"Never, Never, No Never give up!"

it's a winston churchill quote that i just read in somebody else's facebook page favorite quotes...

i thought i'd own it too...

i love hope.

hope runs through my veins.

it's what rolls off my tongue...(well not all the time but it's my heart to do that more)

it's what i eat for lunch. (tryin' to be all figurative-ish..hehe)

it's where i rest.

hope. (so beautiful..i love it.)

it all began on the day when everything impossible was deemed possible...some call it the "resurrection" and i call it the day hope was born for all mankind.

there i was doing my job. another day. borderline mundane if it weren't for the fact i am passionate about the area of work i was engaged in...radio ministry. so i get a phone call. and it's from an old friend i made in nashville. he used to be the producer for a popular christian radio station there. i was a volunteer turned board-op within months...oh yeah, i was pro..lol i remember one of my friends sayin' "a monkey could do this..." so call me a monkey! i did it well. i would stay after hours making lanyards, organizing the promotions room, editing audio, answering phones, whatever i could do to show them i wanted to be a part of the team...i guess i was already a part of the team but to me it didn't feel like i was a part of the team unless i got a job there...so that became my mission...i tried and tried...no cigar...

i remember hearing the producer say "doesn't it bother you that you're doing all the work and somebody else is getting paid for it?" and i'd shy away and say "don't say that!" but the truth was yeah it frickin' bothered me because i, unlike some of their employees, wanted to be there! i think it's not fair when people are at a job especially in media (cuz it's so hard to get a media job) and they're just coasting away just because it pays the bills...no passion really...just because you're good at something doesn't mean you have passion to do it. if you're not passionate about it, let somebody else do it who DOES have passion. there are people who are dying to even have a chance at being inside the building you call "work." when i was a board-op in nashville i met this other guy who was doing the same job at that station and one day he told me he was quitting...and i thought he was crazy! see, i wanted to work in radio so badly that even this little job was a "foot in the door" to me...anyway, he went on to explain to me that he wasn't passionate about it and he didn't wanna keep somebody else from gettin' their foot in the door...wow...just sayin' give somebody else a shot...you'll be glad you did. :-)

i'm super thankful to actually know what i'm made to do. i know what my craft is. i'm still an amateur but happy to be one! hehe...anyway, man, i'm going all over the place here...okay so the producer i made friends with in nash, called me up and offered me a job at his station in feeding hills, massachusetts! after consulting with my radio mentor, i knew this was my next step but i just wanted to be sure...so i talked it over with old church peeps and family and God...and then, behold, i saw a hotpink neon sign that said: "LESLIE GO FOR IT!!!"

jusssst kidding. i so wanted that though. so steps of faith are basically giving more weight to what you know about God and what he's done in your life versus the "what-if's" of life. so i'm making the next step. i should title this season of life as "the next step," because it's all i've been hearing ever since then...just to make it clear, this is my first full-time radio gig!!! yeah!!! wooooo!!! never in my wildest dreams did i ever see this coming!

i was a suicidal, eating disorder girl who was tryin' to find her identity in a guy and anything else on earth years ago...and God found me on the floor of my dorm in iowa...crying because of the pain my life was causing me...well, it was my choices...i told God i didn't wanna live that way anymore and that i knew he made me for something greater and i asked him to forgive me for not living the life he intended for me...i was ruined from there on...

God makes something out of nothing. water to wine. beautiful creation out of emptiness...

if you have dreams, don't give up. it's not far-fetched. a real dream won't let you sleep at night. a question i asked myself once was: "if you were to die tomorrow, what's the job you'd dream of doing?" if you're sort of "iffy" on what your purpose in life is or what you were made to do, no worries, keep asking God...He'll lead you to the right opportunities...one step at time. step one: trust him.

but something good to remember is put your hope in him, not in anything else. i'm learning that..sometimes i think that's a choice i need to make on a daily basis. putting my hope in him, his mysterious ways...i can't believe this is happening to me!!! ahhh!!! :-) i'm honored really. this radio station is a baby, only 3 years old and i'm honored to be a part of the raising it up to be a shining beacon of hope for many in the new england area. i look forward to learning from all of this too...i wanna be a beacon of hope too you know...yep. so...

never, never, no never give up.