Songs of the Heart

Here's whats been going on lately...

2010-11-25T08:16:00.000-08:00

My most recent adventure was taken with 3 of my great friends to go visit our friend Heather whom we met in Ghana this past summer. Heather lives in Blacksburg, Va. Heather has an incredible story and I'd love to share it sometime with you, but not right now. Ha. We had an incredible weekend filled with kayaking, climbing, exploring, seeing beautiful cascades, and having some great conversations...I'm so thankful for good friends...
My birthday was also celebrated with a surprise visit from my sister and one of my best friends, Clint!! They showed up for Wesley worship and then we ate dinner at a mexican restaurant (figures) and then had some students come over for a night of apples to apples and peppermint patty's... :)
Clint and I went to Nashville for my birthday weekend. We got to be "extras" for the movie, "Blue Like Jazz" and dressed in choir robes and all. Haha. That was great. We also got to catch up with some friends like Erica Cain, Joe Chen, Josh Boren and Autumn Essary. I love how the Lord continues to bind us all together with his love. Also, Clint and I got to see Brooke Fraser from the second row, which was amazing. We've had this tradition to go see a concert on my birthday for quite a while now and I am really thankful for such a wonderful friend...
We took the DSU Wesley Foundation students on a fall break rafting trip to the Ocoee. It was such an amazing trip. We got to participate in a high ropes day where we rock climbed, zip lined and jumped off of a big swing. We also went white water rafting....this trip is so good because the students really grow closer to each other and the Lord...

I Miss You, Adjua Brunya

2010-10-02T23:21:00.000-07:00

Adjua (Heckel) Brunya is one of the children at Rafiki Orphanage. Two years ago when I went to Africa for the first time, she was one of the 6 children who were at Rafiki. She was so cute; short and had a round tummy from lack of food. Now, she has grown and is 7 years old. She's still short and almost comes up to my shoulders. She's beautiful. I made a lot of connections with children, but she and I have something special. We began to understand each other through lack of language barriers. She's been learning English for about 3 years now so we can communicate, but there is still a barrier. She has the most gorgeous eyes that I have ever seen and when she laughs her whole body shakes. Her laugh is deep and you wouldn't expect it to sound the way it does, but she loves to laugh. Adjua is one of the oldest at Rafiki and she carries out a lot of responsibilities. She helps the mothers to wash clothes and she is in charge of cleaning the dishes after every meal. She takes care of the children and also helps to discipline them when they need it. I definitely do not know what it is like to have a child, but I imagine the love that I feel for Adjua and I know that it is a special love. I miss her deeply. Sometimes my heart aches for her, but I do know that I will be spending time with her, Lord willing, in about 7 months. I can not wait to see our relationship grow and our love deepen. Please pray with me for Adjua. I pray that she grows up knowing the Lord and longing for him. I pray that she remains healthy and that she can continue to lead the children with strength and laughter and love....

Your (My) Story Matters

2010-08-19T08:12:00.000-07:00

Don't you just sometimes wonder, "is there more to this life than what I am living?" I have so many dreams right now. Dreams that could be summarized by saying, "I wanna change the world." But how do you do that? How does one person accomplish that? And maybe it isn't the fact that one person accomplishes it but rather, if each person knew the importance of their story than we all could change the world just one person living their story amongst millions of others living their stories.

I've seen places where hope seems lost and I've met faces where there is still joy. I've seen laughter in places where there are cries for peace. I've found comfort within broken concrete walls and I've taken hands that are full of scars that are full of hope longing to know truth. How can I show these people hope? With skin dark as night and eyes white as snow, I've held orphans longing for a simple touch of freedom and family. I've dressed the seeping wounds of orphans who live in captivity and slavery. These stories full of heartbreak and joy need to be shown some hope. We can be that hope by sharing the story of Christ to them.

In about 9 months, a friend and I am going to move to Ghana, Africa and live with orphans and be their family. I am going to live with them for 15 months and I am going to run a sponsorship program called Rafiki Friends to connect them with families in America so that we can raise support for them. I am going to help teach them about the ultimate story and how their stories matter. I'm going to build real lasting relationships with these children. There are 17 children: Abella, Adjoa, Kekelli, Justina, Deborah, Dorkas, Mebel, Etchu, Atchu, Junior, Ammisa, Laticia, Denisa, Efua, MaryAnna, Hakeim, and Emmanuel. And then there is me: Katie Heckel. A 23 year old "poor" college graduate, guitar playing, music writing, singing Mississippi girl who wants to change the world by loving on one child at a time. Every child deserves the chance to dream and have a story, right?

I would love to learn more about living in my story by going to the Donald Miller Conference in Portland. I've always admired the way Donald Miller writes and think it would be an amazing opportunity to learn from him...especially for this upcoming adventure that I am about to go on.

"Now that I have seen, I am RESPONSIBLE. Faith without deeds is dead. Now that I have held you in my own arms, I can not let go till you are."--Brooke Fraser

Living a Better Story Blog Contest from Donald Miller on Vimeo.

Malaria, Malaria

2010-08-17T13:17:00.000-07:00

I tell you what, I've never been so sick before in my life. Thankfully, i've been getting better, but for a while, I was pretty miserable and the Lord has opened my eyes to others in places where malaria exists and I wonder what we can do about it. Can you imagine being in an environment where you sleep in the dust on the floor of a compound or mud hut where scorpions and spiders crawl across your legs in the middle of the night and know of nothing more? What about living in this environment, but not having a family. This environment where there is always a constant heat and for only 2 months of the year there is rain and a breath of fresh air. What about being in this environment and catching malaria. At one moment, your body temperature drops down to 95 degrees and there is uncontrollable shaking and shivering. Your body becomes cold and numb. And then the next moment, your temperature sky rockets and becomes 103.4 creating a terrible headache and causing you to vomit. Then your body starts sweating profusely and your temperature goes back down and then you are left exhausted. Imagine going through that cycle over and over and over again. Well, I did, but I had these cycles in the comfort of my home in Oxford where I could adjust the air to what I needed, I could take showers/baths whatever time I wanted, I had access to health care and medicine, I had the loving arms of my mother around me, the willingness of my father to bring me gaterade and slushies, and I had the comfort of friends encouraging me.

