Killin' Time...

I'm sitting in Alabama's volleyball facility trying to kill time before our next match at 5 p.m. This is the worst part of away games -- killing time. I mean my car is just outside and I could just jump in it and drive around but it makes more sense to just stay put.

We just lost to Alabama. I hate losing to Alabama almost as much as I hate losing to Ole Miss. In anything. Even rock, paper, scissors. I'm afraid I might have to deal with that this weekend too. Samford plays at Ole Miss tomorrow in football. Yikes. As much as I hate to say it, Ole Miss looked really good last week against Wake Forest. Oh, well.

"Why don't you slide..."

Sorry, just singing. It's so loud, you can't help it. I might be deaf before the night is over. Then again, my dad would argue that it's no different than riding in my car.

I've been reading blogs of families with multiples (triplets, quads, quints, etc.). The Wilkinsons are statisticians so the mom shares some odds that came with her quint pregnacny, and then she shared this site of odds. I thought it was pretty funny so I thought I'd share some of my favs.

- Odds of getting canonized: 20,000,000 to 1
- Odds of being an astronaut: 13,200,000 to 1
- Odds of winning an Olympic medal: 662,000 to 1 (Tell that to Michael Phelps!)
- Odds that a person between the age of 18 and 29 does NOT read a newspaper regularly: 3 to 1 (Not surprising)
- Odds that an American adult does not want to live to age 120 under any circumstances: 3 to 2 (Really? I'd kill to live that long.)
- Odds of injury from fireworks: 19,556 to 1 (Yeah, ask my sister. Watch those ditches.)
- Odds of being killed on a 5-mile bus trip: 500,000,000 to 1
- Odds of being struck by lightning: 576,000 to 1
- Odds of being killed by lightning: 2,320,000 to 1 (Good to know these odds are better.)
- Odds of getting away with murder: 2 to 1 (ha!)
- Odds of dating a supermodel: 88,000 to 1 (Y' hear that, guys?)
- Odds of being considered possessed by Satan: 7,000 to 1
- Odds that a first marriage will survive without separation or divorce for 15 years: 1.3 to 1 (Yikes!)
- Odds that a celebrity marriage will last a lifetime: 3 to 1 (Interesting.)
- Odds of being born a twin in North America: 90 to 1 (I thought this would be more.)
- Odds of being on plane with a drunken pilot: 117 to 1
- Odds of having your identity stolen: 200 to 1
- Odds of dating a millionaire: 215 to 1 (Funny these odds are better than the supermodel ones.)
- Odds of finding out your child is a genius: 250 to 1 (Hopefully, if I have children, my child will be the "one" so that I don't have to pay for college.)
- Odds of catching a ball at a major league ballgame: 563 to 1
- Odds of becoming a pro athlete: 22,000 to 1 (Thought this would be lower.)
- Odds of finding a four-leaf clover on first try: 10,000 to 1
- Odds of a person in the military winning the Medal of Honor: 11,000 to 1
- Odds of winning an Academy Award: 11,500 to 1
- Odds of striking it rich on Antiques Roadshow: 60,000 to 1
- Odds of spotting a UFO today: 3,000,000 to 1 (Tell that to my Dad.)
- Odds of a meteor landing on your house: 182,138,880,000,000 to 1 (Good to know!)
- Chance of an American home having at least one container of ice cream in the freezer: 9 in 10. (My house is one of the nine.)
- Chance that Earth will experience a catastrophic collision with an asteroid in the next 100 years: 1 in 5,000
- Chance of dying in such a collision: 1 in 20,000
- Chance of dying from legal execution: 1 in 3,441,325
- Chance of dying from contact with hot tap water: 1 in 5,005,564
- Chance of dying from parts falling off an airplane: 1 in 10,000,000
- Chance of dying from ignition or melting of nightwear: 1 in 30,589,556 (Watch out ladies!)
- Chance of dying from a mountain lion attack in California: 1 in 32,000,000
- Chance of dying from a shark attack: 1 in 300,000,000
- Chance of contracting the human version of mad cow disease: 1 in 40,000,000 (No fear. Keep eating those hamburgers!)
- Chance of dying from SARS in the United States: 1 in 100,000,000

Until next time...

I totally forgot to mention...

