OUR STORY
Ready to Jump
Will you jump with us? I have never met Steve Harvey and I’ve heard things about him that I don’t know to be true or untrue. But I do know this about Steve Harvey; he spoke to me deeply a couple of years ago in a YouTube video that I saw and I have not been able to get past it since. It was called “Jump” (I’ll put the link at the bottom in case you have never viewed it) but what he said really spoke to me as a believer. He spoke about how God equips each one of us with a gift that is special and unique to us. God wouldn’t equip us with that gift without the capabilities of fulfilling its potential. But that requires faith and trust on our part, which is easy to say and harder to live out. He goes on to talk about how we can decide to do other things and ignore that gift and God will allow us to do those things. He will allow us to even be successful at those things but it is not how he intended us to live, nor is it the purpose that we are to fulfill. And when we’re not living to our purpose we feel an emptiness. Do you ever have those nagging questions in the back of your head... Is this what I’m supposed to be doing with my life? Is this all there is? What’s my purpose? Am I making a difference? I heard a very powerful statement on a blog that I listened to recently, “If you want to make a difference in this world, you’re gonna need heavenly power”. This leads me to our big jump. Many of you know that about four years ago Phil was laid off from his management job in transportation as a result of restructuring. In true Phil style he didn’t miss a beat and started driving for Uber while he was looking for a new job. Being in that new area of transportation, he began getting emails soliciting other transportation opportunities. One of which was moving a dog from the Dallas area to California. Well, we had a minivan, we had a dog crate, and we had a scheduled trip to go see my family in Southern California! We figured why not? I could go into all the details of the revelations and conversations that came from that trip. I will say that we ended up bringing a rabbit and a cat back from the Napa area to the Austin area, and I guess that’s when Chelsea’s Chariot was born. Over the last 3 1/2 years of doing business our lives have been changed in ways we could’ve never imagined. Here’s why I’m sharing Steve Harvey’s theory (it’s not just his theory by the way; it is also biblically based: “For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do”. Ephesians 2:10, “Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others…” 1 Peter 4:10.) I truly believe that the stirrings within myself and my husband, the dreams and plans that we have talked about and prayed about are those of the Spirit of God moving in us to “jump” --- to step out in faith, to use the gifts and the passion that He’s given us to go out and to form relationships with other people in this world. This world is crazy right now to a level I’ve never seen and people are desperate. They’re desperate for hope, they’re desperate for peace, and we believe that those things can only be achieved through Christ. We want to live that out in a very real and practical way. We also believe in the healing power of animals. If you know us, you know this to be true, as we have been putting our own animals to work, proving this beyond any doubt. We get to put both our beliefs into action with our rescue’s mission, “Improving all lives by saving four-legged companions”. So that’s what we’ve been doing. That’s what we want to continue to do. But we have some real worldly struggles and obstacles, like a van with too many miles and a gas tank that costs a lot to fill. But if Christ is for us, who can stand against us? “The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” Deuteronomy 31:8 If our story has spoken to you in any way, consider partnering with us on this mission. There are several ways you can join us (see the “Get Involved” section of our website. Let’s jump together!