God is on your side

^{Romans 8:28-39}

²⁸ And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who^[i] have been called according to his purpose. ²⁹ For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. ³⁰ And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified;those he justified, he also glorified.

³¹ What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? ³² He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? ³³ Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. ³⁴ Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.³⁵ Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? ³⁶ As it is written:

“For your sake we face death all day long;
    we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”^[j]

³⁷ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. ³⁸ For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,^[k] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, ³⁹ neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

I couldn't pick a good place to stop so I decided not to. I was listening to a song this morning and the artist stated "That all in all things God works for the good of those that love him. That just stuck with me I just felt so empowered to go out and just achieve! 

If your like me you might be going through a time where you have been sitting and wondering how are things going to go. How do I know that what Im doing is even going to work. Why is that there are certain things that I am going through that hurt me. well here is your answer. God has called you to a higher calling and a higher purpose. That day that you felt God move on your heart and you gave your life to him that was his calling for you. Dont worry if things will work out. Matthew 6:34 says 

^" Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

 Dont spend so much time worrying. The very first scripture says that NOTHING can separate us from the love of God and as long as God loves us then he will always handle our needs when we let him.

God has already written your story so dont be afraid to act it! I know that times can get kind of hard right now especially for those of us who are in school but you know what Don't worry. God has plan! Your struggle is ONLY temporary. All of the challenges you face will resolve themselves for your good. Everything always goes back to keeping your eye on God though Matthew 6:33 says

"But seek you first the Kingdom of God and all its righteousness and these things shall be added unto you"

The more you focus on God and do his work the more he will do and give you the things you want and need.  

So dont give up keep pressing always keep your faith in action!

God wont let you fail in the things that he has written for your life.stay encouraged 

~Chelsee <3

Priorities

Its been a little while since I have posted anything on here but I was asked the other night to start up again so I figured that I would go ahead and do so. Some of you have been waiting on me and I have just been dragging my feet to do the things that I know that I need to do. Not only does it hurt me but it hurts you too. So first I would like to start off by apologizing for not having my priorities in check. Speaking of which I decided to make this quick post about priorities and how crucial it is to put what God has for you first.

Matthew 6:33 says " But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness; and these things shall be added unto you".

Now this scripture happens to be my favorite, yet its still one that I have to work on myself. I get focused on a day to day bases on trying to do things my way when God wants my focus on him so that way he can do what he needs to do with out my messy uncoordinated hands being in the way. So lets talk about what a priority is:

a priority is something given special attention. it is also a preferential rating. 
Lets do a little thinking. Sit and think of about 5 things that you place as priority in your life right now at this very moment. And be HONEST (no one knows but you and God what you place as your priorities) I hope that Jesus came in the #1 spot. If he didn't then that would be a great place to start. I can honestly and shamefully say that somedays I FAIL at putting Jesus at number one. (honest moment) I just like you have to be reminded that my earthly situations should NEVER come before God and his rightousness. Besides how much easier is it to think on God, serve God and just love God and have him handle your everyday toils and torments. Is education important? It sure is! Is it more important than God? It sure ISN'T with out God there would be no "education" so how dare any of us put it before him right? That goes with other things that we deal with daily. Colossians 1:16-17 says:

¹⁶ For by^[a] him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. ¹⁷ And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 

So you don't have to worry about if I take my focus off of my life then my life will fall apart well first the bible tells that we were bought with a price therefore we are to honor God with our bodies and in our spirit which are his. I paraphrased that but you can read it in 1 Corinthians 6:20. If you are Gods do you think he is gonna just leave you hanging? Of course not he ALWAYS has something planned for you. But if you don't put him first then your gonna be a confused mess because your plans make work temporarily but they eventually fall apart. Think of a time when you had a plan succeed when you finally just threw your hands up and said "Lord, you take it because I can't do it on my own any more." Things came together didn't they? So don't just think your gonna be hanging out there. :-)

(I said this would be short and it clearly keeps growing) Ok so back to priorites. Being a college student it is pretty easy to get caught up in the "campus life" that we tend to forget where our priorities lie. Since we know now that jesus should come first ALWAYS lets talk about some things under him.

