A Home That Says Welcome

One day, I want to have the type of household that makes people feel welcome. The type that has an open door policy, with people in and out, coming to sit and talk, or coming to find the answer to questions in their hearts.

I want the hospitality that says, "come live with me for a while," and means it. If it means a few minutes, or a few months.

I want to share the warmth of knowing that everyone is welcome to come with you whether its your best friend, or your aunt's second cousin twice removed always with long stories on his mind that just has to be shared. I want many people, of many colors and many accents and many languages and many backgrounds to gather under my roof, to share bread together, laughter echoing off the walls. I want my family to spontaneously invite random strangers home for a meal, warm soup filling cold stomachs after a hard day.

I have a dream of a home that welcomes folks in, drawing them in irresistibly. Lamps in the windows, warm lights streaming out. Delicious, comforting food causing folks to sniff the air hungrily, and gather around the table willingly. Hands held as prayers are said, and hearts are lifted. I want the home that sings, and laughs. That long, quiet discussions are held in, that stimulating ideas are formed in, that people leave, feeling they encountered Someone unexpectedly, but blessedly.

I want the home that says, "walk in and become one of us for a while. Join our lives, our activities, our way of living, and become one with us."

One of my favorite things to do is to make people feel welcome and important and special. I want to find ways to connect with people, and to somehow express Christ's love to them, even if only through a smile or cheery hello. I want to use this gift in my own home.

I love to talk to people and find out how they think. I like to read their hearts, hear their stories, and find kinship with people. Its amazing how this works across language and cultural barriers.

One day, this will be the home that I will have. One day, my welcome mat will be swept and ready, the lamps lit, the bread baking in the oven.
And a smile and cheery hello to welcome.

Lists of Joys

I've been told at least three times lately, during a tough time, that I should continue to look for and make lists of the joys, the hidden gifts, the glad things that God has given in my life. I try to do this visibly over on A Thousand Hidden Gifts but it isn't quite the same as writing a list. I'm a big one for lists, and enjoy writing them, even if it is to just tick off everything I've accomplished. Or just to remember things. So I shall remember the past couple of days and list the joys.

• Standing around the living room, singing "Farther Along" a cappella.  Music filling the space, music blending beautifully on our faces. 
• Dear friends who check on me, offer prayers for me, and send me hugs through all sorts of means. Dear friends who love, even when they don't understand. 
• Pink to delight my soul. 
• A book that has brought much conviction and insight. It hurts to read at times, but it is the type of hurt that burns away and refines. Ultimately a good thing, and joy if I allow it to be.
• A new coffee cup that is blue with a red initial. From my Dad, just because. Filled with hot tea, it brings comfort. 
• Written prayers for when I need help praying in a thoughtful manner. And people who take time to pray them with me. 
• Golden, scarlet sunsets, with lacy trees to silhouette. Or pink and purple ones that fade to pale blue, to deep indigo. Indigo silence, that darkens until a glow of diamonds with a pearl to crown them all. 
• The scent of an orange candle, burning next to me as I study. I love candles on dark days. 
• The skinny long pinecones that I spray painted white when they were wet and cold, but once inside the warm, dry house they suddenly opened and became wide, fat ones. Amazing.
• A new perfume I enjoy all day. Delights my senses.
• Facebook comments in Spanish from Bolivian friends. 
• Dancing, and introducing friends to the joy of dancing, too!
• The gang hitting McDonalds at midnight, causing the night staff to have to scramble, and then eating, laughing and lingering over french fries and Dr. Peppers. 

I am working on many things, but one thing is recognizing joy. Here. Now. Its all around if I just notice it, recognize it and invite it. 

Thank you Jesus for bringing the recognition of these joys into my heart and mind. May I always find joy, and recognize Your Love through them. Amen.

The Teacher Was Homeschooled (And Other Ironies Of My Life)

Irony 1. The teacher was homeschooled. And has no idea what a 'classroom' is supposed to look like.

Not only do I not know what it's 'supposed' to look like, but I also have no idea how it works. You know what it feels like so far? Like juggling 5 siblings and all their activities. Except, these siblings are all the same age. Maybe being the oldest of 9 will come in handy, after all. (Don't make me use my teacher voice!)

