published

Well, sort of.

But for a gal who want’s to one day be in print for writing curriculum, this is a pretty nice start. I’ll take it!

Children’s Literature: A Resource for Ministry – February 5, 2010

 

Enjoy!

sweetest words

I got a phone call late yesterday afternoon that I’ve waited on for a week. Last week I had my 5 year radioiodine treatment for thyroid cancer and I’ve been waiting to hear the results from my endocrinologist:

 

“Your scan is CANCER FREE”

 

Short of “I do,” those are the two sweetest words that I’ve heard come out of someones mouth when spoken to me. Not that I had huge doubts, but there is always the small little twinge that the results may not come back quite as you hoped they would.

 

When Dr. Kemick’s office called yesterday I was relieved, excited and may have even squealed into the phone at the nurse. I then called my hubby, who followed those sweet words up with a few more sweet words:

 

“I love you more than anything in this world.”

 

All in all, it was a pretty great ending to the day…and week of waiting.

Words can’t describe the relief that I feel knowing that my scans came back clean, and that I’m not forecasted for another round of treatment for  a while now. As I told Hubby last night, it’s now time to move on to the next phase of our life…a long life together without the “C” word involved! I’ve officially passed the 5 years of treatment that were required of me…now I’m moving on while remembering how blessed I have been on this journey and to have lived through it as a stronger, more appreciative woman.

 

Thanks be to God for this day, this news and most importantly, this life!

Beth Says it Best

It’s been a very long time since  I’ve read Beth Moore’s blog, LPM Blog, but I did today, and I think that Beth says perfectly what I’m feeling now.

I know no one in Haiti, but I have been heart-broken over their plight these past two days. I know that God is at work in the midst of all of this, but I still can’t help but feel helpless.

I’ve seen lots of posts on Facebook today about where to go and pledge to give help, and I’m going to pledge somewhere yet to be determined, but I still feel helpless and powerless. That is until I read Beth’s post from Wednesday: Cries For Mercy.

While I have been praying – and still feeling helpless – I have been stupidly expecting some sort of miraculous change overnight, despite knowing that it’s not going to happen. When I read Beth’s blog post today I was also hearing While I’m Waiting playing on the radio in the background. For the third time today. I figured that maybe God is trying to tell me something…three times means that Katie needs to stop and listen to what’s really going on.

After reading Beth’s post and pondering it with the song, I realized that I need to just pray more and without expectations. Rather than “feeling sorry for” the Haitians and the rest of the world that’s been affected, I need to petition God and praise God for the steps already being taken to bring healing to devastation.

So, while I wait to hear some good news, I continue to pray. One way I’m praying is by going to either www.msnbc.com or www.huffingtonpost.com and looking at the pictures. As one flashes across the screen, I say a prayer specifically for that person and/or situation.

And I urge you to petition God, too. Knowing that your prayers are heard, and never ceasing to pray for our brothers and sisters worldwide who so desperately need us right now.

365 minus 13

I like to read blogs, much like the majority of you do. (Or at least I’d hope you do since you’re reading this one now.) I have a nice list of blogs that I read on a daily basis, but I’ve neglected to keep “my readers” up-to-date through my blog.

When I sit down to update from my last post – and a lot has gone on since October – I get completely overwhelmed thinking about it. So much so that I just keep telling myself, “tomorrow. I’ll update tomorrow.” Well, tomorrow never really came, did it?

Upon reading one of my friend’s blogs today I was directed to Bebo Norman’s blog in which Bebo made the commitment to blog once a day for the rest of the year. It’s a large commitment to make, but I think I can do it, too. So, here and now, I make a promise to you:

Starting today, I will, like Bebo,
seek to find one thing worth writing about in each of my days.

I do not want to be self-righteous about this, but I want to use this blog as an opportunity for me to journal and write about the blessings and valleys in my life. I want this to be a place where I can praise God openly and share with friends and family what God is doing in my life…through peaks & any valleys that may lurk around.

Afterall, I was given a Christmas present of “a note a day for 365 days,” so if Mason can do that, I can do this. And I will promise you that, like Mason, should I miss a day, I will make it up the next day to you. Some days may be better than others. Some superficial, while some deep and thought-provoking. Some may upset you, and some may upset me. But I’m ready to see.

Please forgive me for being delinquent in my posting. And sit back and enjoy the journey with me. I want to share my story with you, the way God has so graciously shared God’s story with me and you. We are forever intertwined in God’s story, so why not share it.

 

Blessings today, Friends!

last chance workout

If you’re like me and love the Biggest Loser, then you know all about the “Last Chance Workouts.” They are nothing to sneeze about. As Bob says, “it’s my job to put an entire week of workouts into one workout.” Yikes! That just makes the body hurt thinking about it.

Last Chance Workouts

Actually, come to think of it, I would rather have just one majorly insane workout…I think…than the week of last chance workouts that we’re having right now. Wow, our trainers know how to kill us!

