An Awesome Reminder

Hey all :)
This will be short but I wanted to share it with you! I have been really struggling with some health issues brought on my stress and as I was getting caught up on blogs that I normally read I came across this awesome reminder over at Sarah Mae's Blog.


"Seated above, enthroned in the Father's love
Destined to die, poured out for all mankind
God's only son perfect and spotless one
He never sinned, but suffered as if he did

All authority, every victory is Yours
All authority, every victory is Yours

Savior, worthy of honor and glory, worthy of all our praise, You overcame
Jesus, awesome in power forever,awesome and great is Your name,You overcame

Power in hand speaking the Father's plan
You're sending us out, light in this broken land

We will overcome by the blood of the Lamb
and the word of our testimony, everyone overcome"

THE POWER OF OUR GOD! How refreshing that reminder was to me! AND THE CHALLENGE to get my eyes off my problems and ONTO MY SAVIOR!!!! WOW! We serve an awesome God!

Blessings :)

Memorial day and what has happened since...

SO! This is my 1st official post on my NEWLY REMODELED BLOG :) Exciting stuff going on that is for sure :)

1st exciting thing that is going on? Kristin is hosting an awesome give-away! Girls go and check it out: Favorite Things Giveaway-Day 5.

I promised this would be about Memorial day! And actually I just wanted an excuse to share some awesome pictures from the day! We went over to some really good family friends house and there got to meet some new friends that until that point we had only "known" through facebook :) So there were nine "kids" (are we young adults yet?) and here are pics that kinda show our personalities:


















Poor Cody had sprained his ankle really really bad so he could not put any weight on it hence in the one picture Mom told us to do something "interesting" so Caleb just picked him up!

We were so blessed to be able to go and hang out with them! Normally we do not do very much on Memorial Day so this one was extra special. So there I am content because I got to show off the pictures! ;) Oh and is it just me or do Abby and I look incredibly short compared to the rest of the people? Oh wait-we are really short compared to the rest of the people!

Ok, now that I have shared the pictures on to some more important things. God-things.

I am going to be very transparent and real right now. I really struggle with stress and anxiety. Part of the reason being that I over analyze EVERYTHING! The problem is that the stress has been taking over and my body has been reacting to it in ways that...well just are not good. I was thinking/stressing about how much I had been stressing (yeah that makes a lot of sense) and the realization that for the past 3 weeks (ish) I had been completely focused on me. What was going to happen with this. What my future will look like. ME, MYSELF, and I! UGH! Here I am a child of the GOD OF THIS UNIVERSE and instead of surrendering things to Him, keeping my eyes fixed on Him and TRUSTING Him to take care of things I was completely self-focused and filled with dis-trust in THE GOD OF THE UNIVERSE!

I was crying out to the Lord last night and wanted to share an excerpt from my prayer journal entry:

"Thursday, May 28, 2009"

Dear Heavenly Father,

...I have been being convicted over and over agian these past few days of this distrust that I have in You.

GOD FORGIVE ME!!

This is a quote that I came across last night:

'Have faith in God and you will find
HIS REST.
Anxiety-concern caused by distrust in the Lord.'
-BJ Higgins-

Again Father, please please forgive me. My eyes have been focused solely on me and not on serving You and others. Oh Lord! Will I ever learn? This worry/stress/concern was caused my self-centeredness! Mom asked me something that REALLY hit home for me. She asked how many pages in my journal were about Me compared to how many are about YOU. That really really convicted me! I should be praising You! I should be bringing others befor You! But instead I am...going on and on about me.

Forgive me Lord...

Here is another quote:

'To love is to care about and dwell on others, not one's self. That thing that you think about most, write about most, talk about most is what you have centered your life on. We must be careful not to become self-centered, nor centered on any other than God. Even when we treat others with love, it should always be ultimately for God and centered around Him, lest we become obsessed or idolize some person. Today/tomorrow think about how many times you think about, complain, or comment about your conditions or situation and make an effort to focus,instead, on God and loving others. Love is not self-centered.'
-BJ Higgins-

...God please help me! It is a choice to distrust! And that distrust has led to me being sick! Please forgive me Lord...Help me to get my eyes back on You and please heal this sick thing once and for all. Please help me to start living in the victory I have in YOU. Thank you for that victory!..."

It is so easy to get our eyes on ourselves. It is so easy to not be focused on our God. It is so easy to get so caught up in OUR worries and not think/pray for others who are going through really hard things that would make our problems look like nothing.

We serve the God of the universe WHY DO WE FIND IT SO HARD TO LIVE FOR HIM? In the last quote that I shared with you the last part really made me stop and think:

'Today/tomorrow think about how many times you think about, complain, or comment about your conditions or situation and make an effort to focus,instead, on God and loving others.'

"But when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?”
Jesus said to him, “ ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”
Matthew 22:34-40 (New King James Version)

God commands us to love HIM 1st and then to love others as we love ourselves...

