Leavin' It Behind

"Leave your reputation at the airport…"

Last Thursday I left K-State to live in Niceville, Florida for the next 8 ½ weeks. I’m with a campus ministry, Student Mobilization, in a training program called Kaleo. (More details to come.)

But the above statement hit me like a wall. How am I suppose to leave everything that I’ve become over the last 20 years behind at the airport in Ft. Walton Beach? Honestly, I am proud of the person that I am. At the end of the day however, I’m still motivated by seeking the world’s approval. My lifestyle is not glorifying God in the way that God fully intended me to be and that I’m not proud of.

Since moving into my resort home, with Mandy, Julie, Cindy, Chelsea, Dorothy, Laura, and Annie, I’ve spent quite some time really thinking about what kind of reputation that I do have? There is no way that I can truly come to an exact definition of what others think of me, good or bad. But that doesn’t matter; it’s irrelevant in God’s eyes. What is important is that I continue to acknowledge the roots, that I’ve written about before, and focus on how I can take these past experiences and be transformed into a new creation in Christ.

The last few days I’ve really struggled with seeking employment, balancing life here in Florida and back home, and really wondering how I ever got accepted into this incredible program. Yesterday after a particularly challenging day of job searching, I came back and opened my Bible to 2 Corinthians 5, specifically focusing on verses 15-17.

He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life

will no longer live to please themselves. Instead, they will live to please Christ, who died and was raised for them. So we have stopped evaluating others by what the world thinks about them.

Once I mistakenly thought of Christ that way, as though he were merely a human being. How differently I think about him now.

What this means is that those

who became Christians became new persons.

They are not the same anymore, for the old life is gone.

A new life has begun.
2 Corinthians 5:15-17

I humble myself to God that I can become a new creation in Him. That my reputation can be left at the airport, that I can be renewed into a person chasing after the cross with more perseverance and endurance than ever before.

Today I witnessed what God is capable of doing with people willing to lay aside their own earthly desires to lift up His cross. My brand new OSU friend, Morgan, and I, helped to lead 12 young girls to Christ on the beach. I was completely humbled, less than 10 minutes before Morgan and I sat at a picnic table trembling in fear at the gift that we were to present. We were intimidated by these girls, but were guided by the spirit to share the Gospel with them. In the end, all 12 rededicated their life to seeking Christ as the center of their lives.

This is nothing that we could ever have

accomplished on our own.

Bethany Bohnenblust, a year ago couldn’t even imagine being at a training program like this, 6 months ago I didn’t see how I could ever share the Gospel with another, and on Thursday in the airport, I never thought that I would possibly leave my reputation behind and witness young women accepting the incredible gift of placing Christ as the center of their lives.

It all starts with leaving your reputation at the airport.

Why a Blog?

For those who know me well, know that I'm rarely on Facebook. I'll hardly ever pick up my phone the first time that you try to call, and it may be quite sometime before I get around to returning a text. I appreciate the freedom of shutting my cell phone off, checking e-mail once maybe twice a day, and remaining logged off of chat rooms most nights.

So if I enjoy the
freedom of being
'unconnected',
to an extent...Why blog?



A blog is suppose to be a personal publication used like a journal or sounding board of one's feelings. Businesses are using them now for advertising and teachers are using them for enhancing a student's education outside of the classroom. It's estimated that nearly 12,000 blogs are created daily, and the pace of new blogs is doubling every three months.

So, I must answer the question,

why does a college student at K-State

(a little call out to all Wildcats...Go CATS!)

need a blog?

I don't think necessarily that it comes out of a need to be heard because honestly what kind of advice can I offer up here in this

blog that one hasn't heard before?

Most of my life experiences haven't been too radical,

and I'm leading a pretty normal life on most standards.

But I realize that it's in recognizing how seemingly 'normal' my life may seem that I still have a unique journey that no one else on this earth has experienced or can experience.

In this journal, I hope to capture some of these

adventures and God's continuous presence.

The title of this blog is "Chasing the Cross..." I think this really captivates the mission of my life. Every movement, every relationship, every organization that I invest my time in should be leading me toward the cross, not pulling me away from His purpose. This is a struggle because I want to make everyone around me happy, I want to be liked, I want to graduate with a great resume', I want to be involved in all of the 'right' clubs and spend time with the 'right' people, but that's ALL WRONG!?!

I've been crucified with Christ, I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.
The life I live in this body, I live by faith in the Son of God,
who loved me and gave Himself for me.
~Galatians 2:20

Living a life following Christ is not about fulfilling our own needs and expectations, but it's about laying aside our own purposes for His. In this blog, I hope to share with you how my heart changes, my focus shifts, my purpose becomes more defined, and how God is revealing Himself to me in this pursuit of His heart.

My Roots

“Make your roots deep, and your reach will be high!” ~Taylor Mali

I grew up in a rural community on a small farm complete with a long winding creek, and a fort that would keep my brother and I busy for hours on a warm summer day. Growing up I was in Girl Scouts, dance class, and piano lessons; my family camped on the 4th of July and showed at the county fair every year; along with the never-ending go-cart races and soccer games that my bro and I would play in the front yard.

I lived with my parents and my brother, who always had a great adventure in mind. Most of the time we ended up playing ‘cowboys and Indians’, or pretending we were spies out to save the world.

Though I have moved from home, it’s still where my roots have grown deeply. These roots have been cultivated during my time in college because I realize that even the summer days spent at vacation bible school or at the lake water skiing , I am being molded into the person that God desires me to be. We are encouraged daily to continue to reach higher and further for new endeavors, and our strength must come from the roots that have been cultivated in our past experiences.

What does your past tell about who you are now?

Have you allowed your past to be a hindrance or a springboard for who you can become?

My family has taught me that at the end of the day all that we have is our faith. Faith is what holds us up when we fall down. The deep roots that my family has helped me to establish in my beliefs have led to a greater sense of purpose throughout my life.

Each of us has roots and experiences. This blog will explore mine. It’s up to us to decide how we will use our past experiences to propel us into the people that we were created to be.