In my last post about football, I completely forgot to mention that my Samford Bulldogs will be taking on Ole Miss (wow, that was hard to type without gagging) Saturday on the football field. It's a long shot that the Bulldogs could pull an upset, but let's just say I'll be cheering extra hard for the Pat Sullivan and the real red and blue that we can go into Oxford and take down the Rebels.

Go Bulldogs!

I got the photography bug...

Tricia and Amanda have shown off their photography skills in the last few days and they got me wanting to go take some pictures myself. I've been wanting a fancy-shmancy camera to do great artsy photos with for a while but Katie hasn't had a big girl job long enough to save up the $700-$1000 bucks it costs to buy one. Back in the summer, my Dad gave me his old film camera that he used to take pictures of us (and other things) back in the day and Sunday was such a gorgeous day, I thought I'd give it a go with some black-and-white and colored film. Keep in mind as you look at these photos, the flash is broken (so no flash - good for some pics, very bad for others) and I only had one lens. I'm hoping to search some pawn shops and eBay for a new flash, other lenses and other accessories. It was kind of fun using the old film camera (except not being able to see your pictures right after you take them). Anyway, enjoy!

I did a little playing with this one in photoshop.

(Color photos in post below.)

Photography Bug Continued...

Pretty yellow flowers that are all outside the Divinity School.

Kind of cool to see how the trees on the quad make a tunnel over the walkways.

Reed Chapel

Cool shadows at Reed Chapel

Not really a cool picture but I love that they have these all over the quad.

Bad, bad grainy picture (remember no flash). But it is cool to see how the students hang out on nice days.

It thought this was a cool view.

Mr. Beeson's statue. A very famous place for students to pose for funny pictures. If you can imagine.

A New Look, A Moment of Silence, and Workin' for the Weekend

So, I gave my blog a facelift last night. I had decided that my life was filled with too much black and white. I do everything in black and white. So, I gave my blog some color.

On another note, I just wanted to take a moment and remember those lost in 9/11. I remember exactly where I was and what I was doing when those planes it the towers. My prayers are with families still coping with this tragedy, even seven years later. It's not something you just get over. Praise God that he is in control of everything and praise him for all the heroes that put their lives on the line that day at the towers and on planes, and more recently in the war in the Middle East, so that we can enjoy the freedoms that we have here in America without being afraid.

On a happier note, I am workin' for the weekend. I've got a big weekend ahead of me and I'm so excited. It starts tomorrow as I head to Tuscaloosa to watch my girls (volleyball) play in the toughest tournament so far this year. They are 6-1 right now and had pretty much blasted everyone that they have played so far. This weekend is going to be tough because they are playing Alabama, Murray State and South Florida -- three of our toughest preseason opponents. I'm praying that they do extraordinary...and I know they will. They play twice Friday and once on Saturday. I'm so excited that their match is early on Saturday because that means I'm only an hour away from Starkville, so I get to make it to the Auburn game!

I'm way excited about this because 1) I get to see MY Bulldogs play at least once this year, 2) I get to see friends I haven't seen in a while, and 3) I'm meeting my mom after the game and driving her home so I get to see my Dad, my sister, bro-in-law and sweet William on Sunday. This is great because I am having to miss William's first birthday party on Halloween and I wasn't going to get to see my sister until Thanksgiving. It's tough living so far away from family and not being able to go home as much anymore. I'm so excited!

Then it's back to Birmingham for a week of prepping for our own volleyball tournament. Fun times!

Have a great day!

Join the club...

So I've been pretty convicted lately about my service and my giving. I've wanted to give to an organization for a while but it was so hard for me to commit to on an intern's salary. When I finally got my big girl job, one of the things I said I was going to do was start giving and serving more. I'd promised myself that I was going to give to some charitable organization but kept putting it off until today. Today I took the plunge and joined this, the Mocha Club. It's an organization that is helping build Africa from within through monetary donations that go toward causes such as education, orphan care, HIV/AIDS, child mothers, job creation and Sudan regrowth.

Africa has been on my heart recently, as has been Honduras (since my visit there) and now Cuba, which is probably devastated by Hurricane Ike.

