Influence Network Link-Up

Last year, through a series of rabbit holes I followed in the blogging world, I discovered The Influence Conference, a faith-based bloggers conference. I signed up, drove to Indiana, met a bunch of new and wonderful women and learned so much. I loved being in sessions, taking notes and applying tips I learned later. I loved watching relationships blossom as new friends were made in as short as three days. I loved getting a few days free from all other responsibilities to totally focus on one thing that would make me better at what I do. What I loved the most about the conference though was the overwhelming sense of being welcome, being wanted, being an important part of community, having others want to spur you on and help you fulfill your purpose -- all because of our common thread: sweet Jesus. It was a testimony, a living and breathing one, of Christ's love fleshed out.

I'm heading back to Indiana again this fall for the conference. I am excited to see the girls I met last year (you want to meet them too? Well sure! Natalie, Arielle, Amanda and Danielle) and to meet face-to-face with the ladies I have come to know online in the past year. The lovely thing about being an online community as well as a "real life" one is that we don't have to wait to get to know each other! The Influence Network has been up and running for a month or so and the community can be found right there, in the forums and the online classes. It's fantastic! I have taken one class so far and loved it! It felt as personal as having a one-on-one talk with the speaker, even though there were more than twenty people attending the class. It also had the community feel of a small group sharing hearts and caring about each other, thanks to the discussion column. You find new and "old" friends in the classes, you discover people with similar passions and opposite giftings, you make connections and build bridges with ladies who can help you or you can help.

Photographer: Jessica Scholl of Jessi[capture]

For first-time readers, I am Chelsea Mills. 20yr old girl, brand new home-owner of a darling little fixer-upper in town but currently living at home in our 100yr old family farmhouse in Wisconsin -- one of my favorite places on this green earth. I am homeschooling my 13yr old brother and 15yr old sister while my parents work. I'm also doing design work for my Dad's two companies, blogging in between, retweeting dozens of ministries and organizations that advocate for vulnerable children, posting pics of my new puppy, Barely, on Instagram, pinning as many lovely bits of inspiration as I can on Pinterest, sharing photography of my life on Facebook and selling paintings and prints from right here. Like most introverts I love piles of books to get lost in, a plane ticket to somewhere lovely and new, a camera to get behind and capture my world with, and hours spent in the living room tucked between my family on the couch. Sharing this life of mine with the Lord has led to the development of His own heart in mine resulting in my passion for vulnerable children. I recently went to India to visit orphans and the people I met there and fell quite in love with are seared on my heart for good. If you have time to hear stories and see pictures I would be happy to share! While gifts are not my greatest love language I really delight in giving what I have to people I love (from family to strangers), be it my time and energy or talents and finances. I love fellowshipping and being in community, having people at the farm in the summertime and having customers-turned-friends of my mom's around our table for a meal. I love neighbors, and according to Jesus you are my neighbor! So please say hello, because I want to know you.
See you in September!

You have influence

We all have those seasons. We all wonder at one point or another what we were thinking when we got into something... We wonder if what we are doing really matters. Why am I at college? Why did I take this job? Why did homeschooling seem so perfect? Why did I think that the world needed another blog? We want our life to matter.

I don't like to waste my time or my effort. I don't have a hard time saying no to things. I'm a dreamer and a perfectionist though and that makes it really hard for me to decide what it is that I really want to throw myself into. I want what I do to succeed and I am afraid to fail. GOALS. Goals are critical to making what you do count but I have avoided making them for fear of failing to reach them. I didn't understand that experimenting and goal-making goes hand-in-hand. There is room for failure in goal-making because there is room for failure in experimenting. {Thank you, John Saddington for showing me that!} "Through failing we learn, through success not so much." // Meet the Robinsons
Our culture expects us to know exactly, specifically what we are going to do with our life by our senior year of high school. I was very secure in Christ and knew that going to college would be a waste of my time and my energy (not to mention my money) so I wasn't ashamed to tell people that my plan was not to go to college. But, now, I'm 3 years removed from high school graduation and those expectations and probing questions still haunt my mind. Since my "plan" is to be a wife and a mother, but The Lord has seen fit for me to remain single up to this point, it is so easy to feel like I am not doing anything with my life, like I'm failing at life. But the fact is that these years are for experimenting and discovering, growing and changing. "I may not know the way I go but, oh, I know my Guide!" Life is a winding road and I don't need to know the step-by-step plan because the One leading me each step of the way knows it. Seriously, "it's the climb"! {Anne Bogel was used by God to give me this peace-bringing perspective.}

