costume party!

tonight, for the costume and candy fest... my room mates allison, rachel, amanda and i all dressed up like a s'more! it was soo much fun!!

today's verse is from lamenations....

The unfailing love of the Lord never ends! By his mercies we have been kept from complete destruction. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each day. I say to myself, "The Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in Him!"

-Lamentations 3:22-24

hard weekend

this weekend was one of the hardest ones i can remember so far at olivet. first of all... my bike is missing. i think it got stolen. i didn't lock it and i left it outside of ludwig... and it's gone. i'm so sad, it was like my best friend! then thursday, on her way back from art class, anna was in a car accident. she was in the backseat of a mini van and flew through the back window head first and landed on the otherside of the road in a flower garden. praise Jesus though! nothing was broken. she's all banged up and scratched and bruised, but she's fine. she stayed in the hospital thursday and friday night and then was released saturday night. i had a really hard time though. this is me after i found out.. i wasn't really laughing, but i think it's a great picture cuz my makeup was completley all over my face!

later that afternoon, sandie stopped by to visit. she'd been in wisconsin for the week, so she spent the night thursday and then hung out friday morning. we went to the homecoming coronation together thursday night and miss molly taylor was crowned queen! go molly! this is her and her escort, michael remole.

and then we went and jumped in a pile of leaves. it was great fun. i love how this picture caught me mid-air! :) i'm flying!

then friday i went to powder puff football. it was awesome! i am soo playing next year! we lost to the juniors but schooled the freshmen. i talked to dad right before i went over and i think this was the time i most missed anna during the weekend. it was so hard to not be able to see her or be there. but Jesus is holding her... and he can hug her so much better than i ever could!

after the game saturday, amanda and i went out for chinese, that wasn't very good and then i went to work the basketball game. that was kewl. i got to see alot alot of people. then amanda and i went to kmart and walmart to get stuff for our halloween costume and after being sad together we got really goofy. i got a symphony bar... delicious! mom always gets them when she needs some good chocolate, and then we went to a bonfire and then back to the apartment to eat chocolate and watch a movie. it was great fun.

saturday, i went with kenn and amanda to chicago for a meeting with csm, or Center for Student Missions. it was awesome... i met a lot of new people and discovered that the mission trip i had gone on in seventh grade was through csm. that was really kewl. we ate a thai restaurant for lunch that was amazing!! and then after i got back, rach and i went to target and then watched a movie and worked on our halloween costumes. the four of us are going to be a s'more tomorrow! i'm sooo excited! here's my costume... i'm a great big marshmellow!!

today has been good. i miss my family... i just want to see anna and give caleb a hug and talk to mom and dad and hang out with jonathan. i went to church, made some lunch (i made cheesy potatoes and chicken and green beans!! yum!), and then i went to youth group and home groups tonight. i'm going to start a senior high sunday school next sunday morning, so that was kewl to go and meet the kids. i love the youth pastor... his name's dwayne, but he's just like pastor mark. he's great. i have some homework to do, so let me leave you with these verses. know that God is good and God is faithful. no matter what would have happened with anna, God had her in the palm of his hand and he's watching over her. i am soo thankful and amazed at the way he has saved her little life over and over again. as james hall said tonight, "God must have big things up his sleeve for anna burkey!" and i totally believe it! all the glory goes to God. the one and only who is big enough and awesome enough to care about everything and who leaves me filled with awe and wonder and holds me even when my mommy can't. be blessed in the realness and security and wonder of God today!

And that about wraps it up. God is strong, and he wants you strong. So take everything the Master has set out for you, well-made weapons of the best materials. And put them to use so you will be able to stand up to everything the Devil throws your way. This is no afternoon athletic contest that we'll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours. This is for keeps, a life-or-death fight to the finish against the Devil and all his angels. So Be prepared. You're up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it's all over but the shouting you'll still be on your feet. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You'll need them throughout your life. God's Word is an indispensable weapon. In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other's spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out. ... Love mixed with faith be yours from God the Father and from the Master, Jesus Christ. Pure grace and nothing but grace be with all who love our Master, Jesus Christ.

