A few months ago I was felling extremely discouraged. I had gotten a gut-wrenching rejection for a job I was passionate about at my own alma mater. I was hosting a pity party.
In the midst of my tears, God whispered, "Remember, Brazil."
Last fall, I applied for a mission trip to Brazil. I researched the city, borrowed a Portuguese Bible, began fund raising, and prayed for our trip.
All of the sudden, our team's planning came to a screeching hault.
Airline tickets and a Brazilian Visa put a stop to our trip. It might be an understatement to say our team was extremely discouraged. Truth be told, I cried at the team meeting when we decided Brazil would not come to fruition.
Several team members jumped ship and pursued other mission opportunities. No one blamed them. Those of us who remained spent some time not knowing if we were going to even have a trip. Never did the thought of changing trips cross my mind. Never did the thought of not having a trip sink in.
God opened up another opportunity, and on short notice we began to prepare for different destination: Nicaragua.
One student who had not expressed interest in Brazil, applied to go to Nicaragua. She wanted to practice her Spanish. I have no doubt she was supposed to be on our trip.
Of all of us, she came home the most changed. Even others noticed something different about her. If we had gone to Brazil, this change would not have happened. Today, her re-birth through baptism, would not have happened. We went to Nicaragua for her.
We went to Nicaragua for Stephanie, our Nicaraguan interpreter. After only a few days of traveling with us, Stephanie noticed something was different. She recognized the Holy Spirit in us and wanted to be filled in the same way. Right then and there she began a relationship with our Lord and Savior. If we had been in Brazil, God would not have used us to reach Stephanie.
God rearranged our entire trip for those two daughters. He changed the plans of thirty plus people in order to change the lives of two.
It's not every day that God rearranges plans for His glory.
Or is it?
A spilled cup of coffee gets you out of the house late to avoid a major traffic jam.
A rejection letter keeps you from a company going bankrupt.
A malfunctioning alarm clock kept you from being in the Twin Towers when they were hit.
God changes our plans for His glory.
Anytime I start to forget: I remember Brazil.
<>< Katie
PS: Everyone has a 9-11-01 story. Mine is of a selfish seventh grader who just didn't want to be in class. For a heart-piercing story, check out the blog of Meg Cabot, author of The Princess Diaries. My heart and prayers are with those affected by the tragedy. We will never forget.
Showing posts with label birth. Show all posts
Showing posts with label birth. Show all posts
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Monday, December 27, 2010
Marathon Christmas
I grew up thinking this was normal. I grew up thinking a lot of things were normal, myths my roommates have quickly dispelled. You mean everyone doesn't have four Christmas trees and a 30-hour Christmas? I supposed now you're going to tell me everyone has more than three cousins, too, right?
Christmas Eve
3:00pm- "Get in the car now!"
4:00pm- We start Christmas where all Christmases should begin: in church. We pass the bulletin from one end of the pew to the other, share notes, and split a half a piece of gum thirteen ways. You think I'm kidding.
6:00pm- "And WHY are you snow blowing in your Christmas suit?"
All thirteen of my maternal side of the family is gathered in my aunt and uncle's kitchen. We're munching on meatballs, shrimp, and the world famous cheese dip. We need something in the stomachs as we begin a long night of alcohol consumption.
7:00pm- "Maybe we should open presents."
"Yes, that bow is beautiful on your head."
"What kind of tape did you use? It's impossible to rip!"
8:00pm- Grandpa and Grandma get a fifteen minute head start (we even use the microwave timer) to light candles and turn on lights before the entire party mobilizes to Grandpa and Grandma's house. We open presents first from my grandparents and second from my aunt and uncle from out of town.
9:00pm- Grandpa and Grandma serve us pizza subs on paper plates just to have some substance during our night of grazing. "Sure, I'd love some blackberry wine."
10:00pm- My family's turn for the fifteen minute head start. There are advantages and disadvantages to being the last house in the round-robin. The biggest disadvantage is that the hair and makeup need remedial help before the photograph in front of the tree.
11:00pm- "Who wants to be Santa?"
12:00am- Grandpa and Grandma decide it's time to go home.
1:00am- "Someone has to eat my food!"
2:00am- We karate chop the remaining family out of here, clean up the kitchen, and set up for the morning. Time for bed!
For the next four to six hours visions of sugar plums dance in our heads while Santa flies over head.
Christmas Day
8am- "Santa's been here!"
