Relaxation and change

This weekend was by far one of the most relaxing weekends I've had in quite a while! Soccer game and dinner made up my Friday night. White-water rafting, lunch, baking, dinner and movie watching made up my Saturday. And on Sunday I went to church, lunch with the students, tanning by the pool (sun baking is what my friend Dimity likes to call it!) and a cookout with ultimate frisbee with the youth group followed by Cold Stone with friends! It was just a whole lot of fun really! So nice!

And yes, I mentioned change. There's a lot of change headed my way at this moment! It's really excited and I'm ready to get it underway. God's doing amazing things in my life and I'm still stunned to see all that's happening. Keep praying for me. I can't share the details at this moment, but I will soon!

Brazil team is back!

Well...I've spent the week on vacation with the family. We went rafting on Sunday and camping on Monday and Tuesday night. It rained the most of the time but we had a great a hike! My mom even went! She was a real trooper! But I'm back now and I picked the students up from the airport this morning! It was so great to see them and hang out over lunch hearing their stories of what God did!

Michelle was bitten by a piranha! And they baptized 53 people and led 31 people into a relationship with Jesus! It was awesome!

Well...back to vacation tomorrow and my last soccer game! Championship baby! And Saturday...rafting again! Later.

Desserts

My top 10 desserts:

1. Apple Pie with Vanilla Ice Cream
2. Chocolate Chip Cookies with Vanilla Ice Cream
3. Brownies with Vanilla Ice Cream
[Are you seeing a pattern?]
4. German Chocolate Cake Ice Cream from Baskin Robbins
5. Plain Cheesecake
6. Apple Crisp with Vanilla Ice Cream
7. Blackberry Cobbler with Vanilla Ice Cream
8. Italian Cream Cake
9. Lemon Pound Cake
10. Red Velvet Cake

Now, can I make it all?

Crazy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yeah, I'm back from Durango and what should have been a six hour drive took nine and half hours because of construction in Pagosa Springs and people driving 35 mph in a 60. Aaagghhhh!!!!!!

And I got back just in time for our soccer game last night, which we won and we're now going to the playoffs! I'm so excited cause my parents will get to see my last game too! They'll be in town for it and I'm excited because they haven't watched me play sports since high school. It will feel like old times:)

Well...I learned a lot at youth camp. First of all, Charlie Hall and his band were awesome and I think that's where I learned the most. He spoke a lot about how he came to write the words to his songs and what they meant to him and what that means for us. It got me thinking a lot and really challenged me. One of his songs is about how God is all I need. Whether I'm rich or poor, He's enough. And he spoke about giving all he could hold just to have Jesus. Would I? Am I willing to do that?

I don't remember if it was him or David Nasser but one of them was talking about how when Jesus called His followers to follow them He asked them to leave everything behind to do so. They didn't wait a few days or a few months, and they didn't say goodbye to people. They were so overcome and so convicted of their calling that they just left and followed Jesus. Why is that when Jesus puts a calling on my life I have to get everything in order in my life to do so first? Doesn't make a whole lot of sense does it?

Another thing...those "followers" of Jesus were marked "crazy" by others who didn't understand. They were marked "radical". You would have to be crazy or a radical to follow Jesus wherever even if it meant bringing harm to yourself or living in danger and uncertainty. I want to be crazy. Mark me as crazy. Call me a radical. Please don't ever call me a normal Christian. Don't ever label me as like all the rest. Don't ever say to me that I'm "safe". And please don't ever say that I'm comfortable. I don't want to be any of those things. Look at the followers of Jesus. Look at those who gave up their life for the sake of Jesus and the gospel. Look at them. Really look at their lives and then read everything that others said about them. They weren't normal. And thank God they weren't! Look what their "craziness", uncomfortability, and radicalness brought to others. It brought them the gospel. It showed others what really taking up your cross meant. It showed me what a heart set on fire for God looks like.

I pray my heart never looks to the people around me for examples but that it only looks to the one who made it. He was a radical and He was uncomfortable yet lovable. He was gracious yet confrontational. He was all of these things because He had to be. May I be the same, following ever so closely at His heals that I pick up every word His heart speaks.

Seriously, are you a "normal" Christian or are you living like "radical" that others label as "crazy"? I hope it's the latter. I want to be the latter.

