#WriterRevelations: Our Awesome God

When I was a kid, my parents always had Christian music on so I naturally grew up worshipping God whenever music was playing. I can't say we never listened to secular music but I loved Christian music and didn't realize till I was in middle school how often I listened to it, until kids pointed it out to me.

One song I used to love to sing was on the WOW CD and it was called Awesome God by Rich Mullins.

Our God is an awesome God. He reigns from heaven above with wisdom, power, and love. Our God is an Awesome God.

Recently, I've been listening to a lot of worship music and studying why we worship and the atmosphere it creates, and during Bible study recently, I felt the urge to sing that out loud.

So I did.

It gave me great peace and a smile that could rival the sun it shown so bright.

Nowadays, people call God's name with little reverence. Some use it as a curse.

We who believe in and love him, use his name so casually we don't really ponder all the He is.

Any prayer you pray in that name is being prayed to the Almighty God who created and rules over all things.

Three areas of our life are impacted by how we see God.

First, it affects our prayers. As we come to know God better and better, we start to yield more to his thoughts and plans for us, and our petitions align more closely with his purposes. I like to call it seeing God as a wide open door (more specifically, wide open arms) instead of a small, little doggy door we have to squeeze through.

Second, our understanding of His righteousness and goodness influences our behavior. When you know God desires to be good to you always and his mercy is relentless and endures long (Newsflash: God doesn't have a short fuse. He doesn't understand why humans are quick to snap over material things and while driving). If we mess up, we will again pursue our Christ-provided righteousness and repent of any and all sin( Big or small). One way I deal with this is if I start to feel an ache within about something I said, did, or even how I reacted, I walk away from the situation, and get still and say, "God, I repent of that. That was ugly, and you make all things beautiful, and I receive your forgiveness now. In Jesus' Name."

Third, our faith is impacted. Grasping that Jesus is holy, good, and powerful grows our trust in Him.
They say when you KNOW, YOU KNOW.

Do you know the Almighty God as your personal heavenly Father? He invites whosoever will believe into an intimate relationship with Him. But as with any good friendship, time and intentionality are
necessary to understand him and learn His ways.

Until next time, remember:

#WriterWednesday How I Succeeded at Failing (and what it taught me)

     My girl Geniveve has been gone almost two months and I still haven't finished grieving over her absence. I know she's with me and as close to me as Jesus himself but that still doesn't mean I don't miss her hugs, her smile, or how her hips never lied. Yet, it's like no one at all understands this because it's not socially acceptable to grieve over a dog like this but what people don't realize is that I saw Geniveve as a person and not a dog so I grieve over her how you would another human.

     Yet, I didn't think Geni wanted me to sit around and cry over her without moving on with my life. After all, I feel like death is just the wake-up call we need to fully embrace life.Click To Tweet This!

    So I did attempt to move on by applying for more work and I got a second part-time job with an undisclosed freelance agency. At first, I was excited because I got hired the day before my birthday (Aug. 4) and I would be paid to write just like my other job with Outloud but instead of being paid by the article, I would be paid by the word count, and the pay was very low. Because of this and the people who worked for this agency started to mistreat me and accuse me of blatant plagiarism, I decided to look for another job. I applied for ten to fifteen more freelance postings through the site Elance, and within the same day, I heard back from a guy saying I had to reach him via Skype to see if I fit the job description. I sent him a contact request and waited until 2 p.m. the next day. He finally added me and said he had to make a new job request for me and I had to apply there.

    At first, I was like wow, they are creating a special position just for me to apply to and to work. This must mean I'm really special.

    I accepted the terms of the job which included writing articles for eight hours a day, five days a week, meaning I finally found a freelance job that was full-time. I was working for a pay rate of $13 an hour. I was ecstatic and immediately thanked Jesus and Geniveve for smiling down on me.

    After the first week, the guy didn't answer me when I logged in to let him know why I couldn't work the day before. Something didn't seem right. Plus, why must we always communicate through Skype? I don't even have skype on my work computer. After tossing and turning for a good two hours, I got up and logged my computer on and found that "my boss" was logged on at 2:30 a.m.. He was located in California...this would mean, he was working at 11:30 p.m. I sent him a message that said Hello. He wrote back, "Ready to start?" At 2:30 am?! was this guy real? My intuition was screaming loud and clear, RED FLAG! GET OUT NOW WHILE YOU STILL HAVE YOUR DIGNITY!
  That Sunday (on my day off) I was logged into my work email and found that Elance was advising me to stop working on this project as there were risks with the overall account. I didn't know what they were talking about so I just kept working. I didn't want to give up and risk losing the amount of money I was making.
 