9am- The family gift exchange and Santa presents are opened on Christmas morning. Dad gets coal. And the grille to go with it. Mom cries when she opens the puzzle photo collage of my sisters and me growing up. My flannel jeans from Cabela's miraculously fit! "Dad, I got you a six pack of beer just because I can. No, I don't want one."
10am- "Get in the car! We're late!"
11am- "Are we there yet?"
12pm- Growing up, my family was always the last to arrive at my paternal grandparents' house. Some traditions die hard. Christmas dinner will be served at two. I regret not eating more than a banana for breakfast and dive into the chips, fudge, and pie on the kitchen table.
1pm- I'm in a photo war with Travel Buddy, my uncle who's a professional photographer. I take literally 178 photos.
2pm- The Charlie Brown Tree.
Every year my grandparents go to the tree farm and find the most ridiculous tree in the $5 bin. It's too thick to put ornaments on it. It's so thin you can see through it. It has two tops. They then barter until the owner lets them buy the tree for $3. They give him a $2 tip. This year the tree branches needed to be transplanted, so they got it for $2 with a $1 tip. Remember, the camera adds ten pounds.
3:00pm- "This restaurant is only open twice a year, so you'd better dig in!"
Thanksgiving dinner is remarkably similar to Christmas dinner. The main difference is that the men are actually allowed to sit in the dining room with the women rather than being banished to the kitchen. We pass rolls by overhand tossing, make the misbehaving adults sit at the children's table, and, heaven forbid, we forget the olives.
5:00pm- Photo shoot!
Each family. "At least pretend like you like each other." All the girls. All the boys. "Stop that!" Three generations. "Where'd Grandpa go now?" All the granddaughters. All eleven of us. The stray people we picked up on the street. All dogs. "Ok, my camera's memory card is full."
6:00pm- "Yes, I'd like a brandy old fashion, please. We're going to be here for awhile."
Commence the longest present opening extravaganza in the history of present openings. Grandma hands the first present to Tina. Tina opens it, throws the wrapping paper on the floor, and examines it for fifteen and a half seconds before she must stand to pick and hand out the next present. If she surpasses her allotted fifteen and a half seconds, the entire crowd shouts, "PICK A PRESENT!"
7:00pm- Fifteen minute intermission to fill the glasses and empty the bladder.
7:15pm- "Pick a present!"
8:00pm- "PICK A PRESENT!"
Every year Grandma and Grandpa give each of their four grandkids a gold ornament engraved with our names, the year, and "Love, Gma & Gpa." After twenty-some years, Wal-mart stopped making the ornaments, so Grandma had to get creative. This year she bought some silver ones from Target and engraved them herself.
9:00pm- "Pick a present" brouhaha is finally over after three hours of present opening! Grandma and the four granddaughters sit in the heaps of wrapping paper for the annual photo. Grandma boasts that she is 71 and can still get down on the floor. We help her up.
10:00pm- Grandma asks who brought the iPod for the traditional Christmas Day dancing in the kitchen. No one has music; no one has the energy to dance. The men are Wii bowling in the kitchen. Grandpa's winning. "That's an awful nice purple dress you've got there, Jim," Greg says, and the crowd rolls. Grandpa's using my Mii.
11:00pm- The food comes back out for those who are hungry. I eat some cherry pie, little smokies, sweet potatoes, and fudge. In that order. "Shhhhh! Someone may be sleeping."
12:00am- That someone should be me. But we're having too much fun retelling old stories, hacking up lungs, and laughing hysterically.
1:00am- That someone is me. It's the only night of the year when I can sleep with socks on because of the heat problems in the old farmhouse. Yet I sleep with a smile on my face. Another great Christmas!
I love hearing about Christmas traditions. What are yours?
<>< Katie
Christmas Eve
3:00pm- "Get in the car now!"
4:00pm- We start Christmas where all Christmases should begin: in church. We pass the bulletin from one end of the pew to the other, share notes, and split a half a piece of gum thirteen ways. You think I'm kidding.
6:00pm- "And WHY are you snow blowing in your Christmas suit?"
All thirteen of my maternal side of the family is gathered in my aunt and uncle's kitchen. We're munching on meatballs, shrimp, and the world famous cheese dip. We need something in the stomachs as we begin a long night of alcohol consumption.
7:00pm- "Maybe we should open presents."
"Yes, that bow is beautiful on your head."
"What kind of tape did you use? It's impossible to rip!"
