From Katie: The following is a collection of quotes and crazy conversations brought to my attention during the month of January. <>< Katie
"Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase." - Martin Luther King, Jr.
Taft: Wikipedia is blocked by HPPA.
Brett: I miss having hair. I used to have headaches when I had hair. Actually, I didn't. I never got headaches when I had hair but now I don't have hair and get headaches all of the time.
[Via text message]
Katie: We should catch up one of these days.
Kevin: We should catch up. Who is this?
Michael: This tastes like cocoa butter.
Stephen: Cocoa butter? That's for stretch marks!
Aunt Jett: Don't squeeze the cat. She might explode or something.
"Christianity can grow and flourish under some of the most difficult opposition, but it will prosper very little when people refuse to be changed by it." - Beth Moore, To Live is Christ, 130
Lauren: I'm so not ready for a big girl job. I still get excited about foamy soap.
Mom: The wind must be coming from the west. The train sounds like a dead cow.
Christina: A dead cow, Mom? You realize that dead cows don't make any noises, right?
Mom: How many dead cows have you hung out with? They could make farting noises.
Brit: Decaf? Are you trying to stay awake? [Beat] Wait. I mean go to sleep?
Uncle Jack: [Hands in the air] I didn't do that! [Beat] Did I?
Mom: No, you didn't put the meese peep on the marinated rug.
Rebekah: You're such a good kitty when you're not being a bad kitty.
"If we're waiting for the needy to walk through our church doors, we may wait a long time. God doesn't wait for people to come to Him. He goes to them and desires to intervene right at the point of their need. He's looking for a few brave people, like the Apostle Paul, who are willing to go rather than wait for them to come. He's not looking for show-offs. He's looking for people through whom He can show off His Son. May we be some of those people." - Beth Moore, To Live is Christ, 151
Danielle: You can't say "Indian style." It's offensive.
David: It's criss-cross apple sauce.
Casey: I'm allergic to applesauce. That offends me.
Aunt Jett [About her husband]: One of the best things about him is his ability to drive backwards.
Katie: Hank [the cat] let me pet him for a long time today! Like two pets.
Stephen: Why does everyone rub my head?
Rebekah: It's your spiritual gift.
Brett: Your head is my heroine.
Christina: Mom, does Dad's arm look swollen?
Mom: Yes, of course. He's been karate chopping live trees.
"God wants to be found. He does not will for any to miss Him, and His is so gracious to show up right where we are looking--so He can take us beyond anything we've ever seen." - Beth Moore, To Live isa Christ, 151
Allyson: The overnight forecast is snow. Either that or stars.
Stephen: I read your blog faithfully except for recently. What's Wacky Wednesday?
Katie: If you read my blog, how can you not know about Wacky Wednesday?
David: Wacky Wednesday is arguably the best day of the month!
Evan: Twitter makes me like people I don't know. Facebook does the opposite.
Dad: What's the plural of moose?
Aunt: Elk!
Taft [praying]: Lord, don't smit us.
Rebekah: Then why doesn't he just say that?
Katie: 'Cuz he's a boy. They only think half-thoughts.
Bob: That shirt looks very nice on you.
Emily: You can't say that to her!
Bob: Why not? Gosh, I've been trying to work complements into my conversation and now you just ruined it! Katie, you're dirt ugly. Now you can just be mad at me; you can't have me arrested.
Brett: Hank. Don't eat electicity.
"It's very rare when you're following Jesus that you know exactly what you're doing and where you are going." - Jonathan Martin
Uncle Jack: Assuming this is a right angle...
Laura: Then you have three right angles. You can't have three right angles in a pentagon!
David: What if there was a food that makes you break bones? Like "I can't eat burgers 'cuz they make me break bones."
[Neal was cleaning up water on the floor]
Amber: Ethan got so excited about his cookie that he spilled his water.
Katie: Sorry, Neal, I couldn't make it to the bathroom in time.
Neal: At least it's clear.
Katie: I drank lots of water today.
Neal: Isn't that just inappropriate, Ethan, for a woman to be talking like that?
[Ethan was grinning like he wasn't sure what to do]
Rebekah: You smell like leather-flavored crayon.
Wife: How can you explain all of these awful things happening?
Husband: Easy. This is earth.
Katie: Since Christmas I've gotten a new camera, a new job, a new phone, a new-to-me computer, and a new house. Now I just need a new car.
Mom: Your brain is going to be mush. Next thing you know you're going to try to call with your camera, take pictures with your car, and scrapbook with your phone.
Katie: There's an app for that.
Brandon: I've told this story a lot of times but a lot of you haven't heard it because you haven't heard me tell it.
Dad: Oooowee!
Katie: You ok?
Dad: Yeah. That hurt! Somebody parked the vaccuum cleander in my coat.
Michael: When in doubt, pull out your actual Bible. If your cell phone doesn't know about Jesus, your actual Bible will. You never can tell about cell phones. I don't know if they're believers.
Beth: Sometimes I just breathe.
David: We all want to see your relationship succeed or fail, whichever is better.
Stephen: I hope you have many Lord of the Rings babies, and they don't look like gollum.
Katie: Brett! You heathen non-recycling Canadian!
Artemis: Daddy? When we go to Disney, Mommy said we could go for two whole days!
Daddy: Yup.
Artemis: When we are 10 or 11 years old.
Daddy: Yup.
Artemis: Where are we going to sleep? I mean, we could bring our sleeping bags and camp out in the back of your car.
Daddy: Or we could stay in a hotel.
Artemis: They have those there?!
Rebekah: Yeah, blinds take awhile to master.
Katie: Yeah, I don't have my master's in blinds yet.
Rebekah: I'm working on mine.
"If you write for God, you will reach many men and bring them joy. If you write for men, you may make some money and may give someone a little joy and you may make some noise in the world, for a little while. If you write for yourself, you can read what you yourself have written and after ten minutes you will be so disguisted that you wish that you were dead." - Thomas Merton, New Seeds of Contemplation
Showing posts with label Emily. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Emily. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Wacky Wednesday
Author's Note: Welcome to Wacky Wednesday! This post is a complication of ridiculous and profound statements made in everyday conversation or literature. We all say stupid stuff. Some of us more than others. Laugh, smile, be challenged. <>< Katie
"As long as thanks is possible, then joy is always possible." - Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts, 33
Mom: If your right turn signal is on, your vehicle should not be veering to the left. Thought I'd bring that to your attention.
"In China, Christians are persecuted with beatings and imprisonment. In the West, Christians are persecuted by the words of other Christians." - Brother Yun, The Heavenly Man, 309
Amber: When are you due?
Bridget: Four months ago.
Amber: No, when is your baby coming?
Laura: It's a good thing I can't form sentences in my brain because otherwise I'd be a really mean person.
"God really is in the business of blessing His people in unusual ways so His goodness and His greatness will be declared among all peoples." - David Platt, Radical, 67
Kevin [20s]: I'm an old man. I have some gray hair.
Elizabeth: It's time to get a box.
[Awkward pause]
Elizabeth: Of hair dye.
Kevin: Don't lie, you meant a pine box!
"God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself because it is no there. There is no such thing." - C.S. Lewis
Mom: You put the pregnant fish in the maternity ward and when the babies are born they're sucked up and shot into the fishy nursery.
Katie: As if being born isn't traumatic enough!
Jori [To me]: Oh, ye, writer person!
[1am]
Laura: Wait, you're not even in the bed anymore, you doofus!
"We learned a lesson that morning. When we arrive at the end of our own strength it is not defeat but the start of tapping into God's boundless resources. It is when we are weak that we are strong in God." - Brother Yun, The Heavenly Man, 194
Mom: Fat!
Katie [fake surprise, panic, excitement]: Where?!
Elizabeth: You know, Katie, I was the first person on University's campus to ever lick you. I take full credit for that.
"Joy is God and God is joy and joy doesn't negate all other emotions--joy transcends all other emotions." - Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts, 176
Mary Beth: You know how there's always that one annoying cousin?
Katie: I only have three cousins. My dad is that annoying cousin.
Laura: I love old people! This one time this old person did something and it made me laugh
Katie: Great story.
"The Lord has to break us down at the strongest part of our self-life before He can have His own way of blessing with us." - James H. McConkey, Life Talks, 103 (qtd. Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts, 138)
Waitress: What size to go box?
Melia: The little one works.
Waitress: That's what she said.
"But the secret to joy is to keep seeking God where we doubt He is." - Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts, 138
Professor: For Jesus?
Student: Yeah! We go everywhere for Jesus!
Professor: Alright!
"I hunger and thirst for filling in a world that is starved." - Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts, 17
Laura: Sometimes I know I'm saying stupid stuff, but I just keep saying it. It's funnier that way.
Juanita: Vernon! Don't lick my curtains!
Vernon: I wasn't licking them; I was biting them.
"Ultimately, I don't want to miss eternal treasure because I settle for earthly trinkets." - David Platt, Radical, 138
Katie: I don't really use the term "Best friend" because basically if you went to University with me, you're my best friend.
"Having God on our side doesn't mean sailing a boat with no storms; it means sailing a boat no storm can sink." - Unknown
Katie: No, you don't touch the scissors again until I give you further instructions.
Jori: My TA is getting cheeky.
Katie: I'm the brain!
Mom: My fish are eating the cats!
