Day 111

The pastor of my church wrote a book last summer. Recently it was published, and I have just had the joy of finishing it.  Here is an excerpt from the chapter on love:

"What is love? Do you know? It's not a feeling, though it involves our emotions.  It's not a tradition, though it forms habits. It's not a language, though it must be expressed.  Love is sacrificing what is yours for the good of another.  It's denying your own interests so that others will be satisfied.  It's dying so that others may live.  It's His will, not yours, be done. 
  Love remains patient when its own wishes are not met by others.  It acts kindly toward others, treating them as a brother or sister in all circumstances.  It does not become jealous of others, but rejoices in their blessings.  It does not boast in its own accomplishments.  It does not seek attention for itself.  It doesn't do things that are inappropriate.  It seeks the pleasure and fulfillment of others, not its own.  It doesn't become upset or hurt by others.  It forgives all of the sins against it.  It is not aroused by wickedness.  It dances when truth is believed.  It endures all trials, believes through all circumstances, hopes in all that God has promised, and remains steadfast to the end.  Faith may be lied about, hope may be misdirected, but love never fails. It is real. It lasts. It is greater than all.  A man will be judged by what he loves. "

                                                             "Exalted: Putting Jesus in His Place"
                                                                              Douglas Goodin

Isn't that beautiful?

May you find joy in love.

Day 110

Ignite, my church's college and career group, meets every Saturday night.  It is definitely one of the highlights of my week, and with good reason.  I know that when I go to Ignite it will be a time of godly fellowship, teaching, laughter, and all around good times. Tonight was no exception.  We have a rotating schedule, and tonight was a fellowship and worship night.  We were supposed to play games at a park for the the first couple of hours and then go back to the house for worship, but it was cold and windy so we decided to just play games at the house and then do worship. 

Some great moments from tonight:

-Singing "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" from the Lion King with my brother in the car
-Playing Ninja
-Seeing my friend who has been going through a really rough couple of weeks
-Talking about the upcoming Ignite Retreat and feeling the anticipation, knowing that it is going to be   an amazing weekend
 -Worshiping God with my brothers and sisters in Christ

This is just a snapshot of what makes Ignite special.  I've grown so much through this group, and my life would be much poorer without it. 

May you find joy in the Christian family that God has given you.

Day 109

A few days ago I wrote that I was getting discouraged with my job search.  Well today, I got a phone call for an interview!  It is the first response I have gotten from all of the applications that I've submitted.  Even if it doesn't end with a job offer, it is still really encouraging and a reminder that God is working. God's timing is perfect, and I know that if and when I'm supposed to get another job, than I will, and not a moment before, and not a moment after.

May you find joy when you see God working.

Day 108

I had a truly joyful morning.  I went over to hang out with a friend and we had a very sweet time of fellowship.  I have known this friend for over three years, but we have only intentionally gotten together a handful of times.  Every time we do, however, I am greatly encouraged by my friend's insight into life and her dedication to Christ.  I see a person who strives to live life with a heart tuned to God's leading, and although she has had her fair share of struggles, I've seen her learn and grow through all of them.   That is deeply encouraging to see in a fellow believer.  While I was visiting with her I was able to also visit another friend of mine, which was additionally very encouraging.  I am very blessed to be surrounded by so many mature Christians who pour into my life with not only words, but with actions as well.  It was indeed a very good morning.

May you find joy in godly friendships.

Day 107

On And On

Tenth Avenue North

Love, I have waited for you

And love, I was wounded for you

Won't you look into my eyes

Through the pain and through your pride

And find I am true

You're the one I can't deny

And I'll never leave your side

I gave my life for you

So what are you waiting for?

On and on we go

Come love take my hand

On and on we go

Time and time again

On and on we go

Back to where this all began

Come love take my hand

Life is waiting for you

And life I have given to you

Tell me what else can I do

What more have I left to prove?

That I am what you need

Still I will hold on to your heart

Through the chaos and the dark

When your eyes fail to see

So what are you waiting for?

