I Kick Myself...

So if you didn't know, I am a runner.  But something I have found out in the last 3 months is that sometimes I literally kick myself when I run.  It's not something super noticeable in my stride but when I wear long pants with a zipper at the ankle I find my ankle bleeding because during the run I have kicked my right ankle with my left foot causing the zipper to scrape my ankle.  The actual act of kicking myself seems funny to me because shouldn't my one foot know the other foot is right there and avoid hitting it...guess I'm not that coordinated after all.

Anyway I bring this up because sometimes I figuratively kick myself as well (like the saying goes).  I kick myself when I'm not more careful with the words that come out of my mouth.  I say things I shouldn't, I gossip, I say things without thinking, I say things when I should be silent, I say random things to be funny...or I say things to look holy so my motives are all wrong. Trust me, missionaries are still human and I praise God that His grace and forgiveness abounds.  In those moments when I do kick myself, I pray I would humbly seek the Lord's face for forgiveness and if my words have been charged against someone than I seek their forgiveness as well. 

In the last week God has brought to my attention numerous verses that deal with my words.  The verses speak to the fact that guess what...your words = your heart! (Luke 6:45, Matt 12:34, Matt 15:11) If your heart is filled up with the things of God then your words will follow.  The more I am intentional with the words I choose, the more I'm allowing the Holy Spirit to fill up my heart and choose the words He wants me to use.  I want my words to show that my heart is overflowing with the love of my Savior and my life is submitted to Him.  Our words are meant to build each other up, not tear down.  

I know I'll still kick myself literally and figuratively in the future...I just hope, in God's strength and leading, I am able to kick myself a little less with my word choice.

God be praised for how He uses His Word to mold and shape us today!

Highlights of 2012!

Well I have 30 minutes before I need to jump in a car to head to the Minneapolis/St Paul airport to catch my flight to New Orleans via St. Louis so I thought what better way to spend these next 30 minutes than praising God for 2012!!

HIGHLIGHTS of 2012!

1) God is still the same great and awesome God He was at the start of 2012 and at the end of it!
2) Jesus my Savior is Risen indeed!
3) His Spirit lives inside me and counsels me in the way I should live each day.
4) For my family - who continually supports this crazy girl in the adventure God has her on!
5) I traveled ALOT in 2012 and God protected me every step of the way!  From every flight to every car ride!
6) February 21, 2012 I reached full support as a long term missionary with the EFCA!!!! This milestone allowed me to return to NOLA by March 1st 2012 to continue the work God has for me.
7) God opened up the door for new mission fields in the wake of Hurricane Isaac and Hurricane Sandy!  More lives were open to the Gospel and were transformed by the love of Christ!
8) God called volunters, interns, and mentors to serve with us over the summer of 2012 in New Orleans and in Haiti!!
9) Ariealle fellow staff member also reached full support and was able to join us on the ground.
10) I saw how God is working in the country of Haiti and encouraged my fellow missionaries, Haitian brothers and sisters in Chirst!
11) The EFCA pulled together a committee to discuss internships and asked me to be a part of the discussions on how internships could be utilized and offered to this next generation to multiply leaders!
12) The EFCA's youth conference, aka Challenge, was hosted in New Orleans and many youth were impacted to draw closer to God and to serve those in need! They prayed for my city and worked alongside churches and church planters to further God's work!
13) God turned a 4 year friendship into a dating relationship in Sept 2012...very blessed :)
14) My mom came to visit me in NOLA over Thanksgiving!
15) God provided a home for me on the same street I'd been living on and one that the teams had worked on and prayed over!
16) Last but not least, I praise God for the work He has done in my heart over this last year.  I'm no where near perfect but recognize how much I need Him everyday and it's through Him that I live and move and have my being (Acts 17:28).  I praise Him for how He continues to remove my selfish pride and wants to give me a heart of flesh and not of stone (Ezekiel 36:26).  I praise Him for all the many lessons He has taught me over the last year and I pray He keeps reminding me of those lessons so I don't forget them.  Even today the reminder that my words are a result of my heart (Luke 6:45)...may the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be pleasing in your sight Oh Lord! (psalm 19:14)

Thank you Jesus for 2012 and I'm looking forward to what 2013 has in store! :)

"From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets, the Name of the LORD is to be praised!"
 Psalm 113:3

Well If you can't trust church people...

