eLiSe kAtHeRiNe

Quote of the Day

"If life was easy then that means the enemy has no reason to get to you because he's already got you, but if you're struggling and fighting it's a good sign that you're going farther with God and making the Devil super jealous!"

~Katie "The Ox" Russell~

Quote of the Day

"You will never know if Jesus is all you need until Jesus is all that you have."
~Mother Teresa

Refiner of Silver

"He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver."

Malachi 3:3

This verse puzzled some women in a Bible study and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God. One of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible Study.

That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn't mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining silver. As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up! .He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities.

The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot; then she thought again about the verse that says: "He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver." She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined. The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed.The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, "How do you know when the silver is fully refined?"

He smiled at her and answered, "Oh, that's easy -- when I see my image in it"

Quote of the Day

"It pretty much smells like a cat just yawned in my face."

-Paul Taylor

Happy Birthday My Beautiful Friend!

Made To Worship

Before the day

Before the light

Before the world revolved around the sun

God on high

Stepped down into time

And wrote the story of His love for everyone

He has filled our hearts with wonder

So that we always remember

You and I were made to worship

You and I are called to love

You and I are forgiven and free

You and I embrace surrender

You and I choose to believe

You and I will see who we were meant to be

All we are

And all we have

Is all a gift from God that we receive

Brought to life

We open up our eyes

To see the majesty and glory of the King

He has filled our hearts with wonder

So that we always remember

You and I were made to worship

You and I are called to love

You and I are forgiven and free

You and I embrace surrender

You and I choose to believe

You and I will see who we were meant to be

And even the rocks cry out

And even the Heavens shout

At the sound of His holy name

So let every voice sing out

And let every knee bow down

He is worthy of all our praise

by: Chris Tomlin

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Isn't it cool that by surrendering, we don't lose, but instead we gain our freedom?

All creation cries out to God and one day every knee will bow!

We were created to worship our King - Our Creator!

Quote of the Day

"This is what the Devil did in my life...

HE ATE MY FREAKIN' SOUL!"

-Chad Trost

Chicago-Bound

I'm getting ready to head to Chicago this weekend for a Joyce Meyer Conference and Hillsong is leading worship! I'm totally pumped! And it gets even better because I'm going with some really incredible girls! Katie, Jamie, Miranda, Mandi, and I will pile into the car at about 3am tonight so we can make it to the session tomorrow morning at 10.
For the past few weeks it seems like I have been in the driest desert spiritually. I'm in total need of my Savior to come and shower me with big fat portions of Himself. I'm thirsty! I just feel so empty and I'm still trying to pour out with nothing really to give. So, I'm expecting huge things this weekend. I think that's ok because we serve a huge God! I want the fire to be reignited in me and remember who my true love is.
God, please fill me! I need you desperately!
Please pray for us this weekend first of all that we would meet God in a new way. Second, please pray for our safety. None of us really know our way around Chicago, so it'll be an adventure. Plan on hearing a great report when we come back!

Quote of the Day

"What's a root canal?"

~Jamie Brown

"It's when they...reroot...your...canal!"

~Miranda Barton

More Ranch Pictures

The Ranch

I just got back from my aunt and uncle's ranch near Kansas City a few days ago. My mom, dad, sister, and I went for about 5 days. It was a very nice break from work and my normal life really. That's a life very opposite of what I'm used to. Riding horses, four-wheeling, fishing, swimming in the lake, swimming on horses, scavenger hunt in the woods, just being outdoors all the time. I loved it! And it wasn't just any random ranch...I got to spend some quality time with my sister and cousins, Danielle and Morgan. Us four girls have always been close and even if we go months without seeing each other, we act like we've never been apart.
This vacation was definitely an adventure with lots of memories! Danielle had to climb a tree to get a lure out while we were attempting to fish. Long story, but after our motor getting clogged with seaweed and dying, Morgan losing a shoe, Lin dropping the fishing pole into the lake, me fighting with a tree, and Danielle almost falling out of the tree because the wind was blowing so hard, we finally got the lure. We were soaking wet, dirty, and had cuts all over us, but it was worth it! That wasn't the only near death experience either! I decided the next day to try to ride side-saddle on a horse while it was loping. Well, we turned the corner, she saw the barn and took off running. I almost couldn't stop the horse and about had to jump off, but somehow the horse stopped and I'm still living as far as I know. So many stories that I would love to tell, but pictures will probably explain a lot.

