Slideshow BDTS_CDTS 2012!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

To India With Love

Here we go to India, with Love, and Joy and Hope!

We go to plunder hell and populate heaven 

and to say "Let there be Light!!"

Here we go to India to preach and lay hands on to heal

and see miracles and share that we're all in love with a

man, named JESUS!

Let's kick it

Vania, Canada

Kathryn, New Jersey

Ruby, North Carolina

Erik, Idaho

Kevin, Switzerland

Markelle, Canada

All Tribes Cafe

 Our team will be working here, at All Tribes Cafe for the month of January 2013!
If you are inspired to support us please contact me and consider an online donation at http://www.ywamoxford.org/pay-online/donation.php
 for Ruby Hodges/India Team

Thank you for your prayer support as well!
I am so excited for this! Aren't you?!:)

P + B

 Peace and Blessings!

Hello my dear friends and family!

I’m beginning to feel the business and exhaustion trying to kick in and take over, and I absolutely refuse to succumb to burn out! In saying that, I need to write this update to reflect on what marvelous things the Lord is doing here. And how He’s sustaining me, and I’m still learning a bit about self care so I know I need to schedule in more me time. Although today I got a 20 minuet nap and that did wonders for my mood and concentration!:)

Anyway! To the point: PEACE. Last Monday during base worship we had the opportunity to speak out things we wanted from God that week. Things to claim in our hearts and proclaim over our lives. I had been so agitated that morning, and being around 50 + people for worship made me more anxious so I stepped out of a while. I had given my Bible away so I went searching for a temporary one to use and during more stint wandering the small base Library, I told God all I wanted was Peace. I needed it. So many things were bombarding me and I knew there was no way I could minimalism my spaze out moments and tears without God absolutely taking over and soaking my heart in supernatural peace.

Oofta, it came. He bestowed an immense amount of stillness and comfort and it was as if a warm blanket was wrapped around my shoulders. God carried me through so much last week! Even though we had a couple of schedule changes and last minuet meetings I never once melted down or felt scattered. I lead a mid school evaluation meeting for our staff team, I lead our small group discussion and our outreach team meeting all in one day, back to back. I had amazing one on ones with my small group girls and God blessed me with exactly the right words to say to them! I was amazed!

Then came the weekend. This past weekend activity was what really made me reflect on how much God really gave me peace that permeated my being because of the stressful chain of events.  A group of 9 of us went to Hawdon Valley to hike up the the Hawdon Hut and experience the beautiful waterfalls, mountain ascents and enjoy the hike up the spectacular valley.

Friday afternoon it was raining, it was extremely windy and we had a dozen river crossing to make. The river was Frigid! Soooo frigid! The rain was pelting our faces the whole way and the wind made it feel as if we were actually climbing up a mountain even though we were tramping on level rock paths for 3 hours. Our group though was amazing! So upbeat, so fun, such champs who made no complaints! So it was a joy to be in their company, and nice to be off base and forget for a while that I was a leader and they were students, and we were just comrads trudging up a mountain gladly. It was great! We built a cozy fire in the hut. We had it all to ourselves and played heaps of card games and laughed a lot. My cheeks hurt that night when I fell asleep.

It rained all night though and we did not think we would be able to cross the river since it appeared to have risen 6 inches. We decided instead to hike to the top of a particular mountain and got to enjoy a spectacular view of Hawdon Valley as the clouds parted and the fog lifted around  noon. We began rationing out our food to last another day because we didn’t think we could return home, until a group of 7 older adults came trudging up saying the rivers weren’t too terrible! So at 4pm we set out on the 3 ½ hour hike back to the van. The whole time I was just praying to Jesus. Every intense river crossing He was with me. I felt His prescense as we linked arms in groups of 3 or more and slowly forged our way across 12 different side streams/ rivers. The very last river was the one we were all worried about.

The fact that it was a struggle of the 6 foot 200 lb guys to cross was concerning, but in  that moment you gotta do what you gotta do and we were literally a 5 min walk from the van after we crossed the river! There were 6 of us who crossed together the time, 5 girls and 1 guy. I was in the lead, and one of the shortest onesJ The water was up to my waist!! It was freezing and the current was so crazy strong, I didn’t stop praying! A beautiful little Danish girl was on my left and everything was going slowly, surely, and carefully until… at the deepest point, I slipped, and my foot got caught – and for a split second my stomach dropped, my voice vanished and panic swept over my face! I am so surprised tears didn’t pop out right then because a million thoughts raced through my mind about what to do with a pack on, bobbing through rapids in ice water and what would happen to me!!!!  Everyone could hear it in my terrified yelp!

Then Christina, a tiny little Danish girl yelled at me “ I”VE GOT YOU! I’VE GOT YOU!  I’M NOT LETTING GO! RUBY! I’VE GOT YOU!” Looking back now, it’s SO hilarious, but exactly what I needed in that moment – a shout in my of the reality that I wasn’t in it alone and that I had help, and 3 steps in front of me was land. I made it! WOO! And instead of bursting into tears it was more of a revealed  overwhelmed chuckle that escaped my mouth. Every girl hugged me, and Christina is literally my hero now!

The story didn’t end there… the danger did, but my typical calamity filled lifestyle were just starting. After we all changed into warm, dry clothes, I had to drive home and I accidentally went off roading through these giant puddles and deep mud, thinking it was the road we drove in on. Needless to say for those 10 minuets of that 1^st detour the guys were hollering and I spun out the van unintentionally haha. Thank you Dad for teaching me how to drive like a mountain woman, the dudes were impressed!