"Anger is the lid that suffocates joy until she lies limp and lifeless." - Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts, 177
Jori: If "biceps" were with an "s" it'd be "bis-eps.
Mike: Maybe that's what I have.
GPS: Recalculating.
Mom: Oh for heaven sakes! We're just going to McDonald's to pee; you don't have to recalculate!
"But what if we don't need to sit back and wait for a call to foreign missions? What if the very reason we have breath is because we have been saved for a global mission? And what if anything less than passionate involvement in global missions is actually selling God short by frustrating the very purpose for which He created us?" - David Platt, Radical, 75
Michael Tait: Everyone who loves the Lord, shake your bonbons!
Katie: You ok, Dad?
Dad: No. Mom sent half of the water from that faucet up my nose!
"He always enjoyed seeing the happiness that the travelers experienced when, after weeks of yellow sand and blue sky, they first saw the green of the date palms. Maybe God created the desert so that man could appreciate the date trees, he thought." - The Alchemist, 87
Christina: Katie, will you babysit for this kid to show him how nice I really am?
Mom: Good night, Mary Ellen.
Katie: Good night, Jim Bob.
Laura: Good night, Laura.
Mom: Why are you saying goodnight to yourself? That doesn't work!
Laura: Oh, good night, Suzy.
Mom: No, no, no.
Laura: What? I thought we were just saying good night to people who aren't here.
"Whether it is your family, the government, the religious establishment, or someone else, you will be hated." - David Platt, Radical, 167
Girl [age 14]: This is the first water balloon I've ever tied myself. I'm going to save it and put it in my scrapbook!
Jori: We could do that.
Katie: Ok, let's do it. Right here on your bed.
["It" was really make peanut brittle]
Katie: I don't want a Tetanus shot.
Christina: Wait! Are we talking doctor shot or alcohol shot?
Mom: I'm pretty sure there's no alcohol named "Tetanus."
Nurse: You've had so many shots they're blinding me!
"You're not doing the youth ministry until your youth are doing the ministry." - LCMS, Missouri District
Katie: It's a dove, not a kite. You can't tied a string to your dove.
Jori: Ok, I will not leave you.
Katie and Jori: Or forsake you!
"I learned we should never beat the sheep, but [we] must feed them if we want them to follow." - Brother Yun, The Heavenly Man, 174
Katie: He's on his way home. By "he" I mean Dad.
Mom: I figured Dad was the "he" since he's the only "he" who calls you.
[in China]
Jeremy: Pancakes are just like noodles except not noodles!
"Stress isn't only a joy stealer. The way we respond to it can be sin." - Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts, 146
Katie: I have a Peder CD we could listen to.
Laura: I'm petered out.
Katie: You aren't allowed in there.
Christina: Meh, rules are for sissies.
Katie: Yes, they are, and since you're my sissy you should get out.
"Prayer without ceasing is only possible in a life of continual thanks." - Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts, 60
Dad: I'm going to put on a different shirt.
[He wasn't wearing a shirt]
Emily: Sorry, I guess I just get distracted when my clothes come off.
"Again, we don't think like this: 'If we would all just become like Jesus, the wold would really love us,' he say. The reality is that if we really become like Jesus, the world will hate us. Why? Because the world hated Him." - David Platt, Radical, 167
Katie [Fingerspelled]: Adrenaline.
Amber [Voiced]: I saw koalas.
Katie [Signed]: No, adrenaline. You know, the drug.
Amber [Voiced]: The letter C? I got nothin'!
"I've got to get this thing; what it means to trust, to gut-believe in the good touch of God toward me because it's true: I can't fill with joy until I learn how to trust: 'May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow' (Romans 15:13 NIV). The full life, the own spilling joy and peace, happens only as I come to trust the caress of the Lover, Lover who never burdens His children with shame or self-condemnation but keeps stroking the fears with gentle grace." - Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts, 146
Katie: Forty-nine bottles of beer on the wall?
Mom: No, forty-nine bottles of wine in the hall.
[Chinese people in China]
Sara: In America, this is a very good price.
Jim: In China, I get it for less.
Sara: Then maybe you should go back to China and buy it there.
"He [Jesus] was calling them [the disciples] to abandon their careers. They were reorienting their entire life's work around discipleship of Jesus. Their plans and dreams were now swallowed up in His." - David Platt, Radical, 7
Jori: It flew from my peach!
Katie: I'd rather shoot myself in the face.
Dad: You'd rather ship yourself to Spain?
"Everything in all creation responds in obedience to the Creator... until we get to you and me. We have the audacity to look God in the face and say, 'No.'" - David Platt, Radical, 31
[Over the phone]
Neal: While we were praying it started raining here. Just shows it rains on the righteous and the unrighteous. Me being the latter.
Katie: It's not raining here.
Neal: Does that mean you're in limbo?
Katie: I'm luke-warm, dang it!
Curt: I'm teaching [the topic] strangers, then if I have more time, I'll teach friends, then if I have more time, I'll teach Vernon.
Amber: Katie, your dad is ridiculious. He gets away with things that no other human being would ever get away with.
"In direct contradiction to the American dream, God actually delights in exalting our inability. He intentionally puts His people in situations where they come face to face with their need for Him. In the process He powerfully demonstrates His ability to prove everything His people need in ways they could never have mustered up or imagined." - David Platt, Radical, 47
"As long as thanks is possible, then joy is always possible." - Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts, 33
Mom: If your right turn signal is on, your vehicle should not be veering to the left. Thought I'd bring that to your attention.
"In China, Christians are persecuted with beatings and imprisonment. In the West, Christians are persecuted by the words of other Christians." - Brother Yun, The Heavenly Man, 309
Amber: When are you due?
Bridget: Four months ago.
Amber: No, when is your baby coming?
Laura: It's a good thing I can't form sentences in my brain because otherwise I'd be a really mean person.
"God really is in the business of blessing His people in unusual ways so His goodness and His greatness will be declared among all peoples." - David Platt, Radical, 67
Kevin [20s]: I'm an old man. I have some gray hair.
Elizabeth: It's time to get a box.
[Awkward pause]
Elizabeth: Of hair dye.
Kevin: Don't lie, you meant a pine box!
"God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself because it is no there. There is no such thing." - C.S. Lewis
Mom: You put the pregnant fish in the maternity ward and when the babies are born they're sucked up and shot into the fishy nursery.
Katie: As if being born isn't traumatic enough!
Jori [To me]: Oh, ye, writer person!
[1am]
Laura: Wait, you're not even in the bed anymore, you doofus!
"We learned a lesson that morning. When we arrive at the end of our own strength it is not defeat but the start of tapping into God's boundless resources. It is when we are weak that we are strong in God." - Brother Yun, The Heavenly Man, 194
Mom: Fat!
Katie [fake surprise, panic, excitement]: Where?!
Elizabeth: You know, Katie, I was the first person on University's campus to ever lick you. I take full credit for that.
"Joy is God and God is joy and joy doesn't negate all other emotions--joy transcends all other emotions." - Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts, 176
Mary Beth: You know how there's always that one annoying cousin?
Katie: I only have three cousins. My dad is that annoying cousin.
Laura: I love old people! This one time this old person did something and it made me laugh
Katie: Great story.
"The Lord has to break us down at the strongest part of our self-life before He can have His own way of blessing with us." - James H. McConkey, Life Talks, 103 (qtd. Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts, 138)
Waitress: What size to go box?
Melia: The little one works.
Waitress: That's what she said.
"But the secret to joy is to keep seeking God where we doubt He is." - Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts, 138
Professor: For Jesus?
Student: Yeah! We go everywhere for Jesus!
Professor: Alright!
"I hunger and thirst for filling in a world that is starved." - Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts, 17
Laura: Sometimes I know I'm saying stupid stuff, but I just keep saying it. It's funnier that way.
Juanita: Vernon! Don't lick my curtains!
Vernon: I wasn't licking them; I was biting them.
"Ultimately, I don't want to miss eternal treasure because I settle for earthly trinkets." - David Platt, Radical, 138
Katie: I don't really use the term "Best friend" because basically if you went to University with me, you're my best friend.
"Having God on our side doesn't mean sailing a boat with no storms; it means sailing a boat no storm can sink." - Unknown
Katie: No, you don't touch the scissors again until I give you further instructions.
Jori: My TA is getting cheeky.
Katie: I'm the brain!
Mom: My fish are eating the cats!
"Anger is the lid that suffocates joy until she lies limp and lifeless." - Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts, 177
Jori: If "biceps" were with an "s" it'd be "bis-eps.
Mike: Maybe that's what I have.
GPS: Recalculating.
Mom: Oh for heaven sakes! We're just going to McDonald's to pee; you don't have to recalculate!
"But what if we don't need to sit back and wait for a call to foreign missions? What if the very reason we have breath is because we have been saved for a global mission? And what if anything less than passionate involvement in global missions is actually selling God short by frustrating the very purpose for which He created us?" - David Platt, Radical, 75
Michael Tait: Everyone who loves the Lord, shake your bonbons!
Katie: You ok, Dad?
Dad: No. Mom sent half of the water from that faucet up my nose!
"He always enjoyed seeing the happiness that the travelers experienced when, after weeks of yellow sand and blue sky, they first saw the green of the date palms. Maybe God created the desert so that man could appreciate the date trees, he thought." - The Alchemist, 87
Christina: Katie, will you babysit for this kid to show him how nice I really am?
