new blog!

Since I am not The Future Mrs. Hess anymore, I have started a new blog! See ya on wordpress!

it's the little things that count...

and it's the little things that will drive you crazy...

during these last few days of our engagement, all of the wedding planning is at its height. there's only so much you can do during your engagement, which is why long engagements just don't make sense to me. 6 months and 2 weeks was more than enough time for us. you have to book the locations for the ceremony and reception, the photographer, the caterer, and some other big ticket things, but other than that most of the work happens the week before...

my mom and i have been running around Tallahassee paying the vendors, double checking the bouquet orders and the food for the reception, etc. and it's pretty crazy...no it's REALLY crazy. fun though, but still...crazy.

it's such a joy to be able to plan such an amazing event, and to be able to make it how i want it to be...there's been a lot, a WHOLE lot of thought put into this 6 hour event...

but Satan sure does try to magnify the small things that don't go as expected...my shoes got a little dirty, my dress needs another steam, my nail broke (even though i'm getting a manicure tomorrow, i got really aggravated about it today!)...and plenty of other little things!

but right at that moment of frustration i have to keep catching myself and reminding myself about the bigger picture that a) at the end of the day, the only thing that matters is that Dave and I are Mr. and Mrs. Hess and b) that God was glorified. THAT'S IT! the candles being all lit, the stage looking beautiful, the food tasting great, the guests following proper etiquette; none of that matters in the end.

praise God that i have an amazing mother who has been SUPER WOMAN with this whole wedding planning. and an unbelievably forgiving and understanding fiance, who means everything to me, the most perfect man in the world for me, and the one who holds all of my affection. I do Dave Hess! I do!

ONE WEEK!

oh. my. cow.

dave and i have been dave and i for 9 months today. we're going to be a week overdue!

and it's his birthday today...but you'll have to ask him what his age is :-) i'm still waiting to see the birth certificate!

sorry if i don't blog until after i'm mrs. hess :-) if you can, please pray for us throughout the week...this week is going to be incredibly crazy. lots of fun events, friends and family coming in to town, and plenty of details to iron out. thanks friends!

7 days until i'm Katie Hess! whee!

Coincidence? I think not!

10 days...10 daaaaaaaaays! Amazing. We've been engaged for over 6 months... I know that doesn't seem too long, call it the "Every Nation Style Engagement" if you will, but it seems like it has taken so long to finally get to the final stretch. I've grown alot, we've grown alot, and our marriage is going to be so strong thanks to this fruitful engagement season. What an amazing time.

Our biggest desire for our wedding day is that God would be glorified and magnified above anything else. The picture that we will show on our wedding day, reflecting God's love and adoration for His Bride, the Church, will be so tangible and so evident, we pray that many lives will be touched through us. Dave and I have been striving so hard to glorify God in everything that we do, and by staying pure during our engagement season (it's hard keeping those boundaries when you have the man of your dreams right in front of you!), and by saving ourselves for each other and that first kiss! Praise God, we're going to make it. It's only by His grace. Praise God.

And that's just what Satan hates. He hates it when people love Jesus, they make a commitment to him, and they stick with it! I'm not saying we're perfect, but Satan hates every effort towards glorifying the name of Jesus.

And it's easy to tell. There has been alot of spiritual attack on us lately. There's been alot of spiritual attack during our engagment, but especially these last few weeks. I know that Satan wants to release an arsenal of stress and discouragement (he already has let a few arrows fly), but I WILL NOT HAVE IT! Praise God for all the faith building that he's been working on me with through the years, it is paying off!

Even yesterday as Dave's car broke down, for the second or third time in the last month or so (coincidence? I think not!) -- God was in control and he COMPLETELY provided and turned the situation around within 24 hours. It's amazing! I can't go into much detail yet, but God is so good!

He can do anything. I'm serious. My God is so HUGE! I just had to praise him.
Satan hates me, but I hate him more, and I have a big God to back me up.

What has God done for you lately that you are praising Him for?

"Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried...your Father knows that you need them. Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you." -- Jesus of Nazareth

"As I hear heaven's melody, As You begin to..."

Zephaniah 3:17 -- "The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you with his love; he will exult over you with loud singing." (ESV)

The other day I was walking across campus when I saw a rare sight. A young looking man was pushing a stroller with a sleeping baby in it. The baby was probably around a year old or so, and the dad looked like he could have been my age.

As they approached while I was walking to the SM building, I could hear some hip hop music getting progressively louder as I walked. Come to find out, it was the dad's cd player that was sitting on the top of the stroller that was blaring out a song that uttered a profanity every other word. In the moment I was disgusted, what kind of a dad would do that? Let the kid sleep! Or at least play something more calming.

I've heard it said that if a baby listens to Mozart or some kind of classical music when they are young that they will grow up smarter. Don't quote me on that, but I'm pretty sure there's nothing beneficial about the song that father was letting sing out to the TCC campus listen to...I wonder how that will affect that child in the future.

But then it hit me...What is my father singing over me? Another version of that verse says that God "will rejoice over you with singing" (NIV). He rejoices? Over me? That should change something in me. My response should be out of adoration and fulfillment of that joy.

