whimsy...and a fun new update to my future

whimsy

a few years ago I read Donald Miller's book "A Million Miles in a Thousand Years"

and now am delighting my way through Bob Goff's "Love Does"

both talk extensively about whimsy.

whimsy: the idea that life could be magical; 

it could be special if we were only willing to take risks.

Bob says

"What whimsy means to me is a combination of the "do" part of faith 

along with doing something worth doing." 

I like that. 

whimsy to me has always evoked some sort of fairy-tale beauty,

princesses twirling in sparking dresses, and talking animals that come to the rescue. 

And I suppose a part of what we love about fairy tales is that

 things are not always what they seem. 

the frog or the beast is really a prince. 

or maybe that the impossible seems to be possible,

mulan takes on all of china with a cricket and wins,  ariel gets legs, 

or cinderella meets a fairy god-mother who turns a pumpkin into a carriage.
like weird things happen.  

and really, our favorite part is that the endings all close in the same way...

"and they lived happily ever after"

and they do, because the author says it's so. 

As as I was losing myself in the prettiness of "whimsy" 

I realized that this is exactly how we should live,

because the Bible is just one long book of whimsy. 

Nothing really is as it seems.

Jesus tells us that the first shall be last and the last will be first. 

and that he who gives his life away will really find it. 

and the impossible is always possible with Jesus.

the lame walk, the blind see, the leper is healed and begins to dance

and really, as believers our ending is always happily ever after forever and amen.

heaven, it's going to be JOY unending for all eternity! 

prayer is whimsy, 

because prayer causes things to happen that might not have happened if we didn't pray.
impossible things like cancer being healed, and addicts becoming sober, and girls being rescued from brothels. 

and you guys, WE GET TO LIVE LIKE THIS! 

we get to pray CRAZY things into being. 

and choose to invite God to move in powerful ways when we risk.

and when we risk, we get to see light come into the darkness.
and drive that blackness away. 

a few days ago we got to skype with our precious girls at the home we worked at in Nepal. 

it was all craziness and laughter and swapping stories. 

and when it was done Kevin and I sat there in AWE

that we got to be a part of this,

a part of watching God rescue and transform 5 little girls,

and bring them into the kingdom.

this whimsy that we got to live,
that was worth pouring every fiber of our being into.
it made me dance, like literally twirl with joy.

and now as we leave this week to begin a new chapter of our lives
 I'm excited to share with you
a new whimsy i'm moving myself into,
one I haven't shared on the blog yet.

And it is this,
I'm going back to get my masters in Counseling!!!!

God called me to this while in Nepal,
as I watched our counselors work with the girls there,
and the incredible transformation that took place as a result!

I'm excited and nervous,
but i'm so grateful for this call on my life because
like Bob echoes,

it will be a
"combination of the "do" part of faith
{standing with the broken in their suffering} 

along with doing something worth doing"
{watching people begin the healing process and break free!!}

I start school in January, and hope I can get my "school" brain back on again!
haha, it's been quite a few years since I flexed that muscle, haha!

Thank you for your sweet support in my life!
have a week full of whimsy friends,
love Katie 

the ambitions we have will become the stories we live

"the ambitions we have will become the stories we live. 

If you want to know what a person's story is about, 

just ask them what they want. 

If we don't want anything, we are living boring stories,

and if we want a roomba vaccum cleaner we are living stupid stories.

If it won't work in a story, it won't work in life."

- donald miller

Moving back from Nepal makes me think a lot about the ambitions in my life. 

I mean, when you move to a foreign country to work with girls 

who have been sexually abused and hurt in the most evil of ways, 

your ambition-meter kind of sky rockets because staring evil in the face will do that to you.

your ambitions become so wrapped up around the crux of 

fighting off the bad guys {i.e: kicking butt and taking names} 

and seeing the precious ones rescued, restored and healed. 

It's not too hard to hunker down and have some real focus. 

But every time I move back to the US, 

that amition meter seems to think it's on vacation, and it starts to relax. 

It become rather vague. 

And I suppose vague ambition is really just like atrophy...

the muscle is there but you sure as heck aign't using it for any purpose

other than shoving crap into your mind and body. 

