I have to confess, I'm scared to write posts like this.  I worry someone else has already said what I'm trying to communicate, or worse yet they'll have said it better then me.
I obsess over every sentence, wonder if people will comment or if it will be so cliche they won't even read the whole thing.  In blogging about the things I struggle with, I reveal how insecure I really am. 
But I am also learning to listen to my Father and to not let my silly pride get in the way of what He wants me to share.

Sunday night I sat down with my journal in one hand and my pencil gripped tightly in the other, ready to have a glorious venting session with God.  I was sick with worry about something I didn't have all the facts about, had no control over, and had spent a good part of my day frankly obsessing over.
I was planning on reading my Bible after I hashed it all out and had my say.  But even as I opened my journal, I felt the tiniest nudge, and I knew God wanted me to open the Bible instead.  It was almost like God was giving me a deal: see what I have to say first, and then you can complain afterwards.

You guessed it; I never got to the complaining stage.

My next plan was to read a chapter in Romans I'd been studying earlier that week.  God was sure enjoying messing up my silly little "plans"!  My Bible opened to Hebrews chapter 10, where Paul is delivering a rousing wake-up call to the Hebrews.  They have received the biggest gift of all, the cleansing blood of Jesus, and yet even though they have the knowledge of the truth they go on 'sinning deliberately'.
Such a motivating chapter, but my focus fell especially on the last verse:

"But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls."

How convicting to realize I had been doing just that with all my worry and fear!  Francis Chan from Crazy Love defined worry very eloquently: "Worry implies that we don't quite trust that God is big enough, powerful enough, or loving enough to take care of what's happening in our lives."

Ouch.

I was having a glorious worry-fest, and in doing that I was NOT believing in the full assurance of faith talked about in this chapter.  Even as verse 35 told me not to, I threw away my confidence and shrunk away.
But.  Before I was 'destroyed', God opened my eyes.  He reminded me that CHLOE!  YOU DON'T HAVE TO WORRY!  BY ME YOU CAN RUN AGAINST A TROOP, AND BY ME YOU CAN LEAP OVER A WALL!  HAVE FAITH!   (psalm 18:29)

Ladies, I don't want to shrink back.  I don't want to waste away my time in fear of the future.  I want to have the faith that can preserve my soul.  I challenge you to take a stand with me today.  I challenge you to take your eyes off yourself and your troubles, and put your confidence in the hope of heaven, for then you will have a great reward.

-Chloe

This movie ranks high in the top five worst movies of all time.  ("The adventures of shark boy and lava girl" and "Spy Kids" rank lower then this movie, which should say A LOT)




-Noah's family is helped by a group of fallen angels called "The Watchers" (although some scholars like to point out that fallen angels were hinted at in the passage when it talks about how evil the world had gotten, the Bible never says anything about huge tree-like giants that help Noah construct the ark)
-Two of the sons don't have wives (They should all have had wives)
-Noah and his family adopt a little girl before they begin work on the ark (The Bible never mentions a girl)

-This ark took 15-20 years to build (It was actually over 100 years)
-God is an impersonal force known as 'The Creator' (God is personal, loving, and extremely faithful and good)
-The creation of the world began with The Creator but then morphs into Evolution (Just no.  The world was created in six days by God and God alone!)
-The man who killed Noah's father stows away on the ark and tries to kill Noah (There is never a mention of this man in the Bible)


-Ham wants revenge on Noah as well and plots to kill him (Again with the no mention!)


-Noah is portrayed as cruel, violent man who ends up going insane (Totally opposite the picture of him in Genesis 6 that describes him as a blameless and righteous man!)
-Noah believes God put his family on the ark to only have them all die in the end so the world will be completely clean and fresh.  With this belief he then tries to kill Shem's newborn twin girls!  *most disturbing scene ever* (God wanted to rid the world of evil so he purposely picked Noah to start afresh because he was the only righteous man!!)
-Japheth sends out the dove (Noah should have)


