Trip out to Colorado - Days 1 and 2

Here are some photos from my trip to Colorado so far! I took most of them while driving...Don't worry - no accidents.

Windmills in western Iowa or Nebraska

My first peak at the mountains in Colorado- look closely on the horizon!

Sunset at a park in downtown Denver - I was visiting my friend Jenny who is doing an internship in Denver for June and July. There was a jazz fest going on here and it was really fun:)

First photo from Dinosaur Ridge - the ripples on these rocks were made by waves of water - the rocks at one point were horizontal, but got pushed up more vertically.

One of the many dinosaur bones. I think they said this one was probably a vertebrae. The bones soak up some of the minerals in the rock and are visible because they are shinier than the sandstone around them.

This impression is supposed to be a dinosaur foot print from the underside. The ground became depressed and the rock filled it in, leaving a "fossilized footprint."

A top view of a dinosaur footprint.

Getting close to Buena Vista - here's Mount Princeton!

Downtown Salida!! That's where I'm staying now - I'll try to take a pic of the hostel I'm staying at:) It's really cute - meeting a lot of cool people - a few who are hiking the Continental Divide trail (crazy! but SO cool), another is biking it, a couple other guys are running here to get in better shape. I feel pretty out of shape, but it's fun to hear their stories! And I've gotten to see a few friends from Wilderness, too!

I'm in Colorado!

I'm here - well, I've been in Colorado since last night. I stayed with a friend in Denver, had lunch with some fam this afternoon and am now in Salida at a hostel a friend owns. I will try to upload pix on here later tonight and give the down-low on my trip so far. The mountains are so beautiful!!! And it's much cooler than Iowa - yay!

Great family, great friends

1st of all - see Transformers 2 - it was great -action, comedy, kissing..., teary eyes. Good, good.

Next, tell your family you love them. And give them grace. My mom died in December and I am learning how to live this "new normal" life. I don't always choose patience with my family, but when I give them grace, it is wonderful. I live for the unplanned bonding moments - like tonight with my dad - when we have good conversation and make dinner together (though tonight was rushed a little... sorry Dad:))

Also - friends are wonderful. I have friends of many different sorts - old friends that have known me forever, pretty old friends who I'm really close to from college or my 1st round of grad school, newer friends within the last 2 years in Iowa City, friends from class, friends from church, friends from work, new friends from my apartment building and their friends:) All of these are awesome and wonderful and amazing. My favorite is when you can call up a friend whenever just to say hi or when you can say - "hey, let's go do....[fill in blank]" randomly and they actually will! And friends who really nothing is said or explained and you really just met a few weeks ago, but you feel like you've known each other longer and there's just a peace about that friendship.

What I love most about friendships is when they are God-centered. I think that's when you really start to feel like family - when a 2-week knowing of someone can be a broken-down barrier leading to a feeling like you are loved and cared for by someone. It's when you don't get a lot of chances to talk to a really close friend because you live in different states or across the country, but when you do talk or visit each other, it's like you're just picking up where you left off - there are never any hard feelings for not talking as much and you love to just be in each others' presence. It doesn't matter what you do when you hang out. It's great.

So take a minute and thank God for the people He's put in your life. Yeah - even the more difficult relationships. He is teaching you something through each one - easy or hard, close or distant.

Thanks to all my family and friends! You are wonderful!

P.S. Tomorrow's my last day teaching this program! I will miss some things about the students and hope they enjoyed at least some parts of it! Tomorrow, they will be making presentations in the morning and we'll be doing wrap-up stuff in the afternoon - pretty laid-back. I hope I don't check out too early...ha

And then frantic (well, at least quick) laundry so I can pack for Colorado!!!!! This is when the blogging really comes into play - when I'm away and climbing in the mountains:) yay! I will try to venture into posting pics too.