Mom: Good night, Mary Ellen.
Katie: Good night, Jim Bob.
Laura: Good night, Laura.
Mom: Why are you saying goodnight to yourself? That doesn't work!
Laura: Oh, good night, Suzy.
Mom: No, no, no.
Laura: What? I thought we were just saying good night to people who aren't here.
"Whether it is your family, the government, the religious establishment, or someone else, you will be hated." - David Platt, Radical, 167
Girl [age 14]: This is the first water balloon I've ever tied myself. I'm going to save it and put it in my scrapbook!
Jori: We could do that.
Katie: Ok, let's do it. Right here on your bed.
["It" was really make peanut brittle]
Katie: I don't want a Tetanus shot.
Christina: Wait! Are we talking doctor shot or alcohol shot?
Mom: I'm pretty sure there's no alcohol named "Tetanus."
Nurse: You've had so many shots they're blinding me!
"You're not doing the youth ministry until your youth are doing the ministry." - LCMS, Missouri District
Katie: It's a dove, not a kite. You can't tied a string to your dove.
Jori: Ok, I will not leave you.
Katie and Jori: Or forsake you!
"I learned we should never beat the sheep, but [we] must feed them if we want them to follow." - Brother Yun, The Heavenly Man, 174
Katie: He's on his way home. By "he" I mean Dad.
Mom: I figured Dad was the "he" since he's the only "he" who calls you.
[in China]
Jeremy: Pancakes are just like noodles except not noodles!
"Stress isn't only a joy stealer. The way we respond to it can be sin." - Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts, 146
Katie: I have a Peder CD we could listen to.
Laura: I'm petered out.
Katie: You aren't allowed in there.
Christina: Meh, rules are for sissies.
Katie: Yes, they are, and since you're my sissy you should get out.
"Prayer without ceasing is only possible in a life of continual thanks." - Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts, 60
Dad: I'm going to put on a different shirt.
[He wasn't wearing a shirt]
Emily: Sorry, I guess I just get distracted when my clothes come off.
"Again, we don't think like this: 'If we would all just become like Jesus, the wold would really love us,' he say. The reality is that if we really become like Jesus, the world will hate us. Why? Because the world hated Him." - David Platt, Radical, 167
Katie [Fingerspelled]: Adrenaline.
Amber [Voiced]: I saw koalas.
Katie [Signed]: No, adrenaline. You know, the drug.
Amber [Voiced]: The letter C? I got nothin'!
"I've got to get this thing; what it means to trust, to gut-believe in the good touch of God toward me because it's true: I can't fill with joy until I learn how to trust: 'May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow' (Romans 15:13 NIV). The full life, the own spilling joy and peace, happens only as I come to trust the caress of the Lover, Lover who never burdens His children with shame or self-condemnation but keeps stroking the fears with gentle grace." - Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts, 146
Katie: Forty-nine bottles of beer on the wall?
Mom: No, forty-nine bottles of wine in the hall.
[Chinese people in China]
Sara: In America, this is a very good price.
Jim: In China, I get it for less.
Sara: Then maybe you should go back to China and buy it there.
"He [Jesus] was calling them [the disciples] to abandon their careers. They were reorienting their entire life's work around discipleship of Jesus. Their plans and dreams were now swallowed up in His." - David Platt, Radical, 7
Jori: It flew from my peach!
Katie: I'd rather shoot myself in the face.
Dad: You'd rather ship yourself to Spain?
"Everything in all creation responds in obedience to the Creator... until we get to you and me. We have the audacity to look God in the face and say, 'No.'" - David Platt, Radical, 31
[Over the phone]
Neal: While we were praying it started raining here. Just shows it rains on the righteous and the unrighteous. Me being the latter.
Katie: It's not raining here.
Neal: Does that mean you're in limbo?
Katie: I'm luke-warm, dang it!
Curt: I'm teaching [the topic] strangers, then if I have more time, I'll teach friends, then if I have more time, I'll teach Vernon.
Amber: Katie, your dad is ridiculious. He gets away with things that no other human being would ever get away with.
"In direct contradiction to the American dream, God actually delights in exalting our inability. He intentionally puts His people in situations where they come face to face with their need for Him. In the process He powerfully demonstrates His ability to prove everything His people need in ways they could never have mustered up or imagined." - David Platt, Radical, 47
Monday, August 15, 2011
Glory in Tragedy
I don't think we could have fit anything else into this weekend had we tried. A pasta dinner for 30 high school tennis girls, a baby shower (with two-week old baby), a graduation/ birthday party, a tennis quad, a family reunion, church, dinner out, and... the wake for a fourteen year old.
Her death was instant. There was no warning. There was nothing that could have been done. It could not have been prevented. Her life could not have been saved. No one is at fault.
Yet a fourteen year old is dead.
In all honesty, I don't know how non-Christians cope with tragedies like this. Even with hope and a loving God, it's hard to bury a fourteen year old who seemed healthy one minute and gone the next.
Is our God not a loving God who cares for His children? I don't just mean Emily. What about her family? Her parents? Her older sister? Her friends whose home she was walking home from? Fifty minutes worth of drivers who drove down that busy street without noticing her unconscious and not breathing on the sidewalk? Her classmates about to enter high school without her?
Tough questions.
But I believe Emily was not alone on that sidewalk. God was with her every step of her walk home; she just arrived at a different Home than would have been expected. Even though her body was kept breathing for two days, Emily was immediately delivered into the loving arms of her Creator.
The same God that cradles their precious daughter, holds tight to Emily's parents giving them the strength to host mourners in their home, the ability to make jokes and even laugh a little as the receiving line weaved through the funeral home and out into the parking lot. He holds their tears, their hands, and their hearts.
He will be glorified, even though this situation our human eyes see as tragic and incomprehensible. That is my prayer.
It’s the only thing I can pray. And I was just a student, nine years ahead of her at the same school.
<>< Katie
Her death was instant. There was no warning. There was nothing that could have been done. It could not have been prevented. Her life could not have been saved. No one is at fault.
Yet a fourteen year old is dead.
In all honesty, I don't know how non-Christians cope with tragedies like this. Even with hope and a loving God, it's hard to bury a fourteen year old who seemed healthy one minute and gone the next.
Is our God not a loving God who cares for His children? I don't just mean Emily. What about her family? Her parents? Her older sister? Her friends whose home she was walking home from? Fifty minutes worth of drivers who drove down that busy street without noticing her unconscious and not breathing on the sidewalk? Her classmates about to enter high school without her?
Tough questions.
But I believe Emily was not alone on that sidewalk. God was with her every step of her walk home; she just arrived at a different Home than would have been expected. Even though her body was kept breathing for two days, Emily was immediately delivered into the loving arms of her Creator.
The same God that cradles their precious daughter, holds tight to Emily's parents giving them the strength to host mourners in their home, the ability to make jokes and even laugh a little as the receiving line weaved through the funeral home and out into the parking lot. He holds their tears, their hands, and their hearts.
He will be glorified, even though this situation our human eyes see as tragic and incomprehensible. That is my prayer.
It’s the only thing I can pray. And I was just a student, nine years ahead of her at the same school.
<>< Katie
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Wacky Wednesday
Christian: The most difficult times are often the most sacred not because of the difficulty we face but because difficulties allow us to more boldly cling to the most sacred thing of all: the hope in Jesus Christ who died, rose, and lives and reigns forever.
Sara: I got disowned by David last night because I haven't seen Star Wars.
Katie: I haven't seen it either.
Sara: David! Katie Ax hasn't seen Star Wars either!
David: But I'm not dating Katie Ax.
Katie: Thank goodness!
Mom: Katie, I wish we had gone to Ruby Tuesday's so you could meet the bartender. He's really friendly.
E [age 10]: School's hard. I have lots of homework.
Katie: It's because you're getting closer to The G-word.
E: I want to graduate. Why don't you want to graduate?
Katie: Well... uh.... It's scary.
E: Is it because you're getting old?
Katie: Yes! Like your dad! [Neal]
Mom: Do you want sugar in your coffee?
Grandma: Yes, please.
Mom: White or brown?
Grandma: Brown.
Mom: Brown sugar.
Grandma: Oh, no. White. I thought you were talking about coffee.
[What's white coffee?]
Katie [running my hand down a photo]: I want to be here.
Jennifer: You are here!
Katie: I mean, in this photo.
Josh: The mark I made on you is still there. It's like I bought you.
Emily: It's because I don't bathe.
Katie: I really hope that like four years from now when we're not roommates anymore facebook still exists so we can go view our friendship and see these crazy conversations we had with each other from across the room.
Jennifer: We're not going to be friends anymore?
Katie: I said roommates.
Jennifer: Awe, man! I was getting excited!
John: Even when you get married and have kids. Not in that order. Wait. Yes. In that order.
Elizabeth: Katie, do you have any stamps?
Katie: Yes.
Elizabeth: And after I use your stamp can I use your mailing service?
Katie: Yes.
[I hand her a roll of stamps. She looks at them pensively]
Elizabeth: Do I just put one?
Katie: No, you put them all.
Jennifer: You forgot to lick it!
Saxon: Everyone has some singing fish in their closet.
Maegan: Is it Coach K or Coach K-A-Y? You know, the coach for UNC.
Friend: OH MY GOSH! He's the coach for Duke! I disown you! Don't talk to me for a few hours!
