Today I went to a student-initiated Bible Study before school. It reminded me how blessed I am to go to a school full of students who really want to be studying the Bible and spreading it to other students. That's why Number 5 on the list is Chapel.
Twice a week, our whole school meets for a chapel. Some of them can be awkward, or just straight-up weird, but the cool thing is that most of them are student-led. While we have the oppurtunity to hear from esteemed speakers from across the country, but we also have the oppurtunity to hear testimonies and experiences from our own peers. I've been able to speak in chapel twice, and it's a really good experience to have as a student academically and with my friends. It really builds community in the school and I think chapels bring a super unique unity to our school. I'm so thankful that my school provides that opportunity for us.
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Thankfulness- Part 4
Today we did this kind of awkward thing at school. Instead of having a chapel with all of the students, we had individual chapels for the seniors, juniors, sophomores, and freshman. I don't think I was the only one who was dreading it. I could feel the beginnings of a migraine stirring in the depths of my brain, and I just wanted to hang out with friends, not really pay attention. But that chapel was awesome. At the end we did this kinda cheesy thing where we wrote encouraging notes to people. But it wasn't cheesy (surprisingly). This was genuine and actually really cool. I got a note from someone who I haven't said two words to since freshman year that was really just genuinely encouraging. It ended with "You are loved unconditionally Katie. Always remember that". It made my day so much better, especially because I knew he meant it. Not in the creepy, crush type way.. Just that the senior class at my school loves each other. We're a community. Which is why number 4 on my thankful list is Community.
The community at my school is unlike any other community I've ever been a part of. My school is small, just over 600. My class is the smallest, at about 115. Things get a little cramped sometimes, but our class just cares about each other. It's obvious. We all know each other and we're comfortable (mostly) with each other. Coming together this year to lead our school has really grown us as individuals and as a community. It's super hard to explain, but all I know is that I'm so thankful for it. It's incredible, and all I can say is that I hope whatever college I choose will have something at least similar to this. It's a really unique experience to be in fellowship with probably 100 other believers (yes I realize that they aren't all Christians) that are my own age, going through the same academic and emotional processes that I am. I'm so grateful.
The community at my school is unlike any other community I've ever been a part of. My school is small, just over 600. My class is the smallest, at about 115. Things get a little cramped sometimes, but our class just cares about each other. It's obvious. We all know each other and we're comfortable (mostly) with each other. Coming together this year to lead our school has really grown us as individuals and as a community. It's super hard to explain, but all I know is that I'm so thankful for it. It's incredible, and all I can say is that I hope whatever college I choose will have something at least similar to this. It's a really unique experience to be in fellowship with probably 100 other believers (yes I realize that they aren't all Christians) that are my own age, going through the same academic and emotional processes that I am. I'm so grateful.
Monday, November 7, 2011
Thankfulness- part 3
I don't have much of an intro today.. sorry.
Number 3 on the list is Art.
I am so blessed to have a great art program at my school. The two types of visual art I really love are photography and ceramics. Taking a ceramics class at my school 4 days a week is always the most relaxing part of my day.. even though I kind of develop mild OCD the minute my hands touch that clay. I love smoothing it over, building it up, even squishing it down. It's absolutely theraputic. It gives me time to think things out visually. I'm a very expressive person; and I show my feelings in every way I can, and art is an awesome way to do that. Even when I don't get any 'art' to show for 45 minutes of class, I've always released a little bit of stress, if not a lot. I'm so thankful for that opportunity. I'm so thankful that God gave us so many senses to experience life, and I'm thankful for the creativity he gave me to express myself through those senses. Having a passion for art is what has come to open up all sorts of new friendships and experiences for me, and I'm really thankful for that.
Number 3 on the list is Art.
I am so blessed to have a great art program at my school. The two types of visual art I really love are photography and ceramics. Taking a ceramics class at my school 4 days a week is always the most relaxing part of my day.. even though I kind of develop mild OCD the minute my hands touch that clay. I love smoothing it over, building it up, even squishing it down. It's absolutely theraputic. It gives me time to think things out visually. I'm a very expressive person; and I show my feelings in every way I can, and art is an awesome way to do that. Even when I don't get any 'art' to show for 45 minutes of class, I've always released a little bit of stress, if not a lot. I'm so thankful for that opportunity. I'm so thankful that God gave us so many senses to experience life, and I'm thankful for the creativity he gave me to express myself through those senses. Having a passion for art is what has come to open up all sorts of new friendships and experiences for me, and I'm really thankful for that.
