#6

I'm thankful for the lazy days in life that allow you to just relax with no interruptions.  :)

♫

Worship is one of the sweetest things on this earth in my opinion.  Music has always been highly personal to me, and so sharing it with my redeemer and savior is precious.  I'm grateful for the fact that there are so many ways in which we can praise God and just communicate with Him.  It can be through singing, dancing, writing, or serving just to name a few.  I'm most thankful for worship through music.  There's something about being lost in the music and in the words that stirs my soul.
At church this morning, we sang two songs I had never heard, and it was nice just to sit and listen to the words, and echo them in my heart towards God.
I'm thankful for how accessible music is in this day and age.  I can engage in worship with God in my car driving to school or while walking through the park.  Worship isn't something that needs to be nor should it be contained in a building where people meet every week.  It should be taken with us wherever we go.  Worship is a type of prayer.  In 1 Thessalonians 5 we are exhorted to pray without ceasing.  For those of you who haven't tried to pray without ceasing for a day, I'll tell you that it is extremely difficult.  I'm glad that singing and worshiping is one way that I can try and be in constant communication with the Father. 

The Light in the Dark

This girly needs to go to sleep.

Jesus, thank you for being the light that shines through the dark!!  Thank you for never leaving us alone, and for being the Ultimate Protector!

-Katie :)

Tres

Today is day 3 of my challenge!  I'm going to do something a little different and explain three things I'm thankful for.  The one thing they have in common is that they are all my best friends on this planet.  I'll start off with my high school kindred spirit, Kari

I have SO many reasons to be thankful for this amazing woman of God!!!  She knows me like no other human being does.  We don't need words to speak ofttimes, and it brings me joy that we just understand each other.  Kari has been there through the thick and the thin by my side.  She's listened to my crazy ideas and thoughts and plans, and she gently steers me back on course when I'm drifting from shore.  Thank you, Kari!  This Christmas I have no words to say how much I appreciate your presence in my life!!

Next is my roommate, Mar.
I have a million days worth of thank yous to spend on my knees to my heavenly father for this woman!  It still amazes me that the day after I prayed for a friend in college, God brought us together! :)  Mar is the girl that I can be absolutely silly with at any time!  She's also the one that isn't afraid to speak the truth to me, and I am thankful for being convicted!  She makes me a better person. 
It's amazing to me how alike we are while being different in so many ways.  Mar, today I praise the God that brought us together for our wonderful friendship!  Thank you for being the person that I can talk to whenever and wherever!

Last but certainly not least is Toothless
By now, you may have guessed that I'm using code names for my dearest friends.  If you haven't seen How to Train Your Dragon, then this name probably doesn't make sense to you.  T is the girl that I spent every single day with for a term and a half.  We never went through the stage of becoming friends.  We just were.  We met in marching band last September, but we didn't even talk until the first day of basketball band in January.  Our friend Ty might be regretting the fact that he told us to sit by each other that day.  :)  T and I have a bond that I have seldom found in people.  We are closer than sisters, and T is the one that I pick up the phone in the middle of the night to call.  Thank you, T for being there and reaching out when I'm in need the most!


There are SO MANY more things that I am thankful for in these amazing women, but I feel like words would never do them justice.  We all share one trait:  and that is our belief that Jesus Christ died to save our sins.   For that shared trait I am more thankful for than anything else.  :)
    

Slowing Down Life

I have a confession to make.  I'm addicted to facebook.  There, now I've said it, and now I can move on from it.  Last night I had my roommate change my facebook password.  (This is how serious I am)  I want to slow down the pace of my life.  We're all about time efficiency and getting the largest possible output out for the smallest input.  My question is, "Why?"  There isn't a boogie-man chasing us everywhere we go, and there isn't such thing as the efficiency police leaning over our shoulders watching everything we do.  Slowing down seems silly, but in the end, I think it's absolutely necessary.
It's been less than 24 hours since I've taken my leave from facebook, and already I feel like I've accomplished SO MUCH!  I feel unconnected, and that ladies and gentleman is wondrous!  Just sitting and listening is worth the initial pain.