So here is the quote once more and this time I am leaving it as a challenge for all of us to consider today:

'Today/tomorrow think about how many times you think about, complain, or comment about your conditions or situation and make an effort to focus,instead, on God and loving others. Love is not self-centered.'

Hope you all have a blessed day :)

DONE!

Hey all!
So what do you think of my new look? I am not so sure about it myself...we shall see what happens :) Thankfully the look is easy to change so if I don't like it for the long run it will be very easy to fix!
I am off to bed! It is 2:40AM and I am EXHAUSTED!
Put up a poll to your left would you please tell me what you think? A long post coming soon :)
Blessings to you all and...Good Morning! :)

The final guest post on surrender

I am very excited to share this guest post with you all :) Surrender...is something that I am learning is a day-by-day, moment-by-moment, second-by-second process. So without anything more from me here is the guest post written by my good friend Jane over at Daughter of King Jesus
(click to visit her blog).


"Hi all I am posting a guest post here, my name is Jane.

Surrender is a beautiful word, it’s even more beautiful to God and such a joyful experience for both the believer and the Lord for us to finally surrender every aspect of our lives to our Christ.
But the interesting question is how do we go about it? HOW do we surrender? We must surrender not only one time, that is not enough, and if you surrender one day and think it’s enough for 1 week or 1 month…you are greatly mistaken, my sister and brother..WE must surrender daily, daily, sometimes hourly. We must lean on His grace and on His love as often as we breathe :))
Surrendering can be hard, even I know. I am by nature the most self-reliant person I know and proud too!! I am learning to be more humble each day, but this thing called PRIDE gets in the way. And many times I think to myself, “”I’ve gotten this far, I can get over these hard food issues and food addiction all by myself. Oh I can find that man all by myself simply because it’s my time NOW and I don’t want to wait on God’s perfect timing.” “ We all got to admit that we think that way sometimes, we all think that way from time to time. BUT what we must do, is not let that kind of thinking become permanent in our life. WE can not, and I repeat, we can not think in such a way like I described before. This will hinder our beautiful relationship with Christ, our Lord.
That way each day, I must give over this food issue OVER and OVER to God, I must pray and read my bible daily to keep my sanity. I will admit that there are days I don’t read the bible, But I’ve been trying recently just recently to read every day. Even if I only have 5 minutes or 10 minutes before Bed I will read. Usually at night. But I will read, and meditate on His Word daily. Because His Word is our daily sustenance and food for our souls. And I think what’s even harder to surrender to God for me is my pride and my wanting to find that life mate. Again, I must remember to surrender this area of my life too to the Lord. I must lay all my sins, all my pain, all my addictions, all my wistfulness for a husband, all my past at the Cross. At the beautiful cross of Jesus.
We need to surrender daily. And we need to live for God, not just on Sundays. But each and every single day of our lives need to be dedicated or rededicated to Christ. I used to be that Sunday Christian. I thought I did all the right things. I went to church, I had a lot of friends at church, I went to bible study, retreats, I opened my bible..BUT I didn’t trust God completely nor did I surrender almost anything to Him. What is that called, does anyone remember? That’s called being a lukewarm Christian. And I am the first to admit that I was a lukewarm Christian. But I am not anymore. I still have my moments and proud days. But I know that without the Lord and without His love and care, I am nothing. Simply nothing. He makes me whole, He makes me anew, He gives me life, He has to be our everything. And He is my everything. He is my all and all. And I know that with HIS strength, and with HIS mighty power, I can fight this crazy addiction called food. And I can fight my other addictions too with His strength. And I can come out victorious. Yes, our Lord can do anything, He is able, and He provides. :))

Through Christ anything can be overcome!! Any pain, any addiction, any problem, all has to be put at the feet of Jesus. And then YOU will be healed, restored, and YES even become a new person in Jesus Christ.

I will leave you all with a few verses to ponder on : ))

Philippians 4:13

“”I can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me””

2 Corinthians 12:9

“But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.”

Psalm 144:1-4

1 Praise be to the LORD my Rock,
who trains my hands for war,
my fingers for battle.
2 He is my loving God and my fortress,
my stronghold and my deliverer,
my shield, in whom I take refuge,
who subdues peoples under me.
3 O LORD, what is man that you care for him,
the son of man that you think of him?
4 Man is like a breath;
his days are like a fleeting shadow…..and so on it goes…

And last but not least, Jeremiah 29:11-14

11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you," declares the LORD, "and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you," declares the LORD, "and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile."

Please notice how it says at Jeremiah 29:11-13 to seek God and that we’ll find Him when we seek Him with ALL our heart. That means we gotta surrender. Whatever we do we must surrender all of it to Him. Yes all the garbage, all the pain, all the mistakes, all the addictions, all of it surrender to Him tonight. Tonight, my new friends. That’s my challenge for everyone tonight to do this. Do you know how free You’ll all feel if you do this daily and hourly?? Just remember let’s not be a Sunday Christian, Let’s be His hands, His feet, and His servants all the time. All the time."