My sister was in a musical recently, "The Secret Garden". It was pretty good, my sister was fantastic (as usual), but there was one scene that pulled on me in particular. If you don't know the story, you should go see the musical or rent the movie, but one of the veins of the story is about a crippled boy, Colin, and his father, Archibald Craven, who can't stand to be with his son because he reminds him of his deceased wife who died in labor.

One scene pulled on my heart: Colin was sleeping, and Archibald Craven snuck into his room and began to sing a fairy tale story to him. A typical story about a knight in shining armor, a dragon, damsel in destress, etc. And you know what happened? Colin dreamed about it, and it gave him hope, and changed his outlook on his seemingly hopeless life as an invalid and a forgotten son.

So what is my Father, our Father, singing over me, singing over us? He rejoices over us. He showers His love on us. His love is never ending. It has no bounds. Nothing we can do can separate us from that love. It is unconditional, it has no conditions. God does not expect us to do anything to win his love. We can't.

He brings us peace. God frequently speaks to me in dreams, and although sometimes those dreams can shake me up a bit and be a jolting warning of things to come, there is always peace. God is a God of peace. That's one good litmus test as to who is speaking to you, who is speaking over you. Satan will never, ever give you peace. Not true peace. Complacency, sure. Apathy, absolutely. But that is not true peace.

And what Satan speaks to you will never agree with the Word of God. That is another way that we can know who is speaking to us: God is always in alignment with Truth, His Word. He is Truth, and Truth is in His nature. Satan will not, truth scares him and breaks the holds he has on our lives.

So I ask you: What is God been singing over you? What has He been speaking to you about? And more importantly, how will you respond when you "wake up"?

an angel inspired me...

angel rios that is...:-)



"two kinds of people: those who use computers, and those who use apple's."
it's still true today... :-)

the grand finale: how dave and i became dave and i part 6

in the midst of finals and some crazy wedding planning, along with a ton of other stuff, i have some time to finish up my series on the crazy process that this was of just getting to a point where God's timing and our hearts collided.

Alright, so at this point, dave has left Budapest. That day addison, lisa, the kiddies, and I went to margaret island for the day to ride around the island in one of the family bikes. it was alot of fun, and while addison and ariston were doing something (was it a sports day that day or something?) lisa and i had some time to talk. we were sitting on a blanket in the grass, entertaining silas when she asked me, "alright katie, what's going on between you and dave? i know there's something..." i was SHOCKED! i mean, if you asked me to bet if dave was thinking something i'd bet yes, but no one else had said anything to me, so i thought i was just going crazy and that my mind was not where it needed to be...i told her that i thought i was just going crazy and she said something like, "yeah, it's going to be really interesting when you go back to tallahassee, i'd be surprised if he didn't say anything to you."

later that night we were back at their house, and addison totally called me out. now, i had no idea that dave had talked to addison about me, so i thought it was cRaZy that addison was so sure that dave liked me. hah hah hah! addison was working on his computer after dinner, the topic of dave and i hadn't come up until we started talking about the purse from israel that dave bought me and addison said something like, "yeah, i'd think something was up if someone gave me a purse like that..." then he looked at me like he had nailed me, and he did! in my mind i was like, "no way! he knows?! oh my gosh!!!" i was stunned. and the whole night lisa and i were just giggling like crazy, i was SO excited that they thought that something was going to happen!!! i told them about EVERYTHING, all the way back to...well, post 1 of this series :-D it was great. i didn't get to bed that night until like 3 AM i was so excited. but still guarding my heart, i chose not to think about it too much, and just pray for dave and for God's will to be done.

but the next day we heard from him. his plane was delayed in milan. for like over 24 hours, it was crazy. but he had me on his computer, so he says he was ok...just going crazy because he wanted to see me! he called the tweedy's that night, but since they were out on a date, i answered the phone and got to talk to him for the few minutes he was allotted on the airport phone. how i missed him! it was agonizing...

but he made it back to the states eventually. and i'll speed up the story a few weeks. my last week in europe was spent in prague, czech republic, and vienna, austria and dave was in the states working on MPD. but while i was in my very last days, dave came back to tallahassee...about 30 minutes away, he called my house to catch up with my parents and let them know how he was doing...and of course, he got an invite, as hoped :-) and a red flag went up in my mom's head and she told my dad, "he's coming over to ask about katie..." my dad told her to not jump to conclusions, but she was right!

dave came over and after eating a HUGE sandwich that my dad made him, and some comments made about my dad's knife collection, dave mustered up the strength to ask my dad for his permission to talk to me about pursuing a relationship. and of course, they said yes.

so i get back from budapest, and amidst all the stories and pictures from budapest, i kept talking to my mom about dave. but she couldn't affirm me or anything, becuase she knew that he liked me! but thanks to my dad's instructions to dave, he called me the day i got back into tallahassee. he wanted to meet up and "hear more about my mission trip", etc. we set up a time for friday morning to meet at the n. monroe starbucks at 10 am. but the funny part was that i saw him that night. i went to worship practice right after we talked on the phone, and he was at ihop helping out with the construction. a bunch of us went to steak and shake, and we just so happened to get seated across the table from each other! :-) it was fun, i was going crazy, i couldn't believe that i was finally back in tallahassee and dave was there. but i didn't want to make him think anything, so i payed attention to other people too :-)

later that night i told renee hill about dave. and that explained alot of things to her. she said, "that's why his heart has been fluttering! he's been so smiley since he got back, and it was YOU! it was because of YOU!" that was great. renee and i just gabbed and gabbed about guys til really late...

