Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Turn the Negative into the Positive


"I don't know," the younger of the two men says. "I thought I'd be happier at this stage in my life."

"What's the problem?" the older man sitting across from him asks. "You've already made all the money you're ever going to need."

"Yeah," the younger man says sadly. "But being rich isn't all I thought it was cracked up to be."

"It never is."

There's a long pause. Finally the younger man says. "My wife's upset that we don't have children. The doctors say we probably can't."

"How old's your wife?"

"40."

"And you're?"

"The same age."

"Did you think about adopting?"

"My wife doesn't want to raise somebody else's children."

The older of the two men, a grey haired successful looking type, purses his lips and thinks about what he's going to say next. "Listen," the older man says. "So you may never have children. What does that mean for you?"

"I don't know," the younger man says.

"Are you, like, big into carrying on the family name?"

"My parents are dead. My sister has children. So……"

"Will it kill you not to have kids?"

"No."

The older man leans back in his chair. After a long pause he says, "Sometimes you have to exploit the negatives in your life. That may be how you have to look at this."

"Exploit the negative?" the younger man asks.

"You and your wife probably can't have children of your own and you don't want to adopt. Some people would say that's a negative, right?"

"Yes."

"But not having children means you and your wife are free to do other things. You can travel, explore business opportunities, go to school – you're not tied down. There's a positive side to not having kids."

"That sounds kind of cynical."

"Not at all," the older man says. "I have three girls. I love them to death. They've given me a bunch of grandchildren I adore. But any parent, if they're honest, will tell you that there are negatives to having children."

"You wouldn't do it over again?"

"I wouldn't change a thing," the older man says. "But that's the way my life worked out. Your life may be different. Are you comparing your life to other peoples? People with kids?"

"Yeah."

"Your life may not work out the same way. And if you don't live your life as it really is — you're heading for trouble."

"Maybe."

"All I'm saying is this," the older man says. "You have to look at the empty spaces in your life, see the possibilities, and turn them into opportunities."

"So you won't have kids," the older man continues, "But you have a lot of money. Millions. Maybe not having children will give you the time and freedom to use that money to help thousands of kids somewhere. When I was your age I was hustling to pay for braces. I couldn't spare a dime to charity."

"You have a point there," the younger man admits.

"Your life's going to be what it's going to be. But when you're stuck my advice is to look inside the negative parts of your life for inspiration."

"Lemons into lemonade?" the young man says, laughing softly.

"No," the older man says. "If everyone tried following their bliss everyone would be trying to get to the same place at the same time. It'd be a traffic jam. But since no one likes going into the negative there's more room for opportunity – less competition, less traffic."

"I think I see what you're talking about," the younger man says.

.

i found this on some random person's blog, and i kinda liked it. i like it when you can take the seemingly negative things and turn them into positive things. what can i say, i'm an optimist. i look for the good, the silver lining. it's what i do.


Mexico

and all i have to say about mexico was that it was amazing. i learned a lot, and i had a lot of fun. i don't know how to express mexico in words. so i'm not even going to try; i won't risk butchering it. but i had a good time. probably the best spent week of my life. or at least one of.

Friday, May 18, 2007

Travel News


well well well...mexico has snuck up on me like...well like a sneaky little thing. in ten and a half hours, i have to have my little butt in the airport. wow. that's crazy. to be counting down the hours. it's so close. and i'm super excited. a bit nervous, yeah. but really excited. it's gonna be intense! there's so much opportunity and chance for God to work. and i'm so excited to see and feel him working. everyone's been saying how they will be a different person when they come back from mexico. and i really believe that we all will be different. and i'm excited to see the person that i'm going to become while i'm down there.
oh...on another note...

I'M GOIN' TO EGYPT!

woohooo i found out today that my application has been accepted! so march next year i'm heading out to egypt with 30 other people from my school. a couple people i know, but i'll find out the rest of the people when i come back from mexico. i begged the teacher to tell me today; the list actually isn't being posted until tuesday. but i just had to know before i left for mexico!

crazy how many chances i've had to travel as of late. i mean i went to maui in february, and right before i left i found out i was going to mexico. and now it's right before i leave for mexico, and i find out that i'm going to egypt...hmm maybe the day before i leave is good luck??? who knows. and plus next year around this time i'll be heading out to ottawa for a few days for musicfest canada! it's a band festival ok...kinda like band nationals i guess is the best way to describe it. but anyways. God has definately been blessing me this year with all the travel opportunitites...and i recognize that it is him. and i'm giving him all the glory and praise! and wow i'm so excited...yeah now i'm getting giddy woooo look out for katelynn right now she's almost bouncing off the walls!

