1 Peter 2:7-9

Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are disobedient, “The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone,” and “A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.” They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed.

But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special (i.e.: peculiar) people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light…

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

What I Need

There are a lot of things that I want in life.   I want a good salary in a career I enjoy.  I want to travel more.  I want to have a dog someday that gets to run around a big, fenced in yard behind a house I own.  The list goes on....

But, before I get the things I want, I realize that I should focus first on what I need.  (in no particular order...)

1)  I need an education.  So, I'm pursuing one.  I recently completed my Associate's degree and now I'm working on a Bachelor's.  Finally...

2)  I need to be healthy.  So, I joined the Y, started eating healthy foods and reasonable portions, and set fitness goals for myself.  I feel better than I ever have in my entire life and it's just the beginning for me.

3)  I need God.  I have always been really aware of this.  Lately, though, I have become hyper aware of it.  This could be because I have a somewhat pessimistic view of the world right now and I have a sense that staying closely connected with the Lord is a really good idea.  So, I'm getting back into church and reading the Bible and, generally, just talking to Jesus more.

4)  I need relationships.  This is the hardest one for me, to be honest.  I'm not very good at connecting with other people.  I tend to stay inside my head too much.  I want to be authentic with people and I want close friendships, but I find myself over thinking it and being awkward.  I need to read some self-help books about making friends, maybe.  :)

What are some things you need?  What do you want?


Wednesday, June 8, 2011

I'm Rebellious

If I am about to take an exit off the highway, I'll go through these really fast mental gyrations about whether or not I should take Exit # 1 or Exit # 2 to get to my destination. I'll imagine all the roads at the end of each exit, thinking of how much or how little time it will take me, whether or not there are a lot of stop lights. After a laborious 15 seconds of internal debate, I'll finally decide. And, at the last second, I'll change my mind and take a different exit.

Why? Why do I do that? It's not just with exits. It's with far more important things. I'll tell myself that I will work 10 hours to make up lost time, but then I'll let myself off the hook and only work 8. Or, I'll insist that I'm not allowed to see a certain movie until a certain amount of my homework is done. Next thing I know I'm sitting in a dark theater watching the trailer for the upcoming installment of the Twilight saga, homework sitting safely, unfinished in my backpack in the trunk of my car.

Worse yet, this crazy behavior applies to my relationships as well. I'll like a guy. I mean REALLY like him. I might even spend months thinking about how amazing it would be to spend endless amounts of time with him. But, when the rubber meets the road, I'll back away, change my mind, go off in the total opposite direction and abandon all my silly plans of a potentially blissful future together.

I've figured out, just today, that I do this stuff as acts of rebellion.

I wasn't a very rebellious kid. I was observant. I watched what my brother and sister did. If their actions resulted in any form of discipline, then I would sincerely reconsider partaking in similar behavior. I don't mean to say that I was NEVER rebellious, but I was pretty good at avoiding obvious blunders or at least hiding them more effectively than my siblings.

I didn't want to displease my parents and I didn't want to hurt God's feelings by being naughty (a glimpse into my simple, screwed up, childlike theology). I wanted to be a good kid. As an adult, I'm still pretty much a rule-follower. I'm conscientious about clocking my time accurately at work. I adhere to policies and procedures. I don't steal cable or download pirated music. Sure, I speed a little on the highway, but they would never cast me for the "Fastest and Most Furious" movie that will inevitably come out next year. I try my best to not break laws, at least not the laws that others have set for me.

So, I think I set up laws for myself so that I have some laws I can break without feeling guilty. Wow. Isn't that such a revelation of the human condition? We desire to resist the law. Our hearts rage against being controlled by anyone, not even OURSELVES.

Thank you, Jesus, that you don't want to control me, but instead you love me, forgive me, and give me the best possible advice for living a life that is full and abundant.

I think, Romans 7:4-6, sums it up quite nicely for me (from the New Living Translation, but the emphasis is mine):

"So, my dear brothers and sisters, this is the point: You died to the power of the law, when you died with Christ. And now, you are united with the one who was raised from the dead. As a result, we can produce a harvest of good deeds for God. When we were controlled by our old nature, sinful desires were at work within us, and the law aroused these evil desires that produced a harvest of evil deeds, that resulted in death. But now, we have been released from the law, for we died to it and are no longer captive to its power. Now, we can serve God, not in the old way of obeying the letter of the law, but in the new way of living in the Spirit."

(By the way, I also highly recommend reading the rest of Romans 7. It's good stuff.)

So, I guess I don't need to find ways to be rebellious! I can be free with this new way of living. But, I definitely need Jesus to help me. Because, if left to my own devices, I definitely confuse myself and become a jumbled mess of doing and not doing a lot of unnecessary mental gymnastics about every choice I make!

Whew.... :)

Love,
Katy

Friday, August 20, 2010

Communication

No, this entry is not meant to be ironically titled, considering that I haven't written anything in MONTHS. A good friend and I met up recently after a long hiatus. We were talking about relationships. Isn't that what we women mostly talk about? I guess there are other things to discuss. The weather, new shoes, how the job is going, the kids, the dog....whatnot. But, when the rubber meets the road, (and trust me, it inevitably will if you are good enough friends) most female conversations end up about relationships.

