"Our Lord is constantly taking us into the dark, that He may tell us things. Into the dark of the shadowed home, where bereavement has drawn the blinds; into the dark of the lonely, desolate life, where some infirmity closes us in from the light and stir or life; into the dark of some crushing sorrow and disappointment. Then He tells us His secrets, great and wonderful, eternal and infinite; He causes the eye which has become dazzled by the glare of the earth to behold the heavenly constellations; and the ear to detect the undertones of His voice, which is often drowned amid the tumult of the earth's strident cries."
-from Streams in the Desert by Charles Cowman.

Wow...what a month it has been....maybe more correctly put, what a weekend it's been.

This past Friday, the boro was hit by an F-3 Tornado. It's unbelievable. According to the news, the tornado was on the ground for 22 minutes, has a 15 mile long line of damage and was at least a half mile wide. That is SO hard to get my mind around...

My mom and I along with some girls my mom was taking pictures of and their mom went in the closet when we saw the tornado on TV. The power went out and we just sat there for a few minutes....I went outside after a minute to see if I could see anything. I did not see anything but heard it. It was horrible. I knew it when I heard it...

After it passed I went out with the people that were over to see if any damage had been done, totally not expecting what I was about to see...


This was about half a mile away from us...

This was less than half a mile from us.

My heart breaks for all of those hit by the tornado. It's been just over a year since I was in their shoes. It's a horrible feeling and I was even so blessed to escape with my possessions and friends, some on Friday were not so fortunate. In fact, about a mile away, a woman and her 9 week old daughter were killed in a house I passes every day on my way to school and now it breaks my heart to think about it. The dad is still in critical condition in the hospital.

Please continue to keep all of Murfreesboro in your prayers. So many lost homes and some lost loved ones. It's going to be a long journey back to "Normal".

Slightly off subject, I got a devotional book I had ordered in the mail the day after the tornado and a quote at the top is from it. I opened to the date and couldn't believe what I was reading...I found it so fitting for everything going on. If you didn't read that part at the top, I encourage you too. It's so....accurate? needed? true? all of the above.

Also, Happy Easter to all reading. I enjoyed a wonderful day with my family today...went to church and out to eat with them. I'm blessed. :)
I also got a pleasant surprise when I put on my Easter skirt this morning....it was too big! I just bought it about a month and a half ago and it fit well then. This morning after the service I had to get a safety pin at the house before going out to eat to keep it from falling down too far! haha! It was encouraging since the last 2 weeks, I've been at a low and really frustrated having only lost 7 pounds since starting. But it's working and I'll get there.

Thanks for reading, everyone. I'll try to keep an update for everything going on in the boro over the next few weeks. School is winding down which hopefully means more time for fun things like blogging. We'll see!

Love. Love. Love.
Katie

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Hello!

I've gotten behind in writing on my blog! Sorry for the delay...I kept thinking about writing, but sadly thinking was as far as it got.

Life for me recently has consisted of projects, babysitting and the greenway.

My 2D design class is really starting to pick up speed as far as projects go. We usually spend about 2 weeks per project but recently the professor has knocked it down to 1 week or 1 and a half. it is amazing how much a few days less for a project can stress you out! None the less, i love the class. I'm learning a lot in it and the projects can actually be pretty fun once you get past the tedious parts.

This is my most recent project. It's my least favorite yet semi-rewarding all wrapped up into one. Least favorite because we had to draw the picture on the right using only dots of ink, which meant hours of taptaptaptaptap! It was rewarding though because it was a whole different style of drawing and art.

Babysitting has become my job for the time being. I babysit 3 kids down the road on a pretty regular basis (1-3 times a week). This has worked out great with school, tests, projects etc. AND I'm starting to get more "clients" (I dont really know what to call them...haha) People are sharing me which is nice and a good way to make some money with a flexible schedule.

