Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Burning Bush Story
Burning Bush Story
Background
After four years of partying, clubbing, etc. (college), in May 2003, I moved home to Anchorage, Alaska to stay for what I thought would be a short-time- as my ultimate goal was to live in New York City, make heaps of money as a mergers and acquisitions attorney, wear fabulous shoes and fill my life up with the best lounges, bars, restaurants. After a trip to NYC in September 2003, I returned home a bit depressed. As one might imagine, it was hard to go from wonderful New York City to Anchorage, Alaska.
It was a Friday morning maybe the second week in September that I woke up absolutely sick of my life- I wasn't a praying person at that time, but I remember saying "God, I can't take this anymore".
Later that Friday, I received a call from a friend who had moved back to Anchorage and become a Christian when we were juniors in college. After a few months of her living as a believer and me living as anything but, it was clear that we had nothing in common and we had ceased communication. So her call was quite a shock[1] receive a call from her because we didn’t end on good terms. More of a shock was the joy that I heard in her voice.
I asked her how she could be happy in Anchorage and she proceeded to tell me how the Lord gave her the ability to be content; I was intrigued, my only way to feel temporarily content at that point was chilled Grey Goose and orange juice. Next thing I knew, I found myself asking to go to church with her. That Sunday, I heard for the first time that the Lord had a plan for my life and a few Sundays later I gave my life to Jesus and entered into the peace and contentment that I was unable to find through any other means.
Burning Bush
Around the same time of my “conversion”, I was also starting to apply to law school. After praying about what to write for my admissions letter, I started to feel a passion stir for entertainment, which I had realized was a huge pathway for me to live a rollercoaster-life of extreme highs and extreme lows; always searching for the next best drink, club, or whatever it took to make me feel-something…anything. Sex and the City, MTV, and Cosmo had inundated my mind with pictures of success, happiness (lust), and seeming satisfaction. It was amazing to think about the amount of influence I had given entertainment in my life. I had become brainwashed. My values and morals had been based on what I saw and heard; I didn't have very high standard to aspire and I was always left wanting more.
I realized that if I had access to quality music, good television and movies, I likely would have been inclined to make better decisions- decisions that would have positively impacted my life, instead of leaving me in debt from all the travel, clubs and drinks, etc. that I bought to try to make me happy.
And then I started thinking how I could help be a part of changing the entertainment environment. I wrote my admissions letter about entertainment and about how I felt like there needed to be more options, and as an entertainment attorney, I would be a catalyst for those options to come to fruition. That year, I was denied from every school, so I had to stay in Anchorage an additional year. The delay was a huge let down, but turned into a year where more vision was stirred for using entertainment to share His love. The following admissions season, I applied to 14 schools and was admitted a school (only 1 of the 14!) in Seattle, which admittedly was my last selection, as I was hoping for LA or NYC. In August 2005, I left Anchorage to attend law school with the same desire- changing entertainment. I didn’t see myself practicing law long, my real desire was to have my own production company for movies, music and television, but I knew this was my first step.
What are the scriptures?
Not sure the specific scriptures yet. When I was praying in preparation for my commissioning night, I asked God to confirm my desire to work in entertainment. I had started to wonder if it was just my own thoughts and imagination. During the commissioning a part of the word that was given regarding ‘a dream that burns in you [me], and it is not from your own ideas or from men, but it is from Me’ (not verbatim). I knew immediately in my heart that the dream was about the entertainment industry- it was my confirmation that while although I don't see anything moving yet, I had not made up the whole idea on my own.
What's in my hand?
After my first year of law school throughout the rest of my law school career, I worked a local television station in the legal department. I had a chance to learn the necessary contracts and other requirements for productions, talent, etc. I am especially excited about the Inspire group and having the Lord show me what other practical steps I can take. I still receive Entertainment law journals to keep updated on copyright issues and other intellectual property aspects as it pertains to entertainment.
[1] My friend later told me she did not want to call me that day, but the Lord kept telling her to call…thank God she listened.
