Remember That Time?

Remember that time I was unemployed and had nothing to do and all I ever wrote about was how bored I was?

Obviously, times have changed.

I've been scanning back through my blog entries, and I was right about one thing: it was definitely a good idea to write about everything leading up to Liberty to watch how God would have it unfold. He's so faithful. My blog feels somewhat naked now that I don't have anything to countdown to necessarily and I'm not too fond of trying to come up with orginial titles. No matter the lack of a countdown, I'm positive that God has a lot of interesting things in store while I'm here and I'll continue to do my best to capture them.

Today was great, although I've felt like I've been in somewhat of a weird place. I still don't think I've adjusted quite yet, which is odd because I've always been pretty fearless when it comes to change - but for some reason, it's just been harder to digest.

I miss playing music, for one.

I know, I know, "but you're taking five worship classes!"

But let me just say that it's totally different. I don't have as many opportunities to play music because I've been studying music and will continue to study music until I have a degree in my hand for music. For something I swore I would never - no, never in a million years - study. Kind of like how I swore I would never step foot into a church. And well, we can all see how that turned out...

The cool thing about it though?

It's still worship.

"So whether you make music or study music, do it all for the glory of God."

- 1 Cor. 10:31 

(C-FRESHY PARAPHRASE)

                                         .....don't ask.

An Attempt to Catch Up.

My intention in ever starting this blog was to write about life here at Liberty, and although it may seem like I have had nothing to share with you: I do. I just haven't really had the time to sit down and unload everything. This is my attempt at trying to get you caught up! :) I apologize ahead of time for any narcoleptic symptoms you may experience.

For starters, I already have two warnings.

It's required of every student to go to conovation on Monday's, Wednesday's, and Friday's at 10a.m. and it's totally awesome, but while we're all praising Jesus, the RA's are doing room checks.

Let's just say there was a beautiful piece of flourescent green paper with my name on it waiting for me when I walked through the door today :)

I didn't do the dishes this morning before convocation because there were a crapload of dishes in the sink, and frankly it just irritated me. I didn't have time to do them, so I just left for convo and decided to choose the lesser of two evils (you get reps for being late and/or skipping). But that's not all, apparently the trashcan in our bathroom  - having all but two tissues in it - needed to be emptied as well. Seriously?

Here's the deal about the dishes: when I use my dishes, I wash them right after using them and put them away. But apparently no one else does that and along with cleaning my own dishes, cleaning everyone elses  is my responsibility this week. What this means is that the other five girls in my quad can dirty up as many pots and pans and dishes as they'd like and it's MY responsibility to clean up after them :) How splendid.

So, I put a load in the dishwasher this evening and washed the rest of the dishes in the sink by hand and laid them out to dry. What irritates me, is that I went to the computer lab for a whole 30 minutes afterwards and by the time I came back, there were already dirty dishes in the sink again waiting for me.

I don't mind doing the dishes, but when the only communication that exists between you and your quad is a pile of dirty dishes, it can make washing them out of love a little harder.

Even though there is obviously a lack of camaraderie in my living quarters, God has blessed me beyond belief with these guys:

John and Charlie (aka 'Alabama')

Brandon (aka 'B#)

I know you're probably thinking that I need girl friends. Emphasis on the "girl.' But the truth is that I wouldn't trade these guys for anything. They love the Lord. They also wear really cool clothes and jump off of really tall things and play tag and give each other piggy back rides as they're walking down the sidewalk. It's endless entertainment.

Today at lunch, we all decided that John was only allowed to speak in song. Try imagining some random dude walking up to you singing, "Excuse me, do you have a bandaid?" That's the kind of entertainment I'm talking about. And they also happen to be quite the gentlemen. They open doors for you, pull the car around to pick you up whenever it's raining outside, help you with your theory homework, drive you around between campuses, humor you as you talk on and on about a research paper you wrote two years ago, and drop off tiramisu after you've had a bad day.  Mhmm.