Then it started snowing for the first hour of our drive home. Then in the dark I missed my turn home and took an hour and a hald detour into a major city in the pouring rain! Thankfully, like I said before, this group was so easy going, they just turned up the jams and enjoyed the ride. We had some really good conversations too – God blessed that time, I think. Well, we were 45mins away from base and we made a pit stop at McDonald’s…I walked in socks because my boots were lost in the back…and I forgot to turn the van lights off. 15 minuets later when we got back in the van no one believed me when the van would NOT start. I just deflated at that point. It was 10pm. We had done intense hiking all day long. My feet were wet and cold, my underwear was in the same state, 5 people had mooched some money off me for McDonald, and everyone was patiently waiting for me to drive them safely home.  AH! Thankfully the fellow beside us had jumper cables and after 15mins of trying the dang van finally turned on! AHG!

Needless to say when we got back we were all greeted with big hugs and hot soup. Nicki was so caring, and let me tell the whole story, haha! I really did go to bed completely peaceful! Looking back, hearing the locals talk about the dangers of the Hawdon Valley River crossings and the fact that none of us were seriously injured… I had to sit there and say to God “Pops, you were truly keeping us safe! I knew your protective angles were right beside of us, and your favor was graciously covering us. Thank you!!” That’s when it struck me. I never once melted down, broke down, cried, got mad, or stressed beyond belief. That was definetly God carrying me with His Peace. Hallelujiah! More Jesus More!

That’s all for now. Like I said before…I need to be more diligent on self care – aka sleeping enough. Pray for me and my time managing! Also for my India team! That bonding and a family feel would reign with God’s heart for our outreach to steer our path. I’m communicating with a few contacts in India forming a plan and schedule for 3 months! So stoked!

I so appreciate your support, your prayers, and your words of encouragement! Also, I miss you all tons. SO MUCH. Thank you for being my covering as I’m leading these lovely students on this amazing God adventure!

Peace

Ruby Mc Truby

This one's for Auntie

The baby seals swim up this little river to play in a waterfall to stay safe during the spring! This little buddy was totally showing off for us - i loved him. He was presh! And Aunt Libilibi, I thought of you the whole time:)

Number Two

This is the 2nd post I'm dedicating to funny times in my life with Jesus.

Picture this: Its a Friday afternoon, sunny, windy, and there are 49 students needing to be transported into Christchurch for our fun scavenger hunt activity. NBD right? Until the van I'm driving the next three months - Gandalf - wont turn on. I prayed over him, tried again, prayed, patted the dashboard, spoke words of life - nadda. Nothing happened. So three vans drove over to help me - and our jumper cables couldn't connect, they were really old so nothing happened even when the other van reved up their engine etc. After about 30 mins we finally had to just reaarange everyone to a couple cars instead of a van.

Whew. Only an hour behind schedule...and no maps. But we found the mall, we caught up with the rest of the group and everything was fine and dandy.

Until...Kevin from Switzerland asked me, three hours after we had arrived and had been exploring the town, he asked me for the van keys. Of course, I couldn't find them. I refused to panic...for a split second all the terrible consequences of loosing a set of van keys flashed before my mind. The maintenance man, Juddy, would eat me for breakfast was the main one concerning me...

But i brushed that aside and asked around the stores I had been in for a set of keys. No luck. 2nd step was to retrace the path I had walked around the area, but it was raining and I only tramped 5 mins down the street and gave up. Thankfully I had this nawing feeling to go check the van, and if the keys weren't around them somewhere I could then have legitimate reason to flip out and run away:)

I walked through the rain up to the vans and there they were! Chillin in the door, just haning wide out in the open for anyone to snatch and drive away! I just busted up laughing - and started breathing again. Oh my goodness I had about 5 major heart attacks that whole time and finally I was safe - so many things could've gone wrong. Thankfully! The Lord knows me well, He has lovely angels watching out for me and I'm pretty sure there was an invisibility forcefeild around my van protecting it from car theives. PTL!

I got back and the whole group just busted up laughing and Nicki gave me a giant hug and said "The Lord has so much grace and humor for you right now!" ahahaha. Then she and I went and got lollies(candy) and a coke. And then the coke I bought had my name on the tag so it was even better. It said "Share a Coke with Ruby" woohoo

HA God definietly laughs with me heaps. So thankful He's got my back!

Humor Me

Hey there.

So the past couple weeks I've been thinking a lot about God, and Humor, and how He created it. I decided that I should record humorous situations, or at least recall some from my past in light of how God might have seen the humor in what was happening. Not in a condescending evil laugh kind of way, but a chuckling along side of me, especially now that I dont take myself too seriously and I find past circumstances quite hilarious!(and I think He giggles with me)

One that came to mind immediately, for some reason, was the story of Glenn.
Maybe it was my 13 yr old naivety, absent mindedness, or overall constant inner nervousness/insecurity that was clouding my brain that Wednesday evening at the boat dock... regardless, I thought Glenn was a girl's name...
My mom brought Eliza and I to the boat dock for a free sail time one evening in Beaufort, NC. She had driven us down to this coastal town to participate in two weeks of sailing camp. Oh my, it was quite the two weeks. A lot of arguing and crying and being irritated happened because our Mom was stubborn, we did not want to be with a bunch of kids we didnt know, and we were emotional and awkward teenagers. So this particular night she was determined we were going to practice sailing whether we wanted to or not! haha
That brings me to where Glenn enters the picture.