(Sidenote: Archie, one of my friends from our Honduras trip (he was our videographer and is actually from Venezuala), told a group of us one day about his heart for Cuba. His dream, and near-future reality, is to go to Cuba and lead a group to do mission work down there and get some discipleship in the works down there. Lord knows they need it.)

Anyway, since Dave Barnes promoted this at the first show I went to, it's been on my mind every since. I said to myself, and I think to Casey, that once I get a big girl check I'm actually going to start giving to this. I know it's $7 a month and I should have been able to give it up when I was on the intern salary but I'm just showing my selfish ways.

Anyway, if your heart is telling you to start giving, please check out my team at the Mocha Club by going to this link and let me know if you want to join by commenting and ask me to send you an invite. Or create your own team if you want to give to another cause. I won't be disappointed. I might even join your team too! You join mine, I'll join yours. (All little "You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours" action.) And it's easy to give. You give them your credit/debit care number and they take $7 out on the 15th of every month.

I wanted to give to more than one cause because so many of them mean so much to me but I had to just pick one. I chose education because it's just been a big part of my family. Both my parents are educators and now my sister has joined the ranks as well. Education is huge and is crucial for these kids on the road of life. Plus, it's fun. Yep. I said it. Learning is fun. I do it every day.

Anyway, so if you so feel called, join my team, Spreadin' the Love, because that's what we are doing.

Go, and make disciples of all nations...

Watch this. It's so great see a young man doing this on his spring break when he could be in Cabo or Panama City doing God knows what.

Katie's Thoughts On Politics

Let me preface this blog by saying...I don't usually comment on politics, usually because I don't care and I don't know much about it. I don't get excited about elections, maybe more about presidential but definitely not local ones. When all the commotion started with the Presidential race, I actually got interested.

For a while I never declared who I was voting for until Gov. Mike Huckabee played the Jesus card and I was hooked. To me, he was legit and sincere. I also like Fred Thompson but I think that's more becuase he was on Law and Order and was a good speech-giver. But after those two were pushed out of the race and John McCain had sealed the Republican nomination, I started to get a little scared. It meant that he, Hillary or Obama would be the next president and I didn't want any part of either. I've threatened to move to Australia if Hillary or Obama became president several times. No threats with McCain. I just wasn't a big fan.

But after watching Sarah Palin (Republican Presidential Nominee John McCain's pick for a running mate) address the delegates last night, I've got too much running through my mind to not put it in writing. I don't usually watch the Repulbican National Convention and I definitely didn't watch any of the Democratic National Convention, but I've been intrigued but McCain's pick and I wanted to hear what she had to say. I guess you would say that I've increasingly become a McCain supporter. He's got the right stand of most of the issues I care about, he's a war vet and he's a believer. He took a gamble asking Gov. Sarah Palin to be his running mate, and I think the jury will be out on how great that decision was until November 5 (the day after the election).

However, I'm a fan of Gov. Palin. She's a tough cookie and definitely appealed last night to those who could give a rip about what other people think. Her speech was witty and full of truth, although she took several cheap shots at the opposing party (which I thought hit the nail right on the head). She made very good points, opened the nations eyes to a woman who has experience dealing with energy resources and praised our military forces instead of belittled them.

However, I think my favorite thing about her is the way that she has dealt with the so-called "controversy" surrounding her family with her teenaged daughter being pregnant and her having just given birth to a Downs Syndrome child.

So many people, i.e. the media and celebrities, are chastising the Palins because her is pregnant at the age of 17. Let me remind the public, all 4 of you reading this, that the Palins are no different than any other regular person. Being a public figure or governmental official doesn't automatically mean that a person can't make mistakes or has to be perfect in the public eye. We are not the judge. The only person in history who is able to judge us is God/Jesus Christ, because he walked this earth, upright and blameless, facing temptation many times, directly from Satan himself three times, and turned away. He took all the sins of those who had passed, are living, and are yet to come, he took them upon himself and defeated them by walking right out of that tomb after the third day, laughing in the face of the devil.

We don't derserve or have the right to judge the Palins. Bristol Palin and her fiancee' are taking responsibility for their actions. They knew what they were doing, they knew the consequences of their actions and no one is forcing them to get married (Joy Behar), and this young man is not sacrificing his life to take care of his responsibilities. That's called being a man. That's what men do. They take responsibility for their actions, come what may. He's not "not being allowed to life his life because he's having to married the girl he knocked up," he's choosing to live his life by the path that life has taken him on. The couple is choosing to accept the gift God has given them and learn, instead of making it go away and pretending nothing happened.