I'm still blown away whenever I see "Liberty University" wrapped around the front of Campus North. I'm really here. It's still so crazy to me. To think that God had this planned all along. I still miss home a lot from time to time, but I don't necessarily have to compartmentalize my life. Byrd and Valerie came down to visit me unexpectedly Saturday as I was about to leave to go surprise them in Harrisonburg (hilarious). They got to meet the dudes and we all had the best time chillin' out at Snoflex and playing Scrabble till 12 a.m. at the Whitehart. Needless to say, I'm pretty happy.

I've been sending out texts asking you all how I can be praying for you, and I want you to know that I really do pray for you over my coffee every morning. It's my favorite part of the day.There's something amazing about being in prayer, because even if we may be absent from one another, we can still be together in prayer. I'm beginning to see a glimpse of how it is that Christ holds us all together and I strongly believe that prayer is one of them.

(If for some reason, I have your number and you didn't get a text, or even if I don't know you, leave me a comment here and let me know how I can be praying for you and I would love to!)

Because I sent out to receive a ton of prayer requests and because most of you responded with yours and also asked to receive a request from me, I got behind in responding to everyone :)

So! if you want to pray for me, here are a few things that you should be good to pray about for a few weeks:

• For me to not get overwhelmed or discouraged with my ever increasing list of ''to-do's'' and coursework.
• For my roommate (who is awesome by the way) and the other girls in my quad. That we would see and get to know each other on a regular basis, not just at hall meetings on Tuesday nights and for us to just really go out of our way to love each other.
• For my quiet times; that they would be led by the Spirit, taught by the Spirit, and for them to be just plain rich in the Spirit. My goal is to walk so consistently with the Spirit that even my reactions would be in the Spirit and not of the flesh.
• God's will with making a ministry teams here at LU.  I'll find out sometime in March if I get placed onto a team or not, so be praying until then!

If you've made it this far, you deserve a big pat on the back. You're a true friend and it means a lot to me that you would intentionally enter into one of the longest and probably most boring posts of all time. I love you for it.

-C

Steps of Authority.

What is this life I've stepped into?

For the first time, I'm running my own race. Not striving to be like anyone else in particular, not following in anyone elses footsteps, but making my own. Step by step with Jesus' instruction, I'm becoming who I'm supposed to be in Christ. Not modeling myself after anyone except my Savior. Not comparing myself with anyone else. I'm just being me. Being who I was designed to be in Christ. It's a glorious freedom.

I love Paul's testimony in Galatians 1:11-24. Notice that he didn't immediately turn to flesh and blood or other Christians or apostles for authority, but received it strictly from Christ, for three years in a desert of Arabia.

This is my life, now. I feel like I'm just visiting, but this is really it. For the next three years, ironically, I'll be here practically on my own. Allowing the Lord to instruct my ways, allowing Him to prepare me for my Damascus - for wherever it is He'll take me to next. God wants us to mature. He wants us to grow up. He wants us to be wise and discerning. He wants us to be full of the Spirit, to walk in the Spirit, to be changed by the Spirit, and to have a blast doing it all for His glory.

 What the heck is going to take place in three years?! Who the heck am I going to be in three years?!

My typical school day so far has been: get up early, make my bed, walk to DeMoss, order my coffee, pick out a table, pray and then study the Word before my day begins. Do you know how much of a miracle that is? Do you know how amazing it is to start your day off like that? Not out of obligation or routine, not because so-and-so does it that way, but just because you can't help but do anything else until you've invited God into your day that way.

I have such a strong desire to learn worship. To learn what it really is from a biblical point of view, to learn more about Who it is we worship, and why. If there's one thing I've learned about worship, it's that it's all about Christ and His Word. That's it. It's not about feelings, emotional highs, or hitting the praise button. Those things can become our god so easily - they can become our authority, what we seek, what we desire, what we use to determine our hearts, and our standing with God - but God says our hearts are deceitful above all things and that we can't trust them.

I want Christ. For whoever He has revealed Himself and His Father to be within the Scriptures. I don't want a spiritual high. I want truth. I want something permanent and everlasting. I just want Him. To walk away and say that He alone is good and never simply, "worship was good this morning."