Our instructor was at the dock that night and she asked me if I wanted to volunteer to go on a two person sailboat, even though I only knew how to navigate a one man boat. She said "Glenn" would be coming and needed a partner. And that's when I nodded "yea,sure" thinking "Glenn is such a cool girl's name, I've never heard that one before!"

Then, inside of me I died...and I'm pretty sure I turned bright red because there was Glenn, walking down the gang plank...tall, beautiful brown eyes, tousled sandy brown hair, a smile stuck in the side of his mouth. AH!!! no no no no no! She's a HE! crap. and then i shut down and couldn't speak full sentences or find a way to stop myself from blushing. Terrible, terrible feeling. And so I had to pop into his boat, hold his rope for the sail and did some steering. Didn't peep. Couldn't talk, really. HA. And then this other boat with some other cuties sailed up to us and threw sea weed on us! I was so grossed out, but! I was thrown a chunk of sea weed from Glenn and told to swing the boat around and chase the other boat a throw the sea weed on them. Which i failed, my aim was very very inhibited by my self consciousness.

I can only imagine God chuckling, and trying to tell me, hun, calm down, you're not gonna marry the kid or have to hug him, or anything crazy like that! Just talk and be chill. hahhaha

When I got in the car that night my sister and mom were rather relentless in there teasing me about sailing with him and how we were so cute together. haha i was SO mad at them and sooo embaressed!

Idk if that's even really funny, but to me it is humorous because of course i would think a dudes name is a girly name and then get awkward to the max when it turned out to be a very cute 15 year old! Ah! haha
Anyway, I think I'm going to make it a theme, a humorous theme for my blog for a while. I feel like telling y'all all the funny things I get me and God into. :)

7 days

I arrived 7 days ago. So far i'm full of thoughts. That sounds fairly normal right? Yea, but these are deep God thoughts, and to be quite honest, doubts are laced in there too. IDK. These are some of the highlights for me this week:

We can only give away what we ourselves have.
i seriously need to learn to receive from the Lord again.
Vulnerability is key.
And vulnerability is sucky.
Also, community is what my heart aches for... Consistency.
It is not about ability, but about character.
I like to bake as a way to de-stress, and give to others.
Serving people is in my nature. Ex. fixing food and cleaning dishes.
I'm reeling at the moment from the magnitude of the impending commitment.
I do not want to date unless it's for keeps.
I want to be read aloud to.
I need non sexual physical touch daily.
Exercise is one way to maintain emotional stability for me.
I like standing on couches, and then ninja jumping off of them.
I can eat a lot of dark chocolate.
I fall asleep every time I watch "Inception"... which can be a little trippy.
Driving on the left side of the road is freaky.
New Zealand beach water is frigid, yet invigorating.
Its time to just soak in Poppa's presence.
I need more. MORE GOD.
I'm resigned.
I miss the smell of my pillow and the company of my twin.
I want to kiss my nephews faces.
I'd like to star gaze.
I am surrounded by beautiful people.
I don't even know what's going on, but God is intricate, tender and in a good mood.
Europeans like the name Ruby.
Testimonies are raw, and mine is complicated to say the least.
Black coffee is a lovely thing.
Like I said, I need more, MORE GOD.

Thumbs up

This morning I slipped down further under the covers, cuddled into my pillows and said to myself: "If I go back to sleep time will stand still and I will be fine. The world will be well and I can spend undetermined amounts of time with everyone I love. Mmkay good. Zzzzzz"

When I woke from my dozing I noticed it was still brighter outside and the coffee brewing aroma was wafting in the window. "Oh my," I thought " real life time, real time... and this cozy room of mine will be vacant in three days. Yes, and this is what I planned."

Frequently over the past few days I've had moments of gut twisting panic. Not really a terrorized panic, but a "Holy, I'm going to be in New Zealand for a long time. A long time. I am going to be entering into a whole nother world. I am going to be a responsible adult. I am going to be someone some other ones look up to. Oh my."

And Jesus says: "Yep. It's going to be grand. YEA! Here, take my hand mydear, lean on my shoulder and just smile."

He says: "I like your style. The way you have chosen to trust me and live in the present. You are doing a lovely job of loving on the family and friends that are important to your heart. I like how you're letting the next season ahead of you not daunt you and compromise your peaceful heart."

(It wasn't always that way, this summer He and I had to have conversations about not freaking out, so that peaceful heart statement has been a long time comin'.)

Also He told me: "You are going to experience me in a deep way. Just remain surrendered and dont let your mind, your logic interfere. I wanna show you an amazingly lovely, deep part of me. I told you that you are like a dazzling jewel, catching glimmers of light and glittering to the world because of you are meant to be multi-dimensional. But you only become that way because I am that way first. Come, take my hand and let me show you the secret chambers in my heart."

Doesn't that sound like the most tender, romantic invitation EVER?! I think so. I'm inclined to accept. So! Here we go! Me and Jesus, hand and hand, together.

And God is saying - you go little lady, go and experience Me and My Son. You got my thumbs up!:)

This would be me, at 11.

Thanks Pops!

