Today we’d like to introduce you to Ashley Chastain.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I was raised in a Christian home with all of the instruction a young person normally gets, yet I struggled deeply with what truth really was and if God truly existed. Most of my teen years I distanced myself from anything that resembled the Christian lifestyle I was taught since I was young. I made a conscious decision in my early 20’s that I believed God existed; however I would not live a Christian life.
Since, the moment I said yes to God I have struggled. I struggled with feelings of inadequacy, being wanted, feeling weird and uncomfortable in my own skin. As I pressed in to find truth in Christ I began to deal with fear and torment from the enemy. I often struggled with guilt and shame about my past.
God’s grace has brought me out of so many things and placed me into authority and power to see people set free. Free from torment, sickness, oppression and so much more. The Lord has placed me here to see YOU come into fullness, peace and joy with Him.
A few years ago, the Lord told me to write down my story. My prayer is that seeing my breakthrough will encourage you to seek yours. You can read it in the book Born To Fight and I highly recommend you also get the Born To Fight Workbook. The workbook highlights steps I took over the years to gain my freedom and I want to pass those onto you.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
No, business is easy in some ways and so hard in others. Figuring out where I belong and who I am has been the hardest journey and often filled with tears. There were so many times I felt I was alone or that noone understood how I felt.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Every item sold is done with purpose. Whether it is a shirt, bag or book; each item is prayerfully and purposefully added to the store. The hope is that you will be able to find your identity in the Lord or wear an item that encourages you to keep seeking Him. We are hoping to be the light in the darkness and do it fashionably. We believe in making the standard for fashion to be beauty, functionality, encouragement as well as modesty.
Identity
So often identity is mistaken for things that we do, like our job, title, being a mom, wife etc. All of those things change depending on the season you are in.
Identity is the core of WHO God made you to be. That stays with us, at a foundational level even through the ebb and flow of different seasons of life. When we let God name us according to the passions and desires, callings and gifting(s) He has put inside of us, then we are grounded in that identity and move out into the world in those identities.
We believe that we are each created in the image of God and no one person is like the next. We give a unique gift to the world no one else can give when we walk in our God given identities.
It is my hope and prayer that you come into an understanding that you are God’s treasure. He loves you dearly, created you for a purpose and made you unique.
He cherishes you the way He made you and the gifts He put inside of you.
We have clothing and accessories as well as books. The books are written to inspire and help walk through difficult things/times and for people to know they are not alone.
What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
I love Bend with a passion. The beauty of the outdoors and the fun different seasons we have are amazing. But most of all I love the people. There are some that are easier to love and others that are harder, but I love seeing the differences and qualities we all carry and how each person has something special to share with the community.
The hardest part about Bend, is to see the destruction of self. There are so many that are broken and unsure how to move forward to a better place or even if there is options for something better. Watching the drug addictions take over peoples lives and the bombardment of what others believe they should be, do, have eats away at who they are on the inside and who they were made to be.
Pricing:
- We have items ranging from $3 to $40. We have low barrier for free shipping or you can do a local pickup.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://iamthecherished.square.site/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamthecherished/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/iamthecherished
- Twitter: https://x.com/IAmTheCherished
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@IAmTheCherished
