change is a positive thing...

"I pray that out of His glorious riches, He may strengthen you with power through His spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge - that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God."

Ephesians 3:16-19

wow! it's been a while! i'll be sure to make this a long one to make up for lost time....

i knew that things were gonna change when I got here, but, WOW! i didn't realize the extent to which they would! this is crazy! no, i'm still not using correct punctuation, but here's a list of some major changes God has made in my life in the past 10 weeks:

i cook!!!! but i can clearly see why i shouldn't...... but i do, at least once a week! so that is a step forward!

i'm considering botany as a career option... (JK!)

my room has been clean (by my standards) for 10 consecutive weeks!

as opposed to sleeping or something else that requires no movement, in my spare time (which is RARE) i crochet and memorize scripture (current project: scarf for a secret person and sermon on the mount)... and let me tell you, that requires ALOT of attention span! BIG change!

my 1:00 hour no longer revolves around Days of Our Lives! It revolves around REST TIME! that one hour of rest that we have every day... wow! definitely still the best 60 minutes of the day!

i no longer get an average of 3-4 hours of sleep every night and 3-4 hours of sleep every day.... i get a solid 8-9 hours every night! i'm in bed between 10:30 and 11:30 and up between 7 and 8! wow! who knew that such a drastic change was even possible!

movement is great! i do it ALL DAY LONG!

and more than anything else, God has made me realize how intricate and presice His plan is, and i have grown to trust Him and His every move so much more, and continue to every day.... i was sitting in this Bible study all of the interns are doing and we were going around talking about why we decided to come here.... and i sat there listening and just totally taking in how each of us were brought here, all from different circumstances and parts of the country, all at the very same moment, and for different reasons, and some of the same reasons.... it amazes me how God worked differently in each of our lives to gather us all here at the same time, with each of the particular kids in the houses that they were placed in with the house parents they were given... He is doing amazing things here.... i constantly thank Him for blessing me by putting these kids in my life, for whatever reason... one of my girls led devotions tonight, and it's just so awesome to see the change in her from when she got here about 7 weeks ago, and was crying every night and didn't understand why she had to be here away from her mom, to where she is now, totally leaning on God and trusting Him! wow! You are so amazing, God! So... while i don't know, or always understand what's going on and why, i've learned to just close my eyes and remember, God has a plan, trust Him and wait.........

and in the midst of all of these good changes, there is but one sad change: the time has come to say goodbye to an old anna kathrynism... the goal is to completely delete "I know right" from my vocabulary by..... tomorrow.... SAD, i know..... but it's all i hear anymore.... the mockery is too much to handle, and really, i'm just sorta tired of hearing it... it doesn't really make sense anyways.... i know, right.... what does that mean? if vu were here i'd ask him, since he started it all those years ago in mr. emery's classroom... probably in the midst of making that terrifying 2 foot tall vase thing, or that nice jewelry set..... wow... those were the days.... "i know right"... you'll be missed...

anyways...... i love you guys! i really have some amazing people in my life! i cannot believe how truly blessed i am! thank you for your prayers, and as always, if you need anything, i'm happy to pray for you, with you, or talk to you anytime on the weekends or between 1 and 2 on weekdays... your support and prayers mean so much to me! thank you!!! i love y'all!!

here are some prayers requests..... just 2: next tuesday my house is driving to florida for 4 days..... safety! and when i return, i'll have a new roommate.... goodbye emily #4... she'll be at the ranch, just not at laurel ridge (my house) so pray that i'll be accepting and excited about this change of roommates, and not sad about the loss of one..... the good news is that i'll no longer be the only intern at laurel ridge, which will be extremely helpful! thank you, God!

is this email shorter? wow! (probably not... you know they just keep going....) keep sendin me letters, y'all! 3601 lyon springs rd. sevierville, tn 37862 (hint hint) i know i'm not too quick to respond, but give it time....

God bless you all!

--anna kathryn

"I thank my God every time I remember you.