Tell your story

I was at a Bible study with some friends in my apartment building tonight. We're reading through the gospel of John and were on chapters 8 and 9 tonight. We discussed a lot of cool stuff. One thing that stuck out to me was John 9:25. When a blind man is made to see by Jesus, he's asked who this Jesus guy is. And the man replies: "Whether he is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know, that thought I was blind, now I see."

Coming back from Wyld Life camp, we heard a lot of the girls' questions about who God is, why Jesus had to die, etc., and then I continued to really consider these questions for myself (and realizing I really have no idea for some of them). I realized that I don't have most of the answers (if any) nor do I really know for sure on why I believe in God. In fact, I don't think anyone could give you a for sure answer to any of those tough questions - a pretty good answer, yes, but no one knows for sure. The thing I do know is my story. I know how Jesus has impacted my life and that is what I can tell. In the same way, the formerly blind man doesn't know how to explain what happened to him, nor does he really know who Jesus is at this point (he talks to Jesus more a few verses later). What he DOES know is that he was blind but now can see. Jesus gave him sight. Wow. What is it that Jesus has done for you? When you're unsure of how to talk about your faith or share it with others, or explain why you believe (because it's nearly impossible sometimes!) - tell your story. Even Jesus didn't always explain. He wanted people to experience life with Him - not just to hear about it. He says "come and see," and "follow me."

Another thought to ponder: I don't hold to the saying "There's a reason for everything." Instead, I think it should be: "God can work good in all things and situations."

Have a wonderful night! I'm going canoeing/cleaning up a river tomorrow with the class I'm teaching - 14 sixteen and under-year-olds and 4 other adults. Pray for safety and fun!

G'night,
Katie

Go see Up

Loved the movie Up - go see it. It has some sad parts, but mostly happy ones. It's a story of dreaming, accepting, and living life anew. It's a Pixar animated film, but it is done SO well. And the short film shown right before it called "Partly Cloudy" is hilarious!

One week left of the class I'm teaching (1/2 way there!). I'll be happy when it's done - not that it's going bad, just that it's a little stressful and I put pressure on myself. The students are students and it's summer and they don't always want to be there - I understand... But I feel like I need to have their attention at all times and that they need to be on-task at all times. So I'm hoping that the way I shaped the curriculum lets them learn something new and experience science and a college campus! I've gotten a couple "that was fun" and "I want to be a professional water tester" (or something like that), which is a long way from the 1st few days of feeling like they didn't want to be there at all! So that's more than nothing!

I'm mostly excited to be done teaching because that means I get to go to Colorado - see my friend Jenny Ackerson!, go visit my friends' hostel in Salida, visit and serve at Wilderness Ranch for a few days!, and take a geology class in the mountains of Crested Butte - B-E-A-U-tiful!! I'll try to take a lot of pictures and post them. I'm not always good at that, but I feel like I'll want to share them! So here's hoping:)

And then comes a few days off and then family vacation and then work crew boss-ing at Castaway! I'm beginning to pray for our team's time there and for all the WC kids! I'm a dining hall boss and I'm praying for wisdom and openness in working with the other WC boss (Ron) - so our leadership styles mesh well and we can communicate well. I'm praying for the kids, too and for the rest of the assigned team. A little over a month!

P.S. Can you believe June is 2/3's over?? Okay, don't think about it anymore... Just enjoy your evening, this minute, your day!! Don't wish any days away - live the journey of your life!

Katie

Long time no post

So, I'm back from camp and it was tiring, hard, but oh so great, too. It took me a few days after getting back to recoop and be able to start thinking about all the good things that happened and all the walls that came down! We started our first post-camp DIG (deeper in God) or cabin-time and I think it went really well! We're going to try to do those weekly with the girls - whoever can come, and whoever new wants to join. I feel bad that I won't be there for a lot of them over the summer, but Megan is going to try to keep doing them:) Yay!

