What I’m All About

Where do I begin to tell you what I’m all about? I guess I should start with my name, which is often misspelled/mispronounced. My name is Chelli, pronounced like Shelly. It’s not a nickname for Michelle or anything else. It’s just Chelli – a common name with an uncommon spelling. Which turns out to be a good reflection of who I am – a common girl with an uncommon life.

I was raised in the middle of nowhere. My home was located 30 minutes north of a small Texas town, in an unnamed territory sandwiched between two rural communities. The nearest post office was located three communities to our east, and that post office was used as our mailing address.

I grew up in church with my dad as a pastor. Both my dad and mom set a fine example of living a life surrendered to Jesus. And I have loved Jesus since I was a little child and have always known that He loved me. Yet I would wander astray during my college years and drift for many years. I didn’t turn my back on God, I just drifted away.

But at 31 years of age, I began to find my way back. And before I knew it, I found myself stepping in various roles of Christian ministry, which eventually led me to establishing a ministry blog and creating this website to house it. I made my first blog post on January 4, 2014.

I had no clue at the time of all the crazy turns my life would take after that. What a roller coaster ride it has been! Highest of highs and lowest of lows. But through it all, God has taken me deeper and has done more in me than I ever would have imagined, cultivating seeds that He planted in me long ago.

And with God’s cultivation, new fruit has been produced to share with others, some of which is now housed on my website. In addition to my Untangled Blog, my website now includes Joy Jots, Purpose Poems, Breath Prayers, and Life Songs.

When I first started my blog, my website tagline was “Finding joy and purpose in everyday living.” That is still my tagline, but it has much more meaning to me now. Through suffering, seeking, and surrender, I have learned how to truly abide in Jesus and find my joy in Him. And I understand my purpose now more than ever.

So when I say under my profile picture that “I’m just a girl from the middle of nowhere, in the middle of my one crazy life, trying to stay in the middle of God’s will, and meet others in the middle of where they are,” it’s not just a cutesy saying. It’s who I am. It’s my calling. And it’s what I’m all about.

And my hope and my prayer are the same as when I launched my website all those years ago. I hope and pray that you will find inspiration and encouragement here, and that you will come as you are, sit back, relax, and join me in Breathing Life.

God bless,

Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. Genesis 2:7 (NIV)

This is what God the Lord says—
the Creator of the heavens, who stretches them out,
who spreads out the earth with all that springs from it,
who gives breath to its people,
and life to those who walk on it:
“I, the Lord, have called You [Jesus Christ] in righteousness;
I will take hold of Your hand.
I will keep You and will make You
to be a covenant for the people
and a light for the Gentiles,
to open eyes that are blind,
to free captives from prison
and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.
Isaiah 42:5-7 (NIV)

“Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life.” Ezekiel 37:4-5 (NIV)