Lost In His Will

I enjoy getting lost.

Sometimes in my car, but more often when I'm on foot (and it's not cold outside).

Over Christmas break, I spent four days getting lost in Rochester, Minnesota.  My only goal for my four days there was to get lost (and un-lost) in the Mayo Clinic without getting locked in or needing my jacket (aka going outside).  If you've never been to Mayo, you may not understand the vastness of the clinic.  It pretty much covers the whole town and is connected by underground pedestrian subways.  It's huge!

In my getting lost, I walked towards beautiful architecture and away from anatomically-correct statues.  I didn't stop for directions, didn't stop to wonder if I was allowed to be where I was, and didn't carry a map.  I wasn't bothered by dead-ends, told myself elevators were cheating, and read every sign (a dangerous thing to do in a clinic).  It was so much fun!

I want to get lost in life.  Lost in God's will.  I want to be content without a map.  I want to enjoy the journey rather than take the elevator and race to the top.  I want to be comforted with His directions and read every sign along the way.

"Do you need directions?" The man asked as I glanced down my three hallway choices.  Each a white tunnel in your perfect, stereotypical intersection.

"No, I'm just wandering," I said.

"Well, then you're in a good place because you can go just about anywhere from here."

That is where I am in the pedestrian subway that is life.  I'm at an intersection where I can go any way from here.  I know that in any path, God will use me where I am.  Yet, still, the decision of which path to choose is incredible difficult.

When lost in Rochester, I trusted that there was a way back to my hotel that did not require a jacket/ going outside.  I would not have to leave Mayo property to get back home.  Likewise, I trust that there is a way heaven-home that does not require stepping out of the will of God.  As long as I keep walking, He'll continue to show me the way.  And maybe I'll run into beautiful things along the way.

I want to get lost in His Will,
<>< Katie

PS: Here are some photos from my exploring Mayo.

(Isn't that the most beautiful Barnes & Noble ever?)

Clean Up on Aisle Twelve

I'm thinking about updating my blogger profile to read, "My name is Katie, and I single-handedly keep security camera men from falling asleep on the job."

It was the summer after I graduated high school.  Mom and I had gone to Bed, Bath, and Beyond to pick up some stuff for my dorm room.  Among those items, plastic crates.  You know, the ones that serve almost no purpose in real life and shouldn't be found anywhere but in a dorm room.  I had three homemade wooden boxes (that leave purple and turquoise paint everywhere they sit) and opted to buy two plastic ones, too.  They were in a cute display in the breezeway between the two front doors of the store.  I grabbed two, and we kept shopping.

While we were checking out, Mom and I noticed the plastic crates we'd grabbed were less than perfect.  I took them out the door (no, the alarm didn't go off) and went to exchange them.  I set my two crates on the display and began searching for unbroken ones.  Since this was in the entryway, the automatic door opened and closed every time I moved.  Kind of annoying, but not really a big deal except for the fact that one of the crates had been displaced.  When the door opened, it caught the corner of the crate.  When it closed, it pushed the crate further out of place.  Of course, that one misbehaving crate hit the other crates in the display.  Since I kept moving, the door kept opening and closing, and the crates kept flying all over the entryway.  The entire display tumbled onto the floor creating a fire hazard and almost hitting me in the face. 

I wasn't really sure what to do.  I couldn't stop the display from toppling over just like I couldn't stop the door from opening.  I stood there with my arms in the air, triggering the motion sensor yet again.

I looked through the window to my mom and the cashier, both of whom had stopped what they were doing to search out the cause of this racket.  "And we're letting her go to school 900 miles away," I heard Mom say.

I lost a war with a plastic crate display.  A few war wounds, but I lived to tell the tale.  It has been three years and I have still not shown my face in that Bed, Bath, and Beyond again.
<>< Katie

Part II: The Writer's Notebook

This is Part II of the "Katie's a Nerd" blog series. See Part I here.

"Why do you have a Day Book?" Roxy asked me yesterday as I tried to scribble down a few more notes for my blog prior to the start class.

