A New Song in My Heart

I was giving the opportunity to share devotions in our staff meeting this morning.  Instead of sharing something from God's Word I played a song that helps me remember that my life here on earth is about praising God for sending His Son Jesus to be my savior.  I get so distracted sometimes in the busyness of life and ministry and lose sight of the reason why I'm here.

The song I played is one I heard from Camden Crossroads Community Church in Camden GA at the end of their worship service.  It's awesome.  One day I'll get to stand in front of my Savior and sing these words to Him. How cool is that!

The lyrics are below and here is the link to the song: http://youtu.be/D5l597vvV1k

Thank you for the cross Lord

Thank you for the price You paid

Bearing all my sin and shame

In love You came

And gave amazing grace

Thank you for this love Lord

Thank you for the nail pierced hands

Washed me in Your cleansing flow

Now all I know Your forgiveness and embrace

Worthy is the Lamb

Seated on the throne

Crown You now with many crown

You reign victorious

High and lifted up

Jesus Son of God

 The Darling of Heaven crucified

 Worthy is the Lamb

Worthy is the Lamb

Crown him with many crowns,

 the Lamb upon his throne,

 Hark! how the heavenly anthem drowns

 all music but its own.

Awake, my soul, and sing

of him who died for thee,

and hail him as thy matchless King

 through all eternity.

A Month in Photos

 This last month has flown by!  I started off in Louisiana, spent two weeks in North Carolina, and now I'm back in Louisiana with my boyfriend Mark!

Here are some photos to best summarize my month!

My Maryland mom and dad were able to come down to New Orleans to install windows in my church's new youth community center! They are such a blessing!

I was able to have breakfast with my roommates Carla and Mariko.  Sounds simple enough but with our crazy schedules this is a special special treat!

 To celebrate Chelsea's birthday, we had a google plus hangout with Chelsea, Ronnie, Jen, Shelby, and I! We were all in different states but praise the Lord for internet to connect us!

Before I flew out, I was able to hear my friend Nina perform with her group called The Redemption Family.  They were awesome and glorified God with awesome instruments, vocals, and lyrics!

I was able to see Celine in North Carolina!  We met in New Orleans when she came down on a volunteer team.  She graduated from UNC and has recently moved to Charlotte!  It was so cool to catch up with her and pray for one another.

 I stopped in to say hi to Church at Charlotte people and bumped into two of my favorite moms!! Taffney is my friend Christie's mom and Katy is my friends Joel and Grace's mom.  I was able to have lunch with Katy and share what God is doing in our lives!  Her grandson is pictured next!!

This is Bryce!!!!! He was born July 31st to my friends Meredith and Joel!  He is ADORABLE!!

I got to pick up my niece Madison after school and enjoy some Tony's ice cream and play at a park! Thankful for this time to spend with her! She's growing up fast!

Hooray for reunions with my bestest mate!!! Allie B!!!! So thankful to God for her and so thankful we got to see each other in a state neither of us live in! God is great!

Mark and I with some buddies from camp attended the wedding of former chiefs.  It was such a blessing to meet more of Mark's friends from camp and we look forward to seeing those guys next time in NC!

Mark and I got to spend an awesome beach vacation with my family at Sunset Beach NC! It was so relaxing and we celebrated our 1 year anniversary!  God sustained us through our long distance woods style relationship! He alone deserves the glory, honor, and praise!

On our way to Louisiana, we stopped off in Camden County GA to see a pastor and his family! This family and church body has been an awesome support to myself and have adopted Mark into the family!  We were so thankful to have 2 days with them and yes now we are BOTH in LOUISIANA!!! This photo is from a park in Covington! We praise the Lord for all He's done in our lives and where He's gonna take us!

Where is the balance??

