Adios

I've been converted. To Wordpress. I feel guilty saying it. But blogger, it's been nice knowin' ya!

Come on over to katesacra.wordpress.com because that's where I'll be.

Adios, friend.

:-)

P as in... Pneumonia?

Just Do SOMETHING

How to make a decision without dreams, visions, fleeces, impressions, open doors, random Bible verses, casting lots, liver shivers, writing in the sky, etc.

Then Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, "Do not think to yourself that in the king’s palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews. For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?" Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai, "Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf, and do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my young women will also fast as you do. Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish." -Esther 4:13-16

Kevin DeYoung writes:

Esther didn't wait for weeks or months trying to discern God's will for her life before she acted. She simply did what was right and forged ahead without any special word from God. If the king extended to her the golden scepter, praise the Lord. If he did not, she died.
Esther was more man than most men I know, myself included. Many of us -- men and women -- are extremely passive and cowardly. We don't take risks for God because we are obsessed with safety, security, and most of all with the future. That's why most of our prayers fall into one of two categories. Either we ask that everything would be fine or we ask to know that everything will be fine. We pray for health, travel, jobs -- and we should pray for these things. But a lot of prayers boil down to, "God, don't let anything unpleasant happen to anyone. Make everything in the world nice for everyone." And when we aren't praying this kind of prayer, we are praying for God to tell us that everything will turn out fine.

When it comes to our future, we should take some responsibility, make a decision, and
just do something.

Just Do Something, By Kevin DeYoung

You really need to read this book. Everyone needs to read this book. Seriously.

I just watched One Night With the King yesterday. Then today I read about Esther and how she took a chance for God. When I want to know God's will I tend to pray about it for a long time, recruit others to pray for me for a long time, weigh my options, go back and forth, basically it tends to be a long, drawn out process. Esther didn't wait. She didn't pray for a sign from Heaven. She didn't wait for God's will to be revealed. She didn't look for writing on the wall. Neither did she do nothing.

No. She prayed and fasted for three days and then she stepped out in faith.

She took a risk.

Made her move.

Why can't I be more like Esther? This girl was facing life or death, yet she knew what she had to do. She didn't question.

I'm tired of being passive. Of making bigger issues out of things that should be simple.

She JUST DID SOMETHING.

I want to do something.

...more thoughts to come...

this actually came out of my mouth

"You going to make like a tree and bark?"

*sigh* I'm such a blond...

Nothing can separate
Even if I ran away
Your love never fails

I know I still make mistakes, but
You have new mercy for me everyday
Your love never fails

You stay the same through the ages
Your love never changes
There may be pain in the night
But joy comes in the morning
And when the oceans rage
I don’t have to be afraid
Because I know that you love me
And your love never fails

The wind is strong and the water’s deep, but
I’m not alone here in these open seas
Cause your love never fails

The chasm was far too wide
I never thought I’d reach the other side
But your love never fails

You make all things, work together for my good

Running Together

By Suzanne Hadley

I spent that evening the way I did most Sunday nights — doing laundry, changing the sheets, mopping the kitchen floor.

The evening I met my now-fiancé was truly mundane. But how God brought us together was far from ordinary. In "A Year to Love," I recount the last year of my life and how God introduced me to my soon-to-be husband, Kevin.

Though 30 was not the age I anticipated meeting the man I would marry (I expected that day to come much sooner), I have no regrets about my past decade as a single woman. Just as I have watched God faithfully lead me in many areas of my life during those years, this year I have seen Him do the same in my romantic life.

I used to wonder why I couldn't seem to meet someone great (when many of my friends could and did), and my mind couldn't even comprehend how God would bring a godly man into my life. More than once I tried to force it; I tried to settle for a relationship that just wasn't quite there, or I became attached to a person who didn't demonstrate the spiritual quality I knew God desired for my future spouse.

But my relationship with Kevin, though a fantastic story, had a very natural quality. I simply couldn't get away from him:

In his sermon series on Song of Solomon, Tommy Nelson talks about courtship and marriage in terms of a race. Nelson says that as Christian singles "run the race" God has set before them, they should be looking to see who is to their right and left as they run. Who is keeping pace, running nearby, heading the same direction?

I had been running that race alone throughout my 20s. Sometimes I would look over and catch a glimpse of someone, but inevitably they would veer off another direction or pass me by. Even a few godly relationships just did not click. In those moments, I would cry out to the Lord and try to understand His love and His purpose for me.

From the day I met Kevin, he kept popping up next to me — church, children's ministry, improv.

I would never want to use my own story to oversimplify the journey from singleness to marriage. However, if I could, I would give back some of the worries I experienced before meeting Kevin. Ultimately, I did not have to do much (other than be myself) to attract the right guy's attention. I'm not saying our relationship has been without challenges or that we don't have to put forth effort to make it work (we do). I am saying that my relationship with Kevin didn't require forcing. Our lives naturally fit together, our community approved of our relationship and we both have absolute peace.