The final day of The Feeling Feminine Challenge

So yesterday was the seventh and final day in the "7 days in a dress" challenge (hosted regularly by Feeling Feminine).
The challenge was from May 18th-May 24th.
Basically you had to wear skirts and dresses (GASP yup no pants) for seven days (hence the name) and do your hair in a different hairstyle each day as well. I wear skirts mostly but it is so easy to just throw one on and not really think about the outfit. SO my take on this challenge this week was to take some time to think about the clothes I was wearing and take the time to do make-up and hair (not that I never do them lol). I was actually really excited for this opportunity to challenge myself to dress feminine (NOT frumpy) but with a chic ,while still modest twist.
It was more of a challenge than I thought it would be! I was the type of person that just got up in the morning, threw on a skirt with a shirt and then went on my way. This week made me stop and think about the clothes I wore. It also made me think about hair and make-up (I tended to choose sleep over those options).
The neat thing was that when I made that attempt to really think about my outfit/hair/make-up I felt so...different! It is really neat to look and feel feminine!
What did I learn through this process?
Well, I noticed first of all a difference between when I wear pants and when I wear skirts. People treat you differently! I hate going into stores and being gawked at BUT I noticed that when I wear skirts instead of being gawked at I get looks of respect and a lot more doors held open for me! That was really neat! I also am now loving getting up in the morning and choosing an outfit and then pairing that outfit with a cute hairstyle and make-up and in some extreme cases (I actually went and bought jewelry this week) even jewelry!
The one thing that I noticed that was not good was that I started to be obsessed with making sure that what I put on was perfect (in part because of posting pictures everyday). My appearance (especially at the beginning of the week) was starting to be the main thing I was focusing on.
Now, I am not saying that it is bad to take the time to look nice BUT we do need to be careful. I love what this verse says:

"Do not let your adornment be merely outward—arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel—rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God."
1 Peter 3:3-4 (New King James Version)

While it is not WRONG to do our hair, wear jewelry and look nice THAT MUST NOT GET IN THE WAY OF the INWARD grooming. When people look at us what do they see? Is it Jesus? I mean, whether they have known us for 12 years or 12 minutes does the love of Jesus Christ radiate through us? Do we have a beautiful interior? The exterior...it will be gone ladies...and in 100 years it will not matter what we look like! What people will remember about us is our spirit...who we really were...not just what we looked like. Will they remember us radiating the love of Jesus Christ? I pray so...

So in conclusion: This challenge was an absolute blessing to me in so many ways! It taught me so many lessons and I am planning on continuing it (behind the scenes) for...well the rest of my life ;) God is so good!

Oh, my outfit for the seventh day:
Dress: Something we have had forever!
Cover-up: Mall on clearence
Hair: Left wild
Shoes: Thrift store
Jewelry: My NEW earrings :)

Here are my previous days:


Day 1
Days 2 and 3
Day 4
Days 5 and 6

Thanks so much for all the comments :) I hope that this challenge blessed you as much as it blessed me :) Thanks to Kristin (see link below) for hosting it and to Feelin' Feminine for coming up with it! Blessings to you all :)

Days 5 and 6-The Feeling Feminine Challenge

Day 5-Friday:

Friday I was not able to get the best picture in the entire world mainly because we were running all day long! BUT I did manage to find these pictures:


I did everything in this outfit INCLUDING going on a long walk/playing in a creek! Skirt: .99 at the (you guessed it) THRIFT STORE :) It is very full and light and sooo comfortable to do day-to-day things in!
Cami: 2 for $10 sale at the mall. I actually cut the straps so that it would be higher and cover more. You can do wonders with a needle and thread (even if you don't know how to sew)!
Shirt: .99 at the thrift store
Shoes: (sorry you can't see them) another recent thrift store find
Jewelry: Chunky Bracelet that I have had forever but was too lazy to put on!
Hair: (actually got a picture of it) Just pulled back in a messy bun. Very cute yet simple :)

Day 6-Saturday:

Saturday I was running all day as well! I went on a hike,waded in a creek, played on a play ground (oh yeah swings and merry-go-round) and spent two hours on in the woods on my knees/sitting before the Lord in a creek bed (it was dry). GIRLS ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE IN A SKIRT!


Skirt: Another jean skirt that I honestly have no idea where it came from!
Cami: thrift store
Shirt: Gift from a friend
Hair: Had it pulled back in a barrette all day and then later on just pulled the rest up in a messy bun (IT WAS SO HOT OUT).

I am sorry that I do not have more to say about these days. Honestly they are starting to blur in my mind!

I will be saving my day seven pictures for a wrap up post tomorrow. I have so many thoughts about what this challenge has meant to me that I want to share with you all but I need to get them sorted first!