Because let's face the music peeps...

living in the US can be a real cake walk if you want it to be. 

I mean, we have froyo on every corner, and tivo to literally occupy every waking hour if we wanted it to. 

I think it's easy to just live in a bubble and forget about a higher ambition.

but the ambitions we have become the stories we live. 

and living in Nepal was an epic part of my story. 

and what I'm wrestling with now, is praying into ambition for my world in California. 

because who says it has to be different? 

can't my story be just as sweet and epic and deep,

moving back to my home in California? 

I think the answer is yes

Kev and I feel ever more confident that the only life for us is one living among the poor. 

Because wether you live in California or Nepal, they are there. 

And our ambition is to open our home and just love the crap out of people. 

and say with our actions "you are loved and welcomed here"

Miller says 

"A story is based upon what people think is important, 

so when we live a story, we are telling the people around us what we think is important" 

I don't ever want to wake up one day and realize that my life reflects

 that I think tv and range rovers and weekly manicures are important.

I'd really rather have someone watch my life and have no question that my story was about loving people and loving God. 

i've got a long way to go...

so i'd better giddy up. 

So here's to a season of finding my ambition as clear as can be, 

and living a story where the important things win:) 

Happy Wednesday,

Katie 

farm dreaming

this past month working on the farm has been incredibly peaceful and, in a funny way, liberating. 

every morning Kevin and I wake up early, 

pack our monstrous lunches that hold us through our 12 hour days, 

and suit up in our old jeans and flannels. 

the drive to work is a highlight, as Kevin and I talk and read the bible and pray together. 

we dream about our future going back to southern california in a few weeks. 

as a confession, i'm so unsure of the future there is so much to pray into. 

but that is exciting to me:) 

we get to the ranch, and we spend the first hour greasing our tractors. 

this is probably my least favorite part. 

i'm not exactly a muscle woman so I literally have to give it my all to complete this task, haha! 

then, I sit in a tractor for almost eleven hours and drive and chop straw. 

Now, I'm sure the very mention of this monotony may put you to sleep, 

but truly this uninterupted time has been a beautiful sanctuary for the imagination, 

as I feel profoundly justified and liberated to just sit there and dream and pray. 

lately we've been dreaming of where to live when we move back to Southern California. 

I dream of an old house in an immigrant neighborhood. 

With a big porch and room for us to host anyone that passes through. 

a house that is filled with love and laughter and parties and 

candles that burn and fill the room with a delicious aroma. 

so i've been trying to pray boldly into that. 

trusting that God is going to move in an epic way. 

i'm excited to see what He's up to in that department!  

but on the farm, I get to dream because all I have is time:) 

I love these farm sunsets...they inspire me. 

and add to the mystery of this God who asks us to pray BIG and BOLD into our dreams. 

What are you dreaming of lately? 

love Katie 

Autumn's glow...a fall photo shoot

a few weeks ago my sister said

"katie, let's go find a field and take fall pictures!"

it was spontaneous and just plain fun. 

I didn't shower or do anything fancy, I just threw together a "fall-ish" outfit

(comprised mostly of yard sale clothing)

and together Lena and I went on a hunt for the perfect field. 

less than a mile from our parent's house we spotted a beautiful field of weeds. 

weeds...so romantic, right? 

we parked

 and ran past the very obvious "no trespassing" sign. 

little rebels, I know.

{even though the "inner-rule-followers" in us freaked out every time a car drove by! hehe}

there was so much beauty in the radiant autumn sun, it washed us in it's ruddy glow. 

we even dragged our pumpkins out there to really give it the Fall touch:) 

peeps! I forgot how heavy those suckers are! 

and in that moment with laugher and golden hues and the warmth of the sun,

it just felt good to be alive. 

and to thank God for the good things I got going in my life. 

of course we will all experience the rough and rocky at times, 

but this season is a reminder to dwell on the incredible blessings that flow down to us from the 

Father of Lights! 

He delights in us, 

and that delight in contagious! 

Happy Fall friends! 

love Katie 

{hahaha...lena will probably hate me for including this one, but I think it's hilarious!}

 {love my sister...a lot}