This is part of an application I had to turn in for a school...Christian school, to be exact. I thought you might want to know a little about what I think about the Christian walk.
- Describe
your relationship with Jesus Christ.
My life would be nothing without
Christ. He is the only reason I have any hope. Without Him, my life would be in
shambles and I would be a miserable mess. As restated from His promise to Israel
in Hebrews 13:5, He has promised that “I will never leave thee, nor forsake
thee.” I know that He walks beside me in every part of my life, guiding me with
His sovereign hand. He knows what my future holds, even when I do not, and I
confidently put my trust in Him and His purpose for me on this earth. Like any
relationship, my relationship with Christ takes effort. I know that I grow in
Him when I read my Bible and when I pray. I also know that He continues molding
and teaching me as I interact with other believers and non-believers. Many
times the things of the world distract me from spending time in the Word, but I
am constantly brought back to it when I realize what my life is like without
it.
- On
what basis do you believe a person gains eternal life?
Scripture says it the best. Romans
3:23 tells us that “…all have
sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” No man can ever achieve eternal on
his own, because we are all born sinners and die sinners until some perfect
gift takes our condemned place. In John 3:16
it tells us that “…God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son,
that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
In Ephesians 2:8-9 it says, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that
not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should
boast.” Through Jesus Christ’s sacrifice, all people have the option to be made
whole. We have to make that choice though, by admitting our sin, believing in
Christ, and allowing Him to be in control of our life. 1 John 1:9 says “If we
confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive our sins, and to cleanse
us from all unrighteousness.”
- Have
you reached that point in your life where you know that if you were to die
today that you have eternal life?
Praise the Lord that I have made
that decision and He has saved me. I am continually being sanctified through
everything that happens in my life. I will never be perfect, this side of
heaven, but I am continuing to grow stronger in my walk with the Lord. I
realized my need for His saving grace in my life when I was 5 years old. I was
blessed to have godly parents who raised me to know and follow the Lord. I was
never lacking for opportunities to grow and serve the Lord. In college, I realized
that I had not fully given over parts of my heart and life in complete
surrender to the Lord. I re-dedicated my life to Him in 2007.
- Describe
your family experience (and marriage). What relationship do you have with
your parents (and spouse)? What would your family (spouse) think if you
were offered a position in this school?
As mentioned previously, I have
been blessed with godly parents who pushed and prayed for me to live a holy
life that was acceptable to the Lord. After my salvation, I was always told
that I represented Jesus Christ first and foremost, and then that I represented
my family. My parents were quick to correct me when I was wrong, but they were
also quick to recognize growth and successes in my life. My parents have
supported and prayed for me in each step of my life. One of my greatest fears
would be disappoint them or to let them down. I was homeschooled through a
godly curriculum, so I know that my parents would be thrilled for me to teach
in this school, where Biblical views are embraced and taught.
- While
recognizing that each of us develops spiritually over our lifetime,
describe your spiritual development, particularly regarding your Bible
study, prayer life, and church activities, and any specific ways this
maturity is shown in your life?
I have always known that prayer,
reading your Bible, and church involvement were vital to a believer’s life.
Through the use of my talents, I have served in the church body since my
teenage years. Overseas, my sister and I lead music and also provided childcare
during our small Sunday services. Sometimes I was taking care of children my
own age or just a little bit younger. In college, I was able to get involved
with the youth, leading small discipleship groups, going to youth services, and
leading groups for discipleship weekend events. I was so thankful for this
opportunity, because, not only did they challenge me to live a holier life, I
was also able to challenge them on their world view. Most of these girls have
lived easy, American lives and know very little of sacrifice and need. I was
able to slowly open their eyes to the urgency of the gospel. I have also been
able to see many of these girls that I worked with while they were in 8th
grade begin their first semester at Auburn
this year! What a blessing to be able to worship alongside these wonderful
young women of God!
I was also blessed to study under
an incredible college pastor, who constantly turned our attention back to the
gospel and Jesus Christ. He was an incredible leader that challenged us and
encouraged us to die to self and constantly look for opportunities to tell
others about the great love of God! One thing that I still distinctly remember
about his teachings was that, no matter the topic or the book of the Bible, he
could always show us the scarlet thread of the story of Jesus throughout
Scripture. It taught me to look at the Bible in a different way, seeking to
find how Jesus was tied into that part of Scripture. Another very important
thing that has stuck with me was that he constantly reminded us that life was
not about us. Life is about serving and honoring Christ. In order to properly
do this, we must allow our sinful, selfish nature to die – giving up much
worldly “happiness” for the joy of living in Christ. This is something I still
struggle with in daily life, but I am striving to become more like Christ. I
must die to self.