Being vulnerable along the way is out of the question when you're afraid to fail and you often feel that you already have failed because you never even "started", according to culture. "I don't have a vision for the entirety of my life." Why would I want to share that with anyone? But when I am secure in the hands of Christ and my identity is wrapped up in Him rather than my achievements (or lack thereof) I can share my weaknesses and be vulnerable without fear, because even in my weakest moments I am strong, for Christ lives in me. The story of my life is that I am not good enough, but there is hope and a future for me in Christ! If I can help others to see that, see themselves through His eyes, by being vulnerable, consider it done! {Nish Weiseth, you gave me the push I needed. Thank you!}

This is relatable. Doesn't everybody have a dream? Don't we all feel a bit paralyzed by fear of failure when it comes to pursuing those dreams? There is that inspiration in our lives that keeps our dream alive and at the same time makes us feel so inadequate and unqualified. Oh to be a writer like Jo March in Little Women! Or, a great cook like Julia Child! Or, a world changer for Christ like Hudson Taylor or Amy Carmichael! With the exception of fictional characters, all those people were just ordinary people like you and I, and there isn't any reason that we couldn't reach our dreams like they did. Jenna Weber, Julie Powell, Jackie Pullinger and Katie Davis are a few examples of people from this day and age that achieved their goals without being "qualified". {Allie Lehman made comparing myself with an inspirational person motivating and profitable, rather than depressing, and Jenna Weber has become an inspiration herself, though she probably doesn't see that.}
Of course self-determination and hard work can only get you so far, but the distance The Lord can take you if you are fully surrendered to Him is inconceivable. You want your life to count? Do everything for the glory of God. He is so ready to show you how to glorify Him in all areas of your life and to give you all you need to do it. "The world has yet to see what a life fully yielded to God can do." What a thought! As the Body we ought to be spurring one another on to greater depths of surrender and striving to abide more fully all the time. {Sarah Matheny, your life is a testimony of the change and glory that comes from surrender. It is beautiful!}

At the end of the day we will feel like what we are doing counts if it is our passion (something The Lord wired us to be good at and to love doing) or our purpose (one of the specific things that The Lord created us for, for such a time as this). Our passions and purposes aren't always clear when we are up to our eyeballs in work, dealing with pain, in difficult and stressful circumstances or lost in mundanity. "All you who are weary and heavy laden, come to Me and I will give you rest." Consider that an invitation to cast all your cares upon Him and pour out your heart to Him, take a step back and let Him remind you of the bigger picture.
I was able to do that very intentionally a few mornings ago and the clarity I received was incredible. To find that in the midst of all my many passions my greatest ones are sharing my heart and knowing people well and loving them well... To find that one of my purposes is advocating for vulnerable children and showing others the beauty that lies in the mundane. It doesn't sound like much but I truly believe that seemingly insignificant things have far more of an impact than we imagine. Just being Christ's love to my family is enough. If that is all I did with my whole life it would be enough.
So if your passion is bringing joy through letter-writing and you're at college, perhaps your purpose is bringing joy to the girls in your dorm. If your passion is teaching and you're a homeschool mom who's kids don't seem to have a passion for learning, perhaps your purpose is to teach them by example how to extend grace and unconditional love and to be long suffering. If your passion is art and you work in a cubicle answering phones, perhaps your purpose is the art of communicating Christ through your tone of voice (that's a bit of a stretch but you see what I'm getting at). {Barrett Ward made passion and purpose feel way less complicated and far more attainable. His secret? Ask The Lord. It works.}

So you're sitting there in front of your screen, one of the members of the blogging world and you just don't think it really matters if you write or not. Really hear me when I say that your voice matters and it makes a difference.