 

This is our last week of the bodyFit eXtreme challenge and it’s really hard to believe that 12 weeks have gone by so quickly. We’re all quite sad about the end of the program, but I guess like they do on the BL, we’ve become a big family unit who has supported and pushed each other when we didn’t think we’d make it through. Especially in this past month when we’ve all been beyond beaten down by the program.

 

In the past 12 weeks, here’s what I’ve experienced:

• pants falling off in class around day 8 of the program
• hunger, and an amazing new appreciation for the energy that comes from a carbohydrate
• a new appreciation for protein – in liquid, powder or solid forms
• shin splints like no other
• brutal workouts
• yelling trainers
• frustration when fellow eXtreme participants cheat…and we all get punished for it
• new friendships
• encouragement from new friends, gym owners, church & work friends, and even the same trainers who yell at us
• high energy & high intensity workouts
• 2 new pairs of workout shoes…for a total of about $300 in new shoes
• loose pants, tops & jackets
• energy peaks & valleys
• the ability to actually run a mile without stopping
• a strange desire to go to the gym every night, if for nothing else than to see my friends
• majorly expensive grocery bills
• a new-found love of low sugar chocolate milkshakes!
• physical exhaustion like I’ve never imagined
• laughs…even while having our fannies kicked
• the ability to burn 800+ calories in a single hour workout
• lifestyle changes – I can eat healthy even with my crazy, busy lifestyle!

and most importantly…

• a love of myself, my figure, and my physical health
• a greater appreciation for my husband and his support of me in everything I work to accomplish and overcome (even if it does mean he signs up for a 90 day eXtreme exercise program just to encourage me along!)

 

These past 12 weeks have been life-changing.
And hopefully I’ll survive the last week of “last chance workouts”…

 

I’ve been blessed and privileged to participate in this program that has helped me to find myself again, to find happiness with the way I look and feel…and has introduced me to so many great new friends. Words cannot express my gratitude toward Nancy, Jamie and the rest of the bodyFit instructors who have stepped up their own workouts and really pushed us all to achieve our full potentials.

 

It’s been hard, it’s still hard, but it’s also been fun!
And now I have to go out and buy some new clothes…literally NONE of my pants fit me…shucks!

more awesome raffle items

                                                          

 

Do any of these tickle your fancy??

 

If so, head on over to

and place your bid.

 

But be ware…if you outbid me, I will hunt you down.

And ask you to share.

(Sheesh, did you think I was threatening violence?!?)

waiting

There is never anything easy or comfortable about waiting. I’ll admit it, I’m impatient. It’s a virtue that God forgot to give me, I’m convinced. And that’s the just about the worst virtue to be without in the ministry.

A wise pastor friend reminded me of something that I already knew, but often need to be reminded: “God’s time is not our time…and sometimes God’s time takes a really LONG time.”

So why is waiting to hard? Why does it drive you to the point of wanting to scream sometimes when you’re so incredibly anxious? Why does waiting make you question your motives and/or “call” to do whatever it is that you’re busy waiting for?

My Thursday night Bible study ladies have a running joke about God speaking to us. So often we’re either too busy or too dense to pick up on God’s “speaking” to us, so we frequently tell God to “speak very loudly to me, please God!” Well, I’ve been doing a lot of that lately…and it seems that all I get from God is…Wait. Have patience. Trust me. You are not alone. I am here. Wait. That’s all fine and dandy and all, but it’s much easier to say and hear than do.

So, in order to be obedient to God, I wait. Quite impatiently. Quite uncomfortably. Quite restlessly. And all the while questioning if I’m on the right path.

I wait. It’s not easy. It’s quite painful. And it’s downright ugly at times too. But I am faithful and desire to be obedient to God. I want to clearly discern God’s Will for me and not Katie’s will for me. I will fight God on having to wait, but I will trust that God does really actually know much better than I know.

And I will trust in God, because I have not been led thus far to be left alone. I am not alone. God is with me. And God is asking me to wait.

 

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” – Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV, daily verse for 10.12.09

 

yep…

…this girl just slid into a pair of pants that have been sitting in the back of her closet for about 2 years!

…they are two sizes smaller than the size pants I was wearing when I started the bodyFit eXtreme challenge a mere 67 days ago!

…I’m feeling pretty sexy today!

sixty days

At sixty days, here we are:

Mason
Pounds Lost: 9
Inches Lost: 10.3

Katie
Pounds Lost: 6
Inches Lost: 11.1

 

Both
lifting heavier weights than we thought we could
dropping clothing (dress) sizes
eating healthier
looking skinnier
feeling better
more energy
actually looking forward to exercise
running a mile completely without stopping (KT)
running a mile with great ease (MT)

 

We enter Phase 3 of the  bodyFIT eXtreme challenge, and we’re both ready for it. We got our new menus and we’ll be doing some grocery shopping on Sunday night. We’re both pleased with our progress, and ready to see what Nancy & Jamie have in store for us in Phase 3.