-Mathusaleh (the old man in the above picture) gives Noah a seed that plants an entire forest in a matter of seconds.  (Never happened because Methusaleh should have been dead!)
- Ham leaves the family and goes off on his own and eventually dies alone (Depressing and inaccurate seeing as how he should have had a wife and kids)
-The snakeskin Satan used as a snake in the garden of Eden when he tempted Eve is a symbol of power and blessings being passed down from father to son (Gross, idolistic, and completely wrong! There was never a snakeskin!)
-Noah closes the door of the ark (God should have)


-The length of the storm
-Three sons
-The evil of the people
-Two of each animal came onto the ark
-Water came up from the earth as well as down from the skies
-In the very end Noah gets drunk and Ham sees him and is cursed
-The rainbow (although God's promise or the symbolism of the rainbow is never mentioned)











This movie left me disturbed, depressed, and very very disappointed.  Now non-Christians who are watching this movie have this wrong image in their minds of how Noah's story is, and then to a greater extent what God is like!
My dad later went and read through Noah's story in Genesis with my brother and I, to remind us and get a clear picture in our minds of how it really happened.  I would not recommend watching this even as entertainment, and I'm rating this as low as is possible. 

I think one of the main things I like about having a quiet time is that there is no hard and fast rule of what you have to do.  You can do it wherever you want (your bed, outside, your room, lying on your back in the grass outside), whenever you want (at 3 in the morning, 12 at night, or anywhere in between), and really however you want.  God is always available and always willing to talk. 


Since there aren't any hard and fast rules some of you might be a little confused on where or how to begin.  If you are this post won't be terribly helpful since it's just things I've discovered and have added onto my daily bible quite time routine.  (To find out more on how to start having a quite time, please find me at my contact page and I would be more then happy to tell you about it!)

For those of you who already have made it a part of your day and are looking for some ways to make it a little different, these are ways I've found I can get the most out of my precious time with my Savior;) 

• Invest in highlighters.  I can't tell you how much I enjoy looking back through my Bible and reading the verses that have blessed me over the years.  I'd always just underlined them with pencil, but for the verse that I really really love I've started highlighting in bright neon yellow. 
• When all else fails, read three chapters every day, starting in Genesis.  I'm actually doing that right now, and I've found that three chapters is the perfect amount, leaving me enough time to really think about the chapters I've read and then to journal my thoughts.
• Write your thoughts down!  No matter what you may tell yourself, you're not going to remember them tomorrow.  If you have an insight, a thought, or a question, make sure you have a notebook handy so you can quickly jot it down. I've learned this from experience!
• Pray Scripture back to God.  The Psalms are my favorite when it comes to this.
• Ask questions about what you're reading.  You can either ask them out loud or write them down.  Asking questions helps add a new depth to it and can help you remember things better.
• Personalize Scripture by adding your name, or changing 'they' to 'I'.  For example: "But I will hope in the LORD, and He will renew my strength. I will soar on wings like eagles; I will run and not grow weary, I will walk and not be faint." -Isaiah 40:31
• Make lists!  Examples would be: ways God is special to you, the attributes of God, what His love is, your favorite characters in the Bible and why, etc.
• When reading a specific verse you like, put emphasis on a different word every time.
• Pick apart a chapter.  Every day look at only one verse in that chapter and really study it and then try to apply it on that particular day.
• Keep all your quiet time essentials together in a specific spot or bag so you can grab and go!
• Every day (or every other day) pick your favorite verse out of your Bible reading and write it somewhere you KNOW you'll see it constantly (fridge, mirror, on an index card in your van).  I've been known to write verses on my hands, because I'm constantly using them and looking at them. Unfortunately that backfired when my youngest sister Brynley decided she wanted to write on her hands too.  Which then meant all up and down her arms in big black pen.  o.o
• Make a list of specific verses.  Whenever I come across a verse that could really apply to specific occasions I write it down.  Examples:
  For the broken hearted- Psalm 34:18
  Healing- Psalm 30:2
  On the topic of many friends strengthening- Exodus 18:21-22
  When I feel lonely or abandoned by my friends- Psalm 41
• Grab an accountability buddy.  Find a friend who will constantly be checking up on you, asking if you've read the Bible, and having you tell them about what you read.  This is lots of fun because you can gain insight from them as well if they share about their own personal quiet time.