The weather, with the exception of tonight, has been beautiful! I just love it! It's making me want summer so bad! I've been going to the greenway on days where I have the time and the weather is nice.
This is my favorite spot on the greenway. If it hasn't rained, then the rocks close to the river aren't covered and you can walk right up to the waterfall. I sat there the other day and read for a little bit. Don't you worry...I was "aware of my surroundings". There are usually enough people on this part of the greenway that I feel pretty safe...not to mention I've got a thing of pepper spray I take with me. Oh...and in case you were wondering...that stuff BURNS! heh....thats a story for another day. :)

In the realm of weight loss....I've lost 7 pounds. Slowly but surely. I got frustrated last week at how slowly it was going but I was encouraged when I discovered that if you average more that 1-2 pounds a week of weight loss, it can actually be unhealthy and you have a higher chance of gaining it back. So, for now, I'm alright. It's coming off so I can't really complain.

Being an aunt is still as amazing as ever....We got Connor a jump-a-roo....here is a video of him in it for the first time. haha! oh man...i love my little bug!



I do believe that it all for this post...Thank for following!

Love Love Love.
Katie

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Spring Break, Union, & A Girls Night

"In Him, you have the full rights of sonship or daughtership, including the right to live wildly in victory. Do you hear what I'm saying to you? I don't care what kind of addiction you've had of what kind of places you've been, you have as much right to flourish in Christ's abundance as Billy Grahm...No head hanging is necessary unless Christ has crowned you with so much love and compassion that the weight of it sometimes bows your head in hoyful worship and gratitude."

-Beth Moore, "Get Out of That Pit!"..... This is from the book we are doing in my Sunday night Bible study. It's such a good book and this is just a part that I underlined and thought I'd share.

Good Evening! :)

This past week was Spring break...Hooray! On Wednesday I left for Union with Jill to visit everyone up there. I was so blessed by the whole 3-ish days I was there.
Wednesday night I got to go to dinner with my small group from last semester. Those girls are so amazing and Mrs. Marilyn will never know how much she encourages me.



^^^Thursday night was roomie night :) Elizabeth and I cooked dinner and the four of us had dinner and watched the office together. Oh goodness...i sure have missed my roomies!

Friday was the busiest day of all! Jill and I had lunch with our first RA, Rachel. It was definetly one of the highlights of my trip. We sat in McCalisters for about an hour and had a good long talk about God, transferring schools and everything in between. She is one of the most amazing people I've met since coming to Union. Friday night- Sarah and I distracted Laura by taking her out to eat and bringing her back to her surprise party...too fun! :) and Friday night I went to see "Measure for Measure", a play at Union, which my friend Ryan was in. It was absolutely hillarious.

All in all, an amazing trip...There are so many people that I wouldve loved to get lunch or coffee with but there simply just was not enough time. I'm hoping to make it back up there one weekend before the end of the semester.

In other news...

Kim, Candice, Ashley and I went out for Amber's 21st on Saturday night. so much fun :) We went to Chili's then to the bowling alley for cyber bowling. Too bad I'm absolutely horrible at bowling. but none the less a good night. Definetly a well needed girls night...So sad i forgot my camera though.

No news in weight loss....I missed my meeting on Thursday night since I was at Union. Not looking forward to this week's meeting.... I haven't "been good" this week. :/

That's all for tonight!
Love. Love. Love.
Katie

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Snow, Shoes and Spring Break...

Will You begin right where I end
And be the God of all I am because You're all I have
Hallelujah, Everything You are to me
Is everything I'll ever need
And I am learning to believe
That I don't have to prove a thing
'Cause You're the one who's saving me

-I love this song! I heard it this week on the radio. It's by Josh Wilson, if you were wondering :)

Hello, Hello!
Another great week! Late Saturday night/Early Sunday morning we got around 6 inches of snow. It was beautiful!
And now.....Introducing....
The "five-pound" shoes! cute, right? I lost .4 this week which set me to a total of 5.2 pounds...new pair of shoes for me! Unfortunately that 5 took me longer than I'd wanted. I haven't been as strict on working out/eating as I need to be...I'm going to really buckle down starting this week. I think I need to make a work out schedule and really stick to it. I'd like to average about a pound a week. That'd be 52 pounds in a year...and I'd be quite alright with that. haha. Oh geez. I hope I can do this. sometimes I psyc myself out. I'm getting a bit nervous... The other day in my meeting a lady said to get a picture of your "skinny days" out and put it out for motivation. I realized then that I'd never really been skinny...It's always been something I've battled. I can't even begin to imagine what I'd look like. hmmmmmm..... Okay...gotta move on before I really get myself in a tizzy!

