Growing up I attended church frequently with my parents and grandparents. At the time I would’ve claimed to be a Christian mainly because my family would’ve also claimed that title, along with almost everyone else in the Southeast United States. I thought that being a Christian meant you went to church sometimes and believed in God, but it didn’t have much of an impact on your life other than that. I was extremely narrow minded and had no real interest in things of faith, other cultures, or really anything other than myself.

Fast forward to high school, I was extremely motivated by worldly standards and was always craving more. I desired purpose. I felt like a lot of the time I was just going through the motions and that there had to be something more than what I was living.

In my junior and senior years, I started to look everywhere to fill that burning desire for more. I turned to just about every worldly thing one can imagine: sporting events, school and good grades, parties and alcohol, relationships and sexual immorality, and more. My parents got divorced during this time and that led to an even bigger hole and even less accountability. I was having fun giving in to my desires and doing whatever made me feel good whenever I wanted it. I moved away from home to college in 2020 and expected to keep living this awesome lifestyle of what I thought was freedom.

Once I got settled into Knoxville, a few key people began seeking me out and genuinely taking interest in me. Something about them was definitely different than people I had known, but I rejected their invitations time and time again to join them at campus events or attend church with them. In all honesty I wanted nothing to do with their group. But they continually sought me out. I finally agreed to attend their weekly meet up, because after all I did consider myself a Christian and they served free food- any broke college student’s love language.

That is where I heard the true gospel for the first time: God is perfect, holy, and just. He created us for perfect relationship with him. Every human has broken that relationship because of our sin. The result is that we are guilty before God and deserve punishment- eternal punishment. But Jesus Christ came into the world, lived a perfect sinless life, and then took our punishment for us on the cross. The only person in history who didn’t deserve it took it anyways. Now when God sees people who have their faith in Jesus, he sees them for the sinless life that Jesus lived because our punishment has been paid, and we can step back into relationship with him. But when God sees people who do not have their faith in Jesus, he sees them for all the sins they have ever committed and he grants them their wish of living apart from him. Being a Christian is not about religion or an attendance box to check off or a bunch of rules to follow, but a relationship. We could never earn our way to right standing with God on our own. We needed Jesus. And he graciously gave himself for us.

I felt the weight of my own sin for the first time. I repented and started truly walking with the Lord after my freshman year. As an outward expression of this new life, I was baptized in 2021. This new worldview and completely different way of life came with lost friendships and tons of questions from people living for worldly things, but as Paul says “I count everything as loss compared to the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” (Phil. 3:8). Living with and for Jesus is experiencing the fullness of life, and I am eternally grateful for God’s handiwork in my salvation.

I have finally filled the void and found purpose, hope, and true joy in Jesus. He came so that we may have life and have it abundantly. And I will spend the rest of my days in this fallen world giving my life to bring glory to His name.

So who am I? Above all else, I am a child of God.

Whether it’s a day trip or an all-nighter, a sunrise hike or chasing a sunset, jumping out of a plane or off of a cliff, across the world or in the backyard. Why not? Let’s do it. I’m in.

Different excites me. I love doing things that I haven’t done before. Whether that’s being around a group of people I don’t normally hang out with, trying a new activity, or immersing myself into a completely different culture; I want to experience it.

I’ve never met a stranger (click ‘My People’ on the Home page). Learning the individualities of people is exceptionally intriguing to me. We all think we’re the main character, mainly because we know every detail about ourselves. But when we step back and realize that there are almost 8 billion others currently on the planet that all have their own routines, stories, relationships, and things that excite them, it’s pretty mind-blowing (look up the definition of sonder). I, too, am inherently prideful and self-centered. But I’m learning to be a better listener, to be slower to speak, and to have a genuine interest in others. One of my favorite things ever is seeing someone’s eyes light up and hearing the excitement in their voice when they tell me about something they’re truly passionate about.

One of the most adventurous and non-traditional things I’ve done is van life. I lived full-time in a self-converted Ram ProMaster for two years as a college student. To see pictures and read more on this, click on the ‘Van Life’ button on the home page.

Simply put: God has revealed himself in the creation of this world and His people, and while I’m here temporarily I want to soak in as much of it as I possibly can.

“Be very careful how you live, not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.” -Ephesians 5:15-17