Just a small town girl...

I wish I could adequately put into words the emotions I have felt over the past five days. As some may know, it's been a particularly roller-coaster type week. Amidst the busy-ness of an amazing start to Club this Fall, this small town I have learned to love and call home experienced yet another death. Karla Brown lost a three-year battle to breast cancer. Karla is Maddie Brown's mother. Maddie is one of our Club kids, as well as an amazing athlete on the MHS Varsity soccer team.

I got the opportunity to hang out with Maddie yesterday for a while, it was such a sweet, sweet blessing. But, it is not our time together that I wanted to share with you right now, it's what happened last night...

There are moments in life that seem truly magical. Moments that you stand there and can't do anything but smile with a few simple tears rolling down your cheek. Last night was one of those moments. It seems as though Fall has finally it Idaho and last night we stood out in the cold watching the Middleton Lady Vikes take on Columbia High School in soccer. It was a special game... it was senior night, and we also had a moment of silence for Karla. Maddie came to the game. She wasn't dressed down, but she had brought her stuff in the event she wanted to play. She started the game sitting on the bench, but she couldn't sit still, watching her team play and not be apart of it. About half way through the first half Maddie decided she was tired of sitting and wanted to play. And play she did. She spent almost the entire second half in the game, and in the last five minutes, Maddie got an amazing ball, shot and scored an amazing goal. The moment that ball hit the back of the net, the entire bench, the coaches, the parents on the sideline, everyone, burst into tears.

There is nothing like watching an entire team come together to support one of their teammates. I have never seen a group of girls more unified and bonded then those girls are right now. At the end of the game the entire bench rushed the field to tackle Maddie with the biggest hug ever. It was more than the fact that they won the game, it was about a group of girls coming together and overcoming difficulty together. It was about that united front.

It's amazing what one group can do... and it's also amazing the lessons you can learn from a group of high school girls who have begun to realize that life is more about how you love and less about anything else.

I love what I do. I love so much that I get to be a part of the lives of high school students. I love that I get to watch them grow and discover that life is more than just satisfying their selfish desires. I love it. Oye.

Shocker... I haven't updated this in 8 months

I frequently think of things I could blog about but never get around to doing so. I constantly tell myself to be a more diligent blogger... to update this thing on a more regular basis and I fail miserably at that. Oye.

This summer has been absolutely crazy. On June 5th, I left with 20 Middleton High School students to go to Young Life's Malibu Club off the coast of British Columbia. We spent an absolutely amazing week there. We got home on the 13th, after a few restful days at home, I turned right back around and headed back up for my month long assignment at Malibu. I got the privilege of spending an entire month serving the Lord while hanging out with 44 high school kids from across the country. It was so fun to have a front row seat in watching what God was doing in the lives of kids while they spent a week at one of my most favorite places in the world.

While on assignment, we spent a lot of time looking at Psalm 18. Since that time I have been very stuck in vs. 19 of Pslam 18. It says... "He brought me out into a broad place; he rescued me because he delighted in me." What does it mean to delight in something? What does it look like to truly delight in something? I think about the things that I love: skiing, hiking, camping, hanging out with people, my family, my friends... am I truly delighting in them like Christ delights in me? I don't know if I am! And how do I delight in things that I am not necessarily happy about? How can I take joy in the things that I'm not excited about? I am sure there are so many times that God is not necessarily happy with me, yet he still delights in me, I want that kind of heart! I don't necessarily have answers to these things, but, I just pray as a new year of ministry starts that I would continue to learn how to take delight in and have joy in everything around me. Just something to think about...

I would be lying if I said I promise to update this thing more often... but I can at least try, can't I?!

Answering the call

"God shapes the heart of the leader through the call. This call is a divinely orchestrated setting apart of the leader for some special task. God's part of the call dynamic is to initiate, guide, position, and intervene. The leader's part of the call drama is to hear, respond, search, and order or re-order life."

