Monday, October 29, 2007

Satisfied

That video is just for fun. :)

I had a pumpkin spice latte from Starbucks (I know, I'm a traitor) earlier tonight, so I feel too awake to go to sleep right now. I also feel too full of thoughts.

Occasionally I get like this.

My room feels cozy and quiet, and I'm here, just sitting.

Thinking.

Reflecting.

Do you want to know what is going through my head? I'll tell you.

1. The other night, Austin and I watched The Dead Poets Society. I don't want to spoil the movie for you if you've never seen it, so don't read any further if you don't want me to. There is one character in the movie, a high school student, whose father is extremely demanding and hard on him. He has his son's life planned out -- he will be a lawyer (I think?? Or maybe a doctor? I can't remember), and earn lots of money -- and he wants his son to stop his extracurricular activities so he can focus on his goals. The son, however, loves the theater, and wants to be an actor. He ends up being in a play without his father's knowledge, and once the dad finds out, he is furious. The son finally can't take it anymore, so he commits suicide. At this part in the movie, I turned to Austin and said, "That's a perfect example of what God doesn't want parents to do, as talked about in Ephesians 6:4 - Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. It made me so sad to see a boy so upset over his father's orders that he wanted (and succeeded) to end his own life. It makes me think about what kind of parent God wants me to be. I know - more parenting talk. I know that my posts seem to be all about parenting these days. It's important! I want to make sure that I don't exasperate my children. I should not overwhelm them with goals and things that I want them to accomplish, but let God work in them and help them grow into the little people He intended for them to be. I believe that my parents have done an excellent job at this (thanks, Mom and Dad!). They haven't ever discouraged me from doing anything that I've wanted to do, and they haven't pressured me into a career or major. I want to do the same for my own kids!

2. I have been thinking about something that our worship leader, Ross King, said in church a few weeks ago. He told a story about how he accidently stole a pen from some church he was visiting for an event or something. Later, he grabbed the pen to use it to write something, and then glanced at what was printed on it: there was the name of the church, with its motto, Striving to Please God, written underneath. Ross talked a little bit about how, although the church probably had good intentions in choosing that motto, no Christian should live their lives "striving to please God". At first, I was a little shocked and taken aback. Yes we should, I thought. But after he talked more about it, and I thought more about those words, I realized that he was right. "Strife" indicates that there is a struggle, a constant fight or competition. Living your life struggling or fighting to please God means that as a Christian, you have missed the point. You don't have to struggle to have God be pleased with you! Because of God's unconditional love and grace, there is nothing you can do to make God love you more or less. He made us! He loves His creation. Now, it is true that if we accept Jesus as our Savior, we should live to please Him and to bring glory to His Name, but that's different.

3. I am excited about the life that God has given to me. I used to be scared about the future, because it was so unknown, but now, I am really excited. I am excited about forming new relationships with people, starting a new "chapter" of my life (that sounds so cliche), serving the Body of Christ in a new area (I'm assuming), and continuing to discover God's will for my life. I'm excited about learning and growing.

4. This weekend, my dad's side of the family is having a family reunion. We're going to stay at some lodge on the lake up near Dallas. I'm really excited about it! I get to see my grandfather, my uncle and my aunt, as well as my cousin Lucy. It's been at least three years since I've seen all of them. Even though our time together will be short, I am praying that God uses it to restore those relationships. Please pray that God's love will be shown in me and my family!

5. I'm starting to get kind of tired now, and since I have to babysit in the morning, I should probably go to sleep. Goodnight, world!

-Katie

2 comments:

-Erin said...

I think you described my current situation to a T with the Dead Poet's Society reference. You should hear what went down this weekend. It was not so good!

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