But imagine going through that in another place. I imagine the children who have no one to comfort them during these cycles. My brother, Clint had malaria in Africa two years ago and that fact really haunted him. Out of all of our teams that have gone to africa, 4 people have had malaria.

Malaria is a disease caused by the blood parasite Plasmodium, which is transmitted by mosquitoes. Malaria, from the Medieval Italian words mala aria or “bad air,” causes 350 million to 500 million illnesses per year and kills more than one million people – mostly children under the age of five.

Malaria is particularly devastating in Africa, where it is a leading killer of children. In fact, there are 10 new cases of malaria every second. Every 30 seconds, a child in Africa dies from a malaria infection.

Malaria is also the number one killer of refugees in Africa.

Malaria is Both Preventable and Treatable...

Is there something we can do about this? I pray that the Lord gives us opportunities to do something about this now that we know. Now that we've heard and been through, we've got no excuse. I've got no excuse.

Thank You Elzmerelda Robotica for taking us on the road!!

2010-07-04T10:51:00.000-07:00

I have really exciting news!
I am going back to Ghana!!! Yeah!!!!

I just got back from a music tour with Matthew Clark. You should check out his blog entry at: www.matthewclark.net

We had a really great time. I'll tell you about the places and the people that we visited...

1. Louisville, MS
We started out at Matthew's home church in Louisville, MS and had a really great time. The people were really sweet and I believe it was really special for Matthew to be there. We shared stories with them and sang songs. Before we left for the tour, Matthew and I decided that we would be playing mostly new songs this time (instead of the songs on our cd's...we love those songs, but we wanted to test the new songs out...)

We stayed with his parents and enjoyed spending time with them. Mrs. Susan is now a professional sudoku player and that makes me happy. Haha.

2. Memphis, Tn
We definitely enjoyed our time in Memphis with our dear friends. We played at Abbye and Jeff Pates house and had such a great time eating watermelon, fellowshiping with old and new friends, and Matthew and I played songs and shared stories. It felt really good to be there with people we love talking about Jesus and how we all belong in His story.

We stayed with the Karel's that night and the next day. We had such a great time hanging out with Michael, Paayton, and Bradley. They made us feel very welcomed and at home. We also cooked a really good Indian meal on that Tuesday night, which was delicious...it also took us 3 hours to make...haha.

3. Nashville, TN
What a great time we had hear. We stayed with Ms. Sherytha Scaife who is an old family friend of ours. She welcomed us in to her house with loving arms and we definitely appreciated it. The first night we were there we played at LaRawn's house where it was good to socialize with people and tell them stories. Matthew and I also learned a lot from that house concert...The next day, we played barbies, sang and danced...Oh, did you think Matthew and I played barbies? Oh well, we did, but we played with this little 5 year old girl who was so cute. We built puzzles too. :)

Matthew set us up to play at a homeless ministry in downtown Nashville and I really enjoyed it. We got to help be a part of a night where the staff fed the homeless men and women, provided stories and music, skit and speaker. Matthew and I played music for that and we even got to tag-team and speak. It was really encouraging and felt good. There is something about serving people that makes me feel so connected with our Father.

After that, we were so blessed to be able to hang out with some of the staff: Krystin and Charla and some others. They were so wonderful and we went with them to have our first taste of bubble tea? It is interesting indeed. :) We appreciate you, Charla and all the others for your hospitality and love.

That night we got to hang out with our friends Jenny and Tyler Somers from the group 'Jenny & Tyler'. If you've never heard of them, you should check out their music: http://jennyandtylermusic.com/

They shared with us new songs and we shared new songs with them and then we ended the night sitting in their living room singing hymns and praising Jesus. It was really a refreshing time and we are thankful for that night.

4. Greensboro/Durham, North Carolina
So the Lord had our plans in His hands the whole time. Even when I was frustrated with why we couldn't get places to play, He knew why. This weekend was one of the times. One of my dear friends needed me and thank goodness we had time because I got to go to her. Also, Matthew didn't mind so much because my friend lives in Durham and Matthew's girlfriend lives in Greensboro so I got to go take care of my friend and Matthew and his girlfriend, Katie Spaan got to have time together, which was so good for them.

Durham consisted of a really good time with one of my best friends, sharing stories, crying together, asking the Lord questions, getting manicures and pedicures, eating at the Melting Pot, exploring rivers and hiking, and watching old movies....It was soo good. After 3 days of Durham, I drove back to Greensboro to pick my brother, Matthew up. It was so good to see him with Katie. Katie has a really sweet spirit about her and I could really feel the spirit in her when we were together. She is really beautiful and both of them are really blessed to be in each other's lives.

We shared music together: Katie, Matthew, Katie's friend Rachel and I. We also shared stories of Africa and such...The next day, Matthew and I went to Katie's work and had lunch with her and then we had to leave. It was a really good time.

5. Knoxville, TN
Matthew and I drove to Knoxville that day. It was so good to have the time in the car with my brother. We talked about a lot of things, sang songs, read the book: Redeeming Love, and just laughed. :) It is good to be silly sometimes. Oh, and Elzmerelda Robotica took us all over the place. (Our GPS).