-Ephesians 6, the message

art is so cool! :)

so today we went to the art institute in chicago for fine arts class... boy oh boy was it fun!! the picture below is sarah gute and becky and i also hung out with emily and tyler green and bryant and fightmaster. it was a great time. :)

this statue/building is so sweet... it's like across the corner from the institute, and it has a face on it... and the eyes blink and disappear if you look at it long enough. sarah said that in the winter they make a fountain out of it and it blows it through its nose. how kewl is that!?! you ever wanna see it for real... call me up and we'll go to chicago!! :)

thoughts

But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life.
2 Corinthians 2:14-16

have you ever really thought about that before? we are the aroma of Christ... i smell like Jesus! everywhere i go, every room i enter... his smell lingers in my place. i find that so powerful and amazing. in some sense, we could say that all sub-consiously know that we are Christians because they smell Jesus in us. and then it makes me sad. how can such a beautiful fragrance smell like the stench of something so hard and harsh as death to those who are perishing? i was reading in 2 timothy chapter 3 and 4 today... check out what it says:

But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God-having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them. ... I give you this charge: Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage - with great patience and careful instruction.
-2 Timothy 3:1-5 and 4:1-2

i am baffled by the realness of this verse. and i think that i could even fall in that catergory of people. yet, my heart breaks for those that "have a form of godliness, yet deny it's power". these are my friends, my coworkers, the people i see at walmart and the gas station... they know "of" God, they may even talk about him or go to church, yet they haven't experienced his life-changingness in their lives and therefore deny his power. my desire is to live in such a way that i will not be a stench of death to these lost people, but that i would be an enticement... a smell that makes them want more of it in order that they may encounter Christ for real in their lives. preach always... in season and out of season... many times not with words, but with actions.

lima girls are the greatest ever... no one else quite like 'em

i LOVE my lima girls!! we all went to michael remole's house yesterday and went horseback riding and had a bonfire... that turned into a grill fire. ha ha. the fire wouldn't light. but it was great fun anyways. and we rode horses... and check out this picture!!! oh my goodness i just love rhonda brennamen!!! this is her getting onto the horse... lol :)

and then last night we went line dancing at dcs... talk about the greatest fun ever!! i was so impressed by britni, jessie's roommate and micah. lol... they sure got their groove on! but it was so much fun. i wish we had linedancing in lima!!!

this morning, then jacob and micah and ashley and rhonda all headed back to lima. i'm SO glad they all came... i had so much fun with the girls!! i hope they had as much fun as i did. can't wait to see them again!! :)

rhonda and ashley rock my socks right off! :)

i'm still so excited! rhonda and ashley are here visiting for the weekend with micah and jacob... and it's soo much fun!! i'm so glad they're staying with me! it's really late, so i'll have to post more about my psycho crazy week laters. i love y'all! be blessed! :)

those girls who carried me today...

God gave me such beautiful and awesome little sisters! someday i'll get some better pictures of them on here for your eyes to view. i'm so thankful for danielle and maggie!

i know you've seen this one before, but i just love it... my room mates are so special and dear to me!

i just love allison and amanda and rachel! you are beautiful girls! thanks for being my friends!!

me and kdawg

there's nothing like a kristi hug every once and again! :)

there's nothing like a friend to carry you

I'll Carry You
-Rebecca St. James

I can't walk this road without you
You cannot go it alone
We were never meant to make it on our own
When the load becomes heavy
And you feel too tired to walk
I will carry you and will be carried on

When I am weak
Will you hold me to the truth?
That we can go on... we are carried
Three strands of cord
Cannot be easily torn

With arms stretched out He said, "I'll carry you"

I can't walk this road without you
We cannot go it alone
We were never made to make it on our own
And when the load becomes heavy
And we feel too tired to walk
He will carry us and we'll be carried on


I love these words! These past few days have been really heavy for me... I'm actually neglecting my studies to pen these words because they jumped inside of my head and probably won't remain there for long. But I have just been amazed how encouraged I have been over and over again by the people around me... and unexpectedly. And the above words are so true! We weren't made to make it alone. And he's right there to carry us when we feel too tired to walk and the load becomes too heavy. Let him carry you today... and surround yourself with those who will carry you and lift you up and encourage you. Be blessed.

