Down to the River to Pray

The weather has finally warmed up, my swim suit was crying out to get wet, the water was as warm as the water in CO ever gets, so what does all this mean? That this week end was perfect for a float trip down the Deschutes. I've only done this particular float one other time. This year we started about an hour later then last year and we got lost in Sunriver thanks to the spot on directions of our navigator!(hehe) So we didn't get on the water until about 3:15(maybe a little later!)

We finally got all of the floaties(what a fun word, right?) ready and plopped them in the water. Only one of the rafts had a hole but gum and a foot pump came along for the ride and as long as they put more air in periodically they were fine! Last year every one besides 4 of us were in tubes or other one person type craft, and as Megan(older sis) was going to ride with her fiance(Shawn) in our raft.............three is a crowd!

All that to say, I went and bought myself a tube. It was the only one that Wal-Mart had and I wasn't to happy about it at first, it says RIVER RAT across both sides and there is kind of a mean looking hobo like rat with yellow beady little eyes and teeth. But, hey for 10 bucks I wasn't going to argue. Then everybody else this year was in a raft! Yep, a raft. Also, everyone else besides me and one other guy were paired off, so I spent a lot of the float alone contemplating the wonder of Gods creation by myself.

I have to say, I've always liked being by myself and I never ever get to be! I am easily distracted, so this was a wonderful chance for me to thank God for His wonderful creation and pray with out the usual distractions. It's always been easier for me to praise Him in the midst of His creation rather then in a church. Shhhhh, don't tell anybody though! I have a feeling some people would find that a little odd and I am definitely odd enough already!=)

It's quite a long float about 3 1/2 hours or so and that last half hour is a killer! It needs to be just a little shorter and it would be perfect. It's a beautiful float though. We start out at Lapine Sate park and end up at a camp ground just before you hit Sunriver. You pass meadows, some lovely houses with some very friendly people residing there in, trees and some awesome dirt banks. They rise up on either side of you and you have to contemplate the wonder of that lazy river beneath you and the power it holds.

We've had people bring and eat food and definitely bring water! I had thought that since I was in a group where at 23 I was the youngest that the river would not be used as a restroom. But, nope! At least three people jumped on in and did their business. Now I don't feel bad for thinking that that's not such a bad idea! It freaks my Mom out though and so I was raised no to pee in the river past the age of 5 or so.=)

Grab your swim suit(or not, but make sure you at least have a towel or something to cover the important bits when others are near!) your floatie of choice, some water and a couple of friends and get yourself on down to the river! If you are like me you and have a sound track to your life, look up the song "Down to the River to Pray" from the "O' Brother Where Art Though" sound track. It was the perfect song to have stuck in my head during my trip down to the river!=)

WI-FI

I actually looked up the answer to one of my own questions! Shocking I know=) Here it is(because I'm sure your all filled with a burning desire to know, all one or two of you!)

From Wi-Fi Alliance publications: The Wi-Fi Alliance is a global, non-profit industry association of more than 300 member companies devoted to promoting the growth of wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs). With the aim of enhancing the user experience for wireless portable, mobile, and home entertainment devices, the Wi-Fi Alliance’s testing and certification programs help ensure the interoperability of WLAN products based on the IEEE 802.11 specification. Since the introduction of the Wi-Fi Alliance’s certification program in March 2000, more than 4,000 products have been designated as Wi-Fi CERTIFIED, encouraging the expanded use of Wi-Fi products and services across the consumer and enterprise markets.

In wireless computer networking, Wi-Fi refers to a family of related specifications (the IEEE 802.11 group) which specify methods and techniques of wireless local area network operation.

WHY!?!

Why is one of my favorite things to ask. It's annoying to most people, but I always want to know! Why is WI-FI called WI-FI?( I still have not gotten an answer to that one, oh techi friends of mine!)Why do you have to drive this way? Why is it always my turn to do the dishes? Why doesn't anyone else want to stay up and watch the 3 hour long musical with me? Why does nobody answer my questions!?!

God has to be the one who puts up with most of my whying(I know it's not a verb, but I am using it as one anyway!) Why did you give Megan all of the good gifts and talents? Why did you let that person die? Why did my dad lose his job? Why can't I go to Latvia too? It sounds like lots of fun and it's a missions trip I would be doing Your work! I try to convince God that things really would be better my way, and does he ever listen? Nope!

Wait

Trust

Obey

Pray

Peace

Joy

Be Content

Faith

Love

These are the answers I get to my why questions. Be content with the gifts I have given to you. Trust that my ways are higher then your ways. Have faith and peace that I know that plans I have for you and yours. Obey and wait until I have prepared you for the journey ahead.