Katie: Cat. Puking. On. Table.
Sara: Why do we say "as"? There's no z. I mean, I know the alternative, but why?
David: I think it's an American thing. My parents don't enunciate the "s" like most people do.
Katie: So it sounds like your parents are swearing at you every time they say "ass"?
David: Wacky Wednesday!
Jennifer: My Bible's really dusty. That's never a good sign. But it's because I've been reading my little one.
Katie: I have five pounds of Nicaraguan coffee.
Grandma: Five pounds of McDonalds coffee?
Ashley: For our skit we could sing "A Whole New World" and act out The Little Mermaid in the background.
Katie: Why are there Wheat Thins in our fridge again?
Amy: Apparently Andy's been hanging out with Allyson.
Andy: I didn't do it! Oh, yeah, I did. Oops.
Emily: When I'm a doctor I'm only going to treat strep throat and ear infections.
Josh: Good choice, refer out that nasty flu.
Jennifer: Never mind. Don't worry about it. I don't understand myself half of the time.
Katie: Good because neither do the rest of us.
Mom: And we'll make Laura's room the bunk room.
Katie: Sure, put my husband and me next to all of the screaming kids.
Mom: Yeah, why not? Most of them will be yours anyway.
Dr. T: Good thing you didn't get into grad school otherwise we'd have nothing to talk about over lunch.
Katie: I know, we'd have to stare at each other awkwardly.
Katie: I'm getting sick, Jennifer.
Jennifer: Life goes on.
Amy: Pop quiz: what's a noun?
Jennifer: A person, place, or thing.
Amy: What is a pronoun?
Jennifer: Rock, mineral, or vegetable?
Amy: When do you use a comma?
Jennifer: To separate pauses.
Amy: No, clauses. Nikki, what's eight times eight.
Nikki: Sixzzzzhhhhzzzhhhhugh grunt.
Katie: Sixty-Four.
[pause]
Nikki: It is sixty-four! I knew it was sixty-four!
Mom: You speak lots of tongues, shut up.
Katie: I don't remember "shut up" in the Bible.
[Getting in the car]
Jennifer: Elizabeth! Sit next to me!
Andy: Nikki! Sit next to me!
Katie: No one wants me to sit by them.
Andy: Katie, you can walk.
Elizabeth: Andy!
Andy: --walk over here and hug me while I hold this door open for you.
B [age 5]: Let's get him!
College Girls: With that?
B: Weapons!
CG: What kind of weapons?
B: Fake weapons!
Bob Lenz: Worship is not supposed to be our service. Service is supposed to be our worship.
Sara: I got disowned by David last night because I haven't seen Star Wars.
Katie: I haven't seen it either.
Sara: David! Katie Ax hasn't seen Star Wars either!
David: But I'm not dating Katie Ax.
Katie: Thank goodness!
Mom: Katie, I wish we had gone to Ruby Tuesday's so you could meet the bartender. He's really friendly.
E [age 10]: School's hard. I have lots of homework.
Katie: It's because you're getting closer to The G-word.
E: I want to graduate. Why don't you want to graduate?
Katie: Well... uh.... It's scary.
E: Is it because you're getting old?
Katie: Yes! Like your dad! [Neal]
Mom: Do you want sugar in your coffee?
Grandma: Yes, please.
Mom: White or brown?
Grandma: Brown.
Mom: Brown sugar.
Grandma: Oh, no. White. I thought you were talking about coffee.
[What's white coffee?]
Katie [running my hand down a photo]: I want to be here.
Jennifer: You are here!
Katie: I mean, in this photo.
Josh: The mark I made on you is still there. It's like I bought you.
Emily: It's because I don't bathe.
Katie: I really hope that like four years from now when we're not roommates anymore facebook still exists so we can go view our friendship and see these crazy conversations we had with each other from across the room.
Jennifer: We're not going to be friends anymore?
Katie: I said roommates.
Jennifer: Awe, man! I was getting excited!
John: Even when you get married and have kids. Not in that order. Wait. Yes. In that order.
Elizabeth: Katie, do you have any stamps?
Katie: Yes.
Elizabeth: And after I use your stamp can I use your mailing service?
Katie: Yes.
[I hand her a roll of stamps. She looks at them pensively]
Elizabeth: Do I just put one?
Katie: No, you put them all.
Jennifer: You forgot to lick it!
Saxon: Everyone has some singing fish in their closet.
Maegan: Is it Coach K or Coach K-A-Y? You know, the coach for UNC.
Friend: OH MY GOSH! He's the coach for Duke! I disown you! Don't talk to me for a few hours!
Katie: Cat. Puking. On. Table.
Sara: Why do we say "as"? There's no z. I mean, I know the alternative, but why?
David: I think it's an American thing. My parents don't enunciate the "s" like most people do.
Katie: So it sounds like your parents are swearing at you every time they say "ass"?
David: Wacky Wednesday!
Jennifer: My Bible's really dusty. That's never a good sign. But it's because I've been reading my little one.
Katie: I have five pounds of Nicaraguan coffee.
Grandma: Five pounds of McDonalds coffee?
Ashley: For our skit we could sing "A Whole New World" and act out The Little Mermaid in the background.
Katie: Why are there Wheat Thins in our fridge again?
Amy: Apparently Andy's been hanging out with Allyson.
Andy: I didn't do it! Oh, yeah, I did. Oops.
Emily: When I'm a doctor I'm only going to treat strep throat and ear infections.
Josh: Good choice, refer out that nasty flu.
Jennifer: Never mind. Don't worry about it. I don't understand myself half of the time.
Katie: Good because neither do the rest of us.
Mom: And we'll make Laura's room the bunk room.
Katie: Sure, put my husband and me next to all of the screaming kids.
Mom: Yeah, why not? Most of them will be yours anyway.
Dr. T: Good thing you didn't get into grad school otherwise we'd have nothing to talk about over lunch.
Katie: I know, we'd have to stare at each other awkwardly.
Katie: I'm getting sick, Jennifer.
Jennifer: Life goes on.
Amy: Pop quiz: what's a noun?
Jennifer: A person, place, or thing.
Amy: What is a pronoun?
Jennifer: Rock, mineral, or vegetable?
Amy: When do you use a comma?
Jennifer: To separate pauses.
Amy: No, clauses. Nikki, what's eight times eight.
Nikki: Sixzzzzhhhhzzzhhhhugh grunt.
Katie: Sixty-Four.
[pause]
Nikki: It is sixty-four! I knew it was sixty-four!
Mom: You speak lots of tongues, shut up.
Katie: I don't remember "shut up" in the Bible.
[Getting in the car]
Jennifer: Elizabeth! Sit next to me!
Andy: Nikki! Sit next to me!
Katie: No one wants me to sit by them.
Andy: Katie, you can walk.
Elizabeth: Andy!
Andy: --walk over here and hug me while I hold this door open for you.
B [age 5]: Let's get him!
College Girls: With that?
B: Weapons!
CG: What kind of weapons?
B: Fake weapons!
Bob Lenz: Worship is not supposed to be our service. Service is supposed to be our worship.
Monday, January 17, 2011
Snapshots: Precious, Priceless, Nerdy, Compassionate
Snapshot One: Precious
Neal bent over to zip his daughter's (age 4? 5?) jacket as they walked towards the caf door. She let him zip it all the way past her chin without protesting. When he stood, she took the cookie in her hand and tried to put it in her mouth, colliding with the jacket zipper instead. Twice she pulled her hand back and jabbed the cookie more forcefully into her jacket. Finally she used her chin to open the zipper just enough to free her mouth and enjoy the caf's mass-produced sugar cookie.
Snapshot Two: Priceless
My friend Emily saw some firemen, in full uniform, building a snowman outside the firehouse. I'm jealous I didn't get to witness this.
Snapshot Three: Nerdy
Elizabeth's boyfriend Andy came into our apartment with a fanny pack of medical stuff that's his to keep. Of course, he had to try it out on himself and Elizabeth. It was hilarious because he's trying to take her blood pressure while she was going out her daily routine, typing papers, and conversing on Skype.
Elizabeth: What was it?
Andy: Good.
Elizabeth: Really?
Andy: Well, I couldn't get the bottom number because you kept moving but the top number was good.
Sometimes Andy and I fight like brother and sister. I consider it good practice because I don't have any biological brothers.
Katie: Nerdy.
Andy: If saving lives is nerdy, then yes.
Katie: Yes.
Andy: I'll keep that in mind in case you ever need to be saved.
Actually, I own and proudly wear a shirt that reads, "Talk nerdy to me." Andy designed it.
Snapshot Four: Compassionate
We were driving through town and saw an SUV stalled on the other side of the median. It had been turning left and died just before it got out of the intersection and into the lane. One intersection away from Wal-mart, this ranks up there as one of the worst places ever for a car to die. The passenger jumped out and started pushing on the side of the car. A few vehicles went around them, and a police officer continued he day obliviously. One car pulled over, and the male driver jumped out to help. A few seconds later, a mini van pulled over, and the male driver jumped out to help. A jeep blocked the lane and intersection behind them with emergency flashers. Together they got the SUV to the side of the road just after our light turned green again. There are caring people in this world!
