Typical

So, I have been looking forward to today since Monday when I picked up my substitute packet from Central Office. I could not go get my TB test until Wednesday, which meant that I couldn't get it read until today, so I could not turn in my packet until today. SO, Winston and I both have been anticipating FRIDAY!

Well, last night I went for a jog and rolled my ankle so that put me out for the rest of last night, but hey, that's okay, it wasn't gonna keep me down.

This morning I woke up, got ready, dressed up to get the ball rolling and sure enough my cursed car was full of what...the single most disgusting thing on the face of the planet which I am most afraid of... ANTS YES YOU HEARD ME ANTS! Needless to say, we have had an ant problem in our yard for atleast a week or so pointed out by the lawn man last week... my fathers reply "we will take care of it later..." and so, now, the little jokers have found there way into my car.

I thought it was just a few so I start killing them with my hands, I couldn't find the source(note: with ants, there is ALWAYS a source). Finally I traced them back to the single most difficult place to reach in the car- in between the car seat and the middle consul thing. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! NOT TODAY REALLY?!?! I really did not want to proceed with all this sub stuff until the ant stuff was taken care of because I didn't want ants crawling all over me as I drove around and went into get my TB thing checked and turn in my sub stuff. I wouldn't hire someone who looked like they had a personal infestation of ants.

SO, here I am, sweating in my dress clothes outside thinking that I would just use my parents vacuum instead of spending all those quarters and vacuum those suckers and be on my way. But then I realized that if I used my parent's vacuum, they would eventually come OUT of the vacuum and possibly into our home, which would another nightmare from last year re-lived. So I decided to bust open my mom's change holder thing and get some quarters and be on my way.

So, I go to the vacuum place and start vacuuming and vacuuming and I think I must have vacuumed that bad boy for an hour, really I spent like a trillion dollars worth of quarters, so much that I had to go in and cash in some dollars to get more. When I ran out of quarters the first time I was actually almost done and then they started to re-surface again. So, I got more quarters and went back at it.

By this time I am trenched in sweat because its hot as the dickens, so I have now decided that I would go to the store (Harris Teeter NOT Wal Mart) and get some ant traps and kill those jerks dead, then go home, cool down, eat lunch take a shower, and do it all over again.

SO, I have now adequately placed 4 ant traps in my car, along with completely saturating the carpet with ant kill spray stuff. Hopefully, I will not die as well when I get back in there because there was a foggy humid mist in there when I left.

When I was talking on the phone with Amanda trying to blow off the steam about this, I said, "You know I'M JUST TRYING TO GET A JOB FOR CRYING OUT LOUD," as she laughed she was very sympathetic. I wasn't offended, she was laughing because she was in agreement that this was completely TYPICAL of something that would happen to me.

So, now I feel a little better after posting this, blowing off a little more steam as I pound these sticky keys and backspace five times for every 10 keys I type. Whew.

Have a great Friday folks! :)

My Old New Friend, Winston

Winston after a Bath



Squeaky clean Winston


So, I am living in Laurinburg right now with my parents. This has been a pretty humbling experience after being out of the house for 6 years and on my own completely for the past 2. Its hard to be home during the days and spend them all searching every day for jobs. I have decided to sub. I think this is really going to be whats best for me-flexible schedule to go back and forth to Charlotte and good pay if you are a certified teacher-at least good pay compared to the minimum wadge alternative.

So, the days get kinda sad sitting around waiting for things to pick up. But then there is Winston. A little dog my sister and I picked up off the side of the highway a few years ago and gave to my mother a week after her dog of 13 years died. He was such a companion for her since my father was working out of town during the weeks.

And now, two years later the little sweet fellow is quite a companion for me, keeping my days enjoyable and not so lonesome. We play fetch and he loves to go outside and chase the neighbors cats. He gets really worked up about going out to make sure they aren't in our bushes or on our porch. He goes to check the mail with me and wants me to hang out with him outside to watch him sun bathe.

I know it sounds silly, but he has really been a joy to have around, while I have been waiting for this job stuff.

So, that's Winston. :)

The American Dream- rotting our country away one soul at a time.

So, my dear friend informs me that a senator at the Democratic National Convention tonight made a statement about the American Dream fading and also said that we need to get it back or something along those lines.

The American Dream makes me want to vomit.

