- Blog

BLOG TRANSFER!!!!

1/19/2015

Hello friends!!! So I have some news.

I'm moving my blog.

Again.

I decided to take things over to wordpress because I like the idea that I will be able to follow other blogs and have other blogs follow me. It feels more like a blogging community that way. I also like the different ways you can customize all of your settings there! So please please please go check it out!!!

https://displayofhissplendorblog.wordpress.com/

Lowell and Katie

1/15/2015

The Ebenezer Box

1/2/2015

Today, Adam and I started a new family tradition. The Ebenezer Box.

Yesterday, I was able to visit my friend Allie who was in town from South Carolina. Our conversation was encouraging and warm, and just before we left she gave me a gift. She handed me a small box with burlap flowers on top and told me it was her wedding gift to Adam and I, the Mollica Family Ebenezer Box. She went on to explain that in the book of 1 Samuel, after God defends the Israelites in an answer to prayer, Samuel places a large rock in that place and calls it the Ebenezer rock because thus far the Lord had helped them. It was placed there as a memorial to all that God had done for the Israelites, a place to remember what the Lord had brought them through. So today, we started our own Ebenezer box. We both spent time with the Lord this morning, and then came together to read the story in 1 Samuel when God defended the Israelites and the rock of Ebenezer was dedicated. Then we wrote down the things we are thankful for that God has done in our lives, and the prayers He has answered. It was a time of reverence and thanksgiving. A time to look back at what God has done in our lives.

1 Samuel 7: 2-12
Then all the people of Israel turned back to the LORD. So Samuel said to all the Israelites, “If you are returning to the LORD with all your hearts, then rid yourselves of the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths and commit yourselves to the LORD and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.” So the Israelites put away their Baals and Ashtoreths, and served the LORD only.

Then Samuel said, “Assemble all Israel at Mizpah, and I will intercede with the LORD for you.” When they had assembled at Mizpah, they drew water and poured it out before the LORD. On that day they fasted and there they confessed, “We have sinned against the LORD.” Now Samuel was serving as leader of Israel at Mizpah.

When the Philistines heard that Israel had assembled at Mizpah, the rulers of the Philistines came up to attack them. When the Israelites heard of it, they were afraid because of the Philistines. They said to Samuel, “Do not stop crying out to the LORD our God for us, that he may rescue us from the hand of the Philistines.” Then Samuel took a suckling lamb and sacrificed it as a whole burnt offering to the LORD. He cried out to the LORD on Israel’s behalf, and the LORD answered him.

While Samuel was sacrificing the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to engage Israel in battle. But that day the LORD thundered with loud thunder against the Philistines and threw them into such a panic that they were routed before the Israelites. The men of Israel rushed out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines, slaughtering them along the way to a point below Beth Kar.

Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far the LORD has helped us.”

Chicago

12/29/2014

Since I was about 17, I have had a dream date. That "dream date" was to go to Chicago with my husband around Christmas time to just walk around and look and eventually go out to dinner. Adam and I had been planning to go to Chicago on the day after Thanksgiving since September. Everything was ready on Thanksgiving to go to Chicago the next day until we were on our way home from Thanksgiving dinner and our alternator died. I was crushed! I had been so excited to go to Chicago with Adam the next day and I was devastated we couldn't go anymore. Last week, we decided last minute to go to Chicago on Tuesday and I have to say I LOVED every minute of being there! It was the most fun date I have ever been on. We left at 7am and drove to Chicago for the day. While there, we spent time in Macy's looking at the giant Christmas tree in the Walnut Room, walking through the Holiday decoration level, and admiring the gorgeous furniture they had. We watched street drummers, walked through the Christkindle Christmas market and ate cinnamon and sugar coated cashews. I admired the tall city buildings, we visited the Bean and garden in the park, watched the ice skaters, and walked to Argo Tea where I got a White Chocolate Frostea (the BEST drink in the world). We walked through the Theatre District and the Business District and eventually went to dinner at an awesome Italian Restaurant called Maggiano's. We got wine, amazing pasta, and finished it off by sharing a Brandy Alexander. Sitting in that restaurant was the best dinner date I've ever had. Seriously, it was amazing!!! We sat right in front of a big window and watched the traffic go by, I loved the beautiful wreath right in front of us and the dim lighting in the restaurant. Here are some pictures from the day; I hope you enjoy looking at them as much as I do!

