Surrenderer

"Nothing is impossible.
Every chain is breakable.
With You, we are victorious."

I am in awe.

Let me repeat that...

I. Am. In. Awe.

This past Thursday night, Berry had another concert on campus. Now, I love me a good Berry concert. It's free, fun and an all out party most of the time. This past Thursday was all that and more.

Rend Collective came to Berry. That's right...the most amazing Irish Christian band was on our campus. I've loved Rend Collective for the past year or so after discovering their music on Spotify. To hear that they were coming to Berry put me in all kinds of hysterics. I was beyond excited.

Now, Berry hyped up this event. They put up posters, sent out e-vites on Facebook and sent out emails. The entire campus was buzzing about this concert. I had made up my mind to get there early to get good seats as it was by general seating only on a first come, first serve basis.

Boy, was that a fabulous idea.

My group and I were able to get front row seats. Talk about a perfect night!

The concert was simply breathtaking. I got to experience God blow up in the college chapel that night. He was all over that room and I saw Him blow through each student present at that concert.

Which leads me to what I really wanted to talk about: Surrendering yourself to God.

Rend Collective allowed me to pour out everything I was feeling and to give it to the hands of my Savior. Their lyrics aren't just normal, cliche Christian lyrics. They really do speak to you in a way you never knew before. One of my favorite songs by them is their song "More than Conquerors".

It honestly just powers me up and just puts a fire in my heart and soul for my God. (To listen to this song click here.) I could listen to it all day long.

This song resonates deep in me and I willingly surrender everything to Him.

Their music hypes me up and you can listen to their album Art of Celebration here.

That's really all I wanted to say. I am overwhelmed by the new mercies God hands me everyday and so very thankful for each day of this life that I live. Thanks Berry, for giving me the experience of a lifetime!

In His love.

Joyful

"Enjoy the little things in life because one day you will look back and realize that they were the big things." (Robert Brault)

"You need to let the little things that would ordinarily bore you suddenly thrill you." (Andy Warhol)

"I think it is important that you find little things in everyday life that makes you happy." (Paula Cole)

"It isn't the big pleasures that count the most; it's making a great deal out of the little ones." (Jean Webster)


I have been told over and over again to appreciate the small things in life. That while the big things will matter, it's those little things that happen everyday that are really worth noticing.

After going to Africa for those ten days, I began to notice the small things. I began to appreciate running water and the easy access of transportation. I thanked God for food and shelter and clothes and all those small things that I used to take for granted.

However, recently, I have found that I haven't been doing that. I've been frustrated with life. I don't find blessings in my every day life. I want everything to be perfect. (Which is downright silly, because we don't live in a perfect world.) I want to be able to go to class and work without being exhausted at the end of the day. I want to be able to fit in my workout, my homework, a social life, Netflix, editing my novel, and a decent amount of sleep without feeling overwhelmed. I just want everything to balance out just right.

But, of course, that won't happen without my sacrifice of a few things.

Just recently, I feel like I don't have time for everything I want to do. Everything is just pressing down on my shoulders and I feel like I'm about to break.

Recently, though, I've been seeing things happen in my life that I can only thank God for.

Over the weekend, I was able to go out and get breakfast with my roommate and we got to talk about everything from boys to Africa/Haiti to classes to funny stories from high school. I had forgotten how much I love sitting and talking with her. I had taken living with her for granted and I'm so happy I was able to spend that time with her on Saturday.

I also got to spend a good hour talking about life with another good friend of mine here at school. She was able to make me smile and laugh and brought out more blessings in my life.

I've been able to wake up for the sunrise for the past few days and let me say, God did not disappoint. Each one was great and made me grateful to live on such a beautiful campus.

I made a decision on my internship for next summer. This decision has been sitting on my shoulders for a very long time and I am so happy and relieved to have narrowed it down immensely.

Finally, today, I went to Publix with a friend so she could get some food. While there, I was walking down an isle and saw this oatmeal that I used to love as a kid. (It's the dinosaur egg oatmeal. You know, the one where the hot water makes the eggs "hatch" into little candy dinosaurs.) I mean, this oatmeal was my all time favorite. You could obviously see my love for living creatures when I was small.

