I love to cook and if I don’t say so myself, I’m pretty good at it. There’s just one thing…it’s not so fun when cooking for one.

I came home tonight and instead of eating left over spaghetti…again, I decided to make my super good, super low fat Chicken Pot Pie. Then I remembered that the recipe feeds six, so I cut the ingredients in half. There are only so many times you can eat the same thing in a week.

Plus, half of the fun in cooking is enjoying the end result with others and on those occasions when the recipe is a flop, and there are those times, you have someone to commiserate with. You have someone to say, “How about peanut butter and jelly sandwiches tonight?”

But hey, let’s look on the brighter side, as I enjoy my dinner tonight, at least I get to look forward to my lunch tomorrow. And the day will come, I’m sure, that I will have to cook for a house full and I will miss the evenings, way back when, when all I had to do was pull out the left overs.

So, what do you have for dinner tonight?

So, guess what I saw on the way home from work. Uhh…how did you guess?!?

This picture does not do it justice but I was kind of in the middle of traffic. I was at a stoplight talking to my sweet friend, Julia from back home and I looked up and there it was. I just had to take a picture. Julia was gracious enough to laugh at my enthusiasm during the entire photo shoot.

The thing that struck me about it was that the backdrop to the beautiful miracle was so dark and foreboding. Reminds me of life sometimes…so dark, yet the Creator is so eager to show off His handywork in our lives. We get so wrapped up in the backdrop and we miss the miracles right in front of us.

I’m glad I didn’t miss this one.

What a week it has been! On the outset of this post, two things stand out to me the most.

 1.   I love my job!

       and

 2.   I have never been more proud to be apart of Exodus International.

Most of my job this week consisted of running errands, making sure the sessions ran smoothly, and doing my favorite thing in the world…talking and meeting with people, all of which was very affirming and encouraging.

The thing that stood out to me the most this week was that God made room for ME in this ministry…somehow that still leaves me speechless.

We had a free evening during the week and I was able to go to a local restaurant downtownwith many of my new friends. Well, along the way I got to see some of the beauty that is in this city that is my new home.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    The speakers this week were amazing and in a way that only God could have ordained, they all flowed with such an incredible impact. Through the speakers I was challenged, encouraged, and convicted. I also found my pastor in David Uth from First Baptist.

However, my favorite part of the week was watching my boss at work…He is so good at what he does and I found myself at several times during the week thanking the Lord that I have a role in his work. Thanking the Lord that I get to come alongside him and support him in his vision and passion. It is such an amazing priviledge to serve him!

And when I think about all of the human reasons why I shouldn’t be here that Satan would love for me to listen to, it makes me even more thankful that our God’s sovereignty rules over human reasoning. 2006 is going to be an amazing year in the life of Exodus I wouldn’t miss it for the world!

More fun pictures from this week…

Updated 1/28/06

Randy shares his thoughts on the conference here.

Thirteen words that describe the past four days in Kathrynland…

1. Exhilirating; I love the controlled chaos of the behind the scenes of putting together a conference!

2. Exhausting…in the best way possible.

3. Restful; It may seem like a contradiction with the previous word but check out that bed…by far my favorite thing about the hotel!

4. Convicting; there are several things that I am definitely going to be “walking out” with the Lord in the coming months.

5. Frustrating; Coming home this afternoon I came home to an apartment that had electricity in only half of the rooms and since I only have two real rooms…yeah, you get the picture. I now have my refrigerator plugged into an extension cord that is crossing over my living room.

6. Educational; not only in topic but in experience as well.

7. Relational; I met so many people this week and it was so great to put faces with names and to get to know my new Exodus family. I also got to spend some precious time with some dear friends.

8. Challenging; We were exhorted to get out of our comfort zones more than once this week and I thought to myself…well, I’ve already done that so, not to worry. Well, the Lord pointed out the zones that have already grown comfortable since coming to Orlando.

9. Fun…Fun…Fun

10. Thankful; the power is completely back on! Thank you, Jesus!

11. Adventurous; to get from the hotel to the church we had to take the city bus that runs in downtown Orlando. It was fun and I loved feeling like a big city girl.

12. Contentment; there is not much I can say about this…I just feel it in so many areas of my life.

13. Unity; I have never felt more a part of a group of people, outside of my family, in my life.

 

Links to other Thursday Thirteen’s

1. Randy

 

So, I’m back from the conference and I have so much to share, however the sleep deprivation is starting to get the best of me and I fear that if I share tonight most of want to say will be lost in the blubbering of my mind.

So until tomorrow…

rightfaith.blogspot.com listed my site among their list of blogs that mentioned Sanctity of Life.

It was neat to go through some of them and read their take on the day.

Thanks Right Faith, I am honored that you mentioned me in your list!

Today, churches all over the country observed the sanctity of human life.

My church back home celebrated life with a Baby Dedication service and I always enjoyed those. The daddys and momas holding on to their little ones asking the Lord to show His favor on their little lives. 

At First Baptist of Orlando there was no baby dedication but there was a powerful word from the Lord about why our lives are sacred. Is it the size of the life in question, or it’s level of development? Is it the environment it is in, or is the degree of dependency it has? No. Our lives are sacred not because of who we are but because of Who created us.

13 For you created my inmost being;
       you knit me together in my mother’s womb.

 14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
       your works are wonderful,
       I know that full well.

