Gifts

“For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands.  For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.”

2 Timothy 1:6,7

Paul tells us to fan into flame the gift of God, to turn on our gifts that God has so blessed us with. 

God has blessed me with the ability to run. I’m not saying that that is the gift he has so wonderfully blessed me with; I am still working on figuring that one out. But he has given me the ability to run. Maybe not gracefully or well but the ability to run nevertheless

On January 8, 2012 I am running the Disney World Marathon to grant a wish with the Make-A-Wish Foundation. There is a child who has the wish to go to Disney World and with your help I'll be able to grant that wish.

For a while I have been too scared to do this since I didn’t complete it last year and have just been worried that I won't be able to do this one. However, after having read these verses I know that I can do the marathon. Although I know that I am scared of not being able to complete the marathon, I also know that God has given me the power, love for running, and the self-discipline to actually go out and do it. 

So I am asking for your support.  I am asking for you to pray about how God wants you to support me, whether in your prayers or with your pledge. 

If you feel like God is calling you to pledge, pray about how much you should pledge whether it’s a dollar per mile or a cent per mile. Whatever it is, please email me at runningtothewell@yahoo.com.

You can also go to the Make-A-Wish site and read more about it.

http://friends.wish.org/049-000/page/katie-puckett/running-to-the-well.htm

Love,

Katie

The Great Adventure

“Then he said to him, ‘FOLLOW ME!’”

John 21:19b

I love it when Jesus says follow me.  I truly do.  And he tells us to each and every day!

He desires for us to follow him!…and when we follow him whole heartedly he takes us on a great adventure. 

Each run I go on is an adventure. God takes me up hills that I would not be able to conquer without him giving me the strength.  God shows me his glory in all the trees I am surrounded by.  God places things on my heart while I am running.

I want to go on the greatest adventure I can think of…which means that it will be 5374284732 times better than what I can actually think of because God is in charge!

I am going on an adventure with and for God! How ballin’ is that?!

When I follow God wholeheartedly he takes me on the adventure of a lifetime, he throws me on a rollercoaster, he sends me places I don’t want to go, he puts me in the most awkward situations, he leads me down roads that seem never ending, he is right beside me the whole way!

Heavenly Father! Take me on the great adventure that is my life!

Check it:

http://friends.wish.org/049-000/page/katie-puckett/running-to-the-well.htm

This wish that we will be granting will be one of the greatest adventures, not only I have gone on but one that this little boy or girl will never forget.  

Love,

Katie

God's Gifts

“If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in Heaven give good things to those who ask him!”

Matthew 7:11

Well I am shaking and very overwhelmed with what I am about to tell you! Because I just got off the phone with some people who told me some incredible news! I am not sure how to tell y’all this because it is just so wonderful.

I have been asking God to show me where he wanted me to serve him, He’s already showed me all the ways I can serve him in the Chi Omega house…but this is so awesome and I get to personally be involved. 

I guess I should tell you now…

My next marathon is in Disney World (The one in Florida). 

Ha that’s not the incredible news though…The incredible news is this…

WE, together, get to grant a wish for Make-A-Wish through this marathon. 

Since I wasn’t very good about logging my mileage last go around, things are going to go a little differently…you will only pledge to the 26.2 miles of the actual marathon and there will be a email I will send out that will tell you so much more and it will have a way for you to donate directly to our specific kid!

Isn’t this wonderful?!

Jesus wasn’t lying when he said the Father will give you GREAT gifts.

Love,

Katie

Nicaragua

"Dear children, let us not love with words or in tongue but with actions and in truth."

1 John 3:18

Nicaragua was amazing.  The people were amazing! I am not sure where to start but as of now I am doing fun rush things, so I can't tell you all of the wonderful stories.  But here are a few pictures that are some of my favorites.  Thank you so much for your prayers, they were definitely felt.  

Love,

Katie

Tomorrow

“Only be careful, and watch yourselves so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart for as long as you live.  Teach them to your children and their children after them.”

Deuteronomy 4:9

Tonight I will pack.

Tonight my mom will come in 50000000 times to remind me that I can only have one little baggie of liquid in my carry on.

Tonight I will not be able to sleep.

Tonight I will praise my GOD who is beyond wonderful!