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Thankfulness- part 2
Today was an incredible day. At three o'clock, I never would have guessed it, having a complete emotional breakdown while driving down the road (which, by the way, is a bad idea. Don't drive whilst sobbing.). But once I got to my destination- church (surprise, right?), things turned around. Which is why church is number 2 on my list of things to be thankful for.
My church was the first place I ever felt truly accepted by Christians. Now, that's actually saying something because I've been in a church almost every Sunday since I was born, and I've never gone to public school- but that's another post for another time. When I started going there, I was definitely not a Christian. I hated God, and I thought that God hated me- which is the farthest thing from the truth. After going there a few weeks, I realized that they weren't judging me- that was new. I may have been decked out in black every day, listening to awful angsty teen music, but they knew I had real problems. At that point, I was extremely depressed. I was cutting myself, starving myself, abusing my perscriptions because I felt like I needed to fill some sort of void. At this church, I found it. It was God. It's always been God, and it will always be God. His love is something I can't even describe, and this verse sums it up pretty well:
It's my favorite verse because I've seen it so much in my life. To put it bluntly, without Christ's love, I would be dead. Not just spiritually, but literally dead. I would have either comitted suicide or starved to death. Because of Jesus, I wasn't consumed by those things, or by anything else. Christ's love and mercy are the things I am most thankful for, but I don't know if I could have discovered them without my church. They understood my pain, and they helped me through it- they didn't ignore it as so many others had. I would be a completely different person without that church, if I was even alive at all. Being there has shaped me into a better, happier, healthier person than I ever could have imagined when I first walked into that building 2 years ago.
My church was the first place I ever felt truly accepted by Christians. Now, that's actually saying something because I've been in a church almost every Sunday since I was born, and I've never gone to public school- but that's another post for another time. When I started going there, I was definitely not a Christian. I hated God, and I thought that God hated me- which is the farthest thing from the truth. After going there a few weeks, I realized that they weren't judging me- that was new. I may have been decked out in black every day, listening to awful angsty teen music, but they knew I had real problems. At that point, I was extremely depressed. I was cutting myself, starving myself, abusing my perscriptions because I felt like I needed to fill some sort of void. At this church, I found it. It was God. It's always been God, and it will always be God. His love is something I can't even describe, and this verse sums it up pretty well:
"But I call this to mind, and therefore I have hope- Because of the Lord's great love for us, we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail." (Lamentations 3:21-22).
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Thankfulness
Today, I was thinking about Thanksgiving, and how excited I am for all the food. But I realized that I honestly have so many things to be thankful for. Everyone I know has a ton of reasons to be thankful, but it's hard to name them.
So I challenged myself.
I'm going to post something I'm thankful for every day until Thanksgiving (November 24), starting today. It's only twenty. I have way more than that. I think we all do.
This means today is my 'pilot' post! Another awkward first post! yayy!
PS- This list isn't cryptic. There's no order or secret meaning, I'm really not that clever. I'm just thankful.
#1- School
I am so incredibly thankful for my school. It's where I spend the majority of my time, and I honestly wouldn't have in any other way. I realize that I'm really priveleged to be going to a private Christian high school, and it's an incredible experience. This school helped me learn to battle depression, and they even gave me the opportunity to spread awareness about it through a Chapel. I've spoken in Chapel one other time, which is honestly just a good thing to learn how to do. Public speaking is one thing in front of a class of 15 or 20, it's an entirely different thing in front of 650 of your peers. We have completely unique events, like homecoming week (which has basically nothing to do with a dance- gasp!), service projects, a fine arts WEEK this year (which I am SO excited about), and an award-winning theatre program. It makes me kinda sad that I'm realizing everything that's so amazing at this school now that I'll be leaving in less than a year, but I have that time to cherish it, and make the most of it. Without my school, I'm convinced that my life would be completely different, and I am so grateful for the person high school has shaped me into through a community of awesome teachers, peers, and fellow Christians. I honestly don't want to brag- private school ends up with quite the bill after 4 years- but if I'm thankful for anything, it's my school and all of the opportunities it's given me.
