Simply Katherine, a Christian blog

Three years ago, I wrote a similar post on this topic:  Christians on Campus - I Needed a Home . At that time, I introduced you to this older couple whose home I found real rest. I was a freshman then. These few days I've been revisiting the matter of needing a home because one of my housemates brought it up in a conversation. The phrase,  I need a home,  may be simple to some but to many it can develop into a profound defining of basic human and spiritual need. First, let's explore the human perspective of having a home. Economists would say the most basic unit of an economy is a household. A home is where real formative activities happen. Whether or not the constituent of an economy is happy and healthy depends on what's happening at the most basic level. Society today realizes how crucial it is to nurture a healthy home where their children can rest, grow, and develop in a normal way. Humanly we all need a healthy home where we can rest and care for our young. Like...

I've had a long history with Christians on Campus, since I was a freshman in college. There I got connected with Judy, an older sister in the Lord, whom I love dearly. From that moment on, our ongoing fellowship has helped me go through various spiritual crises. Recently, living my life has been quite challenging (isn't this everyone's story?) I'm the kind of person who wants to excel in everything that I do, but it soon becomes excruciatingly difficult when everything  appears to be the first priority. In short, giving 100% at all times, in all things, drains both my mental and physical capacities. I know time management. The key is to wisely prioritize, right? Yet the main problem is I truly, genuinely, consider that all my responsibilities are equally important. Now what? Not only that, when I managed to drop one of the balls that I've been juggling, I got so condemned, fearing the judgment from others. Sounds like a nightmare, doesn't i...

A while back I met a mature sister in the Lord (see my popular series: Conversations with Mrs. L ). Yet I found myself clueless whenever I sat across face-to-face with her in her living room. I didn't know how to converse with her. I mean this sister was four times my age, how could I relate with her?  Should I ask questions? What kind of questions? Should I wait until she asks me questions? What should I do? So I went to her son-in-law and asked him what I should ask her. He just said, " Ask her anything, even questions that you think you know the answers. You'll be surprised ." He was right! Every time I met this older sister, I would just ask her anything and her answers would help me both humanly and spiritually.  Since then I have learned that in the fellowship with other Christians, especially more mature ones, I'm actually not seeking for answers. I'm seeking for persons who can minister Christ into me .  Back to t...

Please read my previous post to find out more about the island of Puerto Rico . Without a doubt, Puerto Rico has it all:  nature and culture . Yet what I enjoyed the most was meeting Christians, young and old, and having a rich fellowship with them (despite the language barrier that we had since I don't really speak Spanish). I also met a lot of college students who were affiliated with Christians on Campus. Their endeavor to reach the young people on campus, to bring the gospel to them, to fellowship, and to dive into the Word of God was too precious!  From Puerto Rico with Love. I realized that even though we were so far apart geographically, we all, in Texas and in Puerto Rico, had been endeavoring to do the same thing: gaining young people for God . Furthermore, even though we didn't speak the same language and weren't brought up within the same culture, there was always a prevailing atmosphere of love and joy among us. At the end o...

Finally I got a chance to sit down and begin this amazing post on my recent summer vacation with Christians on Campus in Puerto Rico ! Also known as "La Isla Del Encanto" (lit. The Island of Enchantment ), Puerto Rico was truly a mesmerizing island. Although I originally came from a tropical island, Puerto Rico was something else. The shades of blue across the horizon were awe-striking. Playa Sucia, Cabo Rojo (Credit: J. Hernandez) Nature is definitely at the top of my favorite destinations, but Puerto Rico has much more to offer. You can see bright and bold colors exuding the island's rich culture. This is most apparent when you decide to take a leisure walk in Old San Juan, in the northern part of the island.  Old San Juan (Credit: L. Coy) To be honest, I'm not sure where to begin and where to end. Puerto Rico has plenteous stories to tell. "Castillo de San Felipe del Morro" (or El Morro ) is one of them. Its magnificent...

I'm counting days toward my Puerto Rico trip. I've never been there but I heard from others that Puerto Rico is so beautiful! My siblings and I will be traveling with a small group of Christians from Texas. We will be staying with families affiliated with Christians on Campus on the island. I just can't wait to get to know these Christians and have fellowship with them. It's quite amazing how Christ has torn down our differences on the cross so that now we can simply embrace our brothers and sisters in the Lord regardless of their personalities and backgrounds. Ephesians 2:14 says, "For He is our peace, who has made both (the Jews and the Gentiles) one, and has broken down the middle wall of partition between us;" One of the major differences that we have with one another is our culture . Most pride in their unique identity, being part of a certain culture. Sometimes I even feel like my culture defines who I am. But Christ died ...