This time last week I was in NJ sleeping on a couch in the prayer room of Beacon Church with my girls Becky and Jen.  Becky and I had successfully crossed the GW bridge and arrived safely in NJ.  Jen so kindly gave us the tour and introduced us to a very loving kind homeowner named Marie.

Marie (pictured at right feedng a team lunch) is a retirement aged lady with arthritis and bad knees, who has been caring for her bed-ridden husband Louis for going on 19 years now.   Prior to Sandy, she had to evacuate with her husband to a nursing home facility, where they remained displaced for eight days.  When they were finally able to return home, she found water in the entire crawlspace under the home, and water damage in her garage and breezeway where she kept many of her clothes, her food pantry and her freezer.  We have been able to remove her saturated insulation, gut her breezeway, and help clean out and pressure wash her garage.  We have also re-insulated the crawlspace, and hung drywall in the breezeway so far.

When I met Marie, she welcomed us into her home and began to show us pictures on her camera of the work the teams had accomplished.  While talking with her, she told us how she's been waiting to get her photos printed but no one has been able to wait the one hour at the photo desk to get them printed.  Well, that's all we needed to hear and we were off to CVS with her memory card to print off the 470+ photos.  As we were walking out the door with her memory card, some cash, and her name to pick up her prescriptions, she says, "Well if you can't trust church people, I might as well not get out of bed." 

That simple line struck a cord with me.  Our staff and volunteers have demonstrated the love of Christ to Ms. Marie and communicated to her through their words and actions that us "church people" can be trusted! How awesome! God is AWESOME! I praise God for putting Ms. Marie in our path!  Then of course to top it off, Ms. Marie fed us when we returned with her photos! The kindness and generosity of people who have been through so much continues to amaze me.  I pray that the Body of Christ including myself continues to show the world that we are trustworthy because Christ alone is worthy to be trusted!

Cold Weather and Warm Hearts!

So where am I now?? Right now I am sitting at the dinner table with Becky (pictured right) and Logan who make up half of THE Team Symmons who have graciously hosted me and allowed me to use their vehicle while traveling around the northeast.

Yes I'm in Massachusetts now, spent the week in Connecticut, and will travel to New Jersey tomorrow.  My special friend Becky contacted me in October about coming to visit them and churches in the Northeast before Sandy was even in existence.  In God's perfect timing, I had this trip scheduled before there was a need for a response up here.

Faifield Beach in Connecticut

One of the God stories I wanted to share came from my friends at Black Rock Congregational Church in Fairfield CT.  This church has been to New Orleans once a year since Katrina.  When Hurricane Sandy made its way towards their hometown, they were ready to see what doors God would open.  Sure enough, 2 days after the storm, 15 volunteers from BRCC loaded up and headed to a home that was flooded due to the storm.  Jeremy said his experiences with TouchGlobal in New Orleans prepared him to see the mission field that follows crisis and reach out in Christ's love.  He said they had 90 volunteers from the church come out to serve on a Saturday.  PRAISE GOD for the body of Christ stepping up to love on those in need!!

Please pray for Becky and I as we make our way to New Jersey tomorrow.  It's going to be a quick trip so please pray that we can encourage our staff and churches on the ground, catch a vision for what God is doing there and how best to tell others about it, and for safety on the roads! 

Again I have been so blessed by the hospitality and kindness of my friends here in the Northeast!  Shout outs to Craig and Nancy for letting me base out of their home in CT, for the Goulart and Wallace families for sharing life with me, for Craig teaching me how to shoot a rifle and a revolver (haha yeppers!), and of course for Team Symmons (Logan, Nick, and Papa Jack pictured below!) who have made this trip possible for me! PRAISE JESUS for the people He has put in my life!

AND of course Praise God for His perfect timing that I was up here when my lil spoon Alysha gave birth to her beautiful daughter Evelyn!!! Praise God for new life! :)

Praise the Sweet Name!

Hi Everyone!

I just wanted to let you know that you can praise Jesus while reading the TouchGlobal blog about how He has provided thus far for the Hurricane Sandy response!

Please click on the link for the blog: www.touchglobal.wordpress.com

You can also get more information on how you can be involved at: www.efca.org/hurricane-sandy   

We are taking teams and continuing to share the love of Christ to those in the Northeast!  Please continue to pray for us as we seek God's will for what the long term recovery looks like.

God bless!

Katie :)

"Look to the Lord and His strength, seek His face always."
Psalm 105:4