My Values: Katie's Convictions

When it comes to ministry, whether in the local church, or just in living out my beliefs in everyday life by reflecting Christ in the real-world, there are certain values that I hold tightly to. Values that keep me focused on what God has specifically called me to do.

God First.

Above all else, my relationship with God is of utmost importance. Sitting and dwelling in the Lord’s presence, thanking Him for His faithfulness and guidance in my life, praising Him daily through song, dance, and prayer, and taking the time to get to know Him more deeply is something that is hugely important to me. The way that I love God will establish all the other values that I hold on dearly to. If I’m not taking the time to be rooted in the Giver-of-life, then I’m lacking everything that I could ever possibly need. This is the biggest anchor of my life. This first value that I hold, to love God and keep Him first, is the foundation and reason for the other values that I hold. During a short period of time when I let God take the backseat, I watched my life fall apart. Keeping Christ first in all things is a huge value that I hold.

Love Others.

It is because of my relationship with Christ that I care so deeply for others. When I was in Junior High, I went through a period of time where I felt excluded, unwelcome, and alone. Knowing what it feels like to be left on the sidelines means that I’ve become really receptive to when others are off to the side, or excluded. My #1 strength with strength finder is Includer. Everyone deserves to be loved, and Jesus has modeled that so well, to where I want to love others just like Him. Compassion and empathy are values that fit in here, and I hold tightly to them. I want the world to look a little more like Jesus, and that starts by loving others well.

Seek to build community.

Community is huge. It's so important! I serve a communal God, who delights so much in community that He Himself (as the Trinity) lives in communion and created us to live in community too! As the body of Christ, we are united by our faith in Jesus and must be strengthened together in. To build a strong community of believers means that we seek to serve God through relationship with each other, pushing one another towards perfection in Christ. This is something that I value so much, as I've been challenged and strengthened by a group of believers who believe in me and care for me. Seeking to build a community like this is important!

Be bold, stand firm.

When it comes to convictions that I hold, I hold on so tightly. Ever since I was little, my faith in Jesus has been unshakable. My grandma told me that when I was a little girl, she would take me to jewelry parties with her. She had made a comment about how, "Diamonds are a girl's best friend!" to which I proclaimed (possibly with a hint of sass), "Diamonds aren't a girl's best friend! Jesus is!!!" Looking back at this memory, where I stood firm in what I truly believed in, I'm reminded that no matter where I am, I need to stand firm in my faith, and be bold in my convictions! Jesus is worth standing up for (because He stood up for me and died for my sins on that cross). While studying at Biola University, I have developed so much character and have become even more passionate when it comes to what I believe in. I think it's so important to be bold and to stand firm.

Foster restoration.

If there's one thing I've learned this past year, it's that restoration deserves to be considered one of my values. The Merriam Webster definition of Restoration is, "an act of restoring or the condition of being restored: such as: a bringing back to a former position or condition." Because I'm passionate and have a deep love for others, I believe in restoration. We live in a fallen world. Adam and Eve ruined God's original intention of community (Gen. 2), which means that we're prone to run into problems with one anther here on earth. But we serve a God who is merciful and works in the messy and hard situations in life and has a purpose to unite us together for His glory. Our God is a God that restores and mends the broken. And restoration matters deeply to me. I hope to be a vessel used by God to help others work towards restoring broken relationships.

Hope.

Last and most certainly not least: Hope. Maybe this doesn't seem like it would be classified as a "value" but to me, this is probably one of the most important "values" I could think of. In the Christian faith we hear this word a lot. But what does it mean to actually have hope? Hope is believing in something that we don't yet see. When we hope, we're allowing God to work, while we patiently wait. In the wait, we draw nearer to God and strengthen our relationship with Him while we're trusting that He's got everything under control. This word, Hope, has been a huge theme in my life, especially within the past year. It's important to have hope (Romans 8:18-25).