Habit

I have this bizarre habit that resulted in incessant mocking from my suitemates.  Actually, I have many bizarre habits and sometimes even breathing results in mockery.

However, this one happened every time I entered the apartment.  It didn't matter if I came from class, the caf, or the coffee shop.

The first thing I would do was put my keys on the hook.  We each had hooks by the door with our names on them, hypothetically, so we'd never lose our keys.

Then I'd go in my room, put down my heavy backpack, take off my shoes (and coat), and hit the power button on my computer.

It's what happened next that got me mocked relentlessly.

If someone had started a conversation with me in those first twenty seconds home, I put it on pause until this next step was complete.

I would go into the bathroom and wash my hands.

I knew I did it regularly, but I didn't realize I did it every time I came home until they pointed it out.

The habit is rooted deeply back to elementary school.  My sisters and I would get off the bus and almost immediately were ushered into the bathroom to wash off our school germs.

I have no doubt that this healthy though bizarre habit was why chicken pox started going around my kindergarten class in October but I didn't get it until May.  I'm sure it helped my six year no-puking record, too.

Just from being taught to wash off my school germs as soon as I got home.  And it has become a subconscious habit.

I've got some of the habits Mom and Dad taught us growing up, but I've also got to build my own habits.

I need to be intentional about spending time in God's word.  I need to be conscious of my prayer life.  I really wish I could say they were habits, but they aren't.  They're hard.

The alarm clock says, "Get up! Go! Go! Go!"  The lunch break is short; the boss demanding.  The course load difficult; the homework plenty.  The after school activities are many; the free time is rare.  The days is long, the body exhausted.

I've confessed to you all before that some days I grudgingly read my Bible.  Yet still God works through it.

Soap doesn't only wash off my school germs when I tell it to.  It kills 99.9% of them every time I wash (or so the commercial says).

God doesn't just speak to my heart when I want Him to, when I'm willing to hear what He has to say, or when I have the right attitude.  Of course, those things are beneficial, but they're not necessary.  Sometimes God still speaks when I'm crabby, tired, distracted, or just don't want to be there.

And that makes it worth building the habit.

<>< Katie

Sweet Suitemates

Reason number 5,602 why I love my suitemates

Yesterday in the car in the Sonic parking lot:
"Amy, do you want hand sanitizer?" Nikki asked.
"No, I'm good," Amy responded.
"Amy's going to get swine flu," I taunted. Swine flu doesn't scare me. Seven people living in close quarters, and one of them being sick scares me.
"Nikki," Amy said giving me a dirty look, "Can I have the hand sanitizer?"

Two minutes later:
"Does anyone care if I drive while eating my burger?" Elizabeth asked. "Katie?"
"As long as you're still safe," I told her. Gosh, they know me too well. :-)

Ten minutes later:
"Anyone want my last cheese stick?" Nikki asked the car. "They're just too big to shove in the last one. The last fry, no problem, but that last cheese stick is too heavy."
"I'll take it. I was watching you eat them before thinking about how good they looked, but I wasn't going to ask for on because you only get like six, so it's perfect that you offered the last one," I said smiling as I ate a mozzarella stick.
"How perfect. Oh, and you shouldn't have been afraid to ask me for the cheese stick because I love you more than I love cheese sticks. And you love cheese."
"Yeah, and I need to watch how much cheese I eat."
"We'll get you some fiber cereal, too."
Thanks, girls.

Reason Number 5,603
Today Allyson and I walked out of our bedrooms at the same time and smiled at each other across the kitchen. Her hand was in the air and she was kind of posed. Most girls probably would have snapped her hand down quickly and turned red, embarrassed she was just caught. Not Allyson. For the next ten minutes, she and I danced around the living room to "Desert Song" by Hillsong.

Reason Number 5,604
We cleaned together today. Sounds pretty basic but for an hour this afternoon our apartment was a cleaning machine! It needed to be done, and six of us were around to do it (Amy was exempt because she was home for the weekend). We've kind of envisioned Sunday afternoon cleaning as a suite but in the six months we've lived together it had yet to come to fruition. Today it finally did! Most of us just did the chores that we enjoy, but some of us did chores we don't like (yay, Eizabeth!). We listened to each other, got out of each others' way, and even organized the honkin' huge closet.
"Let me know if I'm in your way."
"No, you let ME know if I'm in YOUR way."

