Thanksgiving in My Heart

I just love it how my Jesus works in such unique ways. How He orchestrates the timing of things He brings into our lives. How He's truly "got it" all in His hands, all along.

These past few weeks Jesus has been doing a sort of overhaul in my heart. Purging, cleaning, refining, and replacing. Showing me my selfishness and the depth of the ingratitude that was in my heart. Filling me, beginning with a little bit and then just growing and growing, with a sense of how blessed I am. And it only hit me on Wednesday that all of this was happening at THANKSGIVING. Imagine that. Love how He works! It didn't even occur to me until that moment, that all of this tied in with the current holiday season. When it that came together in my mind it just made it that much more special that God would care and work all of this out in my life in such a way, in this season, that I would never forget that lesson that I learned Thanksgiving of 2015.

It all culminated with an amazing message on thankfulness, Wednesday night at my church. I am still in awe of the work Jesus has been doing, and how that night my heart was just so tender and ready to repent and forsake the spirit of ungratefulness that I had been allowing to seep into my life in so many areas. I am not a person who cries easily, usually just a few times a year, to be honest. But I've found lately that my eyes have overflowed more than once with just a feeling of overwhelming. Overwhelming difficulty, overwhelming love, overwhelming peace, overwhelming doubt, overwhelming fear...pretty much many feelings of all types that have just had this one thing in common-they were overwhelming, and way too much for me to deal with on my own. And lately, just an overwhelming sense of the goodness and graciousness of God.

The one thought in particular from the other night's message, I just haven't been able to forget. And that is this: "Gratitude is the gatekeeper to our hearts that keeps sin out of our lives". My pastor pointed out that night that ungrateful people are the ones who struggle to gain and have victory. And that grateful people, who are characterized by gratefulness and a spirit of joy...well, they have just that. A spirit of JOY! This truth has just rocked my world-such a simple little phrase, but there's so much in that. I've got to keep gratefulness number one. I can't ever stop thanking God for all He's done! I want gratefulness to drive my life, my outlook, who I am. I want to be characterized by it. I want gratitude to flow out of me and run out onto every area of my life and every person in my life.

Something I've been working on being more intentional with lately is taking extra time to journal about what God is teaching me. I've always been one of these girls who journals all the time. (smile) But recently its been even more intentional, what I write. I don't want to forget the victories, because they are such a testimony to God's goodness. I also don't want to forget the valley's, because those are also a testimony to the special grace God gives to His children when they are going through difficulty. So I just get out that journal and powerhouse through. Some days I'm really struggling, and it comes out pretty scary on paper. (keeping it real!) And then other days its an outpouring of jumbled thoughts along with a few notes from a sermon, or lines of a song, or something else random yet important to me, that gets stuck in there with everything else.

So here is part of a journal entry the other day, and some other thoughts that fit at the end just now as I was typing it:
"Abounding in thankfulness right now. My little heart is just full to the brim with wonder at the blessings of Jesus upon my life. God has been good, so good..and I have been so blessed. I've been allowing my joy to be robbed by dwelling on what wished I had, or thought I deserved...rather than focusing on how much I have been given that I am so undeserving of! Jesus has given me the gift of eternal life through salvation in Him. He has given forgiveness for the many times I fail. He has given second chances abundant. He has given me the awesomest family in the whole world, complete with siblings who are my best friends and closest confidants and parents who are my heroes. He has given me a church where I am privileged to feast on the richest food for the soul, the Word of God. He has given me friends of the very best kind-the ones that will listen and care and speak truth into my life even when the truth isn't always easy. And what just blows my mind more than anything else right now...is that He has given me the opportunity to come freely and boldly unto the throne of grace, at any time. His arms are always open and His compassion is always free and boundless. His grace knows no limits and His heart beats with love for ME! He is truly the greatest of Fathers and I am so blessed. "

God is Always Good

"I don't know why...I don't know when,

I don't know how you will be make it through, but I know Him,

And He is God and He is kind,

Sometimes its in the darkest night we find,

God is always good, God is always good,

Always was, always is, forever He will be,

God is always good to you and me.