Oh, how much different the world would be, how much different we would be - if we never took our gaze off of Jesus' face - if we ran our own race, with Him and Him alone guiding our every step. With Him being our only authority. Would the world see us and hear us and glorify God because of us, just as they did because of Paul? (Gal. 1:24)

The First Weekend

My first weekend in Lynchburg has been great and somehow I've actually managed to stay pretty busy. I've been blessed with the opportunity to hang out with some awesome freshmen and I'm already seeing the Lord work to create lifelong friendships. I had an incredible lunch at Firehouse Subs yesterday with these dudes and then I was able to hang out with my brother and sister-in-law at the movie theater last night to see Avatar  - which ended up being the best movie of all time.

This morning I met up with my freshmen friends at the Starbucks on Wards and headed to Brentwood Church for service. When we got there it was completely packed. They couldn't let anymore people in, so we jumped back into the Scion and headed back to campus to go to Campus Church, but oh! Low and behold, there was no Campus Church.

Well, then.

"You guys just want to have our own Bible Study at the Bookstore?"

Um, affirmative.

So the three of us went to the bookstore, got some Starbucks, sat down with the Word, flipped to II Corinthians 4, got to know God a little better, and of course, got to know each other better. It was awesome. That was the church. That's what it's all about. A group of people set apart and called out for a special purpose.

After church, we headed over to the 'Rot (LU's dining hall which used to be run by Marriot, hence the nickname "Rot") got some food and then parted ways. I went to Wal-Mart, then went back to the bookstore to get some school supplies, and then went back to Brentwood Church for their 4:30 service. It was amazing. I think I've found my church here in Lynchburg. I signed up for College Life this semester - a community group for students that meet 6 times over the course of 3 months, and I'm stoked about it. I can't wait to get involved and start serving there!

After my second church service of the day, I went over to Jay and Jenn's for dinner and Jenn made some mean tacos. I got back to the dorm around eight where I finally got to meet my roommate and she's awesome. I got lucky.
I start classes tomorrow, and I'm so excited to start loving God with my mind and to grow more in knowledge, wisdom, and depth of insight.

He amazes me more and more everyday with His unfailing love and faithfulness. Gosh.

 I really hope you know how much He loves you...

-C

Here.

I'm really here. I'm a resident student at a four year institution. I live on campus at the largest evangelical Christian university in the world and I walk to class.

Everything that led up to this moment has been a blur. It wasn't long after I accepted Christ that the Lord led me to look into Liberty. I may have taken a little detour to get here, but I'm here now. I'm here.

I already see a huge difference in myself. Crazy, I know - considering I've only been here since Wednesday afternoon. I went to bed early last night and I woke up at 7, enough time to get ready and to walk to Demoss to take my pre-test for a computer class. I failed it and have to take it again to be able to skip out on the class, but the victory is that I woke up early this morning, walked to Main Campus, and made it there on time. I even made my bed. I've stayed on task with my to-do lists and I've never done that. I've never even written a to-do list. Crazy things happen when you go to college, this much is true.

Okay.

So not very impressive, I get that - but you know, you just have to start small sometimes.

It's the little things make me smile. Like walking through the tunnel and seeing "God is awesome" graffitied on the walls. Like sitting down in the 'Rot and seeing prayer cards for Thailand on every table. The fact that marriage and commitment are such a big deal to everyone here, no matter how forward it may come across at times. Sitting at my desk with a cup of coffee within reach. Even seeing a parking decal on my car makes me smile.

It's not your typical university and it's definitely not for everyone. There are some house rules, but they're pretty practical - even though I've already had to skip out on a 10:30 showing of Avatar last night because I had to be back for curfew at 12:30. But for a girl who needed a new situation and needed to be immersed in a Christian enviroment for a while, it's ideal.

Perfect, actually.

Aside from actually being here, I think one of the coolest moments so far was driving here. I felt like I had just gotten married and my husband and I were running away together, not knowing what the future held, but knowing that everything would be even more than okay - just because we had each other. Commitment coupled with faith is the most thrilling and the most beautiful thing one can possible do and taking off with God into a new season of life is the best decision I've ever been led to make.

I haven't made any friends here yet, but I've never been the codependent type. I have my God and I have a guitar. I'm as content as can be. I'm here.

-C

First Things First

East Campus 12
Room 303B

It feels like home, already; I'm loving this college thing.

I wish my roommate would get here already. I haven't spoken to a person in real life since Wednesday.

