fall is here.

well what a beautiful fall morning it is. Jesus is good! i know i say that a lot but i just keep realizing more and more each day. its really cool. i woke up today wide a wake...and it was 7:30 in the morning. that's not normal for me. i also woke up wanting to go visit the other beauty school today, franklin academy. Not just wanting to visit but feeling like i really really need to. So I'm going tomorrow at 12 to look at it and see if i like it better. I thought since i was feeling so strongly about it this morning that God might be placing a peace upon my heart and showing me a direction on to what to do and where to go so i was feeling pretty good about it and then i show up at school and there is a new girl coming into my class. that made me so confused because she is also going to be full time (staying until 2) which means i would have someone to talk to and learn with. which as been my problem from the start. not having anyone here to learn with me. so now I'm all confused again. i guess i will just see how it goes tomorrow when i visit the other school. and like Alex said i just have to keep praying about it.

on another note, a kinda sad note. i wont be seeing my boo much at all until next week. he cant go to pigeon forge with us this weekend because he has to work. i was hoping he would be able to because one, i would get to spend time with him and two, he deserves a break. i met him last night at panera he was doing homework and the poor thing was so stressed. it made me sad. he had had a rough Monday. I'm ready for this week to be over for him and for me. but no worries because I'm praying for him :)

yesterday i read Isaiah 6 and wow God humbled me so much. I started Isaiah like a week ago i guess and honestly its been kinda depressing because all God is talking about is the destruction that is going to happen to those who don't believe and clearly that doesn't apply to me. but there has been verses here and there that have stood out to me. like for example....Isaiah 1:18 " No matter how deep the stain of your sins, I can remove it. I can make you as clean as freshly fallen snow." hearing that made me think of something i read in my Jesus time like a year ago saying "Soak me in your laundry and ill come out clean, scrub me and ill have a snow-white life..set these once broken bones to dancing" man that's good stuff! and should be so encouraging to hear. Another verse i liked a lot is Isaiah 3:10 "But all will be well for those who are godly. Tell them, " You will receive a wonderful reward!" I liked that because through all this destruction and evil time God still promises peace for his lovers. i liked that a lot. he is good! Then i got to Isaiah 6 and like i said he humbled me so incredibly much. I'm sure all of you have heard the song that goes a little something like this "i saw the Lord seated on the throne. He is clothed in glory and exalted high. The train of his robe filled the temple and angles gathered round him and cried. You are holy oh so holy. you are holy Lord of all" That song brings back precious memories for me because me and miss michelle peters use to sing it constantly...at the top of our lungs :) another reason for liking that song so much is because every time i hear it it paints a beautiful picture in my head of heaven. Well i say all that because that is what Isaiah 6 is talking about. And yesterday when i read it i realized yet again of how small i am and how big God really is. he blows my mind and leaves me standing in awe. and then today i read Isaiah 7 and the verse that i loved in this chapter was the last part of verse 9. it says "If you want me to protect you, learn to believe what i say" I read that and it just made me laugh a little. God already knew we were going to doubt him and have little faith so he just told us straight up to just trust him. Just to expect him and he can and will do great things.

A lot of times when I'm reading the bible i think man God was so good then and look at all the amazing things he did. well um excuse me katie, HELLO! God is the same yesterday today and forever. meaning, he can still do those same exact things he did then. he just have to expect him to. make sense? i hope so!

I'm so glad fall is finally here. I'm ready for cute jackets and cuddling up with my star wars blanket! :). give Jesus this day. you cant do it with out him. let him regin in your heart. allow him to consume you. that's all i got. have a wonderful day in Christ Jesus :)

-jordan katlin.

a kindergartner.

well as i sit here at school i keep thinking a lot about if this is really what i want to do. i know that me and this school have got off to a rough start and certainly makes me want to just forget about this whole thing but then again i know that i just cant do that. i kinda feel like I'm settling but then again i don't. there are so many thoughts going on in my head about it and it kinda makes me stressed and frustrated but that is also a good thing because now all i know to do about it is pray. I know God will lead me in the right direction. He is here and he will always will be. He will never leave me or forsake me. Thank you Jesus :)