He knows your hurt...your broken heart,

He knows everything that's led to where you are,

And He'll provide all you need,

So rest in His unfailing love, and see,

God is always good, God is always good,

Always was, always is, forever He will be,

God is always good to you and me."

(listen to this song here. it is so powerful)

You may be thinking tonight that your trial or your burden is too small for God to care. Or you may be facing the mountain of your life and you're honestly just not sure if you can trust Him with it.

Let me encourage you, friend. You will find so much joy in just letting go and thanking Him. He cares about everything from the smallest to the greatest of difficulties. As the song says, He knows your hurt! He knows your heart! What a comfort to know that even when it might seem that everyone around you misunderstands, HE KNOWS AND UNDERSTANDS PERFECTLY. And He's got it. He's got YOU covered in every way possible.

And you know what else? He wants you and I to THANK HIM. He doesn't want us to wait until things are perfect. He doesn't want us to wait until He answers. He doesn't want us to wait until the difficult season is past. No...He wants our praise and thanksgiving in EVERY season in our lives.  The good, the bad, the in between..all of it. He wants our thankfulness. He wants to see us live in abundant joy and gladness, no matter if the waters are rough and choppy, or smooth as glass.
If we will just choose to be thankful and rejoice. "Just REST in His unfailing love, and see!"

Now that I have finished writing this and am looking back over it, the words looks somewhat jumbled and thrown together. And it reminds me of how my life feels sometimes. But. Thank goodness we don't wait until we are perfect to proceed, because then we would never go anywhere. This is what God gave me tonight. I post this as a reminder to myself and a reaffirming of the work He has been doing in my life. If a part of it can be a blessing to you, than I am thankful for that as well.

"In every thing give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."

1 Thessalonians 5:18

May y'all be blessed this evening, and reflect on God's great goodness to YOU, 

'cause there is ALWAYS something to be grateful for!

-Chels

Why I Wear What I Wear

Calling all ladies! Today, you're getting the lowdown on my clothing standards! So exciting!
(ha, NOT!)

In all honesty, yes, this is what I'm talking about here today. But its the nitty gritty-the stuff all we girls deal with. So not really that exciting. Just to clarify. =)

It never ceases to amaze me how people are so interested in what I choose to wear. So many times I just want to say "Please, just go home and ask God what He wants YOU to wear. What's it to you what I wear?"

But the truth remains that this is a very real struggle in our culture. Women who follow Christ want to dress in a way that honors and glorifies Him and Him alone. And sometimes, navigating those waters of standards and convictions can be rough.

I know, I've been there.

So today, I want to talk to you girls as an older sister. Pull up your chair, and imagine that we're having a little chat together. With coffee, of course. And cream in the coffee. And both the coffee and cream in a big oversized mug that fits like four cups of coffee/cream mixture.
Now we're all set! =)

First of all, I don't have all the answers. Not even close-goodness, no. I mess up, and I make mistakes,  and I'm right there with you wading through the racks at the store and having those times when I get discouraged.

To be totally honest, I even have my moments where I think, "Eve had it SO EASY back before there was sin. She didn't even have to worry about modesty at all!"

Seriously, can you imagine? How nice would that be? Just...no clothes. No worries if it was not enough, or two much, or whatever. No agonizing over if a neckline was too low or pants were too tight if you didn't have any of that to begin with. She just didn't have to think about any of it. What a life!

Okay, okay, I digress....Moving on!! (hehe)

If you are looking for a formula, you will be disappointed in my answer today. Because the answer isn't measured in inches, or fittings, or lengths, or types. It isn't measured in tight or loose. It isn't measured in pants vs skirts, or shorts vs pants, or skinny vs baggy, or high vs low, or any of that.

That is just not the point.

The answer is found in knowing the Word of God, and in knowing the God of the Word.

Here's the deal. Whether you like it or not, what you wear matters. Your clothing is the first impression someone gets of you. (scary thought, that!)
Before you have a chance to say anything, your clothing has already made a statement about the kind of person you are. And if you are a child of Jesus Christ, than you're gonna need to be dressing a little different from everyone else. You are set apart. You are PRECIOUS in His sight. And you are DIFFERENT.

