Tis the Season!

My senior year so far has been beautiful chaotic. Currently, it is the wonderful time of year of balancing school, college applications, scholarship applications, club presidents’ responsibilities, volunteer work, and whatever else God decides for me to do! So blogging has taken the back burner lately but I would hate to not post something…. SO....Here is my college admission essay! I am applying only to private Christian universities which mean I have the opportunity and freedom to write about my love and life with Christ :) Enjoy!!

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College Admissions Essay

A Glance through the Window of my Heart

This morning is evidence that autumn is in full swing. The crisp cold blended with the warm sunbeams kissing my face. It is early enough to watch the sunrise as the whole sky, seemingly out of nowhere, becomes ablaze with the beauty and artisanship of God. I am wearing an oversized sweatshirt and arguably the most comfy yoga pants in the world. With my grande pumpkin spice latte from Starbucks in hand I take in the outdoor scene around me. The trees are overflowing with colors of rich gold and red. Breathtakingly beautiful! These are the mornings when I start to reflect on God’s Word and my life. Today I am prayerfully asking God to give me the courage to stand for the truth, to love radically, live fearlessly, speak boldly and to be obedient to His Will (no matter what)! I know that is asking a lot. But I fully believe that God is faithful to continue transforming and molding me.

I am hopeful that God will keep me humbled and let me spend more time on my knees in adoration prayer to Him than having myself be given worldly glory. Why would someone give a pot an award or praise for being so well made and useful? No, that is silly! You would give the award and praise to the Potter, the Creator of the pot. In the same way, I think it is extremely ridiculous when people do that to me. I am just the pot. My prayer is that when I am given praise, awards, or recognition for something I will immediately show them My Potter’s signature written on my heart. My purpose is not to make myself look good. I am created to bring glory to God, to be less, so that He can be more in me and through me, to boast in my weaknesses. It is incredibly counter-flesh.

As of now I am working on being a registered nurse (RN) by the time I am 21! To be able to help meet spiritually AND physically needs of hurting people all over the world. I am absolutely terrified of blood and guts. However, my passion to serve and help those who no one will help is more powerful than the fear. Nursing would never in a million years be my first choice for a major but as I look back God has been leisurely nudging me down this path. It will not be easy. I am going to have to lean on Him constantly to help me do it. But, I trust that if this is truly the path He wants me to go, He will work everything out and give me all the strength I need.

I have seen firsthand all that God can accomplish through me when I am obedient to His Will. I have learned the difficult but joyfully sweet process of coming day after day to the foot of God’s throne in prayer asking for wisdom or praying for hurting people. He has taught me how to have genuine, selfless, humble, and constant love for others. God has been revealing to me my calling with orphans and the unloved, sick, hurting children all around the world. They have stolen my heart. You may wonder if it is possible to have your heart ache for children you don’t even know. YES! I feel it every day.

“Selfless, humble, constant love is a challenge—I believe it is impossible without God’s gift of a new heart.” –Katie Davis

God has been literally breaking my heart for the orphans and vulnerable children in the world. How can I possibly love these orphans unless I am allowing the Lord to change my heart? God will change my heart by dwelling within me. I cannot save and impact lives for the Kingdom, love fully, and restore and rescue all 147 million orphans around the world…BUT GOD IS ABLE!

In everything I do, I want my heart in the right place. That everything about me: my actions, words, choices, and life would be a striking reflection of Jesus to the world. I want the heart of Jesus. What matters most is where your heart is at and I want my heart to be in His hands. Jesus alone is worthy to sit on the throne of my heart. It belongs to Him. If Jesus takes hold of your heart, He will impact all that flows out of it and I know the results will be incredible. I want a heart that beats for the Lord with an obsessive love no one can take away.

There are some days I can really feel the sting of the life I have chosen. It is a challenge but, extremely worth it. This is what it means to be a follower of Christ. Jesus’ love makes every hardship, struggle, fear and loss all completely worth it!

At the end of life, God will not judge us by our SAT scores, how high our GPA was, how many diplomas we received, how much money we have made or how many great things we have done. We will be judged by this: how we lived our lives, radically loving and serving others and loving God with everything realizing the world is nothing in comparison.

“The fact is NOTHING should concern us more than our relationship with God; it’s about eternity. And nothing compares with that. God is not someone who can be tacked on to our lives” ~Francis Chan (Crazy Love)

An hour and my last sip of coffee later…I am left with this. All the above is what I have been learning and what God has been showing me. It feels good to write it all down. Writing is one of my love languages with God. How God has wired me to process things. It refreshing to write an admissions essay that gives you the chance to be a part of this: a little peek through the window of my heart and my adventure and relationship with Jesus Christ

Part 5: Living a Poured out Life

It has been too long without writing. Too long without taking time to stop my busy lifestyle to sit and reflect on all God is doing in my life and in the lives around me. He is working in some BIG ways. It is overwhelming to consider that God is moving here in my Pacific Northwest town like never before, and I get to witness and be apart of the movement.

“My precious Daughter, there is NOTHING we can't overcome."

On a day to day basis i feel like I am being dealt things so beyond my ability to handle. Yet, God uses me as a channel to impact lives and touch hearts. It’s the biggest honor. I am so unworthy of God using me in this way. Because God could touch these peoples hearts and lives without me. He doesn’t have to use me...but He chooses to use me. It is the most beautiful, fulfilling work! I adore it! Everyday I am overflowing with joy. Even when stressed or faced with seeming impossible situations. I thrive on it because I know that it's Jesus' strength and energy working through me to get it all done. I have realized I can not live this kind of life without Him.

