Yay! A New Place to Live!

We're all moved in! I took Friday off to finish packing and we had a huge group of people come help us move on Saturday into a new apartment across town (thanks everyone!). It's bigger, more spacious, and has more storage... oh, and did I mention it's bigger? It's actually not that much bigger, but when you compare it to the shoebox we were living in, it seems humongous! It's also something we can take pride in, make our own, and really get all we can out of it. The layout is way better, as well as having vaulted ceilings, so it feels a lot more open than it really is.
The weirdest thing, however, is that there are no ceiling lights in the living room or the bedroom... so we have to go buy floor-lamps so we can see when we walk into the dark rooms. I never thought to ask about needing lamps for actual function to see in a room, but I guess you learn something new every time you move!
We're really excited about our new place, and I hope we can have everyone over to see it! If I wasn't so weary of posting pictures of where I live online, I'd post some here. But unfortunately, I have security-issue-problems.
I had the day off yesterday so we were able to get a lot more unpacked and put away, and now all we have left is to put pictures up! I'm so excited for this new phase of life and hopefully we're happy enough where we are that the next time we move will be into a house we will buy... but we'll just have to wait and see.
Praise God for a wonderful new place to live!!

Does God Have a Wife?

I realized I haven't written anything very deep or thoughtful lately. I guess I feel uninspired or haven't found anything worth trying to digest and process on here.
Well, I have found something that has been puzzling me for a while. I'm reading a book called Jezebel by Lesley Hazleton. It's a non-fiction telling of the story of the interactions of Queen Jezebel, King Ahab, and Elijah from a historical perspective. When I first picked it up, I thought it was going to be a historical-fiction novel, but I have been pleasantly surprised by how interesting and informational it is. I'm not very knowledgeable of the Old Testament, and knew nothing of Jezebel, except that people use her name like a weapon; but I was never sure why. This book has already helped paint a picture of her influence on history, as well as who she and her husband were. I'll wait to recommend it (or not) when I finish it...
Anyway, the reason I'm writing this blog is because of something the author said and I cannot, for the life of me, figure out if it is true. Here is the passage from the book that has me puzzled:

"As Jezebel was yet to discover, Yahweh did indeed have a consort-- a lesser version of Astarte known as Asherah.
We know of her from ancient inscriptions calling down teh blessings of 'Yehweh and his Asherah' as well as from the Bible itself. In Jeremiah she is known as 'the queen of heaven,' and her image -- a stylized Tree of Life-- was placed beside the main alter in the temples of Yehweh." (pg. 43)

Is Asherah real? Is it a myth? Who is she? I found a few verses that talk about her:

Jeremiah 44:18

18But ever since we stopped burning incense to the Queen of Heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have had nothing and have been perishing by sword and famine.”

Jeremiah 7:18

18The children gather wood, the fathers light the fire, and the women knead the dough and make cakes of bread for the Queen of Heaven. They pour out drink offerings to other gods to provoke me to anger.

Is she a superstition? Or is there such thing as a queen of heaven? Is there a female spirit up there with Jesus? Or is it humans trying to create a balance in their mind-- thinking that God needs a female counter-part since we, as humans, have males and females? I'm so confused by this! Because in Jeremiah 44:18 it sounds like she was taking offerings and helping to protect people... but then in (actually, it's first) it says they are provoking God by giving offerings to other gods. Does the Queen of Heaven qualify or is she with God so offerings to her count towards God as well? And if she really does exist, how come it's never been talked about? Why is shes never mentioned? What does/will that do to my faith? to others' faith? What kind of impact would it have if she does exist and churches start teaching about her and praising her like they do God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit? Is that even possible to happen? I have so many questions flying through my head!
I know I need to do some more research, but I'm surprised I've never heard of this before! If anyone has any sort of insight, please help me out!

"This is Kate. How May I Help You?"

