...rambling...

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It's so nice to finally have some free time to sit here and blog to y'all about life stuff.
Like, serious stuff.
What has God been teaching me lately?
Two weeks ago, I probably wouldn't have been able to answer that question.
But God used a very special Bible/book study to reveal some much needed work that needed to be done.
(the book is His Chosen Bride by Jennifer Lamp. I highly recommend it!)
The last chapter we read in this study was on discipline.
So guess what I've been convicted of?
Yep! You got it. Discipline, or in this case, lack thereof.
My eyes were opened to just how lazy I've been lately.
And it's not just in one area. Oh no, it's the whole shabang.
Everything from getting up in the morning to focusing in school to reading my Bible every morning to cleaning. That's just to name a few.
I also feel like I've been slacking at work too.
I was reading in 2 Timothy and when I came to chapter 2 I read that God calls us to be hard workers.
HARD.WORKERS
How is God glorified through laziness and grumpy attitudes?
I'll answer that for you: He's not.
We dishonor Him.
I do NOT want to live a life that's dishonoring to my Savior.
But I can't just do that by myself.
I've been praying that God will give me a spirit of discipline and HARD WORK.
I've realized that this can all be helped if I could just get up in the morning.
It seems like no matter what time I go to bed, either really early or really late, I just can't bring myself to climb out of bed. Especially in the winter. My bed is warm and cozy, and the outside world is, well, not.
I know that this above all needs work.
Progress is slow and some days are better than others.
But God is good, and I know that He will help me become more and more like Him.
Another thing that I've realized is that home schooling requires a totally different type of discipline.
I knew that already, but it's different when you're actually in it.
Coming back to home schooling after three years of going to public school has been a tough transition and I have to say I don't quite have it down yet.
I love the many benefits of home schooling, but sometimes it's a bit overwhelming.
Again, God is good, and I have seen His hand guide me along.

Here's the verse from 2 Timothy that really convicted me: (v. 15) Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.

Seek God.
Always.

Love,
Katie :)

A Little Catching Up

It's so hard to watch blogging fall farther and farther behind.
Ah well, such is life I suppose.
Sometime soon here I'm hoping to be able to write a nice long detailed post. :)

Here's a cool video to keep you company in my absence ;)
(and yes I do realize Christmas is over....is there a rule about when you're supposed to STOP?)



Some little tidbits of news you might enjoy:
- I got my little sister hooked on Hannah Montana.
- I got two Christmas items in the mail yesterday: one from Alaska and one from Ohio. Both of them were from dear CollegePlus! sisters.
- Last night, one of my wonderful "older sisters" got ENGAGED!!!! I'm so excited for the happy couple :D :D :D
- Spending a lot of time with my family recently has shown just how hilarious each member really is.

Happy Wednesday!!

Love,
Katie :)

Boxing Day

Christmas is, well, over.
Have a wonderful Boxing Day.



Love,
Katie :)

What a Wonderful Christmas

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What a wonderful Christmas this has been.
And it isn't even over yet. :)
It's been celebrated with my wonderful family and friends.
I'm so thankful for everything my Savior has given me.
This year I'm especially thankful for the gift of salvation.
It's become so very precious and real to me.
Thank you, Jesus, that You came to earth to die for sinners like me. Thank you that you came so that you may suffer in this world of sin WITHOUT sin, and that you are ever interceding for us. May I continue to grow in my knowledge of you.
I hope y'all are having a wonderful CHRISTmas season.
Here's one of my favorite Christmas songs ever.
May God be glorified in everything!



Love,
Katie :)

A Wonderful Combination

Here's The Piano Guys' newest video :)
It's a Christmas song, so it's a WONDERFUL COMBINATION of these amazing musicians and Christmas music.
Enjoy!



Love,
Katie :)

This and That

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This blog has been quiet for a while and I apologize!!
I'm still trying to get into the swing of things.
Life is still crazy between school and work and now getting ready for Christmas.
I have a government final tonight that I need to study for.
Grandparents' company to prepare for.
Christmas cookies to bake.
I could go on and on, BUT I'll save you the trouble.