Irony 2. The teacher knocks over the kid in the playground on the first day. Great.

Parent: "Do you like your new teacher?"

Kid: "She knocked me down on the playground!"

Parent: "What kind of teacher is this?! "

(It was actually an isolated incident which was caused by a child walking behind a teacher who was swinging. The teacher was unable to stop the child or the momentum in time. I was that unfortunate teacher. There were no serious injuries in the making of this irony. Maybe I should give up swinging.)

Irony 3. The new PE teacher has never been to a PE class in her life.

She can't shoot baskets, she can't do push ups, and she doesn't remember the rules to 'freeze tag'. But somehow, these things will probably not hinder her as she guides 40 kids through PE classes. Oh no. Not at all.

~

Somehow, I think I'm going to absolutely love this job. After the first day, I still have things to do with them for the remainder of the week, and lots of ideas for our studies and activities. I'm surprised there's not the irony of using up a weeks worth of classes in one day. But grateful for that not happening. Ask me tomorrow if it really didn't happen. Ha!

Today I got more of a feel of how long it takes to do things with 5 year olds. (Basically, forever.) And I got more of a feel of where they are in their abilities. (Basically, my level.)

Looking forward to more teacher adventures tomorrow! But I think I will attempt to avoid knocking over kids on the playground.

I Sing Because I'm Happy!

Why should I feel discouraged?

Why should the shadows come?

Why should my heart be lonely

and long for heaven and home,

When Jesus is my portion?

My constant friend is he:

His eye is on the sparrow,

And I know he watches over me.

I sing because I'm happy!
I sing because I'm free,

For his eye is on the sparrow,

And I know he watches over me.

"Let not your heart be troubled,"

His tender word I hear,

And resting on his goodness,

I lose my doubts and fears;

Though by the path he leadeth

But one step I may see:

His eye is on the sparrow,

And I know he watches over me.

I sing because I'm happy!

I sing because I'm free

His eye is on the sparrow

And I know he watches over me.

Philippians 4:8

Whatsoever things are...

Pure.
Lovely.
Virtuous.
Of good report.
Honest.
True.
Just.
Praiseworthy.

I would like to be a whatsoever.

Like this:
Whatsoever true: Katie. Whatsoever pure: Katie. Whatsoever just: Katie.

This is what I am striving for. Letting these fruit of the spirit, these indications of Christ show so others can see it and know I am His.

Whatsoever is honest, lovely, pure, true, just, praiseworthy. What ever is these things...think on them.

And in thinking on these things, life suddenly turns into something a little happier and a little sweeter. Because you're thinking of pure, lovely, honest, true, just, praiseworthy things.

Little Blessings

This is my little friend. I give her lollipops. She gives me hugs, and giggles. She's one of my happies that I mention now and then.
I love it that even though we're so different in age, we can still be great friends.
Last week we went on a donut picnic together.
This week we made Valentines and cherry tarts.
Two more happies on my list.
Two more sweet memories.
Focusing on the faces and people around me, faces sharp and clear.
I am grateful for this face.

I Made A Discovery!

I made a discovery this week!

I've been wishing I could figure out a way to listen to Scripture while at work. Then when I was searching for a Bible verse while working one day, I figured out that Biblegateway will read the Bible to you! And what's even better, in a British accent! And it will read continuously, so you don't have to choose each chapter or verse to listen. It'll read straight through until you stop it.

Today I listened to James. Twice.

I've been less disciplined than I should be with my Bible reading lately. Part of it is sheer laziness, because it's cold in the morning when I usually read my Bible, and it's tough to get out of the warm cocoon of my bed. Part of it is my schedule has been pretty full, so its really easy to push aside reading the Bible for more 'important' things. I realized that this was really a terrible state to be in, so that added to my excitement when I found a way to still get some Bible time in. I'm not so auditory that hearing it sticks as well as reading it, but it's definitely better than nothing, and I've enjoyed taking a few minutes (or hour) to listen to Psalms or another section of the Bible. Even if I'm not catching every word, I like that it's in the background entering my mind and heart subconsciously. And while it's playing, if I catch something interesting I take time to go and read that section as well as another way to remember it.

