"Let It ALL Out"

                                               Source: flickr.com via Katie on Pinterest

Hello to all my devoted blog readers!! :D
I'm sorry this has been such a silent place lately.
Work has been tying me up, and hopefully this week will allow me to be a better blogger.

I heard this song for the first time this week and the lyrics just absolutely blew me away.
They really hold a special meaning for me.
The song is "Let It All Out" by Relient K.
God has us go through hard times for a reason.
Through those hard times, God wants us to "Let It ALL Out" to Him.
Cry out to Him.
He will hold you.
He has a reason.
TRUST.HIM.
I'll post the lyrics here so you can read them and meditate on them.
(and of course I'll post the song too.)


Let it all out
Get it all out
Rip it out remove it
Don't be alarmed
When the wound begins to bleed

Cause we're so scared to find out
What this life's all about
So scared we're going to lose it
Not knowing all along
That's exactly what we need

And today I will trust you with the confidence
Of a man who's never known defeat
But tomorrow, upon hearing what I did
I will stare at you in disbelief
Oh, inconsistent me
Crying out for consistency

[Chorus:]
And you said I know that this will hurt
But if I don't break your heart then things will just get worse
If the burden seems too much to bear
Remember
The end will justify the pain it took to get us there

And I'll let it be known
At times I have shown
Signs of all my weakness
But somewhere in me
There is strength

And you promise me
That you believe
In time I will defeat this
Cause somewhere in me
There is strength

And today I will trust you with the confidence
Of a man who's never known defeat
And I'll try my best to just forget
That that man isn't me


Reach out to me
Make my heart brand new
Every beat will be for you
For you

And I know you know
You touched my life
When you touched my heavy heart and made it light



Love,
Katie :)

Check It Out!

 

                                                             Source: None via Katie on Pinterest

That little dance that Snoopy is doing kind of looked like the dance I do when something SUPER exciting happens!!
Well, I have two very exciting announcements to make!!!
The first is that I got my CollegePlus! welcome package in the mail today!!!
I was still am SO excited that it's here!
Although I must say, the part I'm most excited about is the t-shirt. :P (me and my obsession for clothes!)
The other is that one of my dear friends started a blog!! :D :D
You can find it here.
Make sure you give her some blog world love!!
Well, that's about it.

Praying for my friends who are going through some tough stuff right now!!!

Love,
Katie :)

Monday is Book Day

                                                           Source: Uploaded by user via Katie on Pinterest

It's book day again :)
Sorry this hasn't been very consistent so far!!!
I promise I'll try and do better.

Idols of the Heart
Chapter 7: Thinking About Your God
In this chapter, it talks about how our mind is basically what controls our affections and our will to make decisions.
We have to be so very careful about what we feed our minds, because it will come out in what we do and say.
The more we know about God, the more likely to choose Him and put down our absurd idolatry.
Honestly, people, God IS the only One who can make us happy. The more we dwell on that, the less we'll choose something above Him.

Questions:
1) Why is it important for you to have a correct understanding of God?
A: If we have a correct understanding of God, our minds will be less apt to create a god to suit us. It will be harder for our hearts to try and tell us something false about God the more we know and understand about Him.

2) How does God inform you about His nature? What particular characteristics of His do you especially rejoice in?
A: Through His word and also through different circumstances in our lives. A characteristic that is very special to me is that He is our rest and our peace. (Matthew 11: 25-30, Psalm 55:22)

3) How would you explain the role of idolatry in modern man to a sixth grader?
A: As people who constantly offend and dishonor God, we always search to find happiness in things other than God whether we know it or not. Our hearts are always tricking us to think that God sin't who will make us truly happy.

4) Identify any areas where you have expectations that function as gods. Think about your imaginations during the day. How do you see yourself?
A: I think for me, I seek after the approval of other people. I always worry about if people like me or not. It's selfish. I should be dwelling on God and making sure that He is pleased with who I am.

Love,
Katie :)

song of the week: Hawk Nelson - Let's Dance

To You Who Are Heavy Laden....

