Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Easter

CS Lewis on Easter.....


"There is a stage in a child's life at which it cannot separate the religious from the merely festal character of Christmas or Easter. I have been told of a very small and very devout boy who was heard murmuring to himself on Easter morning a poem of his own composition which began 'Chocolate eggs and Jesus risen.' This seems to me, for his age, both admirable poetry and admirable piety. But of course the time will soon come when such a child can no longer effortlessly and spontaneously enjoy that unity. He will become able to distinguish the spiritual from the ritual and festal aspect of Easter; chocolate eggs will no longer seem sacramental. And once he has distinguished he must put one or the other first. If he puts the spiritual first he can still taste something of Easter in the chocolate eggs; if he puts the eggs first they will soon be no more than any other sweetmeat. They will have taken on an independent, and therefore a soon withering, life."


So true, life's blessings are only temporary blessings and pleasure unless we first seek Christ and understand His grace. If we do, then those blessings mean so much more. How I long for and struggle with that in my own life!

Prague

Since the beginning of our trip planning, I have probably been the most excited about Prague. It is supposed to be one of the prettiest cities in the world and I can't wait to find out why! We will be her 3 nights and 2 1/2 days (well 2 days and one early evening of exploring) This will be a great way to end our vacation.....our vacation, which, by the way, is in 9 days!! woohoo!

We are also staying in a chic boutique hotel that I found a super deal on (otherwise we would not be able to afford it....) It is called the Red and Blue Design Hotel....which, considering that Ann Kirk is a HUGE Ole Miss fan, I think is a great idea! Can't wait. I plan on seeing the opera or symphony and touring the castle and finding crystal...






Monday, March 22, 2010

Krakow, Poland

Krakow is the city we are visiting that I know the least about. In fact, the main reason I am going is because it is the closest city to Auschwitz. But as I research the city, I am super excited about visiting!!! How could I not be excited about this city with so much old world charm? I think it will be less crowded than Berlin and Prague since it is less touristy. I am eager to see Wawel Castle and the huge square which is the largest square in all of Europe.





Soon I will be here....

Sunday, March 21, 2010

3 weeks from today...

....I will be touring this city.



and viewing this wall...



and seeing this famous building....



and walking through this gate....



and eating some of this currywurst...



maybe taking one of these cheesy boats....



Possibly, touring museums on this island....



Also, I could be seeing this famous sight...



And afterwards eating at one of these "beer gardens".....



and sleeping in this hotel.....



But most importantly, hanging out with this girl.....

Sunday, March 14, 2010

Future Flower Girl

More of my weekend with my future flower girl --- yes, we have already agreed upon this. Paige and I had a discussion and she smiled and I took that as a "Yes Aunt Katy, one day I will be the best flower girl for you."

I got to witness Paige's first time standing up AND then the celebration she had with her mommy was so sweet to witness....what a blessing to see how when she was so proud, she went straight to mommy to rejoice!








Bath Time....



Aunt Katy and Paige

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

I love.....Jackson? Really?

"If there were any place better for you than the one in which you find yourself, Divine Love would have placed you there." - Charles Spurgeon

I didn't necessarily want to move to Jackson. It was not my plan. I was just so grateful to get a job and especially one in an area I enjoy....that I moved. But, after 4 months, I can honestly say, I love living here. I really do. And I feel confident that God has a purpose for me to live in Jackson for awhile atleast.

At first I didn't think I got this job because we received notice that they were done with hiring for now and would contact us if there was a job opening in the future. (apparently they were talking mostly about leadership positions) I cried then said, "OK this is not what I am supposed to be doing and where I am supposed to be next year." I started looking for other jobs and considering staying in Brookhaven and working there.....but I still kindof wanted to be in Jackson with friends and family nearby. I was looking in DC, but I kept saying, "What about jobs in Jackson?" Funny how I had over the months waiting to hear back from my job, accepted and even come to look forward to moving to Jackson. I was even upset when I wasn't moving.

A few days later, they called and offered me the job.. My sister said it was good that I thought I had not been hired for those few days because it caused me to reevaluate whether or not I wanted to live in Jackson and I really realized how much I wanted to live here.

And I agreed with that ...on some level. But I just wanted to move to Jackson for a year, to get my life together and then move to DC. It was settling, because of the economy, but atleast it was a better place to settle than Oxford...which a real lawyer job and friends. And, now....I love living here.

I love my community of friends.....those I go out with, those I knew from college or law school, those reconnected with from high school, those I just met.
I love my church, love love love love LOVE my church.
I love the people I have always known at my church.
I love the people I just met at my church.
I LOVE my Highlands girls bible study.
I love my wednesday first pres bible study.
I love the restaurants.
I love the local bars.
I love running into people.
I love being near my family.
I love still being able to go to Oxford for ballgames (in the fall, and now soon in the spring)
I love the South and the friendliness here.
I love Jackson.

God really did know the best place for me. I feel the most like my self I have in years. I have moved past the struggle and frustration of law school to a time of really just getting to know people and grow in the Lord. I feel so blessed. The Lord has his plans.

