Bible Study - Day 1

We had our first day of bible study last night and it was such a blast! Our bible study is led by Darrin Miedema (who I live with) and Trent Keegan (who tries to beat me at board games but just can't seem to do it.) They are incredible men who truly love the Lord and I am so thankful that they are leading our BS!!

We are starting the year with about 25 people! That is HUGE!! It's amazing to see so many people hungry and thirsting for truth and fellowship, and I'm SOOO pumped to spend every Monday night with them!

We will be doing bible study on Monday nights, and then have BS (bible study) hangouts on Friday nights. We will do fun adventures (mostly costume parties if I have a say) and invite anyone and everyone to them so they can enjoy some fellowship, laughs, and hopefully hear the awesome changes the Lord has made in every single one of the lives of the people in our group. I will be spending probably 2-4 days a week with these people and I am so excited to see how the Lord uses us in each other's lives to grow closer to him as we reach out to the city of Des Moines.

Yesterday I got to spend the afternoon sharing with two of my friends (and men in my bible study.) Andy, Nick, and I got some tracks (little booklets that tell people about Jesus) and some flyers for the Head show we are having (Brian "Head" Welsh used to be the lead guitarist of Korn. He started a relationship with the Lord 5 years ago, dropped out of the band, kicked his meth addiction, and is on FIRE for Christ. He will be coming to play at the DTC on September 1st, so we are getting the word out!!) We got to tell many people about the show, and I had an amazing conversation with a man named Jeff at American Furniture Warehouse! We went through the entire gospel and he was seriously loving it. Jeff was so hungry for the truth about Jesus...it was just such a blessing to be able to see his face when I told him that Jesus died for HIS sins. Oh man...so legit.

Although sharing can be tough at times, I am really starting to enjoy it more. People have ridiculed and mocked me, but when I get to share with people like Jeff who want SO BADLY to know what is true...it makes it all worth it. I'm prayerful that Jeff accepted Christ that night. And if not, I am prayerful that the Lord puts me back in his path again so I can follow up and sow the seeds of the gospel one more time!!

p.s. Day 1 on my bike today. Went well except for the minor incident where I forgot to unclip in the middle of a crowded intersection at rush hour when I came to a stop. Ahhh the joys of constant humiliation. No harm no foul...other than the CRUSHING blow to my ego. Hopefully day 2 is a little less eventful...

Goodbye car...

Today my iPod broke. That was tough. My sweat at the gym scrambled its circuit…which is actually kind of awesome if you think about it. Greg, my brother, came through HUGE in the clutch and hooked me up with a brand new totally free iPod. That’s love right there for you. With that said. My parents came back and took their car that I had been borrowing for the past three weeks. So…who wants to love me enough to throw me some keys to a brand new ride? Come on…you know you want to.

In all reality, I’m not too worried about the car. I’ve got two perfectly good legs (minus my cankles), that still have a lot of fight in em. My bike and I are ready to take the streets of Des Moines by STORM! If you see a flash of lightening fly by you while you’re in your air conditioned car rocking out to your stereo whilst sipping on your iced Starbucks beverage chances are it’s me…on my bike…at warp speed.

I’ve been praying a lot for a car, and the Lord has responded by giving me a good attitude about NOT having a car. Which makes me think a car isn’t looming in my immediate future. How hard core would it be to rock snow tires on my mountain bike and hit the snowfilled streets of Des Moines in a white out. Rocking hard listening to my brand new iPod (thanks Greg) with my parka, snowboarding pants, hat, face shield, and goggles.

I like it.

Be careful what you pray for...

I have heard people say on more than one occasion to be careful about what you pray for, because it just might come true. I’ve been wrestling a lot with God, and let me tell you, He’s winning.

Last night I had a break down. I had an amazing quiet time, wrote my blog, talked to Shaly for probably 3 hours about humility, trust, and obedience to the Lord and then went to my volleyball game. Haley and I wanted to spend some time together before my match and we headed to my car to talk. And I melted down. The Lord is really working on my prideful heart right now, and I know why. Because I’ve been praying about it.

