Day 30 — Hopes, dreams and plans for the next 365 days

In one year I will be fully legal in the sight of the United States government. By June of 2013 I hope to have a greater knowledge of my Lord. I pray that my life is a living sacrifice to Him and those around me.

Right now, I have a bunch of opportunities before me. I'm not sure which ones will come to pass. My plan is to take a few online college classes this fall and to (hopefully) start with CollegePlus! early next year. I may start watching & tutoring some more sweet babes as time goes on. I may visit Alaska and spend some quality time in northern California. If I get to Alaska, I want to hike Denali. If California and I meet after my 21st birthday, I plan on touring Napa & wine-tasting. I plan to pursue more skill & knowledge in hobbies of mine(photography & archery). I definitely want to work on my writing skills. So I have big plans for this blog for the next year. I want to become an effective communicator and I figure what better way than to actually communicate. Crazy thought process, I know :)

I never know what may happen tomorrow...or even this evening. But I choose to trust the Lord and follow where ever He leads.

Day 29 — Goals for the next 30 days

How is it already the second week of June 2012? I remember sitting in a classroom 10 years ago not being able to imagine the year 2010 being the year I graduate high school(which actually turned out to be the year AFTER I graduated...thank you home education!). My last post really ties in with this and the next post. My future. I am reminded of the woman described in Proverbs 31, the woman who laughs at the time to come. That's how I feel at this exact moment. God is in control, I trust Him and now I have nothing to fear. I am thrilled to see where the next 30 days take me.

Within the next 30 days I will:
-begin tutoring again(it has been nearly 2 years since I tutored. I have put it off because my last students mother and father both died right after I finished tutoring my precious student. My heart has hurt so deeply for him and for myself, as I had grown so close to him and his mother. Please pray for me as I venture down this road again, no doubt being reminded of my sweet friends.)
-go back to watching my boys. I am excited to watch them & teach them again! It will be a new experience with not only 4 boys but a newborn and 3 older boys!
-continue preparing to take a college class or two in the fall.
-watch my baby brother graduate high school & become a cadet officer in CAP

And that's just scratching the surface. I have a full summer & can't wait to see how the Lord works in my life & the lives of those around me!

Day 28 —Highs/lows of this year

I'll be honest. My excitement for my 20th birthday was suddenly plagued with overwhelming fear of the future. I was beyond excited to close out a chapter of my life. I can't tell you how happy I am that the "teenage" years are behind me. But as I realized that that season was over I realized that I was entering a new season and had no idea where I was heading. I become fearful that my life was over. I began telling myself that I'm old. Oh, and of course, the marriage thing came up more than once. Since I'm remain unmarried I must not be worth anything, right? Lies! They're all lies! My life is far from over(Hellooo, I woke up this morning!). 20 years is a long time in comparison to 1 year but it's only 1/5 of 100 years and just a blink of an eye in light of eternity. Old? No, I'm 20 years young. As for marriage...it's obviously not a good thing for me right now. Because if it were, the One who gives GOOD gifts would have given it to me. And since I'm being honest, I'm so not ready for marriage at this point. I am incredibly thankful that the Lord didn't hear my naive cry to be married at 18. Or 19. Or (so far) 20. He continues to shape me & give me opportunity to serve right here, right now. My issue shortly after my birthday was not that I'm not fulfilled as a 20 yr old unmarried woman. My issue was the fact that I took my eyes of Jesus and began lacking direction. As I turned my focus back to Him(instead of myself) I found amazing things. He began showing me great opportunities and laying the ground work for the next year of my life. I know exactly where I'm going now. My hopes and dreams have been rejuvenated by the One who planned them before the foundation of the world. My future lies in Christ alone. I am eternally grateful for that.

"Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart." -Psalm 37:4
(As I began to struggle with some of these things my best friend gave me a ring with this verse on it. I don't think she realized how much I needed that verse around my finger when she bought it for me. I love the way God works!)

Day 27 — A child I love

As soon as I read the subject for this day, 4 little faces popped into my head. Over this past year I have had the incredible privilege to watch 3 boys under the age of 5. And now, starting in a few weeks I will be watching them and their new brother. 4 boys 5 and under. What a blessing they are!

