I have been inspired...

...by a woman named Katie Davis. You can read her blog at kissesfromkatie.blogspot.com. Long story short, she went to Uganda at age 17 on a short-term missions trip. She fell in love with Uganda, committed to a year in Uganda after high school, left her family, friends, serious boyfriend, and college dreams, and moved her entire life to Uganda. Why did she do this? Because she felt God's call to do so. How awesome. The teenager gave up every comfort she had in life aside from Jesus Christ and began an entirely new life in Uganda. I'm not a fan of rebelling against your parents, but her parents didn't even support her decision. She prayed even harder and only felt a stronger call to move to Uganda. Awesome, awesome, awesome.

But the story doesn't stop there. Once in Uganda, she started a child sponsorship program, Amazima Ministries, and adopted her first girl at age 18. Yep, she's now a single mom of 14 at 20-years-old. She feeds them, bathes them, clothes them, protects them, and loves them all. Her entire life is now in Uganda.



Katie's story is such an inspiration. I was discussing my interest in her life last night and was asked why I was so inspired by her. Sure, she left her life behind to dedicate herself to complete service to the Lord. However, I've never felt called to live by myself in Uganda with 14 children. In fact, I'm not even sure I completely agree with her decision to be a single mother to all the girls because I believe a father is an absolute necessity (if at all possible) for all families. As I've delved deeper into her blog, I realize where the true inspiration comes from.

Katie's story is attractive to me because I have a strong interest in missions, would love to adopt someday, and am a sap for such selflessness. However, I've realized that the underlying reason that I'm so inspired by Katie is because of the truth, honesty, and faith she writes with in her blog. I am an English major after all, so her writing is something I automatically analyze anyways. Katie Davis is a radical. She is completely consumed with a passion and fire for the Lord that is both inspirational and contagious. She makes me want to further explore God's calling in my life and discover just how radically I can live for Him. She makes me want to spend time serving in Africa and blogging about it daily. She makes me dream in excitement about being a mother some day. She convicts me again and again with her deep faith and trust. Katie's life has been filled with pain and setbacks, yet she recognizes that there is a greater purpose to everything that happens.

With that said, I challenge you. Check out her blog and be inspired. Praise and thank God for such a beautiful, young sister in Christ. Pray for Katie and her 14 daughters. Pray for Amazima ministries. Finally, consider your own life. Do you choose comfort or the cross? Is your life glamorous or are you truly "counting the cost?" If it's glamorous and comfortable, do something uncomfortable and truly bear the cross of Christ. Mark 8:34...Luke 9:23...Matthew 10:38...and the list goes on. It's biblical, so do it!

Curiosity killed the... babysitter.

Babysitting story number three for the blog:

Kelli and I babysat two girls in our dorm room tonight. Kelli had them for the first hour and I had them for the next two hours. At the end of the night, crushed cheese crackers were ground into the carpet and scattered all over the futon and rug. Paper dolls and real dolls and coloring books and crayons and juice boxes littered the room. As I sat on the futon with two girls sleeping on my lap while waiting for their mother, I was mentally, physically, and emotionally exhausted.

After only three hours of sleep the night before and a long day spent with a friend from high school, I was beat before the girls even arrived. When they arrived, I headed to the library to start on a seven-page paper while Kelli babysat, ran into a good friend, and failed to even start the paper. Needless to say, I came back to my room completely unprepared for two wound-up, sugar-high little girls. We spent about an hour wandering the halls of my dorm building, and Jenna and Emily said hello to EVERYONE. All their new "friends" thought they were adorable, but Jenna's endless questions..."What's that? Well why do you have that? Why doesn't Kelli have that? What's your mom's name? Can I have that? What are you doing? Where are we going? etc..." ...got old fast. At the beginning of the night, I answered the majority of the questions, but by the end of the night, I was simply nodding 'yes' and 'no' to questions that required an answer other than 'yes' or 'no.'

So, at the end of the night, I'm thankful for a quiet room, a vacuum cleaner, and the years I have left before I will have to answer all those questions for my own children. Sure, it's awesome that children are inquisitive and curious, and I'm sure I'll love answering my own kids' crazy questions, but for now, I'm simply drained.

Lesson learned: Patience is a virtue... seriously.

I'm hungry. Are you thirsty?

A good lesson from a smart man:

"The key to Christian living is a thirst and hunger for God. And one of the main reasons people do not understand or experience the sovereignty of grace and the way it works through the awakening of sovereign joy is that their hunger and thirst for God is so small." -John Piper