 15 My frame was not hidden from you
       when I was made in the secret place.
       When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,

 16 your eyes saw my unformed body.
       All the days ordained for me
       were written in your book
       before one of them came to be.

Psalm 139:13-16

Pastor David Uth said something this morning that I just had to write down…”Abortion has been made a political bean bag but in reality, abortion isn’t a political issue at all. We are fighting for the right of every democrat baby, republican baby, and independent baby.” I love the truth in that!

For a year and a half, before I moved in September, I volunteered at the Crisis Pregnancy Center in Columbus, GA every Thursday afternoon. As I sat in church this morning I thought of Chrissy, Jackie, and Tiffany.

Chrissy was the first abortion minded girl I counseled. She was 18 and scared and I bonded with her in a way I never allowed myself to with any other girl. By the time she left the center she had decided to keep her baby. She was excited and I was excited for her. The very next day we got a call at the center. It was Chrissy…she had lost her baby.

Jackie was a 17 year old rebellious teenager who grew up in a Christian home. She came in the center thinking she might be pregnant. Even though her test was negative we sat in that counseling room for 2 hours while she talked and I listened. Sometimes I think the Lord sent her in there just so she could talk to someone.

Tiffany was one of the last girls I saw at the center. She was 26 and she was married. That is all I knew when I went in the room and I thought…”This will be a good one, she’s married!” Well she was pregnant with her best friend’s baby and her husband was in Iraq. She was set on an abortion. She already a little boy and since she had already had an abortion years earlier, what was the big deal. Yet God sent her to us anyway. As she left the center, Tiffany gave me no reason to believe that she would keep her baby.

I have no idea where these three ladies are, but I will always remember their names and I will never forget their faces. Chrissy’s excitement, Jackie’s defiance, and Tiffany’s wounded and haunted face. I do know, however, that the God of all Creation holds them in His hands and loves them unconditionally. He has a plan for their lives and I pray that they tap into that plan and the love that He so desperately longs to give them.

This morning I also thought of the sweet ladies that work on the front lines back home. Mrs. Carol, Robyn, Chris, Anne, and Beth…my Thursday afternoon crew. They taught me so much about the Lord and trusting Him through the valleys of life. I miss you so much and I pray God’s blessings on you and yours for the work you do.

 

In honor of my very dear friend Maria, I have met my first PhotoFriday challenge. 

Smile, Maria…pink is your friend!

Click here to see what PhotoFriday is all about.

So it seems as if I am playing catch up with all the meme’s of the week. Well, better late than never.

4 Movies You Could Watch Over and Over

1. Steel Magnolias

2. Anything with Matthew McConaughey…I could just listen to him talk all day.

3. Breakfast At Tiffany’s

4. Disney’s Beauty and the Beast… hey, don’t look at me like that. I was a nanny for four years!

4 Places You Have Lived

1. The house on New Campleton Rd. in Columbus, GA

2. The house where my family still lives in Midland, GA

3. Sanford (Nowhere), NC for a summer with the family I was a nanny for.

4. Most recently, Maitland, FL.

4 TV Shows You Love To Watch

1. Gilmore Girls

2. LOST

3. Grey’s Anatomy

4. Reba

4 Places You Have Been On Vacation

1. Hawaii…twice!

2. Hilton Head, SC

3. Asheville, NC

4. Destin & Panama City, FL more times than I can count.

4 Websites You Visit Daily

1. www.exodus.to

2. www.weatherchannel.com I have to check to see whether it will be a good or bad aches and pains day. Yesterday was a bad one.

3. www.yahoomail.com

4. www.hgtv.com According to my sweet moma…I won’t win the HGTV Dream Home unless I register EVERY day!

4 Of Your Favorite Foods

1. Daddy’s oatmeal cookies

2. Moma’s broccoli casserole

3. I’m a big pasta fan.

4. And there is nothing quite like a big fat juicy orange

4 Places You Would Rather Be Right Now

1. Europe…please don’t ask me to pick one country…I could never pick just one.

2. Colorado…I want to go skiing again…it has been so long.

3. Home…my time there is too short and each time there is someone I don’t get to see.

4. New York City…I only spent about 12 hours there when I was 17. I loved it and would love to go back!

Okay, now it’s your turn.

Another one from Randy for me to try…

1. I realize that it isn’t Thursday anymore, but can I just tell you how crazy this week has been…

2. I love lazy Friday nights at home.

3. Audrey Hepburn is one of my favorite actresses.

4. I just spent the past hour and a half talking to one of my best friends on the phone…Love ya Jen!

5. Tomorrow I am going apartment shopping because they are converting mine into condos. Umph!

6. Artichokes are my new favorite veggie.

7. Brown is my new favorite color.

8. Michael Buble` is my new favorite singer. His music has movement.

9. I am so excited about next weeks Exodus Leadership Conference.

10. I plan to sleep in tomorrow, which means that with the delivery trucks arriving at the Publix right in front of my apartment, I’ll sleep until about 7:30…a whole 30 minutes more than usual.

11. My favorite word in the english language is loquacious. It just sort of rolls off your tongue.

12. My middle name is Amber…I was named after both of my grandmothers. Kathryn is my maternal grandmother’s first name and Amber is my paternal grandmother’s middle name. Quite a legacy was left to me in those names. I treasure that.

13. I love the new Fresca flavors…they are so fun!