Presh

Eliza and I love watching the children run around everywhere. From their cute little chubby legs poking out of a onesie, to pushing a little mini grocery cart around EarthFare, to walking around with legit pirate make up on with her flowery poof dress. LOVE IT. No wonder Jesus called the little children to HIm, they are irresistable and captivating. They are cute and cuddly, and hysterical! Their adult mannerisms are the BEST and when they look like little men or little ladies it's PRESH.

some photos of my favorite children from around the world:)

I got to dance and sing and twirl around
with these beautiful girls 

We loved on abandoned Morrocan
babies, they'll melt your heart!

Little Punk. haha He did not want to be on that ride 

That kid just ate prolly a dozen of those purple figs. His
Mom kept shovling them in! SO funny

This is little buddy. All he would do was scream,
or sleep. Yay naps!

Joseph! Most easy going kiddo ever.

Beautiful innocent Joy

OH, their eyes. so captivating!

Missionary kids are so friendly. We had good times
together in the desert.

J-Man liked playing with my hoodie:) Hoodie dance!

Super man soccer ball break dancing skillz

Ninja, 4 wk old Julia. and Jman chillin in her crib

Alone time is Lovely time

Cleaning. Catching up on listening to some good jams. Sleeping. Watching Olympians. Writing. Reading. Locking the keys in the car. Oops. Loving sunflowers. Home made granola. Jogging. Dancin. 29 days til take off.

Sweet as Pie

Thankfulness.
It's a bit premature for Thanksgiving pumpkin pie, but not for counting your blessings!

Not in New Zealand:
A fun fact for you today: no Kiwi( New Zealander ) celebrates Novemeber 27th with giant amounts of food and deliscious pumpkin pie. Duh, it's clearly an American Holiday! The grocery stores don't even sell canned pumpkin for easy pie baking! So then today I was thinking, I have 4 weeks left before I leave to staff with YWAM and, wow, I am oh, so thankful for all my blessings. So let's be thankful together shall we?
1.Twin Sister Eliza, she's emotionally supportive in everyway! What a joy to be a twin:) She's irrecplaceable!
2. Being an Aunt. I am loving having time to spend with Tanner and Beth and their three beautiful children before traveling for 7 months. They enrich my life!
3. Having an Aunt Libby. She's a world traveler, and one of the most generous women I've ever met. She's a fun, funny, caring friend to me as well.
4. Snapping Green Beans. Dad brought home 20lbs of beans and it's been great watching the Olympics, thinking and talking with Jesus while working simplistically with my hands.
5. Art. I'm collaging and drawing and painting and it's been settling to process thoughts and revelations while creating beautiful, God inspired creations.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

Push Yourself:

Since watching the world reknown athletes perform in the London Olympics I've really been convicted to push myself and have more discipline in my life. I went on a run with my sister the other morning, inspired by the olympians, HA i am SO sore from that "epic run" pretending I was an olympian:) However, for this last month at home God's reminding me to rest in Him and really push harder into my relationship with Him too. Some things you can pray for:
*Finances. I'm halfway there! I still need $4000
*That I can hear God's voice clearly
 *Fellow staff members. Pray we can quickly become a tight knit family durning staff training. To learn a little about them check out:  http://www.ywamoxford.org/backpackers/school-staff/

Thanks for your prayer, financial and emotional support! You all are HUGE blessings. I am very thankful for you!

Woot woot!

It's Offical!

I am Backpacker Discipleship Training School Staff 2012-2013 

WOOT WOOT!

hELLO nEW zEALAND: 
Thank you for your prayers. That's all I want to emphasize today. You all are my support group, my best friends, and my family. Without you all I would be lonely and one deminsional and rather dull! Of course Jesus is my main man and He is what fulfills my every need, but you all enrich my life! So you all are the first to know that I'm saying "Hello New Zealand!" again September 1st 2012!

pREP tIME:

During the next two months I will be preparing for my next adventure in leadership. August 30th is when I fly back to Oxford, New zealand and staff training begins September 2nd. Please pray for:
*Visa (favor with NZ immagration as I apply for a 2 year Missionary work visa)
*Funds (I need to raise a total of $7000 and I already have $1000! PTL! {praise the Lord})
*Godly Leadership mindset (I'm seeking God for guidance and grace and strength to be in this leadership position for the next 6 months)
*Outreach exstention (The school leader is seriously considering extending outreach phase for another month. I would lead a team for 3 months and fly home April 1st if that happens)


I'll keep y'all updated, in the loop, and tell some funny stories too! This is just the begining of a new season, thanks for being apart.

Confessions of Laughing Cow

SO, it's July.
Hello!
June was busy and fun and summery!

I'm working in the kitchen at Cherokee Cove this summer and there a few things you may not know about this type of work.

1. It's hot and lots of dishes abounding. Dishes = character building

2. You never quite know how many people will show up for any particular meal. Its the nature of this type of conference center which has open doors and a big heart to serve...so kitchen staff get real good at "wingin' it!"

3. Don't put cooking wine in a pan that's hot and has hot olive oil in it. Callie helped us figure this one out. It will flame up about a foot and continually burn, a giant pillar of fire, until completely removed from the burner! We were astonished! And you might pee your pants laughing like I did. In times of peril I die laughing. I need to work on that.

4. Strawberries whiten your teeth. Caroline and I recycle the strawberry tops from the fruit salad and have all natural whitening times. People may stare, but you will save money!

5. Callie has a giant heart, and she feels for every dying star that shoots across the night sky! Callie and Caroline and I were stare gazing one night after closing down the kitchen, and what we want to know it how come the constellations never die? And how are stars born? Also, is it a romantic or money wasting idea to name a star after your soul mate? And, we also talked about how moon dust is very very sharp. Astronauts have a hard time with that when breathing in their space ships.