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

Sunday Morning


well i did say i would be writing some stuff about sunday morning at church so here goes my overdue post about that.

well sunday morning the church had asked for the mexico team to be at both the early and late services so that we could give a flower to each other the mothers (it was mothers day) and so that the church could pray for us. so in the first service we handed out flowers (i spilled a vase of flowers! woot! go me! doing embarrassing stupid things...) and then we spread out through the aisles to be prayed for. and at first no one came righ tup to me, i mean it's not like people ran to me to pray for me. but then mrs. olsen and mrs. friesen, family friends and ladies that i have known forever, came up to me and put their arms around me. and then they prayed for me...and honestly it made me cry. as soon as they started i was crying like a baby. and they both were too. they've known me since i was born ad they said it was almost like sending off their own child. but it was really sweet and nice. and it made me feel so blessed to have people out there praying for me. i mean i know that there are people out there praying for me, family and family friends and stuff. but to hear people pray for you...it's a different feeling. makes things so much more real. and it also made the fact that we leave right away so much more real.

well onto the band trip. main point--seven hours on a bus with 50 other people is loud! very, very noisy. but wow was it fun! we had such a great time. and i'm not going to do the whole every minute detail thing. because yeah it's fun for me to go over every single thing we did and every funny thing every person said...but it's not fun for you people out there reading it. so i'll just remember it in my head. and say random things from it from time to time probably. but i'm really tired now. that's what little sleep does to you. and i have a ton of homework that i need to get going on. in fact i need to write a whole short story. maybe i'll post it on here later if it's any good. we'll have to see. who knows. anyways. time to hit the books.

Sunday, May 13, 2007

On the Road Again


well tomorrow at 7am i am heading out to Red Deer with the rest of the concert band from school. woohoo a whole six hours on a bus...joy oh joy. thank goodness for mp3's and personal dvd players! really i don't know what i would do without them.
well i was really planning on writing some stuff here about this morning at church and about mexico but well mother says i need to get going to bed, and i really do--late nights the last few nights, and i have to get up at six tomorrow morning...so i guess it will all have to wait until i get back.

Thursday, May 10, 2007

Refiner's Fire

purify my heart
let me be as gold
and precious silver
purify my heart
let me be as gold
pure gold
refiner's fire
my heart's one desire
is to be
holy
set apart for you, my master
ready to do your will

when we were taking communion as a team tonight, this is the song that came into my head while we were praying...often when people say ok now have a silent prayer time and talk to god and search your heart, etc., songs pop into my head. and they don't leave me alone. and this is the song that came to me tonight.
my favorite lines are the "set apart for you, my master/ready to do your will". my favorite part. and the part that stuck out for me.
ever since we read "authentic beauty", i have been wanting to be set apart for god. and in some respects working towards that. lately not so much...but trying to get back into it. and the other part of the line, "ready to do your will", well, i've been wondering to god about what my purpose in mexico is going to be. mike told me that god told him and the sponsors that there was a reason that i was on this team. i don't know what it is. maybe the adult team does, but i don't. and honest to goodness i am so curious as to why i was picked, why i was meant to be on this team. what my impact is going to be done there. what my purpose is. but no matter what it is, i am willing to do it. i have been working on preparing my heart. i go as a servant.
so i go, not knowing what my purpose is, but knowing that god has one set out for me. and i'm willing to follow him in whatever that purpose may be.

Fasting


ok so the mexico missions team is fasting right now. as of 6pm yesterday, in fact. and it was up to us on how much or little we wanted to fast...not time wise, but how much we wanted to give up. just junk food, just dairy products, everything except water, etc.
so i chose to give up everything except water. and it actually hasn't been that bad. i don't even feel hungry right now. my tummy has been rumbling a bit, but i don't feel hungry. i don't feel that desperate need to eat. sure, i want to eat...i came home and there was all this yummy food staring at me! but i just want to eat because it tastes good, not because i'm overly hungry. and once i figured that out, getting over the temptation to eat was a lot easier. but now that i'm thinking about eating it is getting stronger again...so i think i will go do something else. not sit here and type about food.

Wednesday, May 09, 2007

Pumpkin Where Are You?


this morning kayla and i went out to feed the bunny. last night rhian left the cage door open.

the bunny was not in the cage this morning.

my poor bunny pumpkin! we do not know where he is! kayla and i looked around the yard today, but didn't see him. maybe he is under one of the sheds. i hope we find him soon...especially since our grass is poisonous to him right now.

uh-oh...

i know he's just a rabbit, but i am attached ok! and i am worried. it's all i've bene able to think about today.