Take my family for example (the Lebanese side, *beaming with pride :)*)... My great grandparents came here from Lebanon in the early 1900s. They came here poor and my great grandfather traveled all around West Virginia on horse back selling things as a pioneer. At some point soon after he married my great grandmother, he opened his own general store. The whole family sacrificed things to keep this store going-my grandmother, her own college education to stay home and help with the store. As my grandmothers generation grew up it was time for them to take over and all the men opened a chain of grocery stores that grew throughout three states. They eventually sold the chain and retired young and well off none the less. So. The American Dream, there you have it.

But you know something interesting...everyone dies sometime. Now, I do realize this sounds morbid, but, its true. So, whether you die a millionaire or a hundred-dollars in-my-bank-account-aire, we still all come to the same point-death.

Does a wealthy life and nice cars and nice house and nice clothes cushion us from experiencing pain and sorrow? Maybe in some regards. But in what matters, what really matters, the soul... of course not.

Actually, interestingly enough, I have been spending some time lately reading the book of Mark. Every time I read the Gospels, I am reminded of the people Jesus hung out with the most- sinners, sick, lowly, outcast, tax collectors, poor. Now here's whats really interesting- yes, Jesus did minister to these people by meeting their immediately needs many times, but what was His greatest concern? THE HEART! WORSHIP! He wants us to KNOW Him, to drink from the fountain that will never cause you to thirst again.

I am anti-American dream because its the wrong dream. It's a lie. It never satisfies. If you retire at 60 years old and go sailing across the world and have in-home health care and lots of drugs to ease the pain of aging, you still have your soul. What will you do when you have all that free time to think... think about all the things that still haunt you that you have never come to terms with. Who will take care of that for you? Not even the best shrink for the most money can even start to take off the edge. American dream isn't gonna do it. What about the loss of a wife or a child? American dream?-nope. What about the marital affair that you were involved in or that was committed against you? Will the American Dream ease that pain?-don't think so. What about rape? What about broken relationships with parents or children who won't even speak to their parents, what then?...

The point is not that it's bad to have material things, its just seeking our comfort in our material security is empty. If we seek our comfort in material security what happens when it all disappears? When the company goes bankrupt? When to stock market crashes? What happens when the house catches on fire? When you have a master's degree and can't get a job? Where will the comfort come from?

EMPTY. There is no gold at the end of that rainbow...Take heed. If you are chasing that American Dream just as hard as you can, one day you will realize (hopefully sooner than later) that there is NO gold pot waiting for you on the other side. It is an empty ugly truth friends. Masters Degree or GED, 1 Million bucks or a hundred- those standards have no weight on a person's worth or significance.

Now the right dream... to be loved, to be accepted, to be freed, forgiven, to be comforted, to be restored, renewed, satisfied but hungry for more-yet given more upon that hunger.

Jesus was a lover. His time on earth was for the soul purpose of reconciling man to God. The list above are all things that are found in the lives of those who's hope is in Him alone.

Its as simple as selling everything that you have and following Him. So tell me, if that is true (the Bible and the fact that He told that rich young ruler to sell all his possessions and he would be able to follow Christ) what do you think Jesus would say about the American Dream?

Let me end with this. **I am NOT anti-America**. I am incredibly thankful for religious freedom and for all the other liberties that we daily forget about in this country. I am just against supporting a man made idea of what supposedly should be our end goal in life. The American dream is in fact bondage-being bound to pursuing after this unattainable mark- never having enough, always wanting more-NEVER satisfied.

My end goal is redemption-to be delivered from this body, and to be restored to a new creation- forgiven and loved. That certainly won't be happening on Vera Bradley's dime or by sporting the latest SUV.

Grace Upon Grace by Sandra McCracken

I hope that you guys can draw as much encouragement and joy from this song as I have. If you have the time, download it from Itunes, and really the whole CD is great.

From the Album "The Builder and the Architect"

In every station, new trials and troubles,
call for more grace, than I can afford.
Where can I run, but to my dear Savior
for mercy that pours from boundless stores

Grace upon Grace every sin repaired,
every void restored you will find Him there.
In every turning he will prepare you,
with grace upon grace.

He made a way for the fallen to rise,
perfect and glory and sacrifice.
in sweet communion my needy supplies,
He saves and keeps and guards my life.

Grace upon Grace every sin repaired,
every void restored you will find Him there.
In every turning he will prepare you,
with grace upon grace.