the next day, wednesday, was rennai palmer's birthday party. so renee hill came over so we could get dressed and do our makeup together. you know girls :-). and she let me know that dave was going to be there...i was kinda nervous, but i got my hair done, and wore my LBD. it was fun, and it was good to see friends again after having been gone for so long. and dave was there. but we didn't talk at all, until he walked renee and i out to our car, and i said, "i'll see you tomorrow at starbucks right?" he said yeah, he'd be there...so i went home, and tried to sleep...

the next morning i woke up at like 9 am, got dressed, had something to eat and headed over there to get to starbucks promptly at 10. dave had called addison that morning, to get some last minute advice and affirmation because i hadn't given him a clue about my feelings for him at all. so i get there...

all the tension from the last summer, and heck, the last 3 years is at a climax. i was so nervous. he was so nervous. but there was peace. i gave him some things i got for him in budapest, and after he got his coffee we sat down. (i was even using the purse he bought me that day!)

after the usual, "how are you doing?" "good, you?" "good!" dave went for it. it was great. he said, "well, i just wanted to get together with you to hear about your last weeks in budapest, and actually i also wanted to talk to you about something..." and he just dove right in. he went on a 5 minute monologue about all the things he liked about me, about how he was called to international missions and how he thought it was so cool that i was too, and how he had been praying about me for so long, and that he felt like it was God's will to see if this was heading toward marriage. then he asked me what i thought, and i said very concisely, "pretty much the same thing!" dave said, "umm, can you elaborate on that?" and i did. i said almost the same things he did, but back to him.

that day was amazing. the man of my dreams wanted to get to know me. me! wow. i got to "not so awkwardly" hug him before getting in my car at starbucks. once i got in my car, i just squealed with excitement!! i was SO happy! i praised God for working everything out, it was incredible! then i called my mom and renee and spilled the good news! it was great. and later that night dave picked me up and we went to the olsen's house to a little ihop party. it didn't seem like anyone noticed that we arrived together. but it was so much fun. i still remember sitting on the chair in their living room and seeing dave in the kitchen, smiling back at me.

he's made me the happiest woman in the world, and i can't wait to be his wife in 29 days!

wow, i love telling our story, i've really enjoyed writing this blog, so thank you for reading! i hope it has encouraged you single folk to not settle, but to consume yourself with our Lord Jesus Christ during the season you're in, and fully trust God to bring your mate to you in his timing, because he will.

and for you married folk, i hope this makes you remember the early years of your romance with your spouse. that's part of the reason i wrote this blog, so i can print it out and reread it years from now when i might be forgetting little details of "our story" :-) G

od bless you all, i'm so glad i could share this story, this incredible testimony of how God did a miracle in mine and Dave's life. as dave said in a card he sent me just days before he proposed, "who would've thought that a guy from Erie, PA and a girl from Southern California, almost 9 years apart in age, would end up in Tallahassee, Florida and be so drawn to each other?! Chance? I think not."

and here's your assignment!:

Dave has agreed to do a guest appearance on my blog, as so many of you requested!!
His one requirement however, is that you comment back with your thoughts and questions for him and i, and we'll post a blog answering them!

so if you have any questions for me, or if you want to get his thoughts on some of the crazy situations of our pre-courtship, comment away! i'm looking forward to answering them! thanks for reading!

how dave and i became dave and i part 5

alright we made it to budapest! :-D so this is mid july of 2007...i'm there, completely mission focused, serving God and serving the team there...and then dave walks in...and although my focus was still on why i was there, it was nice to have him there too! :-)

the first night he got there, he showed me some pictures from israel, and gave lisa and i some pretty scarfs...my first gift from dave! :-D

the next day was sunday, and as i had been the whole summer, i was playing on the worship team...and it just so happened that i was leading a song that morning..."lead me to the cross", off the hillsong united we stand album. great song. and it's one of dave's favorites now :-) after church the tweedy's, dave, and i went to lunch off of andrassy. we were talking about the service that morning and dave remarked, "that was the most beautiful worship song i've ever heard. you did an amazing job, i really loved it!" and my heart just stopped right there. and i couldn't do CPR on myself...just kidding. but wow. what a compliment! later we went to the open market that was on the chain bridge, and talked some. nothing too monumental there, it was just so nice to be around him. :-)

the next day, monday, dave and addison went off to see the city and i stayed home with ariston and silas. don't get me wrong, i love love love love love ariston and silas, they are the two cutest boys i've ever seen and i miss them SO much! but i really really wanted to go with dave and addison. i asked addison that morning if he wanted me to go with them, and he said something like "no, we need some guy time". little did i know, dave wanted me to go too...but that was good, dave told addison about me that day, but i'll leave the rest of their conversations for him to tell you :-) oh, and praise the Lord, that night dave got a haircut...israel will surely grow your hair gents...:-P

