What is it about America that unites three hundred twenty-seven million individuals? Why do tears run down faces when our anthem plays? Why do so many people sacrifice all they have to come here and start a new life? What is the appeal? The simple answer is we are all drawn here because the United States of America is truly great. We want to be somewhere where dreams are expected, diversity is celebrated, and our efforts are rewarded. America is great because it is built on the foundation of freedom, which is preserved and protected by sacrifice, ensuring hope for tomorrow.
​
  Freedom is the foundation of what makes America great. Millions of people all over this world are not allowed the opportunity to express their beliefs, have a voice in government, or have a fair trial. In our country, however, such opportunities are commonplace and expected. These liberties are all so easy to take for granted. As Franklin Roosevelt once remarked, “Those who have long enjoyed such privileges as we enjoy forget in time that men have died to win them.” May we never surrender the gift of freedom. It is the foundation we must cling to if we wish America to remain great.

  This core value of freedom is and always has been protected and preserved by great sacrifices. Since the dawn of our nation, millions of brave men and women have seen a hope for what America could be. They’ve fought for this vision, christening it with blood, sweat, and tears. Giving of themselves, they bought for us the freedoms we cherish. From legendary heroes to those whose stories will never be told, they have been united by a common conviction. As former president Ronald Reagan put it, “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same.”

  Freedom and sacrifice ensure we can have hope for tomorrow. This hope is that in the land of free and the home of the brave, maybe there’s a place for you and me to be the free and the brave. We have all heard about the dedication, patriotism, and self-sacrifice of those who have gone before us. And we currently experience many wonderful blessings of freedom today. As heirs of this liberty, we must be vigilant and fight complacency. Our freedom has been upheld by the persistent faithfulness of all those who believed that each person has the right to, “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” The principles that America is built on are enduring. They have withstood the test of time, and as long as there are people willing to protect these central truths, our nation will stand. Knowing this, we may delight in the hope of future generations inheriting the same liberties that have been passed on to us.

  Today, let us treasure our freedoms, sacrifice to defend them, and rejoice in the bright hopes we have for tomorrow. To do so is not blind patriotism but is wise stewardship of our magnificent home. The values that made and have kept America great are the same principles that will sustain her legacy for centuries to come. 

  Hey there! I am so excited to announce a guest post written by one of my good friends, The Distinguished Llama. (I say friend, you say alter-ego. Same thing, basically.) Before I hand things over to the Llama, you must understand two things.

   First, according to my friend, "Llama" is pronounced "luh-MAA," not "LAH-muh".

  Second, these stories were written for my little brother. If you are looking for expert storytelling or any semblance of plot, you are probably on the wrong blog.

  Disclaimers aside, I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I - I mean... The Llama enjoyed writing it!

  P.S. Try reading this in the most distinguished voice you have. (Side note: please don't ask him what it means to be Distinguished. It's quite complicated, but basically means that he is civilized and not an alpaca. Like I said, don't ask.)

  To begin, I must first introduce you to my colleague, Herman. Some might call him my pet, due to the fact that he is a tortoise, but I find the term “colleague” is far more Distinguished (not to mention less discriminating). I shall begin at the beginning, regardless of the fact that if I began anywhere else, it would still be known as the “beginning” … but I digress.

  I ought to explain where Herman came from. However, I cannot. He just showed up one day and never left. I certainly would not have sought him out since we are completely opposed in nearly all areas of thought. Take for example his ridiculous belief that Nutella is superior to salted caramel dip. In fact, one evening we were debating about this, and Herman became rather stubborn. He simply hid inside his shell and refused to come out. As it was already quite late, I decided to go to bed. When I got up the next morning, Herman was nowhere to be found. Still calling his name, I flipped the switch to turn on the ceiling fan. Wham! All of a sudden, something heavy flew off the fan blade and onto my back, making a peculiar hollering noise. I swiveled my extra-long llama neck around and took a closer look. Apparently, Herman had wrapped himself in duct tape and packing peanuts and launched himself at me off the spinning blade. Thus, Herman started a new hobby: ambushing me. He particularly enjoyed doing it early in the morning, since he could spend all night in preparation and then attack me when I was groggy.

