Chiché

In the past couple days, it has come to my attention how incredibly sad it is that some of the most profound verses in the Bible have become cliché to so many. For example:

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 

- John 3:16

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts always hopes, always perseveres. 

- 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

It's like we have become calloused to the greatness of God and the amazing gift of Jesus Christ....a gift that not a single one of us deserves.....a gift that was given at an incredible price....a gift that was given because God is love. And he is patient. And kind. And slow to anger. And he is everything that we are not.

I hope to always be reminded of this and never take for granted the miracle of my salvation.

Surprisingly delicious

I used to be the pickiest eater growing up. I lived off of spaghetti, pb&j, chicken tenders, cheese pizza, and McDonald's (with lots and lots and lots of ketchup). Then this miraculous thing happened in college.....I started eating anything and everything.....turning into the human garbage disposal that I am today. (It's truly amazing that I'm not fat.) So in order to make up for my 20 years of terribly boring and unadventurous eating habits, I now jump at the chance to try anything new.
Well while I was at work tonight, I had such an opportunity. One of the other caregivers was snacking on Doritos and cottage cheese, so I gave it a shot. Result: DELICIOUS! You should seriously try it. And if you don't try it then you will probably annoy me because unadventurous and close-minded people do that to me. I think it's due to the fact that I, myself, used to be boring but have seen the light....so now it is my goal to give everyone the same joy that I have received from this new lifestyle. I mean, why would anyone consciously deprive themselves of goodness? I just don't get it! So go ahead.....try it out!








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Longing to Belong

Eddie Vedder has a new ukulele album coming out! I'm so freakin pumped! This is his cover of Pearl Jam's "Longing to Belong" (I love the lyrics):

I'm falling harder than I've ever fell before

I'm fallin faster, hoping I'll land in your arms
Cause all my time is spent here
Longing to belong to you

I dream of circles perfect, eyes within your face
My heart's an open wound that only you replace
And though the moon is rising, can't put your picture down
Love, it's a frightning way to fall

And when the time is right, I hope that you'll respond
Like when the wind gets tired and the ocean becomes calm
I may be dreaming but I'm longing to belong to you

In the past week....

• I passed out while watching 127 Hours. For those of you who don't know, this is a true story about a young man named Aaron Ralston who survived 127 hours in a canyon with his hand trapped between a boulder and the canyon wall. After being stuck for five days, Aaron finally comes to terms with the fact his only chance of survival is to amputate his arm. He does this by applying enough force on his arm to break his radius and ulna, and then proceeded to hack away at his flesh with a dull pocket knife. You think that sounds bad? Well what came next was what really did me in....he had to dig deep in his muscle tissue and rip through the nerves and tendons with his fingers because the knife wouldn't cut them. Now, this was simply more than I could handle. I started to get the familiar pre-pass-out tunnel vision, something that I have learned to recognize and manage in other circumstances, but I didn't even have a fighting chance this time! I was literally out within seconds, falling onto the shoulder of my friend sitting next to me. I awoke from dreamland moments later, all sweaty and nauseous and feeling sooooo embarrassed that I passed out in front of my friend....while watching a movie, hahahaha! I am already looking forward to the numerous blackouts that will occur during PA school....I only pray that I get over it quickly!

• I "competed" in an indoor triathlon. The reason I put "completed" in quotations is because I didn't really go into it with the intention of anything other than surviving. It was only a 10 minute swim, 30 minute bike and a 20 minute run, so I knew it wouldn't be too difficult.....but since I am historically a sprinter and had never done anything like this before (or swam or biked in a year), I decided to play it safe. For each event, I settled into a comfortable pace and stayed relaxed, not wanting to overexert myself. Well as it turned out....I succeeded in under-exerting myself, haha. I mean, how does a person do any kind of triathlon and not even feel tired or sore afterward?!  I would have liked to at least feel a little pain to show I did something! So in the end I placed 6th out of 8 competitors total, all of whom were at least 10-30 years older than I. Looking back, I wish I had pushed myself....but at least now I know what to expect for the next time!

• One of my very best friends, Anna Louisa Leutheuser, got engaged to Will Dunham!!! ("I could not have parted with you, my Anna, for anyone less worthy"). I am so so so so soooooo excited for them and I simply cannot wait for their wedding this fall! After living with Anna for four years, I am certain that it will be the most beautiful wedding of all time because she has been planning it for years....believe me, I've seen pictures of "the vision" and they're stunning! I love you, Anna. Someday I will be calling you to come help my mother plan my wedding....because I am clueless!

• I GOT A GUITAR!!! And it's a GIBSON! WOOOHOOOOO!!! I have always wanted to learn how to play the guitar but have never had the opportunity. Now, I am so very grateful to have been given this amazing gift by a great musician that I have come to know during my time in Okemos. I wish I knew how to repay him for his kindness. I feel so blessed :)

In my dreams...