You'll never guess where I am... I'm at my new job!!!!!!!!!!!! I finally, after 5 months of looking, sending out resumes and cover letters, and having to take a job at Barnes and Noble to make a little money, I have a full-time job; real, 8-5, real-world job!! I am an administrative assistant at an oil and gas drilling company that drills all over the place. Yes, I know my degree is in human development and family studies, but the jobs that go along with that aren't hiring and don't pay diddly-squat! Eventually when Michael finishes his degree (oh, by the way, he's going back to school in 2 weeks!!!) and makes a lot of money, I can persue something more along the lines of what my degree and interests are in.
But for now I'm surrounded by maps of things I have no clue what they represent or where the hell they even are. A very nice co-worker of mine sat me down and explained a little bit of what they do and what the different symbols and terminology means. Even still... now I can look at the maps and say "that one I think maybe might mean it's a working oil well." Where the maps are showing, I'm still clueless. I'm sure I'll learn more, since this is only my second day. So if you need an excuse to celebrate (since Cinco de Mayo is over [side note, I live right by Federal Blvd, a street notorious for being absolutely insane for cinco de mayo, and I'm happy to say there were no issues around our house! Yay!]), celebrate new jobs and new beginnings! Anyone else celebrating new beginnings? I'm totally willing to celebrate on behalf of you too! Share away!

The Optimism of a Pessimist

So I mentioned before in a blog that I got a job at Barnes and Noble. The thing I have realized while working at that job is how much it requires me to be an optimist when my first and overwhelming reaction is to be a complete pessimist. This job has a lot of things I can be negative about, but if I dwell on those things, I lose sight of the good things about the job, as well as lose all motivation to go to work. To be able to tolerate my job, and even enjoy it at times, I have to focus on the positive aspects. Who would have thought that Barnes and Noble would be a growing experience... well, there's another optimistic thing about it!

The Happenings of Thanksgiving Week

I just got back to school from a week-long Thanksgiving break. It was wonderful, even with the few family drama issues! At the beginning, me, my sister, her roommate who stayed with us all week, and Michael went to the Denver Film Festival. My dad prints their programs so we got ticket vouchers to go see a movie. We had a blast (after we wandered around trying to find the theater)! We went out to dinner and then went to the movie, all dressed up and feeling hott! The movie was about a grandma who finds a job working at a sex-shop to earn money to pay for her grandson's much-needed medical treatment. It was awkward at times (as you can imagine), but really well done! We all enjoyed it-- you can't go wrong with a great character-development movie ;-) (My sister and I are in the middle... her roommate is on the left, and Michael (obviously) is on the right)
I then spent the week hanging out with my parents and my sister and her roommate. We chatted, watched movies, helped cook, went grocery shopping... the time flew!
Thanksgiving came and we had some long-time family friends over for dinner. We had delicious turkey (and that's a lot for me to say since I'm not a big fan of turkey-- I'd rather have ham any day) and all the "usual" side dishes. But when it's "usual" it means my mom found an even better recipe that melts in your mouth! We then spent the evening playing card games which actually ended up being evenly scored (GO me and Brittany!)! (In the picture-- (left to right: me, Michael, Ali, Taryn, Brittany, and Jill)
It's a lifelong tradition of our family to trek out like the Griswolds and cut down our Christmas tree. Thankfully we have always remembered our saw ;-) This year, however, my sister and I managed to lose our parents in the forest. While we were picking up pine cones and putting them in each other's hood (while laughing uncontrollably!) we thought we were following our parents' tree-dragging trail. Well, when we got to the car and my parents were not there, we realized we'd followed the wrong tree line (except that we ended up by our car... weird). Our parents finally walked up--even after we went searching for them in the forest and still ended up at the car again-- thankful that their dread of my sister and I sitting in the snow crying and hungry, being nibbled on by a bear was not true. We (being my dad) tied up the tree to the top of the car and we drove to the volunteer fire station that we go to every year to get some hot chocolate. While we were there, Mrs. Claus dragged our whole family over to Santa Claus' lap to take a picture! (I have a confession-- that was the first time I've ever sat on Santa's lap in my entire life! I've always been terrified of Santa so my sister and I never went near him!) As we were waiting for our picture to develop we read an article about this particular Santa and how he is the real deal. Thirteen years ago, he heard about families who were not going to have a real Christmas because they didn't have enough money. So, on Christmas morning, he dressed up in a Santa suit and went and took presents to the families. He paid for it out of his own pocket and continues to do it every year! What an awesome example of what one man can do to impact other people's lives!!
So other than that, I just relaxed and spent some quality time with my family. Oh, and we finally found a wedding venue location!!! YAY! We're all super-excited about it! Anyway, I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving! I thought I'd end this with a brief list of what I'm thankful for this year:
- Loyal friends
- Love of friends and family
- My sister (and the fact that she's up at CSU with me)
- Michael
- Making a real difference
- God working in my life
- TV shows... my guilty pleasure ;-)
- Movies... another guilty pleasure...
- Ice cream... my absolute guilty pleasure!
- The blessing my aunt gives my sister and I every month
- The safety of my Marine boys
- Change, even though it's really hard
- The endless possibilities for my future
- Sunsets
- And the everyday blessings God gives me!

