katie rose writes

So, it has taken me a few days to write this. But, after much deliberation, I decided that my words just cannot do this verse justice. Therefore, here is John Gill's Exposition of the Bible, expounding upon Proverbs 28:1... "The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion." The wicked flee when no man pursueth,.... Through the terrors of a guilty conscience, as in Cain and others; who fear where no immediate cause of fear is, are frightened with their own shadows; and as Gaal was with the shadow of the mountains, he took for an army of men, as his friend told him, Judges 9:36 ; they are chased with the sound of a shaken leaf, and fancy men are at their heels to destroy them, and therefore with all haste flee to some place of safety; see Leviticus 26:17 ; but the righteous are bold as a lion; which turns not away from any creature it meets with, nor mends its pace when it is pursued, but walks on intrepidly, and oftentimes lies down and sleeps...

I'll confess it again. Hello, My Name is Katie, and I'm a Perfectionist. All kidding aside. God has completely been teaching me how to break this part of my character. Sure, it comes in handy, when I'm completing schoolwork, but what God is really trying to teach me is that I, myself, do not have to be perfect. He's reminded me of it in two sermons I've heard recently. Here are the quotes. ...Righteousness is not perfection, it's direction: Depending on the power and the presence of another to make you right, while doing everything you can to honor the One who made you that way. ...Spiritual maturity is not perfection. It's fighting tooth and nail, and failing bunches, until the spiritual beats the flesh more often than the other way around. I don't have to be perfect. You don't have to be perfect. None of us do! And I think it is time we are starting living with this fact. We have already been made perfect. Hebrews says... "The law is on...

...there is no pit too deep, that Jesus cannot reach, there is no sorrow so strong, that will overtake His beloved one...and He's brought me to the wilderness, where I will learn to sing, and He lets me know my barrenness so I will learn to lean...Beautiful Mercy, do what You have to do, Jealous Lover, do what You have to do, You know the best way... ("Beautiful Mercy" by Laura Hackett) Let those words sink in. Read them again. Maybe listen to the song here . (I highly reccomend it.) Now check out these words from Hosea. But first, think about that book in the Bible... Hosea is a prophet, asked by God to marry a prostitute. Why? To show God's intense love for Israel, despite the fact that she, too, is a prostitute. To show us, the new Israel, the Church, how much He loves us, despite how we run after other lovers. I've been reading a book called, "Do You Think I'm Beautiful?" by Laura Hackett. (I also highly recommend it!) Today I read about ...

So, some of you may already know my story about Genesis 28:15, but I am going to say it again here, with some new thoughts added, because, as I talked with a friend today, God taught me a new lesson about it. As He loves to do, yes? :) Genesis 28:15 "Behold! I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land . For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you." So, I have 2 lessons from this verse (so far). The first involves the italicized part of the verse, learned almost 8,000 miles from where I sit right now. The second, fresh from today at home, involves the bold word. 1. I read this verse for the first time 8,000 miles away, in a beautiful country known as Hindustan (literally, the land of Hindus), or, more commonly, India. Before I left the US, I was given a prayer journal from a friend. I used this thing religiously (no pun intented). Through it, I learned the power of prayer--how God listens and He respon...

So, today at church, during the sermon, many questions were posed to me. Before reading them, check out our text from today: Matthew 6:16-33. I know it is a passage read many, many times. But read it slowly. I'll put the verses beside the questions. Reread them with the questions. vs. 16-18 ...From where do I draw my worth? From people or from God? (see galatians 1:10) ...What do I glory in? Myself or the mystery (see col. 1:27b) ...Am I secure enough in Christ to truly believe that God will reward the secret things that no one else esteems? (vs 18 specifically) vs. 19-21 ...What are my "treasures"? Where are they? To what end do they exist? (Earthly or Eternal) vs. 22-23 ...Am I seeing clearly? ...Are my eyes looking through this life toward eternity? vs. 24 ... Where does my allegiance lie? vs. 33 ...Do I really believe that? The question in bold is the question from which all the other questions stem. You take a few minutes to think about that...before continuing...

Deuteronomy 33:29 "Happy are you, O Israel! Who is like you,a people saved by the LORD, the shield of your help,and the sword of your triumph!" I found that verse last night because I was searching the word "happy" because I felt truly happy last night. Here's a few reasons why... I got to talk with one of my good friends on skype for literally 2 and 1/2 hours yesterday. We talked about nothing & everything. She sang wonderful songs to me. I shared a bit of Indian culture with her (sarees & salwars!) I got to "see" my grandbig sis (like in a sorority, but it's called a social tribe...), who is currently serving our Father in the philippines right now, on skype and talk for awhile. She encouraged me so much. I was talking with her about how I miss the routine of India--of getting up & going out and meeting people and sharing with them--and she said THE perfect thing: "Well, be encouraged, you're being filled now to be emp...

Psalm 63:8..."My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me." So, these past few days have been a lot of "clinging." To memories, to names, to people, to places. A lot of clinging to things that have slipped out of my grasp for now. But now I must choose to cling to my God--the one who has promised to me just what He promised Jacob--Genesis 28:15--"Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land . For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you." And He upholds me. With His word. In the L3 journal, we've been reading through Proverbs. The last 2 nights have both held verses that comfort me, amidst this clinging. Proverbs 14:10 "The heart knows it's own bitterness, and no strangers shares its joy." Proverbs 15:13 "A glad heart makes the face cheerful..." The first verse shows me that a lot of people aren't going to fully understand everything th...

Home...wherever the will of the Lord places me. I'm slowly but surely learning that statement. Yesterday (actually, today...) I boarded a plane and left my beloved India. I truly did fall in love with it. I truly do think God is drawing me back there someday, probably for life. But I also realize that coming back is just as important. On our last day of debriefing, we sang "Overcome"...the 2nd verse says, "...You're sending us out, a light in this broken land"--and as soon as we sang that, it clicked. I am GOING back home. I am still on mission, every single day, no matter where I am (and so are YOU, whoever & wherever YOU are)! And as I sat in the Chicago airport, I realized that I could still feel the darkness around me. The darkness of lostness. You see, in South Asia, it is felt the most strongly (in my opinion), because it is so evidently seen, with visible, stone idols everywhere you turn. In America, the idols are hidden, deep within heart...