#WriterWednesday I Entered A Contest and Lost but It was Cathartic Anyway

I recently entered a writing contest to try to win $500 for my #WorstDateStory.

I lost but found the overall story came out of me like leftover sweat following a good gym session.

Without further ado, you can read the story by clicking the picture below:

#WriterRevelations: Adopting a Servant's Mentality

My dear friends, I do hope this post finds you happy and healthy nearly three months into 2018....this new year has been treating me well thus far. Without further ado, it's time I share something new I've learned.

As you all know from the last time I wrote a post, I got a new job. It's such a blessing and I am very grateful to have it but when I first started it, I don't know if it was from the autonomy of my writing/freelance writing career but I was a bit arrogant and self-absorbed when I started my job.

It was something I realized because as soon as the holidays were over, I really took a step back and suddenly felt like the same girl who was insecure and inadequate in the fourth grade who's legs were literally shaking delivering my yearly Tropicana Speech (in Florida grade schools, they require you to give a speech in grades 3-6 in order for you to learn the art of public speaking and speech writing). I was overcome with this intense feeling of "I Can't Do This" and just an overall theme of wanting to quit.

Am I proud of it? Absolutely not. I mean as a writer, I've always felt like I could adapt quickly because I pretend I'm just taking on a role of a new character for a novel, and I'm living their story. Right now that role requires a job of working as a hostess in one of America's most popular breakfast based restaurants.

Once I was overcome with all these feelings, I sought God with my shaky hands and weak knees.

He reminded me that he gives out assignments not based on qualification but as part of the overall process of refining us for our great God-given purpose. It was then that I realized that this job was not about me at all. That I was playing a role and I was working out someone else's story.

God called me there to that particular restaurant at this particular time because he wanted me to light up the dark corners of it until it shown brightly with his glory, honor, and favor.

He would provide the grace and the strength but I would have to trust that he would be doing the job each shift.

So each shift, I pray the night before work: God, give me your favor, your grace, and your strength to not only get through this shift but let them see you in me.

I mean, it's nice to have a small paycheck but for the most part, I just remember as long as that name badge is displayed above my shirt pocket, my name is no longer Chelsea but Jesus. It is him in me I want to showcase. He lifts the high chairs, he helps the servers bus their tables, he speaks kindly with an irritated customer, he takes the to-go orders.

Yet, sometimes, I forget that I am Jesus for those 6 hours and I get in my own head. For example, this past Sunday. A server I work with came in and spoke unkindly about me to the manager and I heard what they said. I got in my head and got upset because I was thinking with my flesh instead of the spirit, and I thought, How dare they say that about me? Do they know who I am? Then, I mentally checked off a list of why what they said wasn't true. I even started saying something to another server but like the good-hearted person she is, she talked me down and said, "Don't worry about it. I'm sure that's not what they meant."

And just like that, I saw her face but I felt Jesus speaking to me with her words. And I remembered his famous last words hanging from the cross, his body nearly giving up life, and blood dripping from his thorn-crowned head, Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.

And I remembered who I work for. Not my manager. Not the company. I am there as a servant of Jesus Christ. And it is him this world desperately needs. And I got myself together, and ended up having a very hell-bent shift but I grinned and bared it. Why? Because Jesus was there with me. 

And the best part was, I was going to clock out 30 minutes early and just as I was heading over to the computer to do so, a little old lady came in to place a to-go order so I had to take it. Yet, she was the sweetest. And she ended up giving me a tip so I felt as though God ended my shift on a positive note despite the persecution I faced early on.

And I take my days off to do the things that make me happy, with the knowledge that I showed up for the assignment the Lord Jesus gave me. As for the hard work of the shift, that's all him. I am owed no credit. Anytime the servers or my manager tells me I did a great job, I just smile and thank them, then look up and whisper, Thank you Jesus.

Lastly, this was my unconventional Valentine's Day post about how God's love can empower you to do anything even when you are dead set on thinking you cannot. And, an even better reminder of the truest nature of love is that it is unconditional, quick to forgive, and is always ready to lay down it's life for the sake of his or her friends.

