Pictures of the President's helicopters flying right over our house.Friday, April 20, 2007
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Picking up the pieces after tragedy pays an unwelcome visit.
I can't believe its only been 3 days since a madman took the innocence from our town. It feels like we have lived a lifetime in the last few days and our world's have changed.
First, let me start by saying many thanks to your outpouring of notes, emails and love. It is felt here in Blacksburg. I know it is powerless to hear such a major tragedy and not now how you can help, so I will give you two specific ways to help. First, is money. There are two organizations on campus that have been the backbone of some of the counseling and support provided to students and community in the last few days. While holding vigils, dinners, care packages and events are a needed thing, it comes with a financial cost too and these are not rich ministries. So I would like to ask you to consider making a financial donation to either New Life Christian Fellowship (NLCF) or InterVarsity Christian Fellowship.
NLCF is a church that is made up of about 95 % college students. Since students can"t give money or tithe like us working folk can, their financial resources are always being stretched to accomodate a regular attendance of 1,000 students. They have been everywhere this week and they are an amazing outreach to these students. To send a donation a check can be made out to: “NLCF” and send it to PO Box 111 Blacksburg, VA 24060 or you can follow this link: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_xclick&business=nlcfbburg%40gmail%2ecom&item_name=New%20Life%20Christian%20Fellowship&item_number=54%2d1306658&no_shipping=2&no_note=1&tax=0¤cy_code=USD&lc=US&bn=PP%2dDonationsBF&charset=UTF%2d8 and make a credit card donation online.
For InterVarsity, they are a group that I was heavily involved in at William & Mary, came on staff and worked for at Mary Washington and now volunteer with at VA Tech. They have an amazing outreach to students include large group gatherings, small groups and special events. Their staff of 3 has been stretched to its limits this week as they have watched some of their members die in this tragedy and now have to clean up the emotional and spiritual pieces left in its wake. To give to them you can make a donation by following this link: https://my.intervarsity.org/506777a65547e901f8e10b89b1150e52/donate.php Please make sure your donation is directed to "the staff workers at Virginia Tech. "
Second, please keep praying for these students and community. The media locusts will come, feed and leave, but the pain will still linger for a very long time. Some students will not return at all this semester. The school has given the students an option to finish their students online, or take their grade as is, and I know of many students that are taking this option. The community is reeling from the violation of our town. The media has overrun or town, sometimes good, but frankly mostly bad as they have sensationalized this story to sound as if we are a bunch of angry people stomping around demanding answers. In fact it is quite the contrary. Most people have spoken of defending the university and its actions and watching the news you would think otherwise. Jeff and I have had several requests for interviews, between the two of us we have been on a New Zealand radio show, Shepherd Smith's fox news show, requests from CNN, several local stations from different parts of the country and a local morning radio station. We feel the need to share the power of the Lord in the midst of this pain and present a positive message when there is so much negative information out there.
For those of you who have followed my blog from the beginning, you may remember me describing reading the story of Jesus calming the storm right after I was diagnosed. Here is an excerpt from that post:
Jesus is in a boat with some of his disciples. They are trying to fish, he is trying to get some shut-eye. Who knows why he is sleeping, its not like he wasn't a busy guy. Maybe he had had a lot of talks that day, maybe a lot of healings, maybe he had been traveling for days, maybe he was just exhausted from dealing with all the emotional needs and wants of others (boy, haven't we all been there at some point or other) but he was snoozin'. So then all hell brakes loose. A storm (like something out of the perfect storm) hits them like a hurricane. Here's the kicker and the part that recently got to me. JESUS IS STILL ASLEEP! I read that about 2 weeks after my diagnosis and I even wrote a note next to the margin that said, "do I feel like he is still asleep in my storm?" The disciples are in a panic that they will die. (I am in a panic that I will die) and Jesus is still asleep, why???? Here's the good news...If I were asleep and the kids started into panic, but I knew before I fell asleep that this panic would be over nothing and that I was going to fix it just fine when I woke up and (most importantly) if I knew that no harm would come to them during whatever crisis they were experiencing, I might keep sleeping too. That's Jesus. He knew. He knew that the storm was not going to harm them, almost as trivial as when I know that my daughter's life is not going to end when she can't find a hair clip to match her outfit. Why didn't the disciples know? I mean come on, Jesus had healed, calmed and restored endless times for all of them to see. Why didn't I know, I mean Jesus had healed me when I thought Bethany was going to be born way too soon (despite many doctors disbelief), Jesus had calmed me when I was scared about all my boyfriend break-ups, test flunkings, or disappointing someone I cared for. Jesus had restored me when I thought I would never get married, or when someone hurt me. Why didn't I know that he was sleeping in my storm, because he knew I would not be harmed?