God's placed some great girls in this apartment, and I feel incredibly blessed.

<>< Katie
Reason number 5,605
My suitemates are currently licking all of the silverware and putting it back in the drawer just so I have to rewash everything before I eat here again.

Peaceful

In my living room right now is a huge poster my small group made last semester listing everything we fear. Some of them are irrational fears like mice, wet paper, spiders, germs (ok, that was mine), fire (that's mine, too)... However, some of them legitimate, colossal fears like dying young, unintentionally pushing people away from God, accidentally killing a patient, rejection, failure, car accidents,not having what we need, running out of time, etc.

Since we've made that poster, I've come to realize that a lot of these fears control my life. I am slowly learning to let them go. Our current Sunday School study entitled "Fearless: Imagine A Life Without Fear" is helping a lot.

Today we discussed the fear of running out. What? We listed things we can run out of: gas, time, energy, and even hope. I didn't think this really applied to me until I was standing in Wal-mart an hour later with a case of water in my arms. I still had a two-gallon of water in my apartment (not to mention tap water but I think it tastes gross and has black floating things it in) but there I was buying more water. Unintentionally, I always ration my water, especially when I'm driving. I always leave one last schluck in the bottle until I arrive wherever I'm going. What if I get really thirsty before I get to my destination? What if I start hacking up a lung and don't have any water?

The fear of running out.

Worry. That's the root of this fear. Being concerned about something without considering God's involvement. Honestly, I don't think God's going to let me choke to death on air before I arrive unless that's His plan for me. Maybe it is. I don't know, but I can't spend my time worrying about it.

Matt showed us a variety of other ways to deal with our fears:
1. Pray first- 1 Peter 5:7, first means before anything else
2. Easy now- Psalm 37:7, take it to Jesus and be specific
3. Act on it- treat it like mosquito that lands on your arm.
4. Compile a worry list- look at them again next week. How many were really as big of a deal as you though?
5. Evaluate- do you see any themes appearing?
6. Focus on today- Hebrews 4:16, one day at a time
7. Unleash a worry army- let others share in your concerns and pray with you
8. Let God be enough- Matthew 6:32-33, even if you run out of everything else, He is there
That spells out:
P.E.A.C.E.F.U.L.

Be peaceful instead of worrying.
Go to God instead of being consumed by fear, even if you can't form a complete sentence. It happens. "God. Scared. Help!" will work.

"I will fear not evil." - Psalm 23:4b

Go in peace and serve the Lord,
<>< Katie

Used Books

My suitemates and I were discussing buying books online verses in the bookstore. Everyone was sharing how much money they save buying used books online. I've used that avenue to purchase my share of books, but the hassle almost isn't worth the money I save. I mean, who wants to spend their time worrying about when the book will arrive? Will it come in at a time when the post office is open? What if I have homework before I have the book? After shipping and handling costs are added, did I still save money?

The questions don't stop when the book arrives. Is this the right book? Is the cover/spine destroyed? Did the former owner spill coffee (or anything else gross) on it? Did the former owner make useless marks all over the pages like a loser? Are there missing pages/ corners? Was the book well cared for?

Most of these things I am learning to overlook, but there is one question I cannot bypass: How many times was this book used to block a sneeze?

I guess I'm just too particular about my stuff to truly enjoy the treasures hidden in used bookstores. Enjoy the troves and allow me to savor the crisp spine and pristine pages of my more expensive bookstore books.

<>< Katie

Dead Skin

Most embarrassing moment of the week, ready? Along with a promised mission trip story! (Yes, it's long, but it's two stories for the price of one).

On Tuesday, after worship I went to get some snacks. Every week I get whales (goldfish but better); in fact, the snacks folks always know I get whales. Some days I have to ask, but they always have whales even if they're just for me. I'm waiting for the day when there's a cup of whales on the table waiting for me. :-) Last week, they were out of whales and it made me very sad. This week, I was a little over-excited about getting whales...

I galloped to the snacks table, and when I reached across if for an empty cup, I accidental hit some cookies onto the floor. Three valuable cookies fell to their death on the nasty concourse floor. I picked them up right away, and held them in my greasy hand while I talked for a few seconds. Neal picked up the now-empty package and put it under my hand with broken cookies. I took the broken cookies and empty wrappers to the garbage.

