Be YOU and love it! - An incredible resource to make 2016 the BEST!

It's 2016, holy moly! Happy New Year friend.

Kevin and I drove up to Northern California to spend New Years with my family. The many hours in the car lent itself beautifully to dreaming and thinking about the future. Not just dreams about what we'll do and we're we'll travel (like these here…), but mostly critically thinking about who I want to become. My character. My inner thoughts. My relationships with others.

The word God has given me for 2016 is confidence. Not a confidence in myself or my abilities, but instead a confidence that comes from knowing I am loved deeply and fully by God. A beautiful and radiant confidence that stems from a life so connected to our loving Lord.

One of the way's i've been proactive in meeting my goal is by going through an AMAZING online course called Be You and Love It.  Stephanie May Wilson, author and blogger put together a beautiful package filled with a journal and 21 online videos. Ladies, I cannot recommend this course enough. First of all, Stephanie is so genuine and authentic, vulnerably sharing her own story through the course. She shares the fears so many of us have, but are afraid to voice. Her vulnerability and honesty has given me so much courage to face my own issues and own them with bravery.

The course is only open a few times a year, and right now it's open from January 1-6!! If you are looking for some extra in-depth life changing course, this is it. Not only will you be walking along with Stephanie, but you will be invited to a Facebook group of ladies who will be traveling with you. The community is awesome and so loving and kind.


So why take this course? Here's a few reasons….

The heart of this course is really simple. So many of us know in our minds that we are perfectly and wonderfully made. We know Jesus, we know the scriptures, we know what God says about us. But it just doesn’t always feel true. 

So the heart of this course is to fix that. The goal of this course is to help that knowledge — the truth of who God created us to be — move from our head down into our hearts so we can believe it wholeheartedly and live as though it's true. 

This course is a step by step journey to help women do the following things: 

• Discover how they really see themselves — until we know how we actually see ourselves, we can’t do anything to fix it

• Figure out what in the beliefs we have about ourselves are true, what are false, what are from God, what we’ve picked up throughout our lives, what other people have said about us, what we need to stop believing, and what we need to begin believing is really true about us.

• We take off the lies, removing them one by one until we have ceremoniously and prayerfully taken them off for good!

• Then we put on the truth — we tuck up close to God and ask Him who HE says we are. 

• Last, but absolutely not least, we practice believing that truth. So many of us know the right things to say, but they don’t feel true. In the course, we actually practice believing them. Repeating the truths over and over again until we don't even have to think about it anymore. It's just who we are!

This course is about busting right through the insecurity we all struggle with as women — identifying it, calling it out, and getting rid of it for good. It’s about putting on the real truth of who we are, and practicing believing it until it’s real — until we can confidently, powerfully, and truthfully say, “I am so deeply and forever LOVED, and not only that, but I love myself too!”

How does this work exactly?

Be You and Love It is an online course. There are 21 videos in a membership area (you have to be a member to access them!) and those videos correspond with a downloadable workbook you receive as you sign up. 

There’s also a Facebook community you gain access to when you sign up. (Quick note on this: The Facebook community is SO BEAUTIFUL! The way the group loves and encourages each other is just amazing!) 

How long does the course take?

There is no schedule for how quickly the course should be completed. The fastest someone has completed the course so far has been in 2 months, but i'm still working away on the course and it will probably take me about 5-6 months (i've been going at a slow pace!). It really just depends on how much you have going on in life as you work through it. 

If you have more questions, you can read the FAQ section here. (Just scroll down the page a bit!) 

This course is an investment, but one that has been absolutely worth it. I have been challenged, learned so much about myself, and have continued to grow in my identity and confidence in God's love. 

If you want to start this year in a NEW way, breaking bad habits of seeing yourself in a negative light, then absolutely consider this course! Allow 2016 be the year you break free!! 

Read more about it and sign up here! 

Happy Day Friends!! xoxo 

Happy New Years! A year in review...

I'm not sure about you, but I LOVE reflecting.

with a passion. 

You know how they all say "an unexamined life isn't worth living"…

and  I agree. 

We find richness in taking the time to process our year, 

growing and learning from all we encountered. 

introspection is where it's at! 

today I read through almost my whole journal from the past year,

and saw all the prayers and tears I poured onto the pages,

asking God to make me new, to grant me peace, to replace the unhealthy with the healthy.

And as I got to end, I realized,

the culmination of this year was that the Lord did 

just that. 

my heart was the last page, and it is

new

at peace

and healthy. 

This was one of the best years of my life, absolutely. 

From Asia, to Europe, to the Rice Fields…God did a miracle. 