I'm currently teaching a class on water pollution and water quality for Native Amercan students from Iowa, Arizona, and South Dakota. The first few days were a struggle as the students got used to the schedule and I got used to not feeling like I was a star teacher every minute of the day (go figure). I learned to be more flexible and expect more out of the students even when they seemed to not be interested right away. We spent the day outside today sampling water from a local creek and near a local spillway. I think the students liked getting out and getting some hands-on experience in the field. And I liked having a couple additional teachers on-hand in the form of DNR employees who do this training for a living! It was great. I've been learning how to be okay getting things together last-minute as I can't always rely on everyone to think ahead as much as I do - ha. For instance, I am getting an ID and password set up tomorrow morning to use to enter our sampling data into an online database tomorrow morning - eek! Without the ID and password, we can't go any further, so I have a "stall plan" and am trusting that it will work out okay. Also - we changed our sampling site last minute today due to high water levels and I am SO happy it didn't down pour all day so that we c0uld be outside - otherwise I would have had to come up with 5 hours of inside class work - again, eek!

The students are starting individual research projects (informational and experimental in some cases) which they will get to present on the last day (next Friday). They seem pretty interested and I like that they get some choice in this - let them feel excited about learning! And take some pressure off of me to make things interesting. We'll also be doing some tours - of the Iowa City water treatment plant tomorrow, of a research lab on campus on Monday - again, chances for others to talk and a little less pressure for me :) yay! Then we'll have some medical school and nursing school simulations and visits which I hope will be fun for the students. And I think I'm going to loosely structure the rest of the time for the students to work on their presentations.

One problem I ran into that stressed me out a little was that they were going through the material a lot faster than I had planned. Either that or I was getting nervous that they weren't interested and just moved them along faster - oops. So I was forced to come up with a couple other things to do last minute - so I am learning that I need to plan more things than we have time for in case we actually have time for them - ha!

Phew - well, I'm learning a lot and I hope the students are getting something out of it! Another challenge is that they are all at such different levels of science knowledge. Two are almost taking AP Chemistry and Biology courses at the HS in Iowa City (really good HS), while many of them don't even have science labs in their schools nor have they had much science classes! So, I'm trying to create a curriculum that works for all of them - how do teachers do this every day?? I'm learning and I guess I have to if I'm going to do this next year:) hehe

Okay - long post... but it brings you up to date to where I'm at today. Almost 1/2 way through teaching the course and then off to Colorado soon after that - doesn't seem like it's so soon, because I have so much to do with the class before that!

I love life! It's great and I hope you all are doing well, too!
Katie

Heading home from camp

I am in the bus heading home from wyld life camp at Timber Wolf Lake in Michigan. Camp had less luster for me this year - it seemed harder for me to lead but it was great for the kids. I have to admit that I am ready to spend a day away from junior high girls:) it can.be hard sometimes to connect with them without feeling fake sometimes... Anyway - trying to sleep and relax on the bus...

Selfish with my time

So summer is here (and has been for a few weeks), which means I have more time for myself. At first, this is tough for me, as I am used to being pretty scheduled during the semester and the shock of freedom from this is off-setting for me. Though, after a couple weeks, I ease into a good rhythm of getting together with friends, reading, sleeping, wondering what exciting things I will do with my day.

So, now, I feel like I'm becoming somewhat selfish with my time - my "what exciting thing can I do with my day" time - the time I get to just sit, think, wonder, do, relax, reflect, laugh with friends, eat with family, read, wonder, sleep. So... then comes a request from my dad to help him out and I feel myself responding with "what? but what about my time? my precious time to...well...do nothing? I have a hard time making that switch back to giving time to others when I have to resort to spending so much time by myself, relying on myself to make decisions about what I will do with my time. I feel stuck and easily irritated and realizing that I'm not really being me - some irritated, crabby, selfish side of me is coming out. Do you know what I mean? If so, do you know why this happens? What do you do to get out of this bad spot?