Day 26 —My dream home

You did say dream home, right? :)

Though it would be incredible to live in a castle, the white house or in immaculate mansion on the beach, I just cannot picture myself in such a place. I lived in two homes over 100 years old when I was a teenager. At the time I never appreciated their charm, but looking back, those were my favorite homes. I love the little rooms, every creak in the floor boards and the rich history. I love wondering how many lives were shaped in those houses. I adore the idea of living in a shack near the beach or even in a hut in a third world country. I have lived in 9 homes in my 20 years and visited countless others. They have ranged from a single wide trailer on a farm to a grand home with marble floors. And one thing I've found is that it just doesn't matter. It doesn't matter if you have the most beautiful or most humble of homes. It matters what goes on inside. Whatever my four walls and roof look like, I want my home to be a place of refuge. I want it to be somewhere where hospitality and love abounds.  I want it to be a place of service. I want my home to be a place of education. A place where the love of Christ is lived out. So whether the Lord has me in a hut in Ethiopia, a cottage Tuscany, a mansion in California, or just a plain ol' house in Las Vegas I choose to make it a HOME that glorifies Him.

Day 25 — A picture of something that makes me happy

This is my favorite place that I've ever been to. 

Shell Beach, La Jolla, California

Day 24 —10 people, dead or alive, whom I would invite to dinner (and the dinner menu)

Wow, this is a difficult one. There are so many people that I'd love to have dinner with. Ten people is just not enough because I will have to exclude so many great minds. Let's see...

I would love the dinner to be a potluck(I was raised Southern Baptist, you should have seen that one coming!). I love potlucks because people tend to bring favorite dishes & there's great variety.


I don't know how well all these people would get on, but I trust with the great minds present we wouldn't have too many issues:
1 &2. Anna Sofia & Elizabeth Botkin- I just finished reading their second book today & would love to have an evening to fellowship with them and get to know them.
3. Jasmine Baucham- Through her blog she helped me become a thinker. She was an instrument that the Lord used to mold me into who I am today.
4. Abigail Adams- I hear so many wonderful things about this woman. I would love to hear what she went through as wife to one of the first presidents.
5. the Apostle Paul- I think that's pretty self explanatory.
6. Albert Einstein- how cool would that be?!
7. Alexander the Great- he was my favorite conqueror in while I was in elementary school
8. My grandma Adele- I never knew her & hear that she was quite a lady
9. C.S. Lewis- He wrote my favorite fictional book
10. Ansel Adams- his photographs first inspired me to pick up a camera and begin shooting

Day 23 — A video

Messy Mondays. I love these videos because he seems to get the truth across in my favorite way- funny & sarcastic. It's hard to choose a favorite so you should just watch them all. Being a former homeschooler I especially recommend the homeschooler ones :)

Day 22 — A favorite joke

So two guys walk into the bar.
The first guy says, "I'll have h2o."
The second guy said, "I'll have h2o too."
The second guy died.


*I like nerdy jokes. :)

Day 21 — Bullet my entire day

Ready for all this excitement? :)

• Wake up(good one right?) & wonder why I just woke up so early
• Go downstairs & make my favorite breakfast- oatmeal with a bit of brown sugar, cinnamon & cut up apples.
• Check fox news, email, & facebook
• Edit pictures & try to email said pictures. The email keeps failing. 
• Since I can't accomplish the emailing, I remember I need to check on a blog for Thirty1Twenty4 but instead find myself on here instead of that blog. 
• Proceed to start a million posts for today
• Start planning upcoming events while blogging & remember that I still haven't gotten that planner to keep my life in order
• Realize I need to get going to a meeting, so hurry up & get ready
• Get to Starbucks & start chatting with the guy behind the counter about photography. We probably looked & sounded crazy. Come to find out we share the same photographic passions.
• Go pick up my dear friend & her adorable baby
• Spend the next 2 hours fellowshipping, planning our upcoming Bible Bee, & holding babies :) Oh and then realize that my iPod is not cutting it as a planner. Make mental note to buy planner.
• Run a few errands with Mama & finally(after looking over & through at least half a dozen) get that planner that I so desperately need!
• Come home & eat lunch--if you have never had tyson chicken tenders with the honey batter you need to go buy some right now. I could eat that whole bag in a day. So good.
• Decide that I desperately need a nap because I'm crashing fast
• Awake to hammers pounding together a bookshelf. *try to be thankful for another bookshelf*
• Dinner...I love me some chicken!...again :)
• Start packing for hike in the morning
• Decide that I can pack later & I really need to get that email sent. 
• Forget about email & begin blogging again. 
• Now I'm going to end this post so I can get that email sent!  :D