Let's go…

Big Sur

We started off the year with some fun trips around California…driving up the Coast to Big Sur! It was beautiful and we got to spend time with Kev's brother and his wife!  {here}

Celebrated a Birthday

I'm all about themed dress up parties, and this was no exception! My sweet friend Chels and I co-hosted a Mad-Men styled themed birthday party! It was a blast. You can see more pics {here}

Nepal

The biggest most life-altering change was moving to Nepal. and it was AMAZING. 

We fell in love with the girls in the home where we worked {here}

learned the art of open air shopping for our food {here}

travled a lot around the country {Pokhara, Bhaktapur, Swayambou, Boudha, Pashuputi, Chitwan}

and just loved to explore our hometown of Kathmandu {here}

Europe 

 We were so blessed to get to fly to Europe for two weeks this summer to attend the wedding of our old exchange student Aline! {here}

Kev and I flew into Paris for 2 romantic days

Then met my family for a few week trip to Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, France, 

and finally Holland where the wedding was! We rented an adorable home in Delft! 

So much beauty {here} and a slew of pictures to come in 2014!!

 

Shooting a Wedding in Nepal

Out of the blue, a sweet couple who had found my blog, asked if I would shoot their wedding in Nepal.

I was honored! The day was absolutely stunning! 

To see more lovely pictures..{getting ready} {ceremony} {couple shots}

SE Asia

 After a very tearful goodbye in Nepal, Kevin and I took advantage of being in Asia

and spent almost a month traveling through Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. 

Thailand {Railey Beach, Phra Nang, Phra Nang at Night, The Islands}

Cambodia {Siem Reap, Angkor Wat, Countryside, Lotus Pond, Ton Le Sap Lake}

Vietnam {posts coming!!}

 The Farm

In a random but fun turn of events, my dad who is a rice farmer, suggested that if Kevin and I wanted

we could come home and work the rice harvest! 

And we thought…"why not?" {here}

It was an incredible experience!! I mean, come on…I drove a tractor! haha

Getting to farm with generations of family was amazing! 

{especially with my 90 year old grandfather blowing me kisses from the harvester!}

farm sunsets {here}

Channel Islands 

Much like starting the year with some trips around our native California, 

we ended the year by taking an incredible backpacking trip with my siblings to the Channel Islands!! 

To see more pictures {here}

Even though all the travel was amazing and incredible,

my favorite part of the year was seeing God work and mold

my anxious heart into a place of abundant peace! 

I will be sharing more about my peace journey this coming year, 

but a few posts related to this process are below:

forgiveness {here}

peace from pain {here}

my health journey {part 1} {part 2}

I am so excited for what 2014 has to offer. 

I find that HOPE seems to be spilling out everywhere I look. 

Many blessings on you this next year for:) 

May it be full of peace, freedom, and feeling LOVED and wanted by the King of Kings! 

much love,

Katie 

Going Amish...

It's a new year people! The holidays have waned, the ball has dropped, our Christmas tree is almost dead and must go soon (however I'm holding on as long as I can), and somehow the date is now 2012. Can it be?

When it comes to new years resolutions, i'm about as good as the rest of America- meaning my resolutions usually last all of....let's say....one week. Two if I'm lucky. But this year (after one of the craziest and intense of my life), my heart and mind have been nudging me into a new mindset. Instead of making a list of unrelated items associated with compartmentalized portions of my life, I felt like I needed to mentally ask myself where my life was going, and if I wanted it to be going that way. Had I made decisions this past year that blew me off course, and was I willing to take steps to put me back on track?

With all the willpower I could muster, I began praying and asking the Lord to guide my steps for 2012. Over and over again, I heard the Lord speaking the words "simplicity and kingdom" over me. And to be honest, the more i've thought about it, the more i've realized these two truths simply go together.

With some deep introspection, my magnifying glass upon this last year yielded some signs that indeed I was not going in the direction I desired my life to be about. I felt "busy" all the time, I was constantly over analyzing my decisions for the wedding, and heaped enormous expectations on people (including myself). In one way or another, I began to lose sight of the only treasure that really matters, and that is Jesus.

So with this New Years, I prayed about how to allow God to steer me back on the path of his grace and freedom. The quote from William Law that I spoke of last post has helped guide me "If you have not chosen the kingdom of God first, in will in the end make no difference what you have chosen instead." I deeply desire God first, and so with that I began to ask the Lord to help shed any obstacle hindering this heartbeat.

Now before I share my hopeful shapings of this year, I have a confession to make. I adore the Amish. If it was possible to have a crush on a "people group" I would have a major crush on the Amish. And here's why. They are courageous in the way they live. Their value on community, simplicity, economy and modesty, wrapped up in a reverent and honest love of the Lord, allow them a joy and freedom scarce found in our society. Yes, it is true that they do not use electricity, cars, cell phones, or God forbid....the internet, and we might ascertain that they are missing out on not only convenience but connection. How horrible it seems for us to imagine life without technology. And yet, I believe it is exactly their sacrifice that allows them to live full and relational lives.