the next day though, i did get to go into town with dave and addison, to english conversation class at a cafe in pest. on our way there, addison would tell dave about different landmarks, etc and i would walk behind them...but every now and then when addison finished telling dave something, dave would slow down his pace to walk next to me! :-) man did i feel special. he'd ask me about my family, how i was liking budapest, stuff like that...and then addison would start talking about another monument, and dave would give me a funny look, making fun of addison, but with a little pain in his eye because he wanted to talk to me...good times. english conversation class was great, here's a picture:

on the way back, it was FREEZING cold. it was windy, and my sweatshirt didn't do anything for me...so dave offered me his green zip up jacket...:-) now everytime i see him wearing that jacket i think of this...after a though walk up the hill, we made it back to the tweedy's home. :-) that night i called my sister colleen just to catch up and i told her that dave was staying the week with us. she asked, "is that weird having him there? i know you like him..." i was shocked, i hadn't told her anything, so of course i denied it. she asked me why and i replied, "because, well, umm...he's hairy! he's like a hairy mountain man...he hasn't shaved since before israel...i'm not a big fan of facial hair..." hoping that he didn't hear me through the door to my room, i ended the conversation and peeked cautiously outside...phew! i was in the clear...

wednesday...now wednesday had some funny things happening...on wednesdays i go over to pest for worship practice at the church office. unfortunately, i had to go by myself that day, dave stayed at home and now he says that he wanted to go with me, but he didn't want to be too forward. haha! worship practice was good, and i made my way back home about 2 hours later...i've just trekked up this hill with a keyboard on my back, and as i'm walking into their flat to go to my room, i see dave in the living room playing with ariston. i thought to myself, "aww, he's gonna be such a great dad someday..." i continue walking, but look back to see if dave saw me come in, and i noticed something that absolutely stunned me...

he had shaved! his israeli beard was gone!!! :-D but i couldn't believe it...just the night before i told colleen that i didn't like him because of that beard! come to find out, addison dropped the hint that i didn't like the beard...earlier that summer addison, lisa and i were talking about "guys on the horizon" and what i did/didn't like in men. i told them that i wasn't a big fan of facial hair...so when i was at worship practice addison asked dave about the beard. dave said that he was just growing it out because he was in israel. addison then asked, "well what if the right girl comes along and she doesn't like it?" dave replied, "well, if the right girl comes along then i'll shave it off." so addison told him, "Well! the right girl doesn't like it!" about a minute later, dave walked into his bathroom and shaved it off...and then i came home...and i saw his gorgeous, ruddy tan, and freshly shaven face. and i stopped walking, exhausted from the walk home and still with this big keyboard on my shoulder. and i stared. with my mouth wide open...i was stunned. then i blinked, regained composure, and RAN into my room! i shut the door behind me, put my keyboard down on the floor, and buried my face in my pillow on my bed and prayed SO hard...that's the beard story :-)

later that night, as previously prepared, i was the chef for the evening. chicken picatta was on the menu, and i was gonna make my way to dave's heart through his stomach! :-P it was great, he loved it, and he liked the leftover's even better :-D then after that, i was practicing some worship music out in the living room, and dave asked if he could record me...on his computer...now that's not too forward. :-) but i didn't mind :-D so i played "lead me to the cross" for him, and it's still on his computer, and it's now on his ipod as well.

the next day we just relaxed around the house, hung out, watched "cinderella man" while watching the boys...and later that night we all went up to gellert hill to see the city at night. on the way up dave and i walked next to each other and talked about different things...what a stud he showed himself to be that day, he carried silas all the way up the hill...and that baby weighs alot! like 20 lbs at the time! almost made me swoon...:-) at the top, i was taking pictures of the tweedy's when dave asked addison to take a picture of him, then i asked addison to take a picture of me. then addison suggested, "why don't you two take a picture together?" trying not to be more awkward then the moment already was, i cooly said, "sure". so here's what we call "the awkward picture" :

after that we walked down the hill, dave and i were next to each other again, talking...it was so nice just be around him. he has always been one of my favorite people...well now, he's my number 1 favorite :-) that night when we got back from gellert, he and i were up late, he was packing, and i was writing an email to my mom or something...before i went to bed he gave me a beautiful purse from israel that he had picked out for me...my second present from dave! i loved it, and i couldn't believe that he had given it to me!

the next day he left to fly back to the states. he left the house at 4 am, so i said my goodbye's the night before...little did i know that he would get stuck in the milan airport overnight, and he'd be thinking of me the whole time, listening to "lead me to the cross" on his ipod, and watching me on his computer...

how dave and i became dave and i part 4

wow. i'm glad you all are anticipating my blog posts so much! :-)
how do you like the new layout? nice eh? :-)

alright where were we...oh right, he just called me and my heart is racing a million miles an hour...ok.

so, here comes the relatively emo freakout. i ran and told my mom everything that was said in the phone conversation, and tried to grasp for reasons why he would want to hang out with me...still unsatisfied, i called one of my girlfriends and kinda flipped out...well, i was a little tempered, but still, i had no idea! i mean, i knew that i had told him that my schedule was wide open that week, but that worked?! no way...after some calming words, my mind was put to ease, and it was decided that dave just wanted to hang out and talk about missions...like he said.