Two can accomplish more than twicce as much as one, for the results can be much better. If one falls, the other pulls him up; but if a man falls when he is alone, he's in trouble. Also, on a cold night, two under the same blanket gain warmth from each other, but how can one be warm alone? And one standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer; three is even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.
-Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

renewed struggle :)

My friend Blake shared these verses with me today from Proverbs... and they just fit! I've been really frustrated because we haven't been able to find a place to practice on a consistant basis with our band because we have no drumset, and I really thought that God brought the seven of us together and I've been so excited about Renewed, yet at the same time... it's so discouraging. I feel like Satan is attacking us as a group, but I don't want that to hinder our message or our praise. I think that if God wants us to remain together as a group, then He will show up and make something available to us, and if not, hey.. I ain't gonna stop praising Him! He's still the Lord and Master of my life and everyday I strive to lift Jesus up and be renewed in his presence.

Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.

In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.

-Proverbs 16:3 and 9

:) Thanks, Blake!

today's verses

Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas. During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, "Come over to Macedonia and help us." After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.
-Acts 16:6-10

Often, we want to go somewhere, and then we try to go somewhere else, and then we get stuck somewhere else we weren't expecting at all. Paul in this passage wanted to go to Asia, he tried to go to Bithynia, but he ended up in Troas. And then, after God closed those doors, he opened a door in Macedonia... and after that, Paul's mission, his work, took off, and the gospel was spread throughout Europe. I think I find myself in Troas a lot. So many times I want to go somewhere, but I can't. Then I try something else, and God leads me in a completley different direction. I'm learning to be happy to be in Troas... to realize that God is still working even when it's hard to see it. I just have to be obedient and willing to listen to his plan. I have to wait. This week, this scripture was brought to my attention twice, Wednesday night and Sunday morning, and I think this song kind of sums up my Troas moment. I'm waiting in the river. Be blessed!

Find me in the river
Find me on my knees
I've walked against the water
Now I'm waiting if you please

We didn't count on suffering
We didn't count on pain
But if the blessing's in the valley
Then in the river I will wait

Find me in the river
Find me there
Find me on my knees with my soul laid bare
Even though You're gone
And I'm cracked and dry
Find me in the river
I'm wating Here.

best one yet!

this weekend was entirely AMAZING!!! except for the fact that i still have like thirty thousand pieces of homework to do!! but that's ok, i'll get it done. so this weekend was quiz fest... and our bible quizzing team from lima, ohio came. they brought about 18 quizzers, and friday night i took the team out to monicle's pizza. and they brought me a surprise!! NICOLE!!! i was SO excited! i had invited her to come, and she had told me that she couldn't. i had no clue. now, looking back, i see the times they almost told me, and i'm so glad they didn't! i don't think i've ever had a better surprise in my life, and i LOVE surprises! so we went to the quizzing, and then nicole and i just hung out friday night. we went back to my apartment and talked, then went on a bike ride, then drove to k-mart and ultra foods and stopped at a gyro place. then we played the butt-spelling bee game, which i totally made up and it so rocks. then saturday morning we woke up at the crack of dawn and went to the quizzing. i got to official before lunch, and then hung out afterwards. it was so much fun! our teams did great. then they all left except for mom and dad and caleb and anna and nicole. we went out to dinner saturday night then went swimming and went to sleep. then today we all went to college church first service, and anna got a bloody nose, and then we ate lunch at a mexican restaurant and said our goodbyes. they're now on the road and i am getting ready to homework it up. i would have to say this has been the best weekend yet... so much happened, and i didn't have to go anywhere, and it was just FUN!!! oh, and the sermon this morning was awesome! :) welpers, i hope you like my pictures! see ya!

