A taste of heaven.

at 12/22/09 1:30AM

As I sat around the dinner table on Saturday night, looking at my ENTIRE family sitting there together, I had a swell of joy in my heart. Family is the second most important thing in my life. The first, of course, is God. I wish I could express in words how much that dinner meant to me. I don't know if we will all ever be together in the same room again. Hearing my grandma tell stories of her childhood, seeing my uncle look proudly at his son who lives so far away, hearing the giggle of my 1 year old niece, hearing all 3 of my sisters sing together again.... it was pure happiness and for just a moment, I felt like I got a taste of heaven.

I am looking forward to this next year to see what it brings. I am learning (slowly) that my plans are not God's plans, and He has surprises and opportunities in store for me that I cannot even dream about. I hope and pray that you all have a safe, happy holiday season! See you next year!

So well said. You are part of an amazing family and I'm happy you all got to be together. Enjoy your holidays!

by amyleigh at 12/22/09 3:02AM
:) I'm glad you are getting to spend time with family!! Enjoy!

by desi at 12/22/09 9:21AM
agreed. glad the holidas went well! miss you! and i feel ya on the heaven thing, i told a person the other how I cant wait, we will have no waiting to se people... and that is one nice perk...

by texas_kandikane at 01/28/10 7:03PM
I miss you and Molly! I hope you're doing wonderfully. :)

by benb at 02/01/10 5:31PM

Grateful

at 11/22/09 11:49PM

There's been a song going through my head with Thanksgiving right around the corner. It's called "Grateful". I wanted to share the lyrics with you!

"I've got a roof over my head
I've got a warm place to sleep
Some nights I lie awake counting gifts
Instead of counting sheep

I've got a heart that can hold love
I've got a mind that can think
There may be times when I lose the light
And let my spirits sink
But I can't stay depressed
When I remember how I'm blessed

Grateful, grateful
Truly grateful I am
Grateful, grateful
Truly blessed
And duly grateful

In a city of strangers
I've got a family of friends
No matter what rocks and brambles fill the way
I know that they will stay until the end

I feel a hand holding my hand
It's not a hand you can see
But on the road to the promised land
This hand will shepherd me
Through delight and despair
Holding tight and always there

It's not that I don't want a lot
Or hope for more, or dream of more
But giving thanks for what I've got
Makes me so much happier than keeping score

In a world that can bring pain
I will still take each chance
For I believe that whatever the terrain
Our feet can learn to dance
Whatever stone life may sling
We can moan or we can sing

Grateful, grateful
Truly grateful I am
Grateful, grateful
Truly blessed
And duly grateful!"

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

very nice. happy thanksgiving to you, too!

by benb at 11/23/09 7:58AM
great song, now record it and put it on here for us to hear ;)

by rainout at 11/23/09 8:04AM
nice song.. :)

by texas_kandikane at 11/23/09 10:43AM
Unfortunately, no... :(

My dad's sister and her family live in Longmont, so we're headed up there for a couple of days. I have to be back home for a rehearsal on Saturday, so it's a quick trip - riding up with the family all day today, and then flying back on my own Friday evening. I will give you a mental shout-out as I pass your exit, though. :)

by dwatkins at 11/25/09 5:12AM
YES! Please call. Anytime after 5 or 6 central time is good for me! I will be busy most of today helping a family from church. More about that later. I love you a whole lot and have been thinking about you quite a bit. Let's be an encouragement to each other!!

by heidiw at 12/08/09 7:38AM

Working on my priorities

at 09/28/09 11:15AM

We just had an EXCELLENT gospel meeting with Tim Norman last week. One of the lessons that made the biggest impressions on me was one entitled, "The most important thing is to keep the most important thing the most important thing." (Yes, I did type that right.) :) It was all about priorities. Something that I've been working on a lot lately. Basically, the main thing has to be God. How much time do we spend studying, praying, and trying to please Him; compared to the amount of time that we spend socializing, wasting our time on leisure activities, and trying to please others?

My internet was down for about 3 days, and I noticed that I suddenly had more time to read my Bible, pray, and help others. A shocking revelation, I'm sure, but it made a huge impression on me paired with the lesson from Mr. Norman. Therefore, I have decided to time myself on the internet every day. I'm going to see if 30 minutes a day allows me to get the necessary things done, catch up with a few friends, and ultimately spend my time more wisely.

Let's all keep God the "Main Thing"! :)

Great thoughts!

by jenjam at 09/28/09 2:39PM
Kaitlin, I would love (absolutely LOVE) that! When would be a good time for you??? I really just need a month or so to give my boss time to arrange the schedule.

by amy_szabo at 09/28/09 8:02PM
that's neat, when i was in Florida last week, i made a few notes from the things that Dan Cathy said, and one of the things i wrote down that he said was "the main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing!" :)

by rainout at 09/29/09 9:39AM
kaitlin!!! i miss you!!! so your family is so great...haha
it is so true God does need to be first..
love ya talk to you later

by texas_kandikane at 09/29/09 10:04AM
Thanks for being so encouraging. One thing I have started doing lately is reading my bible at lunch. It has been great and adds such peace to my day. I had always left bible study for bedtime when of course, I am so tired and about to fall asleep. I too keep thinking how much more I could be focused on him. Thanks!