Lastly, try to start each time by asking God to open your eyes, bless your time with Him, and really prepare your heart for whatever it is He wants to show you.  Whatever it is, it'll be incredible and     %100 perfectly planned for you.

-Chloe

I have a confession to make.  Not an easy one, either.  One I'll probably be ridiculed and teased for.  But I'm gonna be brave and say it.  *throws back shoulders* 

I got a Spotify. 

Now most of you are probably rolling your eyes at me and thinking "Um, I've had that for years. Get with it, Chloe.  What's the big deal?"  (And some of you are probably looking at the grammar in that sentence and gnashing your teeth)
No no no no.  You don't get it.  I've spent the past year or so gushing about Pandora (which I'm still very loyal to) and kind of tearing down Spotify.  I loved the variety of Pandora, thought Spotify was boring, blah blah blah, yata yata yata, and now here I am, with a Spotify.  I can hear Hannah in particular saying "I TOLD YOU SO!"
 Yes, Hannah, you did.  And I have been humbled and I can truthfully say, I have really benefited from Spotify. I mean come on.  I was stupid to think that whole soundtracks at my disposal wasn't a good thing!!  Although I have to note, I haven't really discovered much new through Spotify.  Just sayin.  Pandora still has that pro.  :D

ALL THAT TO SAY *cough* after Worldview I came home on fire and went tearing through my iTunes account, appalled at my lack of worship songs.  Most of them were the upbeat inspiring Toby Mac/Britt Nicole/Capital Kings etc.  Which I also still love.  But the slower, sweeter worship music from Hillsong, Jason Gray and David Crowder Band that focus soley on Jesus?  SPOTIFY!  (Nice for a broke girl like moi)

Here's a list of my favorites, feel free to comment with some of yours!  There are so many out there I've barely scratched the surface. 

WORSHIP MUSIC PLAYLIST
Chloe Salts, 6/22/14

• Alive: Natalie Grant (This one gives me chills)
• Beautiful Things: Gungor
• Christ Is Enough: Hillsong Young & Free
• O Praise Him (All for a king): David Crowder Band
• Love Came Down: Kari Jobe
• Oceans: Hillsong United (one of my ALL TIME favorites)
• Our God: Chris Tomlin
• Our God Is Greater: Shane&Shane
• Power of the Cross: Natalie Grant
• Psalm 62: Aaron Keyes (Worldview peeps, you'll recognize this one!)
• Stronger: Hillsong-Worship (And this one)
• Revelation song: Kari Jobe (I love her version of this)
• With every act of love: Jason Gray
• Your love never fails: Jesus Culture
• Broken Hallelujah: The Afters
• Your Great Name: Natalie Grant
• Beautiful: Kari Jobe
• Not For A Moment (After All): Meredith Andrews
• Every Good thing: The Afters (This is more upbeat, but I'm still singing my heart out in praise for God so I thought I'd include it!)

As you can see, my list isn't huge.  I'm still working on it, and it's growing day by day!

Now here's a Christian worship song that's also upbeat. I just discovered it and I love it!


My advice? Pick at least two of these songs that you've never heard of and go listen to them this week.  Your day will be that much better, I promise!
And now I'm off for some beauty sleep.  G'night, peeps! 

xo Chloe xo

It challenged me, it convicted me, it inspired me, it pinned down exactly where I struggle and pointed me to God AGAIN AND AGAIN.   Ultimately it was God doing the convicting and inspiring, but he did it through Worldview Academy.


There are four main things that I absolutely loved. 

ONE- Quiet time every morning.  I can't say how cool it was to see all these teens spread out around the campus, sitting on the sidewalk, leaning against walls, bent in prayer on a bench.  And they're all experiencing things with God, they're all learning from his word.  It's incredible!   We get 25 minutes to just sit and have our own private quiet time with God, and it was truly one of my favorite parts.  That and worship.  Worship at the end of the night was so wonderful because it brought my focus back to God and allowed me to revel in his awe-inspiring beauty and majesty. 



