Saturday, June 18, 2011

Re-entering the City of Dreams.


I remember the first time I flew into Los Angeles. I was 18 years old and on a flight for my first season of American Idol. I remember looking out the window of the plane seeing the Hollywood sign and trying not to pee my pants. It was almost too much to handle. All the buildings, the bright lights, the busyness of it all. I fell in love all over again.

Here's the thing. Ever since I was little, all I wanted to do was move to L.A. I was infatuated by the city and had never even been there. Actually, it wasn't so much the city, but what L.A. was about: Anyone who was anyone lived there, and I was set on living there too.

(Most 8 year old girls write in their diaries about best friends or stuff that happened at recess that day… I have diary entries where I am doing nothing but praying for Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen.}

{Majority of elementary school girls cover their notebooks with princess pictures they colored or doodles of hearts and stars…. I cut out pictures from magazines in my mom's room of celebrities and pasted them to my notebook so I would remember to pray for them daily.}

{My prayer requests in Sunday School were regularly for Lindsay Lohan and Britney Spears. I am sure the other kids thought it was weird that I rarely prayed for a sick relative or problems in my own family.}

{When faced with the typical childhood question of "what do you want to be when you grow up?" my answer was ALWAYS a movie star or a musician. I was always confused when I heard other kids giving answers like "veterinarian", "doctor" and "police officer". Why wouldn't you want to be on a stage? Why wouldn't you want celebrity friends? I never once desired to be anything outside of the entertainment business. That's not true… I would want to be a wedding planner. On the side, of course…. and only for celebrities :)

The other day someone asked me if the only reason I felt "called" to Los Angeles was because I felt it could be an easier way to be famous but under the umbrella of being a missionary. They quickly corrected themselves and apologized, realizing it came across a little harsh. I wasn't offended at all, and it actually didn't phase me.

Being "famous" was all I ever worked for growing up. I've been on a stage since I could walk. My parents have spent more money on vocal coaches, piano lessons, dance lessons, and acting classes throughout the years than I care to admit. Graduating high school, I had no intentions of "getting a real job" or even "pursuing a degree". I was pursuing further training for the stage. That's it. All I've ever though about and dreamed of.

When the Lord encountered my heart last year, all of these intentions changed. I no longer had any desire to seek out the world. I wanted Him. Nothing but His whole heart, and His plan for my life. I assumed that would mean moving to Africa and living in a township, or in the jungles of Cambodia. I imagined He would put me as far away from the media industry and the secular world, since that is what I sought out.

The Lord is funny in that way. He sat aside a year of my life to get my heart right before Him. Taking me to Cambodia and Hawaii and really depositing His heart into mine. He radically shifted my heart and made me fall more in love with His ways.

And now, I am headed back into the city I dreamed of since I was little. I fly to Los Angeles in less than two weeks. I am co-leading a team of 5 amazing girls and believing the Lord to transform the entertainment industry, and the entire city of L.A. We will be joining with multiple different ministries and organizations there and partnering with them to share the Gospel. (My beautiful co-leader, Lizzie Stein)

After that, we are headed to NYC. We are working with a wonderful agency called Models for Christ and joining up with other YWAMers there to work Fall Fashion Week at Lincoln Center. Some of our girls will be dressing models backstage, others photographing the Red Carpet, and others getting into the shows and loving on people inside the tent. We are going to host a 24/7 Burn during the week, and pushing hard into intimacy for what the Lord is doing that week.

The reality is, He gave me the desires of my heart when I was little. He never wanted to take me away from the things I loved, but wanted me to be in them WITH a heart after Him. I can be in the world, but not of the world. I can be in the entertainment industry pursuing the heart of God, and not pursuing what the world offers.

The renewal of our mind comes from the washing of he Word. I used to wash myself with the world and the fruit of it was desiring what it had to offer. I have been renewed. Washed clean, and He is sending me back into the things I love.

The next blog post, I will introduce my team to you!!!!! Get excited to meet them!!

3 comments:

  1. Kellye, I cannot express how excited I am to read this and hear all that the Lord has done in your heart. I remember meeting you and praying for you three years ago and how much I've prayed for you from then until now. I can hardly wait to see what the Lord does in and through your life with this next adventure. You go girl! :) Love!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Woo girl, this is so exciting. I will be praying for you and jealous of you. ;)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Get it girl. I don't think you have any idea how many life's you will affect simply by being who you were created to be.

    ReplyDelete