A few weeks ago, my college pastor said something that really caught my attention.
"Don't ever step outside that climate of being desperate for God."

W.O.W.  How I've totally messed up just that.  How many days have I gone through with 'just the motions'?  Seeking God seems tame compared to being desperate for God.  I want to be desperate for God, and I want to be in that place where I know true humility. Every day I want to start on my knees knowing that I can't make it through the day on my own, and I want to end every day desperately thanking God for His grace and another day to live. 

Speaking of thanks, here's day 2 of my challenge:

I am thankful for a real home to live in (not a college dorm!).  I'm thankful for the peace and quiet that living in a house allows, and also the girls who live here with me!  Sharing a bathroom with one of your best friends is much easier than sharing with 20 other girls. :)  I think I take for granted things like endless hot water, a washer and dryer, and windows!  For these things I am thankful!  How about you?

Hello Again

It's been a long time since I posted anything.  Right now I'm in the middle of "Dead Week" as they call it in college.  This term is almost over, and Christmas break is almost here!  I can't believe that I've been back in Corvallis for almost 10 weeks!   It just seems crazy.  My time has been spent studying, reading, hanging out with friends, and of course: marching band.  :)  This term has been very different for me.  First of all I switched my major from music (with a vocal performance option) to general agriculture during week 3 or something like that.  Secondly I'm only taking something like 14 credits this term, which has been VERY nice.
I'm still at that point where I have no idea what God wants me to be doing.  Well, in reference to the future.  Right now, I'm just living and trying to work on my relationship with the Father.  This term has been full of exactly what I've needed.  The only thing that I'm truly working on is just getting to know God.  In the end, the rest of the world and what they think of us doesn't matter.  Don't worry, I'm staying mostly caught up in school. :)

On a whole different not, it's DECEMBER!! Which is my Favorite month of the year!  :) I love Christmas.  Hot cocoa by the fire and a good book with family in the next room is one of my favorite things.  Don't get me all confused and backwards.  I love the Christmas season, but not the lavish gifts and fake parties and everything that the media turns Christmas into.  I do love snow, mittens, hot cocoa, family, the country, and simply free time.  This Christmas I want to try something.  I am going to post 25 things that I'm thankful for.  One thing for every day until Christmas.  I'm also going to be taking a leave from facebook, and to make sure that it's official, only my roommate will have the password.  I want this Christmas to be different.   I want to spend time really seeking God's face and slowing down my world.  Today is December 1st, and so here is the first thing I'm thankful for. :)

Numero Uno
I am thankful that God loves me infinitely the same Every. Single. Day.  No matter what I do or what I don't do, He loves me!  His love can't be considered in any league like we think of on Earth.  He's the ultimate lover and that brings me comfort.

24 days until Christmas.  What are you thankful for?

Choices

Lord,
I choose to always fly to you. 
I choose to throw myself at your feet the moment I become overwhelmed.
I choose to want to know you more.
I choose to make You my everything.

When life is tough, and all I can do is just keep moving for fear of falling apart, I choose to call out Your name and find the safety in Your arms that has been there all along.  Tonight, I fly to You.  You know the depths of the troubles in my heart.  I pray that You give me the strength to face this battle, this life.  You've brought me here, and I have no doubt that You'll see me through this to the other side.  I might come out on the other side of this valley with some battle scars, but at least I'll always remember.  Jesus, I know that You live, and that You reign.  :)  Help me to see Your touch in everything around me. 

Yours Forever,
Katie

p.s. Tonight I remember that this 'valley that seems like the shadow of death' is simply a valley.  Tonight I remember that you cannot have a shadow without a source of light.  I know that You are the true source of light in this world, and only Your light can shine bright enough to defeat the devil and his evil ways.  :)