Hurry up, Sarah.

:)

I'm obviously exaggerating.

(And I'm pretty sure I've used the word 'exaggerating' 50x today.)

Classes start Monday.

I'm ready to do work, son.

love,

-C


p.s. Bill and Cindy sent flowers to my dorm today. You can see them in the picture of my fabulous walk-in closet. :)

Thanks guys. Love you.

Zero

Trust in the LORD and do good;

Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.

Delight yourself in the LORD;

And He will give you the desires of your heart.

 Commit your way to the LORD,

Trust also in Him, and He will do it.

 

Psalm 37:3-5

Two

And it all comes down to this:

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and love your neighbor as yourself." -Luke 10:27

Today was a day of intense mixed emotion; excitement, fear, saddness, longing, love, nostalgia.

I hid behind the curtains of the stage today to get some perspective from His Word. My eyes so easily wander off the cross, off the bigger picture, and selfishness creeps in like a disease. I want to stay.

So what is it I'm doing?

Honestly, I haven't a clue. I have no idea why I'm going to Liberty; all I know is that my gut is telling me that's where I'm supposed to be. I'm supposed to become someone there. Someone different. Someone new.

At the end of the day, I hold two options out in each hand:
stay or go?

Liberty weighs more. Harrisonburg means more. A life of sacrifice. If I fail in the sacrificial life, I've failed entirely. I don't want to get to heaven and be asked why I didn't let go. I don't want to respond with, "because I lacked trust in You, Lord." I want to respond with, "I gave all I had to give to see You glorified."

Leaving comfort. Relying on the Comforter.
Sounds like a fair trade to me.

Truth is, it was all His first to begin with. I have nothing to offer Him that didn't first come from His hands. As Matt Redman has said, "Not even a simple song of praise can we offer without using the breath God first gave us."

Looking back on this year, thinking of all I've gained and of all I've lost, I've somehow found a way to be grateful for it all, even when at times it hurt to the point of breaking. It was all a gift from Him; none of it came by chance, but all by His fatherly hand - even if just for a moment.

I'm beginning to understand that fulfilling my purpose and calling in life will cost something.

Sometimes a great something. Sometimes someone.

But He is enough, His will for my life is good, and I will continue giving up and giving it all back to Him, all for the sake of knowing my God.  Blessed be His name.

"Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name."  -Hebrews 13:15

Thank You, Lord. For everything.

-C

Three

Chelsea Cline

MSC Box E8147

Liberty University

P.O. Box 20,000

Lynchburg, VA 24506-8001

Got my rooming assignment yesterday. There's my mailing address.

I got to spend the evening at the 'Nut house with "mom, dad and little brother" tonight and it was rad. The cappuccino never tasted so amazing. Almost as good as the pork chops. I know those two are on two completely different spectrums, but I'm just talking about amazing in general.

Asher is the sweetest dog in the world by the way.
He's also really good at losing his hair.

I went to Wal-Mart today and bought some really boring things that aren't even worth mentioning, I'm going skiing on Monday for the first time since 8th grade, and I'm excited to sing my heart out for Jesus at Aletheia Church in the morning. Oh yeah, and I'm moving in three days.

I'm moving in three days...

I guess I'm excited about that, too.

-C

Five

I've come to the conclusion that I am the college student equivalent of an expecting mother nesting. I've been organizing CDs, putting pictures in picture frames, adding to the 'to do' list, 'to buy' list and 'to pack' list every five seconds, and checking to see if I really did get all of my hair cut off or if I only dreamt it (it really did happen). And then there's reliving Passion. I went on youtube to see if anyone was able to record and upload some footage of Hillsong, and I hit the jackpot.

Now imagine thousands of students walking down the streets of downtown Altanta to their hotels still singing this to the tops of their lungs. It. was. awesome.

...and then other students were jumping in pools.

I guess whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God,

-C

Six

Burts Bee's is awesome, but eating it is not.

You see, I'm one of those gals who hardly ever has chapstick on her, but when I do,  I'll keep slathering on the balm - over and over and over, to the point where most of it's contents slide off into my mouth and causes me to gag violently. My mouth is somewhat tingly and minty-fresh due to this, almost as if I had brushed my teeth. So I'm here debating on whether or not I should forgo the toothbrush and toothpaste this morning for a second go 'round, but I can't handle it.