TWO- The lectures were literally mind-boggling. Chock full of spiritual truths, verses, and motivational quotes.  I took so many notes and I learned so much.  plus it was fun to talk with different peoples between lectures and compare notes and eat one too many Luna bars.  (did I just say that out loud?)



(haha now you're looking at her mouth)

One of the coolest part of the whole week (especially during the lectures) was how they always pointed it back to God.  "Be yourself"?  DON'T BE YOURSELF! Yourself is icky! Be like Jesus!  "You're different than the world?" Only because of Jesus are you different. 
Now I'm doing it with my thoughts.  "You did a good job with that, Chloe."  *perspective shift* Only because of Jesus did I do a good job.  ONLY.  That's a constant battle I'm waging.  Don't get me wrong, I don't always catch myself doing this. It's so natural, it's so right, it's so self-centered.

FOUR- Evangelism on Wednesday.  Not only did we learn all about our faith and other faiths, but on Wednesday we had the opportunity to go out and share what we'd been learning!  We split up into little groups of three or four campers, and then went onto the Missouri campus and just talked with the college students there.  It was so incredible, and so eye-opening.  Sometimes I unconsciously think that people only really  believe what I do, since those are the only people I come into contact to!  But that is obviously a lie, and after talking to non-Christians, catholics, Christians, and people with no faith at all, it strengthened my belief that I really do have my hope set on a strong rock. 

THREE- The people. My small group was so different and so fun!  We had a Joy, Sarah, Caroline, Maddie, Arayia, Aubrianna,  (they were twins) and Atalie. 








I have more pictures but LOADS more memories and little things I couldn't begin to go into.  Like how awesome it was for the guys to always take our plates or hold doors open for us or even let us go ahead in the food line.  Or the color team relay at the end of the week!  What about the pitiful attempts at frisby?  Or the two hour long talks during free time? 

So incredible, and I can't wait to go back next year. 

I love the word extraordinary.  To me, it holds so much promise.  It seems to encompass so much.  And I love that it's two words mashed together. That just brings it over the top. 

The word extraordinary always brings up a picture of stars.  

Something seemingly ordinary that we see every night without fail, but something so much better then ordinary. Something extra better. :D 

Right now I'm in the middle of a book that has me super convicted.   "Anything" by Jennie Allen will rock. your. world.  No joke.  She and her husband prayed their 'anything' prayer to God one night.  Giving him control is what we're commanded to do, but always find so hard.  To them, it was keeping their relationship with God from going to the next level.  
So one night they knelt beside their bed and prayed simply, "God, we will do anything for you.  Please show us what that looks like for our family." Simple, and yet mind-blowingly life-changing. 
Their anything meant asking God one night if He wanted them to give up their house.  The next day they asked if it meant giving up the security of their family and moving to Africa.  While God said "no, not yet" to these things, there were other sacrifices that were made.  Smaller ones but just as important.   Saying anything is no picnic.   Anything, by definition, means 'no matter what'.  Complete surrender. 
When they asked 'anything?' about adoption, God nodded.  That was the path He wanted them to pursue.  So they did! 

To me, that is extraordinary.  They were willing to listen to God, and He has blessed them because of it.  They didn't pack up their bags and move to Africa.  They didn't sell all their possessions to the poor.  Their 'anything' is still a process, and that's okay! It will always be a process for us, all the way until heaven.
 For Jennie, another one of her 'anythings' was writing this book.  For the longest time she held back because she was afraid of what people would think.  But because of God's overwhelming grace and love she had the courage to give God her anything in the form of a book, and then two bible studies. 

Reading this book, journaling, and conversations with friends have all combined into quite a bit of thought.  Mainly, about heaven.  That's one of my favorite things to imagine, not gonna lie.  A place built of gold, with the literal light of Jesus penetrating every corner and shining so brightly you have tears in your eyes from its beauty.  The word that comes to mind is stunning.  Definitely, definitely, stunning. 