This is what I learned at the Influence conference.
And now I get to share it with you!

Much love,
Chelsea

P.S. The community of "friends" you have in the blog world, though it feels so intangible, is the same as having those friends in the real world. Don't be afraid. Say hi!

Final thoughts (before the Influence conference) - Part Five

"Suddenly I'm light and easy because of all the beautiful and new things I'm learning about you day by day."
// getting to know you - the King and I

I'm so excited! Excited for a road trip... For six hours of open road to myself. Excited to finally meet the faces I've seen on Facebook and hear the voices of the gals I'm carpooling with from Chicago down to Indianapolis. I'm nervous about that too, but mostly just that I'll walk up to the wrong house or they won't recognize me. The girls I'm rooming with will have checked in by the time we arrive and it's so exciting to think of finding our room and walking in to meet them! It feels like school all over again... Only knowing a little about who your roommate is but being so glad that you'll have instant connections and someone to walk around with in the crowd of women. I'm excited for the meet up I'm going to for dinner that night and the chance to hear about people's lives. I really want to know these women that I hardly know now but really cherish. Uncharacteristically I'm not freaking out about whether I'll feel accepted or wanted. I think it's because I just know I will be. This is going to be such a welcoming environment I think and a place where I will feel at ease if not a place where I will really shine.
I am greatly anticipating what the Lord will show me about how He wants to take my influence and use it for greater purposes and greater glory. I want Him to prune me this weekend so I will produce MUCH fruit.
I can't wait to hear all the passions and dreams and life stories of the women attending. I want to hear their hearts and see the Lord's hand on them.
I'm bringing my photography gear and can't wait to capture the conference on camera! I'm going to bring home those first nervous and excited moments, the easy and comfortable moments, the deep-in-thought and life-changing moments, and the ones where we unwillingly say goodbye for now. This is the start of a beautiful community and I'm thrilled to be a part of it.

See you tomorrow. :)

Getting to feel free and easy (before the Influence conference) - Part Four

A - Accent you wish you had
Either Southern or British. Hard to pick. Both are dear to my heart.

B - Baking or Cooking?
Baking for sure. All the prep works happens at once, all the assembling happens at once, then you just clean up and enjoy a cup of tea until its done. :)

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C - Can't Get Enough.....
Time alone or a care-free enough mind to read.

D - Drink you can't go without
Water. If I don't keep my Camelbak filled and near me I get dehydrated. Milk is a close second. I've had milk to drink for every meal at home since I was a little kid.

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E - Emotion you get when those Hallmark commercials come on
I don't think I've ever actually seen one. I don't watch much TV.

F - Fictional Character you relate to
Elizabeth Bennet (Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen), Elinor Dashwood (Sense & Sensibility by Jane Austen), Margaret Hale (North & South by Elizabeth Gaskell), Molly Gibson (Wives & Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell). I am sure that there are more. I relate to a character in every book I read.

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G - Guilty Pleasure
Limited Edition tees from Sevenly.org, getting to help change the world for people I won't ever get to meet but that matter.

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H - Hometown
I've never determined whether my answer to this should be where I was born or where I spent most of my childhood years. One was Cadillac, MI and the other was Bemidji, MN.

I - Ice Cream Flavor
Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough.

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J - Jumpstart Go To (aka how you get your day started)
Propping my pillows up in bed and sitting up, checking my iPhone notifications, reading the Word, thinking about all I have to do that day.

K - Keepsake Item
My mom's old toy horses, my dad's first professional grade digital camera, a hand-painted fan of my great-grandma's, a tea pot of my great-great-grandma's... I cherish heritage and family history and memories. Keepsakes help to trigger memories that are special.

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L - Life Verse(s)
Romans 12:1 //  I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
Philippians 3:12-14 // Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
Isaiah 54:1 // Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child: for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith the Lord.
Acts 17:28 // For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.