Get this wax out of my mouth, please.

I'll be moving in less than a week! That. is. crazy.

I hope the rest of this week and the weekend goes by extremely slow. I really just want to cherish life right now, if you know what I mean. And then, there's this thing called Passion I should probably try and tell you about, but I fear I would write a novel and I don't want your eyes to go bad by straining them for days - although, I must say that it would probably be worth it.

What I will do is tell you to head over to the 268 Blog where you can see pictures and get a glimpse of what I was immersed in this past weekend. The second thing I would do is get together with you over coffee or lunch and tell you everything face to face. If you're interested in hearing about the boat load of information the Lord has put me in charge of, I'd love to sail it to your direction. Just shoot me an e-mail or a message on facebook. Otherwise, I'm sure everything I've learned will somehow find it's way into my posts from here on out in some way shape or form. I would hope so at least.

Just so you know, 'Passion' isn't over. I never did get the 'spiritual high' I was hoping for, but I came out with so much more. Something much more permanent. I found and came out with Christ Himself, and He's so much better than fleeting feelings and emotions that pass by as soon as you walk out of the arena.

I think the major things I learned was how evident His love was and how it just bonded us all. My family group was incredible and I would do anything for anyone of them, people I'd only known for a few days. That's something only Christ could do. And Chad, whom, I had only met minutes before one of the Main Sessions began, offered me a piece of chewing gum. I found God even in a piece of Trident and you can be sure of it, my mouth gave out some severe minty-fresh praise afterwards.

Aside from His love, I learned too, of His wrath. God is all about redemption but He's also all about justice. I've gotten to see more of who God actually is, not my watered down and diluted version of Him, and it has placed Him as the firstborn in my life and has put a fear of Him and of His Word in my soul. He is not like me. He is not just my chum, or pal. He is God. He spoke stars, ten-million times the size of our sun into existence and it didn't even singe His lips. This is the God who lives in us. Who satisfies us the most when He is glorified the most. The Cross isn't about us, it's about His glory. Mind blowing.

I fear Him now, more than I ever have before - and I'm not just saying that to stir some sort of fake emotion up within me. However, I'm not exempt from emotions entirely. I mean, I am still very much a girl. That fact hasn't changed.

Yesterday as I was leaving the Ministry House to head back to New Market, I decided to call up my hairdresser, Shana, and see if she could squeeze me in for a haircut. Turns out she doesn't work there anymore. She works at some salon called Vera-something-or-other. Since I don't have my Instinct anymore, I couldn't just type in the name of the salon, get the number or the directions and just go there. So, I decided to drop in to Hair Studio where they hooked me up with this hairdresser named Khandra.

She was just walking in the door, seemingly rushed. She was latin, but she had style and I knew my hair would be safe in her hands.

So I sit down in the shampoo chair and she tells me my scalp is irritated and my hair is falling out. She asks what kind of shampoo I use, if I'm taking any medications, or if I'm diabetic. I respond with, "whatever is in the shower, no, and I hope not."

"Hm, your hair shouldn't be falling out like that."

And I'm sold. Aveda Scalp benefits Shampoo and Conditioner for $17.

By the time I made it to the barbers chair, showing her a picture of a medium length, angled haircut - not much different than the style I wore before yesterday at 4pm - she took some scissors to the nape of my neck and snipped a good four inches off the back. Then she takes a BUZZER and starts buzzing the back of my neck. Get me the heck out of this chair, I gotta go.

"I uh, I didn't want it that short..."

In her thick, latin accent she convinces, "It's still going to be long in the front honey, I just thought I would stack it in the back. I wasn't trained to follow pictures, I was trained to pick what's best for your face and I think this will look really good on you."

Palms sweat, tears roll down my face.

"Beauty is fleeting, beauty is fleeting. I'm too vain anyhow, so this could be good for me. You did say that You make all things work together for my good. That includes haircuts too, right?

Holy cow, I'm so selfish! You know what - it doesn't matter, it really doesn't matter. Have her take it all off for all I care. You didn't come and die to do what I think is best for me, You came and died so that I might have life and have it more abundantly with or without hair, so that by doing what's best for me, You're really doing what's best for You.

