Once Upon A Time...

     On this day eighteen years ago yours truly was brought into the world. When I was born I had some health problems. I honestly couldn't tell you off the top of my head what was wrong with me, but i do remember my parents telling me later in life that the Doctors didn't think I was going to live. My parents told me that tons of people were on their knees in prayer that the Lord might has some purpose for my life to save me. By God's grace alone I am a living and breathing example of His love for His children and His answering of prayers. God has a great purpose for my life! I may not know just what it is yet, but when my race is run and my crown is won I look forward to seeing just how He used me.
      Anyway, I thought it would be fun on this milestone birthday, to share some pictures with you from when I was younger. I'm still in denial that I'm not little like this anymore, and using the word adult to describe myself is SO NOT an option! But here I am throughout the years...

Once upon a time... Kathryn Thomas was born. (me and my oldest brother)

She liked to smile and laugh!



And most of all she loved to sleep... still does actually

She had a really cute topsie tail that her brother Seth later chopped off.



Kathryn was blessed with a great dad...

annnd a great mom! :) (me, mom, Seth, and Josh)

Me, mom, and dad!



I think I was pretty stinkin' cute! :)

It's moi again!



Me and my bestest friend in the whole world!



And would you belive it that crazy girl is still my best firend?!?! :)

   

And now here I am eighteen. All grown up?... I don't think so!

I am so thankful for both of my parents, who have taken the time to invest in my life to make me into the young lady I am today!
Here it goes now folks... I've entered adulthood, better watch out! ;)

My Top 5 Reasons Why I Could Never Be A Nurse

Yesterday, my older brother had his wisdom teeth taken out. I happened to have the day off from work, so I devoted my time to caring for my brother. When he returned home from having his surgery I supplied him with a bell to ring me in case of emergency. Needless to say there were never any emergency’s, but the bell rang quite a bit. J He remarked to me later that he must have given a lot of angels there wings today because “every time a bell rings an angel gets its wings.” :D
Honestly, I didn’t really mind. I would fetch him ice packs, his medicine, and every hour I would help him change out his gauze. When it came to the gauze changing part, though, I wasn’t too much help. I would hold the trash bag out at arms length and close my eyes tight ( I have a tiny bit of a problem with blood). Then, I would fold up clean pieces of gauze to put back in. Overall not a tough job. Actually, I was glad that I was able to help take care of him… just call me nurse Nelly! J
However, this whole thing made me re-realize that I could NEVER be a nurse. I love taking care of people, but I could not do it as a permanent occupation. I takes a special kind of person to be a nurse.
Anyway here are my top five reasons, in no particular order, why I could never be a nurse.
#1: Hospitals- Yeah, hospitals scare me. I’ve only been in hospitals like three times. Well, four actually if you count when I was born. The second time was when my mom had her gull stones removed. I wasn’t really afraid of hospitals at that point. My fear of hospitals set in when I was rushed to the ER after having pulled a one-hundred and fifty pound icicle down on my head. I think it was partly because I was scared about what was going to happen to me. The other part was because there was a dude in the room next to me doing this coughing/vomiting thing, and every time he did it a whole bunch of machines would go off beeping…freaky and disgusting! My fourth and last time in the hospital, was when a friend of my was hit by a car. I was so scared! I wanted to be there for her ,so I went with my mom to see her. And really I’m glad I went, but after a while I started to get pretty freaked out, so I had to step out into the waiting room. I don’t know what it is about hospitals, whether it’s the overly sanitary smell or the fear that death lurks behind any door, but I go into full on freak-out mode whenever I’m in one. It’s the same way with nursing homes and doctor’s offices too. I’d say that they’re just not my thing, but that is a BIG understatement. If I go to a hospital it means I care a whole lot about somebody, or that I did something stupid again.
#2: Doctors- What to say about doctors? Well, I just don’t like them. It’s not like a personal thing. I know lots of doctors, and I don’t like them any less because they’re doctors. It’s the doctors general occupation that I don’t like. And also because I had a bad experience with a doctor when I had my icicle accident. This doctor went on his lunch break, which I totally get doctors need to eat, but then he comes back to check on me and his breath smells like Doritos! It was like, dude, you get paid a ton of money in your field, can’t you at least invest in some tic-tacs so that your poor, sick patients don’t have to be nauseated by the smell of your breath? Geez! So, while it may seem a little ridiculous to you that my only reason to not like doctors is because of that incident, it does not seem ridiculous at all to me. Thank goodness I didn’t have to spend the night in that place! Can you imagine what his breath might have smelt like in the morning? I shudder just thinking about it! Let’s just say I don’t think I’d work well with doctors. I’d go poor investing all my money in tic-tacs for them, because I have a heart for sick patients.
#3: Death- I guess not all nurses are faced with life and death situations, but I know I could never be a nurse that was. If someone were to die on my watch I would not be able to handle that. Or what if some family made the decision to take a family member off of life support, and I was the one who had to flip the switch off… I would feel awful! I just don’t handle death well.
#4: Blood- Yuck! Blood is just nasty. It’s red and it oozes. If I see a lot of blood I get nauseous really fast. Like I said with my brother and the gauze, I closed my eyes super-duper tight so I didn’t have to see any blood. Blood kind of freaks me out a little bit… well, a lot actually! I try to man it up a bit, but that doesn’t really work. I don’t think it would be a good idea for a nurse to be closing her eyes. It’d be like, “Oh sir, you were just shot. Well, here are the bandages to clean yourself up, but if I stand here looking at all that blood for another minute I might hurl on you.” Yeah, it just wouldn’t go over too well. Although, oddly enough, blood in movies doesn’t bother me at all. Hmmmm…
#5: Needles- Haha! Yeah, needles are a big NO! They come in two sizes, HUGE and MASSIVE! I remember when I had my wisdom teeth out and I had to have an IV. Just the sight of that needle made me want to pass out. Then after my doctor put it in my arm he’s all like, “You can still bend your arm if you want.” And he was all going to bend it for me. I was like, “Dude you just put like a twenty-inch needle in my arm, why would you think that I’d want to bend it?” Okay, so I didn’t actually say that, but I sure was thinking it. No, what I actually said was more along the lines of, “No thank-you, sir!” as I jerked my arm away from him before he could torture it anymore. I’m telling you doctors just don’t think!
Anyway, though, it grosses me out to even think of injecting a needle into another persons flesh. My patient wouldn’t have any room to freak out, because I’d be the one doing all the freaking out in that situation. Sewing needles don’t bother me too much, though. Only if they’re being used to give some one stitches, but I think they have a special name for those types of needles… Oh yeah, they call them Instruments of Torture!!!!