Isn't my nephew beautiful? This is my favorite picture of him so far...my goodness he's going to be one handsome lil man! :)

I'm officially on Spring Break! It's so hard to believe that the semester is half way over. It's a blessing that it's gone so well...I'm actually really enjoying my 2D design class. anyhoo- this Wednesday, I'm heading to Jackson to see my roomies and other Union friends! I'm so extremely excited. I've missed them!

anyways- Thats the end of this post...Have a lovely break and get out and enjoy this 70 degree weather! :) If anyone wants to head to the greenway, feel free to give me a text or call. I'm so up for it.

love. love. love.
-Katie

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Maintaining in so many ways...

Til the time when You come and I'm whole
and we are one and the fire in me is complete
Some tell me to be moderate but lukewarm will never do
'cause I, I wanna blaze with You
So I'm holding my heart out to You
Holding my heart out...

Hello there, friends! :)

I hope this finds you having a simply wonderful week. If not then I hope something I write here makes you even a slight bit happier, even if just for a minute.

There isn't much to say of this last week. It was relatively normal with a trip to Chattanooga inserted on the weekend. That was nice :) I always enjoy a good visit with the family...not to mention getting to ride there and back with Joe and Hayley...and of course Connor! Have I told you how much I love being an aunt? It's pretty much the greatest. especially the smiles, kisses and snuggles. I love my snugbug!
anyhoo...that was my week in a nutshell.

Weightloss- none this week :( But I didn't gain either so it's not so bad. I just maintained. dang. I really wanted those shoes. Guess I'll have to wait another week! I saw it coming, though, with Grandma's cooking and my lack of exercise due to somehow managing to hurt my back. It is on the mend though so back to regular walks/workouts! *side note* speaking of walks, my parents and I went on one tonight and that dang dog came back out barking...but my dad had his walking stick with him so he didn't come very close. *phew*

Now, on to the good stuff! :)
Some girl in my small group on Sunday nights told our group about this blog...

http://kissesfromkatie.blogspot.com/

I so so so encourage you to visit it and/or follow it. This girl lives in Uganda and has adopted 12 orphaned or poverty-stricken children as her own. the kicker? she is 21! my goodness...thats only one year older than me! it's simply amazing. I've been following her blog for just over a week now and have been so blessed by reading it. I cannot tell you how much I'd love to do something like that some day. All in God's timing...

-This is Kristal. She is so very special to me. I met her on my first missions trip to Canada. God used this sweet girl and her story to teach me so much. I keep this picture on my dresser still as a reminder of God's call on my life.

"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose."
-Jim Elliot

That is all for today! Have a marvelous rest of the week.
Love. Love. Love.
Katie

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Valentines, Chased by dogs, and Pepper Spray.

Many are they increased that troubled me,
Many are they that rise up against me,
Many there be which say of my soul,
There is no help for him in God.

But thou, oh Lord are a shield for me,
My glory and the lifter of my head.
Thou, oh Lord are shield for me,
My glory and the lifter of my head.


-So....I don't know too much of Brooklyn Tabernacle but they perform this song amazingly! Especially the very end of the song. It gives me chills! I've now decided that I want to see them live. Click here to watch :)


Let's see, lets see....
It's been a busy last few days. Sarah and Luke made it up here for Valentines Day weekend. I've missed those kids! Especially Sarah...She became the little sister I never had in the 7 months she lived here. anyhoo- on Saturday night, I sent them upstairs for 30 minutes with strict instructions to not come down until dinner. Meanwhile, I decorated the dining room for valentines. I must say it was super cute :) haha. I have pictures somewhere...I'll post them later.

Church on Sunday was amazing as usual :) I've gotta say my favorite part was a special they did of "It is well with my soul" and on the big screens above the stage they had the story of the man who wrote the song. If you haven't heard it, I encourage you to look it up. it was incredible.

I also started a small group on Sunday night. I think I'm going to enjoy it. The girls seem really nice and the book is exactly what I need. We are doing "Get out of that Pit!" by Beth Moore.

and lastly....a weight-loss/exercise update!

I lost 1 pound this week which brings the total to 4.8 lbs. Just 1/10th away from a new pair of shoes from Marti and Liz! haha. Shoes motivate me. haha!

