Miles to Go Before I Sleep

I'm taking a poetry class this semester, which gave me a great idea. Once a week, I'm going to put one of my favorite poems on my blog and talk about why I like it. So, this week, the poem is Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost. This is a poem I think a lot of people are familiar with. I love it because of its simplicity. Frost uses wonderful imagery in his poems and it makes me feel like I'm in the place he's describing. The poem has a peaceful tone, but also has an underlying serious feel to it. I love the opening line because the word order is so interesting. Frost could have just said, "I think I know whose woods these are," but instead, he changes up the sentence structure and turns it into something that's eloquent and beautiful. This poem also makes me laugh a little. Not the poem itself, but because of a story my AP Literature teacher told my class my senior year of high school. When she was in undergrad one of her classes discussed this poem, and a girl in her class was convinced that it was about Santa Claus. Now, I don't think this poem is about Santa at all, but that's one way to interpret it I guess. So here's the poem. I hope you get pleasure out of reading it.

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound’s the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

One Year

Yesterday was my one year anniversary of being at Mount Vernon. It feels strange to think I've been here for a year, because it feels like I've been here for a lot longer. When I made the decision to transfer, I had no idea what was going to happen. It wasn't easy; in fact it was really hard at some points, but I'm so thankful that God brought me here.

Coming to Mount Vernon for spring semester was very intimidating. I was starting during the middle of the school year. Everyone already had their set group of friends and knew their way around campus. I went from a giant state school to a small private one, which are worlds different from each other. I didn't know anyone, had to find my way around, figure out my classes and how everything worked. I was basically starting college all over again. I've said this before; if transferring is what God wants you to do, by all means do it. But if you don't have to, don't! It's a very tedious and stressful process. Honestly, I was terrified my first week here. I didn't really know what to do with myself. (If you knew me at all last year, there were quite a few times where I was a nervous wreck) Then, God started to put people in my life. They saw past all my anxiety and stress and accepted me for who I was. Wonderful people like my small group leader Rachel who gave me her shoulder to cry on when I only knew her for 2 days. My dear friend and teammate Alex who invited me to go running every week and would talk with me about my struggles. She also was one of the people who influenced me in my decision to run cross country again. There are many more people who have been great blessings in my life but if I put them all down I would run out of space! If you guys read this, I can't thank you enough for how much you've helped me. I care about you so much and I'm so thankful God put you in my life.

Looking back on this year, I can't believe how far I've come. I'm doing things that I never thought I would do. I'm on the cross country team, something that I absolutely hated in high school has now become a love of mine. I help lead worship for Athletes in Action, something I never expected to do. And I sing too! If you had asked me to sing a year ago, I would have adamantly refused. I'm a small group leader to 8 wonderful girls. I love seeing how God is working in their lives. I can't wait to see what this semester holds.

This past year has had its share of bumps in the road, but I wouldn't change it. God used this to help shape and grow me as a person and learn to seek Him in everything I do. It's so comforting to know He's been with me and will continue to be there for me. I'm so glad I came to Mount Vernon. This is where I'm supposed to be.

Impacting and Inspiring

Those are the two words I would use to describe the Athletes in Action retreat. I'm so glad that I decided to participate in it. It was so encouraging to see over 200 athletes from a bunch of different schools come together in the name of Jesus. There were people from Marshall, Ball State, Kentucky, Ohio State, Toledo, Xavier, Capital, Kentucky State, Butler, and some random guy from California (still wondering how he ended up there). There were only five of us from Mount Vernon that went, but it was really a blessing. I got to know each person better individually. The whole weekend was full of moments where I saw God working in myself and the other athletes there.

We were one of the first schools to get there and Taylor, Stacy and I were the first ones to get into our dorm. So, like any normal person who has an entire building to themselves for an hour, we went exploring...and ended up climbing onto the roof. I regret nothing. Not my fault that the window in the hallway didn't have a screen!

The speaker for the retreat, Eric Russ, was incredible. God has given him the gift of speaking and insight. The first session was called The American Dream vs. God's Reality. He broke down what our society says about how to be successful, and what God says. He talked about how we don't need to win God's favor because we already have worth in His eyes. We don't have to follow what the world says.