1 Corinthians 7:17 was talked about in a bible study that I attend and it spoke to my heart because right now the why buzzer in my brain is going crazy! 1 Corinthians 7:17a But as God has distributed to each one, as the Lord has called each one, so let him walk. God has given us each our own road to walk. We should walk it with full confidence that He knows exactly what, when, why, where and how.

God had given me this road to walk, and if His answer is wait, I should wait joyfully! If His answer is trust, I should trust Him full of peace and faith that He does know what lies ahead and His plans for me are better then I could ever imagine. Though having been gifted with an overactive imagination, I have a hard time imagining that!=)

Night at the Museum

If you haven't gone to see the Night at the Museum: Battle at the Smithsonian you need to! We went for little sis's b~day and it was very funny! It's seems to me that the humor is more adult this time but not in a bad inappropriate way. It's just not as much slap stick, dum-dum-gum-gum type funny. The humors a little more, hmmmm shall we say verbal this time around? Regardless of my vain attempts to describe the humor all ages were laughing and having a good time. So, if you have some time go and see this movie. You have to see it in theaters, it just wouldn't be the same on a small screen. I saw the first one in theaters and then when I saw it again on the small screen, it wasn't the same! So, spring for the ticket(remember Costco tickets!) and go to the movies!

Oh, and on a side note, if all of you people who refuse to turn your cell phones off would like a dark, loud, pleasantly cool room to text in I've got a closet free. I can give you a radio and a fan and not bother you for the next two hours! Hey since you think your so special and above the rules, I'll even supply snacks, for a NOMINAL(right Tim?) fee of course.=)

What is a Girl to Do?

Nobody told me this was going to happen!? How could they do this to me?! Have they been planning this since the very first!? When I began this journey I researched the subject and through trial and error came up with what I thought was the best solution. 10 years is how long it's taken me to get this far and it's still not over! I've asked for help from all over the country and put up with the ribbing of many a friend and family member. I've been this close and had it ripped away! What on earth could I be talking about?

The US government has made a District of Columbia state quarter and no quarter map that I've found has a spot for one. It's not even a state!! =) Join with me in mourning for the little lonely District of Columbia quarter! He he, I'm joking......................... for the most part!=)

20 Years From Now

This question was brought up in my hearing recently and it got me thinking. What do you want out of life, where do you want to be 20 years from now? It's been a fun thing to contemplate!

There are some things I'm pretty sure will have happened. I will be 42, my hair will be turning gray, I will have been married to my sexy man of God for a good long time and will have at least a couple children. As far as where I will be? I would like to stay in Central Oregon near family, but if God has called my husband somewhere else I would be excited to follow him! I'm not sure I would be overjoyed if he felt called to be a missionary in Africa or some other third world country but as far as other places.......... lead on God!

I want to be farther in my walk with God for sure! Some days remembering to pray and spend time with Him is easy and a joy, but there are days it's more like a chore I either forget or force myself to do. God is working on my temper, I would like to not have to bite my lip and blow up at my pillow or whatever inanimate object is in my way. Yes, laugh all you want to readers at the thought of me having a temper, but you didn't know me when I was younger! I am learning the channel the "passion" as my Mom kindly calls it to other things in life.=)

I want to have been on an airplane, gone on a long road trip and learned to make pie crust with out crying! So many things that I have yet to learn, see, do, tatse, experience, and feel. The next 20 years ought to be some kind of wonderful! Think about it, what do you want out of life in the next 20 years?=)

East Lake Pictures

As promised here are a few of the pictures that I took camping. If you would like to see the rest go here:

http://s569.photobucket.com/albums/ss136/KatySue1986/

Pancakes, yum!!!

Between these two pictures is how the sky really looked, but I couldn't make it look right! The top one is far to dark and the second one is to light! Hrumph!

Is the shape of the mist enchanting? I love mist........

East Lake

I went on a camping trip this weekend to East Lake. I'd been there before, but just for day trips. I hadn't been real camping in a while, just in the backyard or a cabin. I was worried that the appeal of a tent and a sleeping bag would have worn off. Nope! It's still as wonderful as ever! There's just something about the campfire, sleeping in a tent, waking up in the early morning and hearing the birds, sitting there in the peace that I love and so many other things that I've missed.

