why, you ask?

So I'm leaving in 11 days.
I'm going to Montana for 5 months to do THIS <<click<<.


There are a lot of times that people ask me WHY I would pickup & just do this. It's pretty random. But I never have time to fully explain, so I figured I'd type it out here on my blog for whoever wants to know.


So here's my motivation:
I am a broken, sinful person. I lived life to please myself. BUT I was saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ who loved me & gave Himself for me. It wasn't anything good I did, just trusting in Him, that made me clean & pure of sin. That's the Gospel. The only thing He asked of me was my life... You see it a lot in the Bible: Jesus calls His people out & says two majorly loaded words:

"Follow me." 

Sometimes that means leaving everything. Sometimes it means quit making your own decisions. Sometimes it means stop living in sin. But every time, it just means...DIE. Die to YOURSELF & live for CHRIST. This has happened for me. This is something that continues to happen for me. Every moment of every day I have to choose who I will live for: myself? or Jesus? I don't always make the right choice. But I have found FREEDOM in this. I have found hope. I have have found peace. I have found the fullest life. All this I have found in Christ.

For me right now, following Christ & living for Him means that I leave my family, my friends, my church, my job, my comfort zone, college, plans for the future, dreams, desires, etc... & go across the country/world for 5 months to a place that is completely foreign to me. It's pretty scary. In fact, it's one of the hardest, toughest things I have ever done in my life. Trusting Him has been hard every step of the way, just because I'm a human & like familiar. BUT it's also been a freakin' awesome journey so far, & I'm not even there yet!


I hear a lot of people say stuff like, "Wow, I'm so proud of you for doing something so crazy & out of the norm. God must have a really huge, amazing plan for you. I can't imagine ever doing that." & that's really nice. But truthfully, I'm just being obedient. Obedience looks different for everyone. It just so happens obeying for me means moving to Montana. I'm not doing this for an award or someone to pat me on the back. I'm not in it for that. & if I was, I think I'd be thoroughly disappointed. I'm just being obedient to what God has called me to do. I should never expect a reward for following the Lord.
Christ is the reward I have already gained. 
This has nothing to do with what I am doing, this is what GOD is doing for His glory & His eternal purpose. There's no way I could've raise the money on my own. There's no way I would have come up with Montana. There's no way I could have dreamed this up. He's done it all. I am just the lucky girl who after a year of running from Him, chose to surrender and say, "Okay God, I'm willing." I think God does that; sees who's willing & chooses to use them for His glory.


I'm ordinary. I'm not the smartest kid. I'm awkward. I'm shy. I have trouble putting my thoughts into words. I'm a nerd. I don't have a killer personality or smokin' good looks. I am moody. I get scared. There are days I don't pray. There are days I don't touch my Bible. I'm imperfect & seriously flawed. But SOMEHOW, for some reason that only He knows why, God has lead me to this place. & people are right, God does have a plan for me - just as He has a plan for YOU. & that plan is for Him to use us to bring Him glory.
He must be worshiped. He must be honored.
He must be praised & exalted. He's worthy of it.
He wants to know people & to be known by them.
I somehow have a tiny tiny tiny tiny tiny part in that.


So, I guess there's the reason for why I am doing this. My life is a vapor compared to eternity. & because of everything that He has done for me, because of His grace through faith, because of His death on the cross, because of my Salvation, because of the Gospel, the very LEAST I can do is use my short, breath-of-a-life to bring glory to the One true God.

Even if He'd never done a thing for me, 
He would still be worthy of my life.