A new life in christ

For the new Christian a life spent walking with God can often feel like a dauting task. But for the more seasoned disciple, like Laura, they can really put it into perspective: the steady course always wins the race.

Chief Editor~ Ricky Jean 

Megan: Tell me a little about yourself.

Laura: I was born and raised in Dallas, Tx. My family and I have lived in the same house forever! I went to a non denominational private school for both elementary and high school; and during my middle school years I went to a catholic school. I was influenced by a number of denominations, which caused a lot of confusion at the time when it came to religion.

Megan: What stage in life are you in right now?

Laura: I feel like there’s a whole bunch of different stages going on in my life. I just started dating, so right now, I’m learning how to be an amazing girlfriend. I’m also working on communicating with him effectively. My boyfriend is way more emotional than I am. Which means I’ve been learning how to better communicate with him. Other than that, I’m having to balance school, growing up, my job, saving up for a car and the ministry.

Megan: What school do you go to?

Laura: I’m currently attending the University of Texas in Arlington (UTA). I’m a senior. I hope to be graduating this fall semester with a degree in University Studies. I’m still trying to figure out my plans for when I graduate. I’m considering maybe going into teaching; I also enjoy working on computers and fixing them up, so I might look into that as well.  

Megan: What are some of your favorite hobbies and/or something you would consider unique about yourself?

Laura: I love taking pictures– although, I don’t have much time for it anymore. I really enjoy watching Korean dramas when I have spare time as well. I love technology and I happen to be on the church’s AV (Audio-Visual) team, so I guess helping out the church is a hobby of mine too. I’m always learning how to do more things for the AV team and I’m currently learning how to edit videos.

Megan: How were you met/invited to church?

Laura: What’s funny is no one really met me. During one of the extracurricular days at UTA (where every club has their tables out for people to see) I went around to all the tables, but I was primarily interested in the Christian organizations. After going through all of them– I only saw the Thrive Campus Ministry worked with my schedule. It was a 15 minute bible discussion. I wrote down my name, number, and email. However I never got reached out to. 

But I kept the paper with the information for their bible discussion. The place where the disciples were meeting was a crowded area, and it took me a couple of weeks to muster up the courage to go, because I was a huge introvert back then. When I finally went I met a lot of people, but I was hoping to leave right after because my introverted nature was very overwhelmed. 

However, right before I left a disciple named Lena approached me, and she introduced me to another sister named Kamsy. From there I began to study the bible. At first I was studying once a week because I commuted to campus. It took me about 5 months to study the Bible, because it took me a long time to process everything. 

I really enjoyed learning new things about God and the Bible; most of which I didn’t even know were there. But that was the first time I truly sat down and broke down the Bible. It was interesting to see how despite growing up in multiple denominations– I was never truly taught the things I learned during those Bible studies. It took me a long time but the journey was definitely worth it. I was baptized February 2nd, 2020.

Megan: What is something that you do in your spiritual journey that has strengthened your love for God?

Laura: Something that really helps my walk with God is never forgetting the basics. One big example is simply reading the Bible everyday. I often think to myself, ‘What am I going to learn today?’ It’s funny how God works because one day you will read a scripture and understand it one way, then as you grow in your walk with God and you come across it again –you will gain a brand new perspective and understanding.

I enjoy walking around when I’m praying. I used to talk to myself but now I’m actually talking to someone. I haven’t been on a prayer walk lately, because it’s pretty hot outside. However, I will get back on it soon. 

Megan: What are some of your favorite scriptures and why?

Laura: My favorite scripture is Acts 17:26-28, because it was essentially how I was met. There are so many scriptures and books that I enjoy; one of them is definitely the book of Numbers, because it’s very cool seeing how Moses handled his people when they were rebelling. I can definitely relate to Gideon as well because much like myself, he was a super big introvert, and he had to learn how to come out of his shell. 

He also had to learn how to truly trust God. It took him a minute. But seeing how he grew even closer to God is what motivates me to go back and read it over and over. 

Megan: What do you love about the Kingdom?

Laura: I love how we’re all one big happy family, and that we really take time to get to know one another. I also love how organized and structured our church (DFWICC) is. Those are the two biggest things I love the most, because I love structure and family just as much as God does.