Thursday, December 22, 2011

Maew wedge

I was reading an article on why our generation has problems with divorce. This response by a reader was my favorite:


"No guts. The real reason is we have a generation of wimps. Fear of responsibi¬lity. To weak to take a stand and work through daily problems of life. Unwillingness to make a committment and stand by it to the end. To lazy to work steady at a job to provide for long-term committment and those precious little children. Sure the road is tough in spots along the way but so great are the rewards for those who stick with it. By what authority do I speak? Been married 46 years to the same woman, worked 45 years for the same company, reared two children who both have doctorate degrees and now enjoy five beautiful grandchildren. Was it easy..NO!!, but I committed to it and saw it through. A Christ centered faith is the key. I could not have survived without Him."

Friday, September 23, 2011

Basics of my Faith

So much of what I know or think about God and eternity is stuff I am not entirely certain about. Some people are completely sure of certain theologies or whatnot, but more often than not I generally say, I think it may be this way, but in the end it doesn't really matter and I could be completely wrong. I actually can not think of anything at this particular moment, but I thought that would be a good disclaimer for anything I do ever say in the blog. With Christianity, you have the basics. God is good and he can only create good. The way evil exists is because he gave beings free will, and with free will we do things that deviate from his original purpose. Anything that deviates from what God intended is evil. Actually, some people argue that God created evil. I guess even some things I consider basic knowledge are debatable. But I have no doubt that I am wrong. I just think some people are misinformed. :)
Anyways. Another basic. God gave us free will because he wanted a loving relationship. If you program a robot to love you, is that true love? I say no. If someone falls in love with you because of their own free will, is that true love? Well I would say that it is to be preferred over robot love! So... with this free will, what did we ultimately decide to do? Sin! Which brings me to my next basic...
Everyone has sinned, is unrighteous, and unfit for the presence of God. Yeah. No matter how much good you do, one sin and you are unholy! It kind of goes with the illustration I have heard a million times. If there is a purified water bottle on the counter, would you drink it? Of course you would, why not! Now unscrew the water bottle and drop just a little bit of poop in it. Not a lot, just one tiny little drop. And it's not even bad poop! ;) Okay, so you would not drink it. My facetious comment of "It's not even bad poop!" was meant to be a sort of parallel to how we talk about different sins. For instance, people look down on someone who murders someone more than a person who lies about something. And although I personally would much rather see someone lie than to see someone murder, the fact of the matter is that God can accept neither. So that's that! But the good news is.... there's another basic!
God STILL loves us! So much in fact, that He sacrificed by being born in human flesh, living decades on Earth resisting the same temptations we give in to and being persecuted when He was completely innocent. After living a perfect life, He then gave Himself up as a living sacrifice to bring about a new covenant. How awesome is that? He not only resisted huge temptations, (I've heard people say He was not tempted, but I believe Satan did everything in his power to stop Jesus from God's plan. And that includes a LOT of temptation!), but He who was so good literally took upon the sin of the world. I will quote something quite descriptive from a book I read called Boy Meets Girl . It is actually a quote from When God Weeps, and it was put into the book I read because it is the reality of what Christ experienced.