Glimpse of Eternity

Broken, bleeding, hanging on a cross
You bled, you died, all for me
And you call out to me and to all of creation

Light has broken all the powers of dark
These are days of conquering
And I trust you, need you champion of my freedom

I sing to you
King who was crucified
And now lives again
Maker of Song
Perfect and Beautiful
With you I belong
And forever my heart will beat
With a glimpse of eternity
Sing over me

Given, promised is a place for me
Faithful, freeing is your love that has
Chosen my heart to unite with forever

I sing to you
King who was crucified
And now lives again
Maker of Song
Perfect and Beautiful
With you I belong
And forever my heart will beat
With a glimpse of eternity
Sing over me

You are the Christ
You're the Son of God who takes
All my sin, changing my world
Heaven's descent
Heaven's presence drawing me
To the cross where I'm free!

by: Jim Stern

Quote of the Day

"There's like birds all around us...and bugs...We're like in NATURE!!"

~JEN DITTMANN~

May Mania

May Mania in the Upper Room has been a blast so far! First Sports Night, then Eggstravaganza, Western Night, this week is 80's Night, and then the Grand Finale. Here are some fun pictures of the festivities and some really incredible people!

Quote of the Day

"Happy Mother's Day!!!...We came from the womb!"

~Gina Crawford

Quote of the Day

"You can't sneak up on an Indian."

-Mr. Ed Settles

Quote of the Day

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA (uncontrollable laughter) ...okay well I thought it was funny."

-Josiah Serra

Book Study Girls

This picture pretty much says it all. This group of girls is just amazing! They aren't like any normal group of friends...we truly are sisters in Christ! This past weekend was incredible!! For the past few months, we have been reading the book Captivating by John and Stasi Eldredge. The book itself is great, but the time spent talking with and really getting into the hearts of all these girls is beyond words. God has shown us how beautiful and captivating each of us really is. We are the Zenith of Creation! He has created us to be exactly how He wants us to be and He wants to have personal and intimate relationships with us. We have revealed the lies that the Devil has been feeding us and gotten rid of them through encouragement, Scripture, and most importantly praying with faith! God has come in and healed the brokenness in our hearts and reminded us of who we really are. "He heals the brokenhearted, binding up their wounds." Psalm 147:3

Sunday after church we had lunch together. Kristi made us some delicious spaghetti, bread, salad, meatballs, and cake! It really felt like a big family! For awhile we goofed off, danced and sang, and just had a blast together. We ate the amazing meal together all scrunched around one table. Lin said it best when she said that there was nowhere else she would rather be. We all agreed without a doubt! Then we dove into the book and were blessed once again by the encouragement of each other and covered in Jesus’ love for us. We watched a video called “The Father’s Love Letter” which was a letter written to us from God backed up completely by Scripture. Did you know that God loves you as much as He loves Jesus!?!? And that He dances over you covering you with His love?!

"The LORD your God is with you,
he is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you,
he will quiet you with his love,
he will rejoice over you with singing."
Zephaniah 3:17

After the book study, we went to church for Upper Room Wonder Night! All you can eat ice cream with every possible topping, including jalapenos haha! We had so much fun playing kickball, having ice cream eating contests, and just being together with our youth group. It was hard to leave the weekend to come back to school this week, but I will see all of them again tomorrow!!

I love every one of them so much and each in different ways! God truly is dwelling in each girl’s heart and guiding her steps daily. Every person has allowed God to change them and mold them through experiences. He has brought us through and we are made new and alive. He has given each person the strengths (and weaknesses) that she has. It’s amazing that we all see characteristics in each other that we want to be like. That just shows how God has made us unique! It’s very evident that the love that we have for each other stems from the love the Father has given us and that we have for Him! He is the center of our lives and is our everything!