I thought a lot about that passage this week. I know there are many families out there feeling like Jesus is asleep in the midst of their storm. Some of you may be wondering when he going to show up to save our country from the wind and the rain, just screaming inside, "JESUS, WOULD YOU PLEASE JUST GET YOUR BUTT OUT OF BED!!!", but you don't feel like he has. Well, I can tell you as one of the people rowing the boat, that if he were a useless God, he would be dead, and he isn't, he is very much alive. He is alive and ready to save us all from the death of the storm. It sure as heck, doesn't feel that way when we are tasting the salt water on our lips and trying to keep our boat upright, but he knows that he will care his children, but sometimes that is in Heaven and not here on earth. Sometimes it is in the awakening we get in our own lives when we confront such a tragedy as this. Sometimes it is in that thankfulness we have for the little moments we have with our family and friends. I loved what the mother of Mary Read said in response to hearing her daughter was killed this week. She said, "I may not understand why God took her when he did, but I am so thankful he allowed us to have her for the time we did." Jesus is weeping alongside all of us this week, and he wants so desperately to have a personal relationship with each of us in this intimate way. That is how I know he is not asleep in the midst of this storm, because he knows he will care for his children.
Please keep praying.
Go Hokies!
Kat
First, let me start by saying many thanks to your outpouring of notes, emails and love. It is felt here in Blacksburg. I know it is powerless to hear such a major tragedy and not now how you can help, so I will give you two specific ways to help. First, is money. There are two organizations on campus that have been the backbone of some of the counseling and support provided to students and community in the last few days. While holding vigils, dinners, care packages and events are a needed thing, it comes with a financial cost too and these are not rich ministries. So I would like to ask you to consider making a financial donation to either New Life Christian Fellowship (NLCF) or InterVarsity Christian Fellowship.
NLCF is a church that is made up of about 95 % college students. Since students can"t give money or tithe like us working folk can, their financial resources are always being stretched to accomodate a regular attendance of 1,000 students. They have been everywhere this week and they are an amazing outreach to these students. To send a donation a check can be made out to: “NLCF” and send it to PO Box 111 Blacksburg, VA 24060 or you can follow this link: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_xclick&business=nlcfbburg%40gmail%2ecom&item_name=New%20Life%20Christian%20Fellowship&item_number=54%2d1306658&no_shipping=2&no_note=1&tax=0¤cy_code=USD&lc=US&bn=PP%2dDonationsBF&charset=UTF%2d8 and make a credit card donation online.
For InterVarsity, they are a group that I was heavily involved in at William & Mary, came on staff and worked for at Mary Washington and now volunteer with at VA Tech. They have an amazing outreach to students include large group gatherings, small groups and special events. Their staff of 3 has been stretched to its limits this week as they have watched some of their members die in this tragedy and now have to clean up the emotional and spiritual pieces left in its wake. To give to them you can make a donation by following this link: https://my.intervarsity.org/506777a65547e901f8e10b89b1150e52/donate.php Please make sure your donation is directed to "the staff workers at Virginia Tech. "
Second, please keep praying for these students and community. The media locusts will come, feed and leave, but the pain will still linger for a very long time. Some students will not return at all this semester. The school has given the students an option to finish their students online, or take their grade as is, and I know of many students that are taking this option. The community is reeling from the violation of our town. The media has overrun or town, sometimes good, but frankly mostly bad as they have sensationalized this story to sound as if we are a bunch of angry people stomping around demanding answers. In fact it is quite the contrary. Most people have spoken of defending the university and its actions and watching the news you would think otherwise. Jeff and I have had several requests for interviews, between the two of us we have been on a New Zealand radio show, Shepherd Smith's fox news show, requests from CNN, several local stations from different parts of the country and a local morning radio station. We feel the need to share the power of the Lord in the midst of this pain and present a positive message when there is so much negative information out there.