Life here is pretty cold in the 12th coldest city in the United States. (yeah, that's right. 12TH COLDEST! if you don't believe me...look it up)
Thankfully the snow melted.
It needs to come back on Christmas Eve, and leave again on Boxing Day.

Here's some cool links for you to take a look at :)

My friend Ruthiey blogs about drama and how it actually can be a good thing! (props to all drama queens)

Sunday night my church had a night of Christmas music in which my family sang, my brothers' band performed, and the Nativity scene  was reenacted.

Hope you're having a great week!!

Love,
Katie :)

Evolution of a Christmas Tree

Whoever gave this to me knew me awfully well :D

Our house looks beautiful!!!
My dad just put up Christmas lights on top of our TV and it looks so pretty!!!!
All of us kids have Christmas lights in our room and the lights display outside is simply gorgeous.
I would much rather have classic white lights than colored ones.
One my friend's dad said that colored lights (especially the flashing ones) tend to look like a Vegas casino sign.
I have to agree.
Christmas reminds me of pure, white snow.
White lights capture that.
Colored ones do NOT.
It's just like -
OH MY EYES!
Classy is just always better in my opinion.

Love,
Katie :)

School and Christmas and such

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I love Christmas.
Just not winter.
(that is my quote of the day.)
A friend of mine from work was actually supposed to come over and bake Christmas cookies with me today, but unfortunately, busy-ness pushed it until next week.
Baking Christmas cookies is one of my favorite Christmas pastimes.
My mom gives us the day off school in order to stock our pantry full of home baked cookie goodness.
We have lots of fun cutting out snowmen, angels, stars, etc., and decorating them to our hearts' content.
It's a wonderful tradition that I wouldn't give up for the world :)

School is crazy town right now.
It involves lots of freshmen in college type stuff.
Boring lectures where they teach you "vital" skills.
Math and physics are really hard.
I can't wait until I can start an actual routine.
I'm still waiting for that part of the school year to kick in.
On the plus side, I submitted my very first assignment for CollegePlus! today!!
I was pretty excited about that!

I hope you're having a wonderful pre-Christmas season :D

Love,
Katie :)

Cellos and Star Wars?

If you've read my blog even for a short period of time, you know that I LOVE The Piano Guys.
Well, a while ago, they made an announcement that they were going to make a CELLO WARS video.
And I was just a wee bit excited :D
So I've been waiting and waiting for this video to come out.
IT'S FINALLY HEEEEEEEERE!!!
It's even cooler than I thought it would be!
Without further ado............The Piano Guys presents Cello Wars!!!!!!!!



Love,
Katie :)

HOORAY for Christmas music. BOO for snow.

It's snowing at my house.
Yuck.
I'm all for the prettiness of snow. Who doesn't love that?
But it's pretty for the first day.
Then you go out in it.
It's cold.
It's wet.
It's cold.
It gets everywhere.
It's cold.
It gets muddy and gross.
It's co-
You get the picture.

But I still have to give a shout out to Christmas music.
I get more and more excited with every song I hear.
I grew up listening to Michael W. Smith Christmas music more than any other artist.
Listening to his Christmas albums each year brings back a lot of really fond memories.
I got to go see his Christmas concert last year with my parents.
It was UNBELIEVABLE!!
This song is one of my absolute favorites.
Music like this is my favorite. It's so beautiful :)
Enjoy. (and if you live down south be so very thankful that you live where the snow never comes)



Love,
Katie :)

CHRISTMAS MUSIC!!!!!!

It's FINALLY time to brush the dust off all your Christmas albums and rock out to some of the best music out there!!
I was especially excited when Michael Buble came out with a Christmas album this year.
He's my favorite :)
I'm hoping to post a bunch of my all time favorite Christmas carols (and maybe some which aren't so carol-like) in the upcoming weeks.
I've had this song stuck in my head for the past three days :P
I'm sure it'll be stuck in yours too after you listen to it.
So
You're welcome!





Love,
Katie :)

P.S.: Two of my college friends are now courting!!!!!!!! SO happy for them!!