So recently i have felt like a kindergartner in my spiritual walk. now don't go off and judge me just yet. i got some good stuff here. I say that because everything that has been pushing me, encouraging me, and helping me grow is stuff that i have known forever. I think I'm just realizing it in a new way. Like for example... Jesus you are good. yes we all know that but truly think for just a second of how good God really is. He lavishes his grace and mercy upon us everyday His love for us is so big. you cant even comprehend it. The same God that hung the moon and stars, that painted the grass green, who knows how many hairs you have on your head,who gave life its name, and knows your last breath even before you breath it. yea him...he loves you. and see i have grown up my whole life knowing those two very simple facts. I remember running around the house singing with my dad " God is good...all the time..in the darkest night his light will shine..yes God is good...he`s so good..alllllll thhhe timmmme" and of course the Jesus loves me song. but i never realized just how big his goodness and love really is. so let that be my challenge to you today.

also... we had an awesome bible study the other night at miss Lauren Curry's house..along with some really good cheese dip and puppy chow :) we were talking about how we have power in Jesus name and we can claim that! wow i wish you guys could have been there because it made me so so so excited! there is power in Jesus name and all we have to do is claim that and have faith...as small as a mustard seed and my God can move a mountain. yea he is that good. and i think it is an honor to worship him.

last night at church we had a really good worship service. Ryan lead worship, and Adam and Justin spoke. they all did a really good job. one thing that stuck out to me the most was a quote by Justin. he said this " god is only emptying you so you can give you more" i liked that a lot! we all go through tough times where we feel drained and empty and wondering why we aren't on fire for Jesus and things like that but really, if we would only look at little deeper and wait just a tad bit longer we would realize that he has something big and grand for us and in order for him to give us this big, wonderful and great thing he first has to empty us. Now knowing this doesn't make it any easier to go through. i hate when i feel far from God but i do thing knowing this helps me to have more faith and trust in Jesus more which we all need to pray we get better at. so that just a word of encouragement for ya. have a beautiful day :)

-jordan katlin

an update.

well i have been in school for almost a week...kinda. We got off to a rough start but hopefully it will only get better. My teacher seems pretty nice..kinda weird but oh well. I'm just ready to start learning how to do everything. and i guess i am starting to..i`ve done 15 pages worth of key terms, chapter reviews, wrote a paper, and there is a test on Monday. so yea i guess I'm learning its just going very slow. But I'm not really the biggest fan of just coming and sitting. my teacher only stays till 12:30 so that's kind of annoying and the girl I'm suppose to be doing this with never ever comes and the gay guy in my class is so freaking annoying because he comes in high everyday. but anyways ill stop being negative about it i just had to vent for a second.

now work...work is getting better. slowly but surly. i came to the realization that the reason i was hating it was because i had a horrible attitude about it and was expecting it to be the worst. So i have now decided that i am going to try my best to be positive about it and expect it to go good. I really do have some cute kids. Emma wants to be my little helper, Ashton is...oh my word..a handful to say the lest. i actually had to chase me around the church the other day. Gloria always wants to know whats going on and makes friends with everyone. Johnathan loves to love. Nathaniel is precious but can get into some trouble if he wants. Kyliegh never ever talks. Katylin is so cute. Taylor..he never wants to listen but if you put him in charge of something he will make sure its done. The other day he actually gave me this picture of hearts and smiley faces that he drew in art..i thought it was sweet until he asked if he could have it back right when he left... Rusty makes me want to scream but he can have his precious moments..i think. i haven't seen one yet but i know their there. Jasia minds me which i love. Wyatt is so stinkin polite. every little boy should act like him. Micahel is one that I'm learning how to love. and then there is Micah. he is by far my favorite one. he is precious and so cute and is so excited to see me every single day. he just might be the reason i go to work everyday. just kidding....kinda.

But no matter how good or bad work and school might be life is good. I went walking on the greenway a few nights ago with Alex and had a wonderful time. We talked about Jesus a lot and i loved it! He encouraged me and challenged me in so many ways and he doesn't even know he did. but once he reads this he will. so Alex, i thank you :).

I heard a song on the radio a few days ago and it said something about deep calls to deep. and you can imagine that i got super excited but the sad news is that i don't know the name of the song, who sings it, or any other words from the song. boo. Jesus is continuing to draw himself closer to me and taking me deeper. and i am loving it. I was looking over my journal from this past summer and i found a quote that i love "you determine the depth of your relationship with Jesus" how true is that! i mean yes Jesus is always right here wanting to pursue us, love us, and care for us but you first have to let him in. he isn't going to make you do anything. its your choice. i don't know if that makes any sense but friends my challenge to you today is to invite Jesus into your thoughts today and let him pursue you because that's exactly what he wants to do. I am continuing to fall more in love with him and that makes me so excited and places a peace upon my heart.

