Passenger's Seat

“I’m with you”.

That’s what I want to be. I want to be the kind of friend that says, “I’m with you” no matter what.

I have a friend that always tells me, “I’m in, Katie. And if I tell you that I’m in. I mean I’m in, for all it of. Lets do this.” I love it. So, so much. Those simple words make me feel loved and at ease. Those words assure me that I someone that will never leave my passenger’s seat. She is with me no matter what.

We all want someone like that, someone who is constant, and all in all of the time. We want someone that will walk into our messiness without making us feel too messy. Someone that we can count on to say, “Yes”.

I believe that we were made with this longing, with this space for someone to fill. But our Creator did not make us this way not having a plan for how to satisfy this longing… this space.

God, in flesh and bones, showed us how to be the kind of friend that says, “I’m with you”. The Holy Spirit is our friend that is always sitting in our passenger seat, even when the roads get really bumpy, and when we drive away from all the good we’ve been given. God is with us. Emmanuel is still all in.

That Truth is worth holding onto.

I got the amazing opportunity to hear Bob Goff speak at my area’s annual Young Life Banquet. Bob Goff wrote Love Does and he talked a lot about how us Young Life leaders DO love. He reminded us how we should take advantage of the role we could play in kid’s lives. I could tell y’all all the awesome things he said but it really is all wrapped up in those three words… “I’m with you”.

Let’s be WITH each other like Jesus was WITH His friends. Let’s be WITH each other like the Holy Spirit is WITH us.

Cause when we do, we will get to see all of it.

I will get to see all of the mess, the scars, the pains, the joys, the adventures, the laughter, and the beauty in the lives of high school girls. I will get to be in the passenger seat, trusting wherever those wheels take me will bring sweetness.

What have we got to lose? 

Just Follow

We were running, not talking all that much. As usual, I was trying to create conversation by pulling random questions out of my head hoping that they would generate more than one word answers…

“Do y’all remember where you were on 9/11?” was what came out of my mouth as our feet were rhythmically hitting the dirt trail.

After what seemed like a quick thought process a solid “No” came from my two high school friends. Then I responded with my story, thinking that more conversation would branch off of what I said…

I was soon interrupted: “Wait, isn’t today September 11^th?”

“Wait, what, oh my goodness… is it?” I asked, as I frantically looked for the hazy numbers on my watch indicating the date.

“Yeah. Yes it is. September 11, 2013. That is so crazy, I was literally not thinking about that at all.”

We went on to talk about how the two of them were only 3 years old on that tragic day. I explained to them my vivid memory of sitting in my second grade classroom as my teacher started to cry, revealing the weight of the pain in this world. I searched in my brain for more of that day, but most of it was blurred and scarred with the confusion I felt as a 7 year old living in a world that got really dark, really quick.

Today though, I was shocked by the relevance of the question that came out of my mouth. There was zero bone in my body that was aware of today being September 11^th. I had no inkling that my question would make sense to be asked today. The only explanation I can come up with is that something other than myself led me to that question.

Pretty cool huh? It’s pretty cool that my thoughts were not my own this morning, that the Lord is sovereign at all times and works in the details, that when we let Him lead He teaches us.

Let Him lead. Just follow... Just follow Katie. 

Boy, am I eating that up today.

Families of 9/11, you are on my heart. I know that today may hurt just as much as it did 12 years ago.  I am praying for healing, and for peace, and for love. 

Sweetness // Cupcakes w/ chocolate on top

Chocolate.

It is safe to say that I am pretty enthralled with the magic that comes in the form of a bar of deep brown goodness... Anyone that knows me, knows that dark, slightly bitter, rich chocolate has the power to turn my day around. No doubt. Some people want cigarettes, or coffee, or candy, or a nice glass of wine to make their days a little sweeter. Not this girl. Give me some dark handsome chocolate and we’ll be friends.

On that note, I crave sweetness in general. Not only do I have no reservations against having a treat everyday, but I also don’t think a physical form of sweetness should be our only source of sweetness in any given day. 

Today as I was riding my bike home I passed my good friend, Alex, on her bike. We got each other’s attention just longer enough to holler and pedaled on our ways.  I cut down a side street to get off the busy road, which was the same street that Alex lived on. I didn’t have anywhere to be and my legs liked the idea of a break, so I stopped at Alex’s house to see if any of her roomies were home. Nope. None of them were home, so as I was getting back on my bike, Alex had just rolled up right around the corner…smiles all around.

