Sorry I didn't update in such an outrageously long time (and it truly is outrageous). School. Kills. My. Blog.
Here's a devotional I wrote for RTF:
I got back from a Christian speech and leadership camp in Tennessee just a few short weeks ago. I was exhilarated – and at the same time, discouraged. Looking ahead to the humdrum ways of real, regular high school living sounded remarkably unappealing. After a time of really focusing on God, it didn’t seem fitting that I should shove myself back into the routine of my regular year.
I’ve probably already made it very clear that I’m not all that into change. I’ve had the same haircut for five years, keep a calendar to help me manage my routine, and don’t like to mix up my daily schedule much. So I came up with a brilliant solution to my dilemma: I’d simply replicate my summer and try to stay in the same mental state as during my break.
A great idea, until I realized that it was an impossible goal. Ecclesiastes 3:1 states that there is a season for everything. By pushing my past season into my present season, I was only setting myself up for disappointment.
Here are some tips and tricks to transitioning into the real world that I found helpful:
Accept that change is going to happen. That was my biggest problem – denying that God had something else in mind for this season in my life. When I became excited about the new steps I would be taking, whether those be school-related, family-related, or church-related, I realized that I didn’t have to hold on to the things that were now past me.
Be excited - God’s doing something new! If you like to hold onto the familiar because it worked or you enjoyed it, be encouraged that God pushes you into new and fantastic things. If you’re determined to go along with whatever God has in mind for this new season in your life, you’re sure to be better prepared to do what he calls you to do.
Combine both new and old. If you’re not the kind of person who stays in a rut for long, be sure that you don’t toss out the great experiences you had this summer. Balance looking forward to the new, and remembering and learning from the old.
I hope you all have a great start to your school year!
The last time I screened an out-of-state call (Virginia), I found out days late that I had taken 4th in the Patrick Henry College short story contest (my story's on their website - here)
This time, my sister didn't answer a different Virginia call.
I find out today that I took 3rd place in the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) Poetry contest. It was a Sestina poem (not the one I posted a few months ago) but I'm not sure which one out of the two I wrote took the placing, but I'm really really really excited. It should be up fairly soon on the HSLDA website here. I'll post when I find out that it's been put up.
God bless,
Catey
Who has no luck in screening calls
***EDIT***
My poem is now up on the HSLDA website, and for the first time, I actually feel pretty good about this one. I did not expect this to be the winner (it felt pious when I submitted it, but it's a unique look at the topic.) but I am very very happy nonetheless. You may read it at this link: http://www.hslda.org/Contests/Poetry/2009/2009poems.asp#Catey.
Echoes in ink,
Catey
Who also has no luck in predicting winning pieces
***LAST EDIT, I PROMISE***
Vote on my poll down below my blog name... I'm trying to gather opinions on something, and I'd love for yours to be a part of it!
Echoes in ink,
Catey
Who adds multiple edits to her blog posts
Drip. Drip.
I do not understand the water
That falls like a birdsong on my face
You say it cleanses
Then why is the dirt pouring on
Me?
You chose me. You chose this
Dark creaking beast to be my Shelter
In a long storm. I didn’t
Choose it for myself.
Why me? I am not
Good or Beautiful and I did not
Know you then. I hardly know you now.
Unworthy is a good word.
It’s who I am right now in the face of
This Great Flood that threatens me
But somehow, you protect.
How is it you could love a fool like me?
Is this who I am? More than just the
Earth on my face or the water in my hands,
I am made in your image
These eyes are to see destruction and live
These hands to cradle in love like you do
This heart to beat like yours
Is this who I am?
Unworthy is a good word.
But that is not who I am.
(This poem was up on Real Teen Faith earlier this week, but I decided I'd post it here too. I have too much to do to come up with something new with my poor decrepit old brain right now.
Note to self: Do not make the mistake of telling a Type A person that you are Type A and are the only person in the state the week before you're hosting a conference. It doesn't work out well. Sparks of illumination, C.