Neal bent over to zip his daughter's (age 4? 5?) jacket as they walked towards the caf door. She let him zip it all the way past her chin without protesting. When he stood, she took the cookie in her hand and tried to put it in her mouth, colliding with the jacket zipper instead. Twice she pulled her hand back and jabbed the cookie more forcefully into her jacket. Finally she used her chin to open the zipper just enough to free her mouth and enjoy the caf's mass-produced sugar cookie.
Snapshot Two: Priceless
My friend Emily saw some firemen, in full uniform, building a snowman outside the firehouse. I'm jealous I didn't get to witness this.
Snapshot Three: Nerdy
Elizabeth's boyfriend Andy came into our apartment with a fanny pack of medical stuff that's his to keep. Of course, he had to try it out on himself and Elizabeth. It was hilarious because he's trying to take her blood pressure while she was going out her daily routine, typing papers, and conversing on Skype.
Elizabeth: What was it?
Andy: Good.
Elizabeth: Really?
Andy: Well, I couldn't get the bottom number because you kept moving but the top number was good.
Sometimes Andy and I fight like brother and sister. I consider it good practice because I don't have any biological brothers.
Katie: Nerdy.
Andy: If saving lives is nerdy, then yes.
Katie: Yes.
Andy: I'll keep that in mind in case you ever need to be saved.
Actually, I own and proudly wear a shirt that reads, "Talk nerdy to me." Andy designed it.
Snapshot Four: Compassionate
We were driving through town and saw an SUV stalled on the other side of the median. It had been turning left and died just before it got out of the intersection and into the lane. One intersection away from Wal-mart, this ranks up there as one of the worst places ever for a car to die. The passenger jumped out and started pushing on the side of the car. A few vehicles went around them, and a police officer continued he day obliviously. One car pulled over, and the male driver jumped out to help. A few seconds later, a mini van pulled over, and the male driver jumped out to help. A jeep blocked the lane and intersection behind them with emergency flashers. Together they got the SUV to the side of the road just after our light turned green again. There are caring people in this world!
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Wacky Wednesday
We all say funny things. Some of us more than others. <>< Katie
Dad: I'm booking your hotel for Festival.
[This was literally two days after Festival...he clarified it was for 2011]
Laura: Mom said you already did that.
Dad: Yeah, well, hotels are weird. Sometimes you have to call them twice.
Random Guy in the Post Office: You don't need a passport to visit Hawaii, do you? Because it's in the same country, right?
Katie: What's the purpose of a foyer?
Mom: To welcome your friends into your house.
Katie: Last time I had a friend over it was October. And we came in through the garage.
Mom: I'm sorry your friends don't live in this country.
Christina: What's another word for "mouth" that starts with a "b"?
Laura: Orifice.
Christina: That's it!
Peder: Hey, Festival, love your lawn chair. Hug your lawn chair. Take your lawn chair home with you otherwise it will go into the lawn chair morgue, and we don't want that. We love our lawn chairs. You can bring your lawn chair back at noon tomorrow.
[Easter Sunday morning]
Katie: What's in your pocket?
Andy: My pocket knife.
Katie: Why?
Andy: In case I need to cut something.
Katie: What are you cutting in church?
Andy: Who knows: sandwiches, pickles, leaves, people--I'm trained to handle that.
Katie: It's wrong to cut people.
Andy: What about surgeons? They cut people.
Katie: That's a slightly different situation.
Andy: You're a slightly different situation.
Katie: So you're bringing your knife to church because we're going to have surgery in our church clothes?
Andy: No, they cut those off.
Mom: Tina, get the blue laundry basket off of the... um... what's it called?... um...
Katie: Chair. Washing machine. Couch. Counter. Mantel.
Mom: Deck!
Katie: I'm glad you figured it out on your own because I would have been shouting nouns at you for a long time before I came up with that one.
[a facebook conversation... no photo involved]
Brother One: Brother! Nobody wants to see your poop!
Brother Two: Please?
Katie: I bet your dad's interested.
the dad: I'm as interested as Katie is.
Katie: I like poop stories better, thanks.
Sarah: I sleep in pajamas most nights.
[on the bus back from the NYG]
Katie: Pastor Russ, I don't have ample floorspace back here, so I put my flip flops under your seat. If they slide up there, just kick them back to me, please.
Pastor Russ: If they slide up here, I'm throwing them in the garbage.
Katie: That's fine, but then I get to wear your shoes.
PR: Good thing I only have four different types of foot fungus.
[Mom had just used some relatively normal medical term... Christina's in high school]
Christina: I know I'm going to be a nurse and I should know what that means, but I haven't taken physics yet.
Uncle Bill: What are you holding? A zucchini? A cucumber?
Uncle Jay: A carrot?
Dad: A grape?
Uncle Jay: With elephantitis!
[it was a potato... a normal potato.... now forever known as a grape with elephantitis]
Christina: Daddy, why were you at the doctor?
Dad [creepy voice]: Bahlud. Vampries. Bahlud.
Christina: Did they take a pint?
Dad [serious voice]: A quart. Might have been a half-gallon.
Christina: Oh.
Pastor Seth: Have you gotten dinner?
Katie: I ate lunch at like 3.
PS: So you had lunner?
Mom: I need a Rav-4 Brochure.
Katie: I don't know what that means.
Mom: A Rav-4 is a car and a brochure is a little booklet.
I took her all of the little booklets I could find.
Speaker Dude: Your story isn't about you. Look it up. [pointing to a Bible]
Nikki: Keith! I think I'm sick, I've blogged twice in a week and I have two others in draft.
Keith: If that is sick, rush me to the critical care unit. And bury Katie; she's been dead awhile.
Dad: I'm booking your hotel for Festival.
[This was literally two days after Festival...he clarified it was for 2011]
Laura: Mom said you already did that.
Dad: Yeah, well, hotels are weird. Sometimes you have to call them twice.
Random Guy in the Post Office: You don't need a passport to visit Hawaii, do you? Because it's in the same country, right?
Katie: What's the purpose of a foyer?
Mom: To welcome your friends into your house.
Katie: Last time I had a friend over it was October. And we came in through the garage.
Mom: I'm sorry your friends don't live in this country.
Christina: What's another word for "mouth" that starts with a "b"?
Laura: Orifice.
Christina: That's it!
Peder: Hey, Festival, love your lawn chair. Hug your lawn chair. Take your lawn chair home with you otherwise it will go into the lawn chair morgue, and we don't want that. We love our lawn chairs. You can bring your lawn chair back at noon tomorrow.
[Easter Sunday morning]
Katie: What's in your pocket?
Andy: My pocket knife.
Katie: Why?
Andy: In case I need to cut something.
Katie: What are you cutting in church?
Andy: Who knows: sandwiches, pickles, leaves, people--I'm trained to handle that.
Katie: It's wrong to cut people.
Andy: What about surgeons? They cut people.
Katie: That's a slightly different situation.
Andy: You're a slightly different situation.
Katie: So you're bringing your knife to church because we're going to have surgery in our church clothes?
Andy: No, they cut those off.
Mom: Tina, get the blue laundry basket off of the... um... what's it called?... um...
Katie: Chair. Washing machine. Couch. Counter. Mantel.
Mom: Deck!
Katie: I'm glad you figured it out on your own because I would have been shouting nouns at you for a long time before I came up with that one.
[a facebook conversation... no photo involved]
Brother One: Brother! Nobody wants to see your poop!
Brother Two: Please?
Katie: I bet your dad's interested.
the dad: I'm as interested as Katie is.
Katie: I like poop stories better, thanks.
Sarah: I sleep in pajamas most nights.
[on the bus back from the NYG]
Katie: Pastor Russ, I don't have ample floorspace back here, so I put my flip flops under your seat. If they slide up there, just kick them back to me, please.
Pastor Russ: If they slide up here, I'm throwing them in the garbage.
Katie: That's fine, but then I get to wear your shoes.
PR: Good thing I only have four different types of foot fungus.
[Mom had just used some relatively normal medical term... Christina's in high school]
Christina: I know I'm going to be a nurse and I should know what that means, but I haven't taken physics yet.
Uncle Bill: What are you holding? A zucchini? A cucumber?
Uncle Jay: A carrot?
Dad: A grape?
Uncle Jay: With elephantitis!
[it was a potato... a normal potato.... now forever known as a grape with elephantitis]
Christina: Daddy, why were you at the doctor?
Dad [creepy voice]: Bahlud. Vampries. Bahlud.
Christina: Did they take a pint?
Dad [serious voice]: A quart. Might have been a half-gallon.
Christina: Oh.
Pastor Seth: Have you gotten dinner?
Katie: I ate lunch at like 3.
PS: So you had lunner?
Mom: I need a Rav-4 Brochure.
Katie: I don't know what that means.
Mom: A Rav-4 is a car and a brochure is a little booklet.
I took her all of the little booklets I could find.
Speaker Dude: Your story isn't about you. Look it up. [pointing to a Bible]
Nikki: Keith! I think I'm sick, I've blogged twice in a week and I have two others in draft.
Keith: If that is sick, rush me to the critical care unit. And bury Katie; she's been dead awhile.
Friday, May 21, 2010
An Afternoon at Starbucks
A few weeks ago I confided in you all that I have this secret goal to one day become a coffee shop-dwelling writer. I talked about how my first shot at that goal didn't go so well since I chose a small, local coffee shop where professors hold office hours and my friends dwell. I didn't give up, and on Wednesday I took a second stab at that goal.
