SHARING my experiences of life with God, WALKING WITH and SERVING those on the journey, EMBRACING the path he sets before me, with the FIERCE conviction that his ways are higher, greater, beyond anything I could even attempt to dream up for myself, and courageously surrendering my life to daily be made new. I am a life UNDER CONSTRUCTION.
your senses
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Taste: Sunday is family dinner night. My sister is an amazing cook and for the past five weeks she has let the birthday boy or girl pick their meal of choice (we had 13 family birthdays between January 22 and March 5!). We've had tilapia, stuffed peppers, pasta and meatballs, and, as seen above, fried chicken and mashed potatoes. I am especially grateful for my sense of taste on Sunday nights!
Sight: This is definitely my weakest sense, as affirmed at last week's eye examination at the Highway Patrol that I only passed by the grace of God. And maybe because of that, I have great appreciation for my ability to see. I give thanks for sight, which allows me to read, to drive, and to marvel at all of God's creation, including the beautiful smiles on the faces of His children. It would be sad indeed not to be able to see Kenzi dressed as Cinderella.
Touch: When I enter my brother's house I become a human jungle gym. Kenzi took this picture of Tysen and Tessa with me in one of our more common poses... Tysen on her head and Tessa attached to my leg. I also had the privilege yesterday of holding and painting 40 fingers and 40 toes. Kaylee, like me, found this touch to be incredibly relaxing, falling asleep while waiting for her toenails to dry. Touch is incredibly important to our emotional and mental well being, so do yourself a favor and hold a hand, give a hug, or grab someone's leg today!
Smell: While walking after dark last night my dog Jovi and I bumped into a skunk. You can imagine how good we smell today. My sister reminded me that she has a sinus infection and can't smell anything. So I'm counting my ability to smell among my blessings today... it helps me know not to go out in public!
Hearing: A friend of mine posted this video to Facebook today of an 8-month-old boy hearing his mother's voice for the first time. Sometimes we long for more quiet in our lives, but can you imagine not knowing the sound of your child's laughter or tears, winning the Olympics and not being able to hear your nation's anthem be played, never hearing the rain? I'm looking forward to the day when I hear my youngest niece Riley call me "Aunt Katie" for the first time!
EMBRACE YOUR SENSES.
They are among God's gifts that we all too often take for granted.
Yesterday my sermon was about the importance of names. Matthew 1 begins with a list of names, the genealogy of Jesus. Mark 1 begins with baptism, when our name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life. Luke 1 begins with an angel telling Zechariah he would have a son, to be named John. And John 1 says "In the beginning...", reminding us of Genesis when God called things into creation, named them, and gave Adam his first assignment--to name all the animals. And because we are celebrating Jesus' birthday this week, we talked about His all important name. Jesus, which means "God saves." And Immanuel, "God is with us." Not "for" us. But "with" us. Dwelling among us. Walking the earth. Filling our hearts. I also shared that Katie means "pure". A name I've always been intimidated by. A name I never thought I could live up to. But through this year of self-exploration, of embracing fears and family and lessons
God led me to preach about forgiveness yesterday. "But I'm not mad at anyone," I told God after it became clear that this was my topic of study. And doesn't it feel good?! He said. Don't you always want to have this much peace, this much joy, this much freedom?! And don't you just want everyone to know that this kind of peace is available through forgiveness?! Yes! I burst in to song in the middle of the sermon because I had so much joy in my heart. Hosanna! Hosanna! Hosanna in the highest! We shared forgiveness stories during and after worship, just like Jesus did when He preached forgiveness. There is so much power in our stories! One of the stories I shared was the inspiration behind Matthew West's song "Forgiveness," which he shares in this video... "It's about a woman who did the impossible, and made me ask myself if I could do the same..." What would you do? What is your forgiveness st
Dear friends, It has been a while since we have published an update on the house, the adoption, and life in general. As I write we (the world) are all under quarantine, a shelter-in-place order, due to the pandemic known as COVID-19 or the coronavirus. I'm attempting to work multiple jobs from home, while Randy continues to go to school during the week to provide lunches for the students in our community. But we've discovered that there is a lot that home remodeling, adoption, and life in general can teach us about how to quarentine. For example, today is the final day that our drywall crew will be at the house. Which is what they have been saying for the past three weeks. Just one more day... Home remodeling always takes longer than you think it will. And so does a quarentine. Every day the news is the same: we need more time. But you know what. The extra time in the home remodeling has been worth it. Because we've taken the time to do things right t
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