"I'm a writer," I told her. I could tell from the confused look on her face that my answer was not satisfactory. From her terminology, I also knew which professor she had for her English general requirement classes therefore had a place to start with the explanation that would consume my remaining writing time.

A Day Book is a catch-all often used for classes. It includes homework, class exercises, free writing, notes, thoughts, ideas, and often handouts (thank you, glue stick). A Writer's Notebook is basically the same thing with a more intimidating name, less focus on classwork, and a little bit less glue. It's really easy to separate our English students by concentration and favorite professor based on the term used for the notebook clutched to their chest.

I wasn't a Writer's Notebook/ Day Book girl. The term didn't intimidate me, the lack of organization did. I love the organization of having separate places for different things and had a system. One binder for class, the PowerPoint for quotes, Word for story thoughts, the blog for God moments, and a small journal for the day's events. The thoughts of having all of those things combined together in one composition book concerned me. Imagine the mess! Then I glanced around my room and noticed the plethora of post-it notes strewn everywhere and decided something needed to change.

Enter my Writer's Notebook. I gave in and bought a composition book only because I finally found some that were college ruled! (Thanks, Office Depot). It lives in my back pack and is almost always with me. Whether I reach for it over a loose leaf sheet of paper is something I'm still working on, but I am improving. It is also the first thing I pack when I'm traveling. The first drafts of many of these blogs are hidden within its pages sitting side-by-side with thoughts that have yet to make an appearance in blog-world. It also contains great quotes and conversations, rough scenes from my novel, and sometimes my rants that cannot stay contained inside of me. For organization, I've tried to color-code my writing in pencil, black pen, and purple pen, but sometimes I forget which color means what. Sure, I still have a post-its everywhere, but I'm learning to enjoy the chaos of my Writer's Notebook.

This also leads to bedlam when the Writer's Notebook vanishes.

"OH MY GOSH!! I lost my Day Book," Keith ran into the caf screaming. Panic stuck. I guess he even sent text messages telling people to pray for him because it was like part of his life and been ripped from him.

"It'd be like if someone stole our blogs!" He said hitting me in the arm trying to put this catastrophe in perspective for me. I already understood, but there was no cutting him off. "Can you imagine if someone stole our blogs!"

"Katie's life would be over," Nikki teased. Maybe I'll hide her Writer's Notebook for a few hours and see how she likes it!

If you don't have a Writer's Notebook/ Day Book, get one. (And don't lose it, Keith). It doesn't have to be a college-ruled composition book. It can be a 10cent notebook Wal-mart sells right before school starts but know your spine will probably get messed up. It can be a fancy leather-bound book that's soft to the fingers but know those get expensive after one or two. Adapt these ideas (that I've already adapted once) and find something that works for you. But get a Writer's Notebook. Non-writers, I won't laugh (too hard) at you if you call yours a "Day Book."

Oh, and don't use a blog to catch your thoughts. I know, I'm writing to myself here. The chances of me accidentally destroying my blog is greater than losing my Writer's Notebook. I eat computers. Paper doesn't taste as good.

Remember those stories we talked about yesterday? Go break in your Writer's Notebook with some of them. :-)

Have you found Writers' Notebooks/ Day Books work for you? Are they practical for your life? Please let me know!

<>< Katie
PS: Happy birthday, Emily. :-)

Katie, Come This Way

There are certain people in my life that when they address me by name and give me a command, I've learned it's generally a good idea to listen to them. Even if what they're telling me doesn't really make sense, I still try to follow. Normally, their command is from God, whether they realize it or not.

This weekend, I was at a retreat and I was unsure how to get from the cafeteria to where our next meeting was to be held. I wandered over and asked people who should know. We all just had a guess, but Neal pointed about twelve or one o'clock (if we were the center of the clock, it was point to where twelve or one o'clock would be). He explained you go behind the next building and angle that way. He then pulled out the map and explained where we had to go. Ok, got a rough idea of the direction I'm headed, straight that way, dodge the buildings, maybe rent a helicopter.

