S h i N E POST - a friend like no other.

                              s h i n e 


i've started doing 30 days of hustle by jon acuff. 

basically, you set a goal and work every day to achieve it for 30 days.

mine was to write every day. he asks you basic questions like how, what when, why, how to make it fun and creative, and so on…

for me, when he asked how i was going to make it fun, i struggled.

writing is already fun. 

DUH, jon. 

but asking how i was going to make it more creative really challenged me. 

so i prayed about it. 

and i felt the Holy Spirit say, "you have some pretty great people in your life."

once a week, dedicate a post to one of them.

i didn't really understand. 

i already do write about them, God.

they show up in my posts all the time.

no, dedicate an entire post to them. 

where your friendship started. how it started. how God works in their life. how it inspires you. how God brought you together. what inspires you about them and their testimonies. how their faith inspires yours. write. write about how their faith has blessed you in your friendship.

brilliant, right?!

it was all the holy spirit. i had nothing to do with it.

so, here i am. writing my very post SH i N E post. 

i'm excited about this journey. 

i had no problem deciding who i would write about for my first post like this. 

my person. my closest friend. my sister. somebody that the Lord sent to me during my first year of Highlands College. that will forever be my best friend, fighter and encourager.

fellow hustler.

kasey coldiron. 

i met kasey during my first semester of highlands college. 

we were together in youth track.

we spent countless hours doing promotion together for motion night. driving around. hanging posters. stacking chairs. typical future youth pastor students. (if you are one you know what i be talkin about. HOLLA to Pastor Allen for teaching us so gracefully.)

i didn't know Kasey was heaven sent to me until one day we ended up with one other student in youth track at Newk's (a fabulous hidden gem in Birmingham) for lunch after a morning of promoting for Motion Night.

we started to talk. about life. our testimonies. who we were. where we came from. before i knew it, we were sharing our dreams and visions with each other. 


soon into our conversation, we realized we had come from the same place. 

she had been addicted to drugs. 

so had i.

she had self harmed for many years. razor was her choice.

so had i. so was mine.

her dad was an alcoholic and had left her when she was very young.

so was my mother. she left me when i was very young.

she had been hurt. betrayed. left. abandoned. suicidal. ready to end it. 

and so had i. 

but this wasn't what connected us. 

what connected us wasn't what had happened in our past, although it was pretty amazing how similar our stories were. ( God o r d a i n e d.) 

it wasn't everything that the enemy had stolen from us.

rather, it was our love and utter dependance on a redeeming Father God who had rescued us from the pit and put a calling on our life.

further into our conversation…


we learned of the fire, deep desire and complete urgency for the need to see women of all generations living in f r e e d o m:

freedom from the complete HELL that the enemy desires to keep us in every single day.


kasey is a warrior. she is a fighter. she is without a doubt one of the strongest, anointed, called young women i have ever had the ability of knowing.

and while i have learned from her in so many ways…

and admired her for all of these God given qualities and more…

there is one thing that inspires me everyday and challenges me to grow that i learn from the life that she exemplifies:

her God given confidence. 

i have never. and i can honestly say never.

met anybody who has the complete confidence that kasey does.

she doesn't look to what other people think. never had i seen her question or fear what anybody had ever said about her, or if they had thought badly or negative about her.

i watched as she "did her." 

quite simply. 

kasey has always known where she has been, who she was, who she is now, and where she is going.

her confidence doesn't come from material things.

it doesn't come from her hairstyle, her makeup, her clothes or how many friends she has.

it comes from GOD. 

quite honestly, i believe God placed her in my life for many reasons.

but to be vulnerable, i believe she is sent to be many things to me…

but particularly, a true exemplification of what it is to LET GO of what the world thinks and to live in complete God given confidence.

every single day. 

we are opposites in many ways. 

she's not interested in getting super dressy and wearing high heels every day. 

but i am!

the only thing our wardrobe has in common is our super awesome onesies we bought from target ( r e p r e s e n t.)

and yes, it is a fox. and yes, i still wear it. 

she doesn't know this, but often times i have watched her, thought about her, and looked at her…

and admitted to God that i want her kind of confidence.

she knows her identity in Christ.

and anybody else's opinion is like water off of a ducks back to her. 

and not in a prideful, conceited way.

she is the definition of restoration, redeemed, secure and whole and hidden in Christ. 

because of the way she has come to know and love Jesus, and the way that she ALLOWS Him to flood her with His love, she exudes confidence and faith.

and that is what makes her beautiful.

her confidence doesn't depend on fleeting, temporary, material things.

it is set upon a solid rock, the Cornerstone of her life.

j e s u s.

and because of this, it is unshakable. 

it is captivating. it is something that is to be sought after by everybody who meets her.

she has taught me what true confidence in the Lord is.

it is an honor to know her. learn her. grow from her.and do life from her.

she inspires me. and one day, we will lead conferences together.

kasey, if you're reading, thank you. for being true to who you are. for trusting God and having unshakable faith. and for letting His confidence exude through you.

you are beautiful. you are my best friend. you are a treasure. thank you for being a rare example. 

i. l o v e. y o u.

x o x o,

c a i t l i n