On and on we go

Come love take my hand

On and on we go

As you run away again

On and on we go

Back to where this all began

Broken I was for you

Broken I'm still for you

My broken heart breaks for you

Broken I'm over you

On and on we go

On and on we go

On and on we go

Come love take my hand

On and on we go

Time and time again

On and on we go

Back to where this all began

Come love take my hand

Come love take my hand

Come take my hand

On and on we go.  This seems to be the theme song of my life right now.  On and on we go. Walking and waiting, one day at a time, living from grace to grace.  And through it all, believing the truth that Christ is sufficient for me.

May you find joy walking in the hand of Christ. 

Day 106

You know those days where it feels like you haven't gotten anything done? Yeah, today was one of those days.  I worked this morning, then spent two hours on a job application which took a chunk out of the day, then took a nap which took another chunk out.  By the time I ran to the store it was time to start dinner and now here I am.

Overall, April has been a little hard.  For one thing, it feels like I've just been running for weeks and weeks.  There have also been a lot of little things going on, which individually are not that hard to handle, but when piled on top of each other the small sadnesses and tough situations suddenly become a lot harder to handle. It just seems like there's a lot to deal with right now.

At our small group last night we talked about magnifying God, and someone brought up the point that when we magnify something, not only does that individual thing get bigger, but everything else around it disappears because our focus is narrowed.  The same is true when we magnify God.  When we focus on God and on His character, His working, His love, everything else suddenly becomes insignificant.  It's still there, but it just doesn't seem that important.  I need to do that more, because the little things are too much in focus right now.

May you find joy in magnifying God.

Day 105

Yesterday, God saved the life of one of my friends.  Today could and maybe even should have been a day of great sadness and mourning, but God in His mercy decided that my friend's life was not meant to be over yet.  If that's not a reason for joy than I don't know what is.

May you find joy in God's plan and mercy.

Day 104

When I start listening to "Boston" on repeat, it usually means I'm a little down, for whatever reason.  It's when the thought of running away and starting a new life somewhere is really appealing.  It's appealing because at the time I'm bored or tired of struggling or worn out and a fresh start is the easy way out.  It's always easier and more exciting to run away than to endure the slow trudge of everyday life.  It's easier to start new relationships sometimes than to heal the broken ones. It's easier to distract yourself with the new and the different than to focus on the old and figure out a solution.

I listened to "Boston" on repeat today. 

I didn't, however, listen because of any of the above reasons.  I listened because I'm feeling down in my search for a job.  It's been hard to even find a job opening that I'm interested in, and then out of all of the applications I've submitted I haven't heard back from a single one.   I know that employers are overwhelmed by job applications, I know that, but it's still a little disheartening at the same time.  Sometimes I wonder if I'll ever find a job that I really enjoy or care about, since the things that I want to do I don't have experience in, and the things I have experience in I don't want to do.  From my perspective, it sometimes feels hopeless.

However, I try not to dwell on my perspective.  I try to remember that God has a plan and my purpose in life is to glorify Him, whether that is at a job I love or a job I don't. I can glorify Him if I work nine hours a week or forty hours a week.  I am not defined by my job; I am defined by the fact that Christ counted my life worth the price of His own. He bought me with His love, and now I live for Him.  That is what I try to dwell on.

May you find joy in remembering the truth.

Day 103

I figured out the line game.  It has taken me almost three years.  Enough said.

May you find joy in figuring out completely frustrating, hair-ripping, brain-numbing mind games.

Day 102

My church sends out its weekly update on Friday.   Most of it stays pretty much the same week by week, but there is sometimes new information, so I like to skim through it just to make sure.  Today I got the email, and as usual I skimmed it.  It was about the same as it normally is--until I got to the very bottom.  Way down on bullet point thirteen there were two needs: One for an outdoor table, and one for a clothes dryer.  The clothes dryer was needed for only a few months before the family moves to the east coast.

I know this family fairly well.  Both of our families have been at the church for many, many years, I have done some design work for them, and last year the wife had a pampered chef party with me.  The reason they are moving is because for over two years they have trusted the Lord to find a job for the husband, and God has answered their prayer.  Theirs has been an incredible journey of faith in God to provide for them, and He has.  They have shared amazing stories about how God has met their needs time and time again, even when they haven't had a steady income.  I don't think anybody will ever have a fuller understanding of what it means to trust God than when He is literally providing for your needs day by day.