  I remember one attack vividly; I had just opened the toaster oven to toss in five waffles, when I heard a snap. A split-second later, Herman was hurtling toward my face, with his legs flailing in a ridiculous manner. I nearly had a heart attack! Several minutes later, (once I recovered from the shock) Herman showed me the miniature catapult he had built in the toaster during the night. After that, I knew better than to drink coffee on mornings when Herman was missing. Who needs caffeine when you have a tortoise unexpectedly free-falling onto you? We have saved so much money since I’ve stopped drinking coffee.

Looking at the lives of those who serve the Lord, there seems to be a pattern: God gives them more than they can handle. Just read a few missionary biographies, and you will find countless examples of seemingly impossible trials sent to God's faithful servants. When we are faced with situations that are beyond our might, we must remember that we are not meant to figure things out on our own. The Lord is with his children; he will not leave us! Let our first response to trouble be prayer and faith, not fear or discouragement. This is hard to do when we are tested, but it leads to so much joy!

This summer I have been learning to enjoy the present. Especially as an (overthinking) teen, it's so easy for me to be focused on the future. I've got a million plans and ideas, but I risk not noticing or enjoying what's going on now.

I need to be content with where I'm at without losing my motivation to work toward my future goals. Learning to be content and joyful in the now involves a lot of trust in God. The all-knowing, all-powerful, loving God has given me the present time for a reason. I want to give Him glory by using it wisely and joyfully. Isn't it amazing that God wants us to delight in what he has given us? I want to live rejoicing in the gift that is today.

So... it's kinda been a while since I last posted. Lately, it seems like time is flying past like an overenthusiastic Frisbee. I'm not sure where that metaphor came from, and I would  like to apologize in advance for how disjointed this post will be.


Here's the 65 mph view of what's been going on:

• We're in the midst of a lot of home construction (putting up a wall, tearing out some walls, adding on to the side of the house, etc.)
• Did I mention drywall dust?
• Nebraska is still participating in this revolving-door-of-seasons thing
• I've been doing online work for driver's ed to get ready for my driving test. So far, I have learned that green=stop and red=go. For all of you who are now hiding in your basement, that was sarcasm...  :-P
• I'm nearly finished with my third quarter of college!! (Is that counting my chickens too soon? I guess we'll find out.)
• My dad and Wesley recently celebrated their birthdays. You guess which one turned 7 and which one... didn't. =D
• Speaking of Wesley, I promised I would write him some stories as a late birthday present, so I've been working on writing some of the wackiest stories I can think of!
• Three days ago, my mom found a nest of baby bunnies. Aren't they cute?! They're so young - at first, they didn't even have fur, and their eyes still aren't open!
• We went to an antique mall when we had some family in town, and I got two copies of Five Little Peppers and How They Grew.
• Wesley and I had fun with some friends while we all dug two "foxholes" in the piles of dirt in our yard.

Bullet points are fun, but I'd better stop there. Thanks for reading!

Hello, people! This is going to be a rather squirrely post. Just thought I'd put that warning out there for those of you who are allergic to randomness. Anyhow... a lot of stuff has been going on around here, so I figured it was time for an update. Here we go...

• I'm in the middle of reading/devouring a couple of books. A Tale of Two Cities is a school assignment, and I have been pleasantly surprised by how much I have  enjoyed it.
• The Smartest Kids in the World by Amanda Ripley is another one I'm partially through. It's a neat perspective on how other countries' education systems are different than the United States'.
• Yesterday, I finished reading The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom. It was hilarious, and I'm going to hunt down the rest of the series at the library.

Moving on from books...

• I've been telling Wesley some stories about a llama detective who follows two clueless bandits. At some point, Wesley's going to figure out that I'm totally making it up as I go...
• Wesley and I built a pyramid of plastic cups, then shot it down with our Nerf guns.
• We started watching Swiss Family Robinson the other night. This is one of my favorite movies ever.
• We've had a lot of snow. Wesley and I helped some of our friends build a big igloo (a.k.a. bigloo), we went ice-fishing with Papa, and we've been sledding quite a bit.

