I sent out an update e-mail to my family and friends today. And...then I thought,
"Hmm, I haven't updated my xanga in forever! So, I decided to post the
e-mail I sent...killing two birds with one stone I tell you! So...here are some of my
latest musings...enjoy!
       Well, I am finally at a point this afternoon where I can actually 
breathe! Since coming back after spring break I have been overwhelmed with piles 
of schoolwork, classes, work, and other activities and have been struggling to 
keep my head above water. But after turning in papers today and yesterday and 
doing a presentation today, I feel that I can actually stop for a second and 
enjoy the beauty of the day...and considering the gorgeous warm weather we've 
been having, it's actually quite refreshing. Here at Moody when the weather is 
nice, everything seems to be so much more fun and lively. During the winter, if 
you walk through the plaza, everything is cold and bare. If you're lucky you may 
spot one lone student bundled in a thick coat scurrying in a hunched position to 
class. But when the weather is nice, the plaza is filled with students studying, 
socializing, taking a brief break between classes to stop and chat with a 
friend. It is literally like a scene out of a college brochure. This atmosphere 
really lifts my spirits and gives me hope that the end is near. Though I am 
reminded that we are to seize the moment, I can't help but count in my head the 
weeks until summer break. Even though I love being here and would not take back 
any of the time I've spent here, I have to be honest and say that it has been a 
difficult semester. God is really humbling me in a variety of ways. One day my 
roommate shared a verse with me, and it really hit me, as I realized that it 
could be my theme verse this semester. It's 2 Corinthians 3:5 when Paul said, 
"Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from 
us, but our sufficiency is from God..." and then also, "But we have 
this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God 
and not to us." In so many ways I have been overcome with feelings of 
inadequacy, regarding schoolwork, my job, my little sister in Cabrini...So many 
of the things I was once confident about have come crashing down on me, mainly, 
my competence in working with kids. From having a lot of experience in working 
with kids, that was one thing that was easy for me to do on my own strength. But 
this semester, the kids at my work don't really respect me, the kids in my PCM 
don't understand me, and my little sister in Cabrini is just hard to figure out. 
However, in the midst of this insufficiency I have been convicted to turn these 
matters over to God in prayer, humbly admitting that i need HIs help and that I 
am completely incapable of doing any of these things on my own strength. It is a 
difficult place to be, yet it is a good place to be. This weekend I went on a 
retreat with the Big Brother/ Big Sister program. All the Moody students and 
their little siblings from Cabrini attended, including mine. It was a fun time 
to get out of the city, but it was eye-opening in ways I would never have 
anticipated. My little sister Tianna and I were having a one-on one talk about 
the message that had just been preached about role models, and besides her stiff 
countenance (her arms were crossed and her back was kinda turned to me), I 
sensed significant spiritual hardness on her part. Her comment was "I don't 
want to talk. This is boring." and then "Why do you people have to 
talk about Jesus all the time?" These types of comments filled our whole 
conversation, and as I prayed for the Lord to give me the right responses to all 
of her blows against Christianity, I was again reminded by this verse. I am 
completely insufficient to be able to help her see the truth of the gospel, the 
reality of what Jesus Christ did for her. However, in the same way, I am 
thankful that God is sufficient, and if I am His willing jar of clay, He will 
bring out His treasure.
       I'm sorry that this post is so long, but I just want to share these 
things with you in order to encourage you all to hold on to the hope that we 
have. I have truly begun to realize that God's power is made perfect through our 
weaknesses, and in our weakness, He is strong. Thank you for taking the time to 
read this, and I hope that you have a glorious day!! I love you all!! Love, 
Katie

Ground Rules: The 1st player of this "game" starts with the topic "Five Weird Things About Yourself" and people who get tagged need to write a Xanga entry about their five weird things as well as state this rule clearly. In the end, you need to choose the next five people to be tagged and list their names. Don't forget to leave a comment that says "You are tagged" in their Xanga and tell them to read yours.

 Let's see here...I'm not weird at all and I have no weird habits...I mean, come on, I just want to live a normal, cookie cutter life! Okay, okay, I guess I'll just have to make some up...here we go...

1.) I love languages and am intrigued by those different than my own. I get goosebumps when I witness believers worshipping God in their native tongue, especially when I can hear different languages being sung or spoken simultaneously. Man, that is just so special to me.

2.) I talk and sing to myself while I'm alone in my room. Actually, I think I do it more when someone's in there with me, not that I'm talking to them, but I'm just talking to myself while they're there. Ask my roommate--she's the one that confirmed this to me. Also, this is not really that weird ( at least it shouldn't be b/c I think that everyone should do this!!!), but I sing and dance while I'm in my car. It's so fun, everybody try it the next time you're driving. If you're really brave and you're driving at night, you can turn on the lights in your car so that everyone sees you. Ha ha, Florida girls--you know what I mean! (:

3.) When I'm really tired in class, I doze off and start writing nonsense in my notes. It's really amusing to look back at my notes sometimes and wonder, "What in the world was I writing?" My handwriting even looks different--it's noticeably shaky and slurred together. My OT notes this semester have a few examples of this cryptic writing!( hey--like the "writing on the wall"--get it fellow OTers?)

4.) I love to eat ketchup with my rice. Mmmm...also, I sometimes eat peanut butter plain. I love the natural crunchy kind-when it gets really hard and you can see all the peanuts-I just take a spoonful and eat it.

5.) I am so interested in RUSSIA--the country itself, but mostly the people! I want to learn the language, to live there for a while, to help the orphan children...it's definitely a passion I have more than a weird habit. But hey, it might seem strange in the eyes of the secular world.

Tag: Bethany, Stephanie, Sara, Megan, Rachel

If you could love me as a wife

And for your wedding gift, your life

Should that be all I'll ever need?

Or is there more I'm looking for

And should I read between the lines

And look for blessings in disguise

To make me handsome, rich, and wise

Is that really what you want?

'Cause I am a whore I do confess

But I put you on just like a wedding dress

And I run down the aisle, I run down the aisle

I'm a prodigal with no way home

But I put you on just like a ring of gold

And I run down the aisle

I run down the aisle to you

So could you love this bastard child?

Though I don't trust you to provide

With one hand in a pot of gold

And with the other in your side

'Cause I am so easily satisfied

By the call of lovers so less wild

That I would take a little cash

Over your very flesh and blood

Because money cannot buy

A husband's jealous eye

When you have knowlingly deceived his wife

"Wedding Dress" --Words and Music be Derek Webb

Yesterday in my Spiritual Life and Community class I was challenged by this thought, "Am I considered a 'friend of sinners?'" In the New Testament, the Pharisees frequently accused Jesus of being a "friend of sinners" and associating with the ungodly. If I want my life to be a reflection of Christ, then I need to be stepping out and forming relationships with unbelievers. I don't take evangelism seriously...because if I did, my life would probably look very different.