So I see that this family needs a dryer for a couple of months.  Usually my first thought would be that this is kind of an odd request, because most people don't have extra dryers hanging around. But, as I've shared, this is a family who knows what it means to trust God, and they are trusting Him for a dryer.  And, I said I would usually think that is an odd request. However, my husband and I just so happen to have an extra dryer hanging around, so it wasn't that odd at all.  We were blessed to receive a washer and dryer before we got married but we have had to put them in storage until we move to a bigger place.  Voila! We have a dryer.  They need a dryer.  Isn't God great?

May you find joy in God's provision.

Days 96-101

My last post was almost a week ago (Eek!) and there have been a lot of joy-filled days since then.  There were also a lot of days that were just plain filled, which is why I haven't had time to write my blog in a while.  So today will be a re-cap of the last week.

Day 96: My grandpa went into the hospital because of some problems, and the doctors thought it was a perforated bowel.  This was not good news, especially for a 90 year old man who already has some serious health problems.  However, by the end of the day they had decided it was not a perforated bowel and was instead a re-lapse of an earlier problem which isn't as serious.  God is good!

Day 97: Tonight my husband and I went over to celebrate a friend's birthday.  It was a good night with a close group of friends, and it was good to spend time with some people that I don't see as much as I used to.  It's always good to re-connect and strengthen friendships.

Day 98: When I first woke up today I mistakenly called today Black Friday instead of Good Friday.  I could see my mistake, though.  The day that the Son of God died for my sins was indeed black, just as much as it was good.  The torture device that brought so much pain and death to Jesus now brings us so much life and joy.  The separation between the Father and the Son now means that we will never be separated from God. It's a beautiful picture, and it is indeed good.

Day 99:  Allow me a moment to brag on my husband.  When we got back from Ignite tonight I developed a horrible pain in my stomach.  I needed to make deviled eggs for Easter, but was unable to because of how much it hurt.  He put a TV show on for me, made me some bubbly water, then finished peeling the eggs and did all of the dishes.  Isn't he the greatest?

Day 100: Easter!  How appropriate that it should fall on day 100.  Every day the gospel brings me joy, but there is extra joy on the day that we specifically set aside to remember the resurrection of our Lord.  This Easter was extra special because we had warm, beautiful weather, a Christ-exalting church service, we celebrated at my sister's new house and my extended family was able to meet her fiance for the first time, and I was able to have a very good discussion with an unbelieving family member about the gospel, sin, and the nature of man.  Praise God!

 Day 101: Today I am home. If I remember correctly, I think that it has been over two and a half weeks since I have been home for either a full morning or a full afternoon.  It has been so nice to get projects done that have been pushed aside by more urgent things for way too long.  I love doing things and seeing people, but at some point I just love being home, too. It's good to rest.

Day 95

I think you people are pretty awesome for reading my blog, so I am going let you in on a little secret.  There is a band that is about to go big, and I want you to know so that you can be ahead of the wave and therefore be the "cool kids" once everyone else is doing it.  Really, it's the least I can do.

The band is called "Katie and the Rabid Gnomes." And yes, I happen to be part of this band. The other band members consist of my husband and brother.  We have really cool t-shirts and bumper stickers.  Once the domain name comes free we will have a really cool website, too.  And a really cool facebook page.  I would describe our music style to you, but our hit single has yet to be released. If we want any chance of remaining popular, I think we had better keep it that way.  Overall, we're just pretty cool.   If you want to be pretty cool, too, than you should jump on the bandwagon.

Since you are intelligent people,  you might be wondering why we have a band if we haven't created any music.  Good question.  The answer is quite simple.  One day my husband, brother, and I were playing around with the photo effects in photobooth on my brother's Mac.  We took one picture that was a perfect band picture, so therefore, we had to create a band.  You can't have a band picture without a band; that's just silly. Bands, of course, have to have names, and then after that came the t-shirts and the bumper stickers and the adoring fans. It's all pretty straight-forward.  We tried recording a song but really that's not our strong-point, so why ruin a good thing?  We like to focus on what we're good at, which is taking cool band pictures and making paraphernalia.

So there you have it.  I hope you all will be the trendsetters for Katie and the Rabid Gnomes before it becomes so mainstream that everyone else becomes a wanna-be. This is your chance, people, to be really cool.

May you find joy in the little things.