6. Callie, Marj, Steph, Kenzie and I are all of Native American Decent. "HOW" Once we discovered this on morning, a tribute to the tribes of our fathers was born and consequently we have Indian names. In order: Mighty Moonshine, Silk Face, Doe eyes(or froggy frog eyes,) Flopping Lark and Laughing Cow. "HOW HO HOW" (that means I love you.) We have a Cherokee word of the day (even though I have Black Foot in my blood) and hold pow wows. This is what keeps the kitchen exciting. "HOW HOW" (that means goodbye)

7. Callie had a moment of panic when she was trying to burn a napkin with a tick in it. I suggested lighting a toothpick on fire from the pilot lights on the stove and then going outside to burn the nasty little guy. Well...she went directly to the stove, the napkin caught on fire and, realizing she was about to get burned, threw the flaming napkin into the trash can! I was saying NO! dont throw it in there, and she paused, looked at me, started laughing and grabbed a bowl. She then proceeded to dump bowl fulls of water into the trashcan. Oh my gosh I died!! Sooo funny! And thankfully no fire damage:)

8. I continually feel bad for the Uphill youth who have to help me fix breakfast... I am not a morning person. NEVER. It's not a peppy kitchen for me until about 9/10am. No amount of hugs or cups of coffee or smiling people will change the fact that I prefer to have a good hour to wake up alone, real close to Jesus reading His word, before seeing people. Having to be ready and cooking around 6:45 am is painful for me! Everyone is so gracious though. The next job I get I'm making sure it's not people intensive til after 11am.

9. Singing...and dancing is common. Beat boxing is routine.

10. We have really good talk times while chopping food, baking granola, sauteing veggies, washing dishes. God is so interesting and He's ever present in the kitchen. I love it.

Mighty Moonshine, Laughing Cow. Chiefs of the Kitchen "HOW"

Valley of Vision, pg 118

"True Religion"

Lord God Almighty,

I ask not to be enrolled amongst the earthly great and rich,

but to be numbered with the spiritually blessed.

Make it my present, supreme, preserving concern to obtain those blessings which are spiritual in their nature, eternal in their continuance, satisfying in their possession.

Preserve me from a false estimate of the whole or a part of my character;

May I pay regard to my principles as well as my conduct, my motives as well as my actions.

Help me never to mistake the excitement of my passions for the renewing of the Holy Spirit, never to judge my religion by occasional impressions and impulses, but by my constant and prevailing disposition.

May my heart be right with you, and my life as becometh the gospel. May I maintain supreme regard to another and better world and feel and confess myself a stranger and a pilgrim here.

Afford me all the direction, defense, support and consolation my journey hence requires, and grant me a mind stayed upon thee.

Give me large abundance of the supply of the spirit of Jesus, 

that I may be prepared for every duty,

love you in all my mercies,

submit to you in every trial,

trust you when walking in darkness,

have peace in you admidst life's changes.

Lord I believe, help thou my unbelief and uncertainties.

-Valley of Vision, Puritan Prayer Book.

This is my prayer for my LIFE.

People Watching

People watching is one of the incredible activities that allows you to zone out, soak up the life around you, learn about yourself through observation of man kind, and appreciate the beauty waiting to be uncovered in each person passing by.

It's also creepy when you accidentally zone out while making eye contact with someone...oops - it helps the creepo factor to not be absent minded like myself ha!

Anyway I've been people watching this weekend in various locations around my town.

FIRST: contra dances at the apple barn

Amazing! I love being apart of them for sure, swirling and smiling and swingin' my partner! but of course I'm not quite brave enough, yet, to ask a dude to dance, so i get to obverse some of the time. Love it! Some friends are completely turned off by the B.O., dreads, and funky mixed match style. I however soak it in and just love watching the individuals express themselves so vibrantly on the outside! i love the country/hippie/mountain culture here in Boone. Its artsy and free and open. One day I pray for opportunities to speak truth into their openness, so that their beautiful outward expressions can be wrapped up with their true love for the Saviour of the earth, not the earth itself.

(And it's my goal one day, to be asked by this man named Doyle?  not quite sure, but in a hiking magazine i read he's the guide to something like annual 3 month treks of the Appalachian trail. he's a character bc he's got this giant pot belly, wears huge Hawaiian tshirts, what looks like nurses baggie pants, and has a santa clause beard. I'd just like to chat with him about his hiking and love for exploring the WHOLE Appalachian Trail!! thats impressive. he may be a tad on the odd side, but he's intriguing, you gotta give him that!)

So  SECOND: the farmer's market in Boone

Saturday morning bright and early, go get your coffee, cinnamon bun, fresh bread, beautiful flowers, sweet as art work, bunnies, etc etc etc. Not to mention - more hippies and farmers and mountain folk! Lovely, so lovely! They are hard workers, sharing their love for gardening/baking/coffee with the community. I got to talk to so many people I hadn't seen in years, as well as have the most enlightening conversations about all sorts of things and make new friends. For me, this is a little slice of heaven. Idk why exactly. I really enjoyed getting to tote around my little nephew and support a local artist, and drink a delicious cuppa joe and expose Judson to the friendly community of watagua county locals.