I was talking to my sister n law the last night and she said something along the lines of..."i am so proud of you. you have so much going on and still have time to date." it made me laugh but i thought it was so true. everything new is hitting me all at once. but it doesn't feel like I'm that busy. I guess that shows that Jesus has been alive and real to be over the past month. but any who i replied with..."well i mean...i don't hate it. and by it i mean the dating part :)"

-jordan katlin.

today.

so today was the day i started school and the kiddies came to work for the first time and let me tell you...its nothing i expected it would be at all. today i did a lot of sitting and listening and today i also did a lot of yelling and standing. its confusing i know. i get to school at 8 a.m. i wait about an hour and the girl that i will be working with while at school comes. so now we both wait...and wait...and wait some more. are teacher never shows up. how stupid right? yes right! but it was also okay because i got to know this girl pretty well. she is clearly not a christian but how cool is it that reglion got brought up. not only in front of her but her and two other girls. it was awesome. and the best part is it all started with me showing them the tattoo i want.

my tattoo comes from psalm 42 and when they found that out they asked if i was a christian. my response was yes. so they asked the church i went to and a few other question. then one of the girls started telling me how she didn't know if there was a God and she doesn't believe in church. well i then got to tell them what i believe and how incredible God is and it was really cool because by the end of it they were saying how cool it was that i was so strong in my faith. i thought it was a pretty great compliment that a non believer could see that in me. it made me pretty excited to say the least. i am also pretty excited that i get to share the love of Jesus with them for the next 8 mouths. so pray for me.

now on to work. i was so scared about today. i wasn't nervous or anything until i went to training for the past 2 weeks. and man the scared me to death. but i had to suck it up and do it. so i get there today ready as i will ever be. so finally my little kiddies arrive and then all the craziness began. i have about 15 little ones that are k-1st grade. so there was a lot of yelling going on. i had some that were so precious that didn't say a word the entire time. some that wouldn't shut up. and some that were just weird. but despite all of that i know God has placed me there for a reason and i know i am suppose to love on those kids because i know they don't get the love that they need at home. its pitiful but I'm glad i will be the one who has an honor to do it instead.

so that was my very new day. and now its time for bed because 6:45 am gets here really fast. so goodnight all. i will talk to you again soon.

-jordan katlin

the way i feel.

where to begin... i know! I begin aesthetic school in a matter of days. it just so happens that the same day i start school is the same day all the little kiddies come to the bcu for the first time. i feel like tuesday is going to be a very big day for me and i don't really know what to expect but in the mist of all the confusion i know I'm ready. God has and is preparing me for what is about to come and I'm looking forward to it. another thing...here recently i have loved just resting in the fact that jesus is good. just those three simply words put such great peace upon my heart and i smile every time the thought comes to my mind.

I would love to know God better and better (like it says in colossians). like it never be enough. i just keep wanting more and keep wanting to go deeper in his love. how incredible that would be. so I'm going after that challenge! you people keep me accountable to that :).

there is a song that is one of my favorites at the moment. the revelation song and oh man i get excited every time i hear it. the chorus is great " holy holy holy is the Lord God Almighty who was and is and is to come. with all creation i sing praise to the kings of kings you are my everything and i will adore you." wow. that paints a beautiful picture in my mind. me standing there with the rest of the world singing to and glorify the one who is set apart. the one who is holy. he is all i could ever want need or imagine. and the best part is i have him. or better yet, he has me. he is holding me, loving me, molding me, and listening to me. i not only like, love, or care for him i adore him. to me that's the best you can get. the whole song is totally incredible but the last verse blows my mind every time. it says "filled with wonder, aw struck wonder at the mention of your name. Jesus your name is power, breath and living water such a marvelous mystery" again it paints a beautiful but very messy picture in my mind. i can imagine all i want to of what heaven or jesus looks like but i am really never going to know exactly what he looks like until i see him face to face. so this song says it perfectly. i am filled with wonder every time i think about looks or appearances. it is a beautiful mystery. but a fact i do know is that its going to big, beautiful, and better then i can imagine. its a surprise that i will have until the day i die..and surprisingly, I'm okay with that. now come on doesn't that make you the least bit excited? if it doesn't then something is wrong with you my friend :)

well its late. and i think I'm done with my 2nd blog post. hope you enjoy my random little thoughts. have a fantastic day my dearly loved friends.

-jordan katlin.