P.S. The conference mentioned there is the Institute for Cultural Communicators Flood the Five conference. I get to help teach, which is both scary and exciting. It's fantastic - and, if you live in my state (CO) then this is an excellent opportunity (Don't let the fact that I'm teaching scare you away - to counterbalance my inexperience, we'll have some wonderful speakers, including the debate National Champion from a few years ago). Check it out at: http://www.instituteforculturalcommunicators.org/.
Sparks of illumination, C.)
I'm not bored. But if you are, I have the ideal solution for you (or even if you're not, I have a great thing for you to do)! Kylie, Joss, and I are putting on the first ever annual Ignition Challenge, starting today and continuing through the month of June!
The Ignition Challenge, which can be found online at www.ignitionchallenge.wordpress.com , is loosely affiliated with Kids of Faith Online Magazine and is put on and written by the contributors. Our goal for Ignition is to challenge and encourage believers to take their relationships with God deeper this summer.
It's really exciting - with devotionals, stories, humor, and in-depth looks at four aspects of our walk with God posted every day from now till July 1st! We're hoping to reach as many people as possible in the month of June, so consider checking us out! We'd love for you to come visit.
For more information on the challenge, check out our vision statement here. See you there!
(This devotional was featured on Real Teen Faith earlier this week, but I thought I'd post it on Sparks of Illumination in case you didn't catch it on the other site. Hope you enjoy it! - C.)
Abram had a promise from God. He knew that the Lord would give him a son, despite his old age. He was familiar with the promises of God. He was only a few generations from the time of Noah and the flood, where God had showed just how fully he kept his promises to his people.
But Abram didn’t wait on the Lord. Though the child of promise was to come through his wife, Sarai, he chose instead to have a child through his concubine, Hagar.
Disaster ensued. Sarai banished Hagar and her son Ishmael to the desert twice, and once the child of promise, Isaac, was born, the clash only intensified. The nation descended from Isaac, the Jews, and the nation descended from Ishmael, the Arabs, are in conflict to this day.
What made Abram waver? Why did he settle for less than perfection, when he had the promise of goodness before him?
Abram had the same problem that people are still struggling with to this day. He was impatient for God’s blessing, and so he diminished the blessing coming to him by disobeying God and not waiting on His perfect timing.
A study was conducted among a group of preschoolers. Adults would put a child in a room with one cookie and tell the child that if they could wait a certain amount of time without eating the cookie, they could have two later. Then they went out of the room and watched the children. Almost every child ate the one cookie then, instead of waiting for the two.
They wanted immediate gratification. They wanted to have the good thing then, even though if they just waited a little longer, they would get more.
Everyone longs to feel God’s blessing in their lives. They cry out for him to relieve their suffering and bless them in a certain area of their life. This may be finance, time, housing, friends, school.
For me, this area was in specific activities. I wanted so badly to be involved in a program that my friends were involved in, I pushed God. I told him the area I wanted to be involved in was a good program, that it was a safe environment, that it was a place where I could further his kingdom. I said that I would enjoy it, be good at it, help people through it. Then I asked God why he wasn’t letting me be a part of it. If it was a good thing to do, and a good thing for me to do, it didn’t make sense to me why I shouldn’t do it.
God’s answer: Wait. You’re not ready yet.
So I waited. But not patiently. I still read up on everything that had to do even remotely with the program I wanted to be in, and begged God to let me join. The answer didn’t change.
Wait. You’re not ready yet.
Finally, I was reading my Bible and I felt God impress upon me that my life was His anyway. I was just clay in his hands, and he could do whatever he wanted with me. I didn’t need to worry about what God wanted for me, because he knew what was best for me, and that I should settle for nothing less.
I gave myself back to him. I told him that I was okay if he never had it in his plan for me to do all the things I’d always hoped I’d do. I told him I wanted to do what he wanted for me, whether or not I agreed with him at the time.