This is what I look like when I think about becoming a nurse!

Well, after all that I probably seem like a pretty big wuss. Yeah, you may be right! The thing about me, though, is that I like to face my fears. So, I don’t like doctors… I’d go out and become one. Hospitals freak me out… I’d go work in one. No idea how I’d face the death issue, but whatever the way, I’d go and do it. Needles… I go buy a bunch of them… really tiny ones of course! J Blood…I go swim in a big vat - yeah, uh, no I wouldn’t! I guess my fear of blood I’m just going to have to live with.
Not that I’m trying to prove that I’m not some big wuss or anything like that, but here is a little tidbit about me that I’m sure ya’ll will find rather disturbing… I’m quite proud of it though! J Barf does not bother me one bit! Not the smell, not the sight of it, not hearing people talk about it. Actually, I think it’s quite fascinating! Just by looking at some one’s vomit you can tell exactly what they’ve had to eat, and all that good stuff. I’d be that creepy nurse who’s all like, “Oh, I see you had a Big Mac for lunch.” And then I’d give some little kid a fear of nurses for the rest of his/her life. Yet another reason why I shouldn’t become a nurse. So, just in case you were thinking it, I am not a wuss. I may be a tad disgusting, but at least I can handle barf, not many people can say that.
Anyway, in conclusion… hmmm how do I put this? Oh yeah, I should never become a nurse! J

If Today Was Your Last Day...

“It’s not length of life, but depth of life.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson

　

What if you knew for certain that today was your last day to live? If you knew that after today there would be no more tomorrows, would that change how you would live out this day? Well, as it is, no one knows for sure when they’ll die.

Sometimes I wonder to myself what it’ll be like when I die, not for myself, but for others. As weird as this may sound, I sometimes wish that I’ll be able to go to my own funeral. I wonder how people will talk about me after I’m dead. Will they say good things? When a man see’s his end, he wants to know there was some purpose to his life. How will the world speak my name in the years to come?

I think we all hope that only good things will be said. I think we want people to acknowledge the things we strived for in life. For example, if your goal in life was to build a successful business empire, and you did succeed, you would want people to acknowledge your accomplishment. Or if you strove to be a billionaire, you would want people to acknowledge your wealth. We want to be acknowledged for things that were important to us if life, and that we dedicated our time and resources to.

I’m sure you can think of something that you strive for, and hope people will be able to recognize it in you, in life and in death. For me personally, I strive to touch peoples lives with my own. I pray that I can be as much of a blessing to them as they are to me. I pray that through my love to others, the love of God may shine through me and touch someone’s heart. If I reached the end of my life and was able to touch even just ONE person’s life, because I strove toward my goal, even when it seemed the most difficult thing I could ever do, I would feel reassured that my life meant something, and that my efforts weren’t for nothing.

People are very important to me. God created every single person on this earth, even the ones we don’t like so much, for a purpose. He obviously thinks they are important to His plans, or else they never would have been created. No person is more important than the other. A lot of times I’ll see a person, maybe covered with tattoos and piercings, or they just kind of look like they’re messed up, and I will think to myself, “There is no hope for that person.” But what a horrible thing for me to think for several reasons: #1 Who am I to judge? I could have easily been in the same shoes as that person. #2 That is not a thought that should ever enter a Christians mind, because we were ALL lost in sin at one point in our lives. #3 “They that are whole need not a physician, but they that are sick.” Matthew 9:12

Sometimes this goal that I strive toward is very difficult for me, because it is so much easier to judge and be cruel to those that I don’t think are worth my time, rather than to view them as lost souls that Jesus Christ died to save. He did not think that they were too lost to be saved, so why should I? I often find myself wondering whether or not my time is wasted on certain people, but I must then remind myself that Christ died for the WHOLE world. Now mind you, not everyone of them will choose to accept His great gift, BUT it is not for me to judge the ones who will or will not. It is my Christian duty to show EVERY person in my life the love of God, whether it be by praying for them or reaching out to them in some way. This is the goal that I strive toward being successful at in life. This is what I pray people will see in me now, and even after I am long gone, God’s love reflected through me.

