I was raised Catholic, going to Mass and catechism weekly. I even spent my summers at a Catholic summer camp, deepening my knowledge of the faith. I could answer questions about why we believe what we do, the proper way to practice our faith, and I could share my faith with others. However, if you asked me what my relationship with God was like, I don't think I could have answered that question. There wasn't a relationship. I followed a model of what the Catholic faith should look like, but I did not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. I didn't even know that was necessary. I thanked God for what I had, asked Him for what I needed, and trusted that He would simply show me a sign of direction for my future. Never did I come to Him as a friend asking for guidance, or simply wanting to spend time with Him.

While in university, a friend of mine from camp got involved with an organization called Catholic Christian Outreach (or CCO). CCO works to give young adults on university campuses the opportunity to know Jesus Christ. Through her involvement in this movement, my friend was able to encourage me to join in as well… if for nothing else, we used to joke that at least I would maybe find a Catholic husband at an event. At first, my involvement wasn't very in depth. I would attend an event here or there, but after I finished school and started my first teaching job, I found myself becoming more and more involved.

Seeing other young adults engaged in their faith, personally in a relationship with Christ, encouraged me to deepen my love for the Lord, not just my practice of our religion. Through the help of the people around me, I began to fully understand that God wanted to spend time with me. He wanted to talk with me and show me the path He was laying out in front of me each day. My prayer time has since blossomed into a beautiful time with the Lord each day, rather than just following a grade school "Praise Ask Listen" model of prayer. Now, don't get me wrong, I still praise God and place my needs before Him, but I am now drawn to spend time with Him, talking about my day and allowing Him to lead me into my future.

Through this letting go of my own plans and surrendering them to Him in daily prayer, I have grown to know that He loves me enough to lead me to greatness. By His grace, I have embarked on great adventures that have been fully annointed in the Spirit. Through engaging in daily prayer, God has led me to share in CCO's mission as a staff member for one year, and now I am serving with them on mission for World Youth Day. He has graciously led me back to teaching and has provided every need for me along the way. In my journey to a deeper relationship with Him, He has shown me that talking with Him is essential, and when we put our lives into His hands, He makes the most wonderful stories!

I was raised Catholic, going to Mass and catechism weekly. I even spent my summers at a Catholic summer camp, deepening my knowledge of the faith. I could answer questions about why we believe what we do, the proper way to practice our faith, and I could share my knowledge with others. However, if you asked me what my relationship with God was like, I don’t think I could have answered that question. There wasn’t a relationship. I followed the model of what the catholic faith should look like, but I did not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. I didn’t even know it was that necessary. I thanked God for what I had, asked Him for what I needed, and I trusted that he would simply show me a sign of direction for my future. Never did I come to him as a friend asking for guidance or truly just wanting to spend time with Him.

While in university, a friend of mine from summer camp got involved with an organization called Catholic Christian Outreach (or CCO). CCO works to give young adults on university campuses the opportunity to know Jesus Christ.  Through her involvement in this movement, my friend was able to encourage me to join in as well… if for nothing else, maybe it would help me find a Catholic husband we always joked. At first my involvement wasn’t very in depth, an event here or there, but after I finished school and started my first teaching job, I found myself becoming more and more involved.

Seeing other young adults engaged in their faith, personally in a relationship with Christ, encouraged me to deepen my love for the Lord, not just my practice of our religion. Through the encouragement of the people around me, I began to fully understand that God wanted to spend time with me. He wanted to talk with me and show me the path he was so beautifully laying out for me each day. My prayer time has blossomed into a beautiful time with the Lord each day, rather than just following a grade school “Praise Ask Listen” model of prayer. Don’t get me wrong, I still praise Him and bring before Him my needs, but now I am drawn to spend time with him talking about my day and allowing Him to lead me into my future.

Through this letting go of my own plans and surrendering them to him in daily prayer, I have grown to know that He loves me enough to lead me to greatness. By his grace, I have embarked on great adventures that have been fully anointed in the Spirit.  Through engaging in daily prayer, God has led me to share in CCO’s mission as a staff member for one year, and now I am serving with them on mission for World Youth Day. He has graciously led me back to teaching and provided every need for me along the way. In my journey to a deeper relationship with Him, he has shown me that talking with Him is essential and when we put our life into His hands, He makes the most wonderful stories!