Whole Spotlight is a section where we like to highlight amazing women of God that have impacting their community, the web, and the world around them.
Honestly, I did the happy dance when Lauren agreed to the interview, because she is an unashamed firecracker for God, and well she is just adorable.
Her ministry Thefulltimegirl Blog is actually one of the very first blogs I began reading. Her transparency, boldness, and realness were so refreshing to see.
She loves Jesus, and there is no doubt about it. Check out our interview below to see.
WM: Can you share with our readers a little bit about your upbringing?
Honestly, I did the happy dance when Lauren agreed to the interview, because she is an unashamed firecracker for God, and well she is just adorable.
Her ministry Thefulltimegirl Blog is actually one of the very first blogs I began reading. Her transparency, boldness, and realness were so refreshing to see.
She loves Jesus, and there is no doubt about it. Check out our interview below to see.
WM: Can you share with our readers a little bit about your upbringing?
Lauren: "I was brought up in a Christian home, went to church every time the doors were open, sometimes more, went to a Christian school, and a Christian college. I worked several normal jobs, but I was always in a Christian environment, and protected from the world. I am so very thankful for that."
WM: How
did you come to know Jesus personally?
Lauren: I came to know Jesus at an early age. I was 7, and I was on my way home from church and I told my mom that I was afraid that I was going to hell, and she prayed with me. I don't think I fully understood what salvation really meant until I was older, when I fully surrendered my life to God."
WM: Can
you share with us a little about how it was growing up as a
“Preacher's Kid?”
Lauren: "Well, when people ask that, I always say I don't know anything else. That is my normal. It was hard and wonderful and blessed. There are many things I could say about living in the "fishbowl." But I grew up with many people who loved God and who loved me. I never worried about my family doing the right thing, and for that I am so blessed."
WM: What
would you say are the biggest misconceptions people have of
Preacher's Daughters?
Lauren: "I think it affected me a lot more when I was younger, but I think many people expect a lot more from the Pastor's family. When I would mess up, people would say, "….and your the pastor's daughter," and I just wanted to scream, but I'm just a normal kid! We are just normal people, and people mess up and make mistakes, and people get grace from God, and people move on and change, and people are just people. No one is perfect. Not even the pastor's kids."
WM: Tell us about The Fulltime Girl Blog, and it's mission?
WM: Tell us about The Fulltime Girl Blog, and it's mission?
Lauren: "Thefulltimegirl came about because I was searching for a ministry. I was at a point in my life where I really wanted more. More of God and more of a real part in the kingdom. I wanted a ministry of my own that I could pour myself into. I begged God night after night to use me. Of course He was willing, He just had to make me ready. After exploring several options, including moving to China! I decided to use my voice to encourage others here at home. I wrote my first blog post in February 2012 hoping to encourage or challenge just ONE person… and the rest is history.
My focus is primarily toward young girls although I do have several posts for men and posts that are for both men and women. I’m not sure what makes my writing style different. I think it is because I try to be as real as possible. Every post I write, I sit down and write in one sitting. I just type until everything in my heart about that topic is out in words. Every word is from my heart, and I want people to know that what I say I mean with everything that I am. My main goal would be to reach young women with the message that Jesus is really everything you need – for singleness, for beauty, for self-esteem, for wisdom in life. He is it, and if they truly fall in love with Jesus and follow after Him with all their heart, they will truly find everything they are searching for."
My focus is primarily toward young girls although I do have several posts for men and posts that are for both men and women. I’m not sure what makes my writing style different. I think it is because I try to be as real as possible. Every post I write, I sit down and write in one sitting. I just type until everything in my heart about that topic is out in words. Every word is from my heart, and I want people to know that what I say I mean with everything that I am. My main goal would be to reach young women with the message that Jesus is really everything you need – for singleness, for beauty, for self-esteem, for wisdom in life. He is it, and if they truly fall in love with Jesus and follow after Him with all their heart, they will truly find everything they are searching for."
WM: Just like Whole Magazine, your audience is mostly single women between the ages of 18-34. What advice do you have for the young women struggling
with remaining content during their season of singleness?
Lauren: "I think I have a lot of single readers, yes, because I can relate very well to them. I was kind of the girl who was saying the things they all were to afraid to say or didn't know how to put into words, and I think it is a comfort to all of us to know that we aren't alone in our feelings, in our hope in God, in our believing there is a love story that God is writing for us. It is just nice to be able to have other people that understand."
WM: What
does a real, genuine woman of God look like to you?
Lauren: "A real woman of God to me is someone who lives in this world, but has her mind on eternity. She sees the things that other people don't because she sees through the filter of God's word and God's ways. I always say that being a Christian doesn't change what you deal with, it changes how you deal with it. Of course we will all face worry, and heartache, and pain, and joy, and happiness, but what we do with what we are given is what makes all the difference. Everyone's story is different and can be so beautiful if we let God move every piece how he would. I think a genuine woman of God sees that not only her story, but everyone's around her too, are all part of the bigger story that is all about God, and uses every opportunity to point people to him."
WM: Can
you share with us some of your favorite Bible verses, and why?
Lauren: "My chapter is Psalm 18, but my favorite verse is Psalm 18:30, "As for God His way is Perfect…" Because, well, they are. God's ways are all given to us in the Bible. They can be tested and tried and they will all be found perfect just as it says. When you put your whole trust in the Lord, and your whole life in his hands, and do what he says to do, and don't do what he says not to do, then your life is gonna be the best it can possibly be….. no matter what happens."
WM: You
are on fire for Jesus, and it shows. What advice do you have to the
young women out there wanting to have that same fire to share Jesus
with others, but are still afraid ?
Lauren: ""Fire" for God comes from God. Anything that we do for him is because of him. If we are truly saved, all of God is at our fingertips, and the reason that most Christians are not on fire for God is because they don't know God. They don't respect God, and they don't fear God. If you want to be on fire for God, open up your Bible and read about who He is. Then, get on your knees and pray for God to put a fire inside of you. It's not something someone is born with or something that is just stumbled upon. It is asked for and given, and received and tested, and becomes a way of life."
WM: Your
FTG Blog bio reads: to
encourage
and inspire her generation and the next to be courageously and fully
abandoned to their Savior.
What does it mean to be fully abandoned to our Savior and how can we
get to that place?
Lauren: "Surrender is a daily chore. Write it down. Every morning you wake up and surrender your plans and your day and your hours and minutes to Jesus, because that is all we are given right now. Today. Don't waste it living for yourself when God has promised infinite joy and blessings. Live for God. Fix your mind on Him and his word, and actually live it out. The Christian life is just trusting God every day to be good and right and faithful in every situation, good or bad, and then finding him to be better than we imagined. It is not about what any one person does for him. It is about what He is doing through us all every day."
WM: It is obvious you into everything "girly." You are stranded on an island and you can only keep 3 things from your make-up bag or closet. What would it be?
Lauren: "That's hard! There are so many things I would be incapable of doing on a stranded island (laughing). Number one would be Chap-stick, because I always have to have it on my lips. A face moisturizer, (anti wrinkle), because preventing wrinkles is the only way to get rid of wrinkles, and you can never start too early. Then pretty much any outfit by Free People, and I'm ready to go... When's my flight?"
Thank you so much, for chatting with us. We love you and your blog! How can our readers connect with you?
Lauren: "Thank you so much for letting me share my heart with your readers. I love Whole Magazine! You can read my blog at thefulltimegirl.com, find thefulltimegirl on Facebook, and follow me on twitter and instagram."
Visit Lauren's Blog Thefulltimegirl.
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