I don't know if DC is in my future. There is a good church and friends there too. I do really love it. But I also love Jackson. I now wouldn't regret it if I lived here.

Friday, March 5, 2010

Reformed? or Christian?

What an encouraging article I just read....see below for link. I attend a great Presbyterian church here in Jackson. It is PCA. and they love Jesus and believe in the doctrines of grace. And, they also love eachother. Sounds great right?

But....they are known at Reformed Theological Seminary as the "charismatic reformed church" - with different music, a willingness to accept people that arent uber reformed,no pews, etc.

OMG NO PEWS?? after all, we are only 15 years old so we dont have pews and a formal chapel/sanctuary. Right now, the building we have built has a fellowship hall that doubles as the sanctuary with chairs that can be moved and a stained glass window and alter. But when the church began building, they decided to do so in phases and before a fancy chapel, there was a a bigger need to build classrooms and a fellowship hall. Because you can use a felloship hall for church but its hard to use a sanctuary for Wednesday supper. But what makes us a better church bc we have pews or dont?

YOU DONT SING ONLY HYMNS WITH ONLY AN ORGAN? tsk tsk....They also sing some praise songs (gasp). I love hymns, I love them more than praise songs but thats my taste. I think there are some praise songs that people can worship the Lord whole heartedly with. And I have learned a lot about community in learning that people who love the Lord and sincerely worship Him and agree with me can do so in a different way. I have been humbled as I have learned to enjoy praise songs too.I am called to worship my Savior, to glorify him (its in the westminster folks....)and I'm not given a pass to do it only the way I want, be it praise songs or hymns. I love that my church accomodates all types of tastes with god honoring music.

YOU ARENT ALL UBER CONSERVATIVE AND NEVER QUESTION ANYTHING? There are people in my church who buy into the typical PCA lifestyle...wife stays home, women should have no leadership roles, homeschool or christian school, westminster is just as important as the Bible, worship should be more formal, etc...and there are people who don't buy into that view as much..who dont love hymns, whose kids go to public school, who are reformed but know more about the Bible than they do about Calvin. I love the mix. I helps keep theology important while still keeping it in its place. This variety of beliefs is great. Christians can disagree and still love the same God.

We teach doctrine. But more importantly this church teaches the gospel. I basically didnt go to church last year unless I was home. It wasnt a welcoming church and I had some issues I needed to pray/work through...and although I did, I recognize my sin of not finding a church I could attend to stay in a body of believers. But point being when I was looking for a church here in Jackson visiting different reformed churches, what I longed to find (although I didnt know it at the time) was the gospel, was people who loved their Savior and were saved only through him. Singing the "right" music in the the "right" building with people who only believed certain things was not what I craved. I wanted the Lord, not John Calvin.

And I found it in a wonderful church that I joined last week :-)

Anyways my little rant all leads up to this article I read....how touching to know that others long to be a Christian more than they long to be "reformed"

http://www.worldmag.com/articles/16451

PS here is the church I attend

http://www.highlandspca.org/

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Waiting as Anticipation....

I have found this wonderful article that is so encouraging. I read in a week or so ago and highly encourage you all to read it. It goes with my theme of waiting....as anticipation, as hope. Very good.

http://unlockingfemininity.com/2010/02/09/ready-set-wait-trusting-god-in-your-seasons-of-waiting/

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Joy in Waiting.

Right now, so much of my life is waiting....waiting to find the right job, waiting to know where I will live, waiting on a spouse, waiting on kids-- and I am not going to lie or try to cover this fact up, it is hard. Life is full of ups and downs- but some times, like now, aren't necessarily downs, they are just periods of waiting. And though the downs are rough, there is a unique challenge that comes in waiting, unique pain and trials, and also unique joy found during this period.

Most people seek a Yes or No answer from God (and from others). And though they may not like the answer "No", atleast it provides certainty. It is something to come to terms with, to accept, and to build your life around. "No this is not the path to take. No this is not your spouse. No this is not the job I have for you." No may not be the answer we want, but atleast it is an answer. Sometimes NO clearly points you in the direction you should go and sometimes it atleast narrows things down. Waiting does not give you the same luxury...no clarity, no direction.

Waiting is sometimes a feeling of being lost. You may earnestly want to seek the Lord's will and do what He directs, but how can you? You are still waiting for an answer. Still no clear path. You cant joyfully delight in God's provision of your request. You can't humbly accept His no and see the benefits of following His will. You just blindly move forward seeing only the step in front of you, glorifying the Lord in your small decisions and daily life, not knowing where the path leads...