The second session was all about discipleship. It focused on how to share with our fellow believers and how to serve each other and those around us. Afterwards we got to pick a seminar to go to. I went to the one called Gone Fishin, which also talked about discipleship, but focused on how to share our faith with others and become "fishers of men," like in the verse. I got a lot out of it. I've always felt like sharing my faith with nonbelievers isn't something I'm particularly skilled at, and talking about it really helped.

The third session was about relationships. This couple who are full time staff at Athletes in Action shared with everyone their testimonies and how God has worked in their relationship. Kim was a gymnast at UCLA and was on the U.S National Gymnastics Team. Corwin played football at UCLA and played in the NFL for a while. He was also the chaplain for the Miami Dolphins. You could just see by the way they talked and interacted with each other that God was at the forefront of their relationship. It was so encouraging to me to see how God can make a marriage work, and I'm sure it gave everyone hope that marriages do last. Kim and Corwin will be married 20 years this year.

The last session was probably my favorite. Eric talked about the importance of community which is something I feel strongly about. It's so important to have a community of believers around you who will keep you accountable and support you in your faith. It encouraged me to take everything I learned back with me to Mount Vernon and share with my fellow athletes how I was impacted. I can't wait to share with everyone next week.

I also learned about an opportunity that I hope to pursue this summer. Athletes in Action has a cross country camp for high school distance runners for a week in July every summer. It takes place in Michigan at Hope College. I'm applying to be part of the collegiate staff. I would be co-leading a group of runners for the week, as well as helping out with the clinics they have. I would do all the workouts with the girls and supervise the dorm floors, and most importantly, helping the girls grow spiritually, mentally, and athletically. I'm really excited about this and would love to be part of it. Please keep this in your prayers as I start this process. I'll keep you updated on how it's going!

Retreat!

This week is the last week of j-term and honestly, I'm a little bummed out. It's been quite nice having only one class every day, getting out of said class at 10 am and having the rest of the day to do things I enjoy (reading, playing guitar, going on runs). It's also been great to have lots of quiet time to spend with God. We've had some good times together this month. I hope to continue that time into next semester, maybe during a nice break between classes.

This month has been filled with new things for me and it's been very rewarding. As I said in my last post, I started to help lead worship at Athletes in Action. I'm so glad I decided to do it. I'd really been wanting to play guitar in a setting like that, but up until now an opportunity hadn't come up. I hope to start playing on Sunday nights on a pretty regular basis. I'm learning new songs, playing guitar more often, and my fingers toughened back up (win!) It's also helped me get over my fear of singing in front of people. I do have the ability to sing, contrary to my previous thoughts of not being able to carry a tune very well.

I've also been getting to know people that I wasn't able to spend much time with last semester and it's been such a blessing. I love talking and connecting with people and learning about their lives. I just love people.

Now, some of you reading this might be thinking, "why did she title this post retreat? There's nothing about retreating or anything." Be patient, I'm getting to it.

This weekend is the Athletes in Action winter retreat in Xenia Ohio. We'll be with lots of sports teams from other colleges that have an Athletes in Action. I'm very excited because 1) I haven't been on a retreat or anything of that nature in a long time, 2) I'm excited to see how God will work during that time, and 3) This weekend is also the beginning of j-term break! Be looking for a post next week about how it all went.

Now, on to something warm and fuzzy. As in animals. I've decided that when I have my own place, I'm going to get a bengal cat.




I've never been a huge fan of cats, especially since I'm allergic to them. But these cats are special. Besides from looking like small leopards, which is awesome, they are extremely intelligent and playful and like being around people. They also have a very specific fur type, which means that people with cat allergies, like me, can own one without having any reactions! How cool is that? If it's a boy cat, he shall be named Benny. Still trying to come up with a name for a girl cat. Suggestions are welcome!

Washed Away

I'm part of a group called Athletes in Action at my school. Every Sunday night, a bunch of us from all the sports teams get together and have a little church service. We have a time of worship, and then someone from one of the teams shares a message, and then we break off into small groups and have a Bible study that pertains to the message. I'm so blessed to be a part of it and have been meeting some amazing people.