My prayer life is something that
is almost constant. One thing I love is communicating, and I can not imagine
not being able to communicate with Christ. That is one thing I have loved about
commuting to and from AUM. When I have those longs drives, most of the time I
use it to think and prayer. It is quiet and I am not distracted by the
commotion of the world. I do, however, have to remind myself not just to ask
for things. God loves to talk to His children, but much of our conversations
should be praise and gratefulness. It is very easy to lean too much on the
supplication and neglect praising God for who He is and what He has done. I am
a firm believer in praying about things, though. If someone comes to me with a
concern or problem that is weighing on them, my words can only help a little.
God is much more powerful, so one of the first things I do is to pray and ask
God to comfort and guide during this crisis. I also do not make big decisions
without seeking God’s approval. I believe that decisions will become clear many
times in reading Scripture, which reflects us asking God to show us what path
to choose.
- Describe
the ways in which you are training your family in spiritual growth before
Christ. Your church involvement is important, but please elaborate on
other ways in addition to this.
Since I do not have a family of my
own yet, I try to help my brother, sister, and parents grow in Christ, just
like they help me. I pray a lot for the Lord to guide my family members as they
make decisions and just as they go through life. I will not hesitate to praise
them when I see the Lord being glorified through something they have done. I
also have an alarm set on my watch to take a brief moment each day to pray for
the man that the Lord has for me to marry. I pray that God will be glorified in
his every action, word, and thought. I pray that God will give him a servant
leader’s heart that will bless those around him. I pray for his relationship
with his family, especially his parents. I pray that God will protect his mind
and heart from evil. Sometimes it varies from day to day, but I always try to
focus on how he can serve God instead of asking why I haven’t found him yet.
- Describe
two of your most important objectives in life and the way(s) in which your
plans are designed to help you reach those objectives. Naturally you want
to “be a good teacher,” please be more specific.
One of the things that I believe
the Lord has laid on my heart is to be a teacher. I love being able to help
children learn. It thrills my heart to see them grasp a concept finally and
watch their little face light up with joy and confidence! I also believe that
there are many children in the world being lead astray because of a lack of
loving authority in their lives. Even if I do not make much of a difference to
many kids, if there are just one or two, I would count my life and hard work as
a success. I want to provide an environment where, not only do children get the
chance to learn, but they also reap the benefits of learning the differences in
right and wrong, according to Scripture. Everything reverts back to Scripture.
I want children to be able to see the consequences for actions and see the
importance of responsibility. I want to give many children who do not have this
kind of guidance at home an opportunity to learn how to be good, even if they
are sinners. While trying to teach them what is right and wrong, my prayer
would be for them to realize their need for a Savior and be able to put their
faith in Him.
Another thing that I see as a life
goal is to be a wife and mother. Since this has not happened yet, I can only
train and prepare myself to fulfill those roles when they come along. I want to
be able to respect and honor my husband, which my relationship with my father
has trained me in that area. I also want to be able to care for him, and my
relationship with my mother (and the many college boys who have crowded my
humble home for home-cooked meals) has trained me in that area. Through my work
in churches alongside wives and mothers, I am also learning how to raise a
godly family, under the authority and co-support of a husband. I pray that I am
able to be half as good a wife and mother as my own mother is.
- Cite
three experiences that you have had in your lifetime that you believe had
a dramatic and/or long-lasting effect upon you. Please explain how Christ
has used these to change, develop and mature you.
The first experience that has
really changed my life was the decisions my family made to move overseas to
serve God. This not only physically changed our family, but we were different emotionally
and spiritually. Emotionally, I learned empathy. Most of the people around us
were hurting and poor. I was able to use my skills and talents to help ease
their pain. Once, for 6 months, I went every week to this elderly lady’s home
who we think had Parkinson’s disease. I sat on the steps of her front door as
she lay in her old bed in her one-room, dirt floor home and read the Bible to
her. It was a huge sacrifice because she smelled and cried a lot. But I was
able to minister to her aching heart by reading her something better than
medicine. I did this purely from the fact that I felt sorry for her because no
one but her husband cared about her. Spiritually, I grew as I learned to place
my faith for everyday things in the hands of God. I saw Him meet so many needs
that I could not help but believe Him and praise Him. I learned to give and
give and give of myself until I had nothing left to give, only to be filled
back up to give some more. Every experience molded me into who I am today.
The second huge event that shaped
my life was when we adopted my brother. He was abandoned on the hospital steps
of the town I lived in. He was 3 days old. After months and months of
struggling with paperwork and authorities (14 months, to be exact), he was
finally ours. The emotional battle for him was so difficult. We would be ready
to pick him up, only to be denied because of lacking a phony paper. At one
point, we had to return for stateside assignment without him. Seven months of
frustration. “Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the
God of our salvation. Selah.” (Psalms 68:19) First there was good news then
there was more bad news. However, on May 24th, my 16th
birthday, 2004, he officially became a Hocutt. He is a blessing (sometimes in disguise).