Tomorrow I will wake up at 3:30 a.m.

Tomorrow my dad will be stressing as we leave the house.

Tomorrow I will cry tears of joy.

Tomorrow will be a day I will never forget.

TOMORROW I WILL BE IN NICARAGUA.

In less than 5 hours I will wake up to leave my house for the airport to fly down to Nicaragua, a place I have thought about everyday for two years.  I can’t put in words how overjoyed I am. 

I remember the day I started to plan this mission trip.  I got back from camp and instantly showed my mom Project Chacocente's website and told her that I was going to go on a mission trip there and that my small group had decided to plan a mission trip there.

IT’S ACTUALLY HAPPENING!

Words could not describe how excited I am.  Tears could not show how overjoyed I am.  Shouts of praise could only begin to show how wonderful our God is.  

I am going to Nicaragua.  Tomorrow. 

As we are down there please keep us in your prayers!

GOD IS AWESOME!

Love,

Katie

Off the Dump

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.  The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”

2 Corinthians 5:17

Project Chacocente (Out of the Dump) works to get people off the dumping sites of Managua, Nicaragua.  However the people are not just handed their houses nor do they receive a pat on the back, they have to work for it.  These people who live on the dumps are offered the opportunity of a lifetime to get off the dump and start a new life.  They have to commit to seven years; in the seven years they help to build their own house, the parents pick a profession so they can provide for themselves, the kids have to be in school, and the parents have to take a parenting class.

Just as these people have the chance to get off the dump so do we. 

No.  I do not mean literally.  We have the chance to say “Alright, Jesus you are my Lord and Savior and the rest of my life I am going to serve you and bow down to only you, giving you all of my praises each day.” 

We have the chance to do that!  And the second we do that we become new again!  How awesome is that? 

But, uh oh, there’s a catch…

You see, we don’t commit to seven years, or building our own homes.  No, we get to commit to a lifetime in which we are so unworthy of having.  A lifetime of service.  A lifetime in which we should sing praises to our awesome and all powerful GOD each and every second of each and every day!  

And what’s even better…is that is exactly what God wants.  He wants to be your God and he wants you to be a new creation because, well, sometimes we just have too much trash.

And here’s a secret…

Lean in real close…

No seriously do it.

Are you ready?

In Christ, you’re a new creation.  Meaning you’re off that dumping site. 

Love everyone.  Serve God.  Be a new creation.  Today.

Love,

Katie

God's Bigness

“For what gives you the right to make such a judgment? What do you have that God hasn’t given you?  And if everything you have is from God, why do you boast as though it were not a gift?”

1 Corinthians 4:7

In my opinion Paul asks a very reasonable question.  What do I have that is actually mine?

Nothing, Paul, nothing.

God has blessed me with every single thing I have in my room, in my car, in my house, in my heart!  Everything I have, I have received. 

At the end of Matthew 10:8 Jesus says “Freely you have received, Freely give.”

Those two verses put me in my place.  What are we doing that God could not do on His own?  Seriously think about it…

God created every type of tree we have, and each one has a different purpose. 

God created the Universe and Heaven.

God created me in His image (That one just makes me smile and so giggly).  God created you in His image.  Ponder that one.  Awesome, right?

God blessed me with everything I have.  He blessed me with the ability to run.  He blessed me with my car.  He blessed me with the parents who can send me to college.  I didn’t just come up with all of that or the money to pay for all of it on my own (nor did my parents), that is for sure. 

God gave me everything I have.  God gave you everything you have. 

Freely you have received, freely give.

Love,

Katie

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart,

and do not lean on your own understanding.

In all your ways acknowledge him,

And he will make straight your paths.

Be not wise in your own eyes;

Fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.

It will be healing to your flesh

And refreshment to your bones.”

Proverbs 3:5-8

This is my freshman year…first I would like to say I did learn a few things…but God rocked my world and continually told me he was in control and his plans have been awesome! I cannot wait for my future to be revealed to me!