As I said earlier, I know a thing or two about waiting...sometimes I accept this stage of my life, sometimes I fight it, sometimes I just feel lost. But Waiting provides the Christian with a few opportunities and lessons:

1. Waiting is not just an ends to a means, sometimes its the means itself. Currently I am waiting for a husband, a family, and a job I enjoy. Waiting will most likely lead to those things -- in God's timing. But waiting serves as a time of growth in and of itself. Waiting has taught me a lot about myself. In my job, it has taught me how to find Joy in daily tasks, how to choose Joy when there is very little to be joyful about. I have learned contentment while still grasping on to hope. All of these will make me a better worker when I find a job I would rather be at, but for now, this job is growing patience, contentment, Joy, the ability to confess my sins (for the many times I do lack Joy in my job). These are qualities I would not be developing had life worked out the way I wanted with a job immediately after graduation in the city I wanted to live in

2. There is oftentimes a greater level of Joy for those who wait. Waiting has its share of agony, of choosing patience and obviously, in failing to be joyful and having to seek the Lord's forgiveness. But, for those who wait and fight for hope and Joy, I do believe they one day know greater Joy. Just ask the mother who had several miscarriages or years of infertility as she longed for a child. How special that moment must be when she finally delivers (or adopts) and holds that baby!! Not that holding a baby for the first time is not special for everyone, but it must be so special for the mother who waited, longed, and prayed. Why? because she knows the pain and loss of waiting. She knows the blessing and miracle that baby is because she has been without it.

3. Waiting refines our desires. I am 26 and not married. Definitely not my plan, definitely an embarressment I carry daily. I had expectations of the man I would marry. But, as I long and pray for a spouse, my desires about what marriage will be like and what I want in a husband has changed. Some things have become more important, some have become less. My views are (hopefully) aligning more with the Lord's desires.

4. Waiting refines us. Waiting for a spouse and better job has given me a chance to grow. I needed more patience, more contentment, more courage to hold on to hope. I needed more trust. And I have the chance to work on these things.

5. Waiting in a way that glorifies the Lord requires hope. This is both a blessing and a struggle. I am practical and I also want to glorify the Lord. If that means accepting my life in its current state and learning to be happy now, never wanting more, then despite the struggle, I want to do that. But sometimes the most courageous thing to do is HOPE for more, to believe that God can heal the sick, bring companionship, bring a family, change a heart, etc. But the practical part of me wants to scream, "no I can't be tricked. I won't let my heart hope for more because it could be hurt. I am going to be tough and learn to cope." Isn't that true? Christians often talk about surviving, being strong. But being strong doesn't just require buckling down for the long road ahead, being strong is protecting your heart from bitterness and becoming hard. When you read about waiting on the Lord in the bible, I am always amazed about how the words seems so hopeful, some verses even mention hope.. see the following verses

Psalm 5:3 In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation.

Psalm 130: 5 I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope.

Micah 7:7 But as for me, I watch in hope for the LORD, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.

Psalm 27:14 Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.

Psalm 33:20 We wait in hope for the LORD; he is our help and our shield.


Waiting has taught me to hold on to hope for the Lord to redeem, restore, heal --even when others doubt and criticize, even when it seems foolish. Scripture reveals that waiting and hope/expectation go hand in hand.

6. Waiting points to Christ in a unique way. As I have struggled with waiting over the past couple years of my life, I have been blessed with side effect I did not expect....ANTICIPATION. Moses Ceasar said, “God created you. He loves you very much. And when you put your life in his hands and you surrender unconditionally…your waiting experience doesn’t become agony, it becomes anticipation.” I have learned to hope in the Lord in a special way and as I come daily to the Lord with my doubts and struggles, I find that it reveals an even greater longing --for eternity, for His presence. This has caused me to cling to cross and the promise of heaven in a way I cannot even describe. Waiting for ______ (insert whatever you are waiting for) can reveal an even greater Wait we all have. Although there is more certainty in our Christian walk (heaven, eternity is a known end to our wait), there still is a wait which requires hope and anticipation to make it through the long days before the end result. Waiting for the small stuff has become a compass towards


7. Finally, waiting gives you a chance to rely on God to meet your needs.
This is especially noticable in the marriage department. I lack some of the emotional and spiritual intimacy and encouragement that comes with a spouse. Lacking that sometimes is very hard, but I have been striving to go to the Lord. I find that where others don't understand that, the Lord has been able to meet those needs. And that is a unique blessing I did not know until the past couple years...to have the Creator of the universe meet my needs so personally while I wait for His provision.

Waiting has not been my favorite phase of life, and honestly, its not a phase I hope to remain in. It hurts, its challenging, it is stripping me of my sin and doubts and that process is painful. Sometimes waiting is silent lonely times with lots of prayers and searching and very few answers But it has had its moments- moments I would not trade - moments where I saw the Lord's goodness and moments where I was changed. I eagerly wait for the day where i look back and say, "oh I see what that waiting was for" but part of me suspects there are purposes to my waiting that I wont realize here on this earth. It is comforting to know that the Lord intends to use it all.

Small Update....

I have not been a good blogger. It is easier for people who are naturally very creative or have adorable baby pics to post. But I love writing so this should be easier. I will try to do better.

I have been to several new restaurants and places in Jackson and hopefully will have time to update on those places.