Ohhhh my. The above quote is from a book I've had to read for Young Life New Staff training. It made me laugh so hard while reading. God is soooo all over every detail of my life it's ridiculous. The other day I was leaving Farmboy drive-in after hanging out with some high school kids and I just had to smile. I tried so hard to ignore what God wanted from my life at first. I tried so hard to be cool and hip and work at a sweet ad agency in Boise but it's not what I was designed for, I wasn't using my talents the best that I could. And all along, God was doing his part to get my attention. He stripped me of everything familiar (Portland, Salt Lake, my friends, etc.) and he moved me to IDAHO! Of all places, Idaho! Haha. God was guiding me and prompting me to get me in just the place that He wanted me to call me into a position with Young Life where I get the privilege of hanging out with high school kids, loving on them, being a part of their life and most importantly sharing with them a God who loves them so, so, so much! Ah! I love the way He intervenes in our lives, and I love that after a whoooole lot of God intervening, I answered the call. Man.

Just my thoughts for the day... :-)

God, you make me giggle...

As some of you know... I'm an incredibly diligent journal-er. I love keeping my journals, and I especially love going back and reading what I wrote. I often will go back and look at my thoughts from the prior year, and I did that last night. And what I found made me laugh really hard...

On 11/11/09 I wrote... "God, I so often wonder if my job at OR (the job I got that moved me to Idaho) was just a means of getting me to Idaho and not really what you want me to continue pursuing. God, would you make it so very clear to me if that's the case? Would you make other opportunities come before me."

Right... Ohhhh God, how faithful you are in answering prayers! When I wrote that I had NO clue that I would lose my job, and get hired on with Young Life in a small town in Southwest Idaho! No clue! Oh how different, yet incredible, things are with where I am now. It makes me smile to think that, that time was just meant to prepare me for where I am now. I love how God works. Seriously, seriously love it.

My Support Letter...

Friends, as many of you know, or are quickly finding out, I'm in the middle of support raising for my new Young Life area. Thought I'd post my support letter that recently went out, here on my blog so that you guys could be praying or send in support if you desire and never got a support letter from me! If you need the physical mailing address let me know.

July 2010

Dear Friends,

How quickly life changes, a year ago this time I had just graduated from the University of Utah and was embarking on my journey into the “real world.” Little did I know God had other plans for my career. This past March I was asked to join Young Life staff and start a new area in a small town, called Middleton, about 20 miles west of Boise, Idaho.

What is Young Life…

Young Life is an organization that desires to share the story of Jesus Christ with teenagers. Young Life leaders seek to meet kids on their turf in the interest of friendship. Young Life is completely committed to relationships. As the relationship grows, leaders are able to share the love of Jesus Christ.

My Story…

For many years I thought that joining Young Life staff would be a possibility for me; I just didn’t think it would happen so soon. In February, I lost the job that brought me to Idaho and was trying to figure out what to do next with my life. I applied for countless jobs and every door just kept shutting. At the end of March, I received a phone call from the Young Life regional director in Idaho asking me if I was interested in joining Young Life staff. He told me about this new area that was starting in Middleton. Before I even hung up the phone I was convinced that this was what I was supposed to do, I was supposed to start Young Life in Middleton, Idaho.

What I’ll be doing…

I will be starting a new Young Life area in Middleton. I will begin by building relationships with kids in the high school, which included taking kids to both Young Life and WyldLife camp this summer. I will establish a weekly club meeting as well as campaigners (Bible study). I will be building a team of volunteer leaders who will partner with me in building relationships with the kids at Middleton High School. I will also be forming a support group of adults in the community to pray, care for and assist me, and my volunteers, in reaching Middleton High School.

How you can help…

In order for all of this to happen I need to gather a team that can support me both prayerfully and financially. Would you partner with me in helping me share Christ with our young friends in Middleton?

I need people who can support me with either monthly pledges or people who might wish to make a one-time donation. I need to raise at least $10,000. Your gifts are tax-deductible. Your support will allow me to be able to dedicate my time completely to reaching kids for Christ. Any and all prayer support is essential and especially welcomed!

Enclosed is a response card along with a self-addressed envelope. If you are able to support me, please fill out this card as soon as possible. Young Life will receive your gift and you will receive an envelope for your next donation. You can also set up one time or recurring donations on-line at http://giving.younglife.org, just make sure you note that they go to Katie Cunningham, area ID-51 in Middleton, Idaho.

If you have any further questions or would just like to contact me, please feel free to do so. My phone number is (503)320-7344 and my email is kcunningham123@gmail.com

Thank you so much for your help!

