The Story of 34:18

It all started when…

I was twelve years old. That is when I made a choice to pursue ministry to young women. I was at the Dallas edition of The Revolve Tour, a conference for teenage girls to learn about and experience God. It was 2006 and I was listening to Jenna Lucado Bishop speak. I felt in my heart that God was calling me. In an excerpt of writing from March 28, 2012, I wrote, “Sitting in the audience, taking in the words of the speakers, the songs of the singers, and the skits of the actors, I realized that I was called to be up on that stage, too.”

That call, that tug on my heart, that whisper from the Holy Spirit, has been guiding me ever since. Every choice I have made since then has been guided by the decision to pursue the ministry I was called to as a twelve year old girl. To gain more stage experience, I pursued theatre in middle school and high school. To sharpen my speaking skills, I joined the high school speech team. To learn how to minister, I volunteered in my youth ministry, became a youth intern, and served on the staff of 3 other churches. I purposed in my heart to study communication and ministry so I could be further equipped to live out my calling. So at Dallas Baptist University, I earned a B.A. in Communication Theory and I minored in Christian ministry. I served as the captain of the DBU Drama Team that traveled all over North Texas to minister to and perform for youth ministries. I was hired to be a Resident Assistant in the dorms and mentored more than 60 young women over my three years there at DBU. Then, I went on to graduate school and earned an M.A. in Counseling. I became a Certified Christian Life Coach through the American Association of Christian Counselors and have been working to build my this ministry of writing for, speaking to, and coaching young women since then.

I am thrilled to be in such a place - an ever-changing, ever-growing, everything-but-cookie-cutter life of ministry. And I am overjoyed to have such a tremendous amount of love and support on this journey to reach the world. And I am humbled that God has finally given it a name - 34:18. 

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. // Psalm 34:18

Without a doubt, 34:18 is totally God's. It comes from my favorite verse in the world, which is nestled in my favorite chapter of the whole Bible - Psalm 34:18. It says, "The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit." This verse is the first verse I ever memorized as a child. It is the verse I have repeated to myself over and over to help pull me out of depressive spells and anxious spirals. It is a verse that came into the life of my family at a time where all hope seemed lost. It is precious to my mother, it is precious to me, and it is what inspires this ministry. 

God is close to us. Even when we are broken and we are in the throes of life, he is near. When our sins are splintering our hearts, he is near. When we feel like we have been crushed into a million pieces, he is near. But not only that! He doesn't just sit close to us and empathize with us and mourn what we mourn and collect our tears. He saves us. When our spirit is crushed and when all hope has been drained from our souls, He has the power and the desire to save us from that place. He is close to the brokenhearted. He saves those who are crushed in spirit. He is good and powerful and capable and loving and faithful - all in one verse. 

That is the inspiration behind this "rebranding" of sorts. That is the reason this ministry has finally been given a name. 34:18 encapsulates the beautiful and moving message of hope I desire to preach to the entire world.

My wish is that here at 34:18, you will feel a sense of warmth and safety. With great expectation, I desire that you will come to know God better, grow in your understanding of who he wants you to be, and find the wholeness of hope through our great Savior. My goal is that I will live my entire life on this mission - and that through these ministries of writing, speaking, blogging, coaching, counseling, etc - you will find the closeness and salvation that Psalm 34:18 describes.