"I'll be home for Christmas, you can plan on me!"

Well, I haven't written in a while. Things have been busy and low-key all at the same time. Busy, because I have had a lot to do, but low-key because I have decided not to do a lot of those things.


We have our Intro to Ihop graduation party tomorrow, and then my friend Nathan and I are heading to Grand Rapids, Michigan. Yup. Then, I will be home to Louisville on Saturday. I may spend the night with family in Northern Kentucky since my family will be heading there on Sunday. I am kind of excited to be home, though. So, I can probably handle another 2 hours in the car.


There have been some developments in my future plans. YWAM is going to be launching a base in Kansas City, and I feel very strongly that I am supposed to be a part of it. So, I am sparing the details thus far, but I think I will be moving back to Kansas City in June. Hopefully I will talk to most of you about this face-to-face rather than on my blog. That's all you get for now. :)


I may post some more pictures before I head out tomorrow, but maybe not. I have lot to do between now and then.



For now, here are the explanations of the pix. The first is of our first snow, and everyone scrambling around scraping ice and snow off their cars (and for most of them, it's their FIRST time doing so). Then we have Heung singing John Denver songs. He calls himself Heung Denver. Then we have Claudia writing "Apples to Apples" in Chinese, as a joke to
Jess and Alice, our small group leaders. And the last photo is of our small group. My Intro family.


I will be seeing a lot of you soon!

Horse nostrels and revelation of Jesus

Today was the last day that me and Elizabeth get to spend together, since she heading home to California for Christmas tomorrow. I will see her when I am back for the Onething Conference, but that will be a pretty busy time. So, we went on a mini-roadtrip. I couldn't find the place I wanted to take her (a sunflower field), but we found some horses and got out to take pictures. They were so funny, the brown one we named Cinnamon, and he walked right over to us. He started sniffing me and nudging at me, so I took that as a sign that he liked me. :) So, we nuzzled nose to nose, and took pictures. The white horse got jealous, and walked toward us, but then Cinnamon got mad and protective of me and Elizabeth, and started growling/grunting and even bit the white horse's neck! I don't know much about horses, so I decided that they were getting feisty with each other, we should probably not pet them anymore...and it was raining. The other 2 pix are just of my coffee cup on my moon roof, I thought it looked cool. And then under the red bridge, Elizabeth is rocking out on the remnants of Norma (see my blog from when I first got here...).

With all of the book of Revelation stuff that we have been study, I decided to write down some information from the letters that John wrote to the 7 churches. First, who Jesus says He is, and then, the reward to 'he who overcomes.' Ever since I have been here, I have been getting a lot of words from people that I will be an overcomer and that I will rule and reign with Jesus. That's not something to take lightly. So, here is what I categorized from Revelation 2 and 3:

Jesus IS:

Him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lamp stands.

Him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again.

Him who has the sharp, double-edge sword.

Son of God, whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze.

Him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars.

Him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David, what He opens no one can shut, and what he shuts, no one can open.

The Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God's creation.

And here is what He says about 'he who overcomes:

I (Jesus) will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.

Will not be hurt at all by the second death.

I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it.

I will give authority over the nations...I will also give him the morning star.

Will be dressed in white. I will never blot out his name from the book of life, but will acknowledge his name before my Father and His angels.

I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will he leave it. I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the New Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on him my new name.

I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne.

I don't understand all of that, but what I do is already a lot to chew on.

Mockery and Mercy

I haven't been taking as many pictures lately, if you haven't noticed. BUT, I have with my heart. Not that that entertains you.


Well, about a week ago, I was reading through the book of Mark. I was in chapter 15, reading about when the guards mocked Jesus as they put a crown and robe on him, and they cried out "Hail, King of the Jews." I really felt the Lord ask me to focus on that for a few minutes. Honestly, I was staring at it thinking that I didn't feel like crying. Wow. I'm not always so wise with the Holy Spirit.


That night, I get an email from a guy in my class (which I found out that he actually sent it to me on accident) about that EXACT verse. He was talking about how it struck him, the cruelty of the mockery of Jesus. So, we both thought that was kind of wild that the Lord had asked both of us to specifically meditate on that verse.


As I progressed through the New Testament, I found myself in Luke 22 & 23. In Luke's version of the mocking of Jesus, it really struck me. The Holy Spirit said this to me, "Mockery is the epitome of darkness." I was flooded with how cruel mockery really is. It is so invasive, wounding, rejecting, it shuts hearts down, it provokes to anger (which Jesus did not respond to), it brings insecurity and worthlessness. Mockery is the degradation and utter destruction of a human soul. It kills confidence, tears down your identity, and ultimately your heart. Mockery is not 'just having a little fun.' It's powerful. And isn't that was sarcasm is, too?


Then a little further into the story, when Jesus is sent from Pilate, to Herod, and back to Pilate, I found this one verse that struck me to the core. Herod and his soldiers were mocking Jesus, put a robe on him, and sent him back to Pilate. Luke 23:11-12, "Then Herod and his soldiers ridiculed and mocked him. Dressing him in an elegant robe, they sent him back to Pilate. (Here is what shocked me) That day Herod and Pilate became friends-before this they had been enemies."


Wow. The epitome of darkness, mockery, bonded into friendship former enemies. And what was Jesus' response to face-to-face assault on his identity? "Father, forgive them, for they NOT what they are doing."


A day after that, I was sitting at the Higher Grounds Cafe, preparing for the Pure Heart program that night. There was a table behind me of guys who were hanging out. They started having a loud conversation about the Pure Heart program. One guy said in a mocking voice "Darn, I wish I could go to Pure Heart tonight," and the table exploded in laughter. They started making some comments about the week before, and I felt myself want to make a comment about how it wasn't really cool to be saying those things. But, the Lord wouldn't let me. Instead, He showed me how during last week's program, I actually felt the same way these guys did, I just didn't say anything. Somehow in my puny brain, I thought that by not saying something it was okay. Nope. The Lord really dealt with me in that moment, and He is, mercifully, showing me how I mock a lot of things in my heart, and that I tend to be self-righteous when I don't say them out loud. I was stunned, but I feel radically different, and more free! I don't want the epitome of darkness unexposed in my heart. The Lord showed me something very interesting about that. He showed me that had I joined in that conversation, this could have been said about me, "That day, Katie and (group of guys) became friends." Ouch. Thank you Holy Spirit for stopping me. Thank you Jesus for forgiving me.