We went to a church that Matthew and Brian played at on their October Tour in Knoxville. It was good to see a familiar face there: Adrianne Rodgers. She's wonderful. We ate potluck and Matthew and I played for about an hour and a half. It was really good to share stories and sing songs with them. I feel really encouraged that the body of Christ is coming together and participating in the Lord's work together....

That night, I had a terrible stomach ache. Thats all I can say about that. Ha. :)

The next night we led music for a youth group. We started out with 4 of our original songs and then we lead 4 worship songs. I haven't heard a youth group that loud in a long time. They loved worshiping together and that was really awesome.

We stayed with Adrianne for a couple of nights and we are so thankful for our time with her. She is wonderful. Also, we can't forget about Brusels who is just as awesome...muhahaha.

6. Wilmore, KY
The drive to Kentucky was beautiful and dangerous. Ha. I passed several signs that said: Blasting Site. Turn off cellular phones. I've never seen those signs before so that was hilarious. There was one blasting site that we had to wait for about 20 minutes for them to clear...

We were welcomed very warmly to Wilmore, KY by Nathan and Caroline Phillips. I knew Nathan and Caroline from Mississippi State. Nathan was the Ass. Director under Hugh Griffith, where I was an intern. It was really wonderful to see both of them again. I love them a lot. We played music at JD Walt's house. JD is the chaplain at Asbury Seminary. He was such a nice, kind guy and their family was very welcoming. We had a good time playing music for their neighborhood friends and some students. JD even showed off some of his skills and that was fun as well. :) We also met some new friends and really enjoyed our time with them.

That night, Matthew and I were up eating strawberries and Matthew was saying how he missed Katie and wished he could see her. Well, "lets go" I said. Matthew was like, "really?" And I was like, "yes, really." (I wanted you to hear our dialogue. Haha) So then it was decided. We would drive back to Greensboro, NC for a day and a half so that we could see Katie. :)

7. Greensboro, NC
The trip was gorgeous. The valleys and mountains were beautiful. The old barns were incredible. I really enjoyed that drive. As we drove, Matthew planned how he was going to surprise Katie. It was so cute and really thoughtful. Rachel helped us plan how we were going to surprise her. We went to Wal-Mart and Matthew got her flowers and a card. We showed up at the restaurant that Rachel said that they would be at and they were on the outside deck so we had to be really sneaky to get to her without her seeing us, but it worked without a hitch. Katie Spaan was so surprised and thankful and it was really sweet. Rachel and I let them have their date and we went and had ours. Rachel is so sweet and has a very gentle spirit as well. We enjoyed talking and we were later joined by Matthew and Katie.

The next day, I spent a lot of time at a park that was really beautiful. I played my guitar, talked on the phone, and spent time with Jesus. Later, we went out to eat with Katie's mom and had a really good time. That night we played music at a church right outside of Greensboro. The Lord was teaching us there and Matthew and I enjoyed singing songs and worshiping our God. That night, we went out with some of the students at that church and enjoyed breakfast food at Waffle House. They even made choc. milk the right way!! ;)

Later that night, Matthew read some from Redeeming Love and Katie read from the bible. We ended the night with prayer and that was really special. I felt really lifted up by them.

8. Decatur, AL
Very excited about this trip!!! Went to see Erica Cain and her family. She set up a concert outside in a pavilion and that was a lot of fun. It was good to see old friends and meet new ones. Thank the Lord for community. I don't know where we would be without it.

We got to spend an extra day in Decatur and it was so good to rest. Matthew and I spent a lot of time on the Cain's front porch talking about the Lord and His beauty reflected in nature, we ate lunch at a really good restaurant, got a watermelon (yum), took naps, ate dinner with the Cain's, and then read some more on the porch...it was so good.

9. Enterprise, AL
Our last stop on the tour was Enterprise, AL. We played for a youth group and that was really fun. We played an acoustic set of worship songs and then played some originals and ended with "In Christ Alone." We hung out with the youth at McDonald's afterwards and that was really fun. They were a great group of kids.

We stayed with Matthew's mom, Mrs. Susan's roommate from college. She was wonderful. She loves antiques so her house was filled with them.

We had a wonderful time. I was reflecting on it today and really feel that the Lord blesses us with people in our lives. He places certain individuals in our lives for specific reasons and others for simply love. I was so blessed by some of the conversations that I had with Matthew and others and feel really challenged and loved in a lot of ways. It was a great tour and Matthew and I have learned a lot and also feel that two cd's will be in the making later this year....

wahoo!!!!!!!!

Pictures from Ghana :)

2010-06-07T07:48:00.000-07:00

This is the new group at Rafiki and the DSU and MSU group together....

This is the group that was there two years ago when Clint and I and the rest of our team from MSU first came to Rafiki

Captured moment: Hanging out on the porch at Rafiki with the kids...

This is our classroom where we taught math and english. We also made visors and played with plato. It was wonderful.

(Left)
This is my families compassion child, Ebenezer Amoo. He is amazing, so sweet, shy, and after meeting him, my life will never be the same. I encourage all of you, if you are a sponsor for compassion, you should go on a trip to meet your child...it will change your life. :)
(Right) This is Clint and his little fella, Abella, who adores Clint.

"2 Weeks and we all can feel a calling"

2010-06-07T07:46:00.000-07:00

The delta state group came together with the msu group and had an amazing time in Ghana...

(sorry i'm a little late at blogging...but consider this a taste of africa tardiness--ha)

"OH THE PLANE RIDE"
6 of us DSU people left from Memphis on May 11th and headed towards Amsterdam, but because of the volcano's ash that errupted in Ireland (?), the plane was late arriving. Had the plane left on time, we would have had a 2 hour layover to make our connecting flight to Accra, but the plane was 3 hours late so we had a total of 6 minutes to get from one gate to another...luckily, the Lord must have held that plane because we did it and we were on our way. We met up with Sarah, who was from Virgina, and finally our team was ready for Accra...