  I worked until Thursday of the next week when I received yet another email from Elance letting me know that my invoice I submitted to receive my first paycheck as a full-time writer was still unpaid and they advised that I stop working. I sent "my boss" the link to the unpaid invoice and surprisingly he ignored all messages I sent him that day. On Friday September 4, I not only quit working for the second part-time freelance job who jibbed me of pay they claimed they would pay me but I found out the full-time job I was doing wasn't even real. Even the contact information the guy provided Elance was all false and made up.

This left me feeling defeated, broken, and absolutely worthless as a writer.

     On September 1, 2015, I had set out to write a 50,000 word in 30 days. I know what your thinking: Have you lost all sense of reality? Well, of course otherwise I wouldn't consider myself a writer at all. I decided to do it both to prove to myself I could, to help myself write more freely without self-consciousness or awareness of audience, and to prep for November's NaNoWriMonth. The first four days went by with great progress and then after I lost two jobs on the same day (both of which weren't worthy of my time) and was left, once again with one job and little money from it. I just didn't know how to keep going.

    Sure, I could blame my family for not being supportive. My sisters who are overly needy but only need me for help with their homework but never for any other reason. My mom who wanted me to watch our usual shows together so the DVR didn't get too full. My dad who always needs me to do something for him or with him, who expects everyone in my family to drop everything they have planned on the days he's home so that we can hang out with him on his days off. They, have well meaning intentions of at least wanting me around, but at this time, I just wanted to accomplish something for myself because I wanted to prove that I could move on from Geniveve's death and life could go on.

Yet, once again, I failed. And this time, Geniveve wasn't here to dance for me to cheer me up or give me a hug while I cried silently in her arms. Instead, I had to find a way to pick myself up from this and go on.

I did find a way but I still can admit that I'm not fully healed from this.
Nothing bad in life has good timing and this situation was no exception. Click To Tweet This!

I had to remember that even when things in life don't make sense, God has a plan. Recently, I went applying for freelance writing jobs via other sites and I happened upon a site called guru.com. I found the guy who scammed me and his real name is Falcie B and he was from Kenya. That explains why he always sent me messages in broken English.

So I've not found more work as a freelance writer yet but I did receive plenty of opportunities in my field of public relations. I am now an intern for two separate PR firms both of which are located in Florida. I'm really excited for this opportunity to further my expertise so that I can eventually be hired for a public relations job which require 3 plus years experience in the field.

I'll save you from hearing my list of complaints about how my life isn't what I thought it would be at 24. I envisioned a whole different existence for myself. I saw myself with a husband and plenty of furry children living in California working and being successful living in a big house complete with a dance studio, a music room, and plenty of bedrooms so we always could have guests stay over. I would be driving a Purple porsche and being able to travel the world and see it.

I still have dreams of driving a car of my own but I would start with a Mazda 3. I still have dreams of seeing the world and I want to start by seeing the entire United States before I go overseas. I'm even considering making these dreams real by making GoFundMe pages for each of them so that generous strangers can consider helping me make them real. Comment below if you think I should.

I'm not someone who compares myself to other people because there is no win in comparison but I do see that most other people got a lot of help from relatives and friends of the family after graduating college. They got new cars and vacations as their grad gifts. Yet, this isn't my reality. I've always been forced to be financially independent (for the most part) and find a way to buy myself the future I desire. And of course, I know I can when I remember that my heavenly Father is the source of all provision.

These failings taught me that despite having to wait for the life I want, I should instead embrace the life I have now. After all, God's word says in 1 Cor. 2:5: So that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men (human philosophy), but in the power of God.

 In October, I'm going to attempt again at writing my 50,000 novel in 30 days. Please stand with me by sharing this post with anyone you can think of.

Before I leave you with a final thought, I promise I will try to blog more because I appreciate all of you that read my posts and share words of encouragement. Also you can now follow my Blog on BlogLovin' through your email so you never miss a post. See the sidebar or go here to follow: https://www.bloglovin.com/blogs/welcome-to-my-life-14441135

     Until next time, remember: God not only sees where you are, He sees where you can be. -Joyce Meyer. Click To Tweet!

     When nothing in your life makes sense, trust God anyway. -Joyce Meyer Click To Tweet!

Love Times Infinity,

Chelsea

xoxo

God Bless!

~Just Keep Swimming~

#WriterWednesday: One Year Ago Today

According to Facebook, one year ago today I had just returned from my beach vacation with my sisters and Mom.... On this blog, http://chellyzlife.blogspot.com/2014/05/living-that-beach-bum-life-my.html the pictures tell a story of love and friendship between my sisters and I.

One year ago, I was in the same boat. Living at home, looking for just the right job but willing to do just about anything to have a job in general, and working on my book. Today, I'm still in the same boat but now I've finished school and no longer owe Saint Leo anything, not a dime or ounce more of my time. Yesterday, I finished my novel after 3 years of strenuous work and self-doubt. Lately, I've been a little down at the fact that I've realized so many girls I know now are married and have started families of their own (including girls from high school who mocked me when I told them that I believed true love is real).