All in all, relationships are all the same, I'd argue. Your boss, your friend, your co-worker, your spouse, your kids, your God. The key to the sustainability to any relationship is good communication. My friend really made that point with me. She said, to paraphrase, "I think, given the right variables, nearly anyone could get married, so long as they are committed to communication."

But, as I've said recently in a note I wrote on Facebook, the words Honesty and Truth are not synonymous. Both are utterly necessary for a relationship to work. However, I'm not good at honesty. Well, I'm good at not LYING, but I'm not good at disclosing my feelings or thoughts in a given situation. I hate conflict. I really, really hate it. I have to push the cloud of fears aside to express how I really feel about something. This is my greatest challenge in life.

I dream of it though. I literally daydream about cultivating relationships (or even one) where I'm dead honest. If I like something or someone, I just say it. If I need something or someone, I express that need. Just the idea of that feels incredible gutsy to me. I definitely don't put myself out there....

Okay, I'm going to try to be as real as I can as I write any new entries in this blog. Let's see what happens in the coming weeks.......

Friday, February 26, 2010

The stuff we say....

Our culture is full of empty statements and meaningless questions. We repeat these things as if they have any significance or are helpful in any way. It's funny what we've become used to.

Person 1: How are you?

Person 2: Good, thanks. And you?
Person 1: Good, thanks.

We rarely want to know how someone is really doing. I remember one time when I was just starting my senior year of high school, I ran into my favorite teacher in the hallway. I asked him, "How are you?" and he answered. Honestly. He told me all about his awful summer, tragedies and sorrows. It made me sad for two reasons. 1) He had experienced a really rough time. 2) I had to admit to myself that I didn't actually mean it when I had asked him, but I did care once he started talking. Our typical response of "Good, thanks" is rarely true anyway. The word good is so general and, in fact, inaccurate. If anything, you are doing well. Grammar hound here. :)


To your friend: Oh, my dear BFF, you'll find someone even better than that jerk!


We say this to our loved ones. We tell them this whenever someone hurts them or breaks their hearts. And we don't want them to hurt. This statement might mostly be true, but let's be honest. They'll find someone different. "Better" is completely subjective. Better in some ways, worse in others maybe. What I want to say is this, instead. "I'm gonna pray so hard that the next time you fall in love it will be with someone who treats you with love, respect and honesty. But, most of all, they will love Jesus with such commitment and passion that loving you will come naturally to them."

Person 1: I'm sorry.

Person 2: It's okay.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!! I downright HATE this one. I refuse to receive "It's okay" as an acceptable response to "I'm sorry." Because, as a matter of fact, it is not okay. What you did sucked. It hurt me. It was mean / selfish / rude, etc.... Instead, I will say, "I forgive you." (With the help of God, I might add.) We need more forgiveness in this world and a lot less of the pathetic, mediocre "okay" garbage. I know a family that is really good at saying "I forgive you" and I've learned a lot from them. Actually, the biggest lesson is that when someone says it to you after you've apologized, you suddenly realize that you needed forgiveness. It opens your eyes to how much you messed up or actually hurt the person. If they say, it was "okay" then it gets glossed over and minimized. Hearing "I forgive you" is powerful. It reveals whether or not you were really sorry in the first place.

I dream of living in a society where we do away with this kind of drivel. I want to have real conversations. No glossing over, no walking on eggshells, just real, honest stuff. (All done in love, of course.)


What are some trite statements or questions that get under your skin?


Thursday, February 25, 2010

The Void

I love Norah Ephron movies. Twice now, I've noticed that she's written screenplays in which her principal female character says something about putting her thoughts out into the great cosmic "void"...as if no one is really listening or cares about what she has on her mind.

To this concept, I can deeply relate. This blog has been a funny thing for me. On one hand, I want people to read it and get something out of it. Insight, humor, empathy...etc. On the other hand, I kinda like the idea that no one may be reading it, so I can feel free to say whatever the heck I want about life with no concern over a critical response from the reader.

So, I've decided to throw caution to the wind and just write what I want to write about. There's nothing I'll say here that God will be surprised by and His presence negates the idea of the cosmos being void. So, Lord, hope you like my blog. I think You may be my only regular reader.

You know what sucks.....being pulled into too many directions and feeling like you want conflicting things.

I like being alone, but I don't actually want to be alone.
I want to have friends, but I really have to push myself to make an effort to maintain friendships.
I am an independent, strong and confident woman, but I like the idea of a loving husband (someday soon) who would want to "take care" of me.

Blech. Confusing.

The other day, I had this thought about myself as a genuine adult for really the first time in my life. I'm 32. That feels like all kinds of dysfunction. How does a 32 year old woman only just realize that she's an adult? I've lived on my own, even many hours away from family, held down legitmate jobs, paid my own bills, etc...for years! And yet, I am only recently feeling "grown up". I don't really like it. Well, sometimes I do, but not today. Today I wish I could just be a kid again and have an allowance.