I was so excited, I thought I'd share my great discovery.

It's really the small things in life that excite me most. :)

Random Ramblings

I used to write a friend random bits and pieces that I was thinking of or happy about or busy doing. The friend and I have moved on to other forms of communication, but I thought I'd blog it a bit. I'm feeling chattery and happy and generally have ideas bouncing around in my head.

I'm feeling happy because I love scarves. This year I've started wearing them nearly every day. Today I was folding them and putting them away neatly, and I realized they're pretty much in the same color family: pink. Four out of twelve scarves are pink. Two more are purple. I've been on the lookout for a lovely gray one to add to the collection. I had my eye on one, but it was too expensive for my taste. Yesterday I found it for a fraction of the original cost! Excitement abounds! I'm thinking about doing a little blog photo series of different ways I style my scarves. Haven't decided for sure, yet. But maybe!

I'm listening to a new band today that I think I really like. I attended a concert last night and this band opened. Check them out here: www.rendcollectiveexperiment.com. They have a good vibe. Speaking of the concert, this morning when I woke up, my ears were still ringing, and I had had earplugs in! The bands were many, varied, and Loud! But it was great to go and hang out with friends. Good memories!

Covalent bonds are the subject matter of today in biology. I was thinking of the definition of covalent bonds and how it might relate to marriage. Maybe a bit of a stretch, but something that caught my attention and thoughts.

The sun is shining! I think I must mention it every time I blog, but I really love a sunny day. It makes me happy! It's been so dark and dreary here for days on end. Some sun is a very welcome thing. I shall go outside and let it warm my face I think.

I just discovered that eating protein when feeling sleepy during the day does help you feel more wakeful and ready to work. I must remember this for future reference.

I'm really grateful for God's healing power right now. Several situations around me have been needing God's healing, and to see it happening is amazing and humbling and makes me so thankful.

Just a few things that I'm thinking about today. It's a gorgeous day, and I'm glad to be alive!

Praise

I just want to praise my God and Creator and share some of the beautiful things He does.
He heals. He heals my friends of their fears and their cancer! He heals hearts. He heals minds. He heals feelings!
He provides. He provides comfort and peace, joy and love. He provides when it seems all is lost, and exactly on time.
He gives beautiful gifts. Pink and purple sunsets, streaked with gold. Rain, to bring refreshment to revitalize. Friends in unexpected places, coffee to tantalize with scents and tastes. He gives life, full and vibrant!
His works are many and varied, ever present and always there. And I am trying to notice them more and more, letting His works and love consume me inside and out, fill me with awe, and bring me back to His feet.
It's a beautiful life, it's a wonderful world. I praise Him.

A Lesson On Thankfulness

I remember the cut of the cold wind. The ground was muddy, and with the sun behind clouds, the day was dreary and bone-chilling. I was in Bolivia, visiting a small community and a school where they worked with the poorest of the poor. The school director was taking us for a walk around the neighborhood to see some of the good work they had done to help families live a better life. We viewed pigs and goats that allowed single mothers to have a chance to earn money so they could care for their families. We saw where they were learning to garden more productively and heard how many of the parents in the neighborhood had learned to read along with their children. Then one of the mothers invited us to her house. She was excited about the good things that was happening in her life because of the ministry the school was doing. She wanted to share a little of her gratitude with us.

We stepped away from the roads, deeply rutted and difficult to navigate because of the deep mud and entered a little area where I saw this:

I remember thinking we were first going to see perhaps where her animals lived.

But no. This was her house. Where she lived with her children. When we entered, the children were in the bed and the interpreter told us they were there because it was the warmest place to be on a cold day like that.

As you can see, her home was tarp and tin held together with a few rusty nails and rope. There were plenty of cracks to allow the cold wind to blow through. Chickens wandered in and out. These pictures show everything she owned. Yet the most striking thing about this encounter was not the hovel they called home, or the fact that she had so little. It was her gratefulness. She was overflowing about how grateful she was for God being with her and giving her so much. She talked about how good God was, and about how thankful she was for a home and children, and for the ministry she could be a part of at the school. She was so overwhelmingly grateful. That stuck in my memory more than anything else. I would have been devastated to learn I had to live in these conditions. Yet she was so joyful and full of gratitude. At the time I had just moved into a much smaller house and was concerned about closet space. She was grateful for dirt floors.
A lesson on thankfulness. She took it to a whole new level for me. It was truly humbling to see her heart of thankfulness for what she had, and to learn the lesson before me of gratitude and being content. A lesson I still remember and will never forget.