"FINALLY ACCRA"
We arrived in Accra May 12th at 7:30 p.m; however, our luggage did not arrive. We figured that would happen though since we had to literally run to the correct gate leaving for Accra...I was traveling with some students who have never been to Africa before, and one student, Chessie, says, "i even imagined Africa to smell like this..." She has believed that the Lord placed this continent on her heart when she was a child so she was really excited to finally be arriving...

"WINNABA"
The next day we woke up and had to get accustomed to "Africa time" fast. (That seems like an oxymoron statement: africa time and fast that is...ha). As the students would tell you, Africa's time is must different then America's time. To them, time really doesn't exist. As part of their culture, tardiness does not exist. When you make a plan, you don't have to stick to the time they tell you...this takes a lot of time to get used to because here in America we are used to being on time and that tardiness is not acceptable. We went to Winnaba, which was a town about an hour away from Accra to meet up with the boys from MSU. We were welcomed with some delicious coconut...the guy even climbed about 4 stories up this palm tree to cut the coconut down with his machetti. Wow. That was a sight to see...That day we joined the guys to play with the children on the beach...it was a good first day...

"WORSHIP AS ONE"
Something I loved about what we did each night while we were there as a team was we worshiped together. We had time for people to share what was going on in their hearts and then we praised the Lord and then we usually closed in prayer. I believe that time united our teams together. I was so humbled by peoples honesty. I praise the Lord for that. It was a time where we encouraged, challenged and loved one another...

"KAFUI AND HEATHER"
We did some work in Accra, but our hearts were aching to go to Rafiki Orphanage. I believe Micah shared about Kafui and Heather. To meet them and hear about what Heather is doing for Kafui completely shook my world. Heather is 22 and while we were there, she was fighting for Kafui's freedom and had decided that she was going to adopt her. Heather is not a believer, yet she is pouring out love and compassion to this child who has lash marks on her back from "so called believers." I can not even begin to fathom what Kafui's view of the church must be. Even though Kafui has a dark story, she has innocence in her eyes and a heart that is full of joy. Heather is beautiful and has really challenged me in my faith. We got a good amount of time to share with each other about our lives and to encourage each other and I will be forever grateful for that time.

"COMPASSION INTERNATIONAL"
While we were there, I got the opportunity to visit the child that I sponsor named Ebenezer Amoo. He lives in a village called Mankessum, which happens to be a village that our team two years ago got to go and work at. We visited schools, churches, and did a medical mission there. Clint was able to go with me to meet Ebenezer, which I am very grateful for. He photographed the whole visit and got to be there to participate in the warm and gracious welcome that we received from that village. Mathias drove us and when we arrived, there was a reception where people greeted us and informed Clint and I about the village and how Compassion began there. In this compassion branch, there are 265 children who have sponsors, but we were the first to visit so it was a really big deal. You could tell how appreciative and grateful they were. One of the men even said they wanted to name a building after the "Heckel's", but since it already had a name, they would put up a plaque instead. After the reception, Clint and I got to go to Ebenezer's school. We pulled in and realized that this was the school that we had visited two years ago. How special is that? We walked out of the car and immediately heard, "El bruni, el bruni", which means "white person." Ha.

Ebenezer's school pavalion had a whole lot of children in it...probably around 200. We made eye contact and smiled, but he was so shy at first. He came up to meet me and my translater informed me that they had told him I was coming a week ago. He also told me that Ebenzer had been so excited and couldn't sleep the night before. We took some pictures, but then a dust/rain storm moved in so we had to move to the school office. There, Clint talked with Lydia, the compassion tour representative about Compassion, and the translator and I talked with Ebenzer. He was so sweet and precious. Later, we got in the car and Ebenezer sat in Clint's lap. I believe the moment my heart sank was when Ebenezer took my hand and placed it in his. I can not even begin to tell you what my heart felt at that moment. We arrived at Ebenezer's house, which he lived in a one room compound. I met his grandmother and his sister and we were able to present him and his family with the gifts that I had brought over from America that my family had helped pick out. They were so appreciative and this definitely was a life changing experience for me... On May 17th, 2010, my brother, Ebenezer Amoo came into my life and in to the lives of my family...not that he wasn't a part of my life before then, but now it is so much more real...

I am so thankful for that opportunity...

"RAFIKI ORPHANAGE"
The teams packed their bags and we headed off to Winnaba to live at Rafiki Orphanage for the rest of our stay. Wow. Those 7 days were amazing. We spent time playing with the children, teaching them math and english, doing arts and crafts, singing songs, and just holding them...

I was encouraged with what Jesus did with the children when He told them to come to him in Matthew. It says, "Then children were brought to him that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples rebuked the people,but Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven." And he laid his hands on them and went away.

There were times when we got discouraged because we were not teaching them with words about Jesus because of the language barrier, but then the Lord reminded us how Jesus loved on the children...he didn't begin to preach to them, but instead he touched them and laid his hands on them. Love needs no language. I often try to think back to the people in my life during my childhood and remember what they "taught" me. But for some reason I can not remember the things they taught me, rather, I remember the times they played and loved me. One day, these children will remember the bruni's that came from America to spend their summers with them...they will remember the times that we made them laugh and play. I pray that they ask further questions and relate the purpose of our trip to Jesus. We pray that these children at Rafiki will remember us and that the Lord will gain glory through this act of service because we know that the Lord doesn't need us, but allows us to be a part of His kingdom building.