The point is, I believe true life, abundant life, is often found in sacrifice. Cleaning the deepest facets of our life to bring God and others to the forefront. Time to connect, face to face, time to raise a barn together like the Amish and build relationships of healthy interdependence. God created Adam in his perfect image, and then knew that his perfect plan was for Adam to be in community, so created Eve. Community is God's perfect plan from the beginning. For me to be fully present, I had to make some sacrifices that in the short term may be hard, but in the long haul are God's perfect treasures:) I'm sure in the moment the Amish farmer may have wished he had the technology to build his barn in a day, but the blood sweat and tears that sustains him as he labors side by side his friends binds the friendships and the mutual feelings of accomplishment that last a lifetime. I want to invest in the eternal, I want my actions and choices to be those that last a lifetime:)

So, while I haven't donned a bonnet or bought a horse and buggy, I am working on making decisions out of sacrifice that lead me deeper into the heart of God. Here are a few "mind-set shifts" that i'm beginning this year:

- Going part-time: For the past 3 years I've worked full time at Empowering Lives International. I've loved my job, working to make an impact in East Africa. About 6 months ago, I felt a strong desire to go part time, in an effort to create more space to commune with others. I deeply desire to build a home for my husband and I, and to be available for spontaneous outings with friends, family and even God. I long for times of reading, and resting, and opening my heart and soul. Society may tell me that it isn't financially smart to go part-time right now, that I should be working and saving up money. But Jesus said "you cannot serve both God and money" and if my ultimate goal is pleasing him, and I feel He is calling me in that direction, I will follow, and pursue his eternal plans for Kingdom living. Fresh winds, and I'm excited:)

- Going off facebook: This one may seem trivial, but I found that often I spent too much time just mindlessly scrolling through the newsfeed. And when I really thought about it, I realized that I was not "truly" connecting with someone when I looked through their pictures. I want to be intentional about reaching out to people in person, to hear their voice on the phone, or to make a special visit to see them face to face, or send a hand written card letting them know i'm thinking of them. In no way do I condemn social media, but I think it's easy to lose sight of what it really means to have a deep connection with someone, a bonding of heart to heart. So I hope to be more intentional with all of you this year:)

-Reading biographies: Reading can open up worlds, ideas, and inspiration. I believe personal story and testimony is so valuable, and I long to be encouraged by the lives of others. This past year I spent time reading biographies on Hudson Taylor and Corrie Ten Boom, and it changed my life and perception of faith. Their stories moved my soul. My Grandma (who was a missionary for over 30 years in Southeast Asia) are planning to read biographies together this year. We are starting with the biography of Amy Carmichael, and i'm really excited! More on that to come!

-Praying for the world in a year: Kevin and I found this incredible book called "Operation World" that has every country listed in it, complete with prayer requests and information about each country. I printed out a list of all the countries in the world, and cut them up, and put them into a special box I deco-pauged. Every night we take turns picking out a country. Already we are learning SO much about random countries we didn't even know existed, and feel so stoked that we get to pray into being something that might not have happened if we didn't pray. I love that God hears our prayers, and honors them.

-Perspectives Class: Last year, while Kevin was in Indonesia, I had the opportunity to take the Perspectives class. If you've never taken it, or have never heard of it, all I can say is...you are missing out big time. It was the most incredible class ever. It's nation wide and is offered every spring and fall in various locations. It walks through the world christian movement, and is both incredibly moving, interesting and challenging. They fly in qualified dynamic speakers who have experience all over the world. Kevin and I feel called to reach the nations for Christ, whether here or abroad, and we are looking forward to taking it as a couple this spring. If anyone in the OC wants to take it with us, we are starting next week, so let me know:) We are ready to be challenged and grow in new ways in our knowledge of what God is doing worldwide!

-Dinner Dates: Food brings people together, and opens hearts in a very unique way. When we break bread and share a meal together, we are friends and have the ability to speak in to each others lives. I love that. Henri Nouwen (my favorite author) suggests that "Hospitality ...is not to change people, but to offer them space where change can take place...where strangers can enter and discover themselves as created free; free to sing their own song, speak their own languages, dance their own dances; free also to leave and follow their own vocations. Hospitality is not a subtle invitation to adopt the life style of the host, but the gift of a chance for the guest to find his own". I love this idea, and have found that as a guest of others, I too have been encouraged to be free and live as God created me. Our prayer is that we will be intentional about inviting others over to our home, and that they would feel loved and welcome:)

I suppose I could continue on, but I'm excited about the treasures that this new mind-set shift will bring. I'm looking forward to having more time, to being intentional, and to times of introspection and great learning. And I'm excited to journey with all of you:)

Much much love...

love Katie