A week later, my mom approached me about joining the group I had wanted to all along.
I’m the first to admit it’s hard to wait. But if we wait on God and acknowledge that He, no matter what, is our best, we will be rewarded.
God has a plan for your life. And he ultimately rewards patience and surrender, if only we wait.
(P.S. Did you notice my new profile name? I changed from Sister Warrior to Echoes in Ink. Sister Warrior didn't really fit anymore, and Echoes in Ink fits both areas of my passion for communication, writing and speaking. Maybe I'll write a post on Echoes in Ink later. Maybe not. You never know. Sparks of illumination, C.)
I also would like to continue on my wonderful Aunty's site and write a haiku (or maybe two or three... I tend to get carried away. Haiku is my second favorite poem, second to the depressing freestyles I write...)
Okay, maybe the worst week is a little bit of an exaggeration, but it was a really bad week. I have been up sooo late (almost as late as the October-writing-contest-spree... but not quite) this week doing stupid stuff, like my million speech and writing assignments and Chemistry and listening to my stressed sister practice her speech over and over.
And then, someone has got mad at me every day for the past six days (no, I'm not counting. Why do you ask?).
My writing wasn't paying off anywhere. The up-til-two-ever-night-October-writing-contest-spree contests all came back negative. None of my recent queries have been accepted.
I was incredibly discouraged about everything. Was this really my thing? Was I really any good at this?
Obviously, no one thought so.
But all of that changed this morning!!!!!
So, using the approved venue of communication (a.k.a. the heater vent) I wake up to a familiar sound "CATEY!!!!!"
Thinking that my instance of someone being angry at me was coming a little early this morning, I ran upstairs. My mom is screaming into the phone and saying, "You are an honorable mention in the PHC writing contest!!!!!"
Story:
This was not part of the October-writing-contest-spree. This was part of the November "Why Can't I Have a Normal Life???" contest (yes, the one with exactly 1499 words and the creepy PakMail clerk... check it out here and here) I have thought for a while that this was also a negative response. Today was the contest deadline to hear back from the judges, and the contact was supposed to come through email by today. My inbox sits empty.
So, apparently, they broke their own rules. I was called yesterday evening (my sister didn't pick up the phone because she didn't recognize the number and didn't want to deal with a solicitor) but my mom didn't check the message til this morning!!!
So, the story is titled "Outside the Glass Box" and it's exactly 1499 words long. It will be posted on Patrick Henry College's website sometime today (I've been checking back often. Maybe a little too often). If you'd like to read it, I'll provide a link to the homepage of PHC's website (since they, ahem, have not posted anything yet) here: http://patrickhenrycollege.com/
Sparks of illumination,
C.
P.S. Coming up next.... Part V of the Purple Mold Series...
You guys are probably all aware that I've been working on a lot of publishing opportunities and contests recently. I'm still waiting to hear back on most of those, but today I heard back on one that I thought God had closed the door on.
You may have heard me mention the online writer's group I'm part of (it's AMAZING!) The girl who runs it just got her book published. It's called Devos 2 Go, by Lydia Rule and the link for it is here.
She asked those of us on her writing group to write up some short devos/vignettes for her book. I just barely got mine in on deadline. Her editor got back to me and told me either he or Lydia would be in touch with me if either of my pieces were selected. I never heard back, so I assumed I hadn't made the cut.
Lydia sent me a copy of her book and I received it today. Signed on the inside was: Catey - Thanks for writing for my book! Enjoy! God bless, Lydia Y. Rule (See pages 105 and 110 : ) )
And there I was! Both of my devos are in there! I had NO IDEA!!! I'm really excited- this is, after all, my first print publication.
If you want to check out her book (it's really cool) you can at the link above.