I'm a lover of quotes on this subject. I've found some great ones that I want to share with you:

"My fellow women of the world: 'Put on some clothes. You want men to give you the time of day? Leave a little up to the imagination, and respect yourself. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and the beholder is anyone you want it to be'."

"If Cinderella didn't need to take off her dress to get the prince, then neither do you." 

"Modest is not something to be ashamed of. It is strength, not weakness." 

"What you wear is your billboard. So...what are you advertising?"

"Dress how you want to be ADDRESSED."

Aren't those amazing? I would highly encourage you to write down one or more of them and tape them up on your bathroom/bedroom mirror, or wherever you get ready for the day each day. We all need good reminders like these!

I understand that this modesty thing is easier said than done. We live in a culture where everyone wants to tell everyone else what to wear. You know what I mean---it's either that super legalistic friend who tells you she "can't be friends" unless you start dressing "like a real Christian" (as she puts it), or its that left-wing aunt who tells you that you need to "stop being so frumpy and always wearing gunny sacks".
Honestly, thank goodness we aren't in this to please people because it's just about IMPOSSIBLE! Let me say that again-it IS impossible. Everyone either thinks you are too liberal or too conservative. Once in a blue moon someone recognizes the  beauty and class in true modest dress and tells you so, but those moments are rare and if you're living for the affirmation in those you will be sadly disappointed because they don't happen very often.

Quick commercial break here though...I have to tell y'all the story of how this actually DID happen the other night. My sister was telling me about how a guy at work told her that he appreciated that she dressed modestly and beautifully. I must admit I flipped out and said "Allison! Who was this man? Is he brother-in-law material?!?!" to which she rolled her eyes and responded, 
"Chels, he was like FORTY!" 
Bummer. 
Obviously I totally agree that she dress modestly and beautifully but it's not every day that someone else TELLS you that! And a man at that! I wish it wasn't so rare but honestly it is and when I heard that a GUY told her that I was extremely impressed. And wanting him for a bro-in-law. Except that he was forty. So I guess not after all. (sniffle)
End of randomly inserted story. =)

Girls, we can't listen to the sources that want to dictate our wardrobes, whether negative or positive. Those dress codes and rules and "it has to be this length and this size to be modest"?
Those lists were all written and directed and planned by humans who are just as liable to fail and be wrong as anybody else. Also, remember that we aren't called to answer to a church or an organization, for our dress standards. We are called to answer to the ONE who designed modesty, the One who loves us more than anyone else ever could, and the One who is waiting and willing to guide each of us in our quest for godliness in our dress.

Quick note here to the few guys who were brave enough to read this post.
You might think it's weird to tell a girl that you appreciate how she dresses. Well, it's not weird. It is a BLESSING to us women, and we love you for it! Well maybe not literally. But you get the point. You have no idea how much it means.
 I'll never forget a few years ago when I was at a conference and one of the young men stood up during sharing time and publicly addressed all of the young women who were attending the conference. He specifically thanked us for dressing modestly and said how much he appreciated being at a conference where he didn't have to be constantly adverting his eyes. He probably didn't think anymore about his comment afterwards, but let me tell you that I KNOW I'm not the only girl who still remembers and greatly respects that guy for sharing that, even though it was 4-5 years ago. It was such an encouragement to know that there are still a handful of guys out there who not only notice but who care and appreciate the work it takes to dress in a godly way.

And it is work. It is definitely the path less chosen, and the harder of the two options. It takes time, and courage, and hard work! But it is infinitely worth it.

We've got to get back to the place where the only basis for our life, the only basis for where we stand, how we stand, and WHY we stand, and what we do and subsequently wear, is JESUS CHRIST and HIS WORD.

That's it. No minus, no plus, NO ADDITIONS. Just you and God and seeking His face.

I said it before, and I'll say it again-I don't have the answers. There are different clothing items that, to be honest, I'm not sure about. I wear what I wear based on personal standards that the Lord has led me to, and also certain family standards that my family has, and that I have chosen to honor as long as I am living at home. I find that, as with anything, it is very dangerous to get to a place where we think we have it all figured out, where we think we "have arrived" and know the perfect "dress code". I feel right now like I know less than I ever did! Except for one thing, and that one thing is that I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that God does care about this area of my life, and that He will be faithful to guide me if I diligently seek His face and His truth.