So until then here are the previous days:
Day 1
Days 2 and 3
Day 4

Some catch-up, pictures, and questions for ya'll

It has truly been a packed weekend! I mean absolutely crazy busy! But now things are starting to slow down (for the moment that is) so I thought I would share with you some neat things that happened this past week:
Wednesday we went to youth group and ended up bringing some kids home with us! It was so much fun! Jen and I got to especially spend a lot of time with one of the teens named Shelby. Let me tell you it was AWESOME! We always give people a choice when they come to our house:
A). Friend
B). Family
Whichever they choose that will be for the rest of their days. Shelby chose family SO (drumroll) we put her to work! She helped Danny make the pizzas :) Jen got some hysterical pictures!











































































The neatest part was though that us three girls had an amazing time talking about the Lord and getting to know eachother better. It was such a blessing to be able to...talk about the Lord and encourage eachother in the Lord. We talked for about two hours and then I drove her home and we sat in the car and talked for another hour! It was so neat! God is so good! There truly is no better time spent than when brothers and sisters in the Lord get together and talk about HIM! It was such a blessing :)

Thursday morning I got to go and babysit my little boys as I call them which was such a blessing! We played outside, played in my car (it was our "house") and they had great fun playing with my camera :) I actually got some adorable pictures of them as you can see:
Levi is the youngest (four) and than Sol is next (eight). Abe (the oldest) did not come outside with us but we still had a ton of fun! I am so in love with my little boys :) Levi has a new habit of kissing me on the cheek and telling me he loves me. It is so cute! They missed me so much when I was so sick...I missed them too...so it has been a wonderful time being able to get to spend time with their family once again. So cute story-Levi fell down and hurt his knee so I scoop him up ,with tears streaming down his little face, and sat down in a chair to assess the damage. I kissed his forehead then asked him it that made it feel better and he looks up at me and says: "It isn't there kiss it here." as he pointed at his knee. So I kissed it and it was all better and he was off playing with a smile on his face within the next moment! Well later on my head was starting to hurt (I still get headaches on and off) and Levi comes over to me, motions for me to put my head down, kisses it and then asked if it was all better! It was so cute :) Ok, I am done gushing now!

Friday was a sad day but good and EXTREMELY busy day!Our friends the Ralston Family left to go to Congo (well technically they leave tomorrow but they left our area Thursday) and they wanted to spend some of their last hours with our family watching a movie (our families tradition) so we did. It was a ton of fun but very bittersweet. We ended up saying our goodbyes in the parking lot of the movie theater...it was sad! We did get some good pictures (though some of these will be a repeat on my Feeling Feminine Challenge post because these were the only pictures I could get) of us kids, Michael and our friend Brenda. They are the last ones that were taken for two years (wonder what we will look like and were we will be then!). We are really sad to see them go BUT SO EXCITED to see what the Lord will be doing in their lives over these next few years :)

So we got back from the movie and the rest of the weekend we spent with some of our friends which was a ton of fun!After they left on Saturday we went over and had a mini photo shoot at the horses. I got some great pictures of Mom and Jen:



Friday was a definite...stretch for me personally! I know that I blogged about it yesterday but I have decided to re-blog it since I have some more thoughts:

"Here is my facebook status from a few hours ago:
'Katy Case: is going to go and spend some time with the Lord...Had an awesome time with Andrew and the Lutz's but all day...I have had this overwhelming desire/conviction that THERE IS SOMETHING MORE...I long for a DEPTH in my relationship with my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ...I am not making sense :) Off to the woods to spend time with HIM ♥'

So today I just had this overwhelming desire to go and pray. When I say overwhelming desire I mean like I have never felt like I NEEDED something so badly! We went to the part today and had an AWESOME chance to witness which was AMAZING and the Lord really used it but the whole time I just could not stop wondering what my purpose in life was. I was the most pecular thing ever! Anywho! So we got home and after our friends left I just KNEW that I needed some time alone with the Lord and as soon as possible! So, I took
my Bible and journal and went down to the secret place (our woods) and for 2 hours just...prostrated myself before the Lord and begged Him to reveal Himself to me and to use me and to make me more like Him. Then i just was thinking about how He says He will give us the desires of our hearts and if we abide in Him He will give us what we ask in His name (John 15) or something like that and I realized that the ONLY thing that I truly wanted right then and there was just to KNOW HIM and to BE LIKE HIM...and...to have Him reveal Himself to me.

HE DID! It was amazing! It was the first time I had EVER taken the time to seek His face in earnest like that! WOW! He truly did reveal Himself to me in a deeper, more intimate way BUT it was not...it was...it is just so hard to explain! All I can say is WE SERVE AN AWESOME GOD!!!

I ended up writing when I was just full of raw emotions. It might end up a song (shortened) or just stay a...poem? You decide :) I have not named it yet but yeah here it is:

'Just like I count the time
Was it on Your mind?
As You broke the bread and poured the wine
What was going through Your mind
And now it's time to go; to the garden
were You know
No one will stay, they'll all run away
and You'll be left alone.

Just like I count the time
Was it on Your mind?
As You went away, fell on Your knees to say
“Not My will but Thine.”
Three times You said “Your will be done”
Then you looked, saw them come
words where spoken, a kiss betrayed, and then
my Jesus, You were took away.

Just like I count the time
Was it on Your mind?
As You faced the evil men and knew
You were going to be condemned
As You looked into their eyes You didn't
despise, instead, You prayed for them.

