God is Faithful

    Being back in Madison for this week, I have naturally have had many (terrific) memories coming to me. Yesterday, I spent hours with a friend from my DTS, and over the course of our time together, we laughed and remembered the good times we had back when we were DTS students living in the TC. We remembered the time that some friends put chickens in our rooms in the middle of the night. We remembered planning escape routes for running away from hard talks (let's just say that we weren't the best at being vulnerable, and while I still have a hard time with it, I definitely have grown in vulnerability over the course of the past couple years!). We remembered racing each other to try and get our favourite spot in the classroom. Rachel and I have lots of good memories of our times in DTS, both together and with others. 

     As we were talking about outreach, I recalled how when I went to DTS, I was sure that I would end up going to India for outreach. I knew that Madison often sends teams there, but there was no reason for me to assume that that was where I would be going. However, my logic behind that assumption was that I really did NOT want to go, thus I would probably end up having to go.

     As I said this to Rachel, I realized something: that was my view of God back then. In my mind, He would send me to the places that I did not want to go to, and He would make me do the things that I really didn't want to do. My idea of who God is was so skewed! How was it that I thought that God's character was so... so not nice? How could I think that my God was a God who would use his power and authority to make people do things that they don't want to do? How did I have such a messed up idea of the character of God? And how did I forget that I once thought that?

     Reminiscing about my DTS, I remember how it was a season where God really focused on teaching me how much He LOVES me. He loves me simply for who I am. I had thought that I knew that, going into DTS, but during those six months, I really learned how deep His love for me goes. And I thought that was so cool and awesome and amazing.

     Now, looking back on those lessons that God taught and showed me, I see that it was about so much more than God assuring me that He loves me beyond measure. I mean, yeah, He wants me to know that and it was something I needed to really understand, but it was about more than me knowing God's love. It was about changing my whole view of God. Without me even realizing it, God showed me -through focusing on His love for me- how deeply wrong I was in my view of Him. He showed me how different His character is from what I had thought. By stressing His love for me, He showed me who He really is, and how GOOD He is. It was the stepping stone for me learning how to truly trust God, which was something that He really focused on last fall. 

     The lessons I learned in DTS were so much more than I thought they were. They went so much deeper than me simply being a beloved daughter of the King. God used that time as a foundation for the lessons I have been learning over the year and a half since I graduated from my DTS. And it wouldn't surprise me at all if the lessons that I learned during my DTS will continue to be a part of the lessons I will learn in the future. 

     God is faithful, and He is so committed to me -and you! When He says something, He means it. But more than that, when He speaks to us about things and reveals things to us, it goes beyond the current time and place. It goes beyond that moment! 

     Our God is truly amazing. He is incredible. I'm in awe of Him, I truly am! DTS was two years ago, and I am still having revelations and insights from that time! I am still learning from things that were said or taught to me during that season of my life. God knows me so well that He knows when to teach me certain things, and when to reveal things to me.

     God, you are a good, good Father. You are an amazing, wonderful, loving, powerful, gentle, and kind God. You... there are simply not words that can describe You, no words that can truly show how amazing you are!

     Blessings,

          Katie

On Sunday, Kenzie and I went on a hike north of Madison -so beautiful!

During our hike we left the trail fairly quickly and just followed the creek, clambering over rocks and crisscrossing the creek too many times to count. But neither of us fell in, yay!

Rachel and I attempted to take a picture at the end of our visit

When I first arrived in Madison on Friday night, Kenzie had placed a small Canadian flag on my bed in welcome -awwwww :) Then she pretty much just passed on halfway on her bed, halfway on mine. Soooo pretty much a normal day in our lives!

Friday evening Kenzie and I were trying to decide between seeing people and chasing the sunset. We decided on chasing the sunset, but as we were driving down the road, one of our friends spotted me in the car and ran into the street to stop us. And so we ended up socializing for awhile -I had a lot of people to say hi to!- before sneaking off to chase our sunset. It was almost done by the time we got through the mental institution to the lake, but was still beautiful!

I'm Back!

     Wow, it has been awhile! And now here I am, sitting in Cool Beans, drinking a Mocha Slide, while typing up a blog post... just like the old times, except today is Tuesday and not Wednesday, which was my normal Cool-Beans-and-blog day!
     Yes, I am back in Madison, but only for a visit. I arrived on Friday evening, and I will be heading home again on Sunday morning. I'm only here for just over a week, but it is so so so so so good to be 'home'. So good to see everyone again! Kenzie and I have been having quite a lot of fun, being reunited and sharing a room again! She had yet to remove my mattress from her bedroom, so that made for an easy set-up of my old spot on the floor! :)
     The weekend was filled with laughter and fun, and ice cream, of course. I plan on going to the new kindergarten someday this week, to see my old preschoolers. I got to see Micah on Saturday night, when I went over to his house to deliver a few Canadian treats for his parents -and he ended up tackling me for about half an hour. Just like the old times. It was great! I miss that kid so much! At one point, I ended up going downstairs to visit with my friends who live in the basement apartment, and Micah said "But, you're going to come back, right T? Come back before you leave!"
     Oh Micah James <3 He is going to be a big brother come December, and I am so excited! Even though I won't be here...
     Yesterday, Kenzie took the day off of work, so we went to the TC, the place where DTSes are run, to join the DTS for worship. I can't believe that this is the second fall DTS since my own! Crazy how fast time goes! It was amazing to be able to worship with a DTS again -those are always great times!- and after that, Kenz and I sat in on the first little bit of class.
     While sitting in that class, God really showed me how far I have come since the two years ago that I first stepped foot in YWAM Madison. I vividly remember back when I sat in that classroom as a student, soaking in the teachings. God has taught me so much in the past two years, and I have grown so much in my relationship with Him. Often, I don't feel like I have grown very much, like I don't really know much of anything about God. But during those fifteen minutes in class yesterday, God not only confirmed to me where He has asked me to be right now, but he also showed me that I have indeed grown so much! I still have so much to learn, but I'm definitely not in the same place that I was a couple years ago.
     Speaking of that, I have a totally awesome story of God's faithfulness to tell you, but I'll save that for another day :) Once it is official.
     So I guess that's it for now! I've gotta go enjoy Madison while I still can!
     Blessings,
          Katie