This. Is. Happening.

It starts as a jittery, run-and-tell-everyone kind of excitement. Then comes the flood of I-MUST-be-dreaming thoughts, followed by that this-is-all-so-crazy-I-don't-know-how-to-feel feeling. Finally...you reach the something's-alive-in-my-stomach-and-it's-throwing-a-dance-party stage (sometimes known as "butterflies"). You get to that point where you begin to realize...this is happening. This is actually happening. That stage...yeah, that's where I'm at. The only difference? It's combined with all of those previous feelings as well! With only ONE WEEK to go before I head to Pittsburgh to meet the rest of the team and begin training, I have become this jumbled mess of pure enthusiasm, occasional disbelief, and sudden realization as this crazy reality finally starts to sink in - the life I have for the past two months known and referred to as my future is now becoming my present.

In church yesterday, the sermon was about how the same God that performed miracles back in biblical times, walked beside His people through every high and low. and changed so many hearts and minds is the same God present in our lives today. After all that He has done, what can't He do? Who are we to doubt the impact He can have in and through us after the difference He has made in and through those before us? I'm pretty sure He's over and beyond proven Himself. right? For that reason there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that I, along with the rest of the team, am about to see God at work in some incredible ways. This team was in no way a mistake. Each of us was chosen to fill a very particular role on the team, in the show, and as part of a family. I, for one, am definitely looking forward to seeing His hand in both our individual and team growth as we fulfill those purposes.

Someone said to me today in talking about how much I am sure to grow on tour, "You are definitely not the same Chelsea I met a year ago." It got me thinking...the same God who changed my life over the past year, who shaped, molded and transformed me into who I am now, who prepared me to stand exactly where I am now...that same God isn't finished with me yet. If I can look back now and notice that much growth in a 12 month period, how much more will I see when I look back 10 months from now? It's so crazy to think about, yet so humbling at the same time. A year ago I absolutely would not have been at in a place in my life where I could say, "Hey - why don't I just leave school, hop on a bus with 12 others, and travel the country telling people about abstinence and Jesus?" No. That most definitely would not have been a good idea. My heart for ministry and the things this particular ministry stands for was there, and it was blazing...but it took a year for God to bring me to that place of, "I'm actually ready for this. Lemme have it, Lord!"

I'm not the same. I'll never be the same. And there is more change to come. That can be a scary thought at times, just knowing that God is about to stretch me even more (I mean, come on, you can only stretch a rubber band so far before it snaps, right? Is it really possible for me to keep stretching?).

But in my ever-changing life, I can rest in knowing that my God will always stay the same. He knows exactly what changes are in store for me this year and their exact purpose. I don't know what to expect, but this one thing I do know for sure - I am ready for this.

Want a glimpse of what I'm about to dive into? Check it out --> REWIND Promo