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katieanne41
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Name: Katie
Birthday: 6/21/1983
Gender: Female
Interests: baseball (go cubbies), college basketball, making art,reading, writting, the symphony, the city, art gallieries, jazz, blues, learning the guitar, roadtrips,books,music,films- esp foreign and indie, changing the world
Occupation: Student
Message: message me
AIM:  katieanne41
Member Since:
1/2/2005
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| i know its been a while.. and youve missed me terribley!
but i actually have something run and exciting to write about!! Today might of been one of the best days/weekends of my life. i left Friday around noon and made the 4.5 hour drive down to baton rouge by myself- which i totally enjoyed. We are talking windows down music blaring and i found a stack or REALLY old cds that i haven’t listened to in the longest time. i rolled in to baton rouge early enough to see stephanie off to her retreat and then just chilled out the rest of the night at her apartment. Played a little guitar, finished memoirs of a geisha and was asleep by 10.30 :) woke up at the butt crack of dawn (6.30) to hit the road for t he big easy for class. rolled in just in time for the 9 o clock start time but without a much needed lunch- no fear though i was offered my very first MRE- meal ready to eat that is. Chicken Catalonia was on the menu and it really wasn’t all too bad, top it off with a mint brownie, pretzels and peanut butter a cool aid jammer... and that’s a meal people! Went to first Baptist new Orleans to sit in on a training thing for the celebration of hope that is coming to nola. It was interesting,, but since i was not planning on attending or being a counselor- no real reason for being there...but afterwards my class got to sit down with the pastor and he shared about what ministry has been like since Katrina. It was so encouraging to hear him talk about the needs and the task at hand to "wash feet" to just serve, to build, to rebuild and to love. He spoke of the provisions of God over the past few month and spoke of His faithfulness and sovereignty. That’s a dang good time.
Watched a movie, met some cool people- got offered a place to stay in new Orleans on Saturday nights by the ONLY other girl in my class (this will amazingly come in handy later down this story)
After class I had my “interview” about this internship I inquired about in the quarter at this very cool art gallery. I am so pumped about this opportunity to learn more about the gallery world but also its pretty much my foot in the door in the art scene in new Orleans. It will give me amazing opportunity to build relationships with local artists and be able to minister to them.. .Well I have been chatting with Taylor for the last couple of days, and I walked into meet him this afternoon. SO very cool. We immediately hit it off. He and his dad are co owners of the gallery and after about 20 min of talking- he decided I needed to meet his dad. Get this craziness! After asking me where I went to school, Don- aka Dad remarks with-“ I almost went to school there! “ He gets so excited when I proceed to tell him what I am studying and how I see art being a huge part of it. He wants to make plans to sit down and chat more about this and bounce some ideas off of me! So starting the 25th when I head down for class im going to stay the night with my new friend kimberlie in new Orleans on Saturday night- after working the afternoon at gallery Delray and then work with them on Sunday before heading back north in time to catch the journey on Sunday nights. How pumped am i?? Then when the summer comes, and I move down for good- they are going to hire me on as staff! As part time or full time as I want.
Wait wait… it gets better… im walking back to my car- to hit the road.. and who do I see on Jackson square set up with his paper cut out prints?! JACK! Yuuuppp the artist who I talked with a lot on the square on Saturdays! I’ve thought of him a lot since I left the city- wondering if he got out and if he would be returning- and there he was!! We talked for a long while and the conversation always seems to find its way back to God. Jack knows the word- and has a lot of knowledge of history- but it def gets lost somewhere in his head in there… He refers to God as “my god” and has some very lost ideas about what He is like and what christians are like- conversations are always very interesting. – ask me more about this if you want to know- and def pray for him and our conversations.
Well I guess that’s all for now
Thanks for reading !
kates
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| read it... thought id share...
www.relevantmagazine.com
We are the hollow men
We are the stuffed men
Leaning together
Headpiece filled with straw, Alas!
Our dried voices, when
We whisper together
Are quiet and meaningless
As wind in dry grass
Or rats’ feet over broken glass
In our dry cellar
Shape without form, shade without colour,
Paralyzed force, gesture without motion;
—T.S. Eliot
These lines are haunting. Can you hear the voices of mankind whispering into the wind? Can you feel the sense of waste from knowing that our voices somehow do not make it past our own lips, rendering our words meaningless?