At the end of the day, I want more than anything else to be able to say, "I stood firm on Jesus Christ and His Word and the truth that He showed me."
This is not only the area of modesty, but also in every other area of my life.

I love each of you girls. That is why I am sharing this with you. My heart's cry is for every woman reading this to find true joy in serving Jesus in every area of her life, including through her clothing, because it is a service to Him! 

I view my wardrobe as an act of worship. After all, if it glorifies Jesus, that is worship, right? Right! 

God's Word has so much to say about this. My favorite verse on this subject is found in Corinthians:

"What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost, 

which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price:

 therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's." 

1 Corinthians 6:19-20

Most importantly, we can't forget that the heart of modesty really has nothing at all to do with actual clothing, but it is all about having the FEAR OF THE LORD and the Holy Spirit living within us:

"Favor is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised." Proverbs 31:30

I'll end on a light note, with a favorite quote that is funny, but really quite sobering when you stop and think about it: 

"Dressing immodestly is like rolling around in manure. 

                                  Yes, you'll get attention...but mostly from pigs."

You don't want that, honey. Pigs Boys like that aren't worth your time. Jesus created you for SO MUCH MORE. 

So step out of your box. Be different. Be set apart. Choose the royalty and dignity and glory that is fitting for a daughter of the Most High King.

And that is why I wear what I wear!

 I'm praying that each of you will commit to seeking Him in this area of modesty, and that you will be blown away by His faithfulness in showing you what He wants you to wear!

I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments below! 

And. Be back this weekend for a super exciting guest post 

and giveaway of an amazing book on modesty!

-Chels

The Typical Day Before Leaving On Tour

This post title is somewhat deceiving, because absolutely no two "day-before-leaving-on-tour" days are the same. It is quite crazy, the different things that come up every time and leave us shaking our heads wondering "and WHY did this have to happen today of ALL days?"

So no two days of these are alike. But I thought I'd still share with you what that "day before leaving" CAN look like. Since this is our last tour of the year and I was thinking about how it is also the last big packing day of the year, I thought it would be an appropriate time to do a post like this.

 I didn't include pictures of all of us gathered in the kitchen at lunchtime packing and eating simultaneously. 

Or each of us taking load after load after load to the bus.

Or making the bus bunks, loading the freezer/refridgerator, filling the water bay, cleaning out and restocking the front bays, cleaning the house, finishing the laundry, etc etc etc.

And now, I take you back to last Thursday...(we left on Friday)

Thursday started out with a messy bedroom, a messy ponytail, comfort clothes, and no makeup. 

(except for mascara. always mascara) 

When I went to apply my makeup I discovered that I had left some of it in the truck the night before (don't even ask why it was with me in the truck in the first place!) and since my dad and brother had taken the truck early that morning to deliver cattle, that makeup wasn't going to be an option. I was short on time anyways so I decided to just nix the whole process except of course for aforementioned mascara. Because KEEP CALM AND WEAR MASCARA.

Moving on....

 The bedroom. On packing days it always gets worse before it gets better. This picture was taken at some point in the process.
I love packing. Absolutely ADORE it. Even though at heart I am ultimately a homebody, still I have always had the love of travel in my bones.
Because traveling is adventure---heading out into the wide wide world. And I love adventure.

Packing can take anywhere from a certain number of hours to another certain number of hours.
No, I am not going to divulge the time it takes to pack. It varies quite a bit from time to time.
And besides. Certain information should stay personal, I think. =)

Packing for oneself is one thing. Packing five different coordinating outfits for a family of twelve is another. Whilest in the midst of the piles of dress clothes EVERYWHERE, I suddenly had a revelation.
"Why can't everyone pack THEIR OWN?"
It's not like we are back in the days when half of us were babies and couldn't pack for ourselves.
No. We have twelve responsible, law abiding citizens (ahem-most of the time!) that are all over eight years of age and SHOULD be able to pack their own concert clothes.
So I switched from plan a to plan B, which involved going to the computer and printing off the above chart.

I added certain stipulations with relish. =)

Because:

A) I think God placed me as the oldest to help the siblings learn to keep deadlines (ha!)