M - Memory that makes you smile
I have lots of memories and lots of stories. The first memory that came to mind though is meeting the children from Haiti that came over for the first tour of His Little Feet (a children's choir), and then over the next weeks and months gaining and special bond with one of the little boys. When all the other kids were playing soccer, even though he liked to play, he would come and sit by me instead. We would just sit, sometimes we would talk but we were happy to just enjoy each other's company. Often times in a crowd I would feel someone slip their hand in mine and I would turn around to find Likendly right next to me. I miss my little man. I miss hearing his precious voice call me "Auntie Chelsea" and seeing his mischievous, darling smile across the room.

N - Non-fiction writer you want to have dinner with
Since it isn't specified whether they need to be alive in this present age I am going to have to go with C. S. Lewis, Elizabeth Elliot, David Wilkerson, Amy Carmichael, George Muller, Ronald Reagan, Major Ian Thomas, and Corrie ten Boom. I would want to sit and just hear them converse with each other about the Lord. 

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O - Opulent Item You Want (something that is way out of your price range)
An English Manor on acres and acres of land. 

P - Pattern You Love
Plaid or floral.

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Q - Quirk You Have
I laugh silently a lot of the time. I am laughing really hard but nothing comes out. 

R - Relaxing Spot
My room, the end of a dock on a lake, the top of a grassy hill, a quiet corner of nature anywhere really, a chair in the cafe my mom works at, the passenger seat of a car my dad is driving...

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S - Snow or Sun?
SUN. I have grown up with snow covering far too many months of the year and, though I always want to have snow for the holidays, I could live very happily with no snow for the bulk of the winter months. I love being in the warm sun. Sunny summer days on a blanket in the yard, reading and soaking up the rays. I love feeling warm all the way to the bone. I love how bronze my skin turns in the summer. Love, love, love the sun.

T - TV show you miss
Ummm... Wishbone? My favorite oldies were Barney and Winnie the Pooh. They sure don't make those shows like they used to.

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U - Unique Fact About You
At the age of 15 I had moved 15 times.

V - Valentine's Day...big deal or not?
I like Valentine's Day. I love making special cards with my little siblings for all of our family members and then seeing them all piled up on our plates before dinner. 

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W - What's Your Love Language?
Quality Time & Acts of Service are tied for highest place, Words of Affirmation & Physical Touch are tied for second.

X - X-Factor Song You Would Sing (sidenote: I don't watch the show...)
I don't watch it but if I had to sing a song for a big performance where they would judge my ability to sing I would pick a musical solo such as "I Dreamed a Dream" from Les Miserables, "Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again" from Phantom of the Opera, or "My White Knight" from the Music Man.

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Y - Yoga or Not?
Nope. 

Z - Zealous Dream You Have
Adopting children. I could go into that a lot more but I will keep it simple.

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Getting to like you, getting to hope you like me (before the Influence conference) - Part Three

I like to be prepared for things and as someone who moved 15 times within 15 years I am good at packing. Needless to say I was packed for influence two weeks ago so that I wouldn't have to worry about forgetting anything. However my birthday was yesterday and my momma bought me five gorgeous scarves so my outfits may change to incorporate a few of those. :)

Pictured below is the list I made and the items I packed two weeks ago. Things not on the list that I will bring include my purse with all the essentials ("buying power", water bottle, Chapstick, lotion, nail clipper, deodorant, sunglasses and a small notebook). In my car will be a GPS and music. Oh and if we're talking snacks too, LUNA bars and Go-Go Squeeze apple sauce packets will be the two quick grabs I'll make.

Getting to know all about you (before the Influence conference) - Part Two

Good morning from the shore of Lake Michigan! Last day of vaca. and I am right at that point where you think you could get used to being on vacation but part of you is really ready to go home, back to your bed and your food and your car. You know that feeling? It's funny how the nicest part about going away for a bit is coming back home.
Now, onto another post link-up with the ladies I'll be meeting in Indy in about five days.