We went up on Sunday afternoon and when we got there, there was snow on the ground still, yep snow! It wasn't cold till the sun went down then the chill set in a bit! If you haven't been to the Newberry Crater area you should go, the combination of forest, lakes, streams, and lava flow create a very picturesque landscape. We hiked the Big Obsidian flow and some of us(mainly me!) fell in the snow that inevitably covers parts of the trail until Mid July. The little green lake nestled right next to the flow makes one feel God can create beauty out of the bad things in life.

Here we are standing on a lava flow, a totally devastating event and yet look what it has become! Just listen to the glassy crunch as you walk over a path made of crushed obsidian and pumice. You can feel the different textures beneath your feet and feel them with your hands as you trail your fingers over the surrounding rocks. The deep black of the obsidian and the light pastels of the pumice contrast with the sparkling white of the snow. Moss and lichen grow in these unfriendly circumstances and when you come upon a tree the hardiness of Gods creation is once again made fresh in your heart. It makes you feel that it's out of the hard times God creates the most beautiful parts of your life!

Sorry, normal prose just wouldn't do for that last paragraph! We also drove up to Paulina Peak. You can hike or bike up, but a more committed group of hikers would be needed to accomplish this=) I for one am more of a recreational hiker, no South Sister or things of that nature for me! We had Tim(the friend who is being a bad influence on my musical tastes!) drive up because it was rumored to be a slightly scary drive. As it turns out that was a very good call. We couldn't make it all the way to the top and had to u~turn on a small mountain road. We climbed up to an out croping of rocks and scrambled up to take a gander at the view. It was beautiful. I forgot my camera though, so you'll have to take my word for it!

We then headed back to camp for dinner, fellowship and campfire worship(right Kelli?). On a side note I finished The Janitors Boy by Andrew Clements, a must read! All of his books are must reads, I haven't read one yet that I didn't like. Sleeping was a little cold, but mostly just my nose. I woke up early as usual and read and walked by the lake till Tim got up and we tried to make a fire. Three times! It never worked. No matter how much lighter fluid Tim squirted on it. Tim made us pancakes and though they stuck and were a little black, they were still very good and very much appreciated. We had fake syrup, sometimes fake syrup is just needed. Camping is one of those times!=) Lost the dog a few times, but we always found him!

The Toomeys finally got up and we watched in awe(at least I watched in awe!) as Mr. Toomey made a fire, that stayed lit!!! We sat and talked for a little bit more. Then we packed up camp and went for a hike along Paulina Falls. We walked along one side of the creek until we reached the bridge then turned back to go the the base of the falls. Had a lot more fun scrambling along on different rocks and taking pictures. Lots of pictures. I remembered my camera this time. Then we came home and unpacked and showered! Last time I went real camping I short hair, short hair is much nicer for camping! Nothing holds on to smoke smell better then hair! For some reason what smelled so good out in the forest really gets stinky at home! Pictures will come in the next post, but I fear this one is to long already!

Voices in My Head

"You'll never be good enough! Is that girl looking at you funny? They aren't talking to you, they must not like you! How can you let them treat you that way? Get back, get even, it's only fair........"

How many times do we let that little voice in the back of our minds control our thoughts and sometimes our actions? I know that I listen to that voice all to much! For example, I'm an observant of unimportant details person, so I notice odd things about people and actually remember these little facts(much to some peoples discomfort!hehe) But this gives the voice in my head a whole realm of things to say, "Everybody will notice that your hem is a little higher in the back, that you have a pimple and that your feet are dirty!" Most likely nobody else will notice, or if they do, they won't care. I don't care when I notice these things or think less of the person, I just take mental note of them. But, does knowing this stop me from listening to that voice? NOPE!

Or another example, I have a decided lack of history in the guy department, that slate is completely blank! But, is the reason I've never dated or kissed anybody because I am striving to stay pure and not have emotional baggage when I get married or is it as the voice tells me,"Ha! Your just fooling yourself, the real reason you have no history is because nobody has ever been interested in you! I highly doubt they ever will be! " This is one of the loudest voices I've got!!!

Why do we listen to it!? When everybody else including God is telling us different why do we choose to believe that small voice in our head? It seems to just be human nature, even the most confident people have this voice in their head. How do we get ride of it? Can we ever ignore it? I've found that I can ignore it for long periods of time, but then it will bust out again at the most in opportune times.

The one thing I've found that helps the most is to give myself a mental smack and argue with myself. Yes, argue with myself!(sometimes out loud!) I pray and God gives me the peace and confidence to defeat that small voice. Somedays, I'm praying a lot! It will never completely go away, but it's gotten much better over the years. God will continue to help me and give me the debating skills to defeat that voice in my head, I just need to continue to pray every time that it starts up again. Every time that small voice in the back of your head starts talking trash pray, pray and pray! God can and will help you silence it.