"The face that Moses had begged to see--was forbidden to see--was slapped bloody (Exodus 33:19-20). The thorns that God had sent to curse the earth's rebellion now twisted around his own brow....
"On your back with you!" One raises a mallet to sink in the spike. But the soldier's heart must continue pumping as he readies the prisoner's wrist. Someone must sustain the soldier's life minute by minute, for no man has this power on his own. Who supplies breath to his lungs? Who gives energy to his cells? Who holds his molecules together? Only by the Son do "all things hold together" (Colossians 1:17). The victim wills that the soldier live on--he grants the warriors continued existence. The man swings.
As the man swings, the Son recalls how he and the Father first designed the medial nerve of the human forearm--the sensations it would be capable of. The design proves flawless--the nerves perform exquisitely. "Up you go!" They lift the cross. God is on display in his underwear and can scarcely breathe.
But these pains are a mere warm-up to his other and growing dread. He begins to feel a foreign sensation. Somewhere during this day an unearthly foul odor began to waft, not around his nose, but his heart. He feels dirty. Human wickedness starts to crawl upon his spotless being--the living excrement from our souls. The apple of his Father's eye turns brown with rot.
His Father! He must not face his Father like this!
From heaven the Father now rouses himself like a lion disturbed, shakes his mane, and roars against the shriveling remnant of a man hanging on a cross. Never has the Son seen the Father look at him so, never felt even the least of his hot breath. But the roar shakes the unseen world and darkens the visible sky. The Son does not recognize these eyes.
"Son of Man! Why have you behaved so? You have cheated, lusted, stolen, gossiped--murdered, envied, hated, lied. You have cursed, robbed, overspent, overeaten--fornicated, disobeyed, embezzled, and blasphemed. Oh, the duties you have shirked, the children you have abandoned! Who has ever so ignored the poor, so played the coward, so belittled my name? Have you ever held your razor tongue? What a self-righteous, pitiful drunk--you, who molest young boys, peddle killer drugs, travel in cliques, and mock your parents. Who gave you the boldness to rig elections, foment revolutions, torture animals, and worship demons? Does the list never end! Splitting families, raping virgins, acting smugly, playing the pimp--buying politicians, practicing exhortation, filming pornography, accepting bribes. You have burned down buildings, perfected terrorist tactics, founded false religions, traded in slaves--relishing each morsel and bragging about it all. I hate, loathe these things in you! Disgust for everything about you consumes me! Can you not feel my wrath?"
Of course the Son is innocent. He is blamelessness itself. The Father knows this. But the divine pair have an agreement, and the unthinkable must now take place. Jesus will be treated as if personally responsible for every sin ever committed.
The Father watches as his heart's treasure, the mirror image of himself, sinks drowning into raw, liquid sin. Jehovah's stored rage against humankind from every century explodes in a single direction.
"Father! Father! Why have you forsaken me?!"
But heaven stops its ears. The Son stares up at the One who cannot, who will not, reach down or reply. The Trinity had planned it. The Son endured it. The Spirit enabled him. The Father rejected the Son whom he loved. Jesus, the God-man from Nazareth, perished. The Father accepted his sacrifice for sin and was satisfied.

The Rescue was accomplished."



Don't move too quickly from this scene. Keep gazing.
The Rescue accomplished here was for you. Did you see your own offenses on the list of sins that necessitated the Cross? If not, name them yourself. Name your darkest sin. Now reflect on the fact that Christ bore the punishment for that sin. He took the punishment you deserved. Do you feel His passionate and specific love for you. He died for you. He was condemned and cursed so that you could go free--He was forsaken by God so that you would never be forsaken (Hebrews 13:5).

So the basics. God is good. We have sinned against Him. He died for us.
What does it mean?
My next basic is that if you believe and love the Lord, His gift of salvation is extended to you.
I won't go into all of the theology behind this, I will only say that the Lord seeks a relationship with everyone. He wants you, and He did His part. If someone gives you a gift, but you do not take it, it is not yours.

So these are my personal 'basics'. Things that I will never question, and are the foundation of my faith. I didn't even intend to write about that, but I went on a tangent from what I intended on writing about so this is the end result. I guess I know what to write about for my next post. Comments are welcome.
Questions go to katelyn.cowart@selu.edu


Monday, May 30, 2011

Love Languages

So I have been bored, so I decided I would take a quiz on my love languages since I always hear people talk about them. Although I am pretty sure everyone uses all of these languages, I think the quiz was correct about which ones are the most important to me.
And here. we. go.

My primary love language is...
Quality Time

In Quality Time, nothing says “I love you” like full, undivided attention. Being there for this type of person is critical, but really being there—with the TV off, fork and knife down, and all chores and tasks on standby—makes you feel truly special and loved. Distractions, postponed activities, or the failure to listen can be especially hurtful.