B) Something really needed to be done to change the system (or lack thereof)

C) I can always use more coffee $$ (yes please!)

Y'all. I just have the sweetest siblings ever. These gems had their clothes packed early but left some love for me anyway. 

Shipshewana Davis Mercantile Coffee Shop, coming right up this week! =)

Along with packing, and packing, and more packing...the day before leaving on tour is, as was previously mentioned, always filled with all sorts of extra projects that just "happen" to have to come up on that busiest of all days.
To name a few...
*The basil was beginning to go into seed, and there was a very good chance it might get hit with frost while we were gone. So I headed up my own personal pesto campaign, making pesto and drying additional basil in extremely large increments.
*The brotherhood went hunting. Which was probably not the wisest thing to do, since past studies have PROVEN time and time again that they can hunt for WEEKS before a tour and not get a thing, BUT if they go out on the day before leaving...they honestly get a deer every.single.time. It is positively uncanny how that works.
So sure enough, Denver got a deer. Which meant that now there was a deer to be butchered, and jerky to be made.
*The apple trees were producing in abundance, but unfortunately quite a few of the apples were spotty which meant they had to be frozen or canned immediately. Also the four cases of pears which had just arrived from our coop were not in good condition, which meant that they had to be put in the freezer immediately too!

And then there were all those little things like the fact that my washer wasn't working properly, which means that washing a load of laundry takes longer than the normal 55minutes. And several things in the bus were left unattended after our last tour so now the whole place smelled much less than desirable so there was extra cleaning and attention required to get everything back in the preferred state of livableness.

And that's a little inside peek of the craziness of "day before leaving". Hope you enjoyed! Would love to hear your thoughts in the comment box!

-Chels

Why I'm Thankful for Dirty Fingernails

This might be one of my most glamorous blog header shots ever, friends. =)

In reality, it is maybe one of my most realistic header shots ever.

This is Life 101 on a working farm. The dirt you see this time is mud. But it could be a number of other things...

This picture came from a rainy Saturday morning spent weeding + hoeing in one of our flower beds. I was soaked + filthy by the time I was finished. But let me tell you-it was the best feeling ever.

Accomplishment. Fulfillment. Satisfaction of a job done well.

There's nothing quite like that feeling of knowing that your hard work has paid off in a beautiful finished product. It didn't take the flip of a switch, or the click of a mouse, to accomplish this. It took getting out of bed, getting out there Saturday morning, in the mud, in the rain, and working hard. I was worn out when I was done, but it was such a good feeling.

As I was cleaning up later on to leave the house, I had to laugh at my hands. I may now have been dressed up, and had my hair + makeup done, but my fingernails were a dead-giveaway for my lifestyle. There were purple/red stains all around and under my nails from the red beets I had canned prior in the week. There were dirt stains, still visible even though I had washed/scrubbed. If tomato juice stained then I would have had a good coating of that from the pizza sauce I had canned earlier that week as well. (Sorry, Jamberry's...there's not a chance you would last on these fingers!)

I would have it no other way. Dirty fingernails=hard work here. Just thinking about this all made me reflect on how thankful I am to have grown up in a home where it wasn't a disgrace to have dirty hands. It was an honor.

Dirty hands, dirty clothes, dirty shoes...those things meant mud + manure + weeds + briars. Calloused hands meant hands that knew the blessing + satisfaction of manual labor. Blisters were not a shame. They were a badge that said "hard work produced this".

Life is not all about work. I understand that. I know that there can be a downfall to the "hard work=success" mentality, and there is, and it's something that I have had to fight against, because there can be a tendency to find your ultimate fulfillment + acceptance in how hard you work, in how much you accomplish, instead of in the things that matter most.

However, that is how it is with most good things in life---taken out of context, they can be a problem. One day I might do a post about that.

But for today? I'm thankful for the dirty nails, and the tough hands, because for me today they mean the ability to work, the love of work, and the joy in work. They also mean food on the table, and provision in so many practical ways.

And I'm really grateful for that.

This quote is so good. (and the picture is hilarious, ha!)  I couldn't agree more. 

Y'all have a wonderful evening!