August 19th, 2013

10 more days until the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.  This will mark year 8 and my 5th year here in New Orleans.  I shared recently on facebook how one homeowner was touched by our efforts on her home in New Jersey, a place we serve now because the church in New Jersey came here to New Orleans to serve, caught the vision of what we were doing, so when Hurricane Sandy blew through, they were ready to respond!  It's crazy to think over the past 8 years everywhere God has taken us since Katrina.  And yes, 8 years later, there are still needs here.  If you don't believe me, come visit :)

As we look ahead to hurricane season, wondering where the next storm will go, we recognize that we want to be ready to respond with the love of Christ wherever the Lord takes us.  So right now, I'm intern-free and volunteer team-free but that doesn't I'm on free time (vacation for me starts Sept 1-8).  This is a time of debriefing on how the summer 2013 internship program went and a time of preparation for the Fall 2013.

This fall will include my boyfriend Mark moving to Louisiana.  It'll be interesting balancing ministry with having a local boyfriend but I'm definitely up for the challenge as long distance was never my favorite (but God continues to teach me a lot through it).

Ever since I have taken the role of Director of Interns in June 2010 I have traveled more than been here.  Then when I was accepted long term in October 2011, I was on the road seeking out ministry partners.  So for about 3 years I haven't felt as connected to my New Orleans community and I'm praying about ways to be more connected while still meeting my ministry goals.  I enjoy traveling, seeing how God is working in other places, and sharing how people can get involved with the ministry. I enjoy being an active member of my church and being a neighbor to my community.  So where do I find the balance in being planted in my community and being on the road?

The other balancing act most people don't realize is I live in central city New Orleans in a house with two great roommates but my interns and office are located on the N. Shore of Lake Pontchartrain (about 45 min commute).  So it's hard being in both places and sometimes I wish the lake could be smaller but sometimes it does serve as a good buffer when I need to take a break. So any insights are welcome on how I can balance working on the N. Shore and living in the city from all my commuter buddies out there.

Balance seems to be the recurring theme of this post...and for some reason I can still remember my pastor saying several years ago that you find balance when you "Love God with all ya got, and love people til ya drop."  At first you think, that doesn't sound like balance but let me explain what I think he meant.  When you love God with all you got, you spend time with Him, you find rest in Him, you listen for His voice, you are obedient to that voice, you rest when he says rest, you go when he says go, you serve Him wholeheartedly and everything you do whether in word or deed is done on behalf of Christ.  When you love people til ya drop, you are living out the calling on your life and since you are being obedient to God's voice, you are listening for the relationships you are called to build.  You love people on behalf of Christ, not just to look like a good person. When you love people with all you got, you are pleasing your Heavenly Father and He will give you energy and guide your steps in those relationships.

The idea of balance isn't really spelled out word for word in the Bible.  However, we know that the Lord Jesus was never out of balance.  He was perfectly in balance in His relationships and His work.  He is our example.  Jesus never seemed bothered about finding balance. He always loved God and loved others!  He found time to get alone and pray. He found time to heal the sick, preach the Kingdom of God, and feed the hungry.  He slept, He traveled, He told parables and I'm pretty sure he had the same 24 hours in a day that we have.  Jesus also didn't have an expectation of what balance should look like.  He was willing to serve His Father however He was asked to.  He wasn't selfish with His time but recognized that His time was not His own.  I think sometimes this is where I fail, in fact I know it is.  I want to find MY idea of balance and not the Lord's idea of balance. Lord forgive me and show me what you want balance to look like in my life.

So right now what does balance look like for me?  Spending time with my Heavenly Father, being obedient to His voice, and seeking out His plan for my days through prayer, His Word, and Godly counsel.  The classic Jim Elliot phrase always pops up too: Wherever you are, be all there.  Thanks Jim, I'll keep praying about it :)

It's August Already??

I'm still amazed at how each summer seems to go faster than the last one.  June was spent with the amazing intern Wren and we welcomed intern Anna to our New Orleans family in mid-June!  July was spent welcoming intern Katie (back from her spring internship) and intern Cristi all the way from Chile!  One week in July was spent spreading the news about what Crisis Response does to our leadership conference and another week was spent serving alongside Hershey EFC in Haiti where I got to celebrate my 27th bday (with my boyfriend Mark) and check in with the Haiti interns and staff.  August will be spent with one more week of NOLA teams, lots of summer interns departing, and settling back into life in NOLA along with getting prepared for my trip home to NC at the end of the month.