Story1:

Approximately 15 of my friends and I decided to camp out for the BAMA game, which meant sleeping on wet grass or hard concrete.  People drove up and down stadium honking and yelling woo pig sooie.  I am a hog fan but 3 in the morning when I am working on 2 hours of sleep from the night before…I think I can live without the woo pig.  We made signs to reserve our spots on the grass, even though we had a 10 person tent, so 15 students lay down their sweat heads for a good nights rest…yeah right, we were woken up at 6 (we went to bed at 4) to a lady walking by saying “Oh, look they made name tags!” Click, she took a picture.  The game was mediocre, we lost, and I was dead tired for the second half.  Talk about testing patience.

Story 2:

My roommate Mal and I go to bed pretty early, at least for a good part of freshman year.  We would get in bed by 11 at the latest, well our neighbors went to bed at the earliest 2 in the morning.  So consequently they would come into the room and wake us up.  One night Shelbz came in with a MONUMENTAL problem…She did not know who she was going to take to our upcoming function…I asked if we needed to solve that problem now, when she replied no, I told her to get out and we would talk about it at a later date.  

Story 3:

I just said bye to Shelbz, and she just landed in Chicago and our goodbye was funny, she ran out of the room when she teared up which caused me to tear up and then gave me a bottle of laxatives…long story short one night, one late night at about 2 we decided to order this acai berry cleanse, which we later come to find out is a laxative, the next day we are still laughing about this incidence and then when we check our bank accounts we are out $45…oops.  Don’t worry we never took them and we got our money back after many calls to the company.

I could go on with so many more stories but I’ll stop.  Freshman year has been an experience.  From knowing no one, to having 10 friends I can call at any point and they would come over.  God has done so many things in my life and he is doing wonderful things all around me. 

His path isn’t going to be the easiest path to take but it’s the right one, and it is the one I want to be on.  It leads me straight to him! Think about that one, God’s path leads us straight to him, duh, and it’s great!

Love,

Katie

The Karen People

“Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good?  But even if you should suffer for what is right you are blessed.  ‘Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened.’  But in your hearts sat apart Christ as Lord.  Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asked you to give the reason for the hope that you have.  But do this with gentleness and respect keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavios in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.  If is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.”

1 Peter 3:13-17

The Karen people are a tribe living in western Thialand.  I was reading a book when I came across a story about them so I decided I would do a little research of my own. 

There are many different subgroups of the Karen one group in particular wears the rings around their necks, which don’t actually lengthen their neck, but make their collar bones almost become part of their neck (at least that is my understanding of it).  There are many theories on why they do this, one being the rings prevent the women from being bitten by a tiger…that’s personally my favorite theory.  Another one is that they wear the rings, because a longer neck is more attractive which will bring the hotties to them.

Most Karen used to be Animist but most are now Buddhist.  However 15% are now Christians!  The Karen also have a story of how they are unable to get to God:

“The Karen believe they are the oldest son of God.  God had seven sons.  The next was the Burmese, the Chinese, etc.  They believe that the white brother is the youngest.  The Karen are a slash and burn culture, and one day when they were clearing out their field, God came and told them he was going on a long journey across the ocean.  He asked the Karen if they wanted to go with Him.  The Karen told Him that he was too busy.  God asked each of the brothers, but they all declined to go, except for the youngest brother, the white brother.  God and the White brother went far away across the sea.

When they got to their destination God wrote a book and sent it back to the Karen to tell him how to get where God was.  When Karen got it, he was still busy clearing the field, so he put it on a stump.  Forgetting it was there, he burned the field and lost the book.  Ever since, the Karen have mourned the loss of the book.  They also foretold that one day their white brother would return from across the sea and sit under a tree with a book and tell them how to get to God.”

Expert from Passion for the Heart of God by John Willis Zumwalt

Well one day a missionary stepped off a boat…sat down under a tree…with his bible!!!  This is awesome!  It's true!!  15% of the Karen are now Christians because this one missionary sat down and read his bible (normal). 

This story also has a good lesson.  How often are you too busy to read God’s awesome word.  I mean I’m guilty of this.  I have finals this coming week and 5 papers due Monday, so I have placed God’s wonderful word on a stump and left it there.  But God should be our priority, God should be our number one!  After all he did create us (in his image I’d like to add).

The Karen are actively pursuing their faith in a land where the government keeps close watch on Christians, many ministers have been killed, and churches have been burned.  We live a safe Christian faith too often.  

Who is going to harm you for wanting to do good?  Sure people are going to talk about you but what about heaven, when we all GET to bow down to the creator of the universe, have him judge us, then say but you are saved and I LOVE YOU!  