I was getting my hair cut today, and afterwards while I sat and waited for my mom to pick me up I did quite a bit of people-watching.  One of the ladies that came into the salon was short, with a head of frizzy white hair and a brown knobby cane to help her walk.  Apparently she comes in every Wednesday for an appointment. But what really shocked me was her age.  She was 96!  She drove on her own, hobbled in, had her appointment, and then drove away.  No nursing homes for her, goodness.
A man sitting next to me heard her age and was shocked as well.  "I'd be lucky to live to that age!" were his words.  I dutifully nodded in agreement- and then stopped.  Part of me does want that.  Part of me wants to be the person who can still be doing things when she's 90 (and still look just as fabulous as 80!).  I want to stay behind because I was born in this world.  To me, it's my home.  But the funny thing is, it really isn't.  And that's so hard for me to wrap my mind around.  But then there's that part of me that gets the better of my first part and says "I want to be in heaven with Jesus right now!  I want to see his face! I want to talk to him and ask him all my questions!"

Who knows what our lives look like.  I could die tomorrow.  I could live until I'm 98.  Either way, I'm going to be accountable for the way I spent my time.  Either way, I have a choice.  Do I live a life of pleasure and gain?  Or do I live an extraordinary challenging 'anything' life?
When we live to give God our anything, in the end he will give us EVERYTHING.   I'm heading off to Worldview Academy this Sunday, and I'm so thrilled to see what God will do through me and through the lives of others as we strive to live out 'anything'. 

Thank you for listening to my ramblings, brownie points to you for reading them all. ;D

-chloe

Just yesterday I had the privilege of getting to hear Sidney (I'msorryIforgotherlastname) speak about Inner Beauty at my Bright Lights bible study group.  Her message was uplifting and fun and interactive all at the same time, and even though it was many of the same things I've heard all my life, it was so good to hear them presented in a slightly different light with lots of scriptures to back it up. 


Countless times during my past week I fell into a trap that is so familiar to me you'd think I'd have recognized it by now and would be able to get out with ease.  MY APPEARANCE.  Grrr.  Pretty much every day of the week I'm seeing someone, and I love to dress up when I go out to see people.  A little mascara, a pair of pink jeggings, and I feel very loverly.  And.  I'm not saying that is bad.  Because it's fun!  I'm a girl and I love to go shopping and experiment with makeup and so on.  But sometimes that love becomes an idol, an all-consuming idol, until I feel like if I don't have makeup on when I go out to see people, I look ugly. 
Lemme tell you, I know MANY beautiful girls who don't wear makeup!!!  One of Sidney's points was our focus, and one of the things she said really helped put it into perspective, "God's image is stamped on you.  Be more concerned about God's image than your image." 
Because girls remember what we're here for?  TO GIVE GLORY TO THE LORD GOD ALMIGHTY!!!!!  And often my focus on dressing up isn't to bring God the glory.  I want to get the glory because I actually managed to put my eyeliner on semi-straight!  Silly example, sure, but it's pretty true.  The focus is truly what matters.  "Living to be beautiful for the world will leave you empty.  Being beautiful inside because of character and self respect will leave you feeling satisfied." 
(Another extremely wise quote she gave us)
I want to be a girl who lives to be beautiful inside AND OUT for God.  Only God can know our true motivations for how we look.  That stays between me and Him, therefore I shouldn't judge others who don't agree with me, something I'm extremely guilty of. 
I still have a lot to learn about how to balance the inner and outer beauty, and these are just a few of my thoughts I felt like sharing you with you all. 

One more quote from Sidney....  The greatest beauty comes from the LOVE that God has for all of us and in the great plan He has for every one of us.  God created all of his children to be beautiful, especially all of His daughters.  However, His daughters are the one that are attacked most openly by society.  This is the work of the devil, trying to attack God's daughters through today's culture.  Why?  Because he views God's daughters as a threat.  They are dangerous to him because they are one of God's most beautiful and wonderful creations.  They can truly shine the beauty, glory and love of God by following Him and sharing His love with others, which is scary to the devil.  They have the potential to provide so much to this world and to the Lord, from whom all power and love flows. 

Thanks for listening!
Love,
Chloe <3