My mind conjures up piles of scarecrows, heaped together to burn now that the crops have been harvested. The straw spilling out from behind the painted paper faces; the empty stares from the button eyes of all the scarecrows … It is my great fear that I will look into the mirror someday and see a scarecrow, blind and dumb, lifeless and ready for destruction.
Are we the stuffed men?
Paralyzed Force
When I survey our American culture and the evangelical landscape, I think of the words “Paralyzed force, gesture without motion …” I wonder if our faith has turned into stone, like the characters in Narnia. It is like we are the living dead in a cold world desperate for spring.
It all sounds so doom and gloom, so medieval. Is it a good thing to talk of life—or faith—in these terms? I don’t know. But it is sobering, at least to me.
J. Gresham Machen, founder of Westminster Seminary, had much to say about the decay of the modern Christian influence upon culture:
“The loss is clearest, perhaps, in the realm of art. Despite the mighty revolution, which has been produced in the external conditions of life, no great poet is now living to celebrate the change; humanity has suddenly become dumb. Gone, too, are the great painters and the great musicians and the great sculptors. The art that still subsists is largely imitative, and where it is not imitative it is usually bizarre. Even the appreciation of the glories of the past is gradually being lost ..."
My mind tends to rest on the current role of the Church within culture. It is true we must adapt to the times we live in, but I think it folly to assert that orthodox or traditional ways of worship are irrelevant simply because they are old.
Timeless Faith
How do we create culture? Are the Church’s methods of cultural engagement working? The Church seems to be working on the assumption that all it needs to do to be relevant to culture is present itself “like” the culture. This cannot be the way.
What makes a car or sofa or necktie “vintage”? They have certain timeless qualities. A red Ford Mustang will never be out of style. It is from the first generation of cars that many engineers receive their inspiration to make adjustments and improvements.
There are aspects of our faith that do not change, although they are often overlooked.
Instead of coming up with ways to get unbelievers into churches and saved, might it be a better idea to get ourselves into the unbeliever’s lives? And what is it that these unbelievers will see in the followers of The Way?
Perhaps we need to work on re-inventing the discipleship process so it becomes more than a weekly “check-in” meeting and more about “life-on-life” relationship building. I told a friend of mine that I did not believe in “accountability groups.” He responded that we need accountability in our lives. With this I agree, but not in the current paradigm. Why is it so hard to break free of a workbook and a program? The most real experience I ever had in accountability was mountain biking with my brother-in-law. We rode as much as we could together, and after trust was established it was natural for each of us to share what was really going on in our lives.
Another aspect of our faith that remains timeless may be even more difficult to embrace in our frenzied world. There is much to be said regarding spiritual disciplines. It is paramount that Christians learn the importance of cultivating a disciplined spiritual life (solitude, silence, fasting, study, reflection, etc.). The disciplines are almost a dying art reserved for true ascetics and extremists. Christ would often, before and after He would preach and heal, steal off alone on the mountainside to pray. He sought out solitude and spent time cultivating communion with the Father. The disciplines stretch and bend us so that we resemble less of who we used to be and more of Christ. They serve as a barometer for intimacy.
Breeding intimacy within our spiritual community might be the foremost ingredient to relevance. The deeper I can truly love someone without necessarily understanding every aspect of their being is where the finite leaves off and the infinite picks up. If we can just get past the “instant everything” mentality drilled into us by culture, then perhaps we may actually take the time to roll up our sleeves and learn that loving people means hurting and bleeding with them. The fruit of deep relationships may not be measurable in terms of numbers, but it certainly is measurable in terms of eternity.
Somewhere in the mix we have veered off the narrow path to the path of least resistance. For some reason the “old” way of “doing” church has been packed away. The conundrum of how best to stay relevant in culture forces churches to pick between power point and power-less.
Loving someone deeply is a universal act that will never go out of style. People love to be loved. The quickest way to pry someone open in culture is not necessarily to blow him or her away with impressive marketing, slick advertising or catchy slogans. These are modern tools used to get into people's minds and effective ways to change cultural ethos. However, all the flash of the modern world will not touch someone deeply enough to change their heart to follow Christ. Intimacy comes from being with people, being open with people and serving people. When believers begin to pour their lives into others, the result is life transfer.