A Life Of Thankfulness

I've been thinking lately about how to adopt a lifestyle of thankfulness. You may have noticed the twitter feed on the right that frequently mentions what I am grateful for. I want to notice and identify how I see Jesus coming, and the many gifts and blessings that exist in my life. Some days it feels that there are none, and that it's been a blank, a hardness for as far back as I can remember. Then I look back at the list here and in my journal and remember the truth. The truth is that there are many blessings in my life. The reality is that there is plenty of goodness and grace brought into my way. By taking a moment to share this, it helps me remember continually to look for what God is doing, and to be thankful.

Thankfulness is recognizing what you have, and appreciating that. It's a necessary part of being contented, and contentment leads to real happiness. Thankfulness is looking deeper, beyond the surface and finding the intangibles, the important things to be noticed and remembered and shared.
Thankfulness is an exercise that should be practiced often, and I have found as I practice it becomes easier and easier to continue.

Thankfulness is something I will be thinking on for the next little while. Perhaps there will be more blog posts coming on this subject.

Meanwhile, I am thankful.

Take 5

I have 5 minutes before I need to pack up and head for the next thing. 5 minutes to share some contemplations.

It's raining outside and as I glance out the window, I notice the street lights glowing, the light reflecting off the wet cement. A small gift to appreciate. A bit of beauty that I notice and which satisfies. A little glimpse that reminds me of an artist.
The artist is God, and He paints on my heart and mind. He paints beauty into my life and heart and all I need to do is look for it and appreciate it and be thankful for it.

The glow of the lamps is the shine of His love. And there are reflections of His love, even in the dark and wet night.

Perhaps I am to reflect His love. Perhaps through kindness, I can share a picture of the Savior. Perhaps through generosity, or compassion I can reflect His graciousness and justice.

It's raining, and dark, and wet. But there are reflections of hope and light. Just look for them and notice them. They're all around you, reflecting off wet cement.

God's Imagination

Last night I was driving back from a late night out, and thinking about the stars. I was enjoying looking at the stars and the moon. Since I live out where there aren't as many lights, its very easy to see the stars and let their shine soak in.
I was thinking about how the stars might look from the sky. Millions of stars, bringing bits of light to a sea of darkness. I was wondering what God's view of the stars might be like.
Then it hit me. God imagined all of this before He made it. God imagined all this beauty and more. The beauty of the stars and galaxies, the beauty of the seas and oceans and the world beneath them, the beauty of the mountains and forests, the beauty of the caves and things beneath the earth's crust. He imagined it all and then shared it with us.
He shared it with us! We get a peek, a small little view of the imagination of God, of His idea of beauty.
It's kind of overwhelming when you think about it. Not only do we get to see it and live with it everyday, but God's idea of beauty includes us as well.

Wow. All that beauty. All that creation. And God made it all, and shared His ideas with us so we could enjoy it, too.

Psalm 19:1-4

The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork.

Day unto day utters speech, and night unto night reveals knowledge.

There is no speech nor language Where their voice is not heard. 

Their line has gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. 

Christmas Joy

Every year, my Mom and the girls look forward to a favorite Christmas tradition: we all don aprons and turn on some Christmas music, light a candle or two, and then begin to cook. We each have a specialty which we are in charge of cooking, and we laugh, tease, joke and taste everything together in the kitchen. 

It's warm and full of good smells, good tastes, and is a lot of fun.

I'm grateful for family, for the joy of being together, of loving each other, and working side by side. For family traditions and for knowing that we'll always be there for each other. Because we're family. 

My sister and I

Loveliness

Today was a lovely day.