I now return to my earlier question: if today was your last day, would you live it differently? And if so, how? If today were my last day, I probably wouldn’t have wasted away my morning in bed sleeping. I probably wouldn’t have been so concerned with checking my face book for updates and messages. I probably would have set aside all fears of persecution and boldly proclaimed Jesus Christ to the lost. I probably would have taken the time to make sure that my loved ones knew how much they truly meant to me. I probably would take the time to make sure I made amends with someone that I held a bitter grudge against. I would make sure that I forgave those who had done me wrong. And I probably would strive even harder toward my goal.

It’s not to late you know? Why don’t we live the rest of this day as if it were our last? And not just today, but everyday for the rest of the short time that we have here on earth. Let’s live each day as if it were the most important day of our life, because what we do in life echoes in eternity! Life is too short to even waste away even just one day of it! Live today as if it were your last!

Bottled Up Tears

“Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall me comforted.”

-Matthew 5:4

I don’t know about y’all, but I am a major weeper. A good book, a great film, a birthday card, I weep!

Y’all can probably look back in to your past, and remember how you use to cry when your parents would rebuke you, or even when you weren’t getting your own way. You felt hurt, almost like they didn’t love you anymore,(even though now we realize just how untrue that was). You would cry from the deepest parts of your heart, completely broken hearted.

Now that we’ve grown up a bit, we still cry, but now we cry for slightly different reasons. Well, actually sometimes I still throw myself a big pity party when things aren’t going my way, or when I‘m hurt and upset. But maybe that’s just me. =)

With this blog, though, I really want to look at weeping from a biblical prospective. Not so much crying for ourselves, but crying for others. I would like to share with you something that the Lord has recently shown me from His Precious Word, and how it effected and encouraged me.

Over the past year, I have been praying for three young people who have turned their backs on God and have chosen instead to live in sin. It truly breaks my heart to see not only this, but also how their sin is effecting those around them. And most of all it kills me to think of not just the short term consequences of their sin, but also the long term.

In the short term aspect, Mother’s Day is coming up soon. These kids should be with their mothers that Sunday. But because they are living in sin, and their parents refuse to condone their sinful lifestyles(which is right), these kids, unless the Lord changes their hearts before then, will NOT be with their moms this Mother’s Day. That to me is so sad! If their hearts aren’t changed soon and if they don’t turn their lives around 180%, they are going to miss out on a whole lot more, like siblings birthdays and weddings and such. And when I think about this, it makes me sad to think that they may one day repent and turn back, but they’ll already have missed out on a lot that they should have been there for in the first place. Imagine the regret that they’ll have.

When I get to thinking of the long term effects it could have on them, I shudder. Their eternal souls are at stake! I wouldn’t wish the perishing of an eternal soul on even my worst enemy. It pains me to think that if they don’t repent they could be damned to an eternity in Hell if they are not already the children of God. And if they are children of God, the Lord is only going to allow them to continue to live on in sin for so long before He takes them home to be with Him. The death of anyone of these kids would be unbearable for me, and I’m sure for their families and friends also.

So, all of the above are the reasons that I go before the Lord in prayer, beseeching Him to convict them and call them to repentance. I pray that He will change their hearts, and call them back to Himself. For the Lord is willing that NONE should perish.

Often times when I am praying for these young people, I am crying out to God and weeping for them. I’m not saying this to bring any merit to myself, because that is definitely NOT my intention. I say this because it ties into my topic of prayer and tears.

When, I pray for these people something inside of me breaks and I can’t help but cry out to God to save them. I truly crushes me to see how sin is slowly destroying their lives.

But I praise God for the MANY assurances He has for His people in the Bible!!! The Lord has granted me hope from the promises of His Word! What an awesome God! These past couple of days He has raised me up from the state of mourning that I was in. He gave me a new hope and trust in His great power. And His assurances are what I want to share with you today.

Psalm 56:8-9 says, “Thou tellest my wanderings: put thou my tears into thy bottle: are they not in thy book? When I cry unto thee, then shall my enemies turn back: this I know; for God is for me.”

Aren’t those verses just beautiful?!?! First off, what a loving God we serve! Not only does He record our tears in His book, but He also bottles them up! How great is that? Our tears mean that much to Him, it’s so incredible!

I was so touched by these verses. Just knowing that my prayers and tears mean so much to God, assures me that He isn’t going to let them go to waste. My spirits were so lifted by reading these verses! They reminded me that the Lord does hear our prayers. And one day, God will choose to answer our prayers according to His perfect will. And the timing in which he chooses to act will be at the point and time when it brings the most honor and glory to Himself. Praise the Lord!

I also want to encourage you, that if you are praying for lost souls. That if you are falling on your knees before the throne of God, weeping and begging for the lost. God IS hearing you! He is catching your every tear, bottling them up and recording them in His book. He has a use for our tears and for our prayers. Again I say, Praise the Lord!

In conclusion I want to share with you a story about a little girl that I just heard recently. And also the words to a song that I grew up singing.