"Hey, do you guys know of any good coffee shops in the area?" I asked after an enlightening, entertaining lunch discussing world politics and the best way to remove snot from one's nose (yes, really).
"Come over to church and use our coffee shop; that's why we have it," Bob suggested. Then he laughed, "No, you wouldn't get any work done; you'd just talk." I pretended to be mad at him, but we both knew it was the truth.
"Barnes and Noble has a coffee shop. As does Borders," Jessica provided. No good. I'd spend more than the $3 I had in my wallet.
"Or there's a Starbucks across the street," Emily offered.
I was looking for a small, local coffee shop, but Starbucks would have to do. I ventured across the street, walked into Starbucks with my purple purse, purple computer bag, and purple tumbler, and took a seat at the first table I saw with an outlet. There I sat. My water warm (it sat in the car during lunch). My coffee cold (I only bought it so I didn't feel like I was loitering). My battery dead (it was fine Monday, but by Tuesday it wouldn't hold a charge). My pen sticky, my notebook out, and my inspiration missing. I had been afraid of that. I wasn't too worried. I had plenty of stories to write. Since the novel's hit a stand-still I've explored short stories. As I've sure you've all noticed, I don't do "short" but, boy, do I love "stories." If none of those would suffice, I had plenty of old material to play with. I've never written "Major Parking Lot Incident" or I could tell the stories behind some of the weird items I'm finding as I clean my bedroom. That wasn't necessary. I did several hours of "picking" and POV focusing before finally calling it a day.
One thing I started in March was what I think I'm going to call the "inspiration box" (Unless someone else has a more clever title). Anytime I read a good prompt, quote, exercise, or idea it goes in a gold box I saved from this past Christmas. Most of these come from a writer's blog but some come from class and others from others. I'd love to hear, how do you find inspiration? What do you write when words don't come? Also, can you work in a coffee shop or do you spend too much time people watching? I've had that problem, too.
Oh, and how about a quick quote from Donald Miller's A Million Miles in a Thousand Years.
"And as I worked on the novel, as my character did what he wanted and ruined my story, it reminded me of life in certain ways. I mean, as I sat there in my office feeling like God making my worlds, and as my characters fought to have their way, their senseless, selfish ways of nonstory, I could identify with them... I was also that character, fighting God and I could see God sitting at His computer, staring blankly at His screen as I asked Him to write in some money and some sex and some comfort." (Pg 85-86)
<>< Katie
"Hey, do you guys know of any good coffee shops in the area?" I asked after an enlightening, entertaining lunch discussing world politics and the best way to remove snot from one's nose (yes, really).
"Come over to church and use our coffee shop; that's why we have it," Bob suggested. Then he laughed, "No, you wouldn't get any work done; you'd just talk." I pretended to be mad at him, but we both knew it was the truth.
"Barnes and Noble has a coffee shop. As does Borders," Jessica provided. No good. I'd spend more than the $3 I had in my wallet.
"Or there's a Starbucks across the street," Emily offered.
I was looking for a small, local coffee shop, but Starbucks would have to do. I ventured across the street, walked into Starbucks with my purple purse, purple computer bag, and purple tumbler, and took a seat at the first table I saw with an outlet. There I sat. My water warm (it sat in the car during lunch). My coffee cold (I only bought it so I didn't feel like I was loitering). My battery dead (it was fine Monday, but by Tuesday it wouldn't hold a charge). My pen sticky, my notebook out, and my inspiration missing. I had been afraid of that. I wasn't too worried. I had plenty of stories to write. Since the novel's hit a stand-still I've explored short stories. As I've sure you've all noticed, I don't do "short" but, boy, do I love "stories." If none of those would suffice, I had plenty of old material to play with. I've never written "Major Parking Lot Incident" or I could tell the stories behind some of the weird items I'm finding as I clean my bedroom. That wasn't necessary. I did several hours of "picking" and POV focusing before finally calling it a day.
One thing I started in March was what I think I'm going to call the "inspiration box" (Unless someone else has a more clever title). Anytime I read a good prompt, quote, exercise, or idea it goes in a gold box I saved from this past Christmas. Most of these come from a writer's blog but some come from class and others from others. I'd love to hear, how do you find inspiration? What do you write when words don't come? Also, can you work in a coffee shop or do you spend too much time people watching? I've had that problem, too.
Oh, and how about a quick quote from Donald Miller's A Million Miles in a Thousand Years.
"And as I worked on the novel, as my character did what he wanted and ruined my story, it reminded me of life in certain ways. I mean, as I sat there in my office feeling like God making my worlds, and as my characters fought to have their way, their senseless, selfish ways of nonstory, I could identify with them... I was also that character, fighting God and I could see God sitting at His computer, staring blankly at His screen as I asked Him to write in some money and some sex and some comfort." (Pg 85-86)
<>< Katie
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Baptist Easter
I was nervous about my first Easter in Baptist Country. Come to find out, it was just me being a pessimist. Big surprise. I was wrong. My Easter was very good! Even if no one responded when I called, "He is risen!"
Sometimes when you live in a dorm room you forget what it's like to live in a house. You forget what it's like to not be able to swipe your card and get a (maybe) hot meal but instead have a fully stocked pantry.
Lunch on Friday was a challenge. I can't really call it "lunch." A more accurate term may be: the massive amounts of bizarre food consumed around mid-day. It was Good Friday, so I couldn't eat meat and I don't eat Ramen (so many college students live on Ramen noodles that it's my goal to graduate without eating them), Elizabeth can't cook anything except mac & cheese and there wasn't any, Jennifer only wanted cereal, and Emily only likes food that begins with the letter "c" and won't eat food that begins with "p." Thus our lunch dilemma. We ate: Ramen (not me), rice and cinnamon, cereal, cantaloupe, applesauce, pudding, and string cheese. Don't tell Mrs. Mary. :-)
When you live in a house you have to remember that the blurry red lights across the bedroom aren't just there to be annoying but to someone they reveal the time in the middle of the night...
Something you may not know about me: I am a bad bed partner. I talk, I kick, I really hate sleeping on the top bunk without a safety bar because, well, I use the whole bed and sometimes more. When I learned Elizabeth and I were going to be sharing a double bed for five nights I was scared... for her sake. Even if I only kicked her once every night that would still leave five painful bruises on her legs. As it turns out, I never kicked her but instead I took an elbow to the face in the middle of the night. Thanks, friend. She said it's because I stole the covers. I told her if she would have asked nicely I would have given them back but nooooo she had to get violent on me. :-)
In a home, everything has a place and the only thing out of place is Bananagrams, the most frequently played game in the house.
When I close my eyes to go to sleep at night, I see Bananagrams letters. I'm kind of experiencing withdrawals being back on campus. It's a word game kind of like Scrabble but better; we played for hours every day. This is marvelous for word-lovers like me. Not so great for the weird math-lovers like my future roommate Jennifer or friend Chris. No one is still quite sure how Andy was able to play Bananagrams with one hand and look up spellings in the dictionary with the other. Either way his "n comes after m" got really annoying... If you can't use a word in a sentence, define it, or spell it then you can't use it!
When you live on campus sometimes you forget driving can actually be faster than walking...
Since I wasn't home for Easter, some traditions had to be broken... like sitting in a dark closet for three hours on Friday afternoon to commemorate Jesus' time on the cross. One tradition I refused to sacrifice was the Good Friday Service of Darkness. It's an incredibly powerful service for Jesus reflecting on the seven things He said from the cross. I forced Chris, Andy, and Elizabeth into funeral clothes and to the Lutheran church down the road (not to be confused with the funeral home). We were teasing about the five cars outside and all of us leaving wearing black; people were going to start calling asking who died. Jesus did. Well, we walked into church and the first person we saw was wearing bright green scrubs. Another person was wearing an Easter bonnet. And there we were all dressed in black... So maybe this Lutheran church is a bit different than mine. My three Baptist friends were good sports about it, though.
When you live in a house you forget that in some places of the world there are commitments before 8am.
Including Elizabeth and her two sisters, Andy, and me there were five of us fighting for one bathroom. We were really expecting this to be a huge problem Easter morning, but it actually wasn't too bad! For the first time in years we made it to the Sonrise service on time! I'd never been to a Sonrise service, so it was a cool experience to stand in the parking lot and put flowers on the cross. It a beautiful tradition and it works in Baptist Country, but it wouldn't work in place where a white Easter is feasible.
When you live in a house you have real dishes and nice china, too.
This Easter was the first holiday without my family. I handled it a lot better than I anticipated... until Mrs. Mary asked me to set the table and handed me a set of plates. The china pattern was the exact same as my mom's. Our also rarely-used good china was being placed around a rarely used dining room table 900 miles away where, according to an earlier text from my sister, a place had been set for me. I think I'm going to be late...
All in all, my Easter was great!
Care for some quotes for good measure?
Emily: What's the lowest note you can sing?
Andy: Um... I think a seven.
Emily: Will you do it?
Andy walks in carrying a heap of blankets
Elizabeth: What's that?
Andy: My gardening utensils.
Jennifer: Will you hold my Nerds? And don't tell me I am what I eat!
Elizabeth: I feel like a limp noodle!
Andy: Emily, can I put this pig in your speed bump?
<>< Katie
Sometimes when you live in a dorm room you forget what it's like to live in a house. You forget what it's like to not be able to swipe your card and get a (maybe) hot meal but instead have a fully stocked pantry.