That's all for now. Congratulations on reaching the end of the list! Your reward is a hilarious weather video that seems pretty accurate for the Midwest. Or there's this, if you prefer cute baby armadillos. Choose wisely, my friends.

Happy New Year, everybody! How are the resolutions coming? So far I've made two. The first one is to be healthier. I'm a pretty uncoordinated bookworm, so staying healthy is something I want to intentionally focus on this year. My second resolution is to hold onto my plans more loosely, and respond graciously when they are interrupted.

Anyway, all this resolution-plotting has made me consider how I view my future. As a teenager, I can sometimes believe 'real life' begins later - after high school, or even after college. While it is true that I won't be a student forever, this can cloud my focus. Paul encourages us to "run with endurance the race that is set before us". If I am going to run with endurance, I must view now as being crucial. This is the perfect time to form habits that will help me keep my mind on Christ. The present time is a gift from God that is all too easy to waste. 

"How are you doing?"
"Oh, I'm just so busy."

So busy... the words fall flat. Am I too busy? Too busy to appreciate my little brother giving me a 'Happy Birthday' balloon? Too busy to tell him a story? Too busy to read my bible? Ouch. The real answer is no. I'm never truly too busy to obey God. It's a problem of the heart, not of the calendar. When I insist on my way, I ignore God's plan. Trying to muscle my way to what I want is rebellion against God's design. In order to get my priorities in line with what God values, my faith must increase.  
"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen."
-Hebrews 11:1
My conviction of God's wisdom, power, and love must be greater than my self-confidence. That's a hard pill to swallow. On my own, I want to be independent and self-sufficient, but Christ requires nothing less than complete and total submission. By faith, I will lay aside the lie of 'too busy' and run the race with endurance in pursuit of the joy of serving Christ.
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God." - Hebrews 12:1-2

Below is an open letter to myself. It's a lot of things - rebuke, confession, exhortation, encouragement, and my new life direction. I have been changed through writing this. My prayer is that God would use this to open our eyes to how we sometimes ignore God's plans, and chase autonomy instead.

Dear Katie,
  Well, you finally figured it out. Those tears? That was you realizing that the Christian life is not about being independent and self-sufficient. You've been deceiving yourself for so long. Quit listening to the voice that says self-sufficiency  and independence are always strengths. That voice is a liar. You can't just muscle through and do everything right by yourself. The guilt and embarrassment you feel when you mess up - that guilt doesn't own you anymore. You were bought with a price, and your Creator is still molding you into His image. He hasn't redeemed you just so you can blunder along on your own. You are designed to rely on Him. Running harder toward your own idea of perfection is only going to reward you with pain. Stop ignoring God's design for this season of your life. Submit to His plans - they are far better than anything you can achieve on your own. The submission His will requires is painful at first, but soon you will reap the joy He promises. 

  Now go and pursue God's design. Work hard, and pray harder. 

Over a month ago I posted about trusting God's plans, especially in light of starting college. I think it's time for an update. So far, things have been going really well. Of course, juggling high school and college work has taken some getting used to, but my parents have given me much-needed advice and correction along the way. On the first day, I didn't go to the wrong classroom, but I did fall up the stairs. Yes, you read that right. Up the stairs. I have some strange skills, apparently. Thankfully, nobody saw me! 

One thing I have learned in the past month is that every decision you make to do something is a decision to not do other things. And so, I have decided to not complete the reading challenge. I knew when I started the challenge that I might not finish it. At this point, I think I would lose more than I would gain by trying to finish. I started it with two goals in mind: to read more, and to read more widely. I have read over 48 books this year, many of which I would not have read on my own, so I will count this a success. I would rather try and fail than not even attempt a difficult goal. 

What do you think are some good reasons to change a goal? How can we know when  to push on, or when to reevaluate? I'd love to hear from you in the comments!