A young girl, about six years old, and her mother were reading the bible together and praying before it was time for her to go to bed. They had actually just finished reading the verses from Psalm that I shared with y’all above. The little girl asked her mother, “Why does God keep our tears?” And the Mother replied, “Because when we cry and ask the Lord for something, He wants to use our tears, not just let them go to waste.” The little girl nodded, and then they began to pray. The mother prayed first. She prayed for her older daughter, who had run away from home and was living in sin. She prayed that the Lord would convict her and turn her heart back to Him. When it came time for the little girl to pray, she simply said, “Dear Jesus, take these ones too.” The mother looked up to see what her daughter was talking about. The little girl had lifted her hands, wet from the tears that were streaming down her face, to the heavens. She wanted God to use those tears too.

I pray that we would all be like that little girl, and ask the Lord to use our tears and our prayers to accomplish His will!

Psalm 55:17 says, “Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and He shall hear my voice.” How amazing!

The next words I’m going to share with you are from the song “For Those Tears I Died.” Some of you may have heard it before, but either way I hope it is a blessing.



-For Those Tears I Died-

You said you’d come and share all my sorrows, You said You’d be there for all my tomorrows; I came so close to sending you away, But just like You promised You came there to stay-- I just had to pray.

Your goodness so great I can’t understand, And dear Lord, I know that all this was planned; I know You’re here now, and always will be, Your love loosed my chains and in you I am free-- But Jesus, why me?

Jesus, I give you my heart and my soul, I know that without God I’d never be whole; Savior, You opened all the right doors, And I thank You, and praise You from earth’s humble shores-- Take me, I’m Yours.

CHORUS: And Jesus said, “Come to the water, stand by my side; I know you are thirsty, you won’t be denied. I felt every tear-drop when in darkness you cried, And I strove to remind you that for those tears I died.”
                                      
                                       I also managed to find the song on YouTube... Enjoy!

Pickup Lines- Do They Work?

“We’re all a little weird, and life’s a little weird. And when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them in mutual weirdness and call it love.”

                                                                                                                      - Dr. Seuss

Random little fact about me, I get great entertainment out of cheesy humor and pickup lines. Seriously, if you ever are in need of a good laugh, or in some cases a good eye roll, Google “Cheesy Pickup Lines.” It’s hilarious! I think mostly I think it’s so funny, because there are people out there in the world who actually use these pickup lines.

Picture this. A guy comes up to you and says, “I think I must have just died and gone to heaven, because baby you’re an angel.” Like, how do you respond to that? I would love to be a fly on the wall when a guy says that to a girl. Do guys actually think that’ll work?

My question and topic for this blog is as stated above, “Pickup Lines- Do they Work?” Well, do they? I’d have to say that the chances of them working are dependent on these two things: the person you’re using the line on, and the line that you choose to use. Let me give you some example’s of situations when pickup lines could work and when they could not.

So, let’s take your average guy and your average girl. Our average guy goes up to our average girl and says, “If you were a booger I’d pick you first.” Now lets just assume that our average girl has some common sense. If she’s does, she’ll slap the guy and walk away. Well, that’s what I’d do anyway. =) So, that’s and example of a bad pickup line that doesn’t work.

Now let’s take your average guy and girl again, this time using a different pickup line. Our guy goes up to our girl and says, “If beauty were time, you’d be eternity.” This one could work, but now you have to factor in the type of girl you’re saying it to. For instance, if you were to say this to me I might buy into it. BUT you have to remember that I like cheesy stuff, and not all girls are like that. Our guy might end up getting his faced slapped again… poor guy! =/

Girls are all different. So, cheesy pickup lines might work sometimes, but not necessarily. And maybe, because of this, guys don’t actually think that these lines will work, maybe they are just trying their luck to see where it gets them. Who knows?

A few weeks ago one of my friends actually said to me that she thought guys who used pickup lines were unoriginal and egotistical. She thought that they obviously thought very highly of themselves if they thought their pickup lines would work. I actually disagree though. I think they must be pretty humble. Think about it. A guy really takes his pride into his hands when he chooses to use a pickup line. He faces not only getting slapped, but also utter rejection. I mean, what if he goes through making a fool out of himself in front of a girl, and she just rolls her eyes and tells him to take a hike? OUCH! That’s utter rejection! It takes some kind of a guy to face rejection boldly, and I don’t think it’s an egotistical one.

We’ve now discussed whether or not pickup lines work on girls, so lets switch up gears a little bit and ask the question, “Do pickup lines work on guys?” Let me be one-hundred percent honest with you. I have ALWAYS wanted to try using one on a guy to see what will happen. =) Can you imagine that? Me going up to a guy and saying something along the lines of, “I just scraped my knee falling for you.” Yeah, I actually do see myself doing that! =) However, I don’t think that pickup lines work the same on guys, because guys aren’t quite as sappy as girls. BUT I could be wrong. I guess we’ll never know until I give it a try and tell all y’all about it. =) The worst I can foresee happening is me getting laughed off of the face of the earth, which would be legitimately embarrassing!