For most of us EDUCATION( your job can be applied in its proper context) would be next on our lists. So im going to speak on that but I find one topic that should be truly be above education, that I will try mention next. Now I know that college is so much fun and what not but its more than that. Your schooling should be more important to you then always wanting to hang out and socialize. Am I saying not to socialize? No. But you should know when you need to stop and get serious about your work. Don't let that time come to late. Remember it doesn't matter what your friends are doing right now. If your life isn't together you will very well get left behind while your friends graduate and move on. Handle your business FIRST and then take breaks to socialize. know your limits. If you have to get a planner or in our technologically advanced days get your smart phone and plug in specific times for studying, socializing, "you-time", time to eat (if it takes that to get you on track), sports schedule if play sports, so on and so forth.Don't get left behind because your not putting your focus where it needs to be. trust me this is something that everyone needs to work on INCLUDING myself. It really does work though. Organization is KEY. I was able to get assignments completed on time, had time for friends and time to relax, which in my opinion are all necessary. Remember You ARENT going to be in college for the rest of your life and if your like me your already almost done with that. So get your stuff together now while your still young and can do so. There is a saying that says "youth is wasted on the young" If you work hard now while you have the faculties to do so, when your faculties ever being to stop working then you won't have to work so hard to enjoy life. 

Ok so i have kind of gone long so Im gonna stop at this point. FAMILY. Family is REALLY number TWO. It doesn't matter that your in school. They should always be a top priority no MATTER WHAT! so what if you have hard times with your family. So what if your mad that when you go home your parents expect you to care for the house as though you still live there everyday. DO IT. So what if your younger siblings get on your nerves. LOVE THEM ANYHOW Your family BY far will be the best things that has ever happened to you. I do realize that some families may not be perfect but everyone has a family SOME WHERE. You should never ever try to burn bridges with your family because they are going to love you the most. They are gonna help you make WISE decisions, and they are going to be there to support you through all that you go through. NEVER let school or anything out side of that get in the way of your relationship with them. If anything you should be constantly working on building that unit. God is obviously BIG on family. Because here we all are today. Children of a great and mighty king. our mother being the earth of which our fleshly bodies where formed. and our brother, friend, and bridegroom, a man that loves us like he loves the church and gave his LIFE for the eternal forgiveness of our sins JESUS CHRIST. Never EVER forsake your family. What ever family God has blessed you with. They should always come first. YOur time with them is so precious, and to lose it would be so terrible. 

Ok, I don't even know if I hit the Priority part good enough but for a "just getting started again" post I think its good enough. So to recall. Keep God First seek him, love him, learn him. And any problems with the the above stated will and can be fixed if you just keep seeking the father and putting him first. So now hopefully I will try to blog more but we will see how that goes. Your not the only one that has to make sure their priorities are straight! I hope that you are all doing well!

Chelsee <3

Why Chick-Fil-A

EVERYONE should be in a rush today to get to the nearest chick-fil-a! Why? It has nothing to do with the fact that they don't support gay marriages (which that should NOT be a surprise to ANYONE they are a Christian business that has been honoring their beliefs since they opened by not having work on Sundays. What do you think would make this any different? Besides they were ASKED what they BELIEVED, how you gonna get mad when they answer and it's not favorable to the answer you believe you should get? Its their opinion!) it has EVERYTHING to with the fact that they STOOD on their beliefs, they didn't hide the fact that the business stands firmly on the Lord. Look how far their business has come. They STILL have the BEST quality of food, best customer service by far (at least whenever I go) and they are one of the biggest restaurant chains. You can't say God hasn't blessed them.
This also shows you that if the company deals in truth, you can trust them! They choose stand on their belief even in the midst of the heat of the situation. With it being something as serious as this, you know that minor things are treated the same way. Everyone wants to look at the fact that they don't support gay marriage, but no one wants to look at the fact that this is one of few companies who will stand up and take advantage of their freedom of religion and their freedom of speech! That in my opinion deserves a trip for an 8 piece nugget! The government is trying to stop Chick-Fil-A from placing their business in certain areas, thats absurd. Not once did they ever say that gays couldn't come and eat at their business, or that gays couldn't work there. Everyone is so quick to criticize what they are doing.
The fact that people are mad is ridiculous. People in the world want for everyone to flow in their ways and do like they do. NO DON'T DO IT! This is a lesson for anyone, don't let the world tell you how you should live your life. They are gonna get mad anyway when ever you do anything unfavorable that is against the "flow". Don't let that discourage you! They don't pick the standard God does.Stay on the path that God made for you! So now today when you get ready to go have your breakfast, lunch, or dinner today make sure you stop by Chick-Fil-A and remember your supporting a business who is standing up in their constitutional rights, and who is unashamed of God. The Christian community should be all over this in support of standing for Christ! This is what it's about! Standing up and and standing out!
-Chelsee