This morning started off gray and rainy. I left for work and it was cold. Once I arrived at work I was busy and didn't even glance out the window until someone asked me if I'd seen the beautiful picture. I looked at her blankly and she pointed outdoors where I saw white snow flakes drifting down softly, making the world appear clean and soft as cotton. It started to fall with big thick flakes and then it came faster and suddenly the ground was covered. I enjoyed keeping on eye on the beautiful picture from my desk.

At the same time I was smelling a wonderful scent of cinnamon. The kids in the preschool upstairs were making cinnamon ornaments and they were baking them in the kitchen across the hall. Smelled absolutely wonderful.

There's a sweet little girl who comes to visit me at least a couple times a week. I keep a candy dish mostly just for her...and today I had little candy canes. The peppermint flavor tickling my tongue reminded me of freshness. And her excitement made it even more fun. :)

Every now and then the teachers upstairs cook things. Today they made chili and invited me to have some for lunch, too.

I was feeling so Christmassy, what with the cinnamon, the snow, the peppermint that I turned on a classical Christmas Pandora station. So lovely.

I came home and found a missing box of ornaments and helped Mom add them to the tree. We drank tea and ornamented. Then we watched a movie while I worked on several projects. It was nice to accomplish some things and finally cross them off the list.

So here's a list (I do love lists!) of things that made me happy and smiling.

Snow, softly falling outside, making the world white.

Peppermint, tickling my tongue.

Cinnamon filling my office with a wonderful scent.

Warm chili, at just the right moment.

A little girl eating candy canes.

Classical Christmas music.

Hanging ornaments and drinking tea with my mother.

Sudden laughter.

Satisfaction from accomplishing important tasks.

Thank You

1. Thank you God for encouraging words.
2. Thank you God for assurances that I am valued.
3. Thank you God for prayers on the phone with friends.
4. Thank you God for a positive and hopeful future.
5. Thank you God that I am halfway through school! 
6. Thank you God for family that hugs me.
7. Thank you God for peppermint whoopie pies.
8. Thank you God for being there, always.
9. Thank you God for beautiful pictures glimpsed through the day.
10. Thank you God for strength and grace.

Windows To The Soul

I love this picture of the windows. This was taken in Israel, at the Church of Loaves and Fishes by the Sea of Galilee.

It just looks so serene, the light coming through the window.
It's dark inside, but the windows let the light and peace in.
Like our hearts which are full of darkness and sin until we let the Light of Christ in. Then it's flooded with light and peace.

Windows to the soul.

It's A Beautiful World

It's a wonderful life.
The aventura de la vida moves.
It swirls, it races, it dances, it sings. It's a shower of raindrops sparkling in sudden sunshine. It's a red leaf dropping to the ground. It's a flurry of white snow flakes. Always moving, always fresh, always active!
I love it.

Life is breathing and pulsing. Life is worth celebrating. Life is so much joy. It bubbles up from the deeps of my heart. And makes me want to smile!

Life is God.

And God is so good!
I will sing praise to the God most high. I will raise my hands to the heavens to acknowledge the power greater than I. I will use my tongue to bring praise to His name.
His ways are so much better than mine.
His blessings overflow.
His strength brings grace to my life.
His love is overpowering.

I wish I could find the words to express how I feel about how good God is. I wish I could reveal it all, I wish I could share the extent. I am continually amazed. Continually humbled. Continually glad to see the movement of God in my life.
But you will have to just experience it for yourself. Look for God in your life. Find the ways He moves and how He reveals Himself to you.

Sing praise!

Bits of Beauty

During a very hard time, it is nice to have a bit of beauty.
These were cast off roses from a wedding. I saved them and brought them home to enjoy.

A Small Delight

A quick view through my lens.

Don't the colors just grab you? The last couple of weeks over and over again I've delighted in color. On sunny days, the bright blue autumn sky against the yellows and reds. I notice it every day and it fills me with gladness. On rainy days, it saturates the colors and makes them stand out against the drabness of the day. And those beautiful colors bring the sunshine that the sky is lacking.

God colored my world so beautifully. I think the older I get, the more I notice and enjoy it. It's a small thing, but I'm glad that I can see these colors and appreciate them.

Praise the Lord. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. Who can proclaim the mighty acts of the Lord or fully declare his praise? -Psalm 106:1-2