(sorry the pictures are so small, not quite sure what i did... but if you click them they explode. well, not really, but they get bigger!)

i love my roommate! and we love pink!

nicole and i went to ultra food and she had this great idea to get in these kiddy shopping carts. ha ha! it was great fun though! after that we went to a mediterranean restaurant for gyros. and i'm a dork... the guys name was nick and i thought he said dick, and yeah, you can just imagine that conversation for yourself. lol. but i love lamb and the gyros were amazing!

i can't feel my legs!

i can't believe nicole actually came!! i had NO clue!! that was THE best surprise i think i've had yet in my life! :)

bible quizzing went on all day saturday. it was great fun to watch. i also got to help keith and dad caudle official. i was a scorekeeper. caleb's team got 2nd in the jv division and jonathan's team got 3rd in the varsity. it was awesome.

last night (saturday) we hung out with the family and rachel and nicole. we went to ruby tuesdays and then swimming at the holiday inn. it was a blast!

i love my little brother and sister! they're so goofy!

my goofy dad got the waitors at the mexican restaurant we ate at today for lunch to "sombrero" amanda much to our joy and delight. her face was SO funny!

had to say goodbye to the fam.

pictures from fall break weekend!!!

this weekend was a blast! it was good to go home, and like be there for no purpose other than a break/rest. it was great fun. i hope you like seein' my pics! have a great day!!!

monday night while nicole went on a hot date, anna and i had a girls night and i dyed her hair, we watched a sappy movie and did face masks. oh, we also made popcorn. i LOVE popcorn!!! :)

oof... help!! i need air!

just kidding... this is me and brian being goofy! i miss that boy when i'm at school!!!

hanging out in alisha's laundary room... we even fell asleep! :)

at the show... holding crystal with ashley, and in the bottom picture, me and nicole and tara with matt, fenway's drummer.

jonathan's band fenway

www.purevolume.com/fenway

my cousin's band the honour recital

www.thehonourrecital.com

grandma burkey came to visit a friend, and us, and see the honour recital boys. i just love my grandma!

joel and lindsey gregory! finally!!! :)

web cams are like the tightest thing ever! :)

this weekend has been awesome! friday night nicole spent the night and we went and visited dad in the hospital and then watched movies and stayed up until like 2 talking about God. that was totally kewl! saturday my cousin lindsey got married to joel gregory... that was so beautiful and so incredible! made me wanna get married. lol. but not really. anyways... and then sunday i did kids church. whenever i do that, i normally bring a change of clothes but i wasn't really planning on going to church because i thought i'd just do kids church twice. i ended up not wanting to do kids church second service, and i had jeans and a t-shirt on, (i NEVER wear that to church!) and i felt really uncomfortable and i wasn't really sure what to do. dad saw me wandering around and took me to "the source"... it's a new service in the old gym that's for college aged kids and it's contemporary with a live band, which totally rocked, go josh and shena and mike and wes!, and they show pastor dan live via video. it was SOOO amazing! and pastor dan spoke about God speaking and letting go, and it was just soo awesome and i'm so glad i didn't stay in kids church and i went there even though i still had jeans on. :) lol. then today i got my teeth fixed and studied in the library and nicole went on a date!! how kewl is that!?! so i'm waiting for her to call me... and the top pictures are of me and caleb goofing off in his web cam. it's pretty spifty. i hope you had a great weekend too! more pictures and scriptures to folllow...
love ya!
-kara joy :)

ahh... dear, sweet fall break!

satisfy me in the morning with your unfailing love, that i may sing for joy and be glad all of my days.
-psalm 90:14

"Regeneration is that when a person is hit by his own sense of need, God will put the Holy Spirit into his spirit, and his personal spirit will be energized by the Spirit of the Son of God."
-Oswald Chambers (updated version)

today's my upmost for his highest text was so appropriate... i am SO ready to be rejuvinated/regenerated with the spirit of Christ! chambers points out that God cannot put into me what i am not aware that i need... and i think that today i am finally aware of his workings in my heart, and i am ready for him to put himself into me and just breathe into my spirit a breath of fresh air... a breath of himself! this weekend, may you also allow God to regenerate/renew/rejuvinate your heart and your soul and may you be energized and filled with the spirit of God so that each morning you will be satisfied in him and ready to sing his praises and be glad ALL day. be blessed! :)

the fire video!