"Now that I have seen, I am responsible. Faith without deeds is dead. Now that I have held you in my own arms, I can not let go till you are." -Brook Frasier

"BACK IN AMERICA"
We've been back in America for over 2 weeks now and my heart is still pounding with "what to do next." The question that lingers on in my heart is: it is so important to take care of orphans and by placing them in Rafiki Orphanage they are being rescued from captivity and that is so important, but is placing them in an orphanage all we are supposed to do or are we to place them in to our own families????

"FUTURE WORK"
I've been praying to the Lord a lot, and will continue to pray, but doors might be opening for Clint and I to go back in a year and work at Rafiki for 15 months...This would be amazing and challenging at the same time... We are going to be working on sponsorship opportunities for people to sponsor children at Rafiki as well as opportunities for churches to partner with Rafiki...

Thank you for your prayers and support.
We will continue to pray for Clint, Adam, Derek and Micah as they continue to be the hands and feet of Christ to the people in Ghana. We pray for their strength. We pray for their courage. We pray for their ability to teach. And we pray that they will continue to see and feel the Lord in powerful ways while serving with Him...

1 John 2: 6 says, "Those who claim to live in Him must walk as Jesus did."

Ochiababa,
Katie Heckel
:)

"Let This Be Our Heaven's Song"

2010-02-26T08:39:00.000-08:00

It really has been a crazy month for our family. We found out that my mom had breast cancer through a couple of tests that first said she did, then she didn't, but ultimately she did. Once she found out, my mom wanted to fly down to Disney World to see my sister because she knew that it might be a while before she got to see her again. So thats what we did. Mom and I got on a plane and went to Disney World for a long weekend. It was wonderful watching Jenny. She is doing an amazing job.

Once we got back, mom's surgery was the next week. She had a double mastectomy. Now, at first I thought I could handle blood and stuff like that because I mean, I watch Grey's Anatomy so I was thinking, "this is no big deal. I'll help mom with whatever she needs..." Haha. I am so glad both of my aunts were there in the hospital to help her after surgery with her tubes because once I glanced at her, I knew that was not my cup of tea.

We are so grateful for our family, friends and church friends for all they have done for us. It is really wonderful to see during a painful chapter of our lives the body of Christ coming together and doing what Jesus challenges us to do. We felt loved, encouraged, and comforted from all over the United States. Also, we are so grateful for prayer. My family truly believes in the power of prayer and we know that God had His hands on my mom through out the cancer. After her surgery, we found out that she had no cancer in her lymph nodes or in any other tissue. This is great news. She does not have to have any chemo or radiation and we are so thankful for that. We knew no matter what happened that the Lord would have His hand on us, but this is better news than we were ever expecting.

I wrote a song before my mom's surgery and I thought I'd share the lyrics:
(it is taken from a story in John 9 and some verses in Psalms)

Was it something he did
Or something he said?
Born blind from sin?
b/c of the bad within?

No that is a lie
God will be glorified
Through tragic and pain
His love will remain
His love will remain

For our God, He is awesome in His sanctuary
For our God, He is awesome in His sanctuary

The doctors came in
The cancer is here
Who would have thought
It would come this year

The battle we'll fight
Knowing pain is in sight
Proclaiming His name
Giving Him the fame
We'll give Him the Fame

For our God, He is awesome in His sanctuary
For our God, He is awesome in His sanctuary

For the works of His hands
The stars proclaim
Their shouting out His name

He is our God
He is our God

--Katie

Awakening

2010-01-07T18:19:00.000-08:00

I just got back from Passion 2010 in Atlanta, Georgia. Our DSU Wesely Foundation took 32 college students. I have a lot more appreciation for my old youth leaders and college ministers now that I know what it is like to be on the other side of an event as a leader. It was a great experience though..

You know how sometimes when you attend a conference you come back on a spiritual high? Well, I've been talking with a lot of students and we really do not feel like this was one of those conferences and we we're really glad about that. Those mountain high experiences are really great, but they create such a high hope, but then we are greatly let down when reality strikes back. Rather than a mountain top experience, several students have shared with me that they feel like they gained a deeper knowledge of the Lord, a desire to tremble with fear at the Word of God, and just a closer look to grace.

I really felt like a theme that the Lord kept pointing out to me while I was there is that every situation we go through is for God's glory. Louie Giglio made this point when he was speaking of the story of Lazarus in John chapter 11. Jesus knew his friend he loved was sick, but chose to wait 3 days until he died to go to him. Everyone around him did not understand, but Jesus knew that God would be more glorified through the death of his friend then to heal him while he was alive. Beth Moore spoke from: Hebrews 13: 20-21. She said that God equips us with anything good during his will. God has a will and a particular will for your life and the plan is how He fulfills his will and there are certain ways he will equip us in His will...(if that makes since). She makes 4 points:

1. God equips us by preparing us. (Eph. 2:10, 2 Tim. 1: 5-7)
--If it is PERMITTED than God has a reason or he would have said no...like when tragedy happens in our life

2. God equips us by adjusting us.
--He systematically placed people in our lives that we as humans can't stand so that our character will reflect Him
--"Until you are around the people who bring out the worst in you, God can not bring out the best"

3. God equips us by repairing us (Gal. 6:1, Heb. 4: 16)

4. God equips us by filling us

In Francis Chan's breakout session, he asked the question: Have you ever felt anquished? or have you not felt it when you should?