So true! Secondly were Word of Affirmation, which was also not a surprise. Acts of service, physical touch, and receiving gifts followed in that order. Interesting. There's a whole book on it, so maybe I will read it one day. :-)

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Day 09 - A picture of the person who has gotten you through the most.
Hmmm I would say that someone who I can call anytime with any problem would be my two closest friends, Jess and Tiff :D


Day 09 - A Song That You Can Dance To
Well I guess I can dance to a lot of songs!
But who can't dance to Footloose?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fU0f5bgbj0s

Monday, April 11, 2011

7 & 8

Well, somehow I managed to miss out on four days of the blog! Time to play catch up...
Day 7: A picture of my most treasured item.
Well geeze, I don't even have a 'most treasured item'. So I'm not quite sure what to put here. If my house caught on fire, the only thing I would think about saving is other people or my pets. So maybe I should put a picture of my animals. :)Day 7: A Song that Reminds me of a Certain Event
This songs reminds me of the 9-11 attacks.


Day 8: A Picture that Makes me Laugh
Hehe This one is funny because Jessica really drank the Easter Egg dye. She does kind of silly things sometimes.


Day 8: A Song that I Know All the Words to...
Well I know all the words to a lot of songs. Like... a LOT of songs. But here's a good one:

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

A song that Reminds me of somewhere/ Day 06 of Challenge!

Day06- A song that reminds you of somewhere.
This song reminds me of Africa. It was played a lot during FIFA last summer and it always got stuck in my head. It's an... interesting song.


Day 06 - A picture of a person you'd love to trade places with for a day.
I would love to trade places with a professional ice skater. There's something so cool about ice skating, and to be able to have the skill to gracefully speed around the ice would be amazing. :D

A Song that Reminds me of someone/ Day 5 of pic challenge

A Song that reminds me of someone? Songs always remind me of people, so this could go for anything. But me and my bestest friend in the whole wide world have a song that is 'our song'. Seriously.
It brings me back to when we first became the closest of friends and I remember us both hearing this song for the first time together.


A picture of your favorite memory.
I have a lot of memories that are my favorite. But here is a super special one that sits up at the top with the best. This is me meeting my nephew, Colton, for the first time. Very special moment. I loved how he had his eyes wide open and looked right into my eyes. This was very much love at first sight.



Monday, April 4, 2011

A Song that Makes You Sad/ Day 4 of Photo Challenge!

This is such a sad song. Listen to hear just how sad!






Day 4 is a picture of the last place I went for vacation!
This is Tennessee, a bird's eye view of it that is. Went there on an amazing trip and had a great time. I already gave details in a past blog. :D

Sunday, April 3, 2011

A Song that Makes Me Happppy! (Day 3!)

A Song that makes me happy:
Sing to the King! This song makes me happy because it reminds me that we have already won the battle and satan is already defeated. I love singing this in church because we all get excited thinking about joining together and praising the Lord for His glory when we are done with this life.


Day 3!!!!
A picture of the cast from my favorite show. Drop Dead Diva!
Great show about a model who is a diva. She has a great body, pretty face, and a handsome lawyer boyfriend. She dies, and then hits the 'return' key at heaven's gate. Only problem was that she ended up in Jane's body. Jane is pretty... but she's overweight and ten years older. However, Jane is an incredibly smart lawyer! In her new body, she must learn how to be a good person by virtue and not by looks. Also her boyfriend works at the same law firm as Jane. So that just throws all sorts of interestingness onto the scene. Through the series, you begin to see that the old Jane was a wonderful person, but you see how she has taught the new Jane so much by the legacy that she left behind. Also!!!! It is funny! :)

A Song I Hate/ Day 2 of picture challenge

There are quite a few songs that I don't like. But I thought... which one did I hate from the beginning and makes me feel like screaming when I hear it come on the radio? This one right here ya'll! This is the absolute WORST SONG I have EVER heard. I hate it! Take a listen, I am sure you won't make it 20 seconds before you hate it too! **Also I had to get an unofficial music video because the real music video is quite scandalous!



Day two for the picture challenge is a picture of me and the person I have been the closest to the longest... Well that's easy! My sister, Jessica :)


Saturday, April 2, 2011

My Favorite Song/Day 1 of photo & music challenge



My favorite song right now? 'Until You' by Dave Barnes. It is such a sweet and fun song and it makes me think of how one would feel when in love.