For those of you who have followed my blog from the beginning, you may remember me describing reading the story of Jesus calming the storm right after I was diagnosed. Here is an excerpt from that post:
Jesus is in a boat with some of his disciples. They are trying to fish, he is trying to get some shut-eye. Who knows why he is sleeping, its not like he wasn't a busy guy. Maybe he had had a lot of talks that day, maybe a lot of healings, maybe he had been traveling for days, maybe he was just exhausted from dealing with all the emotional needs and wants of others (boy, haven't we all been there at some point or other) but he was snoozin'. So then all hell brakes loose. A storm (like something out of the perfect storm) hits them like a hurricane. Here's the kicker and the part that recently got to me. JESUS IS STILL ASLEEP! I read that about 2 weeks after my diagnosis and I even wrote a note next to the margin that said, "do I feel like he is still asleep in my storm?" The disciples are in a panic that they will die. (I am in a panic that I will die) and Jesus is still asleep, why???? Here's the good news...If I were asleep and the kids started into panic, but I knew before I fell asleep that this panic would be over nothing and that I was going to fix it just fine when I woke up and (most importantly) if I knew that no harm would come to them during whatever crisis they were experiencing, I might keep sleeping too. That's Jesus. He knew. He knew that the storm was not going to harm them, almost as trivial as when I know that my daughter's life is not going to end when she can't find a hair clip to match her outfit. Why didn't the disciples know? I mean come on, Jesus had healed, calmed and restored endless times for all of them to see. Why didn't I know, I mean Jesus had healed me when I thought Bethany was going to be born way too soon (despite many doctors disbelief), Jesus had calmed me when I was scared about all my boyfriend break-ups, test flunkings, or disappointing someone I cared for. Jesus had restored me when I thought I would never get married, or when someone hurt me. Why didn't I know that he was sleeping in my storm, because he knew I would not be harmed?
I thought a lot about that passage this week. I know there are many families out there feeling like Jesus is asleep in the midst of their storm. Some of you may be wondering when he going to show up to save our country from the wind and the rain, just screaming inside, "JESUS, WOULD YOU PLEASE JUST GET YOUR BUTT OUT OF BED!!!", but you don't feel like he has. Well, I can tell you as one of the people rowing the boat, that if he were a useless God, he would be dead, and he isn't, he is very much alive. He is alive and ready to save us all from the death of the storm. It sure as heck, doesn't feel that way when we are tasting the salt water on our lips and trying to keep our boat upright, but he knows that he will care his children, but sometimes that is in Heaven and not here on earth. Sometimes it is in the awakening we get in our own lives when we confront such a tragedy as this. Sometimes it is in that thankfulness we have for the little moments we have with our family and friends. I loved what the mother of Mary Read said in response to hearing her daughter was killed this week. She said, "I may not understand why God took her when he did, but I am so thankful he allowed us to have her for the time we did." Jesus is weeping alongside all of us this week, and he wants so desperately to have a personal relationship with each of us in this intimate way. That is how I know he is not asleep in the midst of this storm, because he knows he will care for his children.
Please keep praying.
Go Hokies!
Kat
Monday, April 16, 2007
The tragedy at Virginia Tech
I know unless you are living under a rock the last day, you will know that we have had a major tragedy here in Blacksburg, Virginia. I can't even begin to describe for you how this has rocked our little town of Blacksburg. We moved out of Northern Virginia to get out of this stuff. I thought we had seen the end of our "running from snipers" days when we moved out of Manassas. Today, I found myself walking into Starbucks with the exact feeling I had when the sniper was on the run in the DC area a few years ago.
I heard about the first shooting right away in the morning and then heard the details of the additional shootings as they unfolded, while I was working at Starbucks. We were the only place open in downtown Blacksburg. It was a mixed feeling of being upset we were still open, but proud that we were not going to let fear shut us down.
As the casualty numbers began to rise, I thought at first they were merely talking about injuries, I felt like I had been punched in the stomach when I realized they were talking about deaths.
As of now we don't know if we know anyone hurt or killed. We have heard of 2 people who are in our various ministry connections that are "missing", and we are hoping it is just a loss of confusion in the midst of almost no cell phone connection and scattered individuals.
We have allowed our phone number to be posted on Virginia Tech's InterVarsity's web site (a college ministry I have been involved with for over 10 years) and as a result we have gotten calls from all over the world. Just tonight, Jeff will be on the morning radio show for a Christian radio station in New Zealand. We have opened our house to students who need to get away from campus or parents who need a place to stay (there are many coming to town just to give their kids some comfort). Tomorrow we will babysit a bunch of kids as their parents attend a campus memorial service and we are hoping to host a dinner for students tomorrow night. We received a call from CNN asking if they could get footage of any prayer vigil or student gathering we hold, so we will see. We are trying to do our part to be there for others.
