Day 9: Getting Baptized (Vacation Hiatus)

I need to start catching up on these ;)

Well, I suppose I could tell you about a life changing experience that took place a couple months ago. I got baptized with my Dad at Lake Minnetonka in Excelsior :) I've wanted to do it for a while but was too afraid to take that leap of faith. When I heard our pastor announce that the church was going to be having a baptism service, I felt like God was nudging me... as if He was saying, "Now is the time." My dad had mentioned prior to the announcement that he thought it would be a good idea for him and I to get baptized together, so, we did.

Now, our family has been going through a lot in the past couple of months, so my dad was in kind of a weird funk up until the baptism. He was what our pastor would call a "Joyless Christian" due to all the stress and chaos that was taking place at home. God's timing is so perfect :)

So we went to our normal 5:00pm Church service on Sunday (June 26th), and the baptism was to take place after the sermon. We headed to the baseball field at Lake Minnetonka around 6:00pm, I felt like my heart was going to beat out of my chest! My dad and I got our name tags and joined the group we were assigned to. 6:30pm - it's time to share our testimonies with our group. At this time, our family and friends gathered around us to hear how we grew up, how and when we came to faith in Jesus Christ, and why we decided to become baptized. I shared my testimony after my dad did, here's what I said:

"My name is Katrina, Doug's daughter (pointing to my dad). Ever since I was a little girl, I had a zeal for God, but I didn't know what it meant to have a relationship with Him. When I was about 11 years old, my mom introduced the Left Behind book series to me, and I discovered through reading those books that if Christ had returned the next day, I wouldn't have been ready. That night I accepted Him as my Lord and Savior. I didn't start living out my Christian life until I was 14, which is when God gave to me my current fiancee. God used him to give me a deeper knowledge of the Bible and Jesus' love for me. All glory goes to God for where I am at today, I would be nowhere without Him. A verse that continues to speak to me is Galatians 2:21 which says, 'If righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing.' I thank Him every day that I don't have to earn His grace, but that I am saved through His finished work on the cross. So today, I am choosing to commit myself to follow Jesus Christ through baptism. I know it will be one of the best decisions I will ever make."

After everyone was finished sharing their testimonies, we headed to the lake. The water was FREEZING but we all agreed-- getting baptized was worth freezing our toes off. There were about 7 to 8 groups, so we did one person at a time from each group, taking turns so that all could celebrate each baptism individually. In our group, there was the cutest couple who had gotten baptized together - it was probably one of the most touching moments I'd ever seen. After they came back up from the water, the husband kissed his wife so passionately that it brought me to tears.

It felt as if my heart stopped beating when Pastor Dave motioned for Dad and I to go over by him. I heard God whisper again, "Now is the time." (In my opinion, it was more than coincidental that Pastor Dave was the one that baptized us, considering he has helped our family before in various ways.) My dad and I held each others hands, the Pastor put his hands on us, recited a little speech over us, then we went under. When we came back up, I immediately felt different - joyful, hopeful, peaceful. At that point, the temperature of the water was far from my concern.

We all waited until everyone was baptized before getting out of the water. When that time came, a family friend of ours, Lisa, approached me with a necklace - a gold necklace with a butterfly pendant that had my birthstone on it, (both of our birthdays are in November.) I could tell she was quite moved by the whole event, as she went on to tell me her grandmother gave her the necklace when she was baptized.

"Are you sure?!" I asked in amazement.

"Yes," she replied, as she proceeded to put it around my neck.

Crying, I went to greet my family, which was my mom, my little brother and sister, my older sister and her mom, and my nieces and nephew. It truly was an incredible experience, and I'm so happy that God led my dad and I to do it.

Day 8: Good Friday (Vacation Hiatus)

This day never ceases to amaze me. But this year, it amazed me in good and bad ways. Over 2000 years ago, my sins were paid for on an old rugged cross, and my Savior took a beating beyond comprehension so I could have eternal life. I watched the movie "The Passion of the Christ" twice this week, and it was nothing short of overwhelming. I had seen the movie before, but it had been a while. The way I watch this movie differs tremendously from the way I watch other movies - to think that Jesus actually DID go through that and it WAS worse than what the movie could ever try to portray... that's incredible to me. Every time I watch it, I'm stumped on how to react, but my initial reaction consists of tears and the ongoing thought of "I sooo do not deserve what He did for me." I find myself just staring at the TV screen trying to wrap my head around everything that's going on in the film. Trying to get my attention during this movie is nearly impossible. The tears typically don't start flowing until the angry crowd is demanding to crucify Jesus and let the murderer go. I just don't understand how heartless they could have been to accuse an innocent man and sentence him to death for.. what? Being perfect? As whimpy and whiney as it may sound, throughout the entire movie all I seem to be thinking about is how bad I feel for Jesus. I can easily empathize with others, so I can only imagine what was going through His mind while the romans were constantly hitting Him, spitting on Him, and whipping Him. He remained humble and silent, and when He did speak, it was with love.


I can never bear to watch the scene where Jesus is being whipped and beaten by the soldiers. I hate the sight of blood, but I especially hate watching an innocent man practically bathing in His own blood. In other words, I have to turn my head during that scene. I've noticed that every time I watch the movie, I start crying the most while Jesus is carrying His cross and He falls, and then His mother is having a flash-back - it shows Jesus as a child falling, and Mary running to help Him up and hold Him in her arms. She then snaps out of her flashback and runs to Jesus to help Him up, and He continues to carry His cross. After that, the tears start to slow down, and they don't start increasing again until the soldiers are nailing Him to the cross - I have to turn my head during that scene, also. The tears continue as the theif to His left tells Him to remember him in Paradise - that part always gives me chills.


