About me (I know, this title is so uncreative)

Hello to Everyone who finds them self reading this!

I have asked myself several times how does one begin to talk about their self, without sounding conceited? What exactly should I share so that you can feel as though you know me better? Can you truly get a glimpse of my heart through an "about me" section? This is my best effort at it.

• My Name is Ashley Lynn Brady. I was given the most popular, uncommon name of the nineties. So my mom had wanted to name me Amanda Lynn, until she realized, when spoken it sounded like the instrument a mandolin. (Sorry if there are any Amanda Lynn's that may read this blog!)

• I am like a super, super senior at Liberty University, working on a Bachelors Degree in Religion with a specialization in Youth Ministry. My academic Advisor tentatively gave me a graduation year, 2014, no big deal! I started college at 16, so I am more then a little ready to just finish and graduate.

• I am 21 years old young. I am a daughter of the Most High King, and the daughter of Vernon and Lynn Brady.  I have the absolute best parents in the entire world universe. They love Christ, love each other, and love my brother and I. They have taught me more then I could begin to express in an introduction blog about myself.

• I have a younger brother, Jesse. He is wild and crazy, I love him. He has taught me to see the world through a lens of compassion…

• I am a dreamer and a visionary. My parents taught me to dream big dreams, but to not let it stop there, they taught me to chase after the desires of my heart, to see my dreams and plans come to fruition, and become a reality. 

• My hearts desire is to serve in fulltime ministry one day alongside my future husband. I do not know who this will be with, or what this will look like.  This is not just something I think would be "fun", this is something I have felt called to. I have a passion for youth, and teen girls. Seeing them come to right relationship with Jesus. 

• I am a licensed cosmetologist. I went to Leon's Beauty School in Greensboro, NC. In relation to the World Race, I plan to will use cosmetology as a means to raise support, to build relationships and to minister to others while on the world race. I have had this desire to use cosmetology on the mission field for years. Taking care of basic hygiene needs. And to make women feel beautiful on the outside, to match what they feel on the inside, when Christ comes in and gives them life, and makes them new! … There will be more on this in future blogs!  In the future, I plan to use cosmetology as means to minister to women and teen girls, and to supplement income so I can serve in ministry…

• I have some of the godliest guy friends a girl could ever ask for. My guy friends have been the greatest example to me of what a brother and sister in Christ relationship is to look like. They have loved me, cared for me, and encouraged me in light of the Gospel. I am truly thankful for them and for their love and zeal for Jesus. 

• My strongest spiritual gift is Evangelism. My weakest gift use to be mercy (God has done a work in my heart…be thankful). I was always the odd girl out in women's ministry classes. If you understood my background, and how I was raised, it would make perfect sense to you, that Evangelism is where I am most gifted. It comes natural. 

• Truthfully, I am terrible at memorizing scripture. I can read it all day, internalize scripture, and make it applicable. I just cant seem to properly store the wording in my brain. 

• In 2010 I got very sick with what I would later find out to be lymes disease. I was handicapped by the state of north carolina, at 19. Had my drivers license revoked, had to medically withdraw from LU. I suffered extreme exhaustion, a consistent headache (which left my spending months in the center most room of my parents house, a bathroom, with my head covered, because I couldn't handle any noise or light), visited more specialist then I can remember, and developed a condition called postural orthostatic tachycardia (as the lymes disease settled in my heart). I was on medicine 3 times a day, just to keep my heart rate somewhat controlled, more pain medicine then one would like to be, more tests run then most would have in a life time, and at least 2 doctors appointments every week, for months! A friend of mine shared with me a nutritional which had helped many people with all sorts of health conditions get well, experience relief…I was desperate and I began taking Zija, a nutritional made purely from the Moringa Oleifera tree (the most nutritional plant on earth). It radically changed my life! I was able to regain health, and wellness, come off all my medicine, have more energy then ever before in my life, and feel the best that I have ever felt. You can check it out at albrady.myzija.com or ask me about it, I would love to share what it has done for me, my family, and so many of my friends! I will be taking Zija with me on the world race, I refuse to cant live life without it, it has everything (all the nutrition) one would need to sustain life daily, as well as the capability of preventing, reversing, and stopping over 300 disease according to John Hopkins University and their research.

• Jesus is worth everything. Plain and simple. He commands my destiny. The cost of obedience to him is high, but the reward to great. 

• My favorite passage of scripture is Philippians 3: 7 – 11, " But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ.  What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. I want to knowChrist and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead."

• I have a desire to write curriculum for teen girls. I would like to write a "manual" for churches to be able to use for teen girl lock-ins. Covering topics such as identity, relationships and dating, modesty, and purity. The funny thing is, I hate english classes and I hate writing papers. I question, why God would burden my heart with such a task, why not find someone who enjoys is good at writing and editing. There is such a need for it though. And when I talk with middle school and high school girls, the more excited I get about passing on biblical truth to them in a form of a book… I just wish I could pour into teenage girls what was not properly poured into me. I wish I could just allow them to learn from my mistakes, and help them cultivate a right relationship with Jesus. 

• I am typically mistaken as athletic and being in shape. There could not be a statement further from the truth. I simply have a small build. I will be working on this though, gym, here I come!

• I opened a restaurant when I was 15 with my parents, it was called Ashley Lynn's at Burke Manor. I am very entrepreneur minded. 

• I typically journal, but all over the place, never in one location. I am looking forward to blogging, now maybe my thoughts will at least be able to be found in one location, instead of 10 + journals. 

• I hate dislike reading, but have learned to enjoy it. Some of my favorite authors are Steven Furtick, Clayton King, Craig Groeschel, Francis Chan, David Platt, just to name a few… (I enjoy their pod cast's as well)

•  I enjoy star gazing, admiring God's handiwork found in the beauty of sunsets, and puddle jumping on rainy days. 

• I can sometimes have a difficult time speaking truth in love. (Goes back to not being able to show much mercy). I daily struggle with this. 

I am sure there is sooo much more I could write about myself to give you just a small glimpse of who it is God has created is creating me to be. Thanks for reading my about me, hopefully you will continue to follow my blog as I prepare, and then serve for 11 months on the mission field. I covet your prayers and financial support as I take this leap of faith, living life in response to the Gospel, and being obedient to Jesus.  

"For this reason I kneel before the Father,  from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name.I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge —that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." (Ephesians 3:14-21)