You might be asking yourselves why am I boring you; the reader, with this? Well, something that I've noticed(at least in my family!) is that your family members sometimes aren't the most sympatheic listeners to your pet doubts and fears. This subject has been on my mind and I wanted to "talk" about it with somebody. So, thank you for listening!

Hello!

Music, nothing can affect or change my mood quite the same. Country is what I was raised on, then when we moved up to Bend we found country lovers in a minority and found KLove(more out of defense really!hehe) The when I was 13 I found the crooners, and the realm of oldies was opened up to me. Much to my families dismay, they all refer to it as elevator music! Now mainly through listening to a friends IPod on a couple of trips we have taken as a group(he plugs it into the van stereo sytem) I have embraced the rockier side of Christan music. Now that is raising some eyebrows! My Mom and older sister wrinkle their noses whenever I have AirOne turned on(A rockier Christan station) I was going to avoid conflict and not purchase any of this "devil" music, but after hearing Hawk Nelsons Hello I'm going to have to! I've had it stuck in my head ever since I heard it, I love the kazoos! What a bad influence that friend is being on me, my Moms not going let me play with him anymore if this keeps up!=)

You never ever leave my mind

My sweet, sweet Madeline

Every time I look into your eyes

I feel like I'm alive

And I can barely make a sound

Whenever you're around

You can find me hiding in the crowd

Next time you come to town

Every time I want to say hello

Every time I want to stay I go

Can't ever find the words to let you know

Sometimes you plague my mind a million times

Every time I want to say hello

Every time I want to stay I go

Can't ever find the words to let you know

Sometimes you plague my mind a million times

Wish I could somehow let you know

That all the way from here to Mexico

You're the one and only girl for me

He-he tu es un, bonjour oui oui

And my tongue gets tied so quick

I get so nervous I'm feeling sick

I turn into the world's worst Romeo

Every time I try to say hello

You're so fine

Been on my mind

Get nervous every time

I see you hop online

Every time I want to say hello

Every time I want to stay I go

Can't ever find the words to let you know

Sometimes you plague my mind a million times

Every time I want to say hello

Every time I want to stay I go

Can't ever find the words to let you know

Sometimes you plague my mind a million times

Let the little children......

"Put that down!!

"Don't touch her!"
"Stop throwing the toys around!"
"Don't make me come in there!"
"Don't eat that, the dogs been chewing on it!"
"Stop kicking him with your sisters leg!"
"Christian, stop chasing... what are you... Hey! Stop chewing on Abi's neck!!!!"

Kids, you've gotta love them. Some of the things I've had to yell across a park or church amaze me! Kids are a huge part of my life and always will be if I have anything to say about it! When I was younger I wanted to be a teacher, but then God showed me a different path. One where I get to be a teacher, nurse, cook, laundress, chauffeur(because I love driving!hehe) and countless other things. I not only get to fulfill my childhood dream of being a teacher, but also get to do so many other amazing things.

Matthew 18:2-4 Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

We are called to have faith like a child. What exactly does that mean? I think it means we must have complete trust that God is always there and He will always take care of us. Like a little hurt child they have complete faith in you. That you can and will make the hurt go away. When a child is hurt and they come to you for comfort, that felling is like none other. You pick up that little child knowing that they trust you to make it all better and the thing is you can in their eyes! What a mind blowing thing to contemplate, that you can make somebodies hurt go away with a hug and a few kind words. Adults just don't work that way.

We should have that kind of trust in God. I may think that I am perfectly ordinary but to that little kid I am Katy! giver of cookies, saver of stuffed animals, the person who knows the answer to every question, healer of hurt knees and someone they go to when the world is cruel. We are Gods children. To us he's not just god, He's GOD! healer of hurts, giver of every good thing, the one who has all the answers, saver of our souls and someone to run to when the world is cruel!

We can run to Him with all of our troubles and problems, when we are hurt and need comfort. We can also run to Him with the good things in life. He will mourn when we mourn, but lets not forget He will rejoice with us as well! Have faith like a child, trust in your heavenly Father. He is always with you!

This picture is from the book Grandfather Twilight. Get it if you can, it's a beautiful story. I love this book and have always pictured God looking like this! I've been told it's not at all accurate, but you know what? I'm going to hang on to my image of God for awhile yet anyway, who knows.......=)