Hello, my name is Hannah. I am currently in University and recently I've decided to start this blog. I plan on updating roughly once a week (probably Sunday) or whenever I feel the need to speak what's on my mind.
I've called my blog Passion for the King because I think it best describes who I am. I am a lover of my King, and I desire to share my passion with those around me. I can't lie, God is a big part of my life and I desire to live for Him.
To begin I might as well start with a little bit about myself and who I am. Like I said, my name is Hannah and I'm in my second year of University. I was raised by two wonderful parents who cared for me and wanted the best for me. I began attending church at the age of 5 and its been a part of my life ever since. I guess you could say I grew up in the church, I acted in the church plays, I participated in Bible memorizing, I did it all. With every week of church I began to grow a deep love for God, and at the age of 8 I decided that I wanted to live the rest of my life for Jesus. I knew that I had made the right choice, God had chosen me and I chose to follow him. At the age of 10 I publicly declared my love for Him in front of my church as I was baptised, acknowledging that I had chosen to live in a way that pleased God. After that point, I knew I had changed, I became more compassionate, but shortly after, I started getting bullied, it affected me, it was painful feeling rejected by my school friends. As a result, I was afraid to share my opinions in class, and just as pre-teenhood approached me, I became very quiet at school.
Yet, through all this, I always felt comfortable in my church, going to church every week kept me strong and I knew that I could always come back to my church if the bullying got worse. I was shy in school, but at home and church I could be outgoing, it was more comfortable for me. Church was somewhere I felt loved: loved by my parents, loved by my friends, but more importantly, loved by God. As I entered high school, things were different, the bullying stopped, yet I still was reserved and shy in large group settings. Grade 10 was no different, but grade 11 was when I decided that I wanted to change things. I was hurt from my past bullying, and I was slowly becoming more self conscious about my self image. In grade 11, I decided that I was going to have different friends, I wanted to fit in like I never had. I changed my friend group, I hung out with some kids I deemed 'cooler' than my old friends. We swore together, we made fun of others, and we had fun; we did things that made us feel good. We were all hurting in different ways. As a result of these friends, I put school, family, and church as second priorities. Enjoying ourselves was more important than school, family, or for me, taking a moment to spend time with God.
Before I entered grade 12, I applied for a trip to work with an organization called Day Star. It was a trip that a church was leading; it involved working on a First Nations Ojibwa reserve called M'Chigeeng, to run a free summer camp. I applied and I was accepted, and that summer was one of the best summers of my life. I went there to serve the people, and in turn God changed my heart. I began to focus on God once again and I knew that God wanted me to return to him, that the life I had chosen to live that past year or so was not good for me. God taught me to love others, and he gave me a self confidence I never had. In 10 days, I grew a deep love for my God, who I knew had chosen me that summer to show love to a beautiful community of people. I came back with a joy that only God could give me, and an appreciation for my parents care for me while I was growing up. I went into grade 12 that Fall, and my friends saw the change in me, I was happier, and it was evident in all that I did. I expressed to my old friends the love I had for Jesus and my newly made friends didn't want anything to do with me any more. It didn't bother me, I had my old friends back and I began to tell all those who were close to me about how God had changed my life just that past summer. I went into grade 12 with a clear mind, I devoted much of my time to my work and I started a Bible study with a couple friends that we geared towards students at school who were labelled as "Special-Ed". God used that time to teach me what it was like to serve him, in school and outside of school. That year, I got accepted to the Christian University of my choice, and that's the school I attend now. Every year I return back to the lovely community of M'Chigeeng and I love working at Day Star day camp! Every year I go to serve the people, and God surprises me by changing my heart in a different way every time! I have fallen in love with the people of M'Chigeeng and I've fallen in love with God all over again.
I am a girl who believes that an extraordinary God can do wonderful things. I am a living testimony of the love of God; when I was lost He came up to me, said my past was in his hands, and that he wanted to give me a new life. I fell in love with my Creator, and each day I love him a little bit more. Since grade 12, I have come to understand that God loved me so much that he died for the wrong I would do in the future, he gave up his life so that I could choose whether or not I wanted to love him! God has given me a passion for telling others about how he changed my life, and now I love speaking about him. I can't boast in my strengths, nor in my weaknesses, because I know that God has given me each to teach me lessons in this life.
Yet, through all this, I always felt comfortable in my church, going to church every week kept me strong and I knew that I could always come back to my church if the bullying got worse. I was shy in school, but at home and church I could be outgoing, it was more comfortable for me. Church was somewhere I felt loved: loved by my parents, loved by my friends, but more importantly, loved by God. As I entered high school, things were different, the bullying stopped, yet I still was reserved and shy in large group settings. Grade 10 was no different, but grade 11 was when I decided that I wanted to change things. I was hurt from my past bullying, and I was slowly becoming more self conscious about my self image. In grade 11, I decided that I was going to have different friends, I wanted to fit in like I never had. I changed my friend group, I hung out with some kids I deemed 'cooler' than my old friends. We swore together, we made fun of others, and we had fun; we did things that made us feel good. We were all hurting in different ways. As a result of these friends, I put school, family, and church as second priorities. Enjoying ourselves was more important than school, family, or for me, taking a moment to spend time with God.
Before I entered grade 12, I applied for a trip to work with an organization called Day Star. It was a trip that a church was leading; it involved working on a First Nations Ojibwa reserve called M'Chigeeng, to run a free summer camp. I applied and I was accepted, and that summer was one of the best summers of my life. I went there to serve the people, and in turn God changed my heart. I began to focus on God once again and I knew that God wanted me to return to him, that the life I had chosen to live that past year or so was not good for me. God taught me to love others, and he gave me a self confidence I never had. In 10 days, I grew a deep love for my God, who I knew had chosen me that summer to show love to a beautiful community of people. I came back with a joy that only God could give me, and an appreciation for my parents care for me while I was growing up. I went into grade 12 that Fall, and my friends saw the change in me, I was happier, and it was evident in all that I did. I expressed to my old friends the love I had for Jesus and my newly made friends didn't want anything to do with me any more. It didn't bother me, I had my old friends back and I began to tell all those who were close to me about how God had changed my life just that past summer. I went into grade 12 with a clear mind, I devoted much of my time to my work and I started a Bible study with a couple friends that we geared towards students at school who were labelled as "Special-Ed". God used that time to teach me what it was like to serve him, in school and outside of school. That year, I got accepted to the Christian University of my choice, and that's the school I attend now. Every year I return back to the lovely community of M'Chigeeng and I love working at Day Star day camp! Every year I go to serve the people, and God surprises me by changing my heart in a different way every time! I have fallen in love with the people of M'Chigeeng and I've fallen in love with God all over again.
I am a girl who believes that an extraordinary God can do wonderful things. I am a living testimony of the love of God; when I was lost He came up to me, said my past was in his hands, and that he wanted to give me a new life. I fell in love with my Creator, and each day I love him a little bit more. Since grade 12, I have come to understand that God loved me so much that he died for the wrong I would do in the future, he gave up his life so that I could choose whether or not I wanted to love him! God has given me a passion for telling others about how he changed my life, and now I love speaking about him. I can't boast in my strengths, nor in my weaknesses, because I know that God has given me each to teach me lessons in this life.
"My heart will praise the Lord for He has done great things." Psalm 111:1-2
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