Slump Living

12/12/2014

I've been feeling pretty bogged down lately, school has been kicking my butt and I come home every day exhausted. So tired that I fall asleep for at least an hour after we are home each day. Then, I usually have only enough energy to half-heartedly finish homework and make dinner and then I usually fall asleep on the couch again until Adam makes me go to bed. It's not very pretty, and I've been getting so mad at myself for falling asleep every day. I think part of it is because Adam and I haven't been able to take very good care of ourselves lately, so we only eat lunch about twice a week so it makes sense that I come home exhausted because by that point my body is literally eating itself. It's not healthy and it's not what I had pictured my life looking like this semester, but we only have four more days and our schedules will change. Even next semester we won't be so crazy busy and will actually have time to make lunches for ourselves.

Because of this ongoing exhaustion, I haven't been very good at making time for God. I sleep late and give myself barely enough time to get ready, and then I fall asleep again practically as soon as I walk through the doors to our apartment at night. In that kind of a schedule, there isn't much room for quiet times or journaling or prayer or worship times. It's my own fault, and I am regretful when I think about my choices. I am realizing I just don't feel like myself when I'm not spending time with God. I feel empty, and life feels meaningless and dry. It's not a very fruitful way of living and I'm sick of it. I'm sick of living in a slump, living as if I'm half asleep all the time, eyes closed to God and His presence. Today marks day one of making quiet times a priority once again, day one of relying on the Holy Spirit again, day one of being aware of God's presence. It's a choice to spend time with God, a choice to worship Him with my life. So starting today, I am choosing to turn back to God and remember I am here to glorify Him, not to treat my comfort like it's the most important thing in my life. I had quiet time this morning, and can tell you I already can tell that it makes a difference in the way I view life and interact with others.

Thankful

12/6/2014

Ok so I'm getting so bad at keeping up with this! Sorry! Life is just busy, I tell ya' and it's been hard to find the time to post on here, but I will definitely be having more time soon, once winter break starts. Anyway, here are some things I'm thankful for!

Taking a break between classes and exploring Stevens Point. We found this awesome little antique store!

Another picture from a day we left campus and went to a coffee shop and then a restaurant called The Wooden Chair.

Mmmm I love those pines.

Getting stuck in a snowstorm made our commute home almost 2 hours, but it was kind of fun!

Sheep are my favorite animals!! And we get to drive past some every single day, it's definitely the highlight of the drive.

My grandma's house on Thanksgiving day.

New family

Christmas tree hunting!! Every year we go to the same place. After you pick your tree you can go into the Christmas shop and we pick out an ornament and get free apple cider and popcorn.

My brother picked up the tree and carried it over his shoulder this year, it was hilarious.

I decked out our gallery wall for the holidays.

We went to dinner with Tony, Farin, and Henry and then to the musical at Christ the Rock and didn't have to pay for any of it. They all treated us to dinner and the musical and I was so excited about that!

We dog sat, and woke up with windows!!!!!

Thankful

11/13/2014

I realized the other day that I used to post about the things I am thankful for all the time, and for some reason I stopped. Well, I decided I am going to start doing that again on a regular basis, because it requires me to conciously look back and be aware of all the experiences, friends, and sights I have been gifted with. So here we go! // Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like the shifting shadow. James 1:17

Dog sitting the cutest (and most annoying) pups around! Doug and Bailey are the Plunkett's dogs, so dog sitting them means we get to stay at the Plunkett's house. I love doing this, and especially loved it this time because we lit candles and played some jazz music through their awesome sound system. I practically grew up at the Plunkett's, and it's a special place to me so it's always great when I get to spend time there. It was also so peaceful, waking up in the morning to drink coffee looking out at the lake.