On another note, I am leaving for camp Tuesday bright and early and am excited:) I have to get some stuff done beforehand, though (something which I am not used to having to do right before camp), and am finding myself wondering if it will all get done...? Does it all have to get done? Can I just "wing" some of the specifics of my teaching when I get back from camp? I have the first week planned out pretty well and have to finish putting together the handouts, but otherwise, I think I'm good for week 1. Week 2 - I have some open spots that need to be structured a little, but I will have some time during week 1 to work on that, right? and the weekend in between? I just hope I won't be kicking myself wondering why I didn't do a better job of getting everything done before camp...

The reason I am going on about this is that I am realizing that I need to take some intentional time with God these next couple days. Camp is amazing and awesome, but it is draining and I need to make sure my roots are in the right spot and digging deep before I try to love the campers and my fellow leaders well. So, do I make sure my curriculum is all done or do I make sure to prepare myself enough? Both? I suppose neither will be perfect, so I can only keep on keeping on towards Jesus and doing my best each day. I'm praying these days don't become just time to "get things done."

On a lighter note - I hung out with some old and new friends tonight and played Apples to Apples - it was fun, but I have a hard time feeling the need to play hostess and making sure everyone is having a great time... I think I always assume if someone isn't smiling the whole time it means they are having the worst time ever... I put too much pressure on myself... Sigh... Well, I think it was fun, and I'm going to get off my case now...

Thanks for reading:)

This is Home

Yep, another one from Prince Caspian. I love the description of being "created for a place I've never known."

This is Home - Switchfoot

I've got my memories
Always inside of me
But I can't go back
Back to how it was

I believe now
I've come too far
No I can't go back
Back to how it was

Created for a place I've never known

Chorus:
This is home
Now I'm finally where I belong, where I belong
Yeah, this is home
I've been searching for a place of my own
Now I found it, maybe this is home
Yeah, this is home

Belief over misery
I've seen the enemy
And I won't go back
Back to how it was
And I got my heart set on what happens next
I got my eyes wide it's not over yet
We're miracles, and we're not alone.

(Chorus)

And now, after all my searching
After all my questions
I'm gonna call it home
I got a brand new mindset
I can finally see the sunset
I'm gonna call it home

Home...
(Chorus)

Now I know
Yeah, this is home

I've come too far
And I won't go back
Yeah this is home.

The Call

A song I really like is called "The Call" by Regina Spektor. If you have seen The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, you will recognize it as the song that accompanies the final scene.

I like the part about the feeling to hope to quiet thought to quiet word to battle cry (beginning), because it reminds me of God's word in my life. I also like how it says "no need to say goodbye" because I'm always awkward about goodbyes, feeling like I have to say all I want to say before we part ways. But I've realized that it never is goodbye forever - it's always "see you later."
I also like the part that says: "It's just a feeling and no one knows yet, But just because they can't feel it too, Doesn't mean that you have to forget, Let your memories grow stronger and stronger
'Til they're before your eyes..."

You can listen to it free online, but I think you have to purchase the entire Prince Caspian soundtrack if you want to purchase the song on iTunes. Hope you get to listen to it sometime!

Here are the lyrics:

The Call - Regina Spektor

It started out as a feeling
Which then grew into a hope
Which then turned into a quiet thought
Which then turned into a quiet word

And then that word grew louder and louder
'Til it was a battle cry
I'll come back
When you call me
No need to say goodbye

Just because everything's changing
Doesn't mean it's never been this way before
All you can do is try to know who your friends are
As you head off to the war

Pick a star on the dark horizon
And follow the light
You'll come back when it's over
No need to say goodbye

You'll come back when it's over
No need to say goodbye

Now we're back to the beginning
It's just a feeling and no one knows yet
But just because they can't feel it too
Doesn't mean that you have to forget

Let your memories grow stronger and stronger
'Til they're before your eyes
You'll come back
When they call you
No need to say goodbye

You'll come back
When they call you
No need to say goodbye