Just like I count the time
Was it on Your mind?
Knowing what You would endure
The suffering You bore
“My God, My God” You screamed out
“Why have You left me now”
In anguish and suffering...He hung upon a tree

Why you ask would any man...
All He had...
What on earth could possess someone
to lay down His life for all mankind?
What could it be?
The answer is unfailing love.

He lived you enough to willingly die
He loved you that's why He chose to lay down His life.
He know on our own we could never atone
for the sin that ruled our lives.
So He chose to be that atonement, that substitute for me,
Not because of what I'd done did He choose to come BUT because He
love me in spite of me.
It was His choice that took Him to Calvary.

After all He has done why do we find it such a hardship to
run and fling ourselves in complete surrender at His feet?
He loved you. He loved me. He died, then rose, to prove how powerful love can be.
Unreserved and there for the asking-His unfailing love is everlasting.
For as He looked ahead to the cross that day-we were on His mind.

Written with tears on May 23, 2009 In the secret place'"

Today Dad preached a POWERFUL sermon about being a witness for Christ. About not letting the fear of man get in the way of WITNESSING and SHARING THE GOSPEL with others. It gripped me! I was still thinking about it during the evening service. Then we sang this song that I want to share with you:

"Jesus, You are my life"

You are my life
Oh, precious Christ
You are to me
The pearl of greatest price
My love for you will never die
Jesus, you are my life
I come to You
I run to You
There's no greater joy than knowing You.
Oh, holy fire
Loves purest light
Burn all desires
'Till You are my one delight
My love for You will never die
Jesus, You are my life
I come to You
I run to You
There's no greater joy than knowing You.
Oh, conquering King
Conquer my heart
And make of me
A pleasing gift to God
My love for You will never die
Jesus, You are my life
I come to You
I run to You
There's no greater joy than knowing You.

As I thought about that song I began to WANT Jesus to be my ENTIRE LIFE. I wanted NOTHING and NO ONE to bring me greater joy than my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Then, I began to think about all that He did for me last night. How He revealed His love for me in such a powerful way and I was completely overwhelmed! Then I had this thought: WHY is it SO DIFFICULT for me to share WHAT JESUS HAS DONE FOR ME PERSONALLY with others? He LOVED US SO MUCH HE LAID DOWN HIS LIFE FOR US! WHY oh WHY DO WE NOT TELL OTHERS? "I wouldn't know what to say." The Lord doesn't call for a script! All we are called to do is WITNESS about what the Lord has done for us in our lives. How He saved us from an eternity in hell. How He lives inside us. How He has changed our lives! I never knew that it was possible to become so overwhelmed with love and appreciation of my God that I would actually break down while talking about it. I now know that it is possible! We had a sharing time in church tonight and I just shared a little bit of what the Lord had done for me last night. I also shared how my Dad's sermon this morning had so challenged me to OPEN MY EYES AND TO REALLY SEE THOSE THAT ARE HEADING TO AN ETERNITY IN HELL AROUND ME! They are destined for an eternity in HELL! CHRISTIANS! What are we doing about it? LIke I said, we do not have to have all the answers! We do not have to have a script! We are just called to share the gospel and be a WITNESS about what the Lord has done for us through dying on that cross for us! How many times do we allow FEAR OF MAN to stop us from GOD-GIVEN opportunities to share the gospel with others? HOW MANY? Christians! JESUS LOVED US ENOUGH TO DIE FOR US ON THAT CROSS! Can we not share that love? How can we keep it in?

Just some things to ponder...it is such a privilege to have a PERSONAL relationship with the GOD OF THE UNIVERSE! It is such a privilege to be able to go to Him with ANYTHING at ANYTIME! Do we take that for granted? Have you thanked Him lately for loving you with an everlasting, unconditional love? Have you thanked Him lately for CHOOSING to die as atonement for YOUR SINS? Is He your passion? Is He your source of joy, your comfort, your EVERYTHING? Just some things I have been thinking about...

Hold on to your hats...This could be a really long post!

Hey all!
So...I know that I am two days behind for this:

BUT this post is to hold you in the meantime and to explain why!

This past weekend has just been absolutely crazy busy! I mean like get up in the morning and go go go until night busy! It has been wonderful though :) I really honestly haven't been NEAR a computer for the past two days :) SO tomorrow will be my three day catch-up post and I apologize for not being able to get them up :( In the meantime check the days I have posted out:


Day 1
Days 2 and 3

OK NOW ONTO MORE IMPORTANT THINGS LIKE GOD THINGS!!!

