Relocated

Hey there blog readers! I have started a new "married people" blog with a new address - http://mike-and-kathy.blogspot.com/.

I won't be updating this one anymore, so you can remove your following and switch it over to the new blog! I'm going to do my best to update more often and give you some fun pics and stories from this first year of married life!

Skeleton Bones

I love this song! We've been singing it at church a lot lately and the words are just awesome! I have to say I prefer Lucas Allen's version (our worship leader at church), but the song is still awesome!

No Longer Much-Afraid

Recently, the Lord sent me a dream about lies that Satan feeds us. Satan tells us that certain things are cute and safe, and we believe him. It's bogus, but we do.

So, after this dream, I opened my heart for God to search it out for lies. And, surprise, surprise, He found some. And it blew me away!

It's not that I expected my heart was 100% clean and sparkly. I know there is still work to be done. But, what surprised me was the lies that I realized were in there. I mean, I knew I believed these things, but it never occurred to me that they are BIG FAT LIES!

I realized that I have so accepted fear as a regular part of my life, that it doesn't even faze me anymore. Ridiculous! I let fear wiggle it's little nose into my heart probably more than 20 years ago, and I just let it stay there warm and cozy.

Fear was able to hide out for all these years because I DIDN'T RECOGNIZE IT! I had let fear become appropriate or acceptable in my life to the extent that I thought it was NORMAL for Christians to feel that way. So, here's a list (because I LOVE lists) of all the ways I have identified thus far that fear had a hold of my life without my recognition.

1. Fear of the unknown -- Whenever something new or unexpected came along, I thought it was appropriate to be afraid. I mean, I'm only human, right! And unknown things are scary! But, letting fear have a foothold is never okay, no matter WHAT!

So, there, Fear of Unknown, you have no place in my heart.

2. Fear of man -- I'm not scared of men. In fact, I think I actually have an irrational level of confidence in my ability to defend myself against most any man. But, I am ridiculously concerned about other people's opinion of me, and it can be debilitating. Calculating the risks of a decision is wise, but letting the opinion of others prevent you from pursuing things that GOD WANTS FOR YOU is ridiculous and I'm over it.

So, yep, kicked that one out too.

3. Fear that God will take thing away -- I know God will stretch me, and that is true, but somewhere along the way I've accepted that God will probably ask me to do things I don't like and ask me to give up lots of the things I love. How often do I forget that HE ONLY GIVES GOOD GIFTS! And how often have I clenched my little tiny fists around something God wanted to take away, not realizing that He wanted to replace it with something better.

Stupid lies, you are officially uninvited to my life party.

There are a few more, but this blog seems pretty long. So, if you want to hear more, email me and I will update you! Otherwise, stay tuned for future blogs about what God's teaching me and about how I will be learning/growing in my new job! My first day in the office (just for a few hours for a meeting) is Tuesday, and I would appreciate some fear-killing prayers!

Sending love to you all, no matter where you are!

Kathy

And now back to our regularly scheduled program...

Happy Wednesday, friends and family!

So, it has been brought to my attention that my previous blog post was totally random. Sorry for those who were utterly confused and thanks to all who played along. Random or not, you have to admit it was fun!

Today's note, however, is much more expected because as most of you Facebook-stalkers know, I GOT A JOB!

Yep, that's right. I am now employed! While I am positive that God is probably looking down from heaven, shaking his head in a very dad-like manner, and saying "I told you so," I admit that I was getting nervous. I mean, I had an offer a few weeks ago. My only offer at that point, mind you, and God told me to say no. I didn't really want the job, but it was a job. So, saying "no" felt difficult despite the fact that I would have rather worked at Kohl's (no offense to anyone who works/worked there.)

Anyway, I am thrilled that this was God's plan! (I also have to give some credit to my brother Andrew for helping me pick out my "power suit" for my final interview, complete with bright pink button down. haha! Thanks, bro!)

I will start at the Timmy Foundation in Indianapolis as their new Program Coordinator the end of next month! I'll also be travelling to Latin America here and there, which is clearly breaking my heart, but I think I'll manage. (Love it!)

