a day of gratefulness

During the aftermath of the violent tornado that destroyed a good portion of our city, Jeremy and I had our last Sunday at our home church.  It snuck up on us, and came quicker than we had anticipated.  Everyone was distracted by the week's tragic events, and we had little time to reflect on our time there. I'm just now getting around to this post because life is been one crazy thing after another. But now I'm thankful that life has slowed down just a little, and I can look back on the good times I had at Graceway Baptist Church. 

I first came to this church when I was 5 years old... that's almost 17 years ago... a long time. I grew up at this church quite literally. Many of my days were spent inside that funny looking building in the picture above. The majority of my memories are somehow connected with this church.  I met some of my best friends at this church.  I went to countless vacation bible schools, children's camps, youth camps, and mission trips with Graceway.  I was saved and baptized there, and learned so many foundational truths that will guide me through the rest of my life. I met my husband through a church trip, and later married him at this church. Graceway will forever and always be apart of me.  I am so thankful for this place, and grateful for the many people there who helped raise me.  I'm thankful for parents who placed me in a church where I heard the truth every time I was there. I'm thankful my brother and sister and I have such wonderful memories together at this church.  I'm thankful for the friendships that I made at a young age that are still with me today. I'm thankful that this church and the truth taught there assisted my husband in surrendering his life to the Lord, and being baptized there as well.  I'm just thankful. God is so good!

I am flooded with countless memories and good times as I write this. Jeremy and I are so thankful for Graceway, and will always hold the people there in our hearts and in our prayers. We are excited to see where God takes us next, and anticipate it to be an awesome ride! We know the people of Graceway will be faithful to pray for us, and we are forever grateful for that. We will be back often to visit, and will take the truths taught to us to advance the kingdom of Christ for His glory! 

We love you, Graceway!

this is my home.

So thankful for all the rescue workers, medical staff, volunteers, churches, etc that are helping to rebuild the city of Moore. Please do your part by volunteering your time or making a donation. This is our time to "let our light shine before men, and glorify our Father in heaven."

Check out this video that is going around on Facebook... it captures the spirit of the community in Moore, Oklahoma perfectly! Together we will be OK!
City of Moore Facebook Video

Pray for Oklahoma

So thankful to be safe and sound after the horrific tornado ripped through Oklahoma yesterday.  Our prayers are with those who are less fortunate, and we are grieving with those who lost lives of loved ones and homes.  I love Oklahoma, and I love seeing our community come together and help each other out. Proud to be an Okie! Here's an update from Jeremy's blog, check it out!

A Deadly Tornado Hits Moore Oklahoma, Again.

I am so grateful to report that Chelsea and I made it through the recent storms safely and do not have any damage. As most of your know, we live in the South OKC/Moore Oklahoma area. The tornado did come very close to us and our home but we only lost power and water.

I left my work on the north side of OKC at about 2:10, thinking I had plenty of time to get some things from our home then go to a storm cellar of some family friends. By the time I got to the south side of OKC I realized I need to get to the cellar ASAP, and that is what I did. Chelsea was at work in Moore and went to a safe room in the building. Chelsea was very close to the tornado and because of the jammed phone lines I wasn't sure if she was okay for 30 mins- 1 hour after the tornado was over.

The day of the tornado and the day after my church family at Graceway Baptist began to collect donations and open up the church for victims of the storm. We were able to get into the destroyed areas and pass out food and water. I have attached some pictures I took while we were out as well as pictures posted on New Channel 4's kfor.com. I have also added the live stream of News Channel 4 so you can see live coverage of the relief efforts.

If you would like to help or give to relief efforts please go to www.okdisasterhelp.com or call Graceway Baptist Church at (405) 691-1934.

>>Click on the photo to view the full size<<

These are my pictures:

 New Channel 4's pictures:

a great big thank you!

Jeremy and I could not be more humbled by all the kind words, well wishes, thoughts, and prayers that have been sent our way after sharing our news last week! (click here for the news) God has used many of you to confirm to us that we are on the right path, and that He will show Himself faithful!

The Lord is opening doors and giving us new contacts with each passing week. It is so exciting to watch Him work! Thank you once again for all the support-- it means so much to us to know we have such awesome people in Oklahoma cheering us on!

Here is a video about church planting in the Northeastern United States that will you give a little bit more insight into what God is calling us to do.  Please join us in prayer for this part of the country, and the church planters who are already working hard to spread the gospel.  Also remember we are in a mission field right here in Oklahoma City as well.  We are confronted daily with people who don't understand the good news of Jesus Christ.  I pray that we will be found faithful to the call of the Great Commission right here in our "bible belted" lives!


Looking Up-State: Church Planting in the Hudson Valley and Western Mass from Boe Ellis on Vimeo.

Have a good week!
Chels

life lately...

Just over 3 months ago, God started Jeremy and I down a brand new path. A scary, different, and challenging path.  And we were given two options: obey the voice of the Lord or disobey the voice of the Lord.  I'll be honest and say we (mostly I) wrestled with God on this one for awhile.  However, after much prayer and many discussions with each other, we are finally ready to announce this to our closest friends and family.   In order to get the whole picture, I'll start at the very beginning....