God Bless,

Katie

Two posts in less than a month... Crazy, I know.

I was folding my laundry tonight when it dawned on me that exactly one year ago tomorrow I moved to this great state of Idaho. Holy cow! Where in the world did this last year go?! I thought about writing something super cheesy and sentimental about the past year and all the wisdom I have gained, but I'll spare you all and instead I'm going to give you a quick run down on the highlights of June 6, 2009 - June 6, 2010 in picture form.

So, I basically spent most of last summer missing this state... and visiting it often. The pictures between June 6, 2009 and about October-ish are seriously lacking.

Some of my most favorite Salt Lake friends came and visited me for the weekend and it was incredible.

Jess and Doug got married which provided for a wonderful reason to go back to Salt Lake and hang out with old friends!

I finally made friends in Boise who constantly laughed at me when I got super excited about them and called them my "new friends."

Went home for Christmas break and had an incredible time with the family!I went on some sweet adventures with my new friends!

Spent a lot of time skiing with these two crazy rad dudes!!

We managed to get the whole group from Salt Lake and the whole group from Boise to meet in Twin Falls for the Phil Wickham concert. It was soooo fun!

...and lastly, wonderful relationships have been created with incredible people!

It really has been a year filled with challenges and growth and laughter and new friendship and new experiences. I am so excited to see what the next year of my life has in store for it. If there is anything I have learned in the past year though it's that God truly, truly provides all that we need and that His timing and His plan is far better than my own, and for that I am so thankful.

So it's been a while... my bad...

My, oh my, how quickly life changes. God has such silly timing, such a silly plan for us. Long story short, in February I lost the job that moved me to Boise. I was unemployed for two months or so.

On March 25, I got a call from the Young Life Regional Director here in Boise. He mentioned that there was a position open to start a new Young Life area in a small town about 18 miles west of Boise. I knew instantly that this phone call was a massive answer to prayer.

I always knew that I would be on Young Life staff at some point in my life... I just didn't think it'd be this soon. It's funny the way God works... the way He moves. A year ago right now, Boise was never a place that was on my radar... and now I can't imagine being any where else doing anything else, until God says move again. You see, it's a funny thing when we're obedient to God's call, and I'm learning this more and more. I'm learning how beautiful it is when we submit our lives to God. When we get our feet dirty and we answer the call.

Lord, thank you for calling me to something that's greater than myself. Thanks for calling me to Idaho and to Young Life... this is a plan I would have never come up with on my own! :-)

"... THAT I AM WEAK, YET NOT UNBLEST
Since in me, round me, everywhere
Eternal Strength and wisdom are..."

The above three lines came from a poem a friend recently shared with me... For the past two weeks I have not been able to shake the line "that I am weak, yet not unblest" from my mind. More often than not I feel too weak to share the gospel. I feel insufficient, unable, and unworthy. I am afraid that I will misrepresent the name of Jesus and that fear will paralyze me from sharing who Jesus is with people. I don't know about you, but I hate feeling weak. Shoot, I hate being vulnerable and showing how I feel at all. I have struggled with and chewed on this line for almost two weeks now. I was reading through 2 Corinthians tonight and came across 2 Cor. 12:9 where Jesus says...

"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."

Man. Though I am weak, and I will be the first one to now admit that I am, because I really, really am... God uses my weakness for his perfection. How cool is that?! And ya know, it's funny, I spent so much time dwelling on the fact that I am weak, yet not unblest, that I neglected to fully read and understand the two following lines... "Since in me, round me, everywhere, Eternal strength and wisdom are."

So my friends, though we are weak, we are not unblest and I am so, so thankful for that. Just something to chew on.

Boise

So for those of you that know or are quickly figuring out... I now live in Boise... weird, right? I know. I got a job at a marketing/advertising agency here in town. It has been fantastic! Great job, great people, and, as I am discovering daily, a really cool city. About a month and a half ago or so, I sent out my graduation announcements letting you all know that I would be keeping this here blog up to date on my happenings in Boise and I have totally failed at doing that. My deepest apologies, I'm going to really, really try better. So because I've failed at keeping things up to date, here's a bit of a run down of the big events of the summer via photos. I graduated from the Univ. of Utah on May 9, 2009, with a degree in Mass Communication. Yay! Go me!

