Grandma Mary

We did have our ups and downs, but I know my grandma loved me and I loved her. I can't wait to see her someday soon when Jesus comes to take us home, she will not be in pain anymore. She will have a new body with none of  those metal pieces in her, no more pain from the past. I can't wait to meet that grandma with just joy from being made new from Jesus!

 I have many good memories with her that I will cherish. She had a sense of humor that could make me laugh, sometimes just a face she would make could make Megan and I burst out laughing. As a child I enjoyed sleep overs at her house, she would always make my favorite garlic and cheese biscuits we both liked. She would put our hair in curlers, and we would wake up looking like Shirley Temple. We would watch movies, play games, and did crafts. My grandma is also the cause of me loving dinosaurs, I would always watch The Land Before Time series when I went to her house. And she even took me to see Dinosaur when it was in theaters, and in the very beginning when the T-rex come out of the forest she made me feel safe, because it was loud and scary to 9 year old me. I also enjoyed laying my head on her lap at church and her stroking my hair. 

My Grandma made me many things, I still have to this day. She loved crafting, that is something we shared, maybe I got it from watching her make things all the time. She taught me how to crochet, I'm still not the best at it but I know the basics. She got me started on some towels she made me, and then gave me the stuff to make my own I still have yet to get too. She gave me all her cross stitch string which I enjoy doing.

The towels she made for my kitchen when I first got my own place.

Cat to hang on my wall in my childhood bedroom.

Apron 

Computer bag you can see I put to good use.

 A Purse.

My Sabbath bag.

Crayon carrier. 

She liked to have us over to make cookies at Christmas time.

We would also play games, another love we shared.

She was a person who would love the ones that were sometimes hard to love, she showed Jesus in her life that way. She was a giving person, she loved to share her talents and give away the things she made. If you asked she would fix a piece of clothing that need hemming or a strap fixed. Even when her hands were sore she would take the time. I will miss my grandma, but I am happy to know she is resting in Jesus with no more pain from this world. I am glad I have all my memories to look back at and smile. I love you Grandma!  

Little eyes

Recently I have had a little girl I know copying me, she is 3, it is so sweet.

One day her Mom told me, she had her head upside down and was scrunching her hair, Mom asked what she was doing and the girl replied being like Chelsea. I remembered a few days before I was doing my hair in front of her and that is what I do.

Then a few weeks later the girl was at our house again and she was pulling her hair out of her ponytail,  so I asked what she was doing and she replied I wanna be pretty. So I asked again, why are you pulling you hair out, she replied I wanna be like you!  And that is something I do, if my hair is up I pull out hair around my face/ears, and she noticed.

A few other times she has told me she wants to be like me those are just two time that stuck out to me that I remember.  It is so sweet to think someone wants to be like you, but it also puts some resonsibility on me. I need to be more like Jesus so when little kids look at me they see Jesus and not Chelsea.

Proverbs 22:6
" Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it."

I don't think that verse is just for the parents, it's for the church,  to support the parents. And we need to be in God's word so we can help train on the way they should go, even if it is just by our actions. Because kids are always listening and watching even when you don't think they are. I want to be that good example,  because I love kids.

1 Corintians 11:1
" Imitate me, just as I imitate Christ."

1 John 2:6
" He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked"

I need to imitate Christ and walk like he walked, so when kids imitate me they walk like Him.

How did going to Arbys make my day?

Sharing one of the little blessings God gave me a few weeks ago.

I was going through the drive thru at Arby's, and when I pulled up to the window the lady said "the women ahead of you paid for you meal". So I said " well I'll pay for the guy behind me then". She answered surprised "wow, lots of kindness going around today". It just made my day that the lady before me would pay for my meal, and it was fun knowing I shared that same joy with guy behind me.

"Give, and it shall be given unto you: good measure, passed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom, For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again." Luke 6:38

Then the next day I was running my errands. I pulled into Fleet Farm with my noisy car , the wind was cold and I was hurrying in as fast as I could. There was a guy bringing in carts and was stopped at the door waiting for me to pass, kinda staring as I walked up. Then he said "this is gonna sound like a funny question but were you at Arby's yesterday?" (he probably remembered my noisy car haha) My first response was "No", then I said "well yea I went through the drive thru". He then said " I was behind you, you paid for my meal! Thanks" I then told him yea the person before me paid for mine so I thought why not pass it on. He said "Yea! I paid for the person behind me too."

I think its so cool that God let our paths cross again. It was neat to know that he passed the blessing on to the person behind him, and I wonder how the girl working the window responded to him! And little did the lady in front of me was going to touch at least 4 people with her small act of kindness. :) What small acts can I do that will touch people, I'll have to start thinking!