I used to say that God had so faithfully led me in other areas of my life that I expected Him to do the same if and when a godly guy entered the scene. That has been the case. Whether I'm single or married does not change God's character. Regardless of my circumstances, He is worthy and He is good.

The only insight I have come up with is that God knows and He loves. There is no formula to how He brought Kevin and me together. I do know that we were each faithfully serving the Lord where He had placed us. We were running the race. And God chose to intervene in some significant ways so that we would run it together.

Run faithfully today. You never know who may be running nearby.

Running Together

By Suzanne Hadley

I spent that evening the way I did most Sunday nights — doing laundry, changing the sheets, mopping the kitchen floor.

The evening I met my now-fiancé was truly mundane. But how God brought us together was far from ordinary. In "A Year to Love," I recount the last year of my life and how God introduced me to my soon-to-be husband, Kevin.

Though 30 was not the age I anticipated meeting the man I would marry (I expected that day to come much sooner), I have no regrets about my past decade as a single woman. Just as I have watched God faithfully lead me in many areas of my life during those years, this year I have seen Him do the same in my romantic life.

I used to wonder why I couldn't seem to meet someone great (when many of my friends could and did), and my mind couldn't even comprehend how God would bring a godly man into my life. More than once I tried to force it; I tried to settle for a relationship that just wasn't quite there, or I became attached to a person who didn't demonstrate the spiritual quality I knew God desired for my future spouse.

But my relationship with Kevin, though a fantastic story, had a very natural quality. I simply couldn't get away from him:

In his sermon series on Song of Solomon, Tommy Nelson talks about courtship and marriage in terms of a race. Nelson says that as Christian singles "run the race" God has set before them, they should be looking to see who is to their right and left as they run. Who is keeping pace, running nearby, heading the same direction?

I had been running that race alone throughout my 20s. Sometimes I would look over and catch a glimpse of someone, but inevitably they would veer off another direction or pass me by. Even a few godly relationships just did not click. In those moments, I would cry out to the Lord and try to understand His love and His purpose for me.

From the day I met Kevin, he kept popping up next to me — church, children's ministry, improv.

I would never want to use my own story to oversimplify the journey from singleness to marriage. However, if I could, I would give back some of the worries I experienced before meeting Kevin. Ultimately, I did not have to do much (other than be myself) to attract the right guy's attention. I'm not saying our relationship has been without challenges or that we don't have to put forth effort to make it work (we do). I am saying that my relationship with Kevin didn't require forcing. Our lives naturally fit together, our community approved of our relationship and we both have absolute peace.

I used to say that God had so faithfully led me in other areas of my life that I expected Him to do the same if and when a godly guy entered the scene. That has been the case. Whether I'm single or married does not change God's character. Regardless of my circumstances, He is worthy and He is good.

The only insight I have come up with is that God knows and He loves. There is no formula to how He brought Kevin and me together. I do know that we were each faithfully serving the Lord where He had placed us. We were running the race. And God chose to intervene in some significant ways so that we would run it together.

Run faithfully today. You never know who may be running nearby.

5 Minute Chocolate Cake

I had to pass this on. This cake takes (no lie) 5 minutes. Heaven help me....

4 T flour
4 T sugar
1 1/2 T cocoa
1/4 t baking powder
1/8 t salt
1 egg
3 T milk
2 T oil
1/4 t vanilla
2 T chocolate chips (optional...but who wouldn't use them???)

Mix all the dry ingredients in a coffee mug that holds about 1 3/4 C liquid. Add the egg and mix thoroughly. Pour in milk, oil, and vanilla and mix until blended. Add chocolate chips. Microwave for 3-3 1/2 minutes. The cake rises up out of the mug and looks like it's going to fall out, but it shouldn't. :-) Let cool a little and tip out onto a plate or bowl. Add whipped topping or ice cream and you're all set. And it only took 5 minutes. Yikes.

after about the fourth attempt: no title.

I don't think I've ever had so many prayers answered so fast.

I don't think I've ever felt this much direction so fast.

I don't think I've ever felt this at peace about something happening so fast.

Then again, we're talking God here.

Have I mentioned He ROCKS?!?!

I really can't stop smiling. I am so excited for the epicness that is to come.

Headed back to Norfolk Sunday with two amazing girls.

I really am too excited to sleep.

As Byrd would say: Ha-chi-nana! :-)

Do work!

God is doin' work all across the East Coast.

Aletheia Harrisonburg, Aletheia Tampa, Aletheia Richmond, and Aletheia Norfolk.

I'm so stoked.