8:00pm- Grandpa and Grandma get a fifteen minute head start (we even use the microwave timer) to light candles and turn on lights before the entire party mobilizes to Grandpa and Grandma's house. We open presents first from my grandparents and second from my aunt and uncle from out of town.
9:00pm- Grandpa and Grandma serve us pizza subs on paper plates just to have some substance during our night of grazing. "Sure, I'd love some blackberry wine."
10:00pm- My family's turn for the fifteen minute head start. There are advantages and disadvantages to being the last house in the round-robin. The biggest disadvantage is that the hair and makeup need remedial help before the photograph in front of the tree.
11:00pm- "Who wants to be Santa?"
12:00am- Grandpa and Grandma decide it's time to go home.
1:00am- "Someone has to eat my food!"
2:00am- We karate chop the remaining family out of here, clean up the kitchen, and set up for the morning. Time for bed!
For the next four to six hours visions of sugar plums dance in our heads while Santa flies over head.
Christmas Day
8am- "Santa's been here!"
9am- The family gift exchange and Santa presents are opened on Christmas morning. Dad gets coal. And the grille to go with it. Mom cries when she opens the puzzle photo collage of my sisters and me growing up. My flannel jeans from Cabela's miraculously fit! "Dad, I got you a six pack of beer just because I can. No, I don't want one."
10am- "Get in the car! We're late!"
11am- "Are we there yet?"
12pm- Growing up, my family was always the last to arrive at my paternal grandparents' house. Some traditions die hard. Christmas dinner will be served at two. I regret not eating more than a banana for breakfast and dive into the chips, fudge, and pie on the kitchen table.
1pm- I'm in a photo war with Travel Buddy, my uncle who's a professional photographer. I take literally 178 photos.
Every year my grandparents go to the tree farm and find the most ridiculous tree in the $5 bin. It's too thick to put ornaments on it. It's so thin you can see through it. It has two tops. They then barter until the owner lets them buy the tree for $3. They give him a $2 tip. This year the tree branches needed to be transplanted, so they got it for $2 with a $1 tip. Remember, the camera adds ten pounds.
Thanksgiving dinner is remarkably similar to Christmas dinner. The main difference is that the men are actually allowed to sit in the dining room with the women rather than being banished to the kitchen. We pass rolls by overhand tossing, make the misbehaving adults sit at the children's table, and, heaven forbid, we forget the olives.
5:00pm- Photo shoot!
Each family. "At least pretend like you like each other." All the girls. All the boys. "Stop that!" Three generations. "Where'd Grandpa go now?" All the granddaughters. All eleven of us. The stray people we picked up on the street. All dogs. "Ok, my camera's memory card is full."
6:00pm- "Yes, I'd like a brandy old fashion, please. We're going to be here for awhile."
Commence the longest present opening extravaganza in the history of present openings. Grandma hands the first present to Tina. Tina opens it, throws the wrapping paper on the floor, and examines it for fifteen and a half seconds before she must stand to pick and hand out the next present. If she surpasses her allotted fifteen and a half seconds, the entire crowd shouts, "PICK A PRESENT!"
7:00pm- Fifteen minute intermission to fill the glasses and empty the bladder.
7:15pm- "Pick a present!"
8:00pm- "PICK A PRESENT!"
Every year Grandma and Grandpa give each of their four grandkids a gold ornament engraved with our names, the year, and "Love, Gma & Gpa." After twenty-some years, Wal-mart stopped making the ornaments, so Grandma had to get creative. This year she bought some silver ones from Target and engraved them herself.
9:00pm- "Pick a present" brouhaha is finally over after three hours of present opening! Grandma and the four granddaughters sit in the heaps of wrapping paper for the annual photo. Grandma boasts that she is 71 and can still get down on the floor. We help her up.
10:00pm- Grandma asks who brought the iPod for the traditional Christmas Day dancing in the kitchen. No one has music; no one has the energy to dance. The men are Wii bowling in the kitchen. Grandpa's winning. "That's an awful nice purple dress you've got there, Jim," Greg says, and the crowd rolls. Grandpa's using my Mii.
11:00pm- The food comes back out for those who are hungry. I eat some cherry pie, little smokies, sweet potatoes, and fudge. In that order. "Shhhhh! Someone may be sleeping."
12:00am- That someone should be me. But we're having too much fun retelling old stories, hacking up lungs, and laughing hysterically.