Here is my facebook status from a few hours ago:
"Katy Case: is going to go and spend some time with the Lord...Had an awesome time with Andrew and the Lutz's but all day...I have had this overwhelming desire/conviction that THERE IS SOMETHING MORE...I long for a DEPTH in my relationship with my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ...I am not making sense :) Off to the woods to spend time with HIM ♥"

So today I just had this overwhelming desire to go and pray. When I say overwhelming desire I mean like I have never felt like I NEEDED something so badly! We went to the part today and had an AWESOME chance to witness which was AMAZING and the Lord really used it but the whole time I just could not stop wondering what my purpose in life was. I was the most pecular thing ever! Anywho! So we got home and after our friends left I just KNEW that I needed some time alone with the Lord and as soon as possible! So, I took
my Bible and journal and went down to the secret place (our woods) and for 2 hours just...prostrated myself before the Lord and begged Him to reveal Himself to me and to use me and to make me more like Him. Then i just was thinking about how He says He will give us the desires of our hearts and if we abide in Him He will give us what we ask in His name (John 15) or something like that and I realized that the ONLY thing that I truly wanted right then and there was just to KNOW HIM and to BE LIKE HIM...and...to have Him reveal Himself to me.

HE DID! It was amazing! It was the first time I had EVER taken the time to seek His face in earnest like that! WOW! He truly did reveal Himself to me in a deeper, more intimate way BUT it was not...it was...it is just so hard to explain! All I can say is WE SERVE AN AWESOME GOD!!!

I ended up writing when I was just full of raw emotions. It might end up a song (shortened) or just stay a...poem? You decide :) I have not named it yet but yeah here it is:

"Just like I count the time
Was it on Your mind?
As You broke the bread and poured the wine
What was going through Your mind
And now it's time to go; to the garden
were You know
No one will stay, they'll all run away
and You'll be left alone.

Just like I count the time
Was it on Your mind?
As You went away, fell on Your knees to say
“Not My will but Thine.”
Three times You said “Your will be done”
Then you looked, saw them come
words where spoken, a kiss betrayed, and then
my Jesus, You were took away.

Just like I count the time
Was it on Your mind?
As You faced the evil men and knew
You were going to be condemned
As You looked into their eyes You didn't
despise, instead, You prayed for them.

Just like I count the time
Was it on Your mind?
Knowing what You would endure
The suffering You bore
“My God, My God” You screamed out
“Why have You left me now”
In anguish and suffering...He hung upon a tree

Why you ask would any man...
All He had...
What on earth could possess someone
to lay down His life for all mankind?
What could it be?
The answer is unfailing love.

He lived you enough to willingly die
He loved you that's why He chose to lay down His life.
He know on our own we could never atone
for the sin that ruled our lives.
So He chose to be that atonement, that substitute for me,
Not because of what I'd done did He choose to come BUT because He
love me in spite of me.
It was His choice that took Him to Calvary.

After all He has done why do we find it such a hardship to
run and fling ourselves in complete surrender at His feet?
He loved you. He loved me. He died, then rose, to prove how powerful love can be.
Unreserved and there for the asking-His unfailing love is everlasting.
For as He looked ahead to the cross that day-we were on His mind.

Written with tears on May 23, 2009 In the secret place"

Day 4-The Feeling Feminine Challenge

So today was kind of the in between day for the challenge and my outfits (yes I had two) were feeling it!
I got up and had to go and babysit early this morning. I ALMOST gave into the temptation to sleep in and not get ready for the day (just throw on a hat and random skirt and go) BUT then I decided to just go all out and so I did my hair and make-up and felt much better for it :) Levi (one of the little ones I babysit) loved my "purpoly outfit it is one of my favorite colors" and complimented me on my hair as well! Funny how a four year old can make your day :) Anywho, so here is my outfit:
Skirt: my old tried and true denim one that I have had forever and got from a thrift store
Shirt: .99 thrift store
Overshirt: .99 thrift store
Shoes: well I DID have on a really cute pair that I got from the thrift store yesterday but then...I kicked them off ;)
Hair: Pulled back and then french twist in back
Jewelry: None (Katy hangs head in shame) I DON'T OWN Jewelry! I know...I need to go and buy some!
Ok so about half-way through the day-IT GOT REALLY HOT! And I just...was not in the mood to be in layers and a jean skirt PLUS I was really in the mood to just to into the woods SO I changed into this outfit and yes I did do what I am doing in this picture! I ran to the woods and then went wading in the creek and had an absolutely marvelous time taking pictures and then I almost fell asleep on a log but overall JUST BEING ALONE WITH NO DISTRACTIONS FOR THE 1ST TIME IN WEEKS was amazing :) We serve an awesome Creator God! But more about that in a seperate post that I will be working on as soon as I am done with this one :)

Ok so, there is my 4th day for the feeling feminine challenge! Ok so, three more days to go! I can not stress enough (again) how amazing this has been for me personally...just making the time and effort to be feminine GIRLS IT IS SO WORTH IT :) It is not too late to join up! Are you up for the challenge? It really is a ton of fun :) Check out these too:

Day 1
Days 2 and 3

Days 2 and 3-The Feeling Feminine Challenge

So, I am on the 3rd day of this feeling feminine challenge and let me tell you ladies IT IS AMAZING! I was going to post Day 2 yesterday, but, I got busy and did not have a chance so you get a 2 for 1 today ;)

Day 2:
Skirt: Something I have had in my closet for YEARS...don't even remember when I got it! I love flowing skirts! There is something about being able to twirl and spin and yeah...love them :)
Shirt: Pluto's Closet $4
Shoes: None...I was at home and who needs shoes when you can go BAREFOOT (yup I am such a country girl)! :)
Hair: Just towel dryed it and then stuck a head band in. I did part it a little differently though honestly the different hairstyles a day thing is really really hard for me! We shall see what happens as the week progresses though. :)


Ok and just for those that think that you can not do almost anything in a skirt (DRUMROLL) I mowed the lawn yesterday...IN A SKIRT and it was actually quite comfortable! lol ;) Seriously though, you would be surprised some of the things (within reason of course you can accomplish in a skirt! It does help though that the particular one I have on is very flowing so you can actually move in it (which always helps).