Alrighty, winding down to a conclusion. Do pick up lines work? As we’ve discussed, sometimes they do, but other times they don’t. The only way to find out though, is to try one out for yourself. However, as a warning, I advise you to use extreme caution and do so at your own risk. =) Oh, and you should definitely let me know how it works out for you… I could use a good laugh. =)

And what kind of blogger would I be if I didn’t equip my readers with good material to try out? So, here goes. Cheesy pickup lines : “Smoking is hazardous to your health… and baby you’re killing me.” “If I received a nickel for every time I saw someone as beautiful as you, I’d have five cents.” (if you ask me, you don’t have any “cents” if you use this line. ;)

“Do you have a map? I’m getting lost in your eyes.” “Is there an airport nearby or is that just my heart taking off?” “I was wondering if you had an extra heart mine seems to be stolen.” And here is my very personal favorite: “Do you believe in love at first sight, or should I walk by again?” =)

Alrighty, go and conquer the masses with your cheesy pickup lines. Best of luck to y’all. =)

Homeschoolers, Didn't you know?

I dedicate this blog to all my homeschooler friends who are either currently being homeschooled, or have been homeschooled in the past.


For those of you who don’t know this already I have something quite traumatic to admit to you. For my entire life I have been… *dramatic intake of breath*… homeschooled! Isn’t that just horrible?!?! (and for those of you who don’t know me, I’m being sarcastic… there will be a lot of that going on in this blog).

Attention fellow homeschoolers: didn’t you know that we are apparently the most socially awkward people on the planet? Yeah, it was news to me too! I mean we can’t possibly have friends or be involved in extracurricular activities, because we’re homeschooled. We can’t possibly have life, right? WRONG! Wrong, wrong, wrong on so many different levels!

Last night my driving instructor hit me with this question: “So, Kathryn, if you’re homeschooled how do you meet people?” If I have ever felt the need for physical violence it was at that moment. I seriously wanted to punch the guy! How rude do people get these days?!?! My response should’ve been something like: “Well sir, I don’t really have any friends. I’m not even socializing with the other kids in this class, and having a blast with them. No, I just try to keep my head down and not engage with other people. I act all moody and brooding so that people won’t try to approach me.” I could have even said something along the lines of this: “Being homeschooled doesn’t mean I live under a rock.”

However, I’m too sweet and well-mannered =) to talk back to my elders that way. And I didn’t actually come up with those responses until it was to late. Oh, well! Needless to say I was really irritated, so I decided to write this blog to vent a little bit. Or a lot =)

Let me set a few things straight for the benefit of people who are NOT homeschooled. Number One: NEVER, and yes, I mean NEVER assume that because a person is homeschooled they don’t have any friends or even a life. I have one hundred and ninety-three friends on face book. And that isn’t even all of my friends! Imagine that, a hundred and ninety-three people that at one point or another in my life I’ve actually had to meet and talk to. WOW! Isn’t that just unbelievable?!?!

And you think homeschoolers don’t have lives? Get a clue! How do you THINK we meet people? WE HAVE LIVES! I do school, I have a job, and I hang out with friends just like any other “normal” highschooler.

Number two: There are people out there who think that homeschoolers are not smart. Well, those people are also the dummies who think that homeschoolers are socially awkward. I ask you, do you think THOSE people are smart? Research shows that the average homeschooler is smarter than the average public schooler. Can we deny what years of research prove? Homeschoolers are just as smart, and some are even smarter, than everyone else.

Number three: We also have people who think that homeschoolers are nerds. They think we do school all day, every day, and all through the summer. And that when we have a spare moment in the day we do MORE school, so as to be overachievers. This is just not true in all cases. Yes, we homeschoolers possess a little thing called self-discipline, but this should not be confused with overachievement. We set a goal and we stick to it. If we decide we want to graduate early, those with self-discipline will graduate early. And I say good for them! But this still does not make them or even all homeschoolers nerdy. And if you’re a homeschooler like me, honestly you just count down the days until summer break. =)

Number four: A lot of homeschoolers, but not all, come from fairly large families. And the stereotype that gets thrown around here a lot of times is that all of the siblings are exactly alike. From experience I can say that this definitely is not true! I come from a family of eight kids. None of us are exactly the same. In fact a lot of times we don’t even share the same opinions about things. I know this seems crazy to believe, but we are not clones! We are all unique. And as much as I love all of my siblings, I thank the good Lord above that I am not exactly like any one of my siblings. =)

Number Five: This is probably my final one, but it is defiantly one of the most important ones. The title “homeschooler” has turned into a label or a stereotype. I say this because just as not all siblings are the same, not all homeschoolers are the same either. There are shy homeschoolers out there, but there are also shy public schoolers out there too. And again NOT all homeschoolers are shy… I know I’m certainly not! =) I think sometimes I should be a little more shy perhaps, but shy just really doesn’t fit my personality. =)

There are also homeschoolers out there who do school are year round, but not all of them do. There are nerdy, self disciplined, and overachieving homeschoolers out there, but again there are public schoolers like this too… I know I can think of at least three off the top of my head. And not all homeschoolers are like this either.

So, to sum this all up let me say this for your benefit. The next time you meet a homeschooler, think long and hard before you say anything stupid. Because from experience I know that hearing the question, “Do you have any friends?” or “How do you meet people?”, can be very irritating and hurtful. And who knows, you might meet a homeschooler who is not quite as sweet and well mannered as me, who might choose to go ahead and sock you in the nose. But hey, do what you like, it’s only your nose at stake. And honestly how would you like it if somebody asked you one of those questions? I betcha you’d think it was rude. Newsflash: IT IS!!!

