The miraculous in the mundane

Mornings are kind of like a chaotic machine in this house. Everyone already knows what has to happen between 6-6:45 but somehow they need the gentle reminders from mom to feed the animals, get their lunches, brush their teeth etc... Normally after everyone leaves I like to try to get an extra 30 minutes of sleep in before I start my day because I already feel like I ran a mini marathon just getting them out the door. ha. But, for the past week the water has been shut off every day around 8:30 am-7pm more or less. I think it has something to do with preparations for el Niño since that is the reason for everything lately but I knew this morning that if I wanted to take a shower and do more than one load of laundry I had to get up to the roof (where our washing machine is) and do some laundry. So I said goodbye to my kids kissed my husband and gathered all our dirty clothes on my way up. I picked the most important stuff (school uniforms or Jose's stuff it's always a gamble) and prayed as I started that the water would stay on at least through the end of the rinse cycle. A couple days ago I tried to wash our sheets and the water cut off about 20 minutes in the washing machine paused but it didn't automatically restart and when the water came back on 9 hours later it was brown...It's really dark upstairs and I didn't realize it when I restarted the washer. I didn't know until I got back inside and by then the damage was done. The sheets aren't really stained but they smell so weird, I don't know if it's from sitting wet.but.not.washed.for.9 hours or from being rinsed in brown.for.unknown.reasons.water or a mix of both. So that's also in my pile of things to wash again today to try to get the funk out of the sheets. (thank you God we have 2 sets of sheets)

I had a long list of things to accomplish using water so I wanted to try to get them all done before 8
Take a shower. check
wash dishes. check
do another load of laundry. check
By then it was actually 9 and Jose showed up he needed to shower then we had some errands to run. I  thought we would be out of water for the day but when we got home I had water to do everything else I needed to. More cleaning, more laundry, and every time I turned the water on I held my breath expecting the sputtering sound of air escaping from empty pipes. And every time the water came out I said a quick "thank you Jesus." It might sound silly and some I know are used to it. I'm almost there. It's kind of just a part of life now that we may or may not have water or electricity or either and we may or may not know in advance if they will be cut. But I never would have dreamed that would be a part of my life or a part of being a missionary. Sometimes we think that miracles are only things like walking on the water and forget that there are so many miracles that happen every day and we are just used to them so we don't recognize them. So for right now a day of running water so I can catch up on housework was the miracle for me. But sometimes getting through homework with Tim (or him doing it with minimal help and understanding what he's doing) is the miracle. Or having a conversation with someone who doesn't speak any english is my miracle.

We have some friends who hashtag everything life is an adventure and I love that because that's kind of perfect. You never know what will happen in life no matter where you live and every day you have a choice to see it as an adventure or travesty. Sure there are frustrations. Sometimes you might feel like the person on the other side of the counter is trying to make sure you have a bad day. (Sometimes I feel that way) But only you have the power to let them ruin your day.

This verse usually only gets pulled out at the end of November as everyone is preparing to eat Turkey and gather with family. But I feel like it should be posted on the desk where you pay bills. Maybe in the car where you might deal with other people cutting you off. Personally I think I'm going to hang it on my kids doors so I can see it before I walk in and see what their rooms look like ;)

The more we begin to thank God for everything. The more we will see the miraculous in the mundane and the more we will see God using the little things in our lives to shape us into the finished product. 

Faithful

Around here we have been reading George Mueller. I was talking to my Mentor a few weeks ago and asked her what she is reading and she said "you know what? I'll send it to you" which sent little happy tingles up my spine because I love to read and books in english are not very common here. I waited (somewhat impatiently I admit) for the package and when it finally arrived it had a the biography of George Mueller in it. To be exact it had the exact one I read when I was a kid. Nostalgically I looked at the cover as Jose was reading because he jacked it from me. ;) But it's ok, I'm reading it now.
It's hard to imagine what it was like for him. His operating costs were about $400 a day and he never asked anyone for money. Only God. He never took matters into his own hands and got a second job he just relied completely on God. Now, I knew that. I had read it and it inspired me when I was 18 and single preparing to go to Russia. I worked hard to save money and told people what I was doing but I never asked anyone to give me money for the trip (as far as I can remember that was a long time ago) I enjoyed the adventure of it and the feeling of what I thought was total reliance on God. But in reality, if I had run out of money or had an emergency I wouldn't have called on God. I would have called on mom and dad. That was the real extent of my faith at that time. I knew that nothing would happen out of my control because my parents were there to help if I needed it.
Now it's 10 years later and I'm a missionary again. This time I'm not single. Now I'm a mom. And this whole living on faith thing is hard. When you are relying on a physical person you pick up the phone, hear their voice, tell them your problem and listen to their audible answer. When you are relying on an invisible God it doesn't work like that. Getting in touch with him is much easier. He never misses your call actually. But hearing the audible answer or seeing the results of your call for help are a little harder most of the time. It exposes you. You realize that maybe you aren't as full of faith as you thought you were. So that's where I am. Struggling to show myself faithful. Faithful to trust in God even when I think there will never be an answer to my call. Faithful to continue running to him when I have a problem instead of running to someone I can see/feel/hear. Just faithful.  
I want to be that person. The faithful, doubtless Christian.