In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy."

Philippians 1:3-4

ps- thank you, rachel doss, for extending the life of my earring changing to 6 more days instead of 3! excluding saturdays and sundays, i still have not yet worn the same pair of earrings twice since i've been here!! i love you, b, you rock my face off! (in the ghetto...... in the ghetto!!)

2 pictures this time!:

my beautiful back yard....

on a hike...... first row to last row, left to right: 1- zachary(7), peter(9), arissa(10), laura(18) -2- shakia(11), quavi(9), cory(9) -3- shabre(10), me(21), zach(12), tara(13) -4- emily (intern), lensa(19) -5- ben (intern), camile(13), ashley(13) -6- elizabeth(13)

and speaking of pictures, the intern picture is definitely on the webpage now!! how exciting!!

http://www.wvr.org/pages/interns.html

and you guys should also click here

http://www.wvr.org/pages/oct_nwsltr.pdf

and look at the newsletter for october/november!! so great!

this email is never ending.... here are some more great quotes......:

*"Do you do any jazz or interpretive dancing?" -elizabeth... HA!

*"So... i'm on the internet the other day, checkin up on what webpages the girls are lookin at... and i run across this 'marlena.com'....." -james (my house dad)

*tucking arissa in one night after we prayed: arissa: "do you think God is amazing?" me: "yeah, i do..." arissa: "i do too.... and miss anna kathryn?" me: "yeah?" arissa: "i think you're amazing too..." aaawwwwwww!! i think i'm gonna cry!!

*"I almost bought you a birthday card the other day that had an hourglass on the inside that had actual sand in it! i could just see you opening it and saying 'like sands through the hourglass!!'" -marilee (house mom at oak rise)

*"Today's church! I have to study E-fusions!" -arissa

*in an email i got from camile tonight: "YOU SO TOTALLY ROCK MY FACE OFF!!!"

*"You are not allowed to eat your Bible!" -me... in complete seriousness...

*"I havent been watching long enough to know if i should want belle and philip together or belle and shawn, so you just tell me...." -marliee... hahaha!!! emily b., i know you're upset....

a four pack of double a's...

"Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."

2 Corinthians 4:16-18

what a crazy roller coaster ride! for real b! i'm glad i wrote the last email before the next week started!! hahaha anyways, get ready... when i said be expecting another novel in your inbox, i wasn't lying.....

i've learned another three important lessons since my last email:

#1 - some people (coach moore, mr. emery, dr. sheehy, ms. barret, the fischs, mrs. johnson, dr. flaming, ms. bradford and miss miller [brooke]) are blessed with the gift of teaching, and y'all do an AMAZING job! but, unfortunately, some people just.... aren't.... i think i'm probably one of those people.... i'm trying to teach arissa language arts and a class on botany... it's pretty hard to teach something you don't know... haha so we're learning together... i guess it's going alright, but i definitely wouldn't place myself in the same category as the above mentioned!! she's so smart though, and what better place than this to teach a child botany! we have a lesson everyday walking to devotions, the school and lunch.... how fun!

#2 - everyday will not continue to be progressively better than the last... it truly is a rollercoaster ride! i asked my houseparents for feedback a couple weeks ago, and after being told i can't be friends with the girls, i sorta lost touch with the Lord and was a little over focused on how difficult that concept was for me to grasp..... however, i've come to learn that that doesnt mean i have to be mean, or that the girls won't like me, or that God won't use me in their lives... it just means that i'm their authority.... not their best friend... and i think i'm ok with that.... but it definitely had a rough impact on the week before last! and, man! those days of our lives withdrawals are gettin worse everyday! hahaha just kidding..... (not really)