1:00am- That someone is me. It's the only night of the year when I can sleep with socks on because of the heat problems in the old farmhouse. Yet I sleep with a smile on my face. Another great Christmas!
<>< Katie
Friday, December 24, 2010
Faith, Hope, Joy, Love
Christmas is finally here! School is on a hiatus while people become cooking maniacs and wrapping machines.
The traditions rooted deeply except I don't really think Mary and Joseph sat around staring at dead trees and eating candy out of their socks.
I bet they were exhausted from traveling and discouraged by the lack of places to stay. Then Mary gave birth in the most unsanitary place ever; oh, yeah, and her fiance isn't the father. Now all of the animals want to know where they're supposed to be eating for the next several days because there are some unexpected visitors. Shepherds are being visited by terrifying angels, and magi come bearing expensive gifts--one of which was a burial spice. I think most modern parents would be offended if someone gave them embalming fluid at a baby shower. Just saying.
Big mess! Big message!
God became man. The creator of the universe shoved Himself into a little baby's body. Prophesies and promises fulfilled. Christ, our Lord, born to die for our redemption.
It's a story of the HOPE given to the world in the form of a baby.
It's a story about JOY bundled into an unusual package.
It's a story about the LOVE my Savior has for me. The LOVE He has for you.
Merry Christmas! Have a blessed day, my friends!
<>< Katie
The traditions rooted deeply except I don't really think Mary and Joseph sat around staring at dead trees and eating candy out of their socks.
I bet they were exhausted from traveling and discouraged by the lack of places to stay. Then Mary gave birth in the most unsanitary place ever; oh, yeah, and her fiance isn't the father. Now all of the animals want to know where they're supposed to be eating for the next several days because there are some unexpected visitors. Shepherds are being visited by terrifying angels, and magi come bearing expensive gifts--one of which was a burial spice. I think most modern parents would be offended if someone gave them embalming fluid at a baby shower. Just saying.
Big mess! Big message!
God became man. The creator of the universe shoved Himself into a little baby's body. Prophesies and promises fulfilled. Christ, our Lord, born to die for our redemption.
About that time Caesar Augustus ordered a census to be taken throughout the Empire. This was the first census when Quirinius was governor of Syria. Everyone had to travel to his own ancestral hometown to be accounted for. So Joseph went from the Galilean town of Nazareth up to Bethlehem in Judah, David's town, for the census. As a descendant of David, he had to go there. He went with Mary, his fiancée, who was pregnant.
While they were there, the time came for her to give birth. She gave birth to a son, her firstborn. She wrapped him in a blanket and laid him in a manger, because there was no room in the hostel.
There were sheepherders camping in the neighborhood. They had set night watches over their sheep. Suddenly, God's angel stood among them and God's glory blazed around them. They were terrified. The angel said, "Don't be afraid. I'm here to announce a great and joyful event that is meant for everybody, worldwide: A Savior has just been born in David's town, a Savior who is Messiah and Master. This is what you're to look for: a baby wrapped in a blanket and lying in a manger."
At once the angel was joined by a huge angelic choir singing God's praises:
Glory to God in the heavenly heights,
Peace to all men and women on earth who please him.
As the angel choir withdrew into heaven, the sheepherders talked it over. "Let's get over to Bethlehem as fast as we can and see for ourselves what God has revealed to us." They left, running, and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger. Seeing was believing. They told everyone they met what the angels had said about this child. All who heard the sheepherders were impressed.
Mary kept all these things to herself, holding them dear, deep within herself. The sheepherders returned and let loose, glorifying and praising God for everything they had heard and seen. It turned out exactly the way they'd been told!
(Luke 2:1-20 MSG)It's a story of real people having the FAITH to do what God called them to do--even if it was uncomfortable.
It's a story of the HOPE given to the world in the form of a baby.
It's a story about JOY bundled into an unusual package.
It's a story about the LOVE my Savior has for me. The LOVE He has for you.
Merry Christmas! Have a blessed day, my friends!
<>< Katie
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
One of my Favorite Stories
On August 2, 1989, Freddy arrived home from a work dinner to find his house empty. Nothing unusual. He called his in-laws who lived down the street. He says he knew the moment his father-in-law answered the phone.
His wife, Parah, didn't know. She was too busy running up and down the stairs trying to relieve the cramps caused by eating a whole bowl of green beans for dinner. After the stairs, she moved on to the stationary bike before resolving herself to the bathroom floor. She still had three weeks.