This oatmeal, right here, is the bomb-dot-com.

But, anyway, when I saw this oatmeal, I almost broke down into tears in the middle of the store. Yeah, I almost cried in the middle of the cereal isle at Publix. I was that happy to see that oatmeal.

When we finally got back to our dorm, I went into my room, sat down on the floor, and just looked at this box of oatmeal. This time, I really did start crying. And not the small tears either. These were large balls of water rolling down my cheeks. I sobbed uncontrollably for a good ten minutes, looking at these packets filled with oats and dino eggs.

It was in those minutes, as I sobbed on the floor in my room, that I realized how happy I am for the little things in life. I am beyond blessed in my life and all it took was a box of kid's food to help me realize that.

So yeah, don't take the little things for granted. Focus on each good little thing and you will eventually find the big things. And remember, God is always here to help you through it all.

In His love.

Chaser

Let me officially say, welcome to a new year.

I know that it has been a while since I posted last and I would vehemently apologize for it, but the thing is, I enjoyed some time off from this blog. I got to spend it with family and friends and was able to enjoy myself for a month or two.

But, I am back now, and I cannot wait to start posting more!

So, what better way to start off this new year then by talking about what it means to move forward in life rather than being stuck in a moment.

Let's talk about what it means to be "chasing daylight".

This morning, I woke up super early (like 6 am early...and it's a holiday!!) so I could sit outside on my porch and watch the sunrise. I grabbed my cup of coffee, my bible and my journal and settled in for a good, long talk with my Creator. Little did I know, that my life and goals were about to change for the better.

One of my New Years resolutions was to (once again) read the bible from start to finish. I've done it once before about 4-5 years ago and thought why not do it again, now that I have a better understand of who God is in my life.

So I started off in the book of Deuteronomy, in chapter 30. (This is where I had left off the other night while reading.) I got to a particular passage in this chapter and let me just say, I was blown away. Here is the passage:

"See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. For I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess. 

"But if your heart turns away and you are not obedient, and if you are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them, I declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live long....

"...Now choose life, so that you and your children may live...For the Lord is your life..." (Deuteronomy 30: 15-20)

In this passage, God is pointing to two different paths. One will be a journey that parts ways from Him and the other leads to a journey in which He will part the way. One points to death, the other points to life.

There are three words I would like to focus on, though. Three words that are passed on from God to us, His people: "Now choose life".

Those words are life-changing to me. God isn't just telling me to live a life focused on Him and His word. He is telling me:

"Kaitlyn, you were born to live a great adventure; you were created with a divine destiny; You are called to fulfill a great mission. You were designed, by Me, for a unique purpose. Now, you are called to live it out."

In those words from before, God is telling us that right now, in this moment, put away the baggage from the past, shake ourselves free from the fear of the future unknown. Right now, choose life--seize divine moments.

To relive the past is to relinquish the future. If you are willing to let go of the past, then you are ready to step into the future. When you choose to remain stuck in a moment, you become incapable of seizing divine moments.

This morning, during my quiet time with God, I found that I want to stop living in the past. I want to stop reliving moments over and over again, wondering what I could have done differently to avoid some regretful actions and decisions. I want to move forward. I want to dare to look into the future. And if the future scares me, then I'll just take it one moment at a time. 

We were designed to move forwards in time, never to move backwards, nor to stay stuck in a moment. We were designed to chase the daylight--to chase our futures and to chase our dreams. 

I want to be a chaser.

So, here's a question for you:

In your moment of truth, what will you choose? Will you choose the wilderness or the adventure? Have you confused the blessing of God with wealth, comfort, and security? Have you considered that God's greatest gift to you is that He calls you to be a pioneer, explorer, and even creator?

There are things God does for you and things that God waits for you to do. The journey begins when you choose. Stop wasting daylight. Choose a life of meaningful adventure. When you do, you will live in the epicenter of God's activity.

In His love.