#3 - God can use something as small as a 4 pack of double a's to remind us of how amazing and powerful He is, and to keep the faith! crazy how i'm standing on the top of a mountain in the midst of this amazing sunset, and i see the greatest display of God's power that i've clearly recognized and acknowledged in awhile in a small gift to one of my girls from a stranger who said "what is it the good Lord said? we might be entertaining angels......" sometimes we lose sight of how powerful our Lord really is! my problem week before last was a lack of faith... faith that God would give me the ability to be a "strict" authority... faith that God would help me deal with a hyperactive 10 year old... faith that God would give me the skills necessary to teach botany! faith that i can live without 'days'..... hahaha the list goes on....... i was praying for patience, but what i should have been praying for was a renewed faith that God will "never leave me nor forsake me..." He reminded me through that stranger and his four pack of double a's.... God has put me in this position for a reason, and i know that He has the power to get me through each moment...

and when i'm forgetting that... each of my girls is quick to remind me!! they are so amazing and i love them all soooo much! God has really given me 5 very different, but equally wonderful girls to work and live with here!!

* arissa is continually the greatest and the most difficult part of each of my days here... but she makes it all worth it for me when, even in a fit of rage, she'll grab my hand and look up at me and say "i love you."

* camile and i.... we're on the same wave length... which is great, i'm constantly laughing!! she is always having new revelations about the Lord... it's truly inspiring, i can see God working so hard in her life everyday!

* lensa is a breath of fresh air! after a loong day, her calmness and sweet heart are the greatest wind down i could ask for...

* elizabeth is brand new to us! she's been here for 9 months, but just moved over here from the other girls house last tuesday.... she is always ready to give me a big hug, which is such a blessing everyday!

* laura keeps me entertained with her training the cats to sit, and all of her crazy animal stories! she's a great kid and so full of encouragement and energy..... which are both things you need a lot of here!!

I love these kids, and i am so thankful that they are in my life.... I never cease to be amazed by my awesome God! thanks again, y'all, for your prayers! they are greatly appreciated! Please continue to pray for me on this journey, in my personal growth and in my time with these kids...

so... this is pretty long too... it's pretty much useless..... i give up........

but i love all of you and hope to hear from each of you at some point! thanks, everyone, for your emails and letters and calls! they all mean so much to me! i miss y'all soooo much!

--anna kathyrn

ps - my picture is on the webpage!! or, maybe it's not right now, but it will be in the next couple days!!! click here to see it -->> http://www.wvr.org/pages/interns.html

and speaking of pictures, i attached one of camile, lensa and laura... it's pretty much my favorite picture of all time....

pss - congrats, corrie, on your engagement! i love you!!!

"I thank my God everytime I remember you.

In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy."

Philippians 1:3-4

...................and there's more

here are some short stories and things that have been said by me, to me, or in my presence that some of you might find humorous:

*"that's inappropriate!" -me

*i bungee jumped!!!

*"let's go girls! we've only gone half a mile!" -me

*one of our cows gave birth last week... wow! the miracle of life!

*my girls are trying to play matchmaker with me... hahaha the other day camile said "y'all would be so cute at your next prom!!"

*"who wants to go to the rec center with me every morning at 6?" -michelle

*we've got a black bear and a peacock roaming the grounds! how crazy! i wonder if they're friends....

*scene: camile totally runs into the wall... laura: "there's a wall there!" WOW! all of the suddenly, i'm back in middle school again hangin out at gainesville video with my wonderful cousin... i almost said "what's your number?" member? what? oops...

*i opened the door to my room yesterday and was greeted with a booming "Like sands through the hourglass......." wow! that was a great moment!

*scene: the funeral for the caterpillar...

"she was a great pet...." -arissa

"why don't we go around and each say what we loved most about fuzzy wuzzy..." -emily

"fuzzy wuzzy was a great caterpillar.... i'll miss her.... the strength of a mountain lion! that journey from indiana to east tennesse.... wow.....etc............" -me

WOW!! all of the suddenly, i'm back in middle school (and high school.... oh, and college... ummm... and this past summer......) at the many funerals for my pets and road kill...... (and my home) too bad i didn't have any coke on hand...

*ps - i love you emily buffington! (and i love you too emily conner and emily mantooth!!)