Lunch on Friday was a challenge. I can't really call it "lunch." A more accurate term may be: the massive amounts of bizarre food consumed around mid-day. It was Good Friday, so I couldn't eat meat and I don't eat Ramen (so many college students live on Ramen noodles that it's my goal to graduate without eating them), Elizabeth can't cook anything except mac & cheese and there wasn't any, Jennifer only wanted cereal, and Emily only likes food that begins with the letter "c" and won't eat food that begins with "p." Thus our lunch dilemma. We ate: Ramen (not me), rice and cinnamon, cereal, cantaloupe, applesauce, pudding, and string cheese. Don't tell Mrs. Mary. :-)
When you live in a house you have to remember that the blurry red lights across the bedroom aren't just there to be annoying but to someone they reveal the time in the middle of the night...
Something you may not know about me: I am a bad bed partner. I talk, I kick, I really hate sleeping on the top bunk without a safety bar because, well, I use the whole bed and sometimes more. When I learned Elizabeth and I were going to be sharing a double bed for five nights I was scared... for her sake. Even if I only kicked her once every night that would still leave five painful bruises on her legs. As it turns out, I never kicked her but instead I took an elbow to the face in the middle of the night. Thanks, friend. She said it's because I stole the covers. I told her if she would have asked nicely I would have given them back but nooooo she had to get violent on me. :-)
In a home, everything has a place and the only thing out of place is Bananagrams, the most frequently played game in the house.
When I close my eyes to go to sleep at night, I see Bananagrams letters. I'm kind of experiencing withdrawals being back on campus. It's a word game kind of like Scrabble but better; we played for hours every day. This is marvelous for word-lovers like me. Not so great for the weird math-lovers like my future roommate Jennifer or friend Chris. No one is still quite sure how Andy was able to play Bananagrams with one hand and look up spellings in the dictionary with the other. Either way his "n comes after m" got really annoying... If you can't use a word in a sentence, define it, or spell it then you can't use it!
When you live on campus sometimes you forget driving can actually be faster than walking...
Since I wasn't home for Easter, some traditions had to be broken... like sitting in a dark closet for three hours on Friday afternoon to commemorate Jesus' time on the cross. One tradition I refused to sacrifice was the Good Friday Service of Darkness. It's an incredibly powerful service for Jesus reflecting on the seven things He said from the cross. I forced Chris, Andy, and Elizabeth into funeral clothes and to the Lutheran church down the road (not to be confused with the funeral home). We were teasing about the five cars outside and all of us leaving wearing black; people were going to start calling asking who died. Jesus did. Well, we walked into church and the first person we saw was wearing bright green scrubs. Another person was wearing an Easter bonnet. And there we were all dressed in black... So maybe this Lutheran church is a bit different than mine. My three Baptist friends were good sports about it, though.
When you live in a house you forget that in some places of the world there are commitments before 8am.
Including Elizabeth and her two sisters, Andy, and me there were five of us fighting for one bathroom. We were really expecting this to be a huge problem Easter morning, but it actually wasn't too bad! For the first time in years we made it to the Sonrise service on time! I'd never been to a Sonrise service, so it was a cool experience to stand in the parking lot and put flowers on the cross. It a beautiful tradition and it works in Baptist Country, but it wouldn't work in place where a white Easter is feasible.
When you live in a house you have real dishes and nice china, too.
This Easter was the first holiday without my family. I handled it a lot better than I anticipated... until Mrs. Mary asked me to set the table and handed me a set of plates. The china pattern was the exact same as my mom's. Our also rarely-used good china was being placed around a rarely used dining room table 900 miles away where, according to an earlier text from my sister, a place had been set for me. I think I'm going to be late...
All in all, my Easter was great!
Care for some quotes for good measure?
Emily: What's the lowest note you can sing?
Andy: Um... I think a seven.
Emily: Will you do it?
Andy walks in carrying a heap of blankets
Elizabeth: What's that?
Andy: My gardening utensils.
Jennifer: Will you hold my Nerds? And don't tell me I am what I eat!
Elizabeth: I feel like a limp noodle!
Andy: Emily, can I put this pig in your speed bump?
<>< Katie
Monday, April 5, 2010
Do you see what I see?
I've been people-watching a lot lately. It's kind of as if it's a game to see who can do the weirdest thing. Here are some highlights:
Andy was standing in the kitchen eating a chunk of ham. Emily grabbed it, inspected it, marked it as fat-filled, and handed it back to him. This was immediately before Andy drank my water just to vex me. Ok, maybe I was antagonizing him, too...
This morning at church a toddler panicked when a man put her father's guitar in his car and drove away. This was planned, but she didn't know this.
Katie: What is that? It looks like pepperoni.
Elizabeth: It looks like pepperoni.
Chris: You look like pepperoni.
Andy [to Liz]: You don't look like pepperoni.
Elizabeth: Did I say that?
Yeah, it was well past bedtime.
On Wednesday, Elizabeth and I drove through the Twilight Zone (aka Sketchy McSketch) and drove behind a man making balloon animals while driving.
My favorite, however, was at the wedding I attended on Saturday. There was this couple rocking the dance floor. They had all the moves, danced to every song, and were completely in step with one another. No, not the bride and groom. This couple was at least 70 years old. We don't know where they came from, they weren't the grandparents of the bride or groom, but they were having a blast! Oh, but they weren't blasted. Some of us teased they came with the dj because they were just that great. Perhaps they're wedding crashers. Perhaps we'll never know. But you know what? Dance on, cute couple, dance on! Show us that even at age 70 life is still worth dancing about. Even though no one knows why you're there, you're having a good time. Well done!
<>< Katie
Andy was standing in the kitchen eating a chunk of ham. Emily grabbed it, inspected it, marked it as fat-filled, and handed it back to him. This was immediately before Andy drank my water just to vex me. Ok, maybe I was antagonizing him, too...
This morning at church a toddler panicked when a man put her father's guitar in his car and drove away. This was planned, but she didn't know this.
Katie: What is that? It looks like pepperoni.
Elizabeth: It looks like pepperoni.
Chris: You look like pepperoni.
Andy [to Liz]: You don't look like pepperoni.
Elizabeth: Did I say that?
Yeah, it was well past bedtime.
On Wednesday, Elizabeth and I drove through the Twilight Zone (aka Sketchy McSketch) and drove behind a man making balloon animals while driving.
My favorite, however, was at the wedding I attended on Saturday. There was this couple rocking the dance floor. They had all the moves, danced to every song, and were completely in step with one another. No, not the bride and groom. This couple was at least 70 years old. We don't know where they came from, they weren't the grandparents of the bride or groom, but they were having a blast! Oh, but they weren't blasted. Some of us teased they came with the dj because they were just that great. Perhaps they're wedding crashers. Perhaps we'll never know. But you know what? Dance on, cute couple, dance on! Show us that even at age 70 life is still worth dancing about. Even though no one knows why you're there, you're having a good time. Well done!
<>< Katie
Monday, January 25, 2010
Rushed Prayer
Katie
God
"Aloud"
For some unknown reason my friend Kevin thought it wise to tease me about updating my blog 3 to 4 times a day. First off, I have only updated three times in one day once (ok, maybe twice). Second, you should see some of the stuff I write and don't post! Third, blogging is the cool thing to do not having a blog and abandoning it for a month! Last yet most important, at least I didn't buy whitey tighties at Wal-mart while wearing a pink shirt...
Today's been a long day. I left my apartment 6 hours ago and haven't been back since. After this next meeting, I'll be able to run a back there for maybe an hour, leave for dinner, go back for another hour, and I have three hours of class tonight. It's been a busy day but this was perhaps my favorite fifteen minutes.
12:49
Prof, please let class out. I have to get lunch.
12:51
"Class dismissed."
Thank you! The race begins: you have nine minutes to get to the caf, find lunch, and get to the prayer room. Go!
12:54
Congratulations, you made it in the building. Six minutes. Good luck.
Please swipe cards faster, can't you tell I'm on a time limit here?
12:55
"Hi, Emily. Yes, I can do coffee tomorrow. Hi, Steven. I'm good, and you? Hola, Stephanie. Hey, Jeanie. What happened to your underwear, Quailman? Hi, Brittany. Hi, hi, hi..."
Gosh, darn it! Why do I have to be so friendly? Five minutes and an empty to-go box. Double time, Katie!
12:56
Pizza or rice? Pizza or rice? Who likes milk in a paper cup? Yuck! Do I want grape juice for breakfast and lunch? Well, milk is out, so grape juice it is. Please don't be out of grape juice. Do I want dessert? What do I want for dessert?
12:57
"Have a good day, Katie," David shouted across the caf. I looked up just long enough to wave to my normal lunch pals and give them a faint smile. Oh, how I wish I could stay to listen to Claire interpret David's argument to say married women are ugly. No time for that. Tight schedule.
12:58
Hey, Katie.
"What?" I asked aloud, my tone of voice really said, "In a rush, can't talk now." I was tripping up the back stairs of the chapel spilling grape juice up my straw and all over my face (don't ask me how that happened but it did).
I'll see be here when you get here.
Huh?
12:59
Flick off the shoes, I'm entering Holy Ground. Whew! I can breathe again! I made it: with one minute to spare.