So I challenged myself.
I'm going to post something I'm thankful for every day until Thanksgiving (November 24), starting today. It's only twenty. I have way more than that. I think we all do.
This means today is my 'pilot' post! Another awkward first post! yayy!
PS- This list isn't cryptic. There's no order or secret meaning, I'm really not that clever. I'm just thankful.
#1- School
I am so incredibly thankful for my school. It's where I spend the majority of my time, and I honestly wouldn't have in any other way. I realize that I'm really priveleged to be going to a private Christian high school, and it's an incredible experience. This school helped me learn to battle depression, and they even gave me the opportunity to spread awareness about it through a Chapel. I've spoken in Chapel one other time, which is honestly just a good thing to learn how to do. Public speaking is one thing in front of a class of 15 or 20, it's an entirely different thing in front of 650 of your peers. We have completely unique events, like homecoming week (which has basically nothing to do with a dance- gasp!), service projects, a fine arts WEEK this year (which I am SO excited about), and an award-winning theatre program. It makes me kinda sad that I'm realizing everything that's so amazing at this school now that I'll be leaving in less than a year, but I have that time to cherish it, and make the most of it. Without my school, I'm convinced that my life would be completely different, and I am so grateful for the person high school has shaped me into through a community of awesome teachers, peers, and fellow Christians. I honestly don't want to brag- private school ends up with quite the bill after 4 years- but if I'm thankful for anything, it's my school and all of the opportunities it's given me.
gotta love those awkward first posts..
Hi, I'm Katie!
In case you're wondering, I call myself Lady Altitude because I'm tall. As a child, I grew 3 inches a summer for 3 summers in a row.. yeesh, I am a tall lady. Also, I tend to have adventures, as many people do. I just seem to be one of the few people that actually realizes how exciting those adventures are.
Describing myself is always hard for me, so I'll try to describe what you'll get from this blog and we'll go from there. Sound like a plan? Great.
I'm artsy. Artsy fartsy as artsy gets. So be prepared.
I love music. I'm in the choir at my school and I also write music, play guitar and piano, and lead worship at my church. So I love to spread around the good music I hear, no matter what genre!
I am a total foodie. I also learned that I have some sort of gluten intolerance/allergy 2 months ago, so that's always been an adventure, even when it doesn't feel all that great. You'll probably be seeing a lot of posts about that.
I'm a senior in high school, which means I'm trying to navigate college and career choices. Overwhelming stuff. If I post about that, it will probably be in some non-coherent, pent-up emotion type post. Don't you just love those types of posts? It's the reason people have stereotypes about emotional teen bloggers. Rightly so.
Most importantly, I follow Christ. Not in the weird social-networking type way, but seriously. He's a cool guy. I'm not gonna try to be one of those 'churchy people' who just gushes all the time about my experience with that, but it's changed my life so much, it's gonna end up in this blog whichever way you slice it.
In case you're wondering, I call myself Lady Altitude because I'm tall. As a child, I grew 3 inches a summer for 3 summers in a row.. yeesh, I am a tall lady. Also, I tend to have adventures, as many people do. I just seem to be one of the few people that actually realizes how exciting those adventures are.
Describing myself is always hard for me, so I'll try to describe what you'll get from this blog and we'll go from there. Sound like a plan? Great.
I'm artsy. Artsy fartsy as artsy gets. So be prepared.
I love music. I'm in the choir at my school and I also write music, play guitar and piano, and lead worship at my church. So I love to spread around the good music I hear, no matter what genre!
I am a total foodie. I also learned that I have some sort of gluten intolerance/allergy 2 months ago, so that's always been an adventure, even when it doesn't feel all that great. You'll probably be seeing a lot of posts about that.
I'm a senior in high school, which means I'm trying to navigate college and career choices. Overwhelming stuff. If I post about that, it will probably be in some non-coherent, pent-up emotion type post. Don't you just love those types of posts? It's the reason people have stereotypes about emotional teen bloggers. Rightly so.
Most importantly, I follow Christ. Not in the weird social-networking type way, but seriously. He's a cool guy. I'm not gonna try to be one of those 'churchy people' who just gushes all the time about my experience with that, but it's changed my life so much, it's gonna end up in this blog whichever way you slice it.
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