Verses about suffering he gave us:
1 Peter 4: 12
Matt 10: 34-35
Mark 8: 34
Luke 6: 32
John 15: 18
Acts 50: 41
Rom 8: 16
1 Cor. 4: 12
2 Cor. 1: 5
Gal. 6
Eph. 6: 11-12
Phil. 1: 29
Col. 1: 24
1 Thes. 3: 4
2 Thes. 1: 5
2 Tim. 1, 2, 3, 4
Heb. 12: 12-13

"Why do you need a comforter if you are comfortable?"--FC

So my question to all of us is why do we complain, get upset, hurt, question, and not understand when something bad happens to us? I was very challenged by this..

You will be able to listen to the main session talks online at: 268generation.com

Check it out!!

Here are some pictures that update my life and then I'll blog Tomorrow :)

2009-11-28T19:31:00.000-08:00

Jenny & Tyler House Concert at my house..they are amazing...clint is feeling pretty special to be up there with them in this picture...haha... :) check them out: www.jennyandtylermusic.com

A surprise birthday party for me? they are amazing...each one of them :)

DSU Wesley Students at the passion tour in Starkville

DSU Wesley Rafting Trip...It was amazing...41 students...white water rafting down the ocoee...The Lord placing people in eachothers lives. Amazing speaker. Spiritual growth...beautiful nature

The Dance

2009-10-13T18:07:00.000-07:00

Lately, I've been around some people at the Wesley that are really struggling with sin. I hate sin. It has this way of creeping into our lives and attacking us when we least expect it. It is kinda like cancer. I was asked some deep questions this week about faith and sin and I told one of my students about how I "see" Satan.

I imagine myself in a big ball room dancing. I see him standing in the corner watching every move I make. I notice that he is very attractive. His eyes never leave me alone. He is watching and waiting for moments of weakness. At that time, he slips over so that I see his beauty. He reaches for my hand and I take it. We then dance on the floor as he circles me around. As we are dancing, I feel closer and closer to the ground. The movements begin to tangle my feet to where I can not stand up by myself. He then takes the lead and I leave my world behind. I ask myself, "how can something feel so wrong and then suddenly feel so right." Its like he blinds me because his grip is holding on so tightly. The beautiful part to this story is the fact that as I'm dancing this dance with sin, the Lord is asking and tapping on his shoulder wanting to cut in. Honestly, he doesn't look as attractive; he's got blood stains and holes in his hands, but his face longs for me. I see the desire burning from with in knowing that He wants my hand so that He can dance that dance for me and he can take me and lead me down a path of righteousness.

thats how I imagine sin creeping in. I shared this imagery with my students. We've got to make war to sin. There is a song that i have been listening to called, "Make War" by Tedashi. It really is good. I encourage you to put on the armor of Christ before walking out your door. Tell me this: would you walk on to a battle field naked with no weapon? No. Thats crazy. If you were walking in to a war, you would dress your self with protective gear and have weapons to fight back. Well, we are in a war. Put on the armor of the Lord for protection. Guard yourself. Because when we are naked, sin will destroy us...

Ephesians 6:10-18

"On The Road Again"

2009-09-24T20:40:00.000-07:00

Lately I've seen on the road the sunrise and sunset, mating horseflies hit my windshield, roadkill, rain, really bad rain, the delta flood...I've been in the car alone enjoying my worship with the Lord so much that I missed my exit in Clarksdale to drive to Oxford ending up in Tunica realizing that I had gone an hour out of my way just because I was so in tune with the Lord...that's a bit scary since I was driving...I've been in the car with Clint, which means we sang songs at the top of our lungs to Jesus while driving, I've been in a 15 passenger van with youth singing Disney songs and telling jokes...I've been to Starkville, Tuscaloosa, Oxford, Memphis, Cleveland, Batesville, and all back. I've driven at all times of the day and night such as 7:00 p.m., 11:00 p.m., 4:45 a.m., 7:15 a.m....Its good to drive and be alone...to see nature and its beauty within a sunset, to see the wind blow through the trees...its a good reminder to see the Lord move through the leaves...I also love to be in the car alone because I love to call people that I haven't talked to in forever. Friends are so good.

I went to Starkville to celebrate Kate Poore's birthday and to visit friends. We went rollerskating at the Skating Rink. Oh it was fun. I am a terrible roller skater...but I did have bad skates where the wheels were bent inwards which made things difficult..thank goodness we discovered why I was hitting the walls and couldn't turn so I got a new pair. ;) We had a great group of people come out and it just reminded me of how important it is to have people we love in our lives. We were created for relationships. The Lord longs for a relationship with us. He longs for daily communication, love, prayer...He longs to be our Guide, our Hope, our Trust, offering us everything, but its amazing how I feel He reaches out to us, but we constantly turn to someone or something else that "looks" more appealing. Why is this so? He is there reaching out and longing to help us along this narrow path, taking our hand to walk us across. I often imaging us trying to walk a tight-rope alone with no harness. The rope is thin and high above the ground where there is danger all around us. We think, "if we could just walk fast grasping on to anything in our way" that we will stay on and make it to the other side, but instead we find that those things we reach for are just floating in the air and when we grasp them, we fall. I also imagine the Lord reaching down offering us a hand to hold while we walk across the wire through rain, wind, sun, and snow, and He waits for us to reach, but sometimes we never take His hand. What makes us think we can walk and make it across that tight-rope alone?

God is good. I thank Him for being patient and waiting. I am sorry that it takes me so long to take His hand.

