Bojangles.

God showed me His faithfulness and His grace yesterday in such a crazy, yet amazing way. He definitely knows my heart and cares, and He proved it to me yesterday through a fast-food restaurant. How great is our God?

"All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances,
And one man in his time plays many parts"

-William Shakespeare

a long road

Man, what a whirlwind of a few days -- a whirlwind of thoughts and emotions -- but there is now perhaps more of an understanding, more of an acceptance, and a slightly different outlook on some things. Being alone in a car for awhile, and escaping to be alone with your thoughts and tears while driving is definitely needed and very nice sometimes.

gradu-what??

This is a shout out to my friend Mego, who apparently ritualistically checks this blog without me ever knowing it. Congrats on graduating buddy...glad you made it across that stage more safely than you got across the living room this morning. :-)

just call me G.I. Jane

Well folks, it's official: I am a lean, mean, fighting machine. If you give me a gun, that is. In the past 2 days I've had the chance to shoot 2 pistols...random, I know. Granted, one of them was a fake pistol on a video game at Frankie's Fun Park, but today, for the first time ever I shot a real handgun! Crazy, I know. You're probably asking, who in their right mind would let me hold, let alone shoot a pistol at a target...and well, it was my daddy.

Today we went out in his truck to the old plant where he used to work, because he still does some work out there. It's closed down, and has a ton of land on the Saluda River -- so we were drivin' down through the woods and he looks over and says "you ever shot a pistol?" I respond "no" in which case he says "do you want to?" Of course I wanted to, so we pull down by the river deep into the woods, he gets his pistol and bullets out (yea, I shot a gun with real bullets - it still boggles my mind) and we set up a piece of scrap metal up against some trees. He teaches me how to do it, and then I get to pull the trigger. It was really fun, although weird to hold a thing of such power in my hands.

I had pretty good aim after I got the hang of it...maybe the Frankie's game (which Grant Turner annihilated me, by the way) was good practice. Who knows....all I can say is that there are way more holes in the scrap metal now than there were before I got ahold of that gun. :-)

Well, just wanted to share my big news....but don't worry guys - I'm harmless.

roses are red...

Man, love is a funny thing. I have never experienced anything as vivid or wonderful.

a silent night with loud implications...

"Silent night, holy night
All is calm, all is bright
Round yon Virgin, Mother and Child
Holy infant so tender and mild,
Sleep in heavenly peace

Silent night, holy night
Shepherds quake at the sight
Glories stream from heaven afar
Heavenly hosts sing Alleluia!
Christ the Savior is born

Silent night, holy night
Son of God, love's pure light
Radiant beams from Thy holy face
With the dawn of redeeming grace,
Jesus Lord, at Thy birth."

-Joseph Mohr

What beautiful words. Sure, we sing them every time Christmas rolls around, but have you ever stopped and really allowed yourself to dwell on them? Have you really felt them? What an embodiment of the beauty of Christ's birth, of the majesty of His character, of the splendor He truly is. Imagine yourself there; insert yourself into this beautiful picture and let your mind take you back...way back, into this tiny little town called Bethlehem, the night a King was being born..that silent, holy night.

"Black Rock"

"The black rock is where I spend my time
Writing a memory or writing a rhyme
Thinking about what is right or wrong...

Sometimes I just look around to take in the feeling coming out from the ground
But that's just something I do sometimes
And then I just step out the door to take in the wind coming off of the shore
And that's just what I'm doing tonight"
-OAR


Today was my first "official" day of winter break since finishing up exams yesterday, and I knew I wanted to go somewhere today and just be able to sit and relax and think and read and do all of the things that I often feel robbed of during the hectic pace of the semester. I also knew this place I was going to do this had to be outside...somewhere beautiful...somewhere away from noise and away from this everyday world. A sort of safe haven, or my "black rock" as OAR puts it. I haven't been able to roam the city as much as I wish yet since being here - so I didn't exactly know where this place was going to be. I set out to find it today, knowing as I walked out the door with my backpack full of the necessities (pen, notepad, bible, book) on that I may very well not find it this particular day and that today I may have to settle for somewhere a little more "ordinary" since it was the first day of my search.

Boy, was I wrong. After driving around and discovering a little more of ole "Jim Island," as my grandmother likes to call it, I finally stumbled across my black rock. It couldn't have been any more perfect. As soon as I got settled, I pulled out my notepad and began to write...here is an excerpt from what I scribbled down:

'Serenity. The word that comes to mind as I lay here in the sand. The ocean in front of me beautifully pounding the rocks. No sound but the crash they make as they hit and splatter 5 feet in the air. An old lighthouse standing strong out in the ocean, yet looking tired and faded by the salt and sunlight. I am laying up in the dunes. My feet stretched out in front of me with a little sand on the tips of my tennis shoes as a mark of the walk to get here. My back leans against a dune and is more comfortable than any sofa could ever be. Nature. It is beautiful. The tall grass is blowing in the breeze around me....there is a purple haze breaking the canopy of blue that is extending up from the ocean that turns into a deeper blue as it crawls upward. Way up in the sky are the white ones, streaking and fluffy. The sun is behind me, a sign that the day will be coming to a close shortly. I can feel the chill of the sand on my back as it penetrates the thickness of my sweatshirt. Silence rolls along with the ocean. How did I get so lucky as to stumble upon this little piece of heaven? I surely have been blessed.'

Their is a little more scribbled upon the pages of my notebook, mostly including how great it is to get to experience the fullness of the universe that our awesome God created, and how that, in my opinion, is living. Letting yourself experience God's creation and just being filled with His glory as you breathe in the salty, damp air.

I encourage you all to find your own little "black rock," whether it be in your backyard or up in a tree (which would be REALLY cool...I wanted to find a cool tree to go climb and sit in today soo badly, but I haven't found the perfect one yet) or in a coffee shop somewhere...anywhere that you can go escape from the lull of your everyday life and experience the fullness of our Lord in a way that is a little out of the ordinary for you. It's nice. Trust me.

beautiful tears...

I got to experience something really beautiful today. I got the pleasure of listening to my two best friends cry. You may be thinking, "did you say 'beautiful,' Katie?" Yes...beautiful. No, I don't like that either of them were brought to tears, nor do I enjoy in the slightest when either of their hearts feel even a twinge of pain - but to be able to listen to their hearts overflow...and feel their raw emotion...and be able to hurt with them, or be lonely with them, or broken with them was amazing. To have friends in your life that you care about so much that you hurt when they hurt is such an amazing gift from God. To have friends in your life who aren't scared to let you see their tears (or hear them, in these cases, since it was over the phone), and who willingly share them with you is simply...beautiful. Each of them had completely different situations, completely different reasons for the tears, and were in completely different parts of the country.....but having the pleasure of knowing each of their hearts so well to be able to understand where they were coming from - and to be able to have the opportunity to be an ear to listen and a shoulder to cry on was simply beautiful. Though tears streaming down a face aren't particularly welcomed on all occassions by those whose cheeks are being stained....they are welcomed on my shoulder any day they are needed to be cried.

bitter sweet

My best friend lives in LA now. Talk about tough to swallow sometimes.