A dear friend of mine from high school (thanks Chris M.) turned me on to a book called "A Prayer for Owen Meany" by John Irving, which they later made into a movie called "Simon Birch". (Not nearly as good as the book) Basically, the essence of the story is that this misfit kid who never really fit in in life and spent a great deal of time alone develops this set of quirks and repetitive things that he likes to do. Sometimes it is the same types of disappointments repeating throughout his life. At the end this specific set of events form a major tragedy and Owen must use his long history of gifts, disappointments, quirks and will to save the day. He realizes his life full of disappointment and adversity prepared him for this moment. I felt like Owen Meany today. I understood grief in a depth I would not have known a year ago. I prayed in a way I could not have prayed a year ago and I understand the darkness the heart feels with such unexplainable pain. I guess I can thank cancer for that. I huddled around these students at this prayer vigil and was able to remove myself enough from the situation to truly be there for them. It was a good feeling.
Thank you for those of you who have contacted us. Please continue to pray for us as we try to comfort others. Please pray for Jeff as he wrestles with the tragedy that happened in a building he had many classes in and most importantly, please pray for the families of the victims.
Kat
I heard about the first shooting right away in the morning and then heard the details of the additional shootings as they unfolded, while I was working at Starbucks. We were the only place open in downtown Blacksburg. It was a mixed feeling of being upset we were still open, but proud that we were not going to let fear shut us down.
As the casualty numbers began to rise, I thought at first they were merely talking about injuries, I felt like I had been punched in the stomach when I realized they were talking about deaths.
As of now we don't know if we know anyone hurt or killed. We have heard of 2 people who are in our various ministry connections that are "missing", and we are hoping it is just a loss of confusion in the midst of almost no cell phone connection and scattered individuals.
We have allowed our phone number to be posted on Virginia Tech's InterVarsity's web site (a college ministry I have been involved with for over 10 years) and as a result we have gotten calls from all over the world. Just tonight, Jeff will be on the morning radio show for a Christian radio station in New Zealand. We have opened our house to students who need to get away from campus or parents who need a place to stay (there are many coming to town just to give their kids some comfort). Tomorrow we will babysit a bunch of kids as their parents attend a campus memorial service and we are hoping to host a dinner for students tomorrow night. We received a call from CNN asking if they could get footage of any prayer vigil or student gathering we hold, so we will see. We are trying to do our part to be there for others.
A dear friend of mine from high school (thanks Chris M.) turned me on to a book called "A Prayer for Owen Meany" by John Irving, which they later made into a movie called "Simon Birch". (Not nearly as good as the book) Basically, the essence of the story is that this misfit kid who never really fit in in life and spent a great deal of time alone develops this set of quirks and repetitive things that he likes to do. Sometimes it is the same types of disappointments repeating throughout his life. At the end this specific set of events form a major tragedy and Owen must use his long history of gifts, disappointments, quirks and will to save the day. He realizes his life full of disappointment and adversity prepared him for this moment. I felt like Owen Meany today. I understood grief in a depth I would not have known a year ago. I prayed in a way I could not have prayed a year ago and I understand the darkness the heart feels with such unexplainable pain. I guess I can thank cancer for that. I huddled around these students at this prayer vigil and was able to remove myself enough from the situation to truly be there for them. It was a good feeling.
Thank you for those of you who have contacted us. Please continue to pray for us as we try to comfort others. Please pray for Jeff as he wrestles with the tragedy that happened in a building he had many classes in and most importantly, please pray for the families of the victims.
Kat
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
See my life could be more stressful -- life lessons from nature
I had to post this. We have a stubborn bird that is always sitting smack dab in the middle of the driveway when we drive in and out of our new house. Today I walked up the driveway and found out that she had LAID EGGS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DRIVEWAY! I am not sure what we are going to do when her chicks come. 
On a spiritual level it made me realize how much life there is in the midst of the chaos and danger of the world. Boy, I thought my life was stressful, no wonder why she is so upset everytime we drive in and out. I wonder how many of us have cars driving over the top of us when we are just trying to be quiet and raise our families.
On a spiritual level it made me realize how much life there is in the midst of the chaos and danger of the world. Boy, I thought my life was stressful, no wonder why she is so upset everytime we drive in and out. I wonder how many of us have cars driving over the top of us when we are just trying to be quiet and raise our families.Kat
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