Yet, one thing I'm embracing this Valentine's Day is how much I've learned to love myself by seeing myself through God's eyes and thanking him for all forms of love in my life even though romance still hasn't happened yet. (I still believe it will. With God, ALL THINGS are possible!)

And my own picture inspired the following micropoem I wrote. I call it Angel In Red.

God asked me to write this post with that in mind, to remind you that he loves you enough to give you the ability to overcome the obstacles, the challenges, the persecution, the hateful comments, the mundane parts of life, and allow his love to make the world around you to become vibrant with his beautiful lovingkindness and relentless mercy.

Until next time, remember:

With Christ-Like Love and Confidence, 

Chelsea 

xoxo

What I Learned From Reading People by Anne Bogel

Tomorrow The Smart Cookie Philes turns two. Celebrate all day with donations and by checking out the origin story and all the new changes to the site. God Bless!



~Chelsea~

#WriterRevelations: The Great Christmas Miracle and What I Learned in 2017

     There I sat upside down and the blood rushing to my head, as they pried and prodded my teeth, recommending high quality but less than affordable dental treatments. I would love to get everything fixed within my mouth and have the perfectly aligned teeth, my wisdom teeth out and teeth free of plaque build up. Yet, the reality is you can't always get what you want, and it isn't a priority right now to have all this extraneous dental work.

Plus, even worse was that my dental insurance expires like Cinderella's pumpkin carriage at midnight on January 1, 2018, and to top it all of, as I sat in the dental chair, I was still between jobs. I have actually successfully gotten two seasonal jobs this holiday season but they left a lot to be desired and were temporary so I moved on to find a better opportunity.

I have been praying and praying for a financial miracle since I lost my job in September. Then, by God's great grace, on October 17, I was hired for the first job, and used that paycheck from one day's work as a tithe to show God that I was faithful in believing his great grace could provide the job for me.

Then, on November 13, 2017, I was hired for the second job and again used my paychecks as seeds to sow to continue in faith toward the job that was meant for me.

In the meantime, I just continued to be diligent toward the completion of my novel, Kickflip My Heart. And somehow, God not only gave me the words but the plot lines to complete it and it ended up after a good editing to be 40,655 words. I have never written that much in a fiction project in my life but with God's help, the impossible became possible.

Not only did I write 1697 words in one sitting today instead of 1078 but #KickflipMyHeart is officially done being written. I will be editing it this week but it finished at 40,619 words. I did it everyone. I wrote a complete YA novel. I am over the moon right now! #amwriting pic.twitter.com/B1gxrReTq6

— Chelsea DeVries🦋 (@ChelseaDeVries) December 10, 2017

Then, like God rewarding me for being obedient to him, I received a call Monday afternoon asking me to come in for an interview Friday for a hostess position for one of my favorite restaurants.

I arrived for the interview right on time and entered the building and introduced myself to the girl in the front, and it turned out that the manager I was supposed to meet wasn't in and the guy who called me for the interview would be interviewing me.

Before I even began the interview, he asked me if I wanted something to drink.

I was already impressed by his hospitality. I did the interview and although I felt my resume was lacking for the job position based on my experience, God made something out of nothing.

He asked me when I was available to start, "Whenever you need me," I eagerly stated.

Then, he said something that made me aware of God's glory in my life:

I can tell that you have the personality to deal well with people. Just the way you came into the restaurant and introduced yourself,  your patience, and you aren't even nervous sitting across from me now, that I believe you would make a great hostess!

So not only did I complete my novel after a year and a half of work, and never having written 40,000 words of fiction before, but I got a job out of the blue. My Christmas wish came true!

So no matter what your Christmas looks like right now, I pray that you get everything your heart desires this Christmas but even more so, I pray that everyone who reads this blog post comes face to face with Jesus this Christmas and is full to the brim with his peace that passes understanding and joy unspeakable.