Psalm 119 is one of my favorite psalms. Everyone seems to skip it because it is pretty long, but I believe it’s one of the most beautifully written Psalms. There has been one verse that has always stuck out to me, and I think I’m beginning to understand why. Psalm 119: 57 “You are my portion, O Lord; I have promised to obey your words.” The word “portion” has always really resonated with me, and today, after coming home and going through the Psalm again I know why. What the psalmist is saying to the Lord is that He is everything. The Lord is honestly all they need. He is saying, “Take away my food, take away my water and clothing, bring suffering, even death, and I will remain firm in your commands and your precepts…because YOU, my Lord, are all I need in this life.” It is so perfect. I have prayed multiple times for humility. I have prayed multiple times that the Lord, “makes Himself my portion.” That He is all I need…all I desire. And the Lord is answering my prayers.

My life is very different than it was a month ago. I no longer have the kingdom I built up for myself. I no longer have the job, the lifestyle, the mountains…all that I loved I laid at the feet of the Lord. And He didn’t care. He wants more. He wants to be my portion.

I know this sounds very similar to my last blog, but this one comes from a different place. This one comes from a thankful heart. The Lord will humble me. He will take everything my flesh desires and replace it with everything He desires. And through it He will give me life.

Psalm 119: 32, “I run in the path of your commands, for you have set my heart free.”

Psalm 119: 50, “My comfort in my suffering is this: Your promise preserves my life.”

Psalm 119: 143, “Trouble and distress have come upon me, but your commands are my delight.”

I want to have a heart like this Psalmist. I want to be without everything this world has to offer me, and I want to be on my knees in constant prayer over everything the Lord has blessed me with. This walk with Christ isn’t about all the things I don’t have. It’s about all the things I DO have.

I have the promise of salvation. I have the promise of grace. I have understanding. I have righteousness, forgiveness, and purpose.

After my volleyball game I came to my car and found a piece of paper folded and tucked into the door. I opened it up and glanced at it. It was today’s devotional from, “My Utmost For His Highest.” It was placed there by Haley and the exact same thing Shaly had read to me only 5 hours earlier. I knew the Lord needed me to read this again. The devotional starts with, “Come to Me… - Matthew 11: 28.” One of the last sentences says, “Come to Me….The intellectual, moral, and spiritual depth of our reality as a person is tested and measured by these words. Yet in every detail of our lives where we are found not to be real, we would rather dispute the findings than come to Jesus.”

I am learning, through the grace of God, that I am relying on my emotions. I am turning to myself when times get tough. I’m relying on my own understanding of the world and my own perception of the Lord to get me through tough times. And I am learning that this won’t last. My pride will not sustain me. My emotions will lead me astray and my heart will deceive me. The only truth I have and the only promise that is true is the one that comes from Christ. The one that tells me to “Come to Him.”

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” – Matthew 11: 28

“Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall.” – Psalm 55: 22

For those of you who have asked Christ into your heart I hope you are finding as much comfort in the promises of the Lord that these verses have given me last night. He will take our burdens and replace them with His yoke, which is easy. His yoke is freedom. For those of you who have not accepted Christ, I pray that His words resonate with you. I hope you find truth in them. I hope you come to know that the bible is real, the words given to us by the Lord are real, and what He is doing in my life and in my heart is real.

Geography ain't Nothing

Ah the joys of being humbled by the Lord. I was pretty convinced that the Lord was going to cut me some slack after my move to Des Moines. I had my sights set on coasting content and carefree as I basked in my complete and total obedience to the Lord. I mean, come on. I deserve it, right? Quit my job, donated my car, paid of credit, moved from the snowboarding capital of the United States to....Iowa? I was riding high, sure that there were none more obedient than I. False. I have learned so much from the Lord over the past month. Biggest thing I've learned? The Lord doesn't care about my geography. I felt like I was giving Him EVERYTHING by moving here. In reality, I believe I gave Him about 2% of what He wanted from me. He doesn't care about where my feet are planted or where my head is resting. He wants my heart. And all of it. I don't say that to mean that the Lord is full of punishment and anger, but He wants my heart because He wants me to know love. He wants me to know truth, peace, love, grace, and most importantly, He wants me to know Jesus.