I took a walk around the neighbor hood twice this week and did the treadmill and weights once. I must tell you... I about died on my last walk. It was dark out so I had a flashlight, and I was passing this house. All of a sudden I hear barking and growling coming closer and closer! Since it was dark I couldn't really see where the dog was coming from so I just stopped under the light. then out of no where this big dog comes running up barking and looking all mean. I think I about had a heart attack. I screamed and raised my flashlight at it and it stopped about 8-10 feet away, still growling, mind you! So I slowly started walking backwards away from it...It eventually turned back and went to it's house but it was already too late, I was scared out of my mind and almost in tears. I love dogs but next time I'm bringing the pepper spray. My padre says that as long as it comes out of their yard/driveway and is barking/growling/coming after me at me then I have the right to protect myself with pepper spray...let's hope it doesn't come to that.

That's the end of this post! I need to hit the sack so I can get up for class tomorrow and finish my project after that. Then to Chattanooga on Saturday to visit the Grandparents.

Love. Love. Love.
Katie

My snuggle-bug :) Connor and I.

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Tornado Warnings, Weight Loss, and everything in between :)

There's a wave that's crashing over me
All I can do is surrender
Whatever you're doing inside of me
It feels like chaos, somehow there's peace
It's hard to surrender to what I can't see
but I'm giving in to something heavenly...


Hello Everyone! :)

It's been another semi-normal week in the life of me. Last Thursday was hard being away from Union since It had been a year since the tornado. but I did get to talk to a few friends from there and it helped a ton. I was so very close to my friends there before the tornado but it's really hard to describe the level a friendship goes to when you've gone through something like that together. anyways....Friday on the way to class at MTSU they decided to have a tornado drill. It was only the second time since that night that I'd heard tornado sirens. I almost turned back to my car and went home just from the sound of them. I felt so sick to my stomach but I realized that I'll have to get past that eventually. Here's to a long tornado season.... Prayers for anyone involved in that night would be appreciated over the next few months.

I spent the weekend at the Lakehouse. It was exactly what I needed. It is just so peaceful and relaxing. I hated coming back.
See what I mean? So peaceful :)

Monday was our day to have Connor! hooray hooray! I look forward to Mondays and every other Wednesdays so much! I can't believe he is getting so big! goodness gracious. I'm head over heels in love with that sweet nephew of mine. I love when he wakes up from his naps in such smile-y moods.
Isn't he just the cutest?!


On another note....Changes! my goodness. so many of them recently. I couldn't stand all the changes at first but God has given me a peace over alot of it recently and kind of given me a drive to just take this chance to change even more. 2 big things that this involves is my health and my spiritual life.

Health- I guess I've tried many times in the past several years to lose weight. It was never for me though. It was because other people wanted me to. I just did it to do it. This time around, it's for me...and as odd as it may sound, just that makes a big difference. I've been doing weight watchers and in the last 4 weeks I've lost 3.8 pounds. not a lot but I've come to realize it's not going to happen fast. anyhoo...Once I get the hang of it all and get on a more regualar exercise schedule I'm hoping to average about 1-2 pounds a week. geez. a skinny me? can it beeee? oh my just the thought freaks me out a bit but I think I'm ready. :) So if you see me eating some chocolate hit me on the head please! haha. My meetings are on Thursdays nights so I'll try to keep yall updated on here on how everything goes. OH! and if someone wants to join me in working out, let me know! :) I'll always welcome a walking buddy! I can't wait for spring! Greenway here I come!

Spiritual Life- I was incredibly blessed in Jackson to have an amazing church and college ministry. God really used Englewood to show me so much about the church in general, worshipping with your whole heart and the different avenues God chooses to use people in. When I learned I was coming back to Murfreesboro, I knew I needed to find a church with a similar and strong college group and I'm happy to say I've found that at New Vision. It's wonderful! I feel so at home there and it's already inspired me to take my walk with God to a whole new level. I'm regaining my excitement about God's call on my life and it's a wonderful thing :)


Hmmm...I do believe that is all for now :) I'm trying to update this at least once a week but we'll see how that goes.

Romans 8:12-18
Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation—but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba,Father." The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.

Love. Love. Love.
Katie

ps...HAYLEY! I know you are reading this....get one of these! :) hehe....

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