I said goodbye to the beautiful city of Salt Lake and some of the most awesome friends a person could ever have.I went on an incredible road trip spending time in: Grand Teton NP, Yellowstone, Glacier NP (where the above picture was taken), Coeur d'alene, Seattle, the Oregon Coast and Portland... Nothing short of breathtaking the entire time!I moved to Boise... I just realized that I really have like zero pictures of anything other than nature from Boise right now... This picture at least has me in it. I have done a lot of hiking since I moved here and this cross sits on top of a huge hill overlooking Boise. It's lite up at night and it's awesome!
I got to take an incredible group of middle school kids from Salt Lake, to Oakbridge, a Young Life camp in San Diego, CA. It was an amazing week. This was the mud pit, and it was fantastic.I gained a sister! My older brother, Ryan, got married to a wonderful girl named Tanya! She is such a delight to have in the family. Way to go Ry! And yes, that strapping young man on the far right of the picture is my little (big) brother Ty. He's grown up, a lot, I know.And that about does it. I had to add the above picture because those are the two people who have really made this entire summer possible... And this picture makes me laugh hysterically just about every time I look at it, I felt the urge to make sure I post it to as many social networking sites as I am a part of. Yes, my friends, those are my ridiculous, loving, awesome, amazing, inspiring, hysterical, and all around just plain rad, parents.

So, that kinda brings you up to speed on whats going on in my life! I'm going to do my best to be a better blogger. Hope this finds you all well. As summer starts to wind down and ski season (THANK GOD)... err I mean fall, is rapidly approaching I wish you all the best in whatever endeavors you begin to take on. Peace out cub scout.

Just a quick update...

At least for right now, it looks like Opi is doing better! Praise GOD! We'll see what happens from here on out, but thank you all so much for your prayers and thoughts and such. Last week we had some close and scary calls though. Keep the prayers coming!

My attempts at a tribute to a man I love a whole lot...

For those of you that may or may not know, my grandpa, Opi, has been in and out of the hospital. My mom called me this afternoon to tell me he was back in the hospital and was being transferred by ambulance from the hospital in Newberg to OHSU... Apparently its really not good this time. When she called I was driving to a park to go read for a while... I ended up just writing. It sucks to not be there with my family but writing always helps me... and wanted to share what I wrote in my journal with all of you:


"Mom just called. Opi is currently en route from the Newberg hospital to OHSU. I have a sinking pit in my stomach thinking that this is really it. And ya know, I can't help but run through in my head thoughts of how I could have loved better, laughed harder or spent more time with him. I know he's still alive and he could live for months more, but it just seems like this is it, and I need to prepare myself for that... but for some reason, I don't think anyone is ever prepared for things like this.

My Opi is an incredible man. He loves his wife, his family and his God with everything that is inside of him. And it's so hard for me to think that one of the strongest men I know is sitting in a hospital room super, super weak. And I can't kick the desire to be there, right by his side with everyone else in my family. God why have you stripped me of everything I know and everyone close and put me here in Boise?

When I think about my Opi, I think about a man who has given unconditionally and selflessly to his family. He is a man who does not always verbalize his thoughts but displays his love and his pride for you by the look on his face. Since his hearing has gotten increasingly worse, it is hard for him to be around the big group at family parties. So he always finds a comfy chair and just watches oer all of us. Some of my favorite moments come when I would go and just sit next to him. He loves just being with you. He always asks me about my life and he is so proud of what I have accomplished and continue to accomplish.

Man, I miss my family."

Ya know, we never know when or how we will lose the people we love. And we are never, ever prepared for it either. And I don't know how many times I'm going to need to learn this lesson until I get it. But it would be my hope that I can learn to take full advantage of every moment I have to love on people.

So, I've been slacking...

... it's been a while. My apologies to those of you that read this... if there is anyone. I am sitting here in Diva's Coffee Shop. Love this place. It feels like such an Oregon-esque day today. All overcast, it was raining a bit earlier. I love it so much.

Yesterday, I was sitting on our couch, and I realized that I graduate in just one month. It hit me. Where in the world have these four years gone?! Seriously. I bought my cap and gown, my parents have purchased plane tickets for graduation, game, set, match, I'm gonna be done! It's such a weird feeling. The impending real world, or idea of the real world is crazy.