Day 20 — A hobby of mine

Sadly I don't have a picture for my favorite hobby(I need to get on that!). My absolute favorite thing to do is sit around talking with friends for hours. (Can I consider this a hobby? Well, I'm going to today!) I love the different ways this looks-from dropping by someones house for a "minute" to birthday parties for my favorite kiddos. I use any excuse to get together with people. And lately my most cherished time is with a sweet friend that comes over every week and once we get to talking all of a sudden its midnight. I LOVE that time together! I just adore fellowship. So hobby or not, it's definitely my favorite way to spend my time.

Day 19 — A favorite song

Meet Jenny & Tyler. I can't get enough of them lately. If you haven't checked them out before, here's your chance! I love the soul in all of their songs. You should also listen to Faint Not because I pretty much love that one too. Actually, go buy their whole album. Just do it. 

Day 18 —Something I miss

This one is easy as pie. I'm seriously suffering from withdrawls. 

This girl is my best friend, my sister, Auntie to my future kiddos. She's full of life and can bring a smile & laugh to an entire room. She's amazing with kiddos and has the voice of an angel. She reminds me not to take things too seriously & to find enjoyment in everything...especially those awkward moments! I love her to no end. I moved 2,000 miles away from her. So can't you see why I miss her?!

Day 17 — A photo of my family

mia famiglia!

My nephew was very proud of his pine cone :) 

Day 16 —Someone who fascinates me

This is Karl Marx. He fascinates me. (Don't freak out.) Over the past couple years I have [accidentally] studied socialism & communism. (I say accidentally because I didn't pick up books because I knew they talked about those things, it just so happened that most of the books I've read recently have taught me so much on the subjects.) The more I see how our  American society has changed/is changing I become more curious & fascinated about men [and women] like Marx. Though I know that the ideas that these people hold to flow from a wicked, lost heart that doesn't know Jesus, my heart aches and keeps asking how people can be so evil. How can people only look out for themselves, even & especially at the cost of other people's lives. It's sickening. It's sickening how they target the youth to win them to their way of life. The more I learn about him & his followers, the more I want to know. I believe that his whole system of belief is incredibly relevant to our society today. Oh, and don't even get me started on how feminism relates to him! Or ask me about it. I'm happy to share. My world was flipped upside down when I briefly studied feminism.


[The books I read were "So Much More" by Anna Sofia & Elizabeth Botkin, "Tortured for Christ" by Richard Wurmbrand, "Joyfully at Home" by Jasmine Baucham, and probably a few others. I recommend all of them. Definitely good reads!]

Day 15 — Somewhere I’d like to move/visit

Here I am 5 months later finally finishing my 30 day challenge. I don't like to leave things unfinished when looking to start a new project. (I know that's silly to say especially when its been FIVE MONTHS!) I really want to start blogging more frequently but I really want to be able to finish these posts(partially because I think they're cool to look back on). So I don't know if it will actually take me 16 days or I'll just do whatever I want to finish up :)

So you ask, "Katie, where in the world would you like to move and/or visit?" Without a second to contemplate[because I've thought about this quite often lately] I reply, "ITALY!"

And more specifically here:

I have what some may say is a crazy dream to backpack through Cinque Terre. I saw a picture on a calendar & immediately fell in love. So I researched and found out about the [gorgeous] five towns that make up Cinque Terre. But I'd be lying if I said that was all. I want to explore all of Italy. I'd love to live there for a few years, really learning about the culture and becoming a part of it. Pisa, Rome, Venice, ALL of Tuscany--they're all on my list. I want to explore the small villages where no one speaks a word of English--what I call "authentic Italy." Even writing about it my heart leaps & yearns to stow away on a plane with a bag on my back and camera & journal in hand to my beloved Italia. I could ramble for hours so I should probably stop here & spare you :)