My Journey (so far)

Hi followers! I have been searching for the past two days for new blogs to follow, specifically blogs who are written by Christian women! I really think my previous blog was deleted as a sort of act of God. I have constantly been searching for things to write about and finally, I went to Christ. He has put blogging on my heart as a way to connect with women of God, and in turn, Him, further. As a senior in college, I have had a different journey than I thought I would have. So here is a bit of background about my journey with Christ and how it connects to this blog!

I have grown up in a Christian family. My great-grandfather on my mother's side was a pastor in various small  churches in Indiana and Florida for many years, and my grandfather has been a pastor at a small church in Indiana for the past 30 years. My parents are both very devoted Christians and I have seen their transformation and growth through Christ throughout my life and it has been such a blessing to watch their journey.

I grew up going to church every Sunday, but my church was tiny and didn't offer Sunday School, so I really just sat for 12 years. I always believed in God and knew from an early age I would become a follower of Christ, but didn't have any plans for when that would happen. Around middle school is when I started to listen for God. Then in 8th grade, my family adopted two of my second cousins. My family of five was completely thrown off and I was angry with God. I turned away from Him, but my journey didn't end there. My family left the small church I had grown up in the following year and the next year we spent trying to find a new church to call home. We visited many churches and I had a few great encounters with Christ that shook me, but I still wasn't ready to give up my "cool high school image".

After much searching, my parents decided on a church that was completely outside their (and my) comfort zone. Having grown up in a very conservative, Primitive Baptist church, the very spiritual and free environment of our new church scared me to death for the first year. People danced, we worshiped with a band (whereas I had grown up singing traditional Hymns), and speaking in tongues and prophecy was a weekly encounter. My parents have become deeply involved in the church almost 6 years later and have been transformed. I, however, never felt a connection with the teenagers my age because they were all so close having grown up together and I constantly felt left out. I attended the church for the next two years every Sunday (our parent's rule) and participated in worship and grew closer to the Lord, but not the church.

Enter college, and I scarcely attended church for the next two years, all while becoming involved in the party scene.

*Story within a story (I know it's long but relevant!)* Ever since I could remember I wanted to rush when I got to college. I solely came to IU because I wanted to rush and be greek. End of story. Freshman year partying got the best of me and class fell by the wayside. I rushed my freshman year and was cut from a majority of the houses due to my grades and was completely devastated. I felt cut off from my friends who had joined chapters and rejected. I vowed to get my grades up and rush again as a sophomore, but GPAs are hard to boost. Sophomore year rush rolled around and I had my GPA up for a majority of the chapters. I knew I would get cut from some but was invited back to a few that I really loved. As the rounds went on, and my list grew shorter and shorter (not by choice), I knew God was trying to tell me something. I was offered a bid to a chapter but declined. I knew given the lifestyle I was leading that being involved in a sorority would not be a good thing for me. I was sad, but accepted my choice. Two years later I am happy with my decision. It has been hard at times because everyone I met freshman year rushed and I haven't really met a ton of new people or made "good college friends" aside from one of my roommates.

The summer after my sophomore year is when I started to be called by God a lot harder. He used the movie The Book of Eli to shake my life yet again. Seeing the people in the film who didn't know the Lord, as well as the character Eli whose faith was unshaken, shook me to my core. I realized that I had been one of these people. I didn't truly know the Lord. It was my mission to know Him after that day. I knew my parents were the best place for me to start. I started learning more and more about the Lord, reading books, listening to Christian radio (music has always helped me learn and grow) and attending church, this time with purpose. I was baptized in our church on August 30, 2010, the day before my junior year at IU started. I stood before the entire congregation and confessed my Faith publicly (I'm actually not sure anyone understood a word I said through my sobs).

The next two years have been major learning years for me. My relationship with Christ is good, but I know He has further plans for us. I have fallen short and have had times away from Christ but he has never stopped seeking me and me, Him. The social pressures of college have gotten the best of me at times, and have learned it is an environment that I need to be out of in order to resist it. God continues to give me strength to resist this, but having friends who believe in the Lord, but aren't where I am, has been the biggest obstacle.

I have prayed that I would become closer to women of Christ and He has been placing people in my life slowly and carefully the past two years that have helped me. I have grown closer to women in my church, and continue to grow closer. As of today, I pray constantly for my growth and that God will place people in my life who will only help my Faith grow. The Lord and I have been working on me together and continue the improvement every day.

God has put it on my heart to use this blog as another way to connect with His people. Here, I will share my struggles and triumphs, my failures and successes. I am pleased you have decided to join me and if you have gotten this far, thank you for letting me share my life with you! I look forward to our journey together and I continue to live a life worthy of the calling.