I'm not saying abortion is not heart wrenching. I've never had to go through that experience, so I couldn't imagine what that person goes through. But just like you choose to live your life the way you want to by getting rid of that person inside, God chose to give that person life inside you for some reason, and you are denying that child life by aborting them.

Her eldest son is about to be deployed to Iraq. Her youngest was born with Downs Syndrome. He was a "surprise" or a "mistake" as some would say, but he has undoubtedly been a blessing to that family. Adversity strengthens a family. That's one strong family in my eyes.

I want to point out some interesting things I've observed and have discussed with my Dad throughout this whole process. I'll list for easy reading:

- Obama's mom was white and 16 when she had him. Why are we chastising the Palins and why is he being heralded as the first African-American candidate? He's half-white. Doesn't that mean he's mixed-race? Mulatto?

- Why did Obama refuse to wear a flag pin at the beginning of the presidential race but now proudly sports one? And why can't he answer a question without going all the way around the world, and still he can't give a straight answer?

- I love how Hillary talked negatively about her opponent when she was still in the race, but once she's out of contention, she's praising him and supporting him to get her supporters to vote for him? Flip-flop much?

- My Dad and I talked last night about how we'd almost rather Obama win because nothing would get done with a Republican president and Democratic Congress because most of the Congress wouldn't want to work with the Republican president. However, I still don't know if I would want to take that gamble and have Obama run our country.

- The Democratic National Convention was a freaking red carpet affair. The good ol' boys showed up to the Republican National Convention. No red carpet. No flashing bulbs. Just Mike Huckabee on the electric guitar and crazy protesters outside.

- Gov. Palin rarely mentioned Obama by name, maybe once or twice. She mostly referred to him as "our opponent". Very clear. Sort of tongue-in-cheek.

- She also made a good point. He's written two memoirs but has never written a major law or reform. Tu chez, Gov. Palin. Tu chez.

But...in all of this...here's the kicker...

God is in control. He's got a plan and it is unfolding in front of our eyes. He's going to be glorified, no matter who gets elected. Good or bad. This God is the same God who rose up leaders like Moses and King David, made Esther queen (she ended up saving her people group from being obliterated), wise King Solomon and Billy Graham. He's the same God who rose up Pharoah from the book of Exodus and Pontius Pilate, Hilter, Stalin, Bin Ladin and Sadam Hussien. And God has received the glory and is still receiving the glory from all the things those people have been associated with.

We don't need to worry about who is running our country. God is ultimately in control. He's working out a plan. We don't often understand the things that may happen in that plan. Often, we may not even see the good things from that plan in our lifetime, but if we are faithful to the One who is faithful to us, who brings us through those hard times, strengthens us and shows his power in our weaknesses, we have nothing to fear.

God is good. Amen? Amen.

And no, I'm not moving to Australia. Unless God wants me to.

He speaks again...

Once again the Lord spoke to me pretty loudly today. It came in this devotion that my dad sent me. My dad sends devotions out every day. I usually get something out of most of them but rarely does one slap me in the face and make me think, "This is me," like this one did today.

I read the Bible everyday. My dad gave me one of those One Year bibles that has a passage from the OT, a passage from the NT, a Psalm and a verse from Proverbs to read every day. This has definitely helped me get into the Word everyday. However, most of the time, I read and then just move on with my day. I rarely really sit and think about what I just read. I mean, I comprehend it but I don't really allow it to really sink it.

Also, when I read this it really hit me that big ol' God wants to just hang out with me everyday. He wants me to take time and just hang. After everything that he does for me and with everything that he has in his hands (which is my no means a burden to him), he wants to just hang out with me everyday. I pray. But I truly long for that prayer life in which I find the time to pray in a "deep, fervent, consistent, persistent way." A life in which "I turn my prayers into conversations with that keep flowing throughout the day, an on-going communication where I never say 'Amen.'"

Read this and I hope you'll be blessed.

________________________________________________________

Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. "Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?" he asked Peter. Matthew 26:40

Read this devotional as a prayer:

Help me, Lord, to develop a strong prayer life.