Day 3:

So, TODAY is Day 3 and I am SO EXCITED! Abby came downstairs in a skirt this morning (because "her jeans were all dirty") and so I took pictures of both of us (gotta love that self timer!) and then edited them. They came out so cool! I think at least ;) So here Abby and I are on Day 3:




Abby's Outfit:
Skirt: Thrift store .99
Shirt: Thrift Store
Shoes: Thrift Store (catching on to the fact that we shop at thrift stores alot!)

Katy's Outfit:
Skirt: ANother one that I have had in my closet forever! I really love the long flowing kinds can you tell?
Cami: Thrift store (actually probably the most expensive part of the outfit)
Shirt: .99 at the THRIFT STORE ;)
Hair: I basically just blow dryed it and then pinned by bangs up out of the way...simple, fast and yet "different".
Shoes: Yet another thrift store find :)
Jewelry: Yes I actually wore it today! Just bracelets but hey it is progress :)





Ok so, three days down, four to go! I can not stress enough how amazing this has been for me personally...just making the time and effort to be feminine GIRLS IT IS SO WORTH IT :) It is not too late to join up! Are you up for the challenge? It really is a ton of fun :)

What’s It All About? (another special guest post)

Hey all so here is one of the guest posts that I have been talking a little bit about :) My good friend Scott Paris was gracious enough to agree to do a post for me and I am really excited to share it with you :) Check his blog HERE .

Hi, it’s me Scott Paris. So Katy asked me to do this guest post about something to do with surrender. I’ve had to surrender a lot in life, so I had lots to talk about. Then, again I wasn’t sure what to talk about. I mean what I can say about surrender. It’s so hard to explain, yet it’s so important to convey to others, because it is super important. So I was thinking that maybe I ought to start out by explaining what surrendering means. Webster says, “…to yield the power, control, or possession upon compulsion or demand…”. I looked at that and thought in my peanut-butter brain, “That’s not right.” In fact that’s almost the opposite of surrender. Surrender to God isn’t half-hearted or a forced decision. We surrender to God because we want to, because we need to. Usually we surrender when things are going wrong, because when things are going right we seem to think that we’re OK and don’t need any help. Sometimes we need to go through trial so that we remember who’s really in charge and who we need to turn to in good and bad. Then, I looked to some of the other definitions, “…to give oneself into the power of another…”. Now that sounded more like the kind of surrender I was thinking about. So now I’ve defined surrender. But now what is surrender all about? In my mind I think of surrender as giving God your all. Your thoughts, where you go, what you do, what you listen to, what you look at, how your attitude will be. Whether you’re struggling in school, whether you don’t have any friends, whether you’re blind, whether or not you don’t get along with your parents (I hop you do, because they are the best people to go to when you need help), whether or not you’re the most popular person at school(or if you’re homeschooled that probably isn’t a problem) you’re planning on giving God you’re all. Sometimes when I wake up in the morning and I know I need help with something, I’ll say, “God I really need your help today. I’m giving it all to you.” It’s not real elaborate or anything, its just my way of giving God the day. In fact I really need to give God every day, because there are going to be trials every day both internal and external whether I’m looking for them or not. So how do you surrender? It’s real easy you just tell God that he’s in control (he knows that already, but tell him anyway) and that you’re giving him all you have. And then you go on with your day.

So Katy asked me to write something surrendering. I just did, but I’d like to tell you about when I had to surrender. It was about a year ago. I had taken a test on a certain subject(I don’t remember which) and I had studied for several minutes. I rushed to get it done so I could go to the computer and have fun. You could probably guess that I didn’t do to well on the test. Actually I failed it. I was so mad at both myself at slightly mad at God. I got so angry (I had anger issues at the time, and it is only by the grace of God that I have learned to control my anger) that I started to throw things. My father came and we started to yell at each other. In an attempt to get me to calm down my parents sent me to the garage to get a box of gunk(that needed to be taken to the compost pile) to the woods(which is where the compost pile was). I was still angry and I was walking slowly to the woods which were about 200 feet away. I was so angry that I swore. I was so angry with myself that I started to cry like the baby that I was. I had taken the Lord’s name in vain and I was frustrated at myself. I calmed down, took the gunk to the woods, came back to the house, and went into the bathroom. (The bathroom. believe it or not, is a great place to think. You’re parents can come into your room, and they’re bound to find you’re hiding place, but in the bathroom no one dares to disturb you.) I knelt and put my elbows on the toilet lid. And I prayed. Long and hard. I confessed everything to God, asked him to forgive me, and I committed to giving him my all. It didn’t matted what happened next, I had God leading me and I was ready to take on whatever got thrown my way. So what is surrender? It’s giving God everything and letting him be in charge of your life. That’s my definition of surrender. And it is what I’m planning to do for the rest of my life.