Thanks to everyone who prayed me through the job search and be sure to check out www.timmyfoundation.org for all the details!

Little Red/White Box

I would like to discuss a really horrible Sunday School song. It is called "Little White Box" or sometimes "If I Had a Little White Box." If I could make one request, please don't teach your children this song.

There are a zillion reasons why this song annoys me, but let's suffice it to say that you cannot and should not want to keep Jesus in a little box. You also really shouldn't have kids carrying around Satan in a box either, for that matter.

The whole thing is just weird and disturbing.

So, please, do not teach your children this song.

Hallelujah, with a ham sandwich on the side

Okay, so here's the deal. I'm kind of excited, so please excuse any typos because sometimes my fingers punch the keys too hard when I'm excited. And then you get all kinds of extra letters. Haha. Anyway...

I was sitting here eating my ham sandwich because it's lunch time and that is what is in the fridge. I wanted to read the chapter from our Bible study last night that I didn't get a chance to read beforehand. So, I did. And then I got really excited about the next chapter, so I started reading that too...and I came across some phrases that just got me PUMPED. I mean, really, I was talking to God aloud as I read this because I felt like it resonated perfectly with some of the things God has been teaching me lately. So, here are some bits and pieces of what I got excited about, with my thoughts intermingled:

"The great majority of the Christian world is still weeping at the foot of the cross. The consciousness of mankind remains fixed on the Christ who died, not on the Christ who lives. People are looking back to the Redeemer who was, not the Redeemer who is."

I used to get so frustrated when I heard certain people preach the Gospel message. And I felt guilty for feeling cranky about the Gospel. I mean, really, I thought something was wrong with me! But, this shines a new light on what DROVE ME NUTS about their interpretation of the Gospel. In certain churches, the Gospel is all about how dirty and icky and disgusting you are without Jesus. It's about how Jesus found you in the muck and the mire and loved you anyway. But the thing is, they spend so much time on talking about the gross, sinful humans that they fail to talk enough about the brilliance of the resurrected Christ. I mean, he was transformed! He was resurrected and now "As He is, so are we in the world!" Sin is gross. I concur. But Jesus' glory should be the focus of the RESURRECTION story because without that, it's just not the whole Gospel. And to be quite frank, without the resurrection, the Gospel (or lack-thereof) would be utterly depressing.

"Jesus became poor so that I could become rich...Why then should I try to become as He was, when He suffered so I could become as He is? At some point, the reality of the resurrection must come into play in our lives - we must discover the power of the resurrection for all who believe."

Jesus didn't go to the cross so that I could spend all my spiritual energy weeping at the foot of the cross or trying to figuratively nail myself to it. Don't get me wrong, repentance is meaningful and sorrow for sin is worthy of time and attention. BUT it can't end there. It shouldn't end there. Jesus wants more. He died so we could repent and then embrace the power of the resurrected Christ inside of us.

There is a time to weep and a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to dance (Eccl. 3:4). I don't know about you...but today I feel like dancing.

(Quotes are from: When Heave Invades Earth: a Practical Guide to a Life of Miracles by Bill Johnson, page 146.)

Spiritual Monuments

So, I was reading our book for Bible Study (Bill Johnson's When Heaven Invades Earth) and came across a passage in Exodus that talked about building monuments or altars to remember what God has done. It happens all over the place in the Old Testament. God does something awesome, and people build a memorial so that they won't forget.

I am now trying to figure out what this means for me. What can I build/create/save that commemorates what God has done in my life. I mean, I DON'T want to forget because remembering brings joy and encourages and strengthens your faith.

My only conclusion on the topic thus far is to be more intentional with my journaling. I want to record whenever God provides, or teaches me something, or stretches me or anything else He decides to do. I know this will help me remember, if or when I actually go back and read it.

I want to remember.

And then I want to CELEBRATE!

I want to remember so that my JOY may be in Him and thus my joy may be complete! Let me know if you have other ideas of ways to commemorate intimate experiences with the Lord. I am open to any and all suggestions, and would especially welcome some creative thoughts!

Dios les bendiga,

Kathy