Driving around with Adam has always been one of my favorite things to do. So, I am thankful for the peaceful drive we went on after church on Sunday, listening to music and exploring roads we don't normally use. I'm also thankful for all the friends that came over for lunch on Sunday! It was great to spend time eating spaghetti, drinking tea and talking with some wonderful people.

Like I said in the above picture, going on dirves with Adam is one of my very favorite things. After class on Friday, we went on a coffee date, went on a drive and stumbled across a craft sale in an old one room school house. While there, we even saw Denise from church and got to talk to her for a while. AND I got a feather necklace. It's an Oriole feather between two pieces of glass and soldered on the sides.

Starting Insanity again, boy it's been rough but it's important to be healthy. So, I'm getting back in shape guys! And as painful as it is, I'm thankful for sore calves.

My puppy socks, they always keep my feet warm and happy!

Tea and toast in bed under big bulb Christmas lights doing homework (and my homework was watching a movie)

The kids on Wednesday nights! Seriously, I just love their hearts. They have so much energy and can be super fun, but also have the best hearts ever. This week, Adam was talking about Districts during announcements, the conference that our youth group goes to every year. He was telling the kids that if they wanted to go but thought money was going to be an issue, they should talk to him so they could work something out to make it possible to go. Doc, one of the fifth grade boys raised his hand and said "I have twenty dollars that I could donate if someone needed it". Doc is in fifth grade, so he can't even go to Districts this year because he is too young, but he raised his hand and offered to give up all of his allowance money so that another student could go!!! I was probably tearing up that point because I thought it was just so awesome that Doc would offer to do that for another student. I am so thankful for these students, they amaze me each week and I am seeing God at work before my eyes. One girl is extremely shy, but she is slowly opening up more and more and I can tell she is becoming more confident in who she is. Other students are beginning to understand more about the gospel, and others are just being encouraged to be who they are in Christ. I'm so glad I get to be part of their lives and share Jesus with them each week.

Beyond Contentment

11/6/2014

November is a month in which I am practicing contentment. I am reminding myself to be grateful for what I have, to be content in who I am in Christ, and to appreciate the small gifts. A few days ago Adam and I were eating dinner and we realized that our lives are very different than most college students. We were sitting at the dinner table, eating Thyme and Basil salmon, sweet potatoes and garlic parmesan green beans while listening to jazz music. So just to be funny and continue the "classy" feel of dinner we drank sparkling lemon water out of our wine glasses. But as we were sitting there, we realized our lives do look a lot different from the lives of most college students, and we were more than content with that. I couldn't be happier to be living with a loving husband, going to school, and leading at youth group as he does the pastoral intern. I love sharing life with him. I'm learning to be content with who I am in Christ as I step into my God-created identity. Last night, I was able to do the message for the middle school youth group and I'm preparing to do the massage at the high school youth group in a couple weeks. Doing this is only confirming in me that I am called to public speaking. I felt

Jazz Month

11/4/2014

For me, November is the best month to listen to jazz. I'm not exactly sure what it is about the month, but it feels like the perfect time for jazz music. So I'm officially deciding that November is Jazz Month, where I will listen to jazz probably every day! Here is a beaut to start it off!

Hello November!

11/1/2014

I've recently decided that November is my favorite month. I just love that the days are getting shorter and colder and the anticipation of the upcoming holidays is growing. I love that the trees are bare and you can see through them to the inner forests, and that they make the most beautiful silhouettes against the sky. The knowledge that family gatherings are coming soon, and the warmth of family packed in houses is not far away is such a beautiful thought. In the past, I've also taken November to slow down and de-clutter my life so I can really breathe the refreshing and crisp air, and appreciate the little things. This year, I'm going to continue that tradition by celebration No Rush November. I'm going to slow down in the midst of this crazy-busy life and take time to notice the small blessings around me every day. I am going to de-clutter my life by getting rid of Facebook on my phone, and limit my time on Instagram. I'm looking forward to what God is going to teach me this month, and how I'll grow without the distractions of social media and time-suckers like web surfing. So here's to a month of slowing down and appreciating the world around me.