Lydia Piskor

Lydia contributes to the blog: The Forge A Catholic blog for teens and young adults Know Your Worth View all of her posts from The Forge here.

Hometown: Stephenville, TX 

Education: Bachelor’s Degree in Finance from Texas A&M University with a minor in Religious Studies 

Ministry at ABLAZE: Middle school Ignite at St. Mary's in Caldwell

Ministry Background: When I was in middle school and high school, I pretty much left my Catholic roots and went to other churches solely because of how amazing their youth programs were. I wanted to encounter Christ and grow in a relationship with Him, and I was determined to do just that. I loved that the youth groups I attended had someone specifically dedicated to me and my relationship with Christ. During those years, I helped out with little things like power points for praise and worship, setting up youth nights, and clean up afterwards, but I never saw myself as the type God would call to lead or talk in front of people.

Once I got to college, I gave God everything and He quickly took hold of my heart. He brought me back to the Catholic faith, and I haven’t looked back since. I got confirmed my sophomore year, and joined St. Mary’s Catholic sorority, Kappa Theta Beta (KTB). In college, I participated in and led numerous Bible studies and served as Treasurer for KTB. Throughout college, I still never pictured God calling me into ministry, but I felt a huge tug to do missions. I didn’t know what kind of missions God was calling me to, so I somewhat ignored this desire. After college, I moved to Dallas, where I began volunteering with St. Monica’s youth group for both high school and middle school. It was there that God affirmed me He wanted me in ministry, and that I specifically had passion for middle school. He made it clear He wanted me at Ablaze. 

Passions and interests: Girly things like flowers, listening to music, dancing obnoxiously (especially in the rain), playing guitar, adoration, journaling, pretending I can craft, cooking, hanging out with friends, relaxing outside, puppies, and babies.

How did you become involved with ABLAZE/why are you involved? Being a missionary was something God laid on my heart starting in high school. For a long time, I didn’t know what sort of missions God would be calling me to, so I kept making excuses and ignored the desire. After college, I realized if I was going to ever do missions, now was the perfect time. I started discerning what sort of missions God would be calling me to. At the same time, it felt like God kept placing youth ministers in front of me, and I realized every time one of them told me they were in youth ministry, my heart was eager to know more about their job. Then it hit me. God was calling me into ministry. Ablaze happened to be best of both worlds and put both desires of missions and ministry together! It was perfect, and God seemed to keep placing Ablaze in my lap. I simply couldn’t refuse.

Favorite Bible Verses: 

“Beloved, let us love one another, because love is of God; everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God.” – 1 John 4:7
 
“Have no fear of moving into the unknown. Simply step out fearlessly knowing that I am with you, therefore no harm can befall you; all is very, very well. Do this in complete faith and confidence.” – St. Pope John Paul II