A little while later, when we were leaving, all of my friends headed towards the door at one o'clock (the direction we were told to go), but Neal headed to nine o'clock. What? Ten minutes earlier he'd pointed straight ahead, said, "Go that way" and now he's telling me to go a different direction. I hesitated awkwardly unsure exactly where to go.

"Katie, come this way," I heard from behind me. Neal was standing there watching me try to decide where to go. I must have had a confused look on my face when I turned around because he quickly explained. "If they go out there, they'll have to weave around on the sidewalk. This way is a straight shot."

Wait a second. You just pointed "north" and now you're telling me going "west" to get "north" is a direction shot? This doesn't make sense. But he's one of those people I described earlier, so I followed.

Well, needless to say Neal was right. Our path was straighter than theirs and we got there sooner. (We also had better conversation along that way, but that's beside the point).

God does the same thing. He gives you a glimpse of where you need to be (go that way, dodge the buildings, maybe rent a helicopter), and then leads you in a totally different direction. Thinking your way is going to be better, you argue and try to blaze your own trail, only to eventually follow and realize He was right all along. (The conversation is better His way, too).

I'm sure Neal would like me to point out that he is not God. He could have very easily led me astray and gotten us lost. However, I have reason to believe that he would have (eventually) gotten us unlost, too. God, on the other hand, will not get you lost, but when you get yourself lost, He's there ready to do an excellent job of getting you unlost.

In Christ,
<>< Katie

"Jehovah said to mankind, 'Where are you?'" Genesis 3:9 (as told by Neal)

Lost in a one stop-light town?

Ok, so we weren't exactly lost. Nor did we know exactly where we were. We knew we were on the north side of the river and the east side of the highway, but that's about it.

A few weeks ago Laura and I decided we should be more physically active and since neither of us like to run we decided to go for walks. Most of our walks have been like, "Let's walk to the lake and walk back." Or "Let's walk to Ruth's and sit on her couch for two hours then walk back." One day we started walking and wound up at the coffee shop with smoothies... so much for being healthier. :-)

Yesterday we decided to take advantage of the beautiful day and go for a walk along the river. We contemplated walking to the river or driving. For the sake of time and to control the length of our walk we decided to drive. (haha!) After I got out of the class and she got off work at 2:30 we drove to the river and began to walk. It was really pretty and it made me feel like walking along the river at home (except there were sketchier people here than at home). We got to a certain point and Laura said, "I've never gone any further. Let's make our own trail!" We tried that for awhile but it wasn't working too well. In the middle of nowhere we found this gravel path and I thought it would be fun to follow it (please notice following the path was my only decision about the walk all day). We followed it for a long time before it branched off and the gravel road went one direction up a hill and a grass path went another direction up a steeper hill... Laura felt it would be smarter to follow the gravel path and she was right. They both met up at the top, and our walk continued. Eventually the gravel road ended, but it was not anywhere near where we expected it to. We wandered along the road for a long time still only have an slightly educated guess as to where we were. We refused to ask anyone for directions (mostly because there wasn't anyone to ask) as we continued walking. Around every curve of the road and at every "stop sign ahead" sign we expected to find the highway. However, the closer we got the more we realized it wasn't what we were anticipating. At one point, Laura looked over, "LOOK! I see a steeple! I know where we are! Unless, of course, there's more than one church." Good job, brilliant. We're in the Bible belt, there are eight churches every block. :-) Around four o'clock we finally found the highway we had been looking for and had to walk 1.6 miles back to get her car. We finally made it back to campus around 5:15!

Our walk wound up being two and half hours long with minimal stopping. We estimate it to be upwards of six miles! Even though our legs wanted to kill us at the end and our feet had disowned us, we still had a blast! However, if you are ever walking along the river: don't take the gravel path because it just leads further and further away from where you wanted to go. :-)

<>< Katie

"He looked up and said, "'I see people; they look like trees walking around.'"
Mark 8:24