For the photo challenge...
A picture of myself with 10 facts about myself!
1. I used to hate cats. Until Snip. I love him so much!
2. I have multiple people who I could tell anything to.
3. I really love people.
4. God is everything to me.
5. I have a deep fear of deep underwater sea creatures (like angler fish)!
6. There is a freckle on my right foot in between my big toe and second toe. When I wash my feet, there is almost always a split second where I scrub at it thinking it's dirt.
7. When I see shooting stars I am reminded God loves me.
8. I hate being cold, but I love the winter because I love winter clothes, I love being snuggled up when it's freezing outside, fire, and I love stargazing with a cup of hot chocolate.
9. I am the biggest pyro ever.
10. I smile a lot.

Lately

So things have been going better at school... Better grades, good clinical experiences, and I feel more and more like a nurse every day. Grades are still not the best, but hopefully I can pick them up more and keep my scholarships.

I want to do the 30 day picture challenge and the music one, but I thought it was just a little too personal for the face book, so I decided to post it on here. Gives me something to talk about anyways.

For the pictures:
Day 01 - A picture of yourself with ten facts

Day 02 - A picture of you and the person you have been closest with the longest

Day 03 - A picture of the cast from your favorite show

Day 04 - A picture of your night

Day 05 - A picture of your favorite memory

Day 06 - A picture of a person you'd love to trade places with for a day

Day 07 - A picture of your most treasured item

Day 08 - A picture that makes you laugh

Day 09 - A picture of the person who has gotten you through the most

Day 10 - A picture of the person you do the most ****** up things with

Day 11 - A picture of something you hate

Day 12 - A picture of something you love

Day 13 - A picture of your favorite band or artist

Day 14 - A picture of someone you could never imagine your life without

Day 15 - A picture of something you want to do before you die

Day 16 - A picture of someone who inspires you

Day 17 - A picture of something that has made a huge impact on your life recently

Day 18 - A picture of your biggest insecurity

Day 19 - A picture and a letter

Day 20 - A picture of somewhere you'd love to travel

Day 21 - A picture of something you wish you could forget

Day 22 - A picture of something you wish you were better at

Day 23 - A picture of your favorite book

Day 24 - A picture of something you wish you could change

Day 25 - A picture of your day

Day 26 - A picture of something that means a lot to you

Day 27 - A picture of yourself and a family member

Day 28 - A picture of something you're afraid of

Day 29 - A picture that can always make you smile

Day 30 - A picture of someone you miss

Day 31 - A picture of yourself

For the music:

Day 01 – Your favorite song
Day 02 – Your least favorite song
Day 03 – A song that makes you happy
Day 04 – A song that makes you sad
Day 05 – A song that reminds you of someone
Day 06 – A song that reminds of you of somewhere
Day 07 – A song that reminds you of a certain event
Day 08 – A song that you know all the words to
Day 09 – A song that you can dance to
Day 10 – A song that makes you fall asleep
Day 11 – A song from your favorite band
Day 12 – A song from a band you hate
Day 13 – A song that is a guilty pleasure
Day 14 – A song that no one would expect you to love
Day 15 – A song that describes you
Day 16 – A song that you used to love but now hate
Day 17 – A song that you hear often on the radio
Day 18 – A song that you wish you heard on the radio
Day 19 – A song from your favorite album
Day 20 – A song that you listen to when you’re angry
Day 21 – A song that you listen to when you’re happy
Day 22 – A song that you listen to when you’re sad
Day 23 – A song that you want to play at your wedding
Day 24 – A song that you want to play at your funeral
Day 25 – A song that makes you laugh
Day 26 – A song that you can play on an instrument
Day 27 – A song that you wish you could play
Day 28 – A song that makes you feel guilty
Day 29 – A song from your childhood
Day 30 – Your favorite song at this time last year

Saturday, February 19, 2011

Slacker

I have been a slacker with the whole writing more frequently thing.
But such is nursing school.
I am currently about to go to a movie with a tons of my friends, which I am pretty psyched about.
:D

Yeah. I said it. Nursing school.
Talk about a kick in the pants. As usual. Got a test grade back today that was less than satisfactory. Not cool at all!
But. Yeah.