so we met up later that week after my classes at the starbucks on tennessee...it was wednesday i think. haha, side note: i wore his now favorite outfit that day. ladies, if your man tells you he likes one of your outfits, wear it! he'll feel extra special :-) ok, end side note. i remember some stuff from that day...i got there early, but i was feeling really sick, up until the point when he got there...i ordered a frappuccino, and he ordered some coffee cake. i remember him praying and thanking God for his coffee cake right in front of me, after i had sipped down half of my drink without praying...a little convicted, but aww that was so sweet! he prays over his coffee cake! :-D and so we talked about israel, and china, and europe, etc. and that was that! it was a pretty short time, nothin major. just a campus minister hangin out with a student, encouraging them to go to the mission field...and letting me know that he wants to do that someday too...

it was either the next night or the thursday following, i was at ENCM. i had seen the announcement on the screen about the need for an au pair for the tweedy's in budapest, but i hadn't given it much thought until then. i went home, emailed addison, and asked my parents what they thought about me going to europe. addison wanted me there for the WHOLE summer, and my mom said "no" to more than 2 or 3 weeks. but she eventually changed her mind, and about a week after than encm meeting, i bought my tickets. i had a month to raise almost $3000 to cover the trip, but God met all of my needs, and more! during that time, dave was also raising support, for his trip to israel. haha, funny, i cut him a check to help him get there, then he sent me a check that was three times that amount. way to one up me dave! haha, no it was great. fun memory. :-)

pretty soon after dave found out that i was going to budapest, i heard from him that he was going to be "stopping by" there on his way home from israel. he'd be spending about 4 days in budapest in july, pretty close to the end of my stay there. yeah, that's what i thought! "was that on purpose?" later on i found out, it kindof was. it was a strategic move to "scout out the land" to see if ENCM could send a team there the following spring break, which we did! addison tweedy took that excuse, but he had a little hunch about dave's side-trek too...

oh here's a funny story: later that week or so, dave organized a group of people to go out to eat and then to ihop to pray for a bit. i still have the text message he sent me, it reads: "From: Dave am getting a group together to hand gout tonight, probably get something to eat or a smoothie and then go to the house of prayer. Wanna come?" little did i know that he pretty much organized that outing because he wanted me to come...but i didn't know that at the time, so i declined, making up the excuse that my family wanted to have dinner together, which they did, but i could have bailed...but i did tell him i'd be at ihop later...and i was. but once he came in, i couldn't concentrate...AT ALL. this had happened a few times previously. a couple times when i was on the team playing on the stage, and i couldn't go anywhere! but that night, when i saw dave come in, i took off. i left almost immediately. i didn't mean to be rude, later i found out that he was pretty bewildered when i left. but i couldn't just stay there and see that amazing man praying and encouraging the group that he was leading. it was just too much. so i left...

then about 2 weeks before i was supposed to leave for budapest, i was in jacksonville taking care of my aunt who had just come out of a major surgery. the sunday before i left was the last time i thought i'd see dave...it was kinda hard to say goodbye, i still didn't really know that much about him, but i was still crazy about him. i really felt at peace about everything, and i gave God complete control of the situation, so i wasn't worried, or thinking about him that much.

one of the reasons i chose to go to budapest was because of dave actually. in a way i wanted to see if i could go a whole summer without seeing him...then he decided to come to budapest for a few days...so i guess i'll never know...but from now on, the answer is no! i cannot go another summer without dave!...my dave. :-)

anyhow, i'm in jacksonville, and i sent him a text message on may 10th, wishing him a happy birthday. then he called me! we talked about a bunch of random things. it was one of those conversations where both of us wanted to keep talking and talking, but we were trying to keep from being awkward the whole time, so there was alot of, "do you have to go? we can talk some more later if you do..." but neither of us had to go, and neither of us wanted to go, but neither of us knew that neither of us wanted to go!!

crazy? ridiculous? you're telling me! i was going insane with excitement and happiness! :-D

anyhow, it was fine, i left for budapest, but not before texting him a final farewell and see you soon. :-)

and my time in budapest was so great. i learned so much. i helped out alot with the worship team in the church there, and helped out with the outreaches, and took care of the tweedy boys. and i read alot of addison's books. alot on relationships actually. :-) and i was praying alot. not just about dave, but about where God was taking me, what the fall was going to look like, what i needed to prepare for. little did i know that all the talks with addison and lisa about relationships and marriage, and all the reading i did on relationships, marriage, parenting, etc. that was all preparation for the next season i was being led into...

but i was kinda in the dark as for what the next season was to be like. God didn't give me some amazing dream about dave sweeping me off my feet, etc. so i just served where i could, prayed alot, read alot, worshipped God alot...and silently counted down the days until dave would come to budapest.

and he finally did. i had to stay home with the boys while addison and lisa picked him up from the airport. i was listening to a sermon series on the song of solomon (that dave and i are going through right now!) when he walked through the door, completely loaded with bags. we exchanged hello's and an awkward side hug, and then he got settled into his room where i had folded his towels perfectly and orderly...i don't think he noticed that, but that's ok! he was there! :sigh: happiness...

the rest of that week was alot of fun, alot of things running through my mind, and alot of memories...that will be shared on my next post!

still hooked?