HAPPY BELATED THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!!!!!!

Don't Forget to Push Your Button

I guess I'm in a writing mood tonight! Anyway, there has been something I've been thinking about ever since I had a discussion about it with my wonderful sister last week (and it came up again when talking to a friend a few days later). We were talking about prayer and God answering prayer. My sister has a friend who told her that she believes God punished her by not getting a job because she didn't pray for it enough. What?! What sense does that make? Yeah, it's important to consult God about everything, but I don't believe God punishes you for not praying about it first and especially not praying about it enough! Yes, I believe God answers all prayer. However, the discussion was about if someone says they commit to pray about something or for someone every day, but forget to do it one day, will God still answer/bless the person/thing they were praying for? Will God not do something because we (as imperfect people) forget to pray?
I know there is the whole idea of asking for blessings and God not giving what isn't asked for. However, what about when it's something like blessing someone that day? Will God give them (even punish them with) a crappy day just because you didn't ask God to bless them? Or is it the thought that counts? God will do what He wants, and if including you in blessing someone or touching their life in some way, then so be it. But would God deliberately hold back a blessing because someone didn't ask it on behalf of someone else? Or would you not be influential and show God's love to someone if you didn't ask God to help you do so before you interacted with them? I believe God uses people where they are at, and that is not necessarily when you are kneeling by your bed to pray.
You see a coworker having a bad day and you go over and encourage them, maybe even pray for/with them. Would God not have you help that friend out if you hadn't prayed beforehand? Of course not! I think it is important to keep God in a constant dialogue, but I am the walking, talking example of how hard that is! However, God has used me in people's lives when I haven't specifically prayed for anyone, and even when I haven't read my Bible in a few days (it gets really hard being a college student... excuses, excuses, I know!). It's important and vital to pray, but I don't think God is as picky as only acting when you ask Him to. I think He's a little bit bigger than that! I am not saying people shouldn't pray for others, because I believe that is very important and can result in miracles! However, I am against putting God in a prayer box and thinking He only acts when we want Him to. God is so huge and incomprehensible and will do what He wants and will act within His perfect will for each and every person's life. God understands that we are imperfect and cannot always do what we say we will (especially when it involves doing something every day).
God is grace-- that's all it really comes down to. God is going to extend His grace to you and whoever/whatever you are praying for, so it is not our worry if they are going to be blessed by God. God will bless them if He wants to bless them that day. Our prayer for their blessing is acting in love and obedience towards God. If we fear that God is going to punish us or someone else because we didn't pray is telling God that we don't trust that he has everything under control. We are taking God's blessings into our own hands and are telling God how it should be done. It is also very selfish. Yes, it's important to pray for our friends and coworkers, but saying your actions are going to determine their days and lives is egotistical. God is bigger than us, and we have no control over God. We cannot tell Him what to do. We can only ask and wait patiently for the answer. Demanding God to do something seems pretty ridiculous if you ask me! God hears your prayers and hears your heart. He knows what is going on and He knows your deepest desires. He also knows what is best for you, and for your friends. Praying every day is not a "Bless Them" button we push every day. We especially do not have to fear God pushing the "Shitty Day" button because you didn't do our job and push our button. So continue to pray for blessings for others, but don't get too high and mighty about it and think God won't do it without your asking. Because He's higher and mightier than we could ever begin to imagine!