I cannot imagine my life without him. One verse that the Lord gave to me a few
months after we finally got him was Proverbs 13:19a, which says “The desire
accomplished is sweet to the soul…” He is truly sweet to my soul.
A third time when I truly saw the
Lord working in my life was in 2010 when I took my first job after graduation
in Atlanta, GA.
It was the most difficult 10 months of my life. I was incredibly lonely and
depressed. My job was very physically taxing and I never seemed to get over the
exhaustion. I was not happy where I was and I was not happy with what I was
doing. I could not find a church that felt like a match. I was very
self-centered and angry with God that I was having to struggle while doing
something I hated. The Lord was with me every step of the way. I have never
felt so close to the Lord. I began to realize that I was there because He
wanted me there. He was teaching me to live completely through Him. I had no
one. I had nothing. I had only Him – and that was enough. He gave me several
scriptures that taught me to trust in Him. Psalms 37:4 says “Delight thyself
also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.” I was
learning that the desires I had I my heart were human, not heavenly. He may not
have been meeting the desires I had as a fallen human. Instead, God wanted my
heart to grow in Him, drawing closer to Him each day. When that happens, our
hearts are changed to be more like His. Then, He grants us the desires that our
hearts learned by being near to His heart. Another treasure that he gave me in
May of 2010 was 2 Corinthians 12:9, which says “And he said unto me, ‘My grace
is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.’ Most
gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of
Christ may rest upon me.” Again, as I type this, my heart wells with love for
the One who inspired this. A third verse that always reminds me of the deep
love of Christ for his young beloved is Romans 8:37-39. This is one of my all-time
favorite verses in Scripture. “Nay, in all these things we are more than
conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death,
nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor
things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to
separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” If that
doesn’t give you hope, then I do not know what will!
- Please
explain your thoughts and practices in the area of such spiritual gifts as
speaking in tongues, healing, the interpretation of prophecy, etc.
I had never seen anyone speak in
tongues, be miraculously healed, or prophecy, but just because I have never
experienced it does not mean I do not believe it. As far as speaking in tongues
goes, if the person or persons are doing it to attract attention to themselves
then it is wicked. However, if it is from the Lord, there will be someone
present who can and will be able to translate (1 Corinthians 14, especially
verse 5). If the prophecy is from the Lord, then it will come true. I believe
that the Lord is in control of all things. If He wants someone healed, whether
through medicine or miracle, it will happen. He is the Great Physician and
nothing is too powerful for Him. I just think that most people today overlook
the many miracles of God to the point that nothing seems like a miracle. I know
personal friends who are missionaries to Africa who have
experienced all three of the above spiritual practices.
- What
are you beliefs regarding premarital sex, homosexuality, and abortion?
I believe what the Bible states.
Marriage is to be between a man and a woman, separated only by death. Marriage
is made for us to have an earthly representation of the relationship between
Christ and His church. No where in the Bible does it say “Thou shalt not have
sex before marriage”, but it does imply that anyone who had sex with someone
before marriage (or outside of marriage) was a disgrace. In most circumstances,
those people were put to death because of their disobedience. I have personally
made a commitment to abstain from sex until my wedding, and, God-willing, I
will be able to hold true to that commitment.
Murder is a sin, even if it is an
unborn child. One of the Ten Commandments states “Thou shalt not kill”. It can
not be more clear than this. Psalms 139:13-16 says “For thou has possessed my
reins: thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise thee; for I am
fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are they works; and that my soul
knoweth right well. My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in
secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Thine eyes did
see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in they book all my members were
written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of
them.”
This is only part of the application...yeah, it is quite lengthy. But, now you have a glimpse into the mind of a woman who is trying to honor God.
"The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace." Numbers 6:24-26
God was so good to me during my internship and my schooling. Probably the most obvious way He provided for me was providing finances. Through the generous hearts of friends and family, my tuition was paid for and some spending money was available. I never had to do without. Another way that He provided was through granting me wonderful people to teach and instruct me during my schooling and internship. Also, He has provided me with a job! Praise the Lord! Through the guidance of a professor, I came in contact with Montgomery Christian School, a small school (K-4th) lead by Trinity Presbyterian Church in Montgomery, AL. I am officially the 1st grade teacher to ten sweet children. I am so thankful for the Lord providing this job! It is such an answer to prayer! I start teaching in January, so feel free to pray for me. As a new teacher, I feel very unprepared to guide these children, and I just hope that I have been trained enough to be able to teach them what they need to know.