If you didn't know, Derek Webb's new album "Stockholm Syndrome" is amazing. I was so lucky to get to go to his concert and hang out with friends while I was there. Clint and I road up there together and we met up with Becca Varner and Aynslee Moon. This summer I got to know Becca and Aynslee really well through a retreat that our friend, Matthew Clark, put together called "Maytide Makers", which took place in Knoxville, TN. A group of songwriters, painters, writers, and sculptors got together to praise to the Lord by using our gifts with one another and also just to talk. It was so good. I am so glad that I got to go to that concert with them. I also got to see one of my favorite married couples there and that was a surprise: Daniel and Amanda Bray. They are great. After the concert, we stayed around to see if we could meet Derek Webb and all of a sudden, he walked through the doors. I wish you could have seen Clint talking with him. Derek's music has made such an impact on his life and to see him talking with him was such a wonderful picture. Speaking of pictures, I did take one of them and we also got one. His band members were awesome too. Clint pretty much became a roady and got to help Josh Moore move equipment..."Hey Clint, I hear Derek is looking for an opening act??" :)

Well, this is a long blog so let me fill you in on the rest really fast: celebrated all the birthdays in the church at FUMC Cleveland with a Birthday Dinner...lets just say, words can not describe the fun that I saw on stage that night (the preacher playing the electric guitar and singing...so good), Took my youth to a Spiritual Life Retreat at Camp Lake Stephens and we all bonded in our youth group time where we got to discuss really good topics and told ghost stories, took some DSU Wesley Students to see Shane and Shane in Starkville where I got to see alot of people that I love, Oh, and my latest news is that I broke two guitar strings at once while practicing yesterday for worship at the Wesley...wow.

Music to listen to:
Needtobreath--Album: "The Outsiders"
Book I'm reading:
"A Severe Mercy" By Sheldon Vanauken
Praying for:
Discernment on whether or not I am supposed to go to China over Christmas
Excited about:
Africa this summer!!!!

:)

The Delta Times...haha

2009-08-17T18:17:00.000-07:00

I've officially been living in the delta now for almost two weeks. I currently have 12 bug bites on my feet, live in an amazing house that has had some amazing people come in and out of it...I have bell peppers, cucumbers, and tomatos growing in my side garden, which the previous owner left for me, but little did she know that I have a black thumb...hmm...I have no idea what to do with that, haha; I have chased my dog multiple times across streets and under fences (thats right, I did say under); I've eaten at some fun delta restaurants with new friends; I've been on a tour or wal-mart because thats what you get to do for fun in small towns..haha...I've been to Merigold and have seen the McCardy place and even met Mr. McCardy or at least I think it was him. I mean, he's famous and I was there with my friend, Clint, and he told me that it looks like I have found a good one and I should keep him...haha. :) I've delivered cold water with Eddie Willis to the DSU band at the practice field and must say that I have officially seen the "Villiage People" in the delta...All the guys were wearing really, really, REALLY short (too short) shorts and well I'll just leave that sentence at that statement. Ha. I've gotten to hang out with Tricia Walker who is a Grammy winner and she runs the recording studio at Delta State. Thats exciting. My boss (the famous, Eddie Willis) is crazy, but good crazy that is. ;) He has great impersonations. You should ask him to do one for you. We are learning each other and that has probably been one of the funniest parts. Hmm...what else? Well, I woke up the other morning and heard someone cutting my grass and thought, "wow, that is really nice." And I thought that he was in the front yard so as I was dressed in my beautiful pajamas with my hair in a ponytail on the side of my head, I decided to take my dog out to the backyard to go to the bathroom..well, little did I know that there were about 7 beautiful, handsome delta boys in my backyard weed eating, mowing, you know, doing the whole yard work stuff and there I was looking "awesome" (hence the sarcasm) in my pj's at 8:15 in the morning...ha. That was fun. I introduced myself and they laughed. :)

We have a lot of things going on down here in the delta. I've had the opportunity to get to know the youth at the church that I am working at and I must say that they are wonderful. God has really blessed me with the kids he has placed in my life and I am excited about this chapter of my life with them. We had a cookout last Sunday and this Sunday during church we cooked food for the homeless shelter and then delivered the food and served them. That was neat. Then, on Sunday night, I had my first MYF with them. They love worship and love to sing so that made me really happy. We played a game that my friend, Matthew Clark, taught me how to play called "Paper Gossip" and it was hilarious. I am going to be teaching from David Nasser's book, "A Call to Die." I'm looking forward to what conversations the Lord starts on Sundays. Then, on Tuesdays we I'll meet with the Senior High youth for "Fireside Chats" which is at my house. Thats going to be fun. I believe we are going to watch a Francis Chan video...

With the Wesley, we have been working really hard and planning a lot. We have free BBQ on the Quad on Wednesday, an ice cream and game night called "Get Your Game On" on Thursday...Both events are going to be great. We are going to be in the Union and on campus all week just getting to know people and chatting it up...which is wonderful. :) I had the hardest time today telling people that we are having the BBQ on the quad...i kept saying "drill field." And then I kept saying "Tuesday" instead of "Wednesday"...Its weird telling people about the Wesley but not being at state, but it is good...

I am thankful for friends. Clint came to visit this past weekend and it was so encouraging and uplifting to have one of my great friends there. We put up our eno's and read scripture and discussed some hard topics in the bible. We also spent a lot of time just worshiping and playing music. It was a really good time. It made me miss all my friends though and realize how blessed I am to have such an amazing group of people that constantly lift me up and encourage me. Thank you all for that...

Music you should listen to:
"Love Through Me" by Jenny and Tyler
A Book you should read:
A Hole in our Gospel by Richard Stearns

John 15:13
"Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends."

I'm Singing The Delta Blues...

2009-08-06T19:52:00.000-07:00

Facts about Cleveland, MS that I have come up with so far:

1. At first, I was like, "What are they talking about when they say the mosquitos are bad? I haven't even felt one." Oh, Oh, Oh, what was I thinking? I have counted over 15 bites on my feet and thats just from one day. Ha. Tomorrow: Going to Wal-Mart to purchase clip on bug spray thingys...