Well, there are actually a lot of reasons I haven't posted in a month, none of which would sound good - EXCEPT:
As some of you may know, I was pouring out my heart and soul in no fewer than nine writing assignments due between Thursday and now. It may interest you to know that I DID, indeed, get them all done, but that my brain was fried and I didn't post on my blog. Apologies.
Well, now you may see many of those heart-and-soul-poured-out articles on my wonderful friend and fellow writer's online newsletter: kidsoffaithonline.net.
Please visit if you get the chance - the newsletter is just starting to take off. Before a few months ago, Kylie (the editor) was the one and only writer, and then I was on for a month before being taken on as the second writer. Now, much to my delight, I am one of four wonderful young ladies and one amazing young man as contributors on the site.
And - one of the most exciting things for me - Kylie says I get to run the fiction column all by myself!!!! I haven't had my fiction published on a forum in FOREVER!!!!
On a more excuse-for-why-I-didn't-post-all-month- note, I totally killed my hand yesterday (and by killed, I mean, killed). We had friends over and for some UNKNOWN reason we decided it would be fun to play monkey in the middle. Yeah... that was really smart on my part. I am very small - like 5'2" on a really, really good day. My sister is my same height (but she's three years younger) and her friend who was over is an inch shorter than us. The other person playing was my friend - a young man of barely fifteen who quite decidedly towers above me. He is no fewer than eight inches taller than me - and that makes monkey in the middle very difficult. So, I found my newest athletic talent (chortle... what athletic talent?) in volleyball. I could jump up into the air and hit the ball out of the sky, but I would end up on the floor every time. The last time I did so, I tripped over my friend's foot on the way down and ended up smashing into a wall - hand first. At least that loud cracking noise wasn't my head... that's what he said, at least. Now my hand is bruised and I'm having a hard time typing with my right hand (which is bad... because I'm right-handed).
Anyway, for all the blog posts that I should have made, but didn't, visit: kidsoffaithonline.net
A few days ago, I shared an interview with Kate Weber about her unique calling to boldness in Christ. I’d like to share an interview with Kate’s older sister, Emily Weber, for her perspective on this.
When Emily Weber came back from her short term mission trip to Uganda, she told me that Africa felt oddly like home. Now, two years later, Uganda will be her home- at least for the next year or so, before Emily returns to the States for College. That’s really not a surprise to people who know her. Emily can tell you countless stories of how she would witness to Muslim kids at McDonald’s playgrounds or pray over people at her fast-food job.
Here’s what Emily has to say.
Catey: Have you always known you would want to be a missionary?
Emily: Absolutely . . . not! As a matter of fact, being a missionary who left America was something that I did not wanted to do at all . . . ever. It's amazing how God changes your heart . . . and even your desires, if you let Him!
Catey: That’s a surprise to me! How has God revealed his plan for you in your life?
Emily: God's primary plan for my life is this: for me is to love Him with all that I am. Beyond this, God shows me His plan for me one step at a time . . . it can get frustrating at times, but then I remember that if I love God and continually push into Him with everything within me, I'm going to end up right where He wants me.
Catey: What's the spiritual climate like in Uganda?
Emily: In Uganda, and in most of Africa I'd assume, the spiritual realm is so much easier to see. The darkness there is so dark, but the light shines so brightly. Because of the stark contrast between Jesus' followers and those who've fallen into the traps of Satan through witchcraft (mixed with "Christian" or Muslim beliefs), miracles and works of God are so visible there. The spiritual climate is intense: either you are going to be all-out for Jesus, boldly standing up for him even in the face witchdoctors, demons, and evil - or you are going to go home scared and defeated.
Catey: What are some fears that you have about becoming a missionary family?
Emily: Personally, I get scared sometimes when I think about coming back to the States for College. Since I'm the oldest, the rest of my family will be in Africa, and my friends will be in a state that I can't attend college in, I'm going to be alone by the world's standards. I have to continually remind myself of God's promise: that he will never leave or forsake me.
