Hello, Friend! This is a special and time sensitive message. Thank you for listening!
Because of today's date, which I love, I am calling this message MARCH FIRST!
I need your help, if the timing works for you, and if not, that is okay too! Because I am a self employed massage therapist, and because of the way I run my business, I have never had a regular income. My income ebbs and flows and I roll with it. Sometimes I have enough to do extra things and sometimes I have enough to just pay my bills. This is the first time in my life I've been riding close to the edge for a sustained time and there has been more ebb than flow for awhile now, and because of that, I have fallen behind on bills, namely, ASLAN.
Let me give you some context and go back to 2019. My 46th birthday, February 1st, 2019, was 61 months ago today. I was in Waco with my friend who had attended Baylor, and it was also Baylor's birthday. (Baylor University was founded February 1st, 1845, 11 months before Texas became a state!) On my 22nd birthday in 1995 when I was in Bible school, another friend who was at Baylor at the time, sent a big birthday box to me from Baylor. The main gift was a BAYLOR sweatshirt and her joyous announcement that Baylor and I have the same birthday! I have especially loved Baylor since that day! So, 24 years later, since I was in close proximity to Baylor ON our shared birthday, I elected to visit the gift shop on campus to buy a Baylor sweatshirt. Unbelievably, I didn't find one that I REALLY wanted, and if you know anything about university gift shops, their merchandise isn't cheap. I was determined to find something to mark my birthday with Baylor, so I redirected my quest to the book section, and that is where I found something that I actually needed and was way cheaper than a sweatshirt! The moment I saw the cover, I instantly knew this would be my purchase. It's a book by Mark Batterson titled CHASE THE LION, If your dream doesn't scare you, it's too small. Do I even need to tell you why I loved the title? CHASE THE LION! with a photo of a lion's face up close, my favorite animal, always reminding me of ASLAN. And the subtitle? If your dream doesn't scare you, it's too small! My dream is certainly not too small, and it has scared me many times! I didn't realize it at the time, but that purchase was prophetic, and one that I would think of continuously in the days ahead.
Exactly one year after my visit to the Baylor Bookstore, it was my 47th birthday, February 1st, 2020, and I enjoyed a cozy day at the Cozy Christmas Cottage with Juniper. Influenced by my friend whose birthday is New Year's Day, and who had invited me to her birthday dinner of homemade tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches, one month previous, Juniper and I decided to enjoy the same. It was the perfect winter birthday. Quiet, simple, cozy. Just Juniper and me. And I knew to savor it the best I could because of what the Holy Spirit had told me first thing that morning.
Even though my lease was dated from Mother and Sharon's birthday of September 10th, so wasn't due until the 10th of February, I wanted to pay it on my birthday, because I had it, and prefer to pay early anyway, and I like to pay on special days if I can. (A friend asked me last night if there were any days on my calendar that weren't special. I think she knows me! LOL.) My landlord at the Cozy Christmas Cottage had become a good friend, and she loved my idea of me depositing cash directly into her bank account. That way I didn't have to wait and watch and wonder when it would process out of my account, and she had it in hers in an instant! It was a happy arrangement for both of us. So I drove down the street that morning (it was a Saturday) and made my deposit. It was when I received back the deposit slip, which I always took a screenshot of to send to my friend, that the Holy Spirit surprised me. Looking at the receipt I had just pulled out of the plastic tube, He told me that would be the last time I paid rent on the Cozy Christmas Cottage. It was time to move!
Exactly 13 months later, on the last day of February the following year, it was Leap Day! February 29, 2020, and I signed a 4 year loan for ASLAN, my Subaru Ascent. I had an impeccable credit score and no debt, so my loan was financed at 0.09%--yay! And guess who financed my loan? CHASE! CHASE financed my loan for ASLAN! My CHASE app and contact in my phone is titled CHASE THE LION! I honestly was just as delighted that the loan was through CHASE as I was that it was 0.09%!
A lot can happen in 4 years, and I am not in that same place financially by any "means" LOL. The last 4 years have been quite an adventure!
Just 3 weeks after I signed the loan through CHASE for ASLAN and 10 days after I moved out of
Aslan is the name I gave my Subaru Ascent, so that with every mile I drive, I can say, Aslan is on the move! or, most perfectly, Aslan is on the Ascent! Today is Aslan's birthday! What I mean by that, is that 4 years ago today I signed a 0.09% 4 year loan on Aslan, so I call Leap Year Day his birthday! Fun fact: I financed Aslan's loan through CHASE, which reminds me of a book I bought 61 months ago on my 46th birthday. It's title? CHASE THE LION! If your dream doesn't scare you, it's too small. I have a big dream, and sometimes it has scared me! It's definitely not too small.