Say this out loud right now: "Father, I thank You that I am furnished in abundance for every good work and charitable donation. You have fully supplied and completely decked out my life. I receive every need fully supplied, every debt totally wiped out, and I have more than enough to help others, in Jesus' Name!"

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

Until next time,

#WriterWednesday: New Poem Fresh Off The Press

            Out of the Woods

Tired of not seeing the forest for the trees

when it comes to you

I would cut down every tree to get to you 

but you would only call it wasted paper.

I tell everyone you are my world,

the sun, the moon 

all while diminishing my own star

in order to keep you shining.

Why do I hold on 

when you leave me

standing in the cold

with nothing to cover me

but a single feather.

Loving you is tough

lust and leather

that doesn't withstand

the weather;

my skin sweats 

and sticks to you

uncomfortably.

Cubic zirconium

when I wanted

a diamond ring

on my left hand.

A green remnant

reminds me that 

all that glitters isn't gold.

To have and to hold

Nothing holding me

but fear and unbelief

Not even

a prayer and sacrifice 

can save me

Religious ritual;

no faith.

I hold your picture in my hands

so hard I bleed

but you have no interest in phlebotomy.

Or me.

It's you I idolize yet

all you ever do is cut me down to size

Loving you is no prize

And frankly my dear

I'm tired of all the wasted time.

~Chelsea DeVries~

#WriterRevelations: What Are You Worth? (Self-Worth)

I know I'm not the only one who has days where you start to lose control of the thoughts and the things that bombard you and your mind. They come in waves and they are creepy crawlies in that you don't detect them at first. Like a wolf in sheep's clothing, you are insanely happy about something in your life. Maybe you just lost 15 pounds, you finally conquered a massive fear (this year I conquered driving and riding roller coasters), you just started dating someone, or you just published a book. These are all made up scenarios but it seems like the instant life is going good, the bad thoughts creep in to shake things up from the inside out. And then one day, you look in the mirror and you are confused with how things have gotten so off-course.

Truth is: A true sense of identity and/or self-worth must come from within the inner workings of your spirit being.

Before getting serious, let me give you an actual anecdote from my real life. As you may or may not know, I recently became jobless and recently, my family and I had a very huge falling out. Things were said back and forth that were negative, belittling, shameful, and aimed at cutting me down to size according to the perspective of the person who was saying it.

It made me feel hopeless and broken but I chose to forgive anyway because one truth life has made abundantly clear is that oftentimes, someone cuts you down to size because somewhere along the line, something they dealt with, had to go through, or even a wrong thought pattern made them feel hurt they couldn't bear alone and people handle or hurdle the pain that presents itself to them along the journey of their life.

That's why I chose to forgive because I knew the person or persons words and actions were done out of this handling of pain. They feel like they were unfairly shamed, made to feel small, or even worthless. Yet, they aren't even aware that this isn't the entire truth at all. It's not even partially true because your feelings matter but they don't have any basis in truth.

People work long hours and sacrifice their families to gain the approval of an employer and feel valuable at the office. They get in debt buying clothes, cars and houses hoping somehow those things will make them feel more important.

If you trust in Jesus and made Him your Lord, you've been made the righteousness of God. 

Tweet: But have you ever let his sacrifice settle the nagging question of your self worth? #WriterRevelations: What Are You Worth?

A grandson of a preacher I consider to be my spiritual father says it best:


Tweet: The price paid determines the value. The price paid determines your value. #WriterRevelations What Are You Worth?

Until next time, remember, the price paid determines your value. Forget everything except Jesus!

In Christ Like Love and Confidence,

Chelsea

xoxo

#WriterRevelations: How and Why Discontentment sets In

September 25, 2017 I decided that I was willing to lose the job I've had for two years. This year alone working this particular job was like trying to live in a house that was situated on an area highly-prone to weekly earthquakes. Some weeks you would only feel tremors, other weeks the 8.1 or higher magnitude waves would shake the ground you were standing on, and you didn't know if this would be the death of you. Financially, some weeks were harder than others but somehow God took care of me throughout this year alone following the signing on of a new client as of the end of January 2017. Before this, this job was as stable as any other freelance gig. You do the work; you follow the instructions of what the client wants in terms of writing or social media management and you get paid. Sounds simple, right? Yes, it was. And I was grateful to be paid for my writing, no matter if it wasn't exactly enough to live on.