I really don't have anything super profound to share with you right now, more just a feeling that I needed to update this blog. I've been awful at keeping it up to date. I'll try better. I've run out of words though... and I need a shower.

Conditional Love

I have been reading the book Soul Cravings by Erwin McManus. Good stinkin' book. It goes through the deepest desires of our soul. Right now I'm reading the part about our souls desire... no, need, for love. God created us to be human beings that need love to survive.

The problem is though, the world, and I would argue even religion have taken love and created a subtle premise that love is conditional. And we've come to this point where we are more comfortable with conditional love than we are unconditional love. If it is conditional, we can control our actions and our thoughts and we can control the things about us that people will love. We have no sense, no understanding of an unconditional love. How can we accept the greatest love of all when we and others can't love every part of us?

A passage of this book says...

"Its just too hard to believe that if you come near to God, you will find yourself not drowning in condemnation, but swimming in compassion. Jesus called to all who were weary and who found their souls exhausted to come to him and find rest. He is telling us that God will be for us our place called home. We run form God because we long to be loved and we have convinced ourselves that the One who is most loving could not and would not embrace u. We run from the one our souls crave. It is insanity to run from God and search for love."

We run from the God of the universe that gives an amazing, unconditional love because we know what we have done. We know who we are. And therefore, we think, because other people don't love us, because we can't love ourselves, that God wouldn't either. That is so untrue.

How can we break free from this feeling of being unloved. How can we convince our friends who feel so very, very unloved that they are loved beyond all measure?

Simple Things

The Christmas season is upon. A time for laughter, cheer, love. It is during this season that people often open up the Bible to read the accounts of Jesus' birth. People who wouldn't normally go to church, step inside the walls of church for one special day to celebrate the birth of a man. It's funny how this one man unites believers and unbelievers one day a year.

I grew up in a Christian family. Every Christmas, my family and extended family act out the Christmas story with wise men dressed in towels and a baby doll Jesus. It's a story that I have heard over and over and over again. It's a story that we grow numb to.

Twice today though, I was hit over the head with the stark irony of this Christmas story. I don't know if people fully realize how perfect it is that the Messiah, my King, chose to make His entrance into the world in a manger! You see, he's God... he could have been born in a palace, in a place of pristine condition for that time period... but no, he chose to enter a messy and dirty world in a messy and dirty barn. And not only that, he came from parents that were not well known. It's so perfect.

And if you look at the scandal of the virgin birth... Jesus' coming was supposed to be sin, it is ironic though, that through His coming, sin was conquered.

Following God is not going to bring a life of extreme extravagance, or fame. In fact, following God may very well lead to an unpopular life. But that's a life that is beyond worth it.

God wants to save a lost and broken and messed up generation. People get sooo wrapped up in the idea that Christians have these perfect, comfortable, put together lives. But no! There are days that Christians doubt the existence of God, heck there are days even I myself don't even believe in a God. But that's what's so perfect, in all my doubt, I faith and I cling to the fact that I KNOW he exists and I know He is CONSTANTLY with me.

So this Christmas season, I want to follow my Jesus, who chose to enter this messy world, in a messy manger.

I want to hunger and thirst...

"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled."

Matthew 5:6

A couple of weeks ago, as a Young Life staff team, we fasted for 24 hours in order to focus on praying for the kids of the Salt Lake Valley. We were allowed to drink juice and water and such, but man, I'll tell you, when the afternoon rolled around and I was sitting there doing homework and able to think about how hungry I was, there was nothing else that could replace the thoughts of my hungry stomach!

What if we were to have a hunger for God like that? Where we had this ache to feed a burning fire for Him? How much different would we be? How much more awesome would our lives be?

John 6: 35 says "... I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes will never be thirsty."

Now, I know I have never really experienced what it is like to be truly hungry and truly thirsty in the physical sense. But I do have a glimpse of what it is like to have an insatiable desire for more of God. But after going to church tonight and hearing the message, I feel like all too often I fill that hunger for God with things other than seeking God. And, I'm fairly positive, I'm not the only one doing that.

I want to have the kind of hunger for God all the time that I did the day I fasted. Because like that verse in John says, whoever comes to him will never, ever go hungry.