how dave and i became dave and i part 3

alright...the much anticipated...uhm, triquel? what comes after a sequel?...:-P

so 2007 has begun. God really began to move in my heart at the beginning of this year. i was definetly in a new season, and i really began to understand more of what God's love is, and decided to fully fully surrender this desire to be in a relationship to him. and it was such an amazing time. i've always been close to the Lord, i was saved at the age of 7 and God really gripped my heart at a young age and got me captivated with him early on, which is part of the reason for why i'm who i am today. God's grace has been and still is the most puzzling, incomprehensible, and magnificent thing to me...i can honestly say that i don't think i would be alive today if it weren't for Jesus Christ. my life was SO drastically different before God gripped me at a young age...hmm maybe i'll make that into a post, just sharing my testimony of how God has changed my life...how would you like that? praise God, sounds good...

anyhow...so i'm committed to Jesus, going to wait til he drops someone in my lap, not going to look around at all, etc. so spring break rolls around, and ENCM is going on a mission trip to help boost Georgia Tech's branch of ENCM. so instead of going to the beach, or just chillin at home, i gave into the "missional mode" of me and signed up. and it was AMAZING. the ride up with amber, torsha, ferrel, and kimberly i think it was, was so much fun. just being around other women is so much fun for me. i've been in a home with three other women and usually pets of the female persuasion my whole life, so i'm used to it being just girls, and i love it...so much fun. we listened to corey russell's "ancient paths" cd, and that was powerful. i was Messed Up. at some points during the drive i was tearing up in the backseat, my heart and spirit silently crying out to God for more of him...i was so desperate for God to fill my heart and take away the desires for a relationship...and he did.

that week was SO MUCH FUN! i already knew it was going to be a blast, mission trips ALWAYS are, and being around my friends and great people like our campus ministers was a sure win to a great week. we got alot done during that time, i got to lead worship on some of the mornings before we went to campus, and i really felt like i was coming out of my shell. as you'll find out when i blog about my testimony, my life before Jesus was very very fearful, and it's still something that comes back to haunt me every now and then. going on a mission trip where i'd have to spark up conversations with people was going to rock me for sure. but God moved! it was so great, i was like a new person. i met stephanie bent that week for the first time, and i told her that i'm actually a shy person. she said something like, "really? i can't see you being like that at all..." because God helped me come out of my shell and become more outgoing, and more like the woman he created me to be. susan and i even did role playing on the GA Tech bus...so funny. she pretended to be an athiest, and i was a christian friend she "met that day" and we started talking about ENCM, and got some other people involved in the conversation...fun fun.

and dave was there... :-) but don't worry, we were totally holy, just being friends. i hardly got to speak with him at all, and i wasn't thinking about him for the majority of that week. until the last day. he told me about this trip to israel he was thinking about...now you have to understand, i've ALWAYS wanted to go to israel, that's the #1 place i want to go to before i die. and to think that this amazing man of God wants to go to the same place i want to go...wow. i was pretty happy and excited to hear about that...

the day after i get back from the trip, renee hill and i decide to have some girl time, so we went to the beach, had some good talks, then came back to tallahassee for the special school of the prophetic they were putting on at the church. and that night i got a prophecy! it was great, a real blessing and confirmation of what God was doing in my heart. matt root was breaking off curses and demonic stongholds from the past, lots of people were prophesying other stuff and getting some sweet visions...lauren ayala had a vision of me on one side of a bridge. the side of the bridge i was standing on was nice, like my life was satisfactory at the moment, but that the other side was even better, and God was wanting me to trust him in crossing that bridge to get to the better side...little did i know that summer would be the bridge crossing, and the better side would be coming in the fall of 2007 and 2008!

after that we all went to campus harvest. it was amazing in 2007, i had a great time. CH just keeps getting better and better. while there dave and i and some other people went to a prayer meeting on saturday morning at some ungodly hour like 7 AM...he still wasn't really on my mind, i was praying about him though...we went to starbucks afterwards and he let me know that he was thinking about taking up guitar...and katie swoons...:-D

when i came back from CH, jim lafoon was in town! so i got another prophecy! wahoo! if you want to read the full prophecy, it's on my facebook, one of the first notes i've posted. the whole prophecy was really great, really encouraging. but something that really stuck out to me happened when jim said, "it's going to be a blessed man that marries you." right after he said that, i lifted my eyes and the first person i saw was dave. we just stared at each other for a moment, like a scene from a movie when the two long lost loves see each other for the first time, and then i blinked and looked away, hoping that he didn't think i was thinking something. :-)

after that everyone was mingling, and after several attempts to chat with me, dave asked me how i was doing and what my week ahead was looking like...hoping that he was wanting to talk more, i said, "oh actually this week is really open, my classes are pretty easy and i'm ahead on my work..." :-) it was true! someone else grabbed for my attention, or i had to go or something, so i said a quick goodbye and that was that...

until i got home! i got in the door and was chatting with my mom when my phone rang. i had never called dave before or anything, but i did have his number saved in my phone. :-) so when the caller id came up, i gasped, looked up at my mom with a surprised expression on my face and ran into my room to answer the call. it went something like this:

"hey katie this is dave hess how're you doing?"
"hey dave, i'm doing great, you?"
"doin' good, hey i was just calling to see if you would like to get coffee some time this week to talk some about your prophecy and missions."
"yeah, that'd be cool...(realizes she's talking to DAVE HESS, the man she's admired for so long and can't believe that he called her...)...actually, i think i have something going on during my free day, can i call you back?"
"ok sure"
"alright talk to you later"...

so i hang up the phone, stunned...now i wasn't weirded out at all at the fact that he called me, and he was so purehearted in his intentions, he really did just want to hang out and encourage me as a student from a campus minister's perspective to go for the mission field. but to me, this was Dave Hess....THE Dave Hess...the one man i've ever set as a genuine standard of what i wanted a future husband to be...the one man i've respected more than ANY other man i've ever met. the one man that i have ever had a crush on, i don't care how 4th grade that sounds...:-)

so i paused there on my bed, stunned and so elated...

how dave and i became dave and i part 2

ok, so before i begin, i have some major praisin' to do...

first off, the mission trip to budapest was AMAZING. God did so much. we made alot of contacts, got alot of people out to english conversation classes, Bible studies, and the battle of the bands that campus crusaders for christ put on...it was amazing. and one of the best parts of it all was the calling and burden that God put on the hearts of us all that went to continue to go to the nations and reach people with the hope of the gospel. it was great. there was so much more that God did too, it was just all together wonderful.

secondly, when we came back to tallahassee my parents met us at the airport to take some of us back home. when i was loading my luggage in the car my mom told me there was some mail in the backseat of the car. i peered in the window and saw a rather large envelope and when i looked closer i saw it was from FSU. i opened it up and in it was a ton of paperwork with a letter of acceptance to the college of nursing on top! i made it! :-D i've been praying about this for so long, and working sooo hard just for that letter, and i got it! they only accept about 50 or so students out of the hundreds that apply, and i was chosen!! :-D so all my studying, all the work that i and my teachers put in, all the help that i've gotten from friends and family, and the 3.7 GPA that i've upheld has paid off! :-) praise God!

alright...back to "the story"...where was i?

oh ok, so that was february of my junior year in high school. that was the beginning of the crush. haha! well, i didn't tell anyone about it, except my mom. she can testify to it all...nothing much happened after that, we'd see each other at church, but he was in campus ministry, and i was involved with the youth group...so we weren't really in the same circles. nothing of significance happened between us, but i do remember seeing him at a new years eve party just before 2006 rolled in. he was hanging out with some other people, and my heart fell because he was having such a good time with other people and even though i barely knew him i was sad. i even had my mom go home with me because i couldn't stay there and not be able to talk to him. i was crying in the car and i was so confused as to why i was so upset! i hardly knew dave hess, why was i so sad that i couldn't be around him? i know, kinda melodramatic, but looking back on it, i can see that God was beginning to put him on my heart, that dave was such a "kindred spirit", i didn't even know it. and i had never had a crush on anyone before, so that just added to the confusion. but it only takes one. :-)

so from then on nothing really happened until my graduation. i invited him to my graduation party and we chatted a little bit there. here's a picture of some of the people that came...notice i'm standing right next to him, and we have the same pose:


i told him that i was going to be going to TCC in the fall, and he said something like, "oh that's interesting. i was thinking of leading a lifegroup there in the fall. maybe you could give me a tour of the campus sometime?" now, don't worry, his intentions were absolutely pure, that life group was a blast and was really fruitful. but when i did give him a tour of the campus we got to talk a little bit more. we found out that we both wanted to and felt called to world missions. he said that he wanted to go to China and israel, the two nations that i've wanted to see for a long time.

craziness. so we both led this lifegroup in the fall of 2006, it was alot of fun, but nothing really transpired. later that year we both got into different relationships, but they both ended very quickly, God was not calling us to those people...but to each other! although, we didn't know.

so up to this point, he was thinking about me, but the timing wasn't right. and i was crazy about him, but i was guarding my heart and giving all my crazy feelings back to God...i remember praying and journaling prayers to God, asking him to remove all my thoughts of dave because i couldn't handle it, and i knew that it wasn't the right time. i told God over and over again that i wanted to trust him and surrender everything in my heart to him...even my crush on dave.

2007 then came around, we were both single again, i was still conflicted about dave, and was praying about him alot...and he was on the verge of committing to chastity for the rest of his life...but i was still in the back of his mind...so 2007 came, and little did we know that the conflicts we both had about each other were about to unfold...

here's another picture from my graduation party...guess who i'm lookin at! :

how dave and i became dave and i.

i know i had a little rant in the previous blog, but...

patty marshall gave me the GREATEST idea for some major blog posts. i know most people don't know the FULL story of how dave and i became dave and i so that's going to be the topic for my next few blogs...we'll see how long it takes me to lay out all the amazing, sappy, God-orchestrated moments and milestones in our relationship. :-D marianne said that she wanted to hear the story and i told her i'd have to go to lunch AND dinner with her just to tell her part of it. so patty suggested that i blog about it so it'll be in writing! so here goes! thanks patty!

Ok let's start at the very beginning: the day we met. Thank you Lord for letting remember this day. what a wonderful day.