Catey: What are you most looking forward to?
Emily: The people, for one! It's difficult to explain with words the way the people there love. I hope to learn from the American staff there as well . . . who knows what lessons I can take from this new experience that God will use for the future!
Catey: How can we get involved in supporting God's people in Uganda?
Emily: There are many different ways you can get involved with different organizations. If you would like to know more about New Hope, you can go to http://www.newhopeuganda.org/. For information about our family, you can go to http://www.urmyhope.blogspot.com/. There are many other good organizations out there as well. No matter where you get your sources though, a couple of things you can do are . . .
PRAY. Please pray for the children of Uganda, as 50% of the population there is under the age of 14. Pray for open hearts. And please pray for those that are working there for God's kingdom, that they will be protected and that they will bring God's light to the darkness of this world.
Catey: Any advice for teens who are looking for ways to be more bold in their faith?
Emily: Make sure you have your priorities straight. You will be boldest about what is most important to you. If you don't feel like Jesus Christ is the most important thing in your life, tell Him so. Ask Him to help you fall in love with Him and make Him the "one thing" that's worth living for in your life. It's a hard way to live . . . but it's the full, abundant life Jesus talks about in the Bible. And trust me . . . it's worth it.
Kate Weber is a normal American teenager. She’s a homeschooled high school student who likes to write but doesn’t like speech, who loves her dog and watches TV on the weekends. She lives with her mom, dad and three siblings and goes to church every weekend. But despite her average lifestyle, she’s an absolutely extraordinary young woman. In fact, all that ordinary stuff she’s used to is about to change in the blink of an eye.
Kate is moving with her family to Uganda.
Her dad and older sister Emily have been to Uganda once before on a short-term mission trip, but God worked out an incredible way for their whole family to leave behind the world of comfortable and safe to be bold and radical by leaving everything they’ve ever known. They plan on staying indefinitely.
But that’s enough from me. Here’s what Kate has to say. Catey: Have you always known you would want to be a missionary? Kate: Actually, I never wanted to be a missionary, and considered it to be God’s call to other people. Like when Mr. Gary Wood told dad that they needed an accountant, I was like “Good luck finding one, because we sure aren’t going!”
But God did a work in my heart, and I now know that it is what I have always wanted to do. I always wanted to help the orphans, I always wanted to live in the jungle, and I always had a heart for Africa. I just now realized that I will work for God this way. Catey: How has God revealed his plan for you in this area of your life? Kate: We started out in Indiana, in a comfortable environment, as in, a neighborhood with a pool, ice cream place, a four bedroom, and three bath houses. We also grew up in a church where we were all spiritually dying, until we left that church, and became a part of a home church.
When my dad told us we were moving to Colorado, I flipped out. Leave our family, friends, comforts of home, to go help out a friend start a company? Give me a break! But we still moved, and I loved our house that we moved into. Three story house, on three acres of trees. It was heaven. My dad and sister went on a mission trip to Uganda. A couple of months after the trip, our renter kicked us out. As soon as that happened, my dad lost his job at the company he worked for, so we had to downsize, majorly. . . He was without a job for a couple of weeks, but it felt like forever! Finally, Dad got a good job. That was when God decided to say, “Okay, they are comfortable now, let’s see what they would do if. . .” and that’s how the Uganda started. Catey: Wow! What a neat way to start out an adventure! What’s the spiritual climate like in Uganda? Kate: I haven’t been there myself, but from the stories that I have heard it is very black and white. As in wherever you see darkness, there was always light battling it. I really can’t explain it because I have never been there. Catey: What are some fears that you have about becoming a missionary family? Kate: Well, it might be obvious, but I am going to be a missionary to a place that I have never been. The farthest I have been from the USA is Mexico, right across the boarder. So I guess that I am a little afraid of the unknown. Also, I had my life all planned out, but now with the whole Uganda thing thrown into the picture, it is hard. Catey: What are you most looking forward to? Kate: Definitely the adventure. I am a person who LOVES adventure! I dream it, I write it, and now I have the chance to live it! To not do it would be like a guy offering you a million dollar check, and you slam a door in his face. Not knowing is on of my greatest fears, but it is also the very thing that pushes me forward. Catey: How can we get involved? Kate: New Hope Uganda is a non-denominational ministry that cares for orphaned children in Uganda, East Africa. NHU (New Hope Uganda) strives to bring glory to God through caring for orphans, showing them love, pointing them to His Kingdom through Christ, and bringing them to a life-changing understanding of the fatherhood of God.