Last night I helped lead worship for the first time and I was a little nervous. I was going to sing a song by myself to close the evening out, and until that point I had never sang in front of people before. When Seth and I were preparing the songs, I said that I wanted to play the song Washed Away by Aaron Gillespie to close our time together. I didn't really know why I wanted to do that song, but when the speaker started giving his message and testimony, I knew exactly why I wanted to. It was nothing short of God's doing. He talked about the story of David and Bathsheba and how sin only needs a foothold in our life to start consuming us. Sin got a foothold on David when he saw Bathsheba. All it took was a look. From there, it started to consume his whole life. And he tried to hide it, going as far as having one of his military officers killed on the front lines of battle.

Hidden sin is a huge burden for someone to bear. He went on to talk about how he had hidden sin in his life in high school that consumed everything he did. It wasn't until one of his friends called him out on it that he realized what he was doing. He gave it all to God, and now it is no longer a part of his life. He then went to the story of Jesus and the adulteress woman. Most of you probably know this one. Jewish law said that since she was caught in adultery, she had to be stoned. Jesus said "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone." One by one, the people left until it was just Jesus and the woman. Jesus looked at her and said, Woman, where are your accusers? Is there no one to condemn you?" "No one, my lord." the woman answered. "Then neither do I condemn you. said Jesus. Go and leave your life of sin."

He paralleled his life to that of the woman. Jesus took away his accusers and brought him out of his sin. It was an incredible and moving story. He ended with talking about how if we let God enter our lives, He will lift us out of our brokenness and shine His light. He will then consume everything we do.

The song I sang fit exactly. It's a simple song about our need and desire for God's presence in our lives. How we want to overtake us until we are "washed away" in Him. This is the chorus:

Just to see Your face and to feel Your embrace
Wrap us with your love and mercy
Come fill us, we're so thirsty
For your touch, God we need you so much
Let your glory fall like rain,
Till we're washed, washed away in You

It was a beautiful night to be part of. God showed up and impacted people. I give Him all the glory.

You Hold Me Now

The Sunday before I went back to school, my pastor gave a sermon about heaven. I feel like a lot of pastors don't do messages on heaven. It was so refreshing to hear someone talk about it, and it answered a lot of questions I've always had about heaven. He emphasized how we can't imagine what heaven is like because there's nothing like it here on earth. There will be no pain, sadness, suffering, conflict, it will be perfect. After his sermon, the band played a song that perfectly summed everything. The chorus went like this:

No weeping,
No hurt or pain,
No suffering,
You hold me now, You hold me now

There was a family sitting in front of me with a small daughter. By the end of the sermon she had fallen asleep, so when we stood up to sing, her father picked her up and held her. We sang the chorus again and I looked up at this little girl. It hit me. This was a small image of heaven. This little girl, asleep in her father's arms, she was content. She had no pain or sadness. Her father was holding her. It brought a tear to my eye. Such a warm reminder of how wonderful heaven is going to be.

Oh, and if anybody knows the name of that song and who sings it, I'd be eternally grateful.

I Promise I Won't Forget About My Blog This Time

That's my New Year's Resolution. I normally don't make any resolutions, but I intend to keep this one. I'm not making any excuses for my lack of posting. I just simply stopped for some reason. I'm not sure why, because I really do like writing this blog. So, I promise you, reader, that I will not leave you hanging for months on end, waiting anxiously for another post (okay, only like six of you read this anyway, but still, I promise).

It's J-term here at Mount Vernon, which means I only have one class for the whole month of January and I have it every day. I'm taking public speaking. So far it doesn't seem too bad, although this was only the first day of class. We'll see how it goes. But the benefit of only having one class is that I have a lot of extra time, which means that I'll be able to more things! Like blog more often, read my new C.S. Lewis book, learn songs on my guitar I've been wanting to play for months. Awesome stuff like that!

So, I, Kathleen Finley, pinky promise that I will not forget about my blog, and will try to write a new post at least once a week.

Remember to eat your veggies.