Things That are Wonderful

As this semester draws to a close, I can look back and see how much I have changed over the past four months. I can see how much God has taught me and how much I have grown. It's funny to me that the concepts of spirituality that I have finally grasped seem so fundamental, yet it took me 23 years to comprehend them. But isn't that what is so wonderful about a relationship with God? He is always changing us; there is always more to know about Him and room to grow in our relationship with Him. This is not all that is wonderful about a relationship with God. I could attempt to list other things but I'm afraid that would fill up countless entries.

Child of God

This song touched my heart today.

With every breath with every thought
From what it seem to that deepest part
I offer all that I've come to be
To know your love Fathering me

Father your all I need
My soul's sufficiency
My strength when I am weak
The love that carries me
Your arms unfold me
Till I am only
A Child of God

With every step on this journeys walk
And wisdom songs that the soul has sought
I give myself unreservedly
to know your love
Fathering me.

Father your all I need
My soul's sufficiency
My strength when I am weak
The love that carries me
Your arms unfold me
Till I am only
A child of God

My Interesting Life

I talked to Luke today. He is currently driving through Idaho on his way to Utah. Utah will be his 32nd state to visit since June and I can't believe he's made it this far! It seems like just yesterday he was planning for his trip and now he's almost finished. (You can read about it at lukecopeland.blogspot.com) So, Luke asks me, "Katie, what's been going on in your life lately?" What do you tell someone you haven't spoken to in a month about what's going on in your life? I realized that all I could really tell this person who is traveling to all 50 states in a year is, "Well, school and reading, and that's about it. I've been really happy." I mean, really?? So now I'm thinking, my life has got to be more interesting than "school and reading" so, here goes.... Interesting things going on in my life:

1. God. I believe that God is the most interesting thing in my life so I'm gonna put that at number one. You can never get enough of God and you can never learn all that there is to know about God. You can never fully understand or comprehend God and the love He has for us. He is always teaching me new things and I'm always learning more about him. What's He doing in my life right now? He's teaching me about love. He's teaching me that love is the most important thing in this world and love is how you show people who Jesus is. Love them. Love them no matter what.

2. Friends. I adore my friends. The great thing about friends is that you have different friends for different stages in your life. I have been blessed this month by getting to catch up with many different friends from different stages of my life. It's awesome how I can call them up and it's like we were never apart. I love that! My family also falls under this category... my family is awesome and I can't wait to see them all next weekend when I go home for Easter.

3. Washington DC and St. Thomas. I'm going to both of those places in May!! I'm going to Washington with William to vist Brad and then to St. Thomas with my roomie Allison for 10 days!!! After that I have to find a job. Um, I'm in no hurry.

4. The Outdoors. (This includes soccer and the beach.) The weather has been absolutely gorgeous lately and I am loving it! I've gotten to spend some time laying out with Allison in the back yard and having some good talks. There is nothing that I love more then spending time enjoying God's creation, chatting with a friend, or reading a good book.

5. Excercise. I love it!! I've taken a new interest in lifting weights thanks to good ol' Body Pump. It kicks my butt, but it's awesome. I also have rediscovered my love for running. There was a period in my life (um, the last 2 years) where I couldn't bring myself to go running at all. Now I've worked myself back up to my 2 or so miles and I enjoy it so much, especially in this gorgeous weather or when I'm at the beach. It's quality time with God, really.

6. Dating. Yes, I'm dating.

This is getting lengthy so I'll have to put the rest of the details about my ever so interesting life on another post. I'm sure this has the thousands of you all fascinated!

Dosage Forms?

Yeah, I'm in class right now and should probably be paying attention to the dosage forms of hormones for menopause. However, I'm so burnt out on school that I really just do not care. Don't get me wrong, I really do enjoy the things I'm learning about, but the "8 Weeks of Hell" just wore me completely out. Let me give you an idea of what those 8 weeks were like....

Every day I would go to class in the morning from 8:00 or 9:00 (depending on the day) until noon. Then I would eat lunch, study, and then go back to class from 2-5. I would go home, change out of my school clothes and put on study clothes. Then I would pick up some type of food and go to the pharmacy school and sit in a study room from about 6:00 until midnight and sometimes later. Occassionally I would break up the routine and take a dinner break around 7:30 or something like that. This is what I did almost every day. On weekends I would wake up around 9 or 10 and go to the school and stay there all day only leaving to eat. Sunday I went to church and then ate and went to the school and stayed there until midnight or so. This was a difficult time for all of us P2's. It wasn't rare for me to just break down crying periodically because of the frustration.

So, there's an idea of how I spent my first two months of the semester. Despite the ridiculous schedule in January and February, I managed to spend some time reading my Bible and spending time with God. My time with God, along with all of the prayers, is what kept me going. It was a strange time for me because it was just me and God for the first time in my life. By that I mean I didn't have the normal support and constant "religious activies" I was used to. It was different for me to take a step back from it all and just see God without all of the "extra stuff" I was doing. I really have learned a lot about spirituality since that time. More on that later. When March came around and the 8 weeks were over, I became a new person. Not having a life or any free time for so long made me appreciate every little good thing about life. I am so happy and I find myself continuously thanking God for various things, anything and everything. God is amazing. God is faithful.

"Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable -if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things."
Philippians 4:8

The picture was taken at Panama City during spring break. Beautiful sunset.