"What are you doing with those cookies?" Neal shouted across the concourse to me.
"Throwing them away. Why? You want them?" I asked, realizing that was a dumb question. He's a guy; he's probably going to eat them. I was not going to give him cookies off the floor. Even if the answer was yes, they were going in the garbage.
"Not after they've been mushed in your sweaty hand," he snickered and I pitched them.
"My hand is cleaner than that floor," I informed him.
"Would you bet your salvation on it?" Is my campus minister asking me to bet my salvation on germs?
"No, but God and I both know how often I wash my hands."

Every conversation I have with Neal involves skin cells... I don't talk to anyone else about skin cells, but every time I talk to Neal they come up and he doesn't even know I'm a germophobe. How weird is that? Of course, this conversation morphed to talk about germs, Neal's nurse-wife whose hands bleed every winter because of how often their washed (mine, too), Neal's germophobe son (me, too), and how I once took a shower in Neal dead skin cells.

On our mission trip, Neal sat down next to me and said, "My face is peeling." How do you respond to that? What a great conversation starter!
I said the only logical thing, "Yucky."
"It's not yucky!"
"Well, I don't want your peely skin on me," I told him. What does he proceed to do? Rub his hands over my leg and taunt me with the number of skin cells falling onto me. When he's finished with that, he scoops them up and throws them in my face. Dead Neal cells in my eyes! Yucky!

On Tuesday, he rubbed some more dead skin cells on me, and I told him how hard that was for germophobe me not to freak out. I excepted this confession to result in laughter and more dead skin cells on me.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know it bothered you," he said. Wow. I wasn't expecting that.

Throw someone a curve ball today. Apology when they expect you to laugh.

<>< Katie

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

I spent about twenty-four hours with my friend Laura and her family. I had a lot of fun and I thought I'd share some thoughts with you all (although, I'm not really sure who "you all" are... LURKERS: IDENTIFY THINESELVES!)

A museum is nothing more than a zoo with dead animals. Ok, I did learn some fun stuff, and we took some fun photos. But really: think about it. Did you know giraffes have the longest intestines of any animal? Did you know kruos is the Greek word for "icy cold"? (Don't lie to me, even Natalie didn't know that!) I also learned about some lions that terrorized workers attempting to build a railroad in Africa in the 1800s.

A pregnant woman came up to us today asking for money. She said she was trying to get to a domestic violence shelter but was four dollars short. I always hate it when people come up asking for money because it's so hard to tell if they're telling the truth or if they just want to buy some crack... Even though her speech sounded rehearsed, this woman spoke quietly and did seem scared. We gave her five dollars, and she asked God to bless us. Laura's mom reminded us that $5 isn't the end of the world for us but $5 could mean the world to her. How she uses the money isn't up to us, but we can pray she was indeed seeking help.

Train and Trolley life is not for my family. Other than the germs, I didn't mind it too much. My dad, on the other hand, would have been going nuts today, and it made me laugh. It was fun to watch people run and mosey through the train station. It was kind of like an airport. Given my choice, however, I prefer airplanes to trains.

Little kids are adorable! Ok, I knew that, but still. I saw some kids today refuse an Oreo cookie from their aunt! I wanted eat their cookies for them! Some little American kid was using like the German word for "mischief" but I forgot it already, sorry!

If you're ever bored or want to see some interesting folk: ride the trolley around a big city for an hour and you will see a mass of people! There are people going every which way (and sometimes even loose). All with different things on their minds, different deadlines to meet, and different destinations. Yet their paths cross momentarily on the sidewalk and it's really fun to watch. In the words of Kutless, "I see the city lights all around me. Everyone's obscure. Ten million people each with their problems. Whys should anyone? and in Your eyes I can see I'm not just a man that is lost in this world. Lost in a sea of faces." Yup. That just about sums it up.

I overheard some guy telling someone else on the phone that he'd have to keep an ID on him at all times just in case he violated his parole. The man sitting near me remembered this (after hearing it from the judge? from experiencing it himself? strange), and he would take the man on the other end of the phone to get a wallet. Interesting conversation to overhear...

Happy travels!

<>< Katie

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." James 1:27