I have been waiting for the right time to write this next part of the blog series. This part of the series explores the idea that maybe; just maybe, the best adventure is the one where you spend your days pouring out yourself on the least of these: the orphans, the widows, the sick, the poor, the broken, and the lost in this world.

Remember, I am on this exploration journey with you. To explore the ideas and search through the bible together to find out what it truly means to “Answering the Call to embark on a Set-Apart Adventure”. Friends, know that I am so far from where I should be, where we should be. I am not perfect and fall short everyday of being a reflection of Christ to the world. However, I have a eager heart and serve a perfect God who promises me that He will NEVER give up on me (or YOU), and will finish the work He has started in my heart.

I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work in you will continue to complete it until the day of Christ Jesus. ~~Philippians 1:6
In early January, I did something dangerous, I asked God to break my heart for what breaks His heart. How is this dangerous, you might ask? God loves answering this prayer and when He does YOU WILL NEVER BE THE SAME! Katie Davis explains it perfectly.

"have you ever sobbed on the floor for Jesus? I mean just followed Him into such an impossible place that you have to fall on your face in hysterical tears over His goodness to you, in awe of his BIGness, just desperately wanting more? Beside yourself over the agony you have caused Him, broken for the things that break His heart, rejoicing in His sacrifice? THAT is my prayer for you today!”
It will turn your whole world upside down. God tells us exactly what breaks His heart over and over again in the bible.

"For I was hungry and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger and you invited me to your home. I was naked and you gave me clothing. I was sick and you cared for me. I was in prison and you visited me. I tell you the truth when you did it to the least of these my brothers and sisters, you did to me.” ~Matthew 25:35-36;40
Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father is caring for the orphan and widow in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you. ~James 1:27
"Rescue those who are unjustly sentenced to die;
Save them as they stagger to their death.
Once our eyes are opened,
we can't pretend we don't know
what to do. God,
who weighs our hearts and keeps
our souls, knows that we know,
and holds us
responsible to act."
(Proverbs 24:12)
When I read, "unjustly sentenced to death" I think of...

*Millions of hungry children and orphans in the world: helpless to find food, dying of PREVENTABLE diseases. They are "unjustly sentenced to death".

*Child Soldiers in the LRA who are "unjustly sentenced the death".

*Victims and Slaves of Temple Prostitution and Human Trafficking who are "unjustly sentenced to death" of their purity and innocence.

*Suicidal Teens/Children who are so unloved, feel unworthy, and worthless that they take their own life. "unjustly sentenced to death"

*The BILLIONS of people who are on the road to eternal hell because they do not know the Gospel. “unjustly sentenced to death”

I could keep writing the list forever. These are just some of the top things that have been weighing heavily on my heart. My eyes have been opened. Now that I know I am responsible. God has given me a radical compassion for these broken people and has put an extreme urgency on my heart. My eyes have been opened; I can no longer live in my life of comfort and abundance. I will go. I will stand up for them. With God I will turn the world upside down to defend those who are helpless. His people, His children; they are crying out for the followers of Christ to save them…to help them…to love them.


“As a follower of Christ: My desire is NOT to be a humanitarian.
My desire is to bring the Kingdom of God here on earth!
My desire is that by doing that other will know Christ by this work!”
~Eric Ludy
The world out there is dark, and desperately needs your starlight. (Phil 2:15)

I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the something I can do ~Helen Keller

Moses story has really inspired me this past year. I love how Hebrews 11 describes it. I can relate to his situation. I use to hear God’s voice whisper to my heart to do something about the broken people in this world. But I would hush His voice by saying, “God, you placed me here in America, into a family that is wealthy and lives a comfortable lifestyle. If you didn’t want that life for me then you should have made me be born in a hut in Africa.”

But God placed Moses in the royal family in Egypt and He also told Him to leave the comfortable lifestyle to live among God’s people, the oppressed. God blesses us so that we can be a blessing to others (Genisis 12:2). I pray that I can have the same faith as Moses did to do the same.
By faith, Moses, when grown, refused the privileges of the Egyptian royal house. He chose a hard life with God's people rather than an opportunistic soft life of sin with the oppressors. He valued suffering in the Messiah's camp far greater than Egyptian wealth because he was looking ahead, anticipating the payoff. By an act of faith, he turned his heel on Egypt, indifferent to the king's blind rage. He had his eye on the One no eye can see, and kept right on going. ~Hebrews 11:24-26
We are ALL called to give up our lives. As Jesus prayed to God on the night before He died..."Father is there another way?" The same way we pray and ask God..."Lord, is there another way? Must I go there?"
The answer is: "Go...Do not be afraid...I am with you..."

I don’t know where “going” will lead me. It could lead me to witness and minister to someone down the street or to someone thousands of miles away. Through it all I have the peace of knowing that wherever God sends me He will be right by my side.

Courage is not about knowing the path. It is about taking the first step. I do not know my five year plan; even tomorrow will probably not go as I have planned. I am thrilled and I am terrified, in a good way. Some call it courage. Some call it foolish. I call it faith. Sometimes I walk straight into His arms. More often, I get scared and look down and stumble. Sometimes I almost completely drown. And through it all. He never lets go of my hand. ~Katie Davis