2. It really is a small world. I was walking across the street from my house to the church when the ONE SINGLE PERSON that I know living in Cleveland that is from Oxford, MS, Jeremy Bruss, drives by...how random is that? So we chat in the street. Gotta love that about this world.

Oh, and the person that was checking me out at Wal-Mart today, we recognized each other right away...he was at Matthew Clark's house concert back in Feburary in Oxford and I was there too...random, right?

3. When you are driving through the town at night, you think that there is a fog or fire in the town and you might become concerned, but then you find out that it is bug spray repellent that they spray all night long...wow. (I hate to tell them, but I don't think it is working...)

4. Everyone waves at you; everyone speaks to you; Everyone smiles and nods; Oh, and my favorite so far are the random people that think they know you and so they continue to carry on a conversation with you, but then realize that they don't know you...and then they just stop talking in the middle of their sentence and walk away...wow. :)

5. People run. Not for exercise, but just for no reason. They just run. Hmm...

6. The water is brown right when you turn it on. Don't know why. It just is. It goes away, but its just brown at first.

7. People just walk on in to your house. They don't even knock. They just walk in. Oh, fun, right?

I'll add more once I'm here for a longer amount of time. Oh, and I"ll add pictures of my house too. :) (Even if you (Becca) are the only one reading this...teehee)

Song I wrote about how I'm feeling:

Unfamiliar territory about to be explored opening new doors
Surrounded by new faces searching for a home scared to be alone
I’m reminded and comforted by those words I’ve heard before

Oh I hold the plans for your life in my hands
Oh it’s a journey to your story
And its about to begin

A familiar scent catches me, which brings me to a smile; I haven’t seen you in a while
You’ve left those fingerprints on my heart
And I’ll remember you through these times a part

Good friends, Good convos

2009-07-26T22:31:00.000-07:00

Today was a good day. Church at the Orchard is always so refreshing and wonderful.

I was able to have some good conversations with people throughout my day. My friend Clint called me this afternoon and we encouraged each other a lot. It is so good to have brothers in Christ. God has placed some of the best brothers I could ever have in my life. Seriously. I have had the best. :) They have helped me so much and I have grown so much closer to God by their influence. Another brother of mine, Matthew, we went to Houston tonight to play music for my old youth group. (There are some great kids in Houston, Ms at FUMC...just saying).

Anyways, we talked about life as usual, but the question that kept popping in to my mind was "how do people deal with the world without Jesus?" I can not imagine going through some of my downfalls without having Jesus to lift me up, you know? Or how do people celebrate this life with joy and not have that joy found in Christ? This made me so grateful to know that I have tasted and seen the goodness of God during times when goodness was no where to be found. I have seen the Lord work through the ugliness of Satan by turning ashes into beauty. My God can do that. My God can take a situation that was so hurtful and wrong; where there was so much injustice done to an indvidual, and He can create hope, peace, and comfort. We talked about the sin we commit doesn't just effect ourself, but others as well. My God is the Lord of the wronged.

"There's room for your tears, sister don't be ashamed. The maker of your soul shares your sorrows. So sing even if its a sad, sad song. He's the brother to the broken. He's the Lord of the wronged."

That is so encouraging to me. I just can not imagine walking this world alone. I can not imagine trying to find hope and satisfaction with my life by depending on other people. People are full of sin. There is no way they can give us what we need. I can not imagine turning to just individuals for comfort and love and not knowing the love of my Father. There is a Shawn McDonal song that says:

"Have you ever wanted to be someone else?
Have you ever wanted just to be someone?
Have you ever wanted to reach your dreams?
Have you ever wanted life to be more than it seems?

I have tasted of a love so wide
That it stops all my time
I have tasted of a love so deep
That it blows my mind

Have you ever wanted to reach up and touch the sky?
Have you ever wanted to pack it up and say good-bye?
Have you ever wanted someone to care?
Have you ever wanted someone to be there?

He is sweet, He is sweet
What your looking for
Is my sweet, sweet Jesus
What You're looking for
Is my sweet Lord

People are looking for answers and love from all the wrong things: money, relationships, material possessions, when the one thing that is right in front of them looks to hard to reach or maybe they don't feel worthy enough? I love that my God takes me as I am because I know I will never be "good enough"...

"Come all you weary and find rest. For I am gentle, learn from me. I do not love like the world so take heart."--Jesus

What is this thing called, "Blogging"?

2009-07-25T13:27:00.001-07:00

Well, I've decided that it is about time that I take up this whole blogging thing especially since I'm not going to be around my friends at school anymore since I'm officially in the "real world" as my dad likes to say. What does that even mean? Oh yeah, that means that all the bills come to me. What? I don't even know what I'm doing. How come parents take care of you all through out college, but then you get that job and there like, "Okay, its all on you. Good luck." Well parents, gee...Thanks? Haha.
I've noticed that a lot of cool people blog so I've decided to join the club. Maybe no one will ever read this so maybe this will be blogger therapy for me. Who knows. But if you do read this, ha, welcome to my brain and thought process. Its fun sometimes.
I was reading a blog that my friend and fellow songwriter Abbye Pates has written and she was talking about the seasons of life. Well, I am lucky because I actually got to have lunch with the Pates as well as Matthew Clark and Sashi. We exchanged stories and laughed a lot, but she talked about how she does not like when friends come into our lives and then leave. She has a close friend that is going to India for a year, and true, its only a year, but still. This made me feel so grateful for the friends that I have and the times shared at MSU, but it also made me sad because I will not be going back in the fall due to the reality of the real world. :)
I'm excited about my story in God's great big story. A new season is approaching, but that does not mean that we must forget the past seasons spent with beautiful people and wonderful memories....