I don't allow myself to do this very often, but over the last couple of days I have been shopping online.....it has led me to these two items that I really really really want! And to be fair, I honestly need one of them....

• I am trying to learn some more complicated songs on my uke that have a lot of picking in them. Well, I've discovered that my budget ukulele doesn't exactly measure up in sound-quality when things start to get technical.....so here is my dream uke:

Isn't it pretty?! :)

Also in my dreams, I would have the musical talent to be able to translate guitar tabs into ukulele tabs because it is very difficult to find the songs I want to play for the ukulele. For example, I would love love love to have the tabs for:

William Fitzsimmons - "Passion Play"

Nickel Creek - "Doubting Thomas"

Train - "Marry Me"

Another annoying thing about the ukulele is that people who play the uke apparently aren't country fans. I can't find ANY country songs for the ukulele. I mean, come on now! Seriously?! I guess Hawaiian and country don't naturally go together....but I'd like to make it work.

• I'm starting PA school in three months! WOOHOOO!!!!! And that means I need a new laptop. I found an AMAZING deal on this Toshiba Satellite for $579 (originally $899)......but the deal only lasts for three more days! Ughh! Why does everything cost money?! Maybe a rich man will come into Mongo tomorrow and leave me a $600 tip?!

          ...but I won't hold my breath....

Doubting Thomas

I wanted to share/reflect on one of Oswald Chambers' devotions from his book My Utmost For His Highest. I had actually dog-eared this particular page last year, but it's impact on me was no less profound this time around.

[On a side note...one of my many odd obsessions applies to the condition of my books, where it literally causes internal pain when any crease, bend or mark alters their perfection....but I'm proud to say that I'm slowly overcoming this strange phobia for ease of referencing quotes/pages of interest]

"The woman said to Him, 'Sir, You have nothing to draw [water] with, and the well is deep.'"

 - John 4:11

"Have you ever said to yourself, 'I am impressed with the wonderful truths of God's Word, but he can't really expect me to live up to that and work all those dtails into my life!' When it comes to confronting Jesus Christ on the basis of His qualities and abilities, our attitudes reflect religious superiority. We think His ideals are lofty and they impress us, but we believe He is not in touch with reality - that what he says cannot actually be done. Each of us thinks this about Jesus in one area of our life or another. These doubts or misgivings about Jesus begin as we consider questions that divert our focus away from God. While we talk of our dealings with Him, others ask us, 'Where are you going to get enough money to live? How will you live and who will take care of you?' Or our misgivings begin within ourselves when we tell Jesus that our circumstances are just a little too difficult for Him. We say, 'It's easy to say, "Trust in the Lord," but a person has to live; and besides, Jesus has nothing with which to draw water - no means to be able to give us these things.' And beweare of exhibiting religious deceit by saying, 'Oh, I have no misgivings about Jesus, only misgivings about myself.' If we are honest, we will admit that we never have misgivings or doubts about ourselves, because we know exactly what we are capable or incapable of doing. But we do have misgivings about Jesus. And our pride is hurt even at the thought that He can do what we can't.

My misgivings arise from the fact that I search within to find how He will do what He says. My doubts spring from the depths of my own inferiority. If I detect these misgivings in myself, I should bring them into the light and confess them openly - 'Lord, I have had misgivings about You. I have not believed in Your abilities, but only my own. And I have not believed in Your almighty power apart from my finite understanding of it.'"

Wow. How many times have I said this! "Oh, I don't doubt Jesus....I doubt myself." Ugh! What a load of crap! And God is just so amazing; He really wanted to drill this point through my thick skull today because after reading that this morning, I read Acts chapters 3-4 this evening. In these chapters, the apostles Peter and John performed a miracle in the name of Jesus Christ by healing a crippled man outside the temple. Then later the believers prayed, "...enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus"....and after they prayed "they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly" (4:29-31).
Okay, Kate, where are you going with this?! Well, how many times have we limited God because of our own incompetence? Even today, I don't give God enough credit to heal my wounds and answer my prayers, let alone use me to perform a miracle! But why not?! Peter and John did it! Over and over the Bible tells us to pray and we shall recieve, but we are a society of doubting Thomases. Lord, give us faith although we cannot see. Enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness and perform miraculous signs and wonders in Your Name. Amen.

Home

I'm at home right now and it is wonderful! I've been able to spend time with my parents, celebrate a friends birthday, play with my niece and nephew AND I have enjoyed more than enough good food :)

So in honor of being home, I made my first ukulele recording of the song "Home" by Edward Sharp and the Magnetic Zeroes. It's an amazing song introduced to me by Katie Holsinger. The video quality is kind of crappy and the sound is a little off but I promise to get better! :)

[Oh, and be sure to notice my new chairs in the background! Love them!]