Respect homeschoolers! Don’t go labeling or stereotyping them! Might I just say: Being homeschooled is where it’s at! =)

Also, you have no idea how badly I want to print this off and give it to my driving instructor tonight, but I just don’t have the heart to be mean and disrespectful like that. So, I guess I’ll just keep this between ya’ll and me. =)


                                                                                          

                                               Here's a lil video that captures my sentiments exactly!

It Started As A Dream...

“All men who have achieved great things have been dreamers.” -Orison Swett Marden

Now, you may very well say, “Which one, Kate? You’ve had so many.” Very true. I have had a lot of dreams of things I’ve wanted to do with my life, but this time is different. This time I am not letting what anyone says sway me, not friends and especially not family. Before I tell you what my dream is this time, though, I am going to share with you some of my past dreams.

The first dream or maybe better wording here would be aspiration, that I can recall having was of becoming a doctor. I’m so glad I decided not to, because hospitals really freak me out… so do blood, needles and doctors actually.=) Quite some time later, I toyed with the idea of becoming a massage therapist. This dream stuck for quite a while, but it soon fizzled out of my mind. I also went through this phase where I wanted to be a farmer.=) Yeah, honestly I have no clue what I was thinking with that one, but all I can say is “Hallelujah” that I got some sense knocked into me (not that I have anything against farmers, it’s just not the life for me). I stepped it up a bit after that and decided I wanted to be a Criminal Defense Attorney. At this point I was torn between doing that or going to culinary school, and eventually opening my own restaurant. And then, during this period of my life, I received the biggest aspiration of all.

I was sixteen years old and I was so frustrated because I had no idea what I was going to do with my life. I was standing at the cross roads. Becoming a Criminal Defense Attorney to me meant that eventually I was going to rich, which sounded very appealing at the time. I would have money to do whatever I wanted. In essence I was going to live in the moment and live for myself. In biblical aspect I was going to serve the world and the things of the world.

On the other hand, though, I had the option of going to culinary school and opening up my own restaurant someday. This was like the exact opposite of going to law school. I had noticed the exceeding amount of homeless people living on the streets. These people had no hope, no one to believe in them, and a bleak future. I wanted to dive in and offer those people a second chance. So, eventually when I had my own restaurant, I was going to make it a point of only hiring homeless people. I was going to help them get cleaned up and give them a fresh start. I thought doing good deeds like this was self-less and would please God. Even though I cared very little about pleasing Him at the time, I did believe He existed and I sure didn’t want to be on His bad side.

It wasn’t until I’d had it that I even bothered to ask God what He wanted me to do with my life. I’d reached a point where I didn’t know what to do or which path to choose, and really all I wanted was a little direction. It was on a Friday almost a year ago that I cried out to the Lord and asked Him to tell me plainly whether I should be a lawyer or a chef. It was a heartfelt prayer, but I still didn’t care whether the Lord was glorified in my life. Even if the Lord did help me, I had no intention of living my life for Him.

Well, God did answer my prayer, though not in the way I’d expected. That very same week-end that I’d prayed my parents and I were going to a bible conference. I knew that somehow, someway God was going to tell me EXACTLY what I was suppose to do with my life. By God’s grace one of the preachers caught my attention right away, and I knew that God’s answer to me was going to be through this man. So, I sat listening and latching on to every word this man was saying. His topic was sort of threefold : Preaching the Word of God, Living the Word of God, and Trusting the Word of God. Every word he said made perfect sense to me, but nothing really hit home.

Saturday evening the same man was doing a session for the youth. He spoke out of some verses from Proverbs 1 and 2. He talked about how as young people many of us are standing at the crossroads in life, getting ready to make decisions that will effect the rest of our lives. And how that in Proverbs the crossroads are Wisdom and Folly. So, as young people we are about to choose which path we will go down, Wisdom or Folly. Proverbs 2:5 tells us what happens when we take the path of wisdom, “Then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God.” Good comes from following the path of wisdom. On the other hand, Proverbs 2:18-19 tells us what happens when we take the path of folly, “For her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead. None that go unto her return again, neither take they hold on the paths of life.” Bad comes from following the path of folly. ( I’m sure the preacher said this a lot more eloquently than I just did.) Anyway, point being was that I needed to choose what path I was going to take.

You may be thinking that this is a no-brainer, but for me it wasn’t. You see, Folly has a way of making her path look so enticing. The path of folly for me was becoming a lawyer or chef, and essentially forsaking God and living for myself… it seemed like such a good idea. The path of wisdom was the realm of the unknown for me. I mean, of course I had the promises of God’s Word to go on, but that didn’t seem to help me with planning my future career choice.

So, I was faced with a life altering decision. All I knew was that by the end of the conference Sunday evening I was going to have chosen… ahaha… I was just thinking to myself that I should end this blog right here and make this a cliff hanger for y’all =). No, I won’t do that! =)

Anyways, the first session he spoke on Sunday afternoon was out of Ezra 4:24- 5:2. And man, before he started reading, I was sitting there thinking “Lord, what the heck does this have to do with me?” Well, God just does things different than we would expect. Ezra 4:24 says, “Then ceased the work of the house of God, which is at Jerusalem. So it ceased unto the second year of Darius the king of Persia.” The man preaching estimated the time from when it stopped to when it started back up again to be sixteen years. Then Ezra 5:1-2 says, “Then the prophets, Haggai the prophet, and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied unto the Jews that were in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, even unto them. The rose up Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua the son of Jozadok, and began to build the house of God which is at Jerusalem: and with them were the prophets of God helping them.”