 Yet, I never recall a time since graduating from college that my financial resources were completely depleted. God always found a channel to give me exactly what I needed even if it wasn't enough to move out of my parent's house, and be completely free of the impossible expectations I feel I have to meet in order to be loved and accepted by my family, or anyone for that matter. This was where the discontentment seed planted itself in my heart, and as long as things were not changing for me, job-wise, I let it fester. Then, just when I blogged that everything was secure again, I was going to be paid for my 3 weeks of work, plus work a few weeks in October, the client canceled the contract with us, and decided to move on. No explanation as to why but for about a day, I was a little hopeless. Although, I remembered how I felt like a clean slate would be the best place to begin again from. So I accepted the client's decision, despite not at all knowing where I was going to get money to pay my monthly bills let alone buy beauty aids, Christmas presents, and some treats for myself.

 The slate was completely wiped clean. And I've never felt better. It turns out my discontentment wasn't due to the fact that I have to live with my parents or my interferring sisters who care more about my mediocre life than they do about me living my destiny and just being happy with my current life, no matter how unstable it is. My discontentment began to grow leaves and sprout up when I started working for this client. Without going into too much detail, I can honestly feel a weight has been lifted off my chest and I am content to see what God has in store for me next now that my only source is Him, and Him alone.

If left unchecked, this dissatisfaction will infect every area of my life. So for today, I plan to keep my focus on all the blessings I have in Jesus. I will thank Him for who he is, for what He has done, and for what He will do in the future. And I hope that will bring me one step closer to learning the secret of being content in any circumstance...and keep me from my own fall.

Some examples of those blessings I have in Jesus:

1. Joint Heir in Christ

2. Forever Forgiven for any and all sin

3 Righteousness of God in Christ

4. Healing of my body, mind, and emotions

5. All things richly to enjoy

6. A roof over my head

7. A bed to sleep on

8. A/C

9. Running water that is safe to drink

10. Never Knowing Hunger that isn't satisfied by proper nutrition

11. Wi-fi

12. A Smartphone

13. My laptops

14. My ipod

15. Gym equipmet

16. Paper and pens to write

17. A printer

18. DVDs

19. Clothes

20. My dogs

21. Extra time with my parents despite being in my mid-twenties

22. Pandora

23. Coffee 

24. Hulu

25. Netflix

26. Laundry Detergent

27. Soap

28. Deodorant

29. Razor

30. Shampoo/Conditioner

I could go on because I could even go further to name all my friends, all my friends via social media, or this blog, or even The Smart Cookie Philes, and all the celebrities I've met.

So really discontent is a lie from the pits of hell and now that I've seen it in the garden of my life, I've pulled that weed up from the roots and not allowed it to destroy all that Jesus died to give me.

   So no matter what happens next, my trust and all I dream is in the hands of my God, at the feet of Jesus, and I refuse to take a thought or care about it.

Now I am not trying to be political here but there has been some recent division regarding whether one should stand during the national anthem. Now I tend to lean one way but for the purpose of the various people reading this post, I will not air my views about this issue but I want each of us to get quiet and join me in the #TakeAKneeChallenge:

Make a list of all the things in your life in this moment that are holding you captive, things you need to see with new eyes. Then claim the promise of Jesus over those things, and rip up the list. He has come- you are FREE!

So in this somewhat uncertain season of my life, I choose Jesus every single time because I would rather be content in Him than discontent in the pleasures and promises of this world. If, like me, you are in a severe drought season, your slate is completely clean, and you are in immediate need of provision of some kind (healing, deliverance, or even monetary provision), please know this is your direct confirmation from the throne room of heaven that the promise is about to manifest in your life. Get ready for your YES to come raining down!

Until next time, 

In Christ-Like Love and Confidence,

Chelsea

xoxo