Then the best part of the movie finally arrives - He is Risen!!


As I was saying, this year, Good Friday has amazed me in good and bad ways. The "bad amazement" mainly came from the fact that Earth Day fell on the same day as Good Friday, so guess what? The TV stations are ranting and raving on how to save the environment and plant trees and prevent man-made global warming, which doesn't even exist. All I've been hearing about today is what America can do to save the world from blowing up. When are people going to start waking up? We're so worried about the status of the environment when we aren't even the creators of it, while in the meantime, souls/lives are at stake and people are going to hell. There are more important things than the environment. I understand God sending us down here to take care of His creation but we don't need to freak out and go into a panic thinking the world is going to explode or burn to ashes. Humans' lives/souls are more important to God than the trees and the grass and the air and even the animals. Today is the day He paid for our sins, but instead we'd rather celebrate the earth? At the very least, lets celebrate the Creator of the earth and what He did for us. It just makes me spiritually angry and it makes me wonder how God must be feeling. I care about the environment in a way that isn't extreme - I don't litter and it makes me mad when I see trash on the side of the road. It's just about keeping my priorities straight - going out of my way in attempt to "save the earth" which I will NEVER be able to do, is not on the top of my priority list. I believe leading people to the Lord is more important than trying to do something that is out of my control, HE will save the world.


In conclusion, I stand amazed.. in a good way, because He loves us so much to give His own life for us. Let us celebrate this day in rememberence of His sacrifice and His infinite love for us :)

Day 7: Happy Anniversary, Baby (Vacation Hiatus)

Aprill 11th, Karl and I celebrated 3 years of being together. It's been a long, hard journey - but we have the rest of our lives to look forward to with each other. Last year, we got to spend our anniversary together face to face, but we were so excited to be near each other that we didn't really acknowledge the fact that it was our anniversary. So this year, it was a bitter-sweet celebration, because although it marks 3 years of being together, it also marks one year since I've seen him.

Anywho, a week prior to our anniversary, Karl made it sound like he wouldn't be able to get me a gift this year for our special day. Part of me was crushed, another part of me thought, "well, it's not that big of a deal." Then he said instead, he would sing to me all of the songs he's ever dedicated to me. I was totally okay with that and thought it was the sweetest thing. The day of our anniversary arrived.. he called me early in the morning and was being really sweet and lovey-dovey until he had to get started with his day. I was sad all day because I missed him so much and wondered when I would ever get to see him again. It was 2:00pm, my mom had to go to work, my dad was already at work, and my brother and sister were at a friend's house. I felt lonely so I turned on the radio and tried to enjoy the time I had to myself. All of the sudden, I hear a knock on the front door. Now, I had been taught since I was a little girl not to answer the door for strangers, so I almost ignored it. Then I thought maybe my brother or sister was locked out and wanted to come inside. I open the door and this gentlemen from the local floral shop was holding a beautifully wrapped package of some sort. I thought to myself, "Maybe he has the wrong address"... until he asked me if my name was Katrina. I confirmed that I was she and then he said he had a special delivery for me. The only words out of my mouth thereafter were "Oh my goodness"... I went inside and examined the package. There was a note on the front of it that read: "Katrina - the best three years of my life!" I started crying tears of joy - and the tears increased as I opened the package. Inside was the cutest stuffed animal - a soft and absolutely adorable little lamb. I dug further and found a large box of Abdallah's chocolates. I couldn't believe it! He actually did get me something! I called him and told him he was such a little stinker for making me think he wasn't getting me anything, and then told him how thankful I was for the wonderful gift. You see, every other time he has gotten me a gift, whether it was for my birthday, Christmas, whatever - he always ends up telling me what it is, and I tell him everytime that I like being surprised. Well, I was definitely surprised this time!! So all we had to say at the end of the day was, "I love you," and, "Happy Anniversary, baby." Isn't he cuuuuute??!

Day 6: Something that excites you and fills you with joy

I get excited over the littlest things sometimes. I have a lot to look forward to this year. Something that excites me everyday is when I get to talk to Karl after I'm done babysitting my brother and sister. I get excited when my mom and dad come home from work, I get excited when it's time to go to church, I get excited when we make spontaneous trips to the store or to a friend's house. I even get excited when I log onto Facebook and see that I have notifications or friend requests.

I also find joy in the thought of God fulfilling all that He has promised to me. It excites me to know that I have a calling to ministry through singing and writing music, which is one of my passions in life. It simply excites me to know that He loves me and He will forgive me no matter what I do, and that I have eternal life waiting for me whenever my time comes.

Although, I try not to let my happiness be defined by my excitement - meaning, there is a difference between excitement and true joy/happiness. Excitement is usually temporary, whereas joy is eternal and lasting no matter what the circumstance - if you choose to live that way. I get excited easily, but my goal is to be happy and thankful wherever I happen to be.

Day 5: Something in life that gives you balance

Wow... that's deep. Well, all in all, Jesus gives me balance, and all He has to offer gives me balance. When I'm angry or upset, He gives me joy. When I'm burdened, He gives me peace. When I'm weak, He gives me strength. When I'm happy, He keeps me humble. He is my everything and I'd be nowhere without Him. He fills whatever void I may have and gives me what I need when I need it. He is the only thing I can trust with my whole heart because I know He will never let me down. What else can I say? He keeps my heart, spirit, and life in balance, and I wouldn't want it any other way.