Their staff of almost 80 Ugandans and foreign missionaries care for New Hope’s children through the Kasana children’s center (where they run a primary school, secondary school, vocational school, clinic, agriculture program, etc.) Kobwin children’s center, the New Hope Institute of Childcare and Family, and their new youth camp and training center.
Please pray for God’s blessings on New Hope Uganda, and please, be in prayer for the Weber family. We have much to do before we are prepared for this next chapter in our lives.
There are many types and sizes of needs. For information, you can visit the fallowing website: http://newhopeuganda.org/ Catey: Any advice for teens who are looking for ways to be more bold in their faith? Kate: I don’t consider myself any bolder than anyone else can be. Actually, I still have growing to do in my faith, a lot of growing. But my advice would be to just get in your bible every day, and pray for God to speak to you during that time. I pray for God to speak to me, sisten to worship songs, read three chapters, and pray one more time for God to help me through out the day.
For more information on the Weber family’s mission and supporting them, visit their blog at: http://urmyhope.blogspot.com
Broken World
Open eyes greet the light
Walking into a dark world.
With small steps, I faced the darkness
Shattered hearts
Fragments of lives before me
Tears become rivers
Rivers are oceans
This is our home.
But small and helpless me,I stood alone.
And yet not alone.
Change is in the wind and I feel it with me.
I was not made for fear
I was made for this,
To step out of the darkness
And stand against the evil.
You and me and the Savior- all the people
We hold out our hands and ask
To give to the hurting places
To mend a broken world
One soul at a time
From the inside out
To fix a broken heart
With love
It all started with a very good idea. Isn’t that always how it starts? At the beginning of the school year, I told God, “I’m really excited about school this year. I want to learn everything you have to teach me.”
He took me seriously.
It started with school. I moved into my first year of formal high school this year (though I’d been doing high school work for a few years before this one). That meant homework- and not just a little homework, but a load that convinced me that it would never end!
Then we brought home my brother. He came into our family through adoption, and babies who were adopted tend to be a little more demanding for the first month or two. They don’t come home as sleepy newborns, but as active (sometimes overactive) toddlers, in many cases.
School dropped on my priority list. I looked for every loophole, shortcut and way to cut a corner in my classes. And I figured out some pretty good ones. Then I felt as if God stopped me dead in my tracks.
It was time to do my work with excellence. That meant skipping out on doing some things that I’d much rather do. It meant working longer on projects and studying harder. I have an almost-photographic memory, so to actually sit down and study is pure torture to me. I had prayed for opportunities to learn. So he gave me some.
Now I’m here at the end of the year, staring ahead to a very blank summer. Part of me wants to make one big push to get all of my school work done really well and really fast. The other part of me is saying, “Why bother?” Doing school is like preparing for a race. Some of you will go to college after you graduate. Others will stay behind and begin another part of their calling. Regardless of what you’re going to do when you’re out of school, it’s important to prepare for whatever God might call you to.
1 Corinthians 9:24-27 talks about how when runners run, they have to go into strict training. Kind of like school. We have to work hard and be strict with ourselves so that we get a good training for our next path in life. Then, when we’re ready to run the real race, we’ll run in such a way as to get the prize. We’ll know what we’re doing, and we’ll have practiced throughout our training.