When are you going to risk everything for God and his people?

When am I?

Love,

Katie 

It's Not A Chore

I started running track because sprinting was about even with flipping through the air on the scale of how awesome I felt, I felt like nothing could stop me.

I ran the Cowtown Marathon last year to prove to my friends that I could actually do it.

Completing the marathon was one of the greatest and worst feelings ever.  I was able to say heck yeah I ran 26.2 miles but best of all afterward my parents took me to Babes where I was able to give my body triple the calories I burned from the marathon.  But at the exact same time all I wanted to do was lay down and not get up, and never run again.

I started running again because I wasn’t doing it for myself or to prove my friends wrong.

I was doing it for the people of Managua, Nicaragua who need real food and real homes.

I was doing it for all the people around the world who don’t have clean water.

I was doing it because I wanted to make a difference.

But then it turned into a chore, oh well I need to go run 10 miles so that I’ll be able to run 26.2 May 1^st. 

I love running.

I love helping people.

I don’t want either of those to be a chore.

What I am saying is that I am not going to be running the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon May 1.  However, I will still be running 600 miles by the time July 26 rolls around. 

I don’t want this to be a chore and I want to be doing it for the right reasons.  Knowing that I am not going to have to run a marathon in 2 weeks is a big relief.  Knowing that I can just run because I want to and because I am, hopefully, somewhere, making a difference.

I am still running for the people of Managua, Nicaragua that I will get to have my life changed by this summer.

I am still running for the people all around the world who don’t have clean water.

I am still running to make a difference…hopefully.

The only difference is there will be no marathon involved, just a goal of 600 miles.

Love,

Katie

Nicaragua

“Is it not to share your food with the hungry

and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—

when you see the naked to clothe the him,

and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?”

Isaiah 58:7

Nicaragua

• Nicaragua is the largest of the central American republics
• The illiteracy rate in Nicaragua is 23.3%
• GDP per capita is $1,028, which is 2% of the U.S.
• The mortality rate for children under the age of 5 is 38 per 1000
• 43% of people in Nicaragua live in a rural area, 2 of those 3 people survive on less than $1 a day
• 46% live in poverty, 15.1% live in extreme poverty
• Children living in regions in crisis about 40% are undernourished 
• 97% of Nicaraguans are Christian

This is what breaks my heart.

These people have so little, yet so many people are willing to give everything they have up to a stranger to help them out. 

The people of Chacocente are living on the trash.  Eating the trash.  Wearing the trash.  And offering up what they have.

I am so blessed to have everything I do, but even more than that I am blessed to get to go down there and spend time with those people.  Love those people.  Help those people.  And I cannot wait.  

Love,

Katie

Time

First I am going to apologize for the length of this post but I received an email today with this poem in it.  It was written by a girl who has 6 months left to live and just wants to see how many people will see her poem.  I don't know her name or anything about her so I can't give her credit but oh how I would love to meet her.  She seems as though she has way more wisdom that I could ever wish for.

SLOW DANCE

Have you ever 

watched 

kids

On a merry-go-round?

Or listened to 

the 

rain

Slapping on the ground?

Ever followed a 

butterfly's erratic flight?

Or gazed at the sun into the 

fading 

night?

You better slow down.

Don't 

dance so 

fast.

Time is short.

The music 

won't 

last.

Do you run through each day

On 

the 

fly?

When you ask How are you?

Do you hear 

the 

reply?

When the day is done

Do you lie 

in your 

bed

With the next hundred chores 

Running through 

your head?

You'd better 

slow down

Don't dance so 

fast.

Time is 

short.

The music won't 

last.

Ever told your 

child, 

We'll do it 

tomorrow?

And in your 

haste,

Not see 

his

sorrow?

Ever lost 

touch,

Let a good 

friendship die 

Cause you 

never had time 

To call 

and say,'Hi'

You'd 

better slow down.

Don't dance 

so fast.

Time 

is short.

The music won't 

last..

When you run 

so fast to get somewhere

You 

miss half the fun of getting 

there.

When you worry and hurry 

through your 

day,

It is like an unopened 

gift....

Thrown 

away.

Life is not a 

race.

Do take it 

slower

Hear the 

music

Before the song is 

over.