I am what I call a SeaShell Entrepreneur, which is a type of Social Entrepreneur. A Social Entrepreneur is an entrepreneur who solves a social problem with a business model and A SeaShell Entrepreneur is A Social Entrepreneur who solves a Kingdom problem with a business model. I coined the name SeaShell Entrepreneur. SEA is an acronym for Something Everything Anything. SEA, which is in Habakkuk 2:14, one of the key verses that colors my dreams. For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the SEA!
Something Needs to Change, by David Platt, urges Believers to give everything for the spread of the gospel, because something needs to change.
Pour IN Everything (PINE) is the beginning of my life motto, PINECONE.
AlaskaAnything is my catch phrase that refers to asking GOD for the nations, in Jesus name, the idea from Psalm 2:8 "Ask me and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession." and John 14:14, "You may ask for anything in my name, and I will do it." Alaska sounds like you're taking Jesus up on his offer and saying, "I'll ask'ya" and Alaska represents following the North Star, pioneering, going for the gold, it's our 49th state, which points to Isaiah 49, which says, "I will also make you a light to the Gentiles that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth."
So what is the Kingdom problem that I seek to solve as A SeaShell Entrepreneur? In a word, funding. I have a big and well informed vision to create continuous outrageous funding for missions and ministries. Toward this end, I have many solid and compelling ideas that I have been praying over and working on for almost 28 years.I plan to write a series of books on this, so I have a lot to say!
Let me attempt brevity. The Body of Christ gives money to missions to spread the gospel. Out of every dollar that we give to missions, for the spread of the gospel, only about one penny goes to spread the gospel among the unreached, people who have little to no access to the gospel. That's the problem that I seek to solve. Now we are giving about one penny of every dollar, and I would like to showcase what it looks like to give two pounds out of every dollar. Since a pound is worth more than a dollar, that would increase our giving to missions to the unreached by over 200%. This is not a fanciful idea. I am very serious, and I believe this can and must be done.
I will begin implementing my dream with Massage Marathons. Massage Marathons are a set period of time where chair and table massages are scheduled and 100% of the money received from the cost of massages is donated and matched, and with tips, this means more than 200% is given to missions and ministries. This is my showcase, from one penny to two pounds.
Massage Marathons will "run" everywhere on earth where it is culturally appropriate to host Massage Marathons, but wherever they are hosted, the proceeds will reach to the ends of the earth, to bless every family on earth, as GOD promised Abraham in Genesis 12.
I begin with Massage Marathons tomorrow, March 1st, 2024, the 61st day of the year, and exactly 61 months after my purchase of CHASE THE LION: If your dream doesn't scare you it's too small!
The first Massage Marathon, run entirely by me, will support my work with Givers and Grievers.
Because I have not had clarity until now on how to share my vision, I haven't sought financial support for this work yet. Because I have invested countless hours working and writing and thinking and reading and researching, and because I have invested everything I have financially as well, and because I have paused promoting my massage business so that I could focus on gearing up for Massage Marathons, my income has been down, and consequently, I have fallen behind on ASLAN'S payments. CHASE is now after me! Which is funny/not funny, but I can't help but think of CHASE THE LION, because the lion is chasing me! And it's because of ASLAN, who is a lion!
Here is what I am asking from you. Today is Aslan's birthday. Meaning, 4 years ago today on Leap Year Day, I signed a 4 year loan at 0.09% because at the time I had absolutely no debt and an impeccable credit score, and I wanted with all my heart to have ASLAN paid in full by February 29, 2024, which is today! Instead of having him fully paid, I am behind almost $3000, which is half of the remaining balance on his loan. His pay off amount is $6110.35. What excites me about this is that my first series of Massage Marathons are designed to generate $6k from 60 massage sessions of $100 each! Leap Year Day, today is the 60th day of the year! Isaiah 60 says, Arise! Shine! for your light has come and the glory of the LORD rises upon you! AND---my phone number is 60-PINECONE! So, because of my financial need for ASLAN, and my Massage Marathon model for raising support, and my ministry to Givers and Grievers, I have decided to ASK for $6000 to cover 60 massage sessions for Givers and Grievers, to kick off my Massage Marathons and pay off ASLAN! These 60 massages will be given to Givers and Grievers this year throughout the next 10 Massage Marathons.
I am inviting you to join me in this historic LEAP into my calling!
If you're like me, you love to give! And if you're like me, you love to give BIG, with a great return on your giving! Because of the timing of ASLAN'S financial need, and my launching Massage Marathons, and giving Christmassages to Givers and Grievers, your gift will do 3 amazing things! Pay off ASLAN, kick off Massage Marathons, AND be a blessing to Givers and Grievers! Wow! Wow! Wow!
My CASHAPP is $KellyShaddock
My Venmo is @Kelly-Shaddock-2
There is a link on my website to my Minis'tree Part'near, Gospel Light, if you'd like to give that way.
You can find my link at pineconepromises.com When you get to my website, click on the tab that says ASLAN.
Thank you so much, and may the LORD bless and keep YOU as you Leap and March into what He has for you each and every day!
Because He Lives, Kelly Ashmore Shaddock
