Julie Rodgers |
I have been captured by the reality of grace. When I read the Bible, I completely identify with the rebellious sinners, the self-righteous hypocrites, the dirty whores, and the flaky disciples. And I'm daily blown away by Jesus' response to all of us: love, mercy, and restoration. The fact that He knows everything about me and still calls me His child just overwhelms me. So when I say, "God, how can I even respond to this crazy grace I wake up to every morning?" I find His response to be:
"He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you, but to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?" Micah 6:8.
My adventure of following Christ has led me to the community of West Dallas. I've found a community of people who are just like me when it comes to our posture of being the ones in need of redemption and restoration. I'm daily moved by my relationships with students here in West Dallas, and I'm so grateful for the opportunity to learn from them, take road trips with them, joke with them, cry with them, and laugh until our sides hurt.
Outside of laughing with high school students, things that make my heart beat with joy are running, reading, writing, road trips, and late night chats on porches with real people. I come alive in beautiful scenery so I take off for the mountains or ocean as often as possible (ideally spontaneously). I'm also finishing up my M.A. in English at the University of Dallas because I'm captured by stories and am somehow changed through imagination.
Favorite books: Orthodoxy by G.K. Chesterton, The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, The Sickness Unto Death by Kierkegaard, The Abolition of Man by C.S. Lewis, and East of Eden by John Steinbeck
Favorite Films: Finding Neverland, Good Will Hunting, Juno, Love Actually, and What About Bob
Favorite Indulgence: Coffee
Random Childhood Fact: Me and my brother watched Matlock every single day for at least 3 years when we were kids.
A Great Source of Joy: Seeing YOU become actively involved in the movement God is doing here in West Dallas!