THIRD: Nail salon

I meet a very kind young man from Mongolia when Betty took me to get a manicure. When I was younger I thought the men doing your nails and their the tiny little mustaches where creepy and it was incredibly awkward trying to decipher what they were saying while they were massaging your hands haha! But i was totally wrong! and this little guy told me he all about himself. That he like Boone bc his family lived here, but he did not like cold weather or snow, that he liked hot weather the way it is back home. He even laughed at my jokes! haha He seemed to have a lot of life in him and I prayed he'd have a God honoring journey here in Boone and that he's find fulfillment in Jesus.

FOURTH: Cafe Portifino

So I went out for my birthday the other night with my dear friend Sarah. Good times. I didn't even bother changing out of my work out clothes. Which was a good choice since when we were walking to the car in downtown Boone there was a mouse! a tiny mouse that i cornered in the middle of the road, but then screamed and lost him when he lunged at us and a car honked rudely hahaha Anyway! the people I observed that night were all about freaky eye contact.. yikes! but they were all obviously searching. and then there was a dude passed out in front of the car when we left and I wanted to just, I don't know, pray for healing for being intoxicated for him! haha! it was sad to me though, bc his friends were enforcing the excessive, mindless, humiliating activities and they were clearly all feeling bad by making light of the vulnerable state their friend was in, but it wasn't good enough a facade. People do that all the time, but it seems like such a obvious display of emtipness and deep hunger for something meaningful. My heart broke for them. I didn't know how to reach out. Situations like that, I think God shows me to think through, process, pray about and then ask Him for insight into how to show love, truth, and joy by having a personal relationship with Jesus. One dude looked about ready to cry, and I just wanted to hug him with a supernatural Jesus hug! hahaha Not sure what that would be exactly, but I'm sure it was be a God moment to touch the soul of the recipient. ANYWAY! That encounter saddened me, and some how i want to know, and I will read and pray to Jesus about how He'd go and show true love, and real answers, and supernatural contentment to every soul there.

Jesus, teach us how to see people the way you see them, and speak to them the way you want to speak to them, and love them unconditionally the way you yourself love us unconditionally.

Happy Mother's Day (#2)

I remembered last year I wrote a Mother's Day letter to Momma. I feel like keeping up with that.

Hello there Momma,

I'm at the beach! We're a little North of Beaufort, where we lived summer 2004. The waves look prime time for sailing, and we saw a family of dolphins the other day, just like the ones we'd see together off the dock of our little cottage. I'm thankful for that summer. We had lots of adventures. 

Guess what? Jesus is taking me on epic adventures these days! He knew you instilled something inside of me and when I talk to Him He's always nudging me to dream bigger and venture further into the exciting unknown. Through your legacy I believe I received your open curiosity, your love for discovering as well as your determination. Dad says I'm a lot like him, but I really feel like I have your endearing stubbornness. Stubbornness endearing? Yea, yours' got us traveling all over the state, and our nation, and it enriched our childhood. Eliza has your love for teaching and sharing with children. Mrs. Meyers even gave us your old lesson plans that she kept from your college class she taught! Your hand writing is lovely. You were so creative and such a go-getter. It's neat to learn things about you know, and evaluate them on an adult level. I feel like we were becoming friends, even at my young age. I don't remember you drinking wine, but I'm having a bit now and I'd pour you a glass so we could sit and talk and pretend to be wine critics! That's always fun:) 

I understood tonight, though, after sitting in the sand and soaking in the wind and the waves and the nearness of God, that in the grand scheme of things, loosing you at 13 doesn't even matter. Spiritually speaking, my concept of reality and family and God will be splintered once my spirit is released to be with God. My inheritance for eternity is with Jesus and in heaven and everything I know now will no longer matter. 

I love you. Yes, I miss you presences a lot these days, making grown up decisions and all. However at the end of my talk time with you and Jesus tonight I realized, above all Pops (God) is always, always with me and he's the lover of my soul.

Love,

Your Creative Kathryn

UFOs

Aliens are not my thing... never really had any interest in them, or watching movies about them... E.T. was kind of cute and weird and awkward looking and creepy all at the same time. I never got spooked by midnight campout stories from girls in my cabin at camp...and flying lights in the sky, to me, were probably satellites, shooting stars or who knows, angles or demons! I haven't ever cared.

One night in Morocco Abby, Kent and I came tramping into our hotel to find our British friend chatting with the front desk clerk. She was looking for some company. So we decided to sit for a while and talk to her. She never ran out of things to say. She's very hippieish living half the year in Morocco and half in England. I love her accent, and her free advice was humorous. She about had a heart attack when we fixed bacon for dinner one night with our eggs - she made us air out the kitchens and fry it quick before the Muslims came and shot us! It wasn't that big of a deal...after all we did buy it legally at the grocery store! haha Anyway!

I was just getting to the point where I was disinterested in the topics of conversation and wanted to take a shower, call it a night and get ready for child care the next day. That was when she started sharing with  us about a UFO encounter she had at home with her son. Apparently they were outside in their back yard when all a sudden a green orb floated around them for a bit and then flew away back up into the night sky. She said it entirely eerie and promptly asked for our opinion and any personal experiences we had had with UFOs. That about did it for me. I was about to politely sneak up the stairs and call it a night when not two seconds later Kent's comment kept me still. He said he's never seen UFO's but that he had had visions of Jesus. She was intrigued. So was I. He asked if he could share with her and she vigorously nodded in assent. It was an incredible story, and for me I was encouraged and moved by the power of God, who choses to speak in various, creative ways to His children. Well, she seemed to just be soaking it all in. Surprisingly she asked Abby the same question...I had assumed she'd jump right onto another topic since she was very flighty most days. But the Holy Spirit opened the door so that Abster could share about her dream God had given her in New Zealand. Again, our friend was exposed to how God loves to share with us about ourselves and Himself in a personal manner. That God speaks in unique, gripping experiences so even the retelling of the dreams and visions moved Abby and Kent as they remembered God's goodness and intimacy. 