I've felt the Lord's desires very clearly recently. "I gave you my job." But He wants my trust. "I gave you my car." But He wants my faith. "I gave you love for the mountains." But he wants my heart. His desires for me are constantly out of love and faithfulness. He will never abandon me, never forsake me, and never give up on me. When I stumble and fall, declaring my own desires more important than His, He will pick me up, dust me off, kiss my cheek, remind me of His Son, and send me back off into the world, all the while keeping His hand fixed to my life.

I don't know why I want to hold on to my control over my life. I am filled with wickedness. I trust the desires of my flesh and the promises of the world to bring me joy. Without the Lord in my life I would run from worthless idol to worthless idol demanding joy and fulfilment from something that can never feed me. The only way I will experience life is to follow the paths of the Lord. Psalm 16 says, "You have made known to me the paths of life; You will fill me with joy in your presence." Why do I still believe the paths of this world will bring me anything other than deception and evil. This world has nothing for me. My own desires for my life will bring about nothing but destruction and pride as I strive more and more towards obtaining the completion of MY goals.

The Lord is humbling me, and it is good. He is reminding me of who He is and what He has done for me. He is showing me through His word and through the council of other Christians that my humility will bring about a better understanding of who He is and what His promises are. I will continue to thank God for what He has done for me. For saving me from death, and sending His Son to die for my sins.

Des Moines...I have arrived

Sorry about the delay in blog posts! I no longer have the internet at my disposal every day, so the blog posts could get rather sporadic. But that's a good thing. It will keep you on your toes.

There is a WHOLE lot going on, so I'll try to catch everyone up on the life and times of, well, me.

1. Des Moines - I am officially a Des Moines resident! Well...not exactly officially. They won't allow me to get my license until I have been a resident for 30 days. I think they're secretly hoping I get back in the UHaul and move back to Denver...but I think they will give in and hook me up with the license (that I need to drive my.....Huffy?) in a couple weeks. So I suppose it will be official then.

2. Job - Oh yeah. That's right. I cannot be stopped. I have been hired as a Starbucks barrista. I work 20 hours a week (with 40 hours of training.) So I am still training...and let me tell you...it is NOT a walk in the park. There are HUNDREDS of different drinks at the Bucks and I have to know how to make every single one of them. And quickly! It's fun, and challenging. Which I definitely like.

3. Spriedemaier - McKenna SPRague, Darrin mIEDEma, Kate AltMAIER. I live with Darrin & McKenna who are my married step parents. In all honesty, I sometimes feel like their little one, which is pretty awesome. One of these days I'm going to demand an allowance.

4. Car - I have my mom's car for another week and a half and then that will be returned to her and I am rolling on two wheels. I've been blessed to have her car so I can learn the streets of Des Moines and have figured out where and can and where I CANNOT take my bike. The streets here are NOTHING like the streets of Denver. In Denver you can basically take a bike on any street anywhere because there are bike lanes on almost every road. Not so the case out here. I have found 2 streets with bike lanes. 2. So that could get interesting. Needless to say, I'll be making sure to rock a helmet.

5. Bible study - I'm getting to know the kids in my bible study better. We have been playing volleyball, going out sharing (telling people on the streets about Jesus), having Fiestas and game nights, and are having a competition game night this Friday. My friend Kelli and I will be dominating the costume scene. I have to start making them today. And they will be awesome. Recycled from a costume party in Denver a few years ago...but so awesome they need to be debuted in Des Moines. Pictures will follow.

The Lord is teaching me so many things as I transition into my new life here. Patience, humility, and obedience are the three big ones. I'll go into details in my next blog, but wanted to give all you in cyber space an update on what is going on right now!

Have a great week!!

Kate