UPDATE:

the bunny is safe and sound. he was hiding under the shed, where nicole spotted him. she went out to get him and he came right to her. seems like he was glad to be back in his home!

Tuesday, May 08, 2007

Rhian's Adventure


ok so yesterday my baby sister had a very interesting adventure! just to give you the background information, she's just turned 11...although she is quite tiny for her age. she's basically a little blonde pixie. that's how i would describe her.
anyways here is the story.
yesterday morning, rhian left home early to go to school for math help. but when she got there, she decided that no, she didn't need math help. so now what was she going to do? she was at school early and she couldn't go inside. so she decided to go for a walk. well she lost track of time, and lost track of where she was. she kinda knew where she was i guess...she was in a big green space by highway #5. she didn't know how to get home from there, but she did know where she was, and she knew how to get to a few different places (the dance studio, the center mall, my daddy's office). so she kept walking. she walked along in the grass beside highway 5, took the exit just like they take to go to dance. and somehow she ended up in the field behind evan hardy. and then she realized more of where she was; she was able to recognize evan hardy and could figure out better where she was. and from there she knew how to get to my dad's office. so she walked past center mall and on 8th street for a while and on circle drive for a while, until she finally reached my daddy's office--which is across from market mall.

meanwhile, my parents were freaking out. the school had called my mom at about 9:30, after they realized that rhian wasn't there. so my mom and dad were both at the school, describing her the police and everything. and one set of grandparents were at my house, in case she called or came home. and the other set were driving around the area seeing if they could spot her. so everyone was thinking that it was a kidnapping.

but this story has a happy ending. rhian made it to my daddy's office safe and sound, and when she walked in the receptionists called my parents and it was a happy reunion in the end.

so thank goodness that she was safe! i still can't believe that she walked along highways and circle drive and didn't get picked up...thank god for that!

Sunday, May 06, 2007

Tanning on the Roof


Nature it was so nice out today! i got my short-shorts on, a tank top, and climbed out my window onto the roof and just laid down and let the sun soak in for a while. yeah i know it probably isn't good for my skin but it felt so good...ahhhhhh. i love this weather! it's so warm and lovely and the trees are getting green and flowered and the grass is green and getting to be soft on your bare feet...ahh i love spring.

on another note...last night we had a surprise party for keith. and he was totally surprised! it was awesome. we thought he was going to figure it out, but he had no idea! he was so surprised! kudos to the party planners...haha and to everyone who was there and jumped out at him! coltan gave keith an energy drink...which of course keith promptly drank. and became extremely hyper. i think the moral of the story: don't give keith energy drinks! haha nah he was fine, just super energetic and a bit crazy. but all in all it was a fun night. can't wait for the next one.

Thursday, May 03, 2007

Bravely Going Where I Have Never Gone Before


ok i know some of you have been worried about me the last couple days. and i admit, from my blog posts, i sounded a bit depressed...
i wasn't really depressed. i just had stuff going through my head that i really needed to figure out.
so what was i figuring out?

well i learned that i have a very strange way of trust in life. it's like this:
my heart, guarded by a giant wall. a little bit of space. surrounded by another wall. and then a bunch of open space with invisible lines drawn in it. and depending on how close i am with specific people is where they go in my trusting-ness.
and i figured out that someone had snuck past all my defenses and got pretty close to my heart before i figured it out.
and it's a guy. and he got closer than i've ever let any guy get before. which is kinda scary. i've learned from experience to guard my heart, because if i don't, i will get hurt. and i don't want to get hurt.
so i was thinking about it for a few days. and i wanted to get to the bottom of this fear--i had such a fear of letting him stay in that zone of trust. so i thought about it, long and hard, and i wrote and i kept to myself in my room for a few hours while i wrote.
and i found out that a couple guys in my past had hurt me...because i had opened up part of myself, and they had fled.
and i was scared that he would leave. terrified that he was going to run.
terrified that he would take a piece of my heart and crush it.

i've realized now that he's not going to do that. i trust him. he's shown me that i can trust him...gotta love notes from the middle of the night.
so into the zone of trust he goes. and i hope to goodness that everybody's right about him.
that he won't run.

trusting a guy like this is new. it's scary. i'm terrified.
but i think i'm gonna be ok. i just keep reading the note, it's keeping me sane for the time being.

one small step for most girls...one giant leap for katelynn.

Tuesday, May 01, 2007

Quiet



...i've been quiet for a couple days now.