It’s been awhile since I’ve blogged, much has taken place over the past few months.  A week from today I will officially be living in Midlothian, VA.  God has been doing great things, often times in spite of me and my mistakes.  I started thinking back on the journey he has taken me on and I thought I would do a timeline so that his grace and sovereignty can be shown over the last decade of my life. Keep in mind this is God’s doing not mine, most of the time I had no clue what was going on or what was coming next. There are many exciting and fun things that have happened but there are also many sobering and painful experiences as well.

1998: after graduating high school I spent a year working 2 jobs and driving to L.A. 3 times a week to take classes in Music and Theatre at Fullerton College in CA. Life was exhausting and I was living for myself and to further my name. I told God one Sunday at a church service that I no longer wanted to live for myself that my life was not my own. I asked him to do what he wanted with it. A few months later I received a call from a group called Living Proof/Primary Focus asking me if I would be interested in this ministry, I wasn’t.  I realized later that day that I had prayed about an opportunity to serve others and be used by God, I realized that this was it.

1998-2001: I was hesitant about joining this group because at the time I wanted to be a professional actor. I couldn’t help but acknowledge that God brought this opportunity my way so I knew this is where I needed to be. I quit my jobs, school, and left my friends and family behind in CA. I traveled with this group for 3 years. During this time I learned how to depend on God because I was in a different school, church, or home every day. I learned that people are messy but so am I and we both need Christ. I learned that I can do a lot more than I think I can do and that perseverance is key.

2001-2005: it was never really a desire of mine to get a college degree because academics had always seemed stale and cold to me.  My final year on Living Proof my director asked if I would be interested in auditioning for the team The Sounds of Liberty at Liberty University in VA. I knew nothing of the group or the school. I prayed that if God wanted me in college that he would get there. I received a call from the director of The Sounds about a month later offering me a spot on the group which would cover my tuition and room and board, shocked and overwhelmed I said yes. While at Liberty I gained a new respect and excitement for education and a desire to learn more about God, the Bible and the world around me. I learned that theology helps solidify my faith, that God’s hand can be seen throughout history, and that the Bible shows us the way things are.  I traveled to many churches and schools with Sounds and got to see the state of the Church in America today. I graduated in 2005 and tried to take the story into my own hands.

2005-2007: In my final year at Liberty I got into a relationship with a girl which became a very self seeking time. I was bitter and disgusted at some of the things that I had seen in the church, I was disappointed in myself, and I was not living to honor God. I don’t blame any of this on the relationship I was in, it was merely a reflection of the inward dark heart that I had at this time. I was working two jobs, I had no friends that were actively involved in my life, I was not growing spiritually and I was miserable. At the beginning of 2007 the relationship fell apart and so did I. I had based my hope and joy on a person which was not wise of me and was an unrealistic expectation on her.

2007-2009: I had no idea what to do next; I began to pray in a desperate way to God.  I am thankful for the mercy of God. He showed me that I had been trying to squeeze my story into his and that life doesn’t work that way. I realized that God was telling the story all along and that I need to listen and follow him in order to be to share in that story. Anything besides that was a dead life. There are many older men at this point in my life that mentored me and poured into me. I learned that I was not just saved from something but that I was saved to something, that God wanted me to be a missionary in my own culture and that as a member of Christ’s body I am an agent of change in the world. I learned that my time spent with God was crucial and non-negotiable. I also learned that I can’t do life alone, that I am in need of community and that being a part of a local church is vital. In 2008 I had the opportunity to lead worship and to write original worship songs for a new church plant in the area called Converge Church. I did this for a year and learned so much about myself and others and most of all God. As I grew close to the guys that started the church I realized that God had been leading me towards church planting and worship leading. In a week I will move to the Richmond area ready to live out the mission of Jesus. I am so honored that God would allow me to be a part of building his kingdom. I need more and more grace every day as he continues to bring me along in his story.