So, what are we waiting for? Let's do this thing, Jesus."

Not a single strand of hair falls on my neck and it's dauntingly weird, but I think God used this new gained fear of Him to prepare me for this. Yes. As absurd and as juvenile as it sounds, He was preparing me for a short haircut. When I would have just sat in that chair anticipating how beautiful they were going to make my hair look, I was instead casting all vanity aside, reciting Scripture over in my head, making Him the firstborn of my life in those moments by remembering who He is. What does any of it really matter? What matters besides Him?

He spoke stars, ten-million times the size of the sun into existence and He lives in me and is passionate about His glory, and that's why I'll paste a picture here of my haircut. People, a buzzer was taken to my hair. It definitely wasn't what I wanted, but He worked it out for good. I got to spend time with Him in a barbers chair, and then experienced His amazing grace when I looked in the mirror and saw that it wasn't as bad as I had thought it would be. It wasn't what I wanted, but in a lot of ways it was even better.
Just because of Him. Even if I would have looked in the mirror and hated it.

You can find Him in the most bizarre places and situations if you look for Him - even in haircuts and chewing gum - not just in Atlanta, Georgia at Passion. I haven't found Him in the Burts Bees just yet, but I'll keep looking - even when I'm spitting in the sink profusely.

Six days,

-C

Nine

Stones, Sleep, Stench, Seeds, Death, Deception, Life, Vomit, Cattle, Fire, Glory, Garmins, Asians, Fame, Trembling, Equipping, Running, Waiting, Discerning, Loving with a Smart Heart...

I have no idea where I will ever begin to tell you everything that the Lord has taught me in these mere 48 hours here in Atlanta. But the jist of it is this:

He reigns. He is the Lord of all. He holds everything together by the Word of His immovable power and I adore Him. I adore Jesus.

Follow along:

Passion 2010

Eleven

I'm happy.

I know that happiness is merely circumstancial and temporary.

If I had a choice between happiness and joy, I would still choose the never ceasing joy and peace that comes from the Cross any day, but you know - it just feels so amazing to be happy.

I have a whole new year at my finger tips, and when I use the word "new" I don't use it lightly.
Along with the new year, I'll be living in a new town, meeting new people; my day-to-day life will be new, my outlook on life, my goals, will all be new. My relationship with the Lord will be stretched to new lengths, as will my relationships with my friends back here at home. Everything. New.

Funny how changing the year and your address can change your perspective so, and yet if I would allow my theology to meet my reality, I would embrace the truth that His mercies are new every morning. That I don't need to wait for a new year or a new residence to move forward with life - I can start now.

I think in some ways I already have.

All I know is that my sweet Jesus has a plan. Everything seems to be falling into the exact place it was always meant to fall into and it's all happening in His perfect timing. To be loved and looked after by Him, every moment of every day, makes me better.
I am a better woman because of this Man.

So,  no point to the post this evening - just rambling out in love and in excitement, which - now that I'm speaking of excitement: I find out my housing assignment sometime this week! I'll let you know when I do, although neither of us will really know much more than some names and a location. They have to keep the suspense up somehow, ya know?

I'm leaving for Atlanta, Georgia to attend Passion in about three hours which, is once again, evidence of the Lord's perfect provision, planning and time. What better way to begin an entirely new life than by sending me away to learn from the best teachers of the Word and to worship with the best worship leaders in the world?

I'm expecting huge things this week, and I can't wait to tell you all about it. In the meantime, I welcome your prayers this week as I get ready to dive into a sea of change; it'll be harder than I think.

With a happy heart,
-C

Twelve

Happy New Year!

I pray this year holds more for you than you can imagine,

whether it's wrapped up in the beauty and joy of pretty paper and ribbons or the bleak confusion of newspaper and twine. God will get you through this year just as He has in years past and He will make Himself famous. No matter what the packaging may look like now, there is something bigger going on underneath it all - and often times, although much less realized, unwrapping it can be the best part.

As Louie Giglio tweeted, "Praise to the God who has already lived 2010!"

So here's to Him, and to all that this year holds,

-C