Right before we got married (so summer of 2011), God began to move in my heart in the area of missions.  This is something I have NEVER felt called to before, but I just couldn't escape it.  I talked with Jeremy about it, and asked him what he thought, and he was as confused as I was.  We had always imagined that Jeremy's call to ministry would most likely be youth, and we would serve in the local church and that would be that.  He told me he would pray about it, but that he didn't see God leading him into missions.  After about 3 months of praying and seeking God's will, he came back to me and said God was beginning to change his heart towards missions, but that he ultimately believed his calling was to the local church in pastoral leadership. We decided to continue to pray about it, and wait for God to reveal His plan to us in due time.

Fast forward to this past January.... After many many months of searching for the "perfect" seminary (we know those things don't really exist) for Jeremy to attend in the fall of 2014, we became very discouraged.  God had closed just about every door that we thought would be opened to us.  We just couldn't find peace with any school we looked at, and I was ready to throw my hands up in defeat. One day, Jeremy came to me and said he wanted me to pray about something: church planting in the Northeastern United States.... yeah, that specific.  I kind of laughed it off, and thought thats not anything we could ever do! Well about two weeks later, he sat me down once again, and began to pour his heart out to me.  He had researched this topic and had all kinds of statics to show me about the area. He found a seminary to attend, and told me we needed to seriously start praying about this.  I suddenly realized just how serious he was.  We began to really seek the mind of God, and for the first time in almost 2 years, peace washed over me.  It was as if God was writing it in the sky.  This was indeed the path He was asking us to begin walking down.

We prayed for about 2 months, and we both felt undeniable confirmation from the Lord that we were to pursue this journey.  After getting in contact with a couple of people from the area, and believing 100% that this is the Lord's will for our lives, Jeremy and I are excited to announce that we will be moving to Albany, New York sometime in the summer of 2014! Jeremy will be attending the North East campus of MidAmerica Baptist Theological Seminary where he will obtain a Master's of Divinity. 

My hands are shaking even as I write this... We are confident in the Lord's calling, but fears are still present.  We are walking into an unknown place to perform a task we know little about.  But I know that God is faithful and His ways are not our ways! Trusting him, obeying Him, and sharing Him are what this life is all about!

The Northeastern part of the United States is the largest unreached mission field in North America. In the city of Albany, less than 2% of the population profess to be evangelical Christians.  Isn't it amazing the way God works?? He has connected my heart for missions and Jeremy's heart for the local church in a way we never saw coming! And we couldn't be more thrilled!

Another HUGE step in this journey is that the Lord has told us our time at Graceway Baptist Church has come to an end.  After several discussions with the director of the Hudson Baptist Association (and fellow church planter), we were advised to get involved with church plants in Oklahoma City in order to begin some training and learn the logistics of how planting a church works.  This will be a time of invaluable training, and allow us to "get our feet wet" in an area that we know very little about. This will be a very bittersweet time for us, as Graceway is our home.  We have had countless wonderful memories there, and will always love it so dearly! But we are excited to begin walking down this brand new path.  And as always, God will be faithful.

We covet your prayers during this time.  To all the dear people at Graceway: we love you and will pray for you continually! Our last Sunday will be May 26th.  We won't be strangers, and will visit often!

I hope you will follow this blog as I use it to update on what is going on in the life of the Davis family.

Looking forward to all God has for us with great expectations,
Chels

Eat clean. Live free. Be blessed.

Well, its january 1st-- time for resolutions, new beginnings, and alot of other things that sound really inspiring... at least that's what the world tells us this day is all about.  While I think goals are definitely worth setting, I desire something different out of this new year. And thats the reason I chose to start this blog.  In 2013, I do wish for happiness and love and sweet friends and more of Jesus, but beyond that I wish for a greater understanding of being the temple of God. What does 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 look like in terms of health?
       
 "And do you not know that your body is the temple of  the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God with your body." 

Wow. My body is not my own. I was bought with a price. I am commanded to glorify God with my body.

Oh, how I have failed.  But like I said at the beginning of this post, its time for new beginnings! God's mercy is new every morning, and he has given us grace in which to stand today!

 I'm not searching for the newest diet fad or the quickest weight loss system. I'm on a quest to live free from the hold that food has had on me.  Not turn to food in good, bad, happy, or sad times. To not give in to every little craving that comes my way. I want to go to bed at night knowing that I fed my body what was beneficial and not harmful. That I might learn that we eat to live instead of living to eat.

I believe this journey I'm beginning will be a hard one, as I learn to give up that extra cookie or fattening fast food item; however, I KNOW that if I dive into this adventure through the strength of the Lord, I'll come out stronger, healthier, and happier on the other side!

The question that started me on this quest for healthy living is a brutally honest one.  It comes from the book, "Made to Crave" by Lysa Terkeurst, which I highly recommend. (get your copy here) Its a question that seems silly at first, because any christian would say "No, of course I don't do that!" But before you just blow past this question, stop and think about your eating patterns and then answer the question:
       "Is it possible we love and rely on food more than we love and rely on God?"