// What was your favorite food when you were a child? //
I don't remember having a favorite food. I know I wasn't a picky eater as a child so maybe I was just content with anything (except spinach manicotti -- that was utterly disgusting to me, as a child) as long as my momma made it. Dad's cooking was always more casual than mom's but it was special to me too.
To this day I'm not crazy about cooking for myself but it's super special to me when my mom or dad cooks. Can having food prepared for you with love be a love language?

// When you have 30 minutes of free-time, how do you pass the time? //
Depends on the day and where I am. If its a typical school day, the kids are doing their school quietly and don't need my help for 30min I will probably sit in the silence and catch up on blogs or save inspiration on pinterest, clean the kitchen up or even walk down our road to get some fresh air and fresh patience. If I'm in town and I have 30min it's either because I'm running errands to get out of the house (which I will happily spend in our super Target) or because I have to wait in town to pick someone up before heading back home. If that is the case, I will still go to super Target, I'll stop by my dad's office to say hello and my mom's job at the cafe where we may get to chat a bit between rushes.

// Have you ever had something happen to you that you thought was bad but it turned out to be for the best? //
Nothing immediately comes to mind. However, I've been a fearful person most of my life and it take a long time for me to warm up to new things so I know I've thought a lot of new or unexpected things that happened to me would be bad but the Lord holds my life in His hands and I know that even the "bad" that does happen is for my good, my growth, and trusting Him through it all brings Him glory.
Wait! I just thought of one! Flying by myself for the first time. I thought it was a horrible idea but because of it I've traveled many places on my own (including Europe!) now.

// What is your favorite body part? //
My fingers (I think they're pretty) and my collar bones (I think they're elegant). Those are the first that come to mind. I really like every thing about how the Lord made me though. I'm not insecure about my looks.

// If you could choose to stay a certain age forever, what age would it be? //
Pass. There are some ages in my life that have been really sweet and are some of my dearest memories but I don't want to stay in any one of them forever. Sounds like groundhogs day. I'd much rather keep right on living and growing and changing and making more sweet memories of treasured times in the process.

All for now.
{I'm singing "Getting to know you" from "The King and I" now.}

Getting to know you (before the Influence conference) - Part One

{Before I begin let me just say that I'm using the blogger app on my phone to write this from our vacation hotel room so if there are typos and less variation of font size, that is why. Anywho...}

// What’s the #1 most played song on your iPod? //
Apparently I can't check on my phone's iTunes what I listen to the most so I was going to venture a guess... The artists I listened to a lot while driving this summer included: Taylor Swift (just realized this year that I like a lot of her old stuff), Brandon Heath (one of my favorite artists to "default" to), and Frank Sinatra (and lots of his contemporaries on my Frank Sinatra or Bing Crosby pandora playlists).
Edited to add: I checked my number of plays on all the songs in my iTunes and discovered that the most played song I have is "River Flow In You" by Yiruma which is an instrumental song. In fact, the top sixteen most played songs are instrumental. The most played song with lyrics is "Great Reward" by Shane and Shane.

// If you had to work on only one project for the next year, what would it be? //
I'm not at liberty to speak about it but there is definitely a project I want to work on next year.

// What story does your family always tell about you? //
Growing up my best friend and I were inseparable. Eating dinner at her house was great, but a little dangerous. The food was always so good but the family conversation was always so hilarious that I was in danger of laughing with food in my mouth and consequently either choking on it or spitting it all over. I finally decided that I was going to learn how to eat and laugh at the same time. And after lots of practice I mastered it!
Then a day came where I was having lunch with my own family and someone said something funny that caught me off guard and a bit of the food in my mouth slipped through my well trained lips and hit my little brother in the forehead.
I have never slipped up like that ANY other time in my life (that I recall) but my family still warns every guest that sits across from me not to make me laugh when I have food in my mouth.

// The best part of waking up is? //
Processing what I dreamed of the night before in the quiet and calm of my room while the sun pours in my window.

// What is your favorite time of day/day of the week/month of the year? //
My favorite day of the week is Saturday. The one day I can sleep in if I want/need to (I homeschool my siblings during the week) and then do whatever I want to do with a whole day!

See you all again tomorrow!