so i just got rob bell's nooma flame dvd in the mail today... a.k.a. THE FIRE VIDEO!!!!!!!!
i am so excited!!! it just like inspires me to wait for love.. not that i'm not already, cuz i'm definitley waiting... but to really wait... to kindle all three flames and make it totally worth it. i wanna share with you a verse and a blessing he speaks in the video. and dude, i encourage you to wait. hold out... and just keep holding. cuz it will be SO worth it! be blessed! :)

Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you by the gazelles and by the does of the field; do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires.
-Song of Songs 2:7

May you honor the way God created you.

May you have a profound sense of respect for the fact that you are a deeply spiritual and mysterious being, and that love is ultimately a profoundly spiritual thing.

May you realize that the three flames (raya: the flame of friendship, ahava: the flame of commitment, and dode: the flame of passion) are meant to burn together.

And may you discover the BIG FLAME!

also... today is my brother, caleb's birthday. i miss my bubba!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CALEB!!!

let the praises begin!!!!! :)

God! Great God!

Worthy of Honor and Glory

We stand here in reverence

Buh-lessed in your presence

Jehovah, Forever and ever Our God!

oh, praise Jesus! it is time once more for gospel choir to begin. let us "ride on" in chapel tomorrow morning! oh my goodness i can't wait!!!

so i think i'm gonna start posting a verse each day right here on the blog, and maybe a thought to go along with it, but i think that'll be kewl, huh? so here's the one for today.
it reflects what my love for God should look like, and i guess what my love in general should look like, but i've been reflecting a lot on becoming an unquenchable worshipper... one not hindered or dampened by the everyday crap that comes my way, but focused on my love. this is what i want my love for Christ to look like. be blessed and may your love abound and grow to look like this as well! :)

song of songs 8:6-7
Love is as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave. It burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame. Many waters cannot qunch love; rivers cannot wash it away!

weekends rock my socks! :)

so this weekend was amazing!! i had such a blast! friday night was sooo much fun! we did this pumpkin scavenger hunt... and although we didn't find the great pumpkin, we definitley brought it back with us. then saturday i got to go to missy and brandt's wedding and babysat noah all day...isn't he just THE most adorable little guy you've ever seen in your life? i just love him! and i was so excited because a lot of times, he won't eat for me and he won't come to me and he'll just cry and he like loved me all day! like at the end i handed him to his dad and he wanted me!! i was so excited! i can't wait to see him again. i love baby noah!
also... i was driving home, and it was like 5 in the morning, and i've never almost fallen asleep when driving, and i had just ran out of my runts... my sugar... and i so wouldn't have made it if God hadn't been there and stepped in... i'm like 10-20 minutes away from home and i almost lost it and my phone rings... it was JONATHAN!! at 5:00 in the morning! he never wakes up like that! and he said he just woke up and saw the light was still on and wondered where i was. if he hadn't call me, i'm pretty sure i would have implanted myself into the guardrail. God is so faithful! he saved me... through my little brother. i was excited!
so it was an amazing weekend. i hope yours was great too!

blog from last weekend i couldn't post til now :S technical difficulties...

so this weekend i hung out with amy slonecker a lot! it was great fun! we chatted it up, had coffee, ironed skirts, watched trading spaces and she painted my nails! i just love amy slonecker! i am so grateful that God has blessed me with friends! he is SOOO good! every day i wake up... especially this morning... when i was riding my bike... and i just think WOW! God is so beautiful!!! and he loves ME! how amazing is that!?! reminds me of that song...

God of Glory, You have done great things
Who am I that You should think of me?
Cuz You made the earth,
You made the skies
Yet You know my name,
You know my heart
You're always there, You're never far away!

So amazing as You paint the sky
So amazing makes me wonder why
You love me like You do
That You love me like You do, Yeah!
You love me like You do
So amazing, so amazing...

Be blessed in the amazingness of God today! And enjoy my Amy pictures!!! :)

today's papa jon's birthday! :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!!!