Having a break in my routine ushered me into a deep contemplation. A lot of time I became too busy to stop and consider, to contemplate the nature of my days, my daily activities. Recently I've been thinking of going back home to settle down and take care of my family, or something like that. I also feel like I would like to travel more and see new happenings, or discover new perspectives. I love to learn new things.  As of now, my days have always been filled with a project for a Christian club on campus, meeting people to have fellowship, shepherding others, and just being spent on various services in the church. Busy, busy, busy.  People, people, people. Being Frank with the Lord Yes, my life has been such. So this Spring break while I was traveling, I took some time to inwardly pray and look for the Lord's leading:  Where should I be?  What should I be doing?  What's next? I felt convicted. Maybe I didn't have enough burden to serv...

Last year I attended one of the college-age gatherings with Christians on Campus. I learned a new Christian song called, Our Human Spirit.  The lyrics were directly taken from several verses in the Holy Bible. So I just want to share it with you all. Please note that I obviously did not write this song. Our human spirit is different than our soul.  "Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Thessalonians 5:23) It is the innermost part of our being that is specifically created by God (Genesis 2:7), to contact God (John 4:24). So here's the song lyrics. Our Human Spirit  It is in our spirit that we were born again (John 3:6);  it is in our spirit that we were made alive (Ephesians 2:5; Romans 8:10);  it is in our spirit that God has come to dwell (Ephesians 2:22; 2 Timothy 4:22; Romans 8:1...

All throughout my college years, Christians on Campus has taught me to contend for the common faith . I've heard rumors before about members of Christians on Campus being exclusive, but whoever has come to their gatherings would quickly realize that Christians on Campus receives all genuine Christians. Yes, all genuine Christians who believe in the common faith (this term is used in Titus 1:4 and Jude 3 ). The common faith is not a doctrine that someone wrote. I didn't come up with it, nor Christians on Campus, nor Martin Luther. It's the Bible, it's God Himself, who defines our faith. Thus, I simply appreciate the fact that I was given the opportunity to learn how we need to fight for the faith and not fight for anything else that is not part of the common faith. According to the Bible, there are eight items in our common faith: The Bible is the complete divine revelation inspired by God, word-by-word, through the Holy Spirit. ( 2 Peter 1:21 ; 2 Timothy ...

Cherry picking God's Word is definitely faulty, yet it seems impossible for me to apply God's Word in its entirety. For instance, the Bible tells me not to covet but "Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?" ( Romans 7:24 ). I continuously fail in fulfilling this matter of not coveting. So what then shall I do? There is a particular fellowship from one of the Christians on Campus gatherings that has greatly helped me. I can't remember exactly which gathering but at that time, one of the speakers mentioned about the passage of a rich young man trying to enter into the kingdom in Matthew 19 (please read Matthew 19:16-26 for context). This rich young man asked the Lord what good deed he must do to have eternal life. The Lord pointed out that there is only One that is good and that if he would enter into this life, he should keep all the commandments. Afterward the Lord showed him which commandment he should do, to sell his po...

The question from my last post on Christians on Campus Fall 2011 College Conference - how can we join ourselves to God's desire through His Word? Many times our application of God's Word is a cherry-picking business. Yes, it's a fallacy indeed. Let me explain what I meant by that. Believe it or not, most of us have a hidden motive when we come to God's Word. That hidden motive varies with every person but usually it's in the form of expectations, hoping for certain things to be found in the Word. For example, a couple years ago a Christian man was sharing with me a story about his mother. His mother had to work hard to feed her many children. So one time, she told people that her favorite verse in the Bible was 2 Thessalonians 3:10, "... If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat." Actually I knew another hard-working person who appreciated the Bible's encouragement to labor for our living in a similar way. But a lazy person may take Psalm ...

The next message after the early rising session was entitled, Daniel and His Three Companions - God's move through Young People . Christians on Campus arranged this message to be "by-the-students-and-for-the-students" format.  Daniel and his three friends So we were given materials to be read together in small groups. The entire message was divided into sections. Each small group would focus on a particular section for the first thirty minutes or so. The group came together to fellowship based on that reading. Then the next event was to gather the small groups and present what we had learned from the section we read to this bigger group of audience. So when all the groups presented their sections, the audience ended up with an entire message, spoken by multiple people from the small groups. Continuing on with the message itself, I was blown away by the reading material that we got. It opens with a section, God calling young people to turn the age. ...

Continuing from my previous post on the Christians on Campus Fall 2011 College Conference : On the second day of the conference, we gathered early to listen to a 15-minute fellowship on early rising to have a morning time with the Lord. Then we went to find a private place where we could spend a personal, intimate time with the Lord. This fellowship was very healthy and helpful. As young people, many times we all love to sleep late and wake up late.  Actually that morning, our fellowship began with this quote by a sister in the Lord:  "How much a person loves the Lord can be judged primarily by the way he chooses between his bed and the Lord. Do you love your bed or the Lord more? If you love your bed more, you sleep a little longer. If you love the Lord more, you rise up a little earlier." This quote stings, like putting salt on my wound, my weakness, but I realize that it's very true. Of course, striving in ourselves to wake up early can only work f...