-Chels

Jacob & Dorcas||Couple Portraits

This is my lovely cousin + her husband. Y'all may remember them from this post I did about their wedding, last fall.

I took these portraits of them at her sisters wedding in Colorado several weeks ago. We literally grabbed these shots in five minutes, just before the ceremony started. The afternoon light was gorgeous and of course there is nothing like newlyweds, so how could the pictures be anything but perfect, right?! (smile)

Enjoy a few of my favorites!

Favorites, anybody?

Have a beautiful weekend!

-Chels

Road Life Comedy {Part One}

(photography credit StyleLife Photography)

Most of you already know this, but for those of you who don't, I am somewhat of a "transplant". Half of the year I live on a farm with my family. The other half of the year I travel the world, quite literally. Each lifestyle is full of action and I really do love them both, most of the time.
But the road life in particular seems to lend itself to some hilarious moments.
I think it's because we meet so so SO many different people, and whenever you meet that many different people, you are bound to have some, ahem, "different" situations crop up.
Now, we do have an unwritten rule that "what happens on the bus stays on the bus", meaning that there are just certain things that happen on the road that I won't ever be sharing with the general public. But, some things are appropriate to share, and since people are constantly asking me about life on the road, I thought y'all might enjoy a little "inside scoop" of sorts on some of the funny things that happen every now and then.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

*Little boy who was talking to me at our product table after a concert,
Him: "So are any of you orphans?" (I think he meant to say "adopted"=))

*Little girl, also at the product table, a different time,
Her: "So how old are you?"
Me: "I'm twenty-four."
Her: "Wow...twenty-four and NOT MARRIED?" (in an "I can't believe my ears" tone)
Me: (trying not to laugh) "Yes, dear child, it is possible."

*Picking at a hang nail that starts bleeding profusely, and the next song up is a piano song that I am supposed to play on. I do my best to play but its hard when my finger is bleeding and blood is going all over the keyboard keys. I end up with a bloody keyboard.

*Very accidentally meeting the pastor of a particular church in my PJ's one memorable night. One of my most humbling experiences to date.
(this is what comes from deciding to set up a church at 11pm one night. We were all in our PJs but no one was "supposed" to be there so who cares, right? As we were in the middle of singing all of the crazy tunes that we sing when no one else is around, possibly complete with several crazy dance moves, all whilst setting up...in walks the pastor. I agree-what is a pastor doing in his church at 11 o'clock at night?! There was nothing to be done but introduce ourselves, PJs and wild pew dance and all.

*Getting hiccups in the middle of a song. #worstfeelingever

*Eating peanut m&m's right before going on stage and feeling bits and pieces still sticking to the inside of my mouth and corners of my lips...fifteen minutes later.

*Finally switching my purity ring from my left hand to my right hand because it was just getting really ridiculous how many people were wanting to start a conversation about my engagement. #goodgrief

*The friend that calls and tells you that they are "sending" a special "someone" to your concert. Whereupon you resolve to call in sick that night....and your family protests loudly for more reasons than one.

*Being served sloppy joes three meals in a row. it was yummy! But it was just funny too.

*Times when an anonymous Bontrager writes out the concert song list and adds different words to make us laugh, but we don't realize the change until we are in the middle of the concert.
example: "Goodnight Smooch" instead of "Goodnight Kiss".
Also there are quite a few of us right now that are more or less in "that time of life",  so recently someone wrote on the songlist "Someone You Can MEET" instead of "Someone You Can Reach"
Just for a joke. =)

*A certain individual getting so involved in their book on the front row that they don't realize it is time for their solo until another sibling comes to the mic and calls them up in front of everyone
#embarrassingforthem #funnyforus

*Backing up on stage to move out of someone's way and backing right into a mic stand that was left out. This is followed by what seemed like an agonizingly long time of arms, instrument, and legs flailing as I try to regain my balance. Thank-goodness this ended in me still being upright.
(although barely)

*A guy comes up to the cd table and says "So what's the purpose of that thing on your head?"
 (boho styled headband)
In my mind I said "Excuse me, sir? Is this still the land of the free or not?"
But in reality I was sweet and said, "Well, it's for decoration."