Low and behold she swiveled around to me next and I didn't feel very equipped with any dreams or visions to share. I had been praying for Jesus to speak to me in that way every night but He was speaking to me through our worship time a lot more. I shared with her how when I would worship every morning (to her it sounded like a party bc of our loud music and singing and sometimes dancing:)) I would often see Jesus coming to me and dancing with me. All sorts of dancing! Sometimes He'd watch me, sometimes I'd watch Him. Other times we would twirl and swirl around together, so joyfully and peacefully. That was all I could share with her. After that she talked some about her faith and spending loads of time in India becoming confused by all their gods and religions and rules. Kent and Abby were able to share the Gospel and that night we parted with a warm, heart felt hug and kiss. 

God showed me that night that even the most uninteresting, pointless topics of conversations can abruptly be redeemed to speak on God's might, power and goodness. I am so thankful God used Kent to turn that around, and I know that God is continuing to cultivate and grow the seeds we planted in her life. God bless her!

Cherokee Coooooove

I am so blessed.
I am SO blessed.

God's adventure for me is unbeatable. My expectations get shot down frequently, and my pride gets squashed, and my selfishness unveiled... but truly that's the beauty of it. The redemption of my sinful nature through Christ, combined with God's creativity and humongo imagination in the personal relationship He loves having with me...it all mushes together to make one big super duper escapade!!!

It's up and down, but I believe God's heart for moody people like me, is to create stability in their lives. I'm still on that journey of surrendering all thoughts of idolatry, of low self esteem, of unbelief, and doom (ha) over to Him. The last thing, I've realized, that I want to be is a rain cloud that gets introspective in a negative way and shuts people out, shuts the truth out, and turns everyone's day sour. Been there, done that...and Satan had a hay day. Anyway! That is a constant battle which God is strengthening me through.

So! My plan for the summer: Cherokee Cove!
Yea-ah!
I think this is now summer #5!

There are a ridiculous amount of stories that I've accumulated over the years at that place. Oh my. haha! Some highlights:

Summer #1(2008): Trauma from a giant wolf spider, getting stuffed into a freezer, and using the boys who crushed on me to clean out the dish sink where all the nasty mushy food collected after dish duty:)

Rebecca, Michael and Eliza chillin on
 the  driveway

Summer #2: Being the Uphill youth Girl Counselor - STRESS! Got my licenses and two weeks later drove to Kentucky with a car load of girls. First time ever on the interstate, second week ever of driving, 4 loud adolescents crowding around me.ahhh haha!! Also the epic Appalachian trail hike where we thought we were making our two day trek over 13 pleasant miles around Watagua Lake. Ended up being 26 miles climbing up and down the ridge-line, and 22 of those miles were completed in one day(and in chacos, bad idea)

Middle of the Hike! Still Smiling!

Summer #3: The dawn of "Pantry Meetings" with Hunter, Hayden and I escaping to the pantry to eat snacks and giggle! Also ripped my pants on the buddy swing in front of an ROTC group doing their Bible Study. haha! Also invasion of the ants in the girls cabin...we camped out in the guest cabin...while my poor pet frog Pumba was left with the ants and the ant killer fumes....R.I.P.

This is when Zak saw the rip...

This is me sprinting while they were
laughing hysterically

Summer #4: I was the office assistant! I got a GIANT spot light flash light from our friend Carlos who came with Carpenters for Christ group. And I mean giant, theres a picture on my Heavens to Betsy page. haha! Also another great moment was when Libby, Sam and I rescued a baby skunk: "mr. Flower" and the health inspector came and I hid him upstairs in my office. :)

Mr. Flower died 2 days later.

So this summer I'll keep you posted about epic stories...and this year I'm Stu's assistant in the Kitchen so! There will be PLENTY to tell, like the exploded boiled egg that literally blasted a three foot radius with its insides when I merely poked it.... ha, this will be fun!:)

The kitchen is the place to be!

Chirs and Hayden

Listening to Stu's instructions

The Buddy Swing is so fun!

and it's never dull

Trust me there are tons more! So maybe come visit Cherokee Cove yourself! And there's my sales plug for the day:)

God has blessed me SO much with providing Cherokee Cove, and the Stephens family for me during this time of transition and decision making.

And thanks to their generosity and little Libby's caring gift, I am now a proud parent of a Beta Fish named LeRoy Squishy the 3rd. Again...so blessed:)

Or(d)inary

This picture is one of my favorites, and I wrote on it "Ruined for the Orinary." Yes, I forgot the D in ordinary. Haha, kind of annoying since it is my favorite juxtaposed piece from my 2D design class freshman year at ETSU. You see, for that particular assignment we were required to create 6 juxtaposed photo pieces. Some of them I used photo shop and overlaid, recolored, resized etc. I also practiced with modge podge and magazine pictures and ended up creating 10 pictures. For some reason this one ended up being my favorite, however I never turned it into the critic. I did keep it and have had it hung in my room for a number of years. 