So, I guess in a way condensed version what he said was this: the Israelites(? I think that’s who it was) knew what the will of God was, yet they ceased doing it for the space of sixteen years. So then God sent two prophets to tell them that it was time to start doing His will again. And would you believe it?… these three verses, and the way they were explained, is how the Lord spoke to me.

There I was sitting… sixteen years old at the time. I had been raised in a Christian home that fed on the Word of God. I knew what the Bible said, I knew God’s will for His people, but I had refused it all. But God had sent me these two men whose topics were so closely related, I kind of feel like they were my two prophets, to tell me that it was time for me to start living my life for Him. Isn’t it amazing how God speaks through His Word and through His servants? And at that moment when the Truth of His Holy Word dawned on me I chose my path. I chose the path of Wisdom. I chose to Live the Word of God! Well, I still wasn’t entirely sure what was down the path of Wisdom career wise, but at that point it didn’t matter. I was elated! A heavy weight had been lifted! I was going to live my life for the Lord! Nothing else mattered!

This joy carried on all throughout the luncheon, and when it was time to go sit for the last two sessions of the conference I couldn’t wait to hear what God was planning to do with me. The very last session of this preacher whom God had used, was all about Trusting the Word of God. You see, the Bible is filled with so many precious promises from our Savior to His children. The one that this man touched on was that God is going to conform His children to His image. He used this illustration: during his travels he once saw a sculpture of a beautiful lion… and he had the opportunity to meet the man who sculpted it. So, he said to the man, “how did you do it?” and the man answered, “well, that’s easy. I just chipped away everything that didn’t look like a lion.” Well, likewise God is going to chip away every part of us that does not conform to His image.

God began changing me from that moment on. He started chipping away at the sinful things in my life that did not conform to His image. Though there are times that I stumble, and times that I fall flat on my face, I serve a gracious and loving King who is always there to pick me up again. I cling to these amazing truths, knowing that one day I will be like the King I serve!

All in all this testimony gets me back to my dream, my ambition, and my highest aspiration. This dream is a raging fire that can never be quenched, it is my purpose for living, and it is my greatest pride and joy. No amount of naysayers or doubters could force me to recant. This dream and aspiration, my heart’s desire, is to serve the Lord, my Savior and Redeemer! And to be conformed to the image of His perfect Son!

There is nothing more important to me than to serve the Almighty and Everlasting Father! All earthly things shall pass away, but His Kingdom shall reign forever and ever!

I am a dreamer. My dream is my reality. And GOD is doing great things!

“According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” -Philippians 2:20-21

“I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”

- Philippians 3:14



　

Here Comes Summer - My Top Ten Must Haves!

Well folks, Summer is just one hundred and sixteen short days away. I myself am super stoked about this fact, and have already begun enjoying some VERY lush days!

On Thursday, it was eighty degrees and sunny here, with a light breeze to keep things from getting too hot. It was so refreshing! I lay out in the sun for hours basking in the beauty of the day(I also got burnt, but what’s new?). =)

I lay there thinking how that in Michigan we would consider this kind of day to be a summer day. And most likely people would go on a picnic, or play soccer at a park, or, probably more than the others, they would go to the beach. So, I then got to thinking about how badly I wanted to go to a beach and swim.

A problem presents itself, though, in the sad fact that Texas does not have nice lakes like Michigan. Like seriously, there are trees IN the lakes. Not to mention, these lakes are also infested with snapping turtles and possibly even water moccasins. Even if Texas did have nice lakes, though, Texans would think people were crazy to go swimming in February, despite how warm it was.

Anyway, this long train of thoughts finally leads to my point- the things I need to survive the summer. Otherwise known as My Top Ten Summer Must Haves! Summer is coming soon- we must be prepared!


The BIGGEST splash ten teenagers can create =) It was Epic

# 1: Air Conditioning - Do you know how HOT it gets in Texas in the summer??? It is unbelievable! Honestly I have no clue how they survived down here before the AC was invented.

# 2: A Pool or a Beach - In Michigan I prefer a beach, in Texas I prefer a pool. Either way I’d find it impossible to survive the heat without one or the other. Water is so refreshing!

# 3: Sunscreen - Especially if you’re spending a lot of time in the sun, you need protection. You don’t want to look like a tomato all summer! =) I know I usually burn the worst at the beginning of summer, in my eagerness to get tan, but with sunscreen I can be saved the pain. =)

# 4: Vinegar - As a tribute to my Grandma. Grandma always says vinegar is the best for soothing bad sunburns. It really stinks, but it does work! So, if you get a bad sunburn this summer try some vinegar on it. And if it doesn’t work, at least people will be able to smell you coming form a mile away. =)

# 5: Music - I can’t live without music anyways, but during the summer I like to listen to different types of music than I listen to all the rest of the year. So, for these long summer days I like to listen to Oldies music. Hands down the Beach Boys are my favorite group! There’s nothing like sitting by the pool listening to “Surfin’ USA.” =) Unless it’s sitting by the pool listening to Lacrae, who is so NOT oldies, but who will definitely be on my summer play list anyway.

