Welcome 2011!

Okay, Happy 2011!! Hope everyone had a good New Year! I know mine was FANTASTIC! :D

I spent five days in Washington DC with about 500 college students from a bunch of different Campus Outreach’s on the East Coast.  UNCC, UNCG, App, Clemson, Wingate, Davidson, Presbyterian, Virginia Tech, and a bunch of other schools were there.  It was an amazing week and the Lord really moved in our ministry.  To quote an email I received “119 made the most significant Lordship decisions of their life.  24 felt God was calling them into ministry. “  I know that at UNCCharlotte, four people accepted Christ as their Savior.  God was definitely moving among the students at conference!  It was one of the best New Year’s I’ve ever had, I can’t wait to go again next year!!!

I came home from DC and my Grandpa and Grandma Yoder had drove out here from Iowa to visit us, since I don’t get to see my extended family very often I have enjoyed seeing them.  My brother also was the one forced to give up his bed for them this time which is nice, since I’ve been the one sleeping on the couch for years when company comes over. :)  Something I found rather funny, for Christmas from my grandparents they got me a wood magazine holder and nativity scene that my grandpa made in his woodworking shop, and then also got me an apron that my grandma made.  Apparently my grandpa found it amusing because he said “I don’t know why we got Katlyn an apron, it’s not like SHE ever cooks!” haha 

I also took Brooke to Boston for the day back in December, and we had a lot of fun! We caught a flight to Boston around 7am and got there around 9:30, and then spent the day shopping and exploring what parts of the city we could before we headed back to NC that night.  Below are some of the pictures from our trip!  I hope that we are able to go on many more (hopefully with some other friends as well) in the future; it’s definitely a way to make some fun new memories!

This is us eating at the oldest restaurant in the United States, and below is our waiter, who was amazing!:

I’ve been doing a lot of searching within myself lately and evaluating my character and how it reflects Christ in me.  I think it’s good to always recognize that since I am human, I am never at a point where I should stop working to be more like Christ.  My prayer this past month has been for God to give me a humble heart.  Humility is something us as flawed humans struggle with every second of their lives, but my desire has been to lay down my desires before the Lord in exchange for the heart of a servant.  I can recognize my weaknesses and know that this, along with patience, are two character traits that are receiving my special attention for a while.  As a speaker at conference said, “character is beauty,” and my desire is that people look at me and see me as beautiful because I reflect the love of Christ in my actions and words.  I’m am constantly being refined by my Creator, and I know that through seeking him and asking help for my weaknesses he will mold me into a woman after his own heart. 

I have learned a lot of things about myself this past semester in school, and I feel like I have been able to see myself grow from the first day of classes until now.  I am so excited to see what else the Lord has planned for me.  I know that growing is sometimes a difficult process.  It hurts, it stings, and at time it’s just plain hard, but in the end, I will be better off for the lessons learned along the way.

I will try to update this more often, even if it’s just to share little things that I wanted to share, rather than having to share a large post that updates you on several weeks/months in which I have been an MIA blogger.  I want my blog to have purpose; I put updates of my life on here because I know some of you guys that read it are family who want to know what I’m up to, but I also want it to encourage you spiritually, even if my thoughts are scattered at times. I’m not always the most eloquent writer and I don’t always say the right things, but I try to be honest and transparent, and hopefully that makes these posts easy to read! :)