PHASE 3…BRING IT ON!

personal accomplishments

Most of you know that I’m participating in the bodyFIT eXtreme challenge. It’s three months of exercise 6 days a week and meal plans based on our metabolic type. In the first 30 days I had only lost 4.5 pounds, but I had begun to completely transform the shape of my body. (And to be quite honest, 4.5 pounds is a HUGE amount of weight for me to have lost. Afterall, I’m the one in the program that they didn’t think it would work for since my metabolism is regulated by a pill…thanks Synthroid!)

As I mentioned, we are exercising in classes 6 days a week. Mason and I actually only make 5 days a week and do a DVD of a class for the 6th day since we’re in classes in Charlotte every week for the 6th day of the program. Well, yesterday was my first time missing a class for work and to be honest, it put me in a bit of a funk. On my way home from work last night, at around 8:25, I stopped by the gym to pick up my hubby (despite having driven separate cars) and to say hey to my friends…I really missed them! Although I was exhausted, I knew that I had to go home and do some cardio and I was not looking forward to it. I was secretly hoping that a dose of my friends post-workout would give me the energy needed to go and jog around the neighborhood when I got home.

Now for those of you that know me well, you’re still chuckling at the last sentence. I know, I know…me, run, jog…anything that requires more effort than a fast walk?!? You can stop laughing now…because it happened! I actually went home at 9:00 at night after a day on my feet being extroverted at the career fair and then teaching resume writing to my sorority…I took a RUN around the neighborhood!

We have a route mapped out from our mailbox back around to our mailbox that is exactly 1 mile. You have to run on certain sides of the road and cross at the right points, but it’s exactly 1 mile and it’s what Mason uses when he runs. I knew going into this that I’ve never run a full mile without stopping, but that if I could just do at least 1/2 of it, I’d be super happy. So I tied my shoes, wrapped my shin-splinted leg, gathered my coach (Mason) and turned on the iPod…

Mason promised to stay at my pace with me and encourage me along the way. We started out at a really good pace and before I knew it, he was saying crazy things like, “Way to go Babe! You just ran 1/4 mile!” And I was feeling crazy feelings like…wow, I’m not tired yet! So we turned the corner and headed up the hill. At the top of the hill was 1/2 mile, and I was starting to feel my legs a bit…and the breathing was harder. We pushed through, my coach encouraging me to slow down at the top of the hill but I didn’t listen. I was afraid that if I slowed down, I would stop altogether. We rounded corner #3 (I sound like I’m at a NASCAR race here…) and my coach made me “coast” down the hill into turn #4 so that I could rest a bit. At about turn #4 I started to hurt…badly. But at that point I was also listening to a good song and I had an excellent coach pushing me and I knew that the house was really just around turns #5 and #6 and I wanted to do this thing! At 1/2 way between turns #4 and #5 I started to fall apart…and my coach just kept pushing me…and it HURT! It was then that I as politely as possible through gasps of air told my coach to “SHUT UP PLEASE!” He did so immediately and then about 20 seconds later responded equally as well to my request, “Okay, TALK PLEASE!” (Yeah, I’m slightly schizophrenic when it comes to what I want to hear while I’m in agony.) Right about turn #5 I was literally about to give up physically, but mentally still wanted to be in this game. Every bit of my body hurt, but I was NOT giving up…I am stubborn and I wanted to finish that mile! My coach kept encouraging me, even offering his hand for support (which I snuffed off, I ain’t no sissy needing help afterall) and we made it to turn #6. I was talking to God very loudly just asking God to get me home and there it was…the mailbox! I’ve never been so happy to see that piece of metal with an overgrown bunch of Yellow Jasmine in my life. I was almost there and before I knew it…I was done! I had just completed a full mile run without stopping once, in under 10 minutes time!

I hurt with every fiber of my being and my chest was burning from breathing in the cold air, but I had just finished and boy was I proud. I wanted to stop. I wanted to curl up into a ball. I wanted to cry, but I also wanted to march straight down to my trainer’s house (yep, we’re “lucky” enough to live in the same neighborhood as Jamie) and knock on his door and brag about what I had just accomplished.

Just 60 short days ago I would never have thought I could have even completed a mile run without stopping. And here I did it…in under 10 minutes, too! And I’ve never been prouder of myself…I pushed through and met my goal and did better than I thought I would!!!

I’m still feeling a bit of soreness in my abs today because you apparently use them while you’re running…who knew? But overall, I’m grinning from ear to ear, and I’m secretly looking forward to my next mile run with hubby. Just don’t tell HIM that…

 

And to keep everyone updated on the progress…here’s a picture from the cruise, right around Day 35 on the program. Enjoy!