I coach varsity girls volleyball. Part of my job is to instill passion for the game into my student athletes. The more passionate I am about the sport, the more passionate the girls become. It is a simple principle that is totally transferable in regard to our faith. The most dynamic conduit to a passionate faith is the life of a transparent believer. Let people see who you are, yes, even if you are a leader. Let people see God chiseling away at your heart, and those you lead will plunge into faith.
Somewhere along the line God dripped a teardrop's worth of eternity into the hearts of men. Yet most of us capped off the eternal well long ago. The mystery of God’s glory has eluded us, for we have sidestepped intimacy and plunged headlong into a wasteland.
When believers begin to draw from this deep, endless well, we draw from the heart of God. The living water from this well quickens us and makes us deeper. Our aged faith calls out to us now. No longer are we simply gestures without motion. No longer do we sway in the wind with blank and empty stares. For when we step back into time and visit the faith of those God shaped Himself, we realize that “who we are is, in essence, who we were” (from Steven Spielberg’s Amistad). | | |
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this makes me a dork.... but a really excited dork! when i was in chicago for the summer it was during the time when all the concrete was falling on fans at wrigley field.... two years ago, well they finally got around to renovating the field, adding new beachers in the outfield.......... and its snowing!!! it makes me want to leave AT THIS MOMENT and catch a plane to chicagoland! whos coming with me? | | |
| 10 Things That Make Me Sad
1. Growing up
2. Corey Patterson being replaced
3. American politics
4. Stress
5. Commercialism
6. New Orleans
7. Headaches
8. Getting out of routine
9. When I don’t bite my tongue when I know I should
10. Having friends spread out all over the country
20 Things That Make Me Happy
1. Growing up
2. Warm spring days in the car with the windows down and the music blasting
3. The smell of a campfire
4. Good music
5. When I will be able play the guitar
6. Good hugs
7. Bookstores esp. used ones
8. Chicago
9. A good book, and rebuilding my library
10. The symphony, esp. outdoor ones when it’s beautiful outside
11. Moving back to New Orleans
12. An afternoon, just my camera and me
13. A good hike
14. Getting my hair cut
15. Community
16. Sweet Dogs
17. Good sushi
18. baseball season- april 1st
19. dancing
20. feel good movies
21. getting lost making art
do it! | | |
| 1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate?
egg nog for sure, esp at christmas!
2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree?
He always wraps them! even still!
3. Colored lights or white lights on the tree?
my parents do colored! but i prefer white
4. Do you hang mistletoe?
i didnt this year in the pool house, but hey its always fun
5. When do you put your decorations up?
about the first week of december.
6. What is your favorite holiday dish?
sweet potato casserole WITH marshmellows~ gotta have them.
7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child?
midnight mass, and playing trupmet napkin holders in the middle of dinner .
8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?
i held on for quite a while, about 9 years old... i asked mom on easter... random i know? but we always went to midnight mass and had presents when we got back!!! shut up
9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?
yesssss christmas pjs! every year yippieee!
10. What kind of cookies does Santa get set out for him?
we didnt make any this year, ususally we do... sugar always!
11. Snow! Love it or Dread it?
LOVE IT! we might actually get some in branson!!
12. Can you ice skate?
hmm its questionable... i used to like do routines and stuff... ha.
13. Do you remember your favorite gift?
the year i got a super nintendo!
14. What's the most important thing about the Holidays for you?
Jesus' birthday... and geting together with my ENTIRE family
15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert?
banana's foster... im not sure thats just christmas though.
16. What is your favorite holiday tradition?
christmas pjs, reading the polar express on c hristmas eve, the christmas pickle ordament
17. What tops your tree?
s star
18. Which do you prefer- Giving or Receiving?
both are nice
19. What is your favorite Christmas Carol?
o holy night and carol of the bells... and baby its cold outside
20. Candy Canes?
ehh its overrated
21. What is your favorite holiday movie?
a christmas story and the old school frosty... | | |
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