by email at 09/29/09 9:12PM
Thanks for your thoughts, Kaitlin, and thank you (even though I know it was a few months ago) for thinking of me and posting on my wall. :) I love you and miss you. Keeping my priorities straight is one of the hardest things to do, given how Satan loves to distract me with things that are not inherently bad. I think of you often, and I hope you are doing well. :)

by stupidugly at 10/08/09 10:59PM
If you make the caramel apples, refrigerate the apples first. It really helps. Have a great week!!!!!!!!!!

by jenjam at 10/18/09 9:10PM
Good for sticking to the plan! Have you lost?
I walk/ran a 5k last Saturday in 43 mins -- 12 mins better than last year's walk. And it was soooo cold!
In other news, the CFA I worked at (and still frequent) was robbed today.

by jules at 10/21/09 6:08PM
I would love to HAVE that guys passport because that would mean I'd have seen all those places! He has an earlier video where he's visited tons of other landmarks.

by amy_szabo at 10/23/09 7:31PM
don't worry, if the tea is NOT on my diet, I will find a way to sneak it in! :)

by rainout at 11/19/09 7:48AM

Lately

at 09/19/09 12:03PM

I love fall. I think I post this phrase every year, the moment that I need to wear a sweater in the mornings and I smell the brisk air in the evening. :)

School is going pretty well so far. I enjoy being a returning teacher, knowing a few things about how the year will go. I am still teaching PE, music and drama for kindergarten through 8th grade. So far I've had 2 kids kick me, 1 kid choking himself during class, 3 kids who have thrown temper tantrums, and about 280 other students who make it all worthwhile.

My dad is in Thailand right now teaching business principles according to the Bible to businessmen over there, and my mom is in Florida visiting my little sisters. It's been quite an experience learning how to take care of a house and my grandmother by myself. I have been living with my parents since I moved back to Colorado, and I've forgotten a little bit how to keep house, cook meals and work full time, all at once. The house is much quieter since Kerri left and I miss her terribly.

Today is one of my first Saturdays off, so I'm going to finish all of the house cleaning and school preparation for the week before I have my fun, relaxing time.

today is my first Saturday at home in a month or so, and I admit that I slept til noon. I haven't done that in a loooong time!

by jules at 09/19/09 1:23PM
I love fall so much! It's exciting to be somewhere where the leaves change and you can actually feel fall in the air! Wow, sounds like you have a lot to handle, but I'm sure you can do it.

by benb at 09/20/09 8:02PM
hey hope saturday was productive!! :) glad everything is good, yet a kid chocked himself?

by texas_kandikane at 09/20/09 9:59PM
hey, keep me posted on the retreat! i'd love to come if at all possible. and i know of at least one other girl who would probably benefit from it as well. holler if you need me to do anything to help!

by jeking at 09/26/09 10:45PM

THIS is Why God Gave Us Christian Families

at 09/08/09 12:31AM

To those ladies who responded to my last post, the words "thank you" seem so small, yet they are all that I have. I received more encouragement than I ever expected. It came flowing in from here and Facebook and cards and texts and words of encouragement. God answered my prayers through you all.

Well, this is what you taught me and what I learned about being a single girl. I hope that this helps or encourages someone else out there like it did me:

- God ALWAYS knows what's best.
- Satan can use our loneliness to pull us away from God.
- Pray in faith, believing that God hears us.
- Feeling lonely is natural and you are not alone.
- The lonely feeling will continue even when you are married if God is not enough.
- It is a good thing to desire a husband.
- Enjoy your freedom with time, travel, finances, friends, family, and take advantage of being single.
- Find what you CAN do at this point in your life.
- Pray more. Pray more. Pray more.
- Keep learning about marriage and how to be a good wife even while you are single.

I am working on a possible girls retreat for single girls for this spring or next summer. I think it was Joanna who mentioned it first on my last post, and several of you seemed interested. I think some of us could use this to refocus and to lift each other up through this transitional point in our lives. We all need encouragement. If you're interested, let me know. I'll try to find a central location and then we can get the word out to others. Give me any suggestions that you might have (location, topics, time, duration, etc.).

Thank you again, and I will pray for each of you like you did for me. Have a wonderful week. I love you all!

I am definitely interested in a retreat. The only suggestion I have right now is that it takes place in the summer. When I have some more, I'll add them.

One point my mom has always made to my sister and me is that it's better to be happily unmarried than unhappily married. She was in two serious relationships before she met my dad. She always says that God had to give her some help because she didn't know what she was doing. He clearly knew what He was doing because she and my dad will celebrate 29 years of marriage next month.

by dixiechick at 09/08/09 12:59AM
Kaitlin that does sound cool... :) there is encouragement to follow through. :) hey did your phone number change?

by texas_kandikane at 09/08/09 10:18AM
thanks. it was funny one of the last kids that left, she told me that whole week "kandi your my best friend" it was so cute. Then the one that resently has been keeping me sane I smooshed her hand in the door, yet comforting dad, "said o she can still bend them-ok good. Dont worry we do it all the time." o the fun

by texas_kandikane at 09/08/09 10:58AM
My boss always reminds me "better to be single forever than married to the wrong person." Too true.
I'm game for anywhere for the retreat, I just need to know at least a month in advance so I can schedule time off at work. I'd love to come to CO for the first time!

by jules at 09/10/09 10:29PM
that's cool that he came to your house!!

by rainout at 09/16/09 9:27AM

A taste of heaven.

Grateful

Working on my priorities

Lately

THIS is Why God Gave Us Christian Families

ktay

friends