It was February 9th, or 16th of 2005. i can't remember exactly, but it was a wednesday night somewhere around valentine's day. every nation's youth group met that night, and because it was the month of february the topic was love and relationships (what church group doesn't touch on this subject in february?). dave and torsha were guest speakers, and i remember pastor jean giving the introduction for dave. he went on and on about how dave was a campus minister at FAMU the biggest HBCU, a white guy, and the campus ministry was blowing up in size and God was doing some amazing things. so i was hooked IMMEDIATELY. this guy was faithful, passionate, loves God, and he looked...very handsome. i'll just say that. :-)

so dave and torsha share a little bit about their lives, etc. and i come to find out that dave was a 25 year old virgin, staying holy for his wife. i was amazed. i remember that very night when i was listening to him i thought in my mind, "that is the kind of man i would want to marry. i know that he is too good for me, but he has all of my respect and that is going to be my standard for the man i want." i distinctly remember saying that, no joke.

after they finished sharing they allowed us to write in some anonymous questions about relationships for them to answer. so i sent in a question. at the time i was a junior in high school and there were these two young men who were just really being disrespectful to me at school, were hitting on me, and kept asking me out. and it was really getting to me! so i explained the situation on the notecard that we were given and i asked "what should i do? i don't have any strong Christian guy friends who respect me and will stand up for me." dave took on my question.

he said (and i remember this plain as day, and he'll testify as well), "well first of all, let me say those guys are jerks. For all I know my future wife could be in this room, so i treat women with respect at all times." i might be paraphrasing a little, but that phrase "for all i know my future wife could be in this room" DEFINITELY came out of his mouth. and i was astounded.

needless to say, that was a memorable night. and i "officially" met him after the meeting. he had heard of me at church through jean who told him that i was a single high school student, really passionate about God, wanting to go to the mission field after i get a degree in nursing. and being that he had a mission field calling on his life too, he was looking foreward to meeting another future international missionary :-)

ahh it was an amazing night. my heart flew and i had my first crush. i'm serious! i have NEVER EVER crushed on anyone before, not even celebrities. not even the guys i've dated in the past, not any musicians, nobody.

and i crushed on dave hess SO bad...it was terrible sometimes. like there was this one party on new year's eve that he was at that i went to...well, that's another story for another blog, but as you'll find out next time i post, i went home CRYING because i saw dave hanging out with some other people and i didn't get to talk to him...and in my mind, i was like "what the heck?! i hardly know this guy, he's an amazing campus minister, just so much better than me...why am i thinking the way i'm thinking about him?!"

to be continued...

Question: did you like this post? i know alot of people don't know the full story so i want to provide it to those of you that want to hear, but i don't want to be one of those obnoxious bloggers who goes on and on about the most monotonous things in life you know? so tell me if you're hooked on our story and i'll keep blogging! thanks! :-D

superwoman or just plain crazy?

Well i've got about 13 hours until i have to be at the airport to catch my plane to budapest. the team and i are really excited about what God's going to do on this spring break mission trip, and i'm especially excited to see all my friends that i met and spent so much time with this past summer...

wow. it's crazy to see where God has brought me since i was last in budapest. i was single and content with just me and Jesus, and now i'm engaged to be married. wow. even when we were planning this spring break trip i wasn't engaged. God is good. so much happened last summer, i learned so much...and now it's showing fruit. and i get to go back! wheee!

i love going to other countries. the smell and feel of an international airport is so cool. people look so different, sound so different, but we're all people, part of God's glorious creation.

but i know...i'm getting married in a little over 2 months (72 days!) and i'm crazy enough to go to europe in the midst of all the mayhem of planning my wedding...don't worry, i'm not too crazy. i think God has given me a special grace to go back, to serve again, and see His kingdom advance, all while ironing out details, nearly freaking out that one of my bridesmaids hadn't gotten her dress until this last week, and being a full time student!

crazy? no. superwoman? no. God's grace? yes. " From the fullness of grace we have all received one blessing after another."

i am so blessed. God is so good. can i just brag on him a bit?

not only does he bring Dave into my life, God brought him in the PERFECT timing, he orchestrated everything perfectly, my family adores him, and as for me?...well, he is most definetly everything i have ever wanted. every single dream, every single wish, every single desire for a husband is all fulfilled in that man. not that he's some perfect being mind you, but God is so good to make some one so perfect for me. i can literally tell you time after time when i prayed for my husband, asked God for a certain attribute for my husband to have, dreamed about him, wished for crazy things like brown hair that i could run my fingers through one day and was styled "spikey" like...i'm still reminded of those dreams, wishes, etc. and God is so good. he made dave just for me.

ok i'm sorry. i could go on and on about how amazing dave is, and how INCREDIBLE God is for making him and putting him in my life...

wedding things are going well, i've gotten my dress (alterations in a week! they're taking it from a size 8 to a 2...i don't know how but they are!), the bridesbabes have theirs, the men have their tuxes, the reception is good to go, so is the ceremony location, as well as the musicians, the rehearsal dinner, did marriage counseling...

now i have just under 72 days to twiddle my thumbs and read more books on how to be a great wife. :-)

question: is the electric slide the only song that everyone knows the moves to that isn't as obnoxioius as "YMCA"? i need more dancing songs for the reception...any favorites?