cathsblog.com

I am sitting here with all my friends at our Women With Vision computer workshop. I’m showing them all the different ways you can use the computer in ministry. And of course, one of my most favorites is to use Caths Blog to share everything that’s happening in Quiet Time Ministries. I wanted them to see how incredible it is to be able to put something up on a blog. We are having a lot of fun this weekend – there are hundreds of women attending all kinds of workshop about women in ministry, leadership, and growing in the Lord. My four workshops include The Devotional Life Of A Godly Leader, The Computer In Ministry, A Heart For Revival, and Romancing The Word. May the Lord continue to bless our time together.

I am up in the mountains in southern California writing my book Hope For My Hurting Heart. I could not resist taking a few moments to take some pictures this morning. I was busily writing in my little cabin and I heard some noise out back. I walked out on my little porch and could not believe the show! There were a guzillion blue jays and squirrels chasing each other and just having the time of their lives. It was so fun to watch. So I pulled out my little Nikon camera that goes just about everywhere with me and snapped some pictures. Here are some of the best. Isn’t this bird beautiful! I’m calling it a blue jay but after looking around online I actually think it’s a Stellar’s Jay.

What personality these animals have especially the squirrels. There is one squirrel in particular that jumps on to my back porch and sits there looking in my window. Anyhow, this is a great place to write even though I am mostly indoors typing away on my little laptop. I do enjoy the view outside and the sound of the creek outside my window. Every now and then I stop and walk down to the creek and sit in one of the chairs, enjoy the beauty, and commune with the Lord, talking with Him about things and just enjoying His Presence. I like to take what I’ve written, print the pages out, then go down by the creek and read with fresh eyes. It’s been quite a journey with this book and is something that the Lord has been writing in my heart for a long time.

Yesterday was an unusual day in the desert. The day before it was dry and warm, almost 90 degrees outside. Yesterday when I got in my car to go to work I saw that it was dark and cloudy, cold, and raining. When I came to the stop sign, I looked toward the mountains and saw this beautiful rainbow. Instinctively, I pulled out my little camera and snapped a picture (through the windshield as you can see the raindrops on the glass). I love rainbows because they always remind me of the sure promises of God. The rainbow was the sign of God’s promise to Noah (Genesis 9:12-17). The promises of God in His Word are a strong assurance for us to always hope in Him. To live for Him. To follow hard after Him. To love Him. I love how Peter puts it: As we know Jesus better, his divine power gives us everything we need for living a godly life. He has called us to receive his own glory and goodness! And by that same mighty power, he has given us all of his rich and wonderful promises. He has promised that you will escape the decadence all around you caused by evil desires and that you will share in his divine nature. So make every effort to apply the benefits of these promises to your life. Then your faith will produce a life of moral excellence. A life of moral excellence leads to knowing God better. Knowing God leads to self-control. Self-control leads to patient endurance, and patient endurance leads to godliness. Godliness leads to love for other Christians, and finally you will gow to have genuine love for everyone. The more you grow like this, the more you will become productive and useful in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Peter 1:5-8 NLT). These are good words for today. May they make their way deep into our hearts and shine in our lives.

Oh what a difference from week to week here in the desert. It was 90 degrees outside yesterday. Last week look at the snow we had in the mountains. It was freezing outside. But the snow was SO BEAUTIFUL that people were stopping everywhere just to get pictures. I love photography so I could not resist. I carry my little Nikon Coolpix 5200 with me in my purse so I don’t miss things like this. I actually took this picture from the 2nd floor of our church. When I think of snow I think of what God says in Isaiah 55:10-11 (a favorite passage here at Quiet Time Ministries): “As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth; it will not return empty, but will accomplish what I desire, and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” No time is ever wasted when it is spent in God’s Word - His purposes are wrapped up in His Word and He will use it in your life and mine.

This is a very cool new addition to my blog - video! Enjoy this 10 minute 52 second introduction to my new book Six Secrets To A Powerful Quiet Time (formerly titled Radical Intimacy). God bless you!

I admit it. I am probably one of the most eccentric people I know. The multitude of interests I have explains why I changed my major in college 5 times and moved from archaeology to business-advertising. Sometimes I wish I could be more than one person just so that I could actively pursue more than one profession. Paul said, “I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am” (Philippians 4:11). Of course, he is speaking in the context of prison and suffering. However, a principle here is the nature of contentment - it is something you learn. Handling many interests is also a learned behavior for me and I am actively learning how to incorporate these interests into life and ministry. Here is a list of current favorites:

Books - Anything by John Henry Jowett. I discovered an old book in my library when I was packing last year for a downsizing move. It was “The Silver Lining” by Jowett and was purchased at one of the infamous Bethel Seminary booksales. I set it aside and began reading it in my quiet time - one of the best things I’ve done in a long time. What a writer and theologian Jowett is. He thinks differently than the norm and I love that. His thinking makes me think. So he’s my new favorite author.