Just something to ponder.

A Utah Man Sir, a Utah Man am I!

Before a sold out Rice Eccles Stadium, the University of Utah Utes did what they have been unable to do for the last three years... Beat BYU. Not only did they beat BYU though, they totally blew them out of the water. And with that win, they completed a perfect season. And, to add icing to an already overly frosted cake, we've busted the BCS. So, Sugar Bowl, Orange Bowl or Fiesta Bowl, here we come. We're ready.



It's funny to see the way a student body and a city can be united around one common purpose... seeing your team on to victory. Tonight, from the first U-T-A-H we yelled, we were one body of people united around a common purpose. It was amazing. I can not explain to you the feeling of rushing the field after a perfect season with chants of B-C-S flying up in the air. No one noticed that it was 28 degrees. No one cared that we had half of the student section on the field with two minutes left in the game. Nothing other than Utah beating BYU mattered.


I have always felt the most collegiate during football season. I have kind of defined my college career by football season. And tonight, after an interception and a short pass by Matt Asiata into the end zone to put the Utes up 41-24, I actually cried a little, weird, right?! I know! But seriously, it really hadn't hit me that my college career is ending until that very point where I was sitting by Phil and Kyle who I've known since my freshman year of college and looked at them glowing with this anxious anticipation of a huge Utah victory. It was a weird, but amazing moment.

I feel like a lare part of my college career ended tonight when that clock hit zero. Or perhaps it was just because it was really truly the first time I was able to think about the fact that college is ending. Regardless, I could not have asked or dreamed of a better season to leave this fine university on! Wow. I can remember back my freshman year when I realized the BYU vs. Utah game was going to be at home my senior year. There was no way I was missing it. And I have been so excited for this day since then. And it lived up to/exceeded my expectations!

Man, it feels good to be a Ute tonight.

I want to get my feet dirty...

A professor of mine recently encouraged those of us in class to keep a personal blog. I have always been skeptical of the idea of blogging. Somehow the idea of exposing my inmost thoughts to a group of people who know nothing about me is the perfect definition of being vulnerable. However, after sitting on the idea for a while, I thought it a fitting mode of conveying my aimless thoughts and ramblings to an unknown audience in a way that I would not be able to otherwise do.

So... here I go... Hello blog, my name is Katie. It's nice to be your friend.

The title of my blog is Dirty Feet. Why, you ask? Because I want to get my feet dirty. To me, dirty feet imply that you're doing something with your life. To get your feet dirty you've got to take some sort of action, right? That picture was taken this summer when I was working at a camp called Crooked Creek Ranch. Probably one of the more memorable months of my entire life. I spent the entire month serving High School kids as they came to camp, crazy, I know. I got to be the hands and feet of Jesus as they spent a week of their lives being kids. You see, I work with an organization called Young Life. Young Life seeks to share the message of Jesus Christ with junior high and high schools kids who wouldn't normally step inside the walls of a church.

When I tell people what I do, they often look at me as though I am crazy. They respond with, "why in the world would you want to spend hours upon hours with kids that are 5-10 years younger than you?!" And, I would think for a minute, and look back at them and respond with... "because I love to." But, ya know what, it's more than just loving to do it. It's because every time I look into the eyes of a junior high or high school kid and see how lost and lonely and confused they look, I desperately desire to share the message of Jesus with them. Ya know, just in the last few years have I really truly realized how radically Jesus can change a life. And I look at this lost and desperate generation of kids who come from broken homes and have broken relationships and I so desire them to know that they are loved by their creator, that they are cared about and thought about and that they are so beautiful just the way they are.

Just yesterday I got an email from a girl who had been coming to Club (our weekly meeting) but has kinda fallen off the face of the earth. She said, "I'm ready to come find a friend in Jesus." It's moments like that, that make me realize why it is I do what I do. Because the moment these kids realize they can't do life on their own is monumental.

I am convinced that I could not do this job... no.... I know for a fact that I couldn't do this job without a loving God who grants me the ability and the patience and the heart to put myself out there to these kids. And you look at the life of Jesus and how he walked around from city to city sharing a message of hope... He got his feet dirty. And not only did he get his feet dirty, he changed lives. Radically.

So, simply said, I want to get my feet dirty.