To Thee I run now with great expectation,
to honor You, with trust like a child.
My hopes and desires seek a new destination,
and all that You ask Your grace will provide.

Grace upon Grace every sin repaired
every void restored you will find Him there.
In every turning he will prepare you,
with grace upon grace.






*If you happen to find a typo on these please let me know and I will fix it! :)

Encouraged!

Well, today a few very good things happened, but I won't speak of all of them because some are uncertain, BUT...

probably the best news yet... I was kinda discouraged today. It looked like I was going to have to stay in Laurinburg for financial reasons primarily, and things just arn't working out like I had hoped to actually move to Charlotte. I was searching and searching and searching the internet for churches that looked Biblical in this area and just couldn't find any. I just kinda said aloud, "Lord, I am so discouraged..." and then boom.

I came across a link to the Southern Baptist Convention's website and it was about this church plant, where? LAURINBURG!!!!!!!! "What?!?!" I thought to myself. Then I searched for a website to the page and found it! Then I called the pastor and we had a really cool conversation. Much to my suprise, there are people here who love God and want to make HIS name known. Not just a sweet southern thought on Sunday morning, or an emotional coushion, a local BODY OF BELEIVERS!

I am visiting with my cousin Jay on Sunday. Please pray for this Body of beleivers! That God would be honored there, and that the church would grow in number, but also and primarily in spirit!

Thank you, Lord, for Grace Baptist in Laurinburg!

Peanut butter cookies and the 2 am blues

Well, yes... you heard me. I just made peanut butter cookies at 2am. :). I am sleepy but refuse to allow myself to sleep because I need to be applying for jobs. Once more.

I am getting slightly discouraged. I have applied and applied and then some and nothing. Not one call back or response. Well, I did have a nanny interview, but decided it wouldn't work for varoius reasons, but they didn't call back to offer me the job anyway. Of the online applications, I have only had 2 automated repsonse emails to let me know they even recieved my application/resume.

I have also been to the businesses to fill stuff out also. Please pray for me yall. That I wouldn't grow weary searching, and that God would provide the right job in the right city. :)

Change, my friends, is a comin'...

... and then a little more... and then multiply that by about fifty and there you have it, the amount of questions I have about my life and God's will for it now and um, the future and um.

:) Would you expect anything less from your Kat Jones?

Well folks, so the latest is that I am registered for classes at Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary in Charlotte. This is amazing. I can't beleive the Lord is giving me my greatest dream... to study the word formally! Thank you Lord! Please do pray that I would be a good steward of this opportunity friends. My friend Amanda has already taught me the greek alphabet (yesterday) and I can recite it already! I am so excited about actually desiring to learn. It's an amazing feeling...especially when you have such a strong sense of purpose.

As for everything else... thats where the .................... comes in. I moved all of my stuff to my parents house in Laurinburg before I went to WV for the summer so I wouldn't have to bother with it when I returned. I actually unpacked all my stuff there as well thinking I would live there, but I'm not so sure any more.

I am really ready to be settled and I know that I will eventually take classes full time meaning I'll need to be in Charlotte full time (Laurinburg is 2 hours from Charlotte). So, I would really like to go ahead and be planted there. I have applied and applied and applied for jobs but, guess what, no call back thus far. God is faithful, this I know, so if HE wants me there He will work it out.

So please pray for me. That the Lord would make known to me, how to best honor Him in this time. Also, that He would provide the right job for me to have, providing me with the amount of time I need to study adequately and the amount of money I need to live and pay tuition. I am SO EXCITED YOU GUYS! :)

As for my heart, a wicked little thing it is indeed. My pastor and dear friend spoke some amazing truth into my life the other day... "Kat... you have a wicked heart..." haha... not really, but kinda. I am so thankful for this. My questions that I have had all summer "Why do I [do things I don't want to do]... Why can't I just..." and the answer is that I am choosing to hold myself hostage to the past and not surrender these things to the Lord. What Brad actually said was more like "Kat, its times like [when we hold on to these things for no reason] that the Lord gives us little glimpses into our hearts and gives us a peek at the naturally wicked state of our hearts." Boy oh boy, it was so encouraging to hear! Really. That I actually had a choice in the matter, and was not making the right one. Surrender of the will.

Anyway. I will be posting more often because I have deleted my Facebook account and this will be a good way to update the 2 of you who read this blog :).