Isn't it funny how things change but things also still appear to look the same?

Yet, things have changed.

I got smarter.
My heart grew a bit harder and eventually stronger.
I finally let go and walked away.
I accomplished one of my life goals of graduating from college.
I accomplished another by writing a book that will speak to millions.
I may not have a job but I put positive efforts toward my future every day.
I've become more merciful toward others because I've gone through similar things.
And in the midst of all these things, I've learned that trusting God is the only real thing I can do.

Until next time, remember: I'm living proof that grace always wins. -Matthew West

I'd love to hear how you've grown as a person in the comments below. Any change big or small is proof of growth. Celebrate it.

Love Times Infinity,

Chelsea

xoxo

God Bless!

~Just Keep Swimming~

Writer Wednesday: What I will Never Outgrow

I guess I should just come right out and say it. In my heart, I'm still a kid. I won't go into the personal reasons why but I have thoroughly fallen in love with the Peter Pan thought of never growing up. I mean, I believe myself as the firstborn to be very mature and responsible for my age (despite what my sisters believe about me) but in the ways that matter I have adopted a child-like view of the world. Without further ado, here is a list of the things I will never outgrow.

1. God's love for me
The most obvious way I stay child-like is in my faith in God. I have had my moments of doubt in recent years but I have yet to lose faith in God's love for me, and knowing that he has a good plan for my life. You have to approach God like a child in order to switch from a religious mindset where your works help you be good enough for God to a relationship with God through Jesus Christ, you have to believe without seeing. Just like a relationship between a parent and their child, the child never loses faith in what the parent says. They always see the best in the parent, want to obey the parent because they know the parent wants the best for them and wants to go to the ends of the earth to be good to them.

2. My love of Tinkerbell

In case you've never met me in real life, I am obsessed with Tinkerbell. My love of Tinkerbell started when I was twelve or thirteen years old after seeing the movie Peter Pan starring Jeremy Sumpter. I loved how much she loved Peter, how she was genuine, spunky, rebellious, and so much herself despite being a little adorable pixie. Even now, I fangirl over the Tinkerbell movies. I love that Disney made a special section for the Disney Fairies and in Disney World (and I think in Disneyland as well) they have Pixie Hollow. I have Tinkerbell clothes, a Tinkerbell blanket, a Tinkerbell pillow.
In February 2013, I met Tinkerbell at Disney and it was a dream come true:

3. Music from my childhood

 Call me crazy biased but nineties music was the best Pop music that will ever exist. I still listen to the greats: N'SYNC, Britney Spears, Christina Augilera. And you can't forget the one hit wonder group, Aqua, who were most famous for their song, "Barbie Girl." I feel like their album along with the Spice Girls was the soundtrack of my childhood and always remind me of a time when things were so fun and peaceful, and I never second guessed myself but instead, believed that I could do anything I put my mind to.

4. Disney Movies

I think I will always love Disney just because no matter what age you are, you can go there and just be a kid. My favorite Disney movies would probably be Cinderella, Snow White, Bambi, Fox and the Hound, Finding Nemo, and Hunchback of Notre Dame. I didn't just like Disney movies though. Two movies that were hits during my childhood would be Madeline and My Dog Skip. Both featured dogs and grew in me a love of dogs that I've yet to outgrow, as well. I was also obsessed with the movie A Little Princess which helped me learn about other cultures and how you can find a friend in anyone despite cultural differences. 

5. Board Games

My sisters make fun of me for a lot of things but one thing they always poke fun at is my enjoyment and child-like sense of adventure when playing board games. My favorites are Monopoly, Life, and Mystery Date yet I basically like all board games except Taboo but that's because the first time I played that game was a really bad and embarrassing experience with it so I refuse to play it again.

6. Being imaginative

As a kid, my sisters and I were crazy imaginative. For more about what I mean, please go ahead and watch my newest Youtube video called Nineties Tag. Nowadays, I am imaginative in all that I do: my blogs, my videos, my writing. No matter what, I've always been an out-of-the-box thinker.

7. Eating Like A Kid

 I remember the first time I had cotton candy. It was at Busch Gardens and I remember how I loved the thought that someone believed fluffy sugar would be a tasty snack. I wanted to kiss that person. My favorite ice cream growing up was the Good Humor Strawberry Shortcake ice cream bar or the Chocolate Eclair. They were so good. I was also obsessed with cream soda, grape soda, and orange soda. I don't really drink soda as much as I did as a kid but I still enjoy slurpees. One thing I will always carry with me from being a child is my sweet tooth.

I think being a child is ok because at least children have an adventurous fire in their hearts that no one can steal and unlike most of them, they are ok being themselves. 

Until next time remember: The most sophisticated people I know-they are all children.-Jim Henson

Love Times Infinity,

Chelsea

xoxo

God Bless!

~Just Keep Swimming~