1:01
Why'd you rush? I'm still here. Remember what we talked about in Guatemala about being late?
My campus is currently taking part in a 24/7 prayer campaign where we have someone praying for the campus and the world twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. I accidentally signed up for a time during my lunch hour instead of picking a time I was free (like now in the two o'clock hour). I'd encourage you to take some time out of your schedule today, this week and pray for your world. Your campus, your town, your state, your country, your world. It doesn't have to be an hour. You don't have to shove a pizza in your mouth as you pray, "Thank You, God, that I have food." But take a minute to pray today.
With love,
<>< Katie
God
"Aloud"
For some unknown reason my friend Kevin thought it wise to tease me about updating my blog 3 to 4 times a day. First off, I have only updated three times in one day once (ok, maybe twice). Second, you should see some of the stuff I write and don't post! Third, blogging is the cool thing to do not having a blog and abandoning it for a month! Last yet most important, at least I didn't buy whitey tighties at Wal-mart while wearing a pink shirt...
Today's been a long day. I left my apartment 6 hours ago and haven't been back since. After this next meeting, I'll be able to run a back there for maybe an hour, leave for dinner, go back for another hour, and I have three hours of class tonight. It's been a busy day but this was perhaps my favorite fifteen minutes.
12:49
Prof, please let class out. I have to get lunch.
12:51
"Class dismissed."
Thank you! The race begins: you have nine minutes to get to the caf, find lunch, and get to the prayer room. Go!
12:54
Congratulations, you made it in the building. Six minutes. Good luck.
Please swipe cards faster, can't you tell I'm on a time limit here?
12:55
"Hi, Emily. Yes, I can do coffee tomorrow. Hi, Steven. I'm good, and you? Hola, Stephanie. Hey, Jeanie. What happened to your underwear, Quailman? Hi, Brittany. Hi, hi, hi..."
Gosh, darn it! Why do I have to be so friendly? Five minutes and an empty to-go box. Double time, Katie!
12:56
Pizza or rice? Pizza or rice? Who likes milk in a paper cup? Yuck! Do I want grape juice for breakfast and lunch? Well, milk is out, so grape juice it is. Please don't be out of grape juice. Do I want dessert? What do I want for dessert?
12:57
"Have a good day, Katie," David shouted across the caf. I looked up just long enough to wave to my normal lunch pals and give them a faint smile. Oh, how I wish I could stay to listen to Claire interpret David's argument to say married women are ugly. No time for that. Tight schedule.
12:58
Hey, Katie.
"What?" I asked aloud, my tone of voice really said, "In a rush, can't talk now." I was tripping up the back stairs of the chapel spilling grape juice up my straw and all over my face (don't ask me how that happened but it did).
I'll see be here when you get here.
Huh?
12:59
Flick off the shoes, I'm entering Holy Ground. Whew! I can breathe again! I made it: with one minute to spare.
1:01
Why'd you rush? I'm still here. Remember what we talked about in Guatemala about being late?
My campus is currently taking part in a 24/7 prayer campaign where we have someone praying for the campus and the world twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. I accidentally signed up for a time during my lunch hour instead of picking a time I was free (like now in the two o'clock hour). I'd encourage you to take some time out of your schedule today, this week and pray for your world. Your campus, your town, your state, your country, your world. It doesn't have to be an hour. You don't have to shove a pizza in your mouth as you pray, "Thank You, God, that I have food." But take a minute to pray today.
With love,
<>< Katie
Friday, June 26, 2009
Use Me
I think I over-estimated my number of readers... does anyone actually read these blogs?
Last week Monday, my friend Jessica was concerned about the lack volunteers for VBS. We all concurred that God would provide.
On Wednesday, I went out to lunch with a mutual friend Emily to discuss high school ministry and in the four parking stalls between her car and mine, she somehow convinced me to see if Jessica still needed help for VBS. I knew God would provide for Jessica, but I never expected that I would be the one He provided. In reality, God dropped people from the sky for her, and the fall didn't hurt. God and I had a good laugh all the way home.
"Use me," I said, "but obviously You don't need my permission to do that. Yet I still give it."
Well, a week later I have survived my first VBS ever! There are a plethora of children's songs running on shuffle in my head... where they have been for the last week. Yet the effects of VBS go a whole lot deeper than musical hallucinations.
Last night, I drove past a dead opossum on the road. I chuckled when I contemplated pulling over, putting my hand on it, and saying, "God gives up life!" (And I half expected a loud "Fear not!" to follow).
This afternoon, my VBS kids were running back towards church and I said, "Let's use our walking feet." Imagine my surprise when every single one of them slowed down and began to walk! I was still talking, and one of them turned around and said, "SHHH!!" to me! I forgot, walking feet go with quiet mouths and listening ears! It only took a week for them to learn and less time than that to forget, but it feels good to be shhh-ed by a four year old.
One of my VBS friends loved the firefly he made on Monday. Every day he asked if he could take it home, and everyday the answer was, "You may take it home on Friday." Everyday he told me, "This is my firefly. It reminds me that God is with us! FEAR NOT!" Some lessons do actually stick.
Max Lucado recommends taking a walk with a child every day to see life from their point of view. Well, every day this week I got to see God through the eyes of a four year old, and let me just tell you: He is good!
Learning to Listen,
<>< Katie
Last week Monday, my friend Jessica was concerned about the lack volunteers for VBS. We all concurred that God would provide.
On Wednesday, I went out to lunch with a mutual friend Emily to discuss high school ministry and in the four parking stalls between her car and mine, she somehow convinced me to see if Jessica still needed help for VBS. I knew God would provide for Jessica, but I never expected that I would be the one He provided. In reality, God dropped people from the sky for her, and the fall didn't hurt. God and I had a good laugh all the way home.
"Use me," I said, "but obviously You don't need my permission to do that. Yet I still give it."
Well, a week later I have survived my first VBS ever! There are a plethora of children's songs running on shuffle in my head... where they have been for the last week. Yet the effects of VBS go a whole lot deeper than musical hallucinations.
Last night, I drove past a dead opossum on the road. I chuckled when I contemplated pulling over, putting my hand on it, and saying, "God gives up life!" (And I half expected a loud "Fear not!" to follow).
This afternoon, my VBS kids were running back towards church and I said, "Let's use our walking feet." Imagine my surprise when every single one of them slowed down and began to walk! I was still talking, and one of them turned around and said, "SHHH!!" to me! I forgot, walking feet go with quiet mouths and listening ears! It only took a week for them to learn and less time than that to forget, but it feels good to be shhh-ed by a four year old.
One of my VBS friends loved the firefly he made on Monday. Every day he asked if he could take it home, and everyday the answer was, "You may take it home on Friday." Everyday he told me, "This is my firefly. It reminds me that God is with us! FEAR NOT!" Some lessons do actually stick.
Max Lucado recommends taking a walk with a child every day to see life from their point of view. Well, every day this week I got to see God through the eyes of a four year old, and let me just tell you: He is good!
Learning to Listen,
<>< Katie
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Brian's Big Mess
Neither Amber nor I wanted to go to church this morning. It's really hard to get up early to go to a church you don't love. We were both dragging our feet because we were exhausted, but we went anyway.
We got there and managed to find ourselves in the first row (AHH!!! Cardinal sin in the Lutheran church). Across the aisle was worship leader Brian and his wife Emily (who we know from school). Well, halfway through the sermon, Amber and I hear a huge SPLASH and our eyes dart to Brian and Emily. Brian spilled his glass of water on the floor. Not just any glass of water. A HUGE glass of water and it went all over himself, his Bible, the floor, and almost all over me, too!
We laughed histerically as this huge puddle spanned the aisle. I'm really glad no one came down for the altar call because I am quite sure they would have tripped. (And it would have been my responsibility save them... wouldn't that be a great, "How'd you break your arm?" story?). The usher during the offering came by and had to step very carefully as he looked down disapprovingly at the mess. He quickly came back and mopped it up... in the middle of the service... as he sang praises to God. :-)
After church Brian teased that he was cleansed for the sin of wrinkles. Don't know you the 11th Commandment? Thou shall not have wrinkled pants on Sunday. What does this mean? We should fear and love God that we eliminate ourselves from wrinkles or face the dreaded water cup. :-)
In Christ,
<>< Katie
We got there and managed to find ourselves in the first row (AHH!!! Cardinal sin in the Lutheran church). Across the aisle was worship leader Brian and his wife Emily (who we know from school). Well, halfway through the sermon, Amber and I hear a huge SPLASH and our eyes dart to Brian and Emily. Brian spilled his glass of water on the floor. Not just any glass of water. A HUGE glass of water and it went all over himself, his Bible, the floor, and almost all over me, too!
We laughed histerically as this huge puddle spanned the aisle. I'm really glad no one came down for the altar call because I am quite sure they would have tripped. (And it would have been my responsibility save them... wouldn't that be a great, "How'd you break your arm?" story?). The usher during the offering came by and had to step very carefully as he looked down disapprovingly at the mess. He quickly came back and mopped it up... in the middle of the service... as he sang praises to God. :-)
After church Brian teased that he was cleansed for the sin of wrinkles. Don't know you the 11th Commandment? Thou shall not have wrinkled pants on Sunday. What does this mean? We should fear and love God that we eliminate ourselves from wrinkles or face the dreaded water cup. :-)
In Christ,
<>< Katie
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