My name is Nate DeLoof. I am a 24 year old Accountant, aspiring missionary, fundamental golfer, nostalgic baseball player, car enthusiast, water tubing extraordinaire, a less than mediocre worship leader, Biblical history hobbyist, avid hunter, adventurous thrill seeker, 90s punk-skater music lover, and admittedly an “enjoy-er” of the fine arts of video games! So basically, your all-around good ole Dutch boy who bleeds Orange & Blue; discerning life’s journey through thrills interwoven in a close community of family and friends, all while seeking to serve whatever God’s will is for my life.
I was born and raised in the Holland/Zeeland area in West Michigan. The epee-center of the reformed church. A small town known for it’s churches that fill every street corner and line nearly every block. Just stand at a cross-roads in this town, look left or right and you’ll be guaranteed to set your eyes on a classic gospel verse translucently glowing on the slightly used street signs out front of the numerous brick-laden churches. It’s a cozy town nestled on the shore of Lake Michigan surrounded by the flat hills of the growing farm lands. Dutch bingo is the game played here, where everyone kinda sorta might possibly know your Aunt’s sister’s cousin’s twice removed brother. And because of this this distance cosmic relation you are now close friends!
During my childhood years I was brought up in a strong flourishing Christian school system, which I attribute all the thanks to my parents for, as it was a tremendous financial sacrifice. It has been the backbone to my Faith that is so strong today. During the transition from middle school into high school, my Dad made a pivotal life decision that has impact our family in every way; he stepped out of the financial secure business world and into the unknown of serving God as, wait for it… A PASTOR! So yes, I became a P.K. (pastor’s kid) and loved it! Through the trials, tribulations, life changing moments, and the everyday living; this risky selfless act that my Dad made has forever impacted my life for serving God and is the best personal example of living for God, not for one’s self.
God chipped away at my stony figure throughout High School by exposure to missions trips throughout the U.S. and extending further internationally, in Romania (Where a piece of my heart still remains). He began to instill in me a servants heart and a disciple’s lifestyle. He even brought me on an intense hike & study whirlwind of a journey to Israel, which I would later on in life have the privilege to travel back to and further fuel the flame in my heart for living a life that is not of this world! It was a major spiritual test and challenge to my life at that point, and was the starting point of my wrestling match with God that continues to this very day.
I went on to study at the Nation’s absolute, without a doubt, best Division III school there is ( as I have come to know it anyways). Hope College! I took up studying the intricacies of Business Management accompanied by an Accounting minor, as well as an entrepreneurial focused Leadership minor. People say college is where you begin to grow up and enter the adult world, but I will respectfully disagree. I say it is a time when we all first revert back to our most fondest childish ways! Here I had one adventure after the next, beginning to share life with my new best friends. I lived in the self-proclaimed, greatest hall on earth, Thee legendary brotherhood of Durfee Hall! 100 of the closest guys living in a hand-me-down old girls dorm with the most elaborate, most sketchy built bunk bed contraptions you have ever laid eyes on. Needless to say, there are many fond memories from my college days here that have shaped me into who I am today and where my adventuresome spirit comes from.
On to the present day; I am an Accountant of sorts at a local Car dealership in town. I have worked my way through the dealership, from sales to service, and now to my final destination in the office. It has been quite the journey adapting to career life here at Crown Motors. Full of ups & downs and the unexpected. But my family of employees have been there to lean on and dish out joking jabs at one another. I have been blessed to know each person and have definitely learned an enormous amount about how to run and maintain a successful business.
So now you have just a window panes view of who I am , and how I have come to be. But, lastly and equivocally most important to this whole life’s story is how I choose to live it out. Where my roots are and what drives me to pursue God’s dusty path for my life. These two motto’s are at the core of my being: Con Correcto Eregos Som [I am Therefore I do] and Live Shema. God has given us an open invitation to live a journey in an intimate love relationship with Him. He promises that if we step into this with Him we will find no greater joy, no greater fulfillment, no greater love than His. We will have purpose-driven life and granted our heart’s desires as we commune with and serve our Creator. Christ states in Matthew 22 the greatest law:
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your might. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
This is Shema. This is the call to apostolic living and my lens through which I see all things. The Latin saying goes hand in hand with Shema. Christ calls us to live out that greatest commandment above all else. I am a Christian, a Christ follower, a dusty passionate disciple of the living God yearning to go out into the world with wet feet to live out His vision and will for my life.
{ I AM, THEREFORE I DO } { L I V E S H E M A }