I know you desire intimacy with me, and you want me to watch with you and pray (Matthew 26:40). Yet, I never seem to find the time to pray in a deep, fervent, consistent, persistent way.

What draws me to my knees the most is when I have a problem, when I want something from you, when I need your help.

I'm flipping through my calendar, stressing with commitments, and you just want to hang out - with me. Help me turn my prayers into conversations with you that keep flowing throughout the day, an on-going communication where I never say "Amen."

Keep me close to you, no matter what it takes. I'm not sure I really want to pray that; I have bruises and scars from "whatever it takes" discipleship, but, then again, I confess the crush of these moments have taught me to throw myself on the stone before the stone falls on me. And that has moved me closer to the love that compels my obedience, closer to becoming one with your heart. So, I'm asking that you change me until my deepest want is to be with you.

With this I pray that you will create me worthy of my calling and that your power will fulfill every good purpose you plan for me and energize everything I do in faith. My prayer is that your life will emerge in my face and in my hands, in my thoughts and in my words. I know your grace will make it so (paraphrase of 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12).

Olympic Dreams

This is an article that was in the Birmingham News today, written by John Archibald. I love it for two reasons: 1) it pokes fun at the mayor of Birmingham for thinking we could EVER host the Olympic is the "Magic City" and 2) it mentions people I know (Josh and Carlos! Go for the gold!) and highlights the great things going on in Birmingham. Please enjoy...

Birmingham has true Olympians

The whole nation has had its laugh, at Birmingham's expense.

Funny. Funny.

Even the world got a snicker out of the city's dubious quest for Olympic glory.

"We need to start thinking big," Mayor Larry Langford told The New York Times, presumably with a straight face, as he sold the city as a host site for the 2020 Olympics.

So what if we don't have the resources, the mass transportation, the hotel rooms, the credit or the sports facilities to keep an SEC championship, much less an event that is the focus of the entire world?

We need to think big.

Yeah, yeah. Watching Langford on a national stage is like watching one of those tiny tot singers on "America's Funniest Home Videos." Sure, they are cute, for a minute. But you'd never hire one as your wedding singer - or to star in a Super Bowl halftime show.

Think big? Why not just think?

A city, a person, a politician cannot maintain credibility without embracing the laws of physics and the confines of reality. So forget Langford's plans: archery at Oak Mountain, canoeing in the Cahaba River, tennis at George Ward Park and shooting at - well, just follow the chalk outlines for that one.

Birmingham has an Olympic dream, but it is not Larry Langford's hallucination.

Birmingham's dream is on its way to China now, a contingent coming from Lakeshore Rehabilitation Center to represent the United States in the Paralympics, which begin Saturday.

If you want to know about thinking big, look at the 15 people from across Alabama who still work to overcome obstacles, even as they train to take on the world.

If you want to know about thinking big, look at these men and women:

Ron Williams of Birmingham survived bone cancer, but lost his left leg below the knee. He has since won cycling medals at two different Paralympic Games. He wants to make it three.

Mortimer Jordan grad Josh Roberts took up wheelchair track and field events only a year ago, but he was selected to compete in Beijing.

Competitive shooter Mike Dickey of Trafford shot a perfect score to earn a spot on the U.S. team this year.

Jennifer Schuble represents the U.S. on the cycling team. Carlos Leon, who lives in Birmingham, competes in the discus and shot put, as does Birmingham's Scott Winkler.

Two-time Paralympian Bryan Kirkland leads the U.S. wheelchair rugby team against the world, while 18-year-old Joel Wilmoth becomes the youngest member of that team.

Stephanie Wheeler, Alana Nichols, Jacob Counts and Mary Allison Milford will compete in basketball, Mallerie Badgett in track and field.

Aimee Bruder, a 4-foot-10 swimmer with cerebral palsy, has competed in five Paralympic Games. Jen Armbruster began losing her sight at age 14 and was completely blind by 1992, but she serves as the captain of the U.S. Goalball team.

That is already bigtime.

Birmingham does not need to compete for the Olympics to feel good about itself. All it has to do is look at the strong and courageous people it sends to Beijing. John Archibald's column appears Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Write him at: jarchibald@bhamnews.com