A New Heart

"Therefore as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers." Galatians 6:10

A good one to keep in our hearts, I think sometimes we forget that we should be most kind and loving to those closest to us. I think lots of times we just think others in the church should know better, or we give "tough love" when we should "do good" as the verse says to them. Because if we are not encouraging one another and lifting each other up who will?

"Therefore encourage one another and build him up." 1 Thessalonians 5:11

We need to strive to remember these words in our hearts and if we ask, He will send His angels to help us! 

"For He shall give His angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all His ways." Psalm 91:11

"A new heart also will I give you, a new spirit will I put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh." Ezekiel 36:26

These are some of my favorite verses. I try and remember through out each day. I love that God is willing to put a new heart in me, all I need to do is ask. I don't know about you but I want to give that stone heart to Him, and take that new spirit and new heart today.

Am I loving like Him?

Jesus Speaking: "A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another." John 13:34

"Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant, or rude. It does not insist on its own way, it is not irritable or resentful, it does not rejoice at wrong doing but rejoices with truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends." 
1 Corinthians 13:4-8a

"So now hope, faith, and love abide in these three; but the greatest of these in love." 
1 Corinthians 13:13

Am I loving like Him? This is a big one I think we need to work on. I want to love like Jesus loves me, but growing up in this sinful world I don't think we are. We almost do the opposite and I think when we read these verses we always apply it to marriage, when we need to apply it to all around us. 

Jesus speaking: "Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me." Matthew 25:45

I think this verse not only applies the the stranger within our gates but also, our family, coworkers, church members, and for sure that person who gets all your last nerve every time you see them. I know I don't love like I should. I pray that Jesus can help me change and I know he can! I hope this is your prayer too, so we can all share his love to all we touch.

Me blogging!? The Boxes I have put myself in.

This is crazy to me, all through school I didn't like writing, I was home schooled and my mom writes a lot, she enjoys it, I think she would do it all day if she could. So in school she had us journal and blog, I never really liked it, I also TYPE SO SLOW. I always had trouble with reading, spelling, and didn't like English. I have dyslexia and I let that be my excuse, it was to hard and I told myself I was not good at it. When it came to writing I put myself in a box, me nobody else told me I wasn't good enough, there was nobody else to blame but me. I had all the excuses why I shouldn't write and share with people on a blog. But here I am at 25 and I feel impressed to blog. I have been writing some stuff down for myself to remember and to share with my Church, I shared them with my mom and she told me they were good, she thought and I should think about writing blogs. My first thought was putting myself right back in that box, the I can't write box, nothing I have to share would be worth sharing. But I thought about it and I want to write down my thoughts and story's, for me, so I remember God's blessing in my life. And if it blesses someone else that is amazing, so here's to sharing. I am tired of putting my self in boxes. Some boxes I have put myself in and others I feel like people put me in, but I let them put me in those boxes. I am going to share two of my boxes that were on my mind today.

Family box:

I am the second oldest of 5 girls, but up until I was 13 I was the middle child. I let that put me in a box. I wasn't the oldest, she could write better then I could, part of why I told myself it wasn't worth writing because I didn't think I was as good. I wasn't the youngest, she was funny could make anybody laugh, and she could sing like an angel. And there was me, who am I? I still struggle with that question. Both my sisters are married, I am not. It is easy to get down on myself, I always wanted to be a wife and mother that was my answer when people would ask what I wanted to do with my life. So seeing both my sisters have that and not me has been hard. I have told myself I'm not good enough, but those are lies I am telling myself. God has a plan for me and I just have to put my trust in Him, and know He has amazing plans for me. God is not putting me in a box, He has so many talents in me that I am scared to share and that is why I put myself in those boxes I think. I compare myself to people and if feel they are better why should I bother, I don't write cause I feel like others are better. I always say I can't sing cause my little sister is the singer not me.

Church box:

Growing up in the church, I feel people think you should know it all. I think sometimes it is hard to be that person, yes I know the truth. But people who come in and have this great story/testimony to remind them how God has worked in their life. And I ask myself whats my story and how has God worked in my life? That is why I want to blog, to write down my story so I can see how God is working in my life. I let the church put me in a box, I was one of the B*** girls, I was always okay with that. But now I am an adult, my sisters are gone and I am struggling to find my place. How do I get out of my box, of comfort. It scares me, I like my bubble but I want God to use me.

"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things become new."  2 Corinthians 5:17

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" Philippians 4:13

I want to be that new creature and get rid of my old things, and I know I can do it with Christ's help. So this is my first step, to stepping out of my box, sharing my journey on my blog. And trying to get out of my " I CAN'T BOXES" changing the to " I CAN DO ALL THINGS THOUGH CHRIST". Here is to writing my new story. I can't spell, my punctuation is probably gonna drive you crazy, but I think this is what God is pushing me to do. I am thankful to my mom helping me see this is something I can do, Here is to writing my story.