*I am sitting on the front row of a church. It is literally one minute before the concert is going to start and I suddenly FREAK OUT because I realize I forgot to remove my week-old red nail polish remnants! How could I have forgotten? At this stage in time my nails look like I'm still in that three yr old stage when they just let the polish wear off and don't care how bad it looks. I mentally resolve NEVER to paint my fingernails again...it's just too much upkeep.

*But then whats even worse...is we did the concert, (me with bad nails and all) and after the concert I totally forget about my nails. Until the next night when I am at a different church and on the front row once again, one minute before the concert, and I catch a glimpse of my horrible nails and barely manage to suppress a shriek, realizing that I once again forgot to remove the polish! And although I didn't think it possible last night, in reality, tonight the nails look even worse.
Brother to the rescue loaned me his pocket knife and I FRANTICALLY begin scraping those nails. I wasn't able to get it all off in the one minute I had but all through the concert, every spare minute, I was trying to pick off nail polish remnants. Never again.

*Out and about one day, at Subway, and the lady behind the counter begins a conversation with me as I'm digging in my purse trying to locate the correct amount of change.
Her: "Are you Italian?"
Me: "No."
Her: "Are you Greek?"
Me: "No."
Her:"Well then, what are you?"
Me: (counting out my change and not thinking) "Um, I'm part German. And part Indian. And...uh, part regular?"
Whereupon we all laughed-me, the lady, and the guy making my sub.
Regular? Where did that come from? No idea...

*Having an eyelash stuck inside my eyelid for the entire concert, and being unable to do anything about it. #painful

*Thinking about something else entirely, and skipping to the ending of the song while siblings continue singing the correct part...and then we all stop and laugh and I try to recollect what song we were even singing because I was seriously in another world. The audience is sitting there obviously not getting the joke and we are all just DYING laughing although trying to pull ourselves together. I tried to explain to the audience what happened but obviously it isn't possible to communicate correctly so finally I just manage to squeak out, "I think we will just move to the next song" and you do just that, while your parents are in the front row dying of mortification at their scatterbrained daughter. (Unfortunately this scenario has happened to us more than once. And I'm not always the one at fault either...)

*Thinking if I had a dollar for every grandma who told me that I needed to meet her grandson...I'd be one rich lady! (hehe)

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Ha, I'm laughing again as I finish up this post, re-living some of these moments!

By the way, I threw in "part one" with my title, thinking that I might have to do another post like this after I collect a number of stories again... 

Please leave a comment and let me know if you liked the post and would like to see more like this!

-Chels

Life Lessons From the Calf Pen

You wouldn't think it maybe, but I am pretty sure that some of life's greatest lessons can be learned living on a farm. Its a simple country life...but there are such rich truths that come out in just the everyday nitty gritty of living on a farm + working with animals.

One of my first farm chores as a child was feeding our baby calves with my younger brother. We were just big enough to manage the bottles and I remember such feelings of satisfaction knowing that because of our work, those little calves had full tummies. At the tender ages of seven and six, we had such a sense of accomplishment and achievement knowing that we were doing our part to make this farm run.

In the recent years, I haven't been involved as much with the animals on our farm. But I still love filling in for my brothers occasionally with the calf chores. Last fall I took over for a month so they could spend every possible minute preparing for the national Bible Bee. It was such fun to do again...I loved it. 

It just so happened that over this time we had quite a few new baby calves that were born. For those of you farmers reading this, you know about this!

But for everyone else I will explain. 

Getting a newborn baby calf to latch on to the bottle can be a pretty difficult job. Every calf is different, some more stubborn than others, but most will fight this new thing that is being forced into their little mouths. 

There was one particular morning that I was dealing with an exceptionally stubborn baby calf. Try as I might, I could just not convince this calf to take the bottle. It just wanted nothing to do with me or the bottle. 

Now, I knew it was starving hungry, and that it both needed and wanted the milk. The problem was, it didn't realize that the source for its comfort was in this strange contraption I was trying to force into its mouth.

I took the nipple and squirted some warm milk towards the calf's mouth. The poor little baby about went crazy---jerking its head this way and that, trying to find the source of that delicious nourishment. But every time i would bring the nipple up to its mouth, it would shove away, as if determined to find the milk source on its own.