Student Life Camp

Hey ya'll! I'm currently in Durango, CO at Student Life Camp with eight of our high schoolers from my churches youth group: four guys, four girls, me and the youth minister. Man is this tiring! I had no idea! I am worn out although I am getting about 7 hours of sleep a night. I am just so tired cause we're in the sun all day and running around without breaks and of course, eating bad. But we're having a great time. I've been allowed the opportunity to lead the Bible study times. I hope I'm not messing with their heads too much:) The group is definitely coming together as far as getting to know each other and becoming friends. I think my greatest fear is that they walk away from this camp as having just had "fun" all week. Fun is not bad. Fun is great! But the stuff we're talking about and learning about this week are awesome subjects!

You all know me well enough to know that I am dead on serious and excited about people living their life abundantly, full of purpose and on mission with God. I want these students so badly to grab hold of this as well and really make it a part of their lives. Pray with me, would ya? A little help here.

Can I tell you that Charlie Hall and his band are doing an awesome job leading worship? Yeah, great job. And...all the leaders at this camp are from the South and I mean really far down South. And so yes, that means that my southern draw has immerged from below and it's much more obvious that I too am from the South! We will rise again:)

Love you all!

Pictures everybody!

All of us went down to Confluence Ministries on this Saturday to help with their big block party to the community. This is going to be a community center downtown Denver to minister to Hispanics in the neighborhood. Me, Ginger, Bethany, Shannon and John have been helping to fix up the building for about a month. Here are Dimity and Michelle making those yummy hotdogs!

What's Matthew got in his mouth?

Amy, Matthew, Chad, Justin and Me taking a little break.

John, Bethany and Shannon

I'm trying to hoola hoop...

...and so did Shannon!

Gabriel had the right idea. By the end of the day we were all beat!

Pics

Apparently Justin and Matthew are pretty close:)

Gabriel, Justin and Matthew singing praise to our God during the worship service we had on top of the mountain!

This was our view from that worship service we had.

More pics

The students went climbing, but not as high as the guy below!

You see the climber on the right? That will be me one day!

The "Kissing Camels" at Garden of the Gods, Colorado Springs, CO.

Aren't the Rocky Mountains wonderful to look at? I don't ever get tired of seeing them!

I've got pics!

I found this very fun and silly sign while driving through Idaho Springs. I laughed for a long while!

Ginger, Bethany and Me. We are perfectly joyous after having Starbucks. (We made a little trip into town.:))

John, Shannon and Mark on the camping trip. I think they are a little too happy for having slept on the ground all night.

Brazil team

Hey everyone. I wanted to let you know that you can go to the KBM website and check out our e-journal and you can see what the team is doing each day in Brazil. If you go backwards you can see what they've been doing over the past month. It's a wonderful resource that we have. Check it out if you have time!

So much

I'm having a really down day. Feeling very blah! I slept in until 7:00! I think that is part of my problem. But yeah, I feel yuck today and just kind of sad. I'm having a little pity party for myself waiting for today to be over so that I can go back to my normal self tomorrow. I hope I'm back tomorrow otherwise people may start talking and we don't want that.

Monday night I spent a lot of time with God at Barnes & Noble. I know, other people sit on the porch or in the grass or out in nature or something. My favorite spot? A table with some coffe on it that's calling my name. Yup! That's me!

I had been craving that time all day and just wanted to leave work and go do it, but waited. I had a few questions that needed to be answered. And for the most part they were.

I think I was getting a little ahead of myself with the questions, asking way out in the future without getting a beginning question answered first. So...God, having clarity of mind and knowing chronilogically what should happen next, answered in the right order.

I had a few things confirmed and in my prayers asked for more confirmation through the Word in addition to that still small voice. (God speaks through that still small voice, His Word, circumstances, and other people.) He did that. I asked and He answered, still confirmed. It was wonderful. Here I am again though, asking more questions. Those answers have posed a few more questions in me that are worth asking. So I asked and I sit waiting...again.

The answers will come in the right timing.

One more thing...I'm really struggling right now with understanding God's ways. Before I tell ya'll this, I'm kind of embarassed (in a way) to say it. Ya'll know that I had been praying for God's provision for me financially for my support account. And with many gifts last month that were unexpected, I thought I had enough to cover my deficit. I didn't. I guess I didn't realize how much the deficit really was, but I didn't even get my full paycheck this month because of it.

I'm kind of embarassed because I had told people how God had provided for me and it was awesome to see how everyone rejoiced with me and was happy with me. I was thrilled! And then, it wasn't enough. I'm kind of at a loss now as to what to do. I feel let down or tricked. I know God doesn't do that, it's not in His character. God promises to provide and if that was the money that came in last month than that is what I needed, right? I'm waiting for God to do another miracle.

You can put two and two together here and realize that if I didn't get my full paycheck this month with an extra $1200 that came in last month than imagine what August's paycheck is going to look like? ...praying for a miracle to happen!