Do everything without complaining and arguing, so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people. Hold firmly to the word of life; then, on the day of Christ’s return, I will be proud that I did not run the race in vain and that my work was not useless. But I will rejoice even if I lose my life, pouring it out like a liquid offering to God, just like your faithful service is an offering to God. And I want all of you to share that joy. Yes, you should rejoice, and I will share your joy. Philippians 2:14-18

This is the real me

I'm sure that there are many women in the world that have lived in a world similar to the one I find myself in. A world where being punched in the shoulder is a very meaningful sign of affection. A world where princesses on the television cause a quick dash for the remote but if there is gunfire or swordplay you better believe we will at least stick to the station until the next commercial. Yes my friends. I am talking about my home where 5 out of 6 residents are male. I happen to be the remaining 1.
Being surrounded by men has it's benefits and it's challenges. While I love it, every once in a while I miss the energy of women. I love how women can be 15 or 75 and they still think and act almost identical. Every woman I know looks at their reflection and can pick out at least 5 things that they don't like. But we deny that our friends have any physical flaws vehemently. And when we get together. It's magical. Like being transported to a place where there are no consequences for eating way too much chocolate. A place where feather boas are a must! Where no matter how tired you may be you still want to stay up and talk for 5 more minutes. That is what "This Is The Real Me" was like

Kari Jobe led worship. It was one of the first times in my life I went expecting a performance and experienced a worship service. I've always been one to prefer men's voices over women's. Just a personal preference, but listening to 600 or so women worshiping God from the bottom of their hearts was awe inspiring. And I got to sit next to Kari Jobe during the ministry time. So fun!

Isn't she cute? (and isn't that the girliest thing you have ever heard?)

Pastor Sheila Gerald ministered the first night and to start she told us all to look into the eyes of the person next to us and very sincerely say "your butt looks good in that" Then she said I know you where all worried about it and now you don't have to be. SO true.

I could go on and on about how much fun I had and how great it was but I will finish with this.

God has graced me with some of the best and sweetest friends on earth. It doesn't matter how far away we are from each other because I know they will always be there for me. I didn't get pictures with all of them but here are the few I did get.

 
                                   

You girls make me think of Philippians 1:3

"I thank my God upon every remembrance of you"

I do. I am blessed beyond words to know you

And now, what we've all been waiting for

I just spent about 2 hours researching some stuff for a video I'm making for the conference next week. I never, ever thought a phrase like that would be coming from my mouth...er, fingers?
I am now very tired of research and ready to be done with it.
Today is September 30th which means I am leaving in 5 days to visit my family and have a blast at "This is the Real Me" I have been looking forward to this conference for awhile and I can't wait to be there! Plus, bonus: My sister seems to have been blessed with the ability to have a baby girl which so far has been un-attainable for me. (Pray for me ya'll, I have been out numbered for years. This house needs some estrogen ;)
When I go to Houston I get to see her for the first time. Ya'll better believe I'm not letting go of her until I leave...if then. :p

Anyway, the next several days will be busy for me getting ready to go etc... Then I will be in Houston so I may not blog for that time but I get make a special announcement today!

JOSE IS BLOGGING! Prepare yourself for the awesomeness! He will be sharing his daily thoughts right here on our little blog. Now we can finally live up to our name (joseandkat.blogspot) so with out further ado I will hand you over to my very capable husband.

See you in a couple weeks
Kat ~*

Friends and Girlfriends!

It's been 3 weeks since we moved out of our house and started staying with friends. In those three weeks we have not had a single night in. SO fun! I've spent so much time with friends these past few weeks that in a way it makes leaving a little harder. I'm still excited to go and I have never doubted this call on our lives. I will however miss these sweet people I do life with. I have also seen how much our friends love us. It takes a good friend to let a whole family invade your house for weeks at a time.
My friends have changed their plans so they could spend time with me, babysit at the last minute for me and have just generally been awesome. And that's just in the last month or so.
Thank you to all my friends! You guys are awesome! I love you

I'm sure I will continue to gush about my awesome friends over the next few weeks especially in August when I visit my 2 childhood bff's Jami and Lydia (It's gonna' be like Christmas for me :)

In other news I will be returning to Houston October 8th & 9th "This Is The Real Me" A women's conference at Jordan Ranch. They will be featuring our ministry and I am super excited about it. Kari Jobe will be there and Sheila Gerald and Pastor Rose Watkins will be speaking. It will be amazing! If you want to go you can register Here for more information go here
It doesn't get much better than that. Girls night (can we say slumber party?) Awesome ministry and radiant worship. And did I mention I will be there? Come hang out with me!