We had a full-fledged battle, baby calf + I. You would think I would have been the easy winner, but this little calf was fully as stubborn as I was and bent on doing everything BUT what I was trying to make it do---drink that milk!

After quite the little battle, I was the winner and the calf finally latched on and started drinking. 

And this all made me think....

You know, I am such a baby calf sometimes. Sometimes I am just so sure that I know what I need to grow. I am the calf, and God is holding the "bottle" of my life. The bottle is that lesson, or character quality, or that something particular that He knows I need to learn in order to GROW. And the only way for me to grow + get the milk, is to latch on to His bottle! He knows that I need this milk in order to grow in life. He has my best interests at heart + He knows that learning this milk is vital to my spiritual growth.

And me? Oh yes, I am definitely wanting the milk. Absolutely! I want spiritual growth in my life. I want God's blessings + instruction. But too often I don't realize that the milk is coming from the bottle. I am so sure that I can find the source for the milk on my own. Even though He is so gently and surely trying to guide + show me, I resist, wanting to find the "milk" my way. 

And so I shove away, and try to make my own way, my own plan. 

And every single time, I just end up hungry, and frustrated, and unhappy, because my way wasn't best, after all, and His was. All along He was there waiting for me, and I was pushing + shoving trying to run my life how I thought it should be, instead of trusting that even though it didn't make sense, His way was the best choice.

What about you? Can you identify with this? Do you struggle too at times with living life like this baby calf?

Next time you + I are tempted to go with our own agenda, may we will remember this baby calf, and its little story of struggle, and be reminded that God's way is best, after all!

-Chels

Sisterhood Adventure || A Wisconsin Roadtip + Wedding

This wedding. This trip. Such special memories. So thankful we were able to experience it.
Even if it did take me half of a year to finally be posting about it!

First of all..the trip. Our friends Hannah + Amanda were the wedding photographers and since we are all from the same general area (within an hour of each other) we got to road trip up together, and stay together at the same hotel. We had a lovely trip. It was pretty short, only about four hours, and I spent quite a bit of it sleeping, believe it or not. =) We stopped for lunch at a sweet little spot about halfway there. (above)

Whilst in that town for lunch anyhow, of course we had to do a little shopping. Of course. Got some fun little deals at a unique boutique next door to the restaurant.

Back to the actual wedding. 

So the lovely bride to be was a very dear friend of my sister + I, and as soon as we got the news of her engagement we knew that this was one wedding we were not going to miss! We were enlisted to do the music for the ceremony, and also do hair + makeup for all of the bridal party ladies.

My sista is AMAZING at makeup. Seriously amazing. I feel so honored to just carry her gear around for her! She did all of the makeup and just knocked it out of the park. 

(confession time: when I want to look beautiful I ask her to do my makeup for me because she is just so good. truth)

Yours truly. My job was running the curling iron/wand, and occasionally helping with styling.

All done + gorgeous!

Alli + I with the four bridesmaids. These ladies were a joy to work with-we had such fun with them!

It was such an honor to do all of the music for the wedding ceremony. We have both played for multiple weddings but haven't had very many opportunities to do all of the music together, just the two of us. We did most of our own arrangements and worked with the bride on selections. 

And with being involved in the wedding anyway, of course we jumped on the opportunity to be part of the car decorating crew. OF COURSE. Most fun ever! Quite a challenge because it was super windy and we kept losing the gallons. But overall it was pretty successful.

So thankful to call these sweet people friends, and be able to be a part of their special day! They have such a beautiful story that God is just continuing to grow, as they now have a precious little one on the way!

Special thanks to Hannah for all of these pictures! Its definitely was a plus to have a friend as the wedding photographer, because then for once I actually had good pictures of us working during a wedding! We usually don't get that.

Also I wanted to mention that we are available (select dates, but we do have a few available!) to do music and/or bridal hair/makeup for weddings, so if you are a bride that is planning your wedding and need someone for these areas, we would be thrilled to talk with you! Feel free to send us an email, at     daughterofvision@gmail.com

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(remember to head on over and be following Hannah's posts this week as well!)

-Chels