Background
After four years of partying, clubbing, etc. (college), in May 2003, I moved home to Anchorage, Alaska to stay for what I thought would be a short-time- as my ultimate goal was to live in New York City, make heaps of money as a mergers and acquisitions attorney, wear fabulous shoes and fill my life up with the best lounges, bars, restaurants. After a trip to NYC in September 2003, I returned home a bit depressed. As one might imagine, it was hard to go from wonderful New York City to Anchorage, Alaska.
It was a Friday morning maybe the second week in September that I woke up absolutely sick of my life- I wasn't a praying person at that time, but I remember saying "God, I can't take this anymore".
Later that Friday, I received a call from a friend who had moved back to Anchorage and become a Christian when we were juniors in college. After a few months of her living as a believer and me living as anything but, it was clear that we had nothing in common and we had ceased communication. So her call was quite a shock[1] receive a call from her because we didn’t end on good terms. More of a shock was the joy that I heard in her voice.
I asked her how she could be happy in Anchorage and she proceeded to tell me how the Lord gave her the ability to be content; I was intrigued, my only way to feel temporarily content at that point was chilled Grey Goose and orange juice. Next thing I knew, I found myself asking to go to church with her. That Sunday, I heard for the first time that the Lord had a plan for my life and a few Sundays later I gave my life to Jesus and entered into the peace and contentment that I was unable to find through any other means.
Burning Bush
Around the same time of my “conversion”, I was also starting to apply to law school. After praying about what to write for my admissions letter, I started to feel a passion stir for entertainment, which I had realized was a huge pathway for me to live a rollercoaster-life of extreme highs and extreme lows; always searching for the next best drink, club, or whatever it took to make me feel-something…anything. Sex and the City, MTV, and Cosmo had inundated my mind with pictures of success, happiness (lust), and seeming satisfaction. It was amazing to think about the amount of influence I had given entertainment in my life. I had become brainwashed. My values and morals had been based on what I saw and heard; I didn't have very high standard to aspire and I was always left wanting more.
I realized that if I had access to quality music, good television and movies, I likely would have been inclined to make better decisions- decisions that would have positively impacted my life, instead of leaving me in debt from all the travel, clubs and drinks, etc. that I bought to try to make me happy.
And then I started thinking how I could help be a part of changing the entertainment environment. I wrote my admissions letter about entertainment and about how I felt like there needed to be more options, and as an entertainment attorney, I would be a catalyst for those options to come to fruition. That year, I was denied from every school, so I had to stay in Anchorage an additional year. The delay was a huge let down, but turned into a year where more vision was stirred for using entertainment to share His love. The following admissions season, I applied to 14 schools and was admitted a school (only 1 of the 14!) in Seattle, which admittedly was my last selection, as I was hoping for LA or NYC. In August 2005, I left Anchorage to attend law school with the same desire- changing entertainment. I didn’t see myself practicing law long, my real desire was to have my own production company for movies, music and television, but I knew this was my first step.
What are the scriptures?
Not sure the specific scriptures yet. When I was praying in preparation for my commissioning night, I asked God to confirm my desire to work in entertainment. I had started to wonder if it was just my own thoughts and imagination. During the commissioning a part of the word that was given regarding ‘a dream that burns in you [me], and it is not from your own ideas or from men, but it is from Me’ (not verbatim). I knew immediately in my heart that the dream was about the entertainment industry- it was my confirmation that while although I don't see anything moving yet, I had not made up the whole idea on my own.
What's in my hand?
After my first year of law school throughout the rest of my law school career, I worked a local television station in the legal department. I had a chance to learn the necessary contracts and other requirements for productions, talent, etc. I am especially excited about the Inspire group and having the Lord show me what other practical steps I can take. I still receive Entertainment law journals to keep updated on copyright issues and other intellectual property aspects as it pertains to entertainment.
[1] My friend later told me she did not want to call me that day, but the Lord kept telling her to call…thank God she listened.
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