I praise God for all the many blessings and trials from this summer.  I pray that in every situation I use it as a chance to bring Him glory.  Even though the summer is winding down and we'll have about a month off from volunteer teams, we recognize that God is always at work and to be fully immersed in ministry wherever He has us.  We also recognize that Hurricane Season is in full swing in the months of August and September so we will be preparing as much as possible for the potential for a fall deployment.  (Maybe clear your calendar too incase we need you in the mission field that follows crisis!)

Please pray for me this month as I take some time to discern what God wants for me this fall and where my travels will take me.  I will be traveling to NC at the end of this month and would love to meet with anyone about what God is doing through the ministry and through me.  In personal news, I will be driving back to LA with my boyfriend Mark who will be moving here! (Praise God for a close-distance relationship after a year of long distance!) 

I plan to be in NC August 24th-29th to meet with people then in Cameron NC to see Mark graduate from camp August 29th-31st then at Sunset Beach September 1st-September 7th.  Let me know if you are around to connect with me.

Hope you have a blessed day!  Happy August! :)

Hi my name is Katie and I'm an accidental pharisee.....Hi Katie.

First off, my apologies for my severe time lapse between posts.  I recognize when I fail to communicate what is going on in my life, I'm missing my chance to praise God for all He's done and ask for continued prayers in the work He's called me to.  Sometimes it is hard to write a blogpost when nothing stands out to share...however, I want to be a dedicated communicator of all things God puts on my heart to share and I pray with your forgiveness and God's help, I can be just that.

Secondly, so I read this book.  I had my doubts about reading the book Accidental Pharisees written by Larry Osborne because the tagline is "avoiding pride, exclusivity, and other dangers of overzealous faith."  I've never seen myself as having an "overzealous" faith (at least not the overzealous that comes to my mind).  And exlusivity...I hope I'm not an exclusive person rather an includer of all peoples.  Okay, pride...now that one and that one alone sold me.  I know I struggle with pride because when you are given the title "missionary" you can't help but easily accept the pedestal that comes with it and forget that all believers are called to missions in some shape or fashion.  So I bought the book and read it.

The result: Hi my name is Katie and I'm an accidental pharisee....Hi Katie.

The book highlighted many things I was doing that wasn't projecting an "unworthy servant" lifestyle but a "pharisee" lifestyle. I wanted praise for my obedience, I was finding pride in my "missionary" status, I was looking down on others who weren't walking with the Lord as closely as I am (or what I thought I was).  I was incredibly guilty of gift projection..thinking everyone who is a follower of Jesus should have the same calling as me, the same excitement level and be stretched the same way I am and should be just as talkative about their faith as I try to be.  However, I forgot that God is way more creative than that. Just the sentence underlined "A servant who obeys has done nothing special." whack! My obedience isn't to earn me praise..it's a "byproduct of loving Jesus!"  Lord forgive me.  Remind me that I'm an "unworthy servant; I have only done my duty." (Luke 17:10) 

Jesus spent his time preaching to thousands who would hear what he'd have to say and turn around and leave.  He wasn't preaching to the super committed, strong willed, all out servant hearted...this book reminded me his audience was to the weak-willed, uncommitted, struggling in their journey of who is God and who has He called me to be.  His disciples even argued about who would be the greatest in the Kingdom and yet He kept with them.  He didn't look down on them or judge them.  He loved them and encouraged them. He taught them how to pray, how to remain humble, how to minister to hurting people...all the while knowing they would desert him at the cross.  If Jesus had wanted to preach to only the super committed, strong willed then he would've preached to the Pharisees but we know how He felt about them and we know how they felt about Him.

I say all this to say...I need to get off my high horse.  I need to love the people God puts in my path right where they are at, despite their background, commitment level, or passion for what I think they should be passionate about. 

Lord I pray that I can say instead, "Hi my name is Katie and I'm an unworthy servant...Praise the Lord!"