Day 1-The Feeling Feminine Challenge

SO I did it for one day :) Let me tell you it was harder than I thought to get an outfit together including shoes (I have said before that I am more inclined to just throw a skirt and any old shirt on without thinking about it). After about 10 outfits though I did manage to pull this one together:

Skirt: Thrift Store
Cami: Sale at Rainbow
Shirt: .99 at Thrift Store
Overshirt: .99 Thrift Store
Shoes: $10 at Macey's

I took the TIME to do my hair. All I did was blow dry it while brushing through with a round brush (tops 2 minutes) and then just letting it go. I also took the TIME to do my make-up (tops 5 minutes) and was amazed at what a difference it made to actually FEEL feminine! The extra time (that I normally tell myself will take "too long") was not more than 10 extra minutes!

So there you are girls :) I did it for one day and now am off to find another outfit for day two! It is not too late to join up! Are you up for the challenge? It really is a ton of fun :)

I am up for the challenge GIRLS are you?

Hey all,

So you know that I love to wear skirts :) (Click here to read my views on modesty). This morning I was checking my blogs that I follow and came across the "7 days in a dress" challenge (hosted regularly by Feeling Feminine) that The Faithful Fashionista is doing and challenged her readers to do as well.

The challenge is from May 18th-May 24th. Basically you wear skirts and dress (GASP yup no pants) for 7 days (hence the name) and do your hair in a different hairstyle each day as well. I wear skirts mostly but it is so easy to just throw one on and not really think about the outfit. SO my take on this challenge this week is too take some time to think about the clothes I am wearing and take the time to do make-up and hair (not that I never do them lol). I am actually really excited for this opportunity to challenge myself to dress feminine (NOT frumpy) but with a chic ,while still modest twist.

I will be posting pics of my outfits daily!

Want to join?

Some pictures :)

Today Abby and I got to go and spend time with some very great friends at a beautiful park.Today I took my first photos in months and,after editing them, have decided that it would only be fair to share some of them with you :)It was a wonderful,relaxing time and the walk we went on-WOW-WHAT AN AWESOME CREATOR GOD WE SERVE! SO here are so of the pictures from today:






















































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































So, the Lord has REALLY been doing a work in me lately when it comes to surrendering things to Him. I actually made a list last night about the things that I had been trying (very unsuccessfully) to handle on my own. Some of them included:

Mom
being strong for everyone (trying to make EVERYONE happy)
the accident
my head
nightmares
camp
being so sick (this past 6 months as well)


I think that I had gotten it into my head that I needed to handle these things. That I was strong enough. That the Lord had other things to worry about. That I would be ok and be strong enough to handle things by myself. I don't know...it is kinda hard to explain...

I got to stressed out about being stressed out that I forgot who my focus needed to be on. I think that sometimes it can happen very subtly were ones focus gets off of the Lord (were it needs to be) and gets on themselves...at least that is what happened to me.

How did this surrender happen? I just came before the Lord and begged His forgiveness and then just re-surrendered my life and my all to HIS CARE once again. And I committed to go to HIM 1st when I am stressed/worried/scared instead of relying on myself or other people for answers which I was doing. It is so hard to explain just the peace that He has given me since I have re focused my eyes ON HIM.

I really don't know if any of that made sense! I am sorry! I am still trying to...get all my thoughts organized :) But that is kind of a sum-up :)

I was talking to a wonderful friend the other morning about what the Lord had been teaching me and we were talking about camp and the stress and just all this stuff and she shared with me these AMAZING verses (I had said that I needed to find some and start repeating them to myself when I was even starting to stress out about anything) and I thought I would share them with you :)

"Hear my cry, O God;
Attend to my prayer.
From the end of the earth I will cry to You,
When my heart is overwhelmed; (LOVE THAT PART)
Lead me to the rock that is higher than I."
Psalm 61:1-2

"Truly my soul silently waits for God;
From Him comes my salvation.
He only is my rock and my salvation;
He is my defense;
I shall not be greatly moved.
My soul, wait silently for God alone,
For my expectation is from Him.
He only is my rock and my salvation;
He is my defense;
I shall not be moved.
In God is my salvation and my glory;
The rock of my strength,
And my refuge, is in God.
Trust in Him at all times, you people;
Pour out your heart before Him;
God is a refuge for us. Selah"
Psalm 62:1-2;5-8

So that is were I have kind of been the last few days. We serve an AWESOME God!

Oh, and speaking of surrender-I have a very special guest post coming up that has to do with that very thing so keep your eyes open with in the next few days :)

Blessings to you all :)