When I came home from New Zealand of course I crashed that first night. I snuggled all cozy in my many pillows and fuzzy blankets, then drank in the familiar smells, sights and feelings of home. I immediately noticed this picture on the wall though! Lizzy and I were talking and dozing off and I totally changed the subject and was like AH!!!!!!! I know why I kept this photo! This is slightly, strangely, a very prophetic piece! 

You see for me, Lecture phase in New Zealand was full of serious talk times with God, and I got a word from my good friend Katelyn one afternoon, that God wanted to be my fat cat! He wanted to be my comforter and  even from the time I was 13, He wanted me to come to Him. Seems like He wanted so badly for me to realize the immensity of His love, understanding and comfort towards me, His beloved daughter.

BAM! There's the cute fat cat on the bench in front of that lake. That cat's yawning, but it kind of looks like it's laughing, esp to me when it's put beside the laughing women. The laughing women represents the outreach to Morocco. I don't remember the origin of the photo, but it looks very similar to Moroccan women sharing a joyful time together. Out reach was a joyful time for me personally. I felt like God had comforted me and built me up, spoke words of life and identity to my heart, and that outreach was a time where I began to step into those truths. Through loving on Moroccans, connecting with Back packers, worshiping, praying, sharing life with my team, and experiencing many new, different, hilarious, annoying cultural things together, I'd say all of Morocco was full of laughter and closeness with the Lord. 

Since that YWAM experience I'm restless to continue the world traveling. God has confirmed desires and passions in my heart and I'm learning to be patient. I'm learning to wait on the Lord. I'm learning I need to actually wait, try to understand God's time line and be patient. It's gonna be good! One of my new favorite lines from a song is "If I could die of Happy, baby I'd be a goner!" Even though it seems like a loooooong lesson, learning patience, its still full of joy, happy encounters with God and people, and also adventures! So I'd say its safe to say, I'm ruined for the "orinary" life. ha! Peace out cub scout.

A Poem

la di da

Out reach.
My thoughts...
Just a few:
God was speaking to me about being secure in Him, being completely devoted to pursuing Him first. He kept saying He wants intimacy with me, to be okay with being away from 'home', and to be pushing in, to learn what 'closer than close' is with Jesus. He revealed bitterness that I got rid of, He also revealed more insecurities and how to dig up the last few roots and get rid of them. He confirmed my worth, my ability to be content at home with him alone no matter who I'm with or which country I'm in. I learned that being a 'missionary'  is really just communing with God every morning and letting Him infiltrate and overflow into activities and conversations throughout everyday.

The purpose for my life: TO LOVE GOD AND LOVE PEOPLE.

God's purpose for my life: To grow in maturity in loving Jesus.

Also going through the amazingly wonderful Identity Project with Sarahmae. Have you seen the margins in that thing? AMAZING - I can doodle my heart out.

ALSO...I have some thoughts from Clive... He's so wonderful and I feel like I'm conversing with him every time I read his writing. I kinda feel like we're around the fire place late at night and he's imparting wisdom to me as he props his feet on his ottoman in his slippers and robe.

So in this chapter called "Affection" in The Four Loves I identified with his thoughts, especially in relation to YWAM, out reach teams, and mission work in general. It applies to many parts of life...but for me it strikes me that God is so creative when placing His children together. Believers who have the same heart for Him, for a country, for a purpose, and yet they would never naturally coexist and be friends if not for His call, and our obedience. Ha, funny how He brings us even better friends for ourselves than we would've "naturally" chosen. Love it! Anyway here's what Lewis says:

'Dogs and cats should always be brought up together,' said someone, 'it broadens their minds so.' Affection broadens ours; of all natural loves it is the most catholic, the least finical, the broadest. The people with whom you are thrown together in the family, the college, the mess, the ship, the religious house, are from this point of view a wider circle than the friends, however numerous, whom you have made for yourself in the outer world. By having a great many friends I do not prove that I have a wider appreciation of human excellence. You might as well say I prove the width of my literary taste by being able to enjoy all the books in my own study. The answer is the same in both cases -'You chose those books. You chose those friends. Of course they suit you.' The truly wide taste in reading is that which enable a man to find something for his needs on the sixpenny tray outside any secondhand bookshop. The truly wide taste in humanity will similarly find something to appreciate in the cross section of humanity whom one has to meet every day. In my experience it is Affection that creates this taste, teaching us first to notice, then to endure, then to smile at, then to enjoy, and finally to appreciate, the people who 'happen to be there.' Made for us? Thank God, no. They are themselves, odder than you could have believed and worth far more than we guessed.

Yup, that about sums it up for me. My life has been enriched by people, now friends, who I didn't 'choose,' yet they are "worth far more than (I) guessed." Yay! yay God!:)

Confession #17:

#17: I sometimes wish I was a food network star when I'm cooking... My show would be 'Ruby's Really Rad Recipes' (hahahahahahaha!)

Well, my Cupcake experiment today was a success!! YAY. yay cupcakes.

I got inspired to do this cool two flavors thing and make them look really neat. I ended up referring to them as my diversity cupcakes.

Yummo!

I then remembered it was St.Patrick's Day! So I used our green sprinkles and said 'Kiss me I'm Irish!" No, not really, no one but my dad and the dogs where around. And I'm not totally sure if I have Irish in me...

He's so cute when he smiles!

My Dad's response to me bringing him one was "What are you doin' eatin' sweet things?" "ha, what are you doing?:)"

Anyway they're delicious and I only got pinched once today.
Ta ta for now.