                                                             Source: None via Katie on Pinterest

I have so much I feel I need to share.
This life is hard.
Many things attack us, and as Christians it seems even more rough and relentless.
Satan would do anything to see our faith falter and fail.
And a lot of times we're just tempted to give up.
So many time I've just wanted to scream out, "GOD, WHY IS THIS SO HARD?!"
When I think I'm finally out of the dark, it comes back and hits me harder than I thought possible.
It's never the same either.
The devil has many devices by which he likes to destroy our strength.
He's not weak...he knows what'll get us down.
He whispers in our ear that we can't do this.
We're never going to get out.
We might as well give up on ourselves and God.
There's no hope and no escape.
BUT
We have God on our side.
We can say with confidence, "Satan, get AWAY from me! Jesus has cleansed me and is on MY side. You are defeated and I have victory in Jesus Christ!"
Even when we feel weak and small, God is made greater through that!
Through our wimpiness, God gets glory.
When we feel as though we can't go on another day, God opens His arms wide and invites us to rest in Him.
In Matthew 11:25-30, Jesus says...
 At that time Jesus declared, "I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; ²⁶yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. ²⁷All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. ²⁸Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. ²⁹Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."

Jesus WANTS us to run to Him.
He's the only One who can give us true comfort in this world.
He's the small, gentle whisper in the chaos, just saying, "Come to ME. I will give you rest."


Tenth Avenue North is one of my favorite bands of all time.
They're songs speak such truth; something that is sorely lacking in our culture nowadays. 
This is probably my second favorite song by them.
It's such a simple song, but it speaks volumes.
Enjoy and know that there will be hard times in this life, but Jesus is our peace and our joy.





Love,
Katie :)

V.I.D. - Very Important Dates

                                                    Source: theoccasionaltraveller.wordpress.com via Katie on Pinterest

It's hard to believe October is less than two week from being over!!!
School is in full swing and lots of things are going on!!
I figured I might let y'all know what kinds of exciting things are coming up in the upcoming months. :D

October 19: I found out who my CollegePlus! coach is!

October 31: It's Halloween...my family doesn't go all out or anything, but it's cute to see my little siblings all decked out in adorable costumes! (and who doesn't love all the chocolate you get, anyhow?!)

November 11: My CollegePlus! start date!!!!

November 13: My twin brothers' 15th birthday.

November 24: Thanksgiving...basically just an excuse to stuff ourselves like there's no tomorrow. (oh and be thankful :D)

November 27: My 18th birthday..oh my. I'll be ancient!!

December 1: My family will get out all of our Christmas decorations!!!!

December 25: Christmas :) it'll be Meddie's first Christmas in America, so this one will be extra special...

January: (not sure about the exact date) Google Buzz will be officially shut down. This is quite sad because Buzz is where it's happenin'!!! (if you're in CP! that is)

January 1: HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!

January 8: My brother Nathan turns 9!!

January 26-30: CP! gathering in California. This is what my paychecks are currently going towards. I want to go REALLY bad!

Besides these very exciting events that are coming up, I have school, work, three Bible studies, time for my family, etc.
It's crazy busy, but I love it! :)
I'm sure you all are super busy as well.
Make sure time for God is always a priority...(I'm preaching this to myself as well)
Have a great weekend!
(to all my Sioux City readers, I'm working 5-10 tomorrow at Gap. Come visit me!!)

Love,
Katie :)

Blog Love :D

                                                              Source: weheartit.com via Katie on Pinterest

Some of my very good friends (two are siblings of mine :D) have started blogs recently.
You should definitely check them out!!!!
Follow them if you feel so inclined...

My twin brothers started Two Twinkies in a Ding-Dong World yesterday. They're pretty hilarious, so don't miss out!

My little sis Kaylee Bugg uses her creative skills to post on Dingy, But Loved.

In Meant to Shine For Him, SarahSis shares the adventures of her crazy awesome life!

Love,
Katie :)

My Puppy

Let me introduce you to the cutest puppy on the face of this planet.
Well, technically he's not a puppy anymore, but I like to call him that anyway! :D
He can be naughty, but I can NEVER stay mad at him for more than about five minutes.
He eats Kleenex and barks at nothing just to make sure that it stays nothing.
His vocabulary consists of about five words.
My mom and I spoil him rotten.
He's gotten pretty fat over these past years.
He loves people and is quite the social butterfly!
He has millions of nicknames. (I'll show you a few in some pictures)
No dog could be loved more than my puppy is.
His name is Cody and he's the only family dog I've ever known.
I just love him to death!!!

 Here he is barking at nothing. 

When he does that, he gets called either a dingleberry or Doofenschmirtz. 

(only if you've seen Phineas and Ferb would that make sense)

 When his fur is especially thick and fluffy like this,

we either call him Fluffy or Chubby.

 And when he's being plain adorable, 

he gets called Baby Cakes.

This one is probably one of my most favorites!

When he gets his hair cut really short (like he will tomorrow),

he looks like a girl and we call him Nancy. ;)

I love you, Cody!!!!

Love,
Katie :)
(no book again this week...sorry I've been behind!!!)

song of the week: Relient K - For the Band