Funky

Well...the 4th of July was a smash hit! I still got up early to go running at Cherry Creek State Park and then went grocery shopping. I saw Donna there and we tried on shirts (it Wal-Mart, not King Soopers!). I had lunch with Kristen and Brynn at yummy Qdoba! I came home and made a red velvet cake for my friend Holly. I know, it's June, not December, but I made it for her birthday! And I spent the afternoon at Dwight and Dawn Robertson's with the Wards and Pastor and Agnes. Good food and great people to spend Independence Day with. It was great fun and I learned how to play horseshoes!

But I'm feeling weird today. I slept in until 7:00 this morning which I think was my first mistake. I should have gotten up and worked out, but instead I'm going after work and during my lunch break. I've got to get my butt back in gear I tell you.

I'm also getting more confirmations on some things that aren't right in my life and some things that need to change. It's good. When I finally tell people what they are they're going to think I'm crazy I know. But crazy people get things done. So...I guess I'll be crazy, it's more fun anyway.

I have a lot of things going on in my life right now and working through a lot. I never thought my brain could think and worry about so many things all at one time, but it never ceases to surprise me what it can do. So here I am thinking and worrying about a whoel heck of a lot of things all at one time, wondering how in the world anything will ever make sense again. So forgive me if I'm distant and seem like I'm always staring somewhere into space...I'm thinking about...well...

Yeah, so a little funky right now. It makes life interesting right?

Do you ever have thoughts that you're not doing what you were designed to do? That's me. And quite honestly, I'm surprised.

It's kind of confusing really. Right now at Kingdom Building Ministries I am where I am supposed to be. So I guess it's more of thoughts and tuggings that the direction I am headed and where I will end up with that direction is not where I am supposed to be heading and where I am supposed to be ending up. Make sense?

I go back and forth with what's in my heart and what truly takes over, making my heart really beat hard and what makes sense and what seems logical, true, and good. So right now I can hear myself telling anyone else who would be going through something like this, "Listen to what your heart is telling you, God didn't put those desires on your heart for nothing. What seems logical is not always the way to go. Sometimes the 'crazy' is the right path." But yeah, still struggling.

Again, expectations are clouding my view and fears about money and being responsible and wanting to make the right decision based on Truth and that still small voice rather than jumping into something out of excitement (which is something I tend to do often). Oh how I'm learning more and more about myself. I keep having to tell myself, "This is good Kathryn!".

Questions of normalcy

Yeah, questioning whether this is normal or not.

The students left yesterday morning for Brazil for 26 days. I'm really going to miss them. I have enjoyed this team so much. They're energetic and fun and silly and still very serious about their faith. We have a lot in common and even if I weren't forced to hang around them due to work, I would choose to. They've been great and they've been the constants in my time spent in the last month.

They are comfortable to me. We think alike for the most part-I mean about the important things I guess. I can be my crazy self without them thinking I love Jesus any less and we're equally passionate about some things. It's just really nice. Yeah, I'm going to miss them...a lot.

And...I'm going to Kenya! I don't know how I'm going to be able to afford it financially, but I believe this something that the Lord is leading me to do, therefore...going to do. I'm leaving the day after Christmas and taking a team of people with me. It's going to be awesome!

Ok, little update on the weekend. Saturday I went to the yummy Pancake House with Kristen and Brynn. That afternoon Dimity and I went to the batting cages for a while and hit some softballs and baseballs. I haven't done that in a long time and it was really fun. She and I watched the Brazil vs. France game-go France!-then we went to see "The Breakup". What a bad movie. I thought it would be at least a little funny. No! I almost cried three times because they were just being so mean to each other-it was not good and the ending was horrible. We went to a BBQ at Roseanne's that night and then to Cold Stone for some yummy German Chocolate Cake Ice Cream (my favorite!) before she left for Brazil for a month.

Oh, Friday night we had a soccer game and we won! Go OOS!

Sunday I dropped the students off at the airport, which was sad. They said I was too peppy for the morning, is that possible? Went to breakfast with Jessica before church and then to the KidStuf service at church. Very funny, recommendation: go! After church I went and swam laps for about 40 minutes. I haven't done that in a long time and I felt it! But it felt really good. I went to help my friend, Seth, move and then watched "Pirates of the Caribbean" for the first time. I thought I should watch it as the second one is about to come out and everyone will want to go see it. I should at least know what happened in the first one, you know? And then to youth group and afterwards, home to bed.

A very entertaining and eventful weekend. Good times!