Life is weird.

Friday, February 12, 2010

Loving One Another

I've been thinking a lot lately about the Christian condition. These days it seems like Christians have a problem with each other more than ever. Conservative-types have issues with more liberal thinkers. Liberal-types are frustrated by the conservative ones. And a myriad of gray-shades in between.

I'll tell you what frustrates me. All of that garbage. Jesus told us that the world would know that the Father had sent him by our love for one another - meaning how believers would love one another.

As Christians, we are really struggling with this. Why? Why do we show less love and forgiveness for other Christians than we do for the non-believer or on-their-way-to-believing person?

We tend to say "hypocrite" way more often than we say "I forgive you". We focus more on what we don't like about each other's perspective than we do on what Jesus actually told us to do.

I put myself in that same boat though. Don't get me wrong. I've fallen into bad attitudes about Christians (all types) at many times in my life. But, this is not helping the cause of spreading the Gospel in the world.

Maybe we need a reminder of what the Gospel really is. It is this.

That while we were still sinners, Jesus died for us. That God loved this world so unbelievably much that He sent His son, Jesus, to die for our sins so that not a single person needs to be separated from Him if they would simply put their trust in Jesus. That we are called to share this amazing news with the world, make disciples of Jesus and go around being representatives of the Kingdom of God in the world. That we are to care for the poor, the orphan, the widow. We are to be the BODY of Christ, undivided, unified, purposeful in the Earth.

Let's do that, instead of being angry at each other. Let's focus on the things the Lord Himself has told us to do.

Let's also LOVE each other. What is LOVE? Love is patient, kind, does not envy, does not boast, it is not proud, or rude or self-seeking. It is not easily angered and it keeps no record of wrong. Love doesn't rejoice in evil, but in the truth. It protects, trusts, hopes and perseveres. It NEVER fails.

Help us, Jesus, to be what you said we could be.

Brothers. Sisters. Your Body. Your Bride.

Love,
Katy

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Epic Lack of Confidence

I have known this about myself for a long time, but this week, it's just smacking me in the face over and over. I have a ridiculously epic lack of confidence. Oh, and I fear the unknown.

These two "problems" result in this: I will never be an astronaut. And I will probably have a really hard time finding a good guy to date.

On a total whim, I signed up for a free dating service the other day. It was a disaster. I should have known myself a bit better and just quit filling out the stupid form, but no. I went ahead and signed up, writing a little blurb about how I need my independence and that I'm not sure if I will ever feel differently (I sound like quite a catch don't I) and putting up a relatively cute picture of myself.

Ugh. I got a couple emails from some dudes that were way too old for me and way too out there as well. I also got one, very simple, totally nice email from a guy who's 4 years younger than me that I think now currently hates my guts.


He, gentlemanly, offered that we could just IM at first. So, I did. I put his contact name in my instant messenger and started up an introductory convo. He was funny and nice, taking pretty clever digs at our age difference to break the ice. It worked. Then, I started to freak out. This totally nice guy, who's bored and just trying to be friendly, suggested that we meet up for coffee.


Now, let me just say that I know that online dating works for some people. But, it makes me feel 1000% awkward. There's this unspoken pressure to sort of get the serious questions out of the way before you even meet. Do you have (want) kids? What's your situation? What do you mean by "I'm a Christian"?


Ugh squared. So, I asked him the last question, about being a Christian. He gave a typical, general answer about identifying with a mainline denomination and that he hasn't really been going to church lately.


I can feel the "oh no" gears grinding in me at this point. Two reasons: 1) He may not really have a connection to the Lord that I am hoping for and 2) Why in the world did I start talking to this guy and give him any hope when I really don't want to online date in the first place!!!!!


So, then I try to think of reasons to gracefully backpedal my way out. And I do my best, but it apparently wasn't enough. He got kinda pissed. I can't blame him. I probably seemed really lame.


He called me a hypocrite, shallow and he said that he could "start to see why I was single".


STINGER. Ouch. But, he's probably right. I even told him that.


Okay, second story about my epic lack of confidence.


I had a job interview today. I think it went well overall. The interviewer seemed to really like me and my answers were what she was looking for. Then, I spent some time sidled up to a couple of her staff members to watch what they do.


I was totally intimidated. Could I do this job?


In reality, yes, I can. History has taught me that I have always been able to take on a new challenge and do well. But, whenever I look at something for the first time, my mind goes absolutely nuts. I think of all the things that scare me about it, all that could go wrong, the myriad of ways that I could fail and I start cowering.


So, I need some dang confidence. I need to not be afraid to fail. Better yet, I need to not be afraid to try.


I can't fix that situation with the guy. He's long gone, probably telling all his friends about the jerk he met online. But, I can try out this job. If they offer it to me, I'll accept.


Hello Challenge...my name is Katy and victory is mine!!!!