Now, the more I am writing on here, the more I realize the reason I haven't written on here... Because I have had nothing to talk about. On that note, I am about to go see 'Unknown'. I will edit this post later with a 'movie review'. Two in a row! Haha. I will try to add a comical spin on it. Oh and btw, I am 21!! Holla!! Everytime I go into a store that sells lottery tickets or alcohol I point to it and say, " I could buy that. " I get a kick out of the little things. (And I do not gamble or drink so don't be gettin' no ideas ya hear!)

.........

Unknown was really good. I was able to see the preview for it last time I went to the movies, so I kind of got an idea in my head of what it would be like. Since Liam Neeson was in it, it basically tricks you into thinking it is going to be a movie like Taken, but it really isn't. I mean that in the sense that in Taken, there are never any sudden plot twists. Basically just a dad who is ticked off because his daughter is kidnapped and he is going to get her at all costs. In Unknown, the movie is about discovering why someone would want to steal his identity and finding out who can help him. At times, he over thinks the situation and starts to believe that maybe he is just crazy. And that is about all I can say without giving the movie. If I had to rate it I would give it 6 out of 10. Which basically means yes, it is good but you may want to wait until it can be rented. At the end of the movie I am left wondering why certain things happened in the movie. Certain characters did things that still made no sense after the resolution, no matter how you tried to reason it. And it wasn't loose ends left in order to make a sequel, it was basically flaws in the plot. If you're going to try and make a movie that requires the audience to be pretty attentive, you should make sure that the little things that different characters do have a viable reason. Especially the random suicide! And that is all I can say without giving away the movie.

And apparently according to the movie everyone in Germany drives a Mercedes. The cars were awesome. The sometimes dull plot line not so much.

Monday, January 31, 2011

Cloverfield

I am actually at school right now writing a report! :) But I figured I would take some downtime and write something.

So in a couple of days I will be 21! That seems too old for me, I think I will forever think of myself as being 19. That age just sticks for some reason. Maybe 21 will be sticky. I don't know. I do know that February 2nd is Groundhog's Day, so celebrate it. :)

Nothing much has been going on with me besides school. Yesterday evening Kyle and I watched Cloverfield. I have heard tons of people say it was terrible but I liked it. Figures. I have a weird taste in movies I guess. Basically if you haven't seen or heard of the movie it is about a monster that attacks New York. A group of friends are at a party and they are chilling when an oil tanker capsizes and everything 'splodes. And then a giant monster starts running around town and pandemonium escalates. It is actually a sweet story because the main character basically turns down the chance to live by going back to make sure his lovey dovey doesn't die alone. Instead they die together. So sweet. Seriously, I am not being sarcastic. :) Pretty good movie.
That's all.

Friday, January 21, 2011

2011

So this is my first post of the new year! Last year I posted a sad total of 21 blogs, and the year before I posted 33, so hopefully I will pick up the pace this year. :)

I just went back and read some of my previous posts. I actually forgot that I started this blog in 2009. I was pretty up close and comfortable in my first blogs, I guess because less people read it back then. Don't feel tempted to go peek at them, though, they really are kind of boring.

I just started my third semester of nursing school. This semester will be tough, no joke. I already feel stressed out, which can not be a good sign. This past Tuesday and Wednesday we basically had orientation days which were extremely boring, but stressful too as the teachers felt it necessary to repeatedly tell us how difficult this semester is going to be. Next week I get to learn how to start an IV! Wowzers I can not wait but I can at the same time. I hate the fact that I am going to have to get stuck. I just hope I don't make a fool of myself and pass out!

Right now I am doing some reading for class, trying to get off on the right foot. Hopefully today will be productive because I plan on finishing all my reading assignments, creating a calendar for this semester, and maybe just maybe washing my car. :)

This semester I am starting off my clinical with psychiatric patients. And the teacher began to tell us all the techniques to avoid getting choked out or punched by a patient. That's always a good sign. I kind of hoped she would add a disclaimer such as, "Of course I have never seen that happen." Nope. She actually recounted several instances of 'out of control' moments. Guess I will take her advice. Ha!

So New Year's Commitment for me in regards to this blog is a post every two weeks. Posts may be shorter, but maybe a little bit easier to read as a result. I hope eventful things will happen to me. And as a disclaimer, I cannot discuss my patients, so don't expect any stories of that nature. :) Hope you have a good day and God bless.
Love,
Katelyn