We sat on the porch. Sweaty, her catching her breath, and me feeling my legs get stiffer by the minute. She caught me up on her life real quick, oozing with all goodness that the Lord has blessed her with lately. I listened, beaming, letting the joy overflowing from her soul seep into mine.

I did not want to leave that sweetness. But as I hopped back on my bike and she got in her car, I could only think about how utterly sweet those short few minutes were. I was thankful; thankful that I didn’t leave my class any earlier or later, thankful that I took the turn and decided to stop, thankful that Alex slowed down to sit with me for a second, and that she told me exactly what was on her heart. 

Nuggets like that are sweet enough to turn my day around. Chocolate works, but real, raw conversations like that, that are so full of His sovereignty and goodness are really what we are living for people. I am all about seeking these moments, asking for more of these moments, and opening our eyes to see the tiny treasures hidden all around us.

So.

Wander down side streets. Take the long way home.

Treasure hunt y’all, because I promise you won’t come home empty handed. 

Sweetness is just around the corner.

Almond Flour Cupcakes w/ chocolate on top

3 cups almond flour

¼ cup coconut oil, melted

½ cup honey (or mix of brown rice syrup and honey)

3 eggs

2 t vanilla

½ t salt

½ t baking soda

preheat oven to 325

stir together dry ingredients in one bowl

in another bowl whisk up wet ingredients (oil, honey, eggs, vanilla) until smooth.

Combine wet and dry. Mix with wooden spoon until just combined.

Grease muffin tin with coconut oil. Portion out the batter- it will be real thick.

Bake for 23-27 min. You will think they look burned (they aren’t) but they need to be a deep golden color and a toothpick should come out clean. If you take them out and they seem to deflate, they need longer.

Chocolate on top

1 bar of dark chocolate, melted

1 t. coconut oil

drizzle of honey

Melt chocolate, stir in oil and honey. Drizzle on top of the cupcakes. 

I'm Back // The Newspaper

I've decided I want to write... again. But, this time it might look different than my old blogs posts looked. I just want a space to practice, a space to write for an audience, whether I have one or not. So here is something I wrote last week...

Nobody my age reads the paper. I am sure some people do, but from what ive gathered, your average run of the muck college kid does not read the physical, paper, newspaper. I wish I were the type of person that was “worldly” enough to want to read it every morning. If you find me reading anything in the morning though before I get going with my day it would be the bible. The problem is that I am selfish and most of the issues, problems, and events that are talked about in the paper will not affect me today. The craziness that is happening in Syria right now will not affect me today. It will not affect me getting to my classes on time, taking notes, eating lunch, or grocery shopping. And because of that fact I assume that it is fine that I don’t know anything about Syria. I am wrong.

I would say that about 80% of my decisions in a given day are made with my best interest in the forefront of my mind. Do I like that about myself? No. Is it an ugly truth that is worth taking a look at? Yes. Jesus calls us to take up our cross. He calls us to become less so that He can become greater. Jesus gave His life away, not because it was the cool thing to do or because it was in His best interest. He gave His life away because His father called Him to. He gave His life away because He loves us that much. He loved the people that He would never meet on earth. He loved the people that could give him, at best, their filthy rags. I do not think Jesus regrets that decision… ever. He gets to see all the goodness and joy and laughter and freedom that we hold and get to experience every single day on this earth. He says, “You’re welcome…you’re so welcome Katie. I got you that. You are welcome,” and then He smiles. The only way I know how to say “thank you” is to put others interests before my own, to care about the people that will never affect my life, to laugh until my stomach hurts, to pray continually, and to never stop running into the arms of my Savior.

As for the newspaper, I want to read it because the stuff that is written in tiny black print matters. It might not matter to me personally, but each child that lost his or her innocent life a few days ago has a mother, and she is hurting. Jesus’ heart is breaking for her and because of the heart He has formed in me, my heart breaks too. So I will pray. I will pray for Syria because I am a college student, who has to go coach high-school cross country in the morning, go to class after that, and build relationships with girls in my sorority the best I know how. I will pray because Jesus listens and that I am enough, no matter what I do.

So thank you for reading the newspaper at the dining room table this morning, Aubrey. Thank you for “ranting” about how consumed with our tiny lives we are. Thank you for telling me about Syria and urging my heart towards the heart of Jesus.

--And with that, I'll be back soon.