I'm back from Christians on Campus College Conference (Fall 2011) , which took place just this past weekend. I've attended this conference many times since I first joined Christians on Campus as a freshman at UT, but this last one had adopted a different overall structure so it was very refreshing indeed! The structure now encouraged the attendees' active participation in smaller groups. It'll take a while for me to explain all the details but just to give you a picture, by the end of the day on Saturday, almost everyone who attended the conference had spoken at least once. Of course, I don't mean speaking with each other about random things. Almost everyone had spoken concerning Christ to one another, at least once. There were apportioned times for personal morning revival/devotion, group Bible study, presentations on the Bible study material, and campus clubs' reports. Seemingly all these were just outward adjustments to the old format, which was m...

Everyone is packing to go to the college conference tomorrow. We're having a regional college conference. Students from several universities, from all over Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, New Mexico, Arkansas, and more, will be gathering together to worship the Lord, listen to life-changing messages, fellowship, pray, and interact with each other. This fall, Christians on Campus is revamping their college conference's structure to a more engaging, interactive format. The conference will definitely put more emphasis on active participation in smaller groups, especially on the practice of speaking. There will be many opportunities for college students to share their experiences with one another. Mutuality is very much encouraged.  Christians on Campus Fall 2011 College Conference I'm quite excited myself to be able to go and participate in this conference. My right foot is still recovering from a recent injury, but I just can't miss out on this one. The topic...

This week, I had fellowship with one of my friends on campus. This is her second year being part of Christians on Campus at UT. We were reminiscing how the Lord had been very faithful to bring us back to Himself. I don't have the liberty to share with you her story, but she shared with me from Psalm 116:12-13. There's a short hymn written based on this psalm ( click here to listen to the tune ): "What I shall I give unto the Lord  For all, for all, for all He's done for me? I'll take the cup of salvation,  And call, and call, and call upon the name of the Lord." When my friend was younger, an older Christian spoke to her concerning this hymn. He pointed out how the psalmist began by asking what shall he give unto the Lord to return all the goodness, all that He had done for him, but ended with taking the cup of salvation and calling upon the name of the Lord.  In one of my previous posts on God's salvation to us , I shared a si...

Like always, please check out my previous post ( Christians on Campus: Needing Older Christians ) for context, everyone! This post is part of a series, entitled "Christians on Campus". So Grace took me to this couple's house for a dinner one evening. Honestly, I can't remember when exactly we went to their house, but I think it was early in the Fall semester. It was just the four of us: the couple (Don and Judy), Grace, and I. We had a delicious home-cooked meal and chatted about many topics. Don was interested in the geography of my home country. He was an extremely resourceful man, both in knowledge and spirituality. Judy was a very pleasant, warm lady. The whole atmosphere in that home was casual, loving, and comfortable. I couldn't help but falling in love with being in their home, being in their midst. My cheeks were sore that night because I couldn't stop smiling all evening. Oh, I forgot to tell you that Don was the older man who ga...

I can't believe I've written ten posts on Christians on Campus series already. Thank you for all your support. Please enjoy reading and don't forget to read my previous post on Christians on Campus: Gatherings, Activities, and A Message as well. The beginning of my first semester was not smooth. Although I had my own apartment, I felt like I was still a wanderer in a new city. I met tons of people, mainly Christians. It was great but something was missing. I didn't know how it all began. I met an upperclassman at UT, she was part of Christians on Campus. She was very friendly and accommodating, so I decided to get help from her, "Grace, I feel like I need an umbrella."  I remember sitting down in a cafe with her, having this conversation. She was somewhat confused by my strange comment. She asked what I meant by an umbrella. I told her, "I don't know why but within me, I feel like I need someone older to cover, to help me. You kno...

I'm having a hard time to crack open the most wonderful experience I've had with Christians on Campus. I keep thinking what's the best way to present the secret to my spiritual progress and human development in college. To be honest with you, I haven't found it yet. But I guess I can start by giving you a little background of how my first semester looked like. My mom's favorite ice cream. My mom and grandma went back home. Whenever I opened the freezer and saw that my mom's favorite ice cream was not there, I would start tearing up. It was rough, but I began to attend Christians on Campus various gatherings and activities.  There was an older man, involved with Christians on Campus, who would give a message every Saturday night. Every time he spoke, it was like he was speaking right into my inner being. Of course, he spoke from the Bible but he always had a way to make the Biblical points so practical and applicable to a young person...

This post is the continuation of my recent post, Christians on Campus - The Blackout . So my plane was obviously delayed for several hours, but I landed on Chicago and finally got back to Austin safely. My mom and grandma were very relieved seeing me again safe and sound. Days after that, I followed the news on the blackout. Looking at the photos of people living in darkness in the Northeast, of the total chaos in New York City, my heart just sank. Actually I was more in shock, realizing from what kind of situation I had escaped. Just reminiscing that time, I felt like I was not grateful enough to Someone who had faithfully cared for me.  Recently, I was listening to a fellowship given by an older brother in the Lord (he's associated with the Christians on Campus club). He said that actually all throughout our life God always has His hand over us to cover us, to protect us. I didn't really understand at first the magnitude of this statement. Now as I dw...