Coffee - I am a coffee connoisseur. I do NOT like Starbucks - it’s too French roast for my taste. I like Boyd’s Gold Medallion and Kenya. For a TOTAL change, sometimes I will drink Peet’s Cinnabon.

Color - my new favorite color is lime green. I’m sure next year I’ll wonder what I could have possibly been thinking.

Computer - I love my little Fujitsu P5010 laptop - it goes everywhere with me and has hours of battery power. I also like the fact that Ivan and the guys at Portableone.com take care of it for me. I’ve written numerous books on this notebook, typeset a book, designed websites, and brainstormed a thousand ideas.

Software - Photoshop: what would I do without this amazing piece of software? I learned how to use it at the annual west coast NAPP conference. My favorite photoshop instructor is Ben Wilmore who has written Photoshop Studio Techniques. NetObjects Fusion - this is the photoshop of web design software. I’ve been using it since version 3 and it is now in version 9. Anyone can have a website with this software. Adobe InDesign - oh, how I love this design software. Used it to typset my first 30 day journey, Radical Intimacy, now published by Harvest House as Six Secrets To A Powerful Quiet Time. I use this software to produce E-Handouts, brochures, etc. It does an impeccable job exporting to pdf. Swish 2 (now Swishmax) - I use this software to produce simple flash banners for my website and flash intros for presentations. The best out there for text effects. WS FTP pro - I could not do web design without this amazing program that allows me to transfer files to my server. It’s quick and easy and that’s what I like. Libronix and WordSearch - I use both these Bible study programs for research and study. The Libronix search engine is unparalleled - it has saved me hours of time. Quickbooks Pro - I’ve been using this for years to manage the finances of more than one corporation - could not do without it. Mindjet Mindmanager - a great piece of software to map out ideas, books, and ministries. I use it for a multitude of organizational brainstorming tasks. WordPress - for blogging I like it the best because there are lots of templates and I have more control over appearance and design. To use it, you need to have an understanding of servers and ftp and a little html so you can do the most with it. Microsoft Outlook - I use it for my crazy schedule and email. Personally, it still needs to get better at doing some things. My favorite is still Sidekick (out of print). Well, that’s enough of the software - I could go on.

Gizmos - I love using my Blackberry and getting my email RIGHT NOW. I like my Palm Treo 650 and could never go back to a phone that doesn’t have my palm pilot in it. Just got a new gizmo that I’m using a lot - it’s a multifunctional digital audio recorder (Beat Sounds EVR-500) that I can use to record my messages in mp3 format. It has a USB connection built-in which is amazing. I literally record and then plug in to my computer, clean it up in Adobe Audition then upload for the world. Very cool.

Digital Photography - I have been a photography maniac since I was a little girl and when everything went digital it was like creating a monster. My first digital camera was a little Canon. It took great pictures that I could upload to my website. Then, when I was hiking in Sedona, I dropped it. It never was the same after that. I have three other digital cameras - a Canon G2, a Fuji Finepix, and a little Nikon. I think I like the little Nikon the best because it fits in my briefcase and at 5.1 megapixels it takes incredible pictures.

Bible Study - I LOVE studying the Word of God. Right now I’m thinking a lot about Jeremiah and what he says in Lamentations. Here’s a guy that went through so much in his life. He had every reason to “lament”. And yet, he had hope. My word this year is “hope” and I am learning how to do it.

My family - I have the most incredible family - wonderful husband, great brother and family, a mother and father who are my greatest fans.

Ministry - I have so many favorite things to do in ministry - I love meeting with our women at the church, I love to give a message - whether it’s a new one or one I’ve given before - I just love to say something that might challenge, inspire, and encourage and I love to take simple words and see what God will do with them. I love the writing process - getting an idea, mapping it out, and then developing it into something that God can use to revolutionize a life. I like organizing a ministry and thinking through new ways to reach people with the message of the gospel.

The Lord, of course - The Lord Jesus is my very favorite of all - He is the One and only, Savior, Lord, Master, and my best and dearest friend and companion. I could not take one step without Him and He is the One I live for. Life is all about the great adventure of knowing Him.