# 6: Flip-Flops - If I didn’t have flip-flops I just might go crazy. Flip-flops are a HUGE necessity ! And if you live in Texas you need several pairs, because the hot cement melts them down really quick. I love flip-flops!

# 7: Lemonade - or iced tea. I don’t really like iced tea, but it’s a big hit with the Texans. However, I’ve found that I like it better mixed with lemonade. So, if you want the best of BOTH worlds try mixing the two. Did you know this mix actually has a name- Arnold Palmer? Yeah, well I didn’t. Thanks to my good friend Megan, who explained what an Arnold Palmer was to me last summer, I am now an ounce smarter. =) Anyway, HUGE shout-out to Chick-fil-la, the best place to get lemonade or iced tea here in Texas!

# 8: A GOOD book - I’m not just talking about any old book. I’m talking about one of those books you just don’t want to put down, it’s so good. What’s more relaxing than sitting by the pool reading a good book? I’m planning on getting a book that takes me the whole summer to read, it’s gonna be THAT good! =) I may even read War and Peace again if that’s what it takes.

# 9: Dipping Dots - =) Ice cream is soooo over-rated in comparison to Dipping Dots! Eating dipping dots is like... Nah, I don’t think I’ll tell you what it’s like. =) Y’all have to try them for yourselves and see what they compare to. But I will tell you this, dipping dots are simply amazing! =) And summer is not summer without dipping dots! So, when it's really hot out this summer, instead of ice cream get yourself some dipping dots, and you'll never feel the same about ice cream again... dipping dots are sooooo much better!!! Dipping Dots just make me smile! =)

# 10: Good Friends - What is life in general without good friends, let alone summer? What fun would any of the things above be without good friends? Hanging out at the pool or beach would not be the same if you didn’t do it with your friends. And if you don’t have good friends there wouldn’t be anyone to help you rub sunscreen on your shoulders and back at the beach and pool. Without friends, who would you clack around loudly in the stores with while wearing flip-flops? And without a good friend, who would tell you what eating Dipping Dots tastes like? Face it, summer is NOT the same without good friends!



Not just good friends, but the BEST of friends!!! =)

Anywho, even though I don’t know where I’ll be this summer, whether Michigan or Texas, whether drinking iced tea or lemonade, wearing white or black flip-flops, with old friends or new, but whatever my circumstances I’ll have all of my “Must Haves!” =)

So, raise your Arnold Palmers high and salute summer! Hears to the Best One EVER!!! =)

　



Lake Michigan! Easily one of the most beautiful places on earth!

Mad For Plaid

          "Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree."
                                                                                  -Martin Luther King Jr.


          Webster's Dictionary defines plaid as, "a checkered woolen cloth; the distinctive checkered pattern of Scottish tartans." Good new, plaid is not just for the Scottish!
          I don't remember the exact date or time that I fell in love with plaid for the first time, but I do remember that it was love at first sight. The plaid in question was a pair of blue and green plaid shorts. They were hanging delicately on a rack at a store in the mall. I saw them from across the room, and they took my breath away. I blushed when they caught me staring. But when they seemed to smile up at me, I couldn't resist going over to say,"hello."
          For a moment I just stood there. I was so captured by their beauty and unable to resist their charm. so I said to them,"Wanna come home with me?" They were slightly taken aback by my forwardness, but they continued to flash their price tag at me, and so I took that as a yes. I scooped them up in my arms, brought them to the cash register, paid, and then they were all mine.
          As I walked around the rest of the mall, proud of my new purchase, I knew that plaid and I were going to be partners for life!


The famous plaid shorts!

           While that particular pair of shorts and I had a great run, there was an unfortunate incident that, quite literally, tore us apart forever.
          It happened one night when I was showing off to some friends how well I could do the splits(which isn't very well, btw). My shorts decided they wanted to be just like me, and so they did some splits of their own.
         Well, to say the least, it was a very embarrassing moment for me. Once everyone got over the initial shock, though, we mourned the loss of my most beloved pair of plaid shorts. And the next day a big, bald guy in a stinky truck came and took them away from me forever. It was a very sad day ='( !!! 
          Since that day, however, I've begun to acquire many other plaid items for my wardrobe. Last I checked I'd acquired plaid PJ's, a plaid dress, a plaid skirt, three pairs plaid shorts, and three plaid shirts. Yes, I LOVE plaid!!!
          And if I, after all that, haven't made you fall in love with plaid, you must be one of those people who dig horrid stripes! =)
         You know some thing, though? From the time you finish reading this blog on to the end of your life, plaid will always be a part of you. You may try to resist it, but truth is whenever you see something plaid you'll probably do two things. First, you'll think of me and this blog =). Second, you'll take another look at that plaid item and think to yourself,"Wow! Plaid really is amazing, isn't it?" And goodness, maybe you'll do a third thing too. You may want to go up to that plaid item and say,"You wanna come home with em?"=) Whichever you choose,though, to resist it or to embrace it, plaid will now and forever be a part of you.




The Siblings! It seems that I alone am "Mad for Plaid!"

        In conclusion, I would like to say, even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still go out and buy all the plaid I could get my hands on. =) Plaid is my apple tree!