all you do today is face your brave, that's enough. And would you take this one thing and burrow deep in your beautiful, good-enough brave soul….Your brave is not measured by human standards; it is held in grace by the hand of God. 

Hard things. We can do them. 

We need to do them.

My precious baby girl embodied me today. Oh the countless times I’ve wanted to back down and bow out when I knew I needed to move straight-lined into it. But God knows my heart is to live out what I teach them. That we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. (Philippians 4:13)

Bravery is beauty when beheld by our Savior.  

One last thing to tell the enemy while taking on our brave…he has lost the battle and we are not captives of him. We are free. Because bravery beckons freedom. We are freely bound as love-slaves to the lover of our souls. The one who holds our grace, our forgiveness, our redemption, and our eternity. 

So, my baby girl, she’s yours Jesus. Even now as I write this, she is sitting in school a victor stamped and sealed by you, the ultimate Victor. She is brave only because she is upheld by the one who sings over her…”do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” (Isaiah 41:10)

And you, sister, you are brave. And you, sister, are Jesus'. You are held by the one who sings over you…”do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right 
hand.” (Isaiah 41:10)

P.S. Brave looks beautiful on you. 

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Going Deeper

Consider:

1. Who do you admire for their bravery? Why?

2. What is a dream you have for yourself?

3. How can you be brave today to move toward that dream?

It's here!! {A review on a book that will change our generation}

The day has come! Voices around the world are singing with joy as the pages are shared and the hearts are encouraged and the words are cherished. Finally! I get to share with you what has been one of the best-kept-secrets this year. 

The book.

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For the Love by Jen Hatmaker

Released August 18, 2015

{A review of sorts}

Truly a book of the century. One that will feel like breathe to weary lungs and laughter galore to a comics itch for funny. She does it somehow - the whole humor, Jesus, grace thing. It is her calling and it is clearly passioned in the words of this anthem book. 

If you’ve ever wondered who else cringes at leggings as pants or if there is another sister who is a little more “spicy” than “sweet” or maybe you just need to know that you are not crazy when you feel like the worlds standards for women are outrageous and unattainable…this book is for you. 

With an un-bashful honesty, Jen will make you laugh and cry from the first chapter to the last. You’ll refer to her as your BFF before you reach the second section of the book (which by the way is titled “All The people Who Live in Your House.” Hilarious and heart-warming.) And with chapter titles like “On Calling and Haitian Moms”, “Fashion Concerns”, “Thank-You Notes”, “Surving School”, and “Dear Christians, Please Stop Being Crappy”, …YOU’LL FALL IN LOVE! 

If you are a mom, single, career-woman, homemaker, baker, sales-woman, circus performer, librarian, doctor, or just a woman in general, you will not be able to put this book down. Not only because it is that good but because it is that needed. You will relate with her message and be elated with a soul-sister who “gets it”. 

Simply put, our generation needs this book. Don’t miss out. You’ll be so thankful you bought it. 

{Personal reflection}

As a recovering legalist, I’m learning to err on the side of grace in all things, with all people. I am also still familiarizing my charred bones with the meaning of freedom. Living as God made us, climbing out from the pile of “horsecrappy” as Jen would say, and embracing the beauty-grace that is fully founded in the truth that I am who I am for a very specific reason. The words penned in this book affirm that life is hard, Jesus is still the way, and we can do this together. 

But only with love as our well-worn harness. 

Vividly I recall the day I applied to be on Jen’s book launch team. The Facebook post jumped in front of me and I knew it was worth a try but I had to leave in approximately 2 minutes, 10 seconds. Merrily and without much expectation, I filled out the form. When it came to the essay section of the little form I went rogue (due to time restraint) and didn't craft a show-stopping beauty of words.

I simply said:

"I love Jesus. 

I love writing and reading. 

I love Jen Hatmaker. "

(or something along those lines)

Jesus works miracles every day because somehow my hurried typing and no-time-to-process response won me the opportunity to get her book in my hands months before it was released. Along with the other 499 precious members of the team (chosen out of 5,000 applicants), I anxiously awaited the arrival of this treasure of a book. 

But so much more took place. Shortly after my acceptance notification, there was a community formed unlike any other I’ve experienced. Women (+ 4 men ) filled the pages of our little private Facebook page DAILY. Request for prayer, jokes, fun opportunities to raise money for great causes, sharing life...it all happened with 500 strangers. 

We bonded and we changed. 

Beating in my heart is a deep desire to create community that changes the world. Small, right-in-your-place kind of community that is founded on honesty and love and commitment to people simply because they are worthy of unbridled grace. For the Love unexpectedly birthed that breed of community and gave a tangible glimpse of what it looks like to live that out. 

A vision come to life. 

A movement begun.

If ever I have been a part of something beautiful, mysterious, and world-rocking, this is high on the list. I am ever so grateful.

So when I sing the praises of this gem, look upon my words as fiercely honest and wholly true. You may get a glimpse of the glory-community we were meant to live. And I believe you will never be the same. 

Thank you Jen. For you are changing the world. 

Be you. 

Be kind. 

Love Jesus.

-Jen Hatmaker

xoxo

Chelsia