in light of the eternal...

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.

1. 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.

2. 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.”

3. 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.

1. 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.

2. 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 8^th 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.

3. 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.

5. 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.

6. 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 24^th, my 16^th 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!

1. 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.

4. 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