A few hours later, they were in the car on the way to the hospital. Freddy's eyes rotated between the road, the clock, and his screaming wife. Less than five minutes. As they drew nearer, he expressed his lifelong dream of being pulled over at that very moment. Through gritted teeth Parah told him to shut up and drive the car.
One stoplight away and an ambulance appeared on the horizon. Freddy didn't stop to think. He knew he had to get his wife to the hospital before that ambulance arrived. He ran the red light and threatened to park in the ambulance bay. He parked in the on-call physician spot instead.
Inside of the hospital a few floors up, their sister-in-law Sasha heard about Freddy and Parah's late-night arrival. She slowly meandered downstairs thinking she had plenty of time. Stopping at the nurse's station to talk to her friends, she was told about a patient in Room One mere minutes away from giving birth. Suddenly the pieces fell into place and she rushed into the room, almost missing the birth of her goddaughter.
She wasn't the only one who almost missed it. The doctor almost missed it, too. He arrived at the hospital and poked his head in Parah's room. "Do I have time to change my clothes?"
"If you hurry," the nurse said.
They teased he could have been there sooner if Freddy hadn't been parked in his spot. Luckily, the doctor did make it back in time to deliver a baby girl at 1:35am on August 3.
That was 21 years ago tonight. How do you think I should celebrate?
<>< Katie
His wife, Parah, didn't know. She was too busy running up and down the stairs trying to relieve the cramps caused by eating a whole bowl of green beans for dinner. After the stairs, she moved on to the stationary bike before resolving herself to the bathroom floor. She still had three weeks.
A few hours later, they were in the car on the way to the hospital. Freddy's eyes rotated between the road, the clock, and his screaming wife. Less than five minutes. As they drew nearer, he expressed his lifelong dream of being pulled over at that very moment. Through gritted teeth Parah told him to shut up and drive the car.
One stoplight away and an ambulance appeared on the horizon. Freddy didn't stop to think. He knew he had to get his wife to the hospital before that ambulance arrived. He ran the red light and threatened to park in the ambulance bay. He parked in the on-call physician spot instead.
Inside of the hospital a few floors up, their sister-in-law Sasha heard about Freddy and Parah's late-night arrival. She slowly meandered downstairs thinking she had plenty of time. Stopping at the nurse's station to talk to her friends, she was told about a patient in Room One mere minutes away from giving birth. Suddenly the pieces fell into place and she rushed into the room, almost missing the birth of her goddaughter.
She wasn't the only one who almost missed it. The doctor almost missed it, too. He arrived at the hospital and poked his head in Parah's room. "Do I have time to change my clothes?"
"If you hurry," the nurse said.
They teased he could have been there sooner if Freddy hadn't been parked in his spot. Luckily, the doctor did make it back in time to deliver a baby girl at 1:35am on August 3.
That was 21 years ago tonight. How do you think I should celebrate?
<>< Katie
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Christmas Stocking
Don't ask why I was thinking about this today, but I was.
When my mom was pregnant with me she started making a Christmas stocking for me. I don't know if her goal was for me to use it my first Christmas or what, but she was making this stocking. She worked on it in the hospital after I was born, she worked on it in the hospital after my sisters were both born. (I'm beginning to think she only worked on it while she was in the hospital and thankfully that hasn't been very often). Anyway, I am now a legal adult and this stocking has yet to be completed. It has been a work in progress for at least nineteen years now, and I wonder if it'll ever be completed.
I've been a work in progress for at least nineteen years now, and I won't be completed until the day I die. Like my mom works on that stocking little by little (we'll pretend she works on it more than she really does), God works on our lives to draw us closer to and to be more like Him.
<>< Katie
"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart." Jeremiah 1:5 a, b
When my mom was pregnant with me she started making a Christmas stocking for me. I don't know if her goal was for me to use it my first Christmas or what, but she was making this stocking. She worked on it in the hospital after I was born, she worked on it in the hospital after my sisters were both born. (I'm beginning to think she only worked on it while she was in the hospital and thankfully that hasn't been very often). Anyway, I am now a legal adult and this stocking has yet to be completed. It has been a work in progress for at least nineteen years now, and I wonder if it'll ever be completed.
I've been a work in progress for at least nineteen years now, and I won't be completed until the day I die. Like my mom works on that stocking little by little (we'll pretend she works on it more than she really does), God works on our lives to draw us closer to and to be more like Him.
<>< Katie
"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart." Jeremiah 1:5 a, b
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