We all rush through life, I'm guilty of it.  


I make to-do lists constantly because when I get to highlight something off of it I feel so accomplished.  But is that what I really want to be remembered for?  Finishing my life to-do list?


I want people to look at my life and say wow God changed her life and consumed her.  


I don't want to leave anything left on the track.  Give it everything I have and leave with nothing.  


Stop and smell the flowers.


Stop and call your best friend right now.


Stop and Listen to God.


Just stop.


Love,
Katie

Half Marathon

“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize?  Run in such a way as to get the prize.  Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training.  They do it to get a crown that will not last; we do it to get a crown that will last forever.  Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air.  No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.”

1 Corinthians 9:24-27

I ran my half marathon this morning.  It took my 2 hours and 24 minutes.  The only thing that hurts is my back…not my legs, not my feet or my blister on my foot, my back. 

One of my best friends, David ran his marathon in 3 hours and 9 minutes.  Finishing 45 minutes after I finished my half.  He qualified for Boston Marathon and this was his first marathon. Stud right?

When it comes to running, I generally don’t run for time, I am just trying to finish.  I mean I may not get a crown but I get a metal, the same metal as the person in front of me. 

It doesn’t last forever.  It will hang on my wall along with last year’s metals in their shadow boxes, so that I can look at them and remember how for some odd reason I decided to run.

God wants us to look at the eternal prize, Him.  Not that metal or finisher shirt waiting for us right after we cross the finish line. 

God wants us to prepare and we should want to prepare for him.  I prepare for my marathons like nobody’s business.  I need to prepare for him just as much! 

Love,

Katie 

The Greatest Love Affair

“And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.

“God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.  In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him.  There is no fear in love.  But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment.  The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

            “We love because he first loved us.  If anyone says, “I love God,” yet hates his brother, he is a liar.  For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.  And his has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.”

1 John 4:16-21

Love.

I love donuts on a Saturday morning after a long run…or not after a long run.  I love donuts. 

I generally love running. 

I love serving people. 

I love God.  God loves me.

Hate.

I hate the word hate.  But I probably use it too much.  Never about people, mostly about the foods I dislike. 

When you think about it, we all dislike something, maybe even hate it.  But we are called to love. 

God loves us no matter what. 

I mean I’m in college and love the thought of some guy singing up to my window. 

But if you think about it, truly think about.  We have the greatest love anyone could ever want.  We have unconditional love coming from God, who I would like to add created the earth!

We have the master of the universe loving us.  Unconditionally. 

I have the greatest love I could have ever imagined. 

You do too.

Love,

Katie

Answered Prayers

“And pray in the spirit on all occasions with all kinds of requests with this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.”

Ephesians 6:18

Throughout the bible you hear of people like Hannah who prayed and fasted until the Lord answered their prayers, for Hannah it was a son!   

There are so many times throughout the day that I forget to just stop and pray for whatever it is that I am worried about because God can take that weight.

But not only to just pray but to pray faithfully, knowing that God is going to answer my prayers, it may not be the way that I want them answered but they will be answered.

I found myself going on these long runs and just jamming to my music and not even thinking about why I kept running in the first place.

I kept running because I was no longer doing it for myself but for people in need.

So why would I not be praying for these people and nations as I run?

It took me a while to figure this out and once I had figured it out I was just so upset with myself that I had to take several days off from running to really sort things out. 

But I think a lot of the time we forget how powerful prayer really can be and that we shouldn’t just be praying for ourselves and our loved ones, but for the people who don’t have loved ones that pray for them everyday. 

We NEED to pray for all the Lord’s people because all the Lord’s people NEED our prayers.

Love,

Katie

Headlamps and Railroads

“When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world.  Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

John 8:12

           

Light is an essential.  God made it.  He is the light.

I like running at night, however it rarely happens.  Considering I am a girl, living on a college campus, with a protective dad, a roommate who threatens to call him if I do go running at night, and no light.

Pros to running at night:

The run is significantly prettier.

My dad is somewhat really against it

Cons to running at night:

I scare myself

When running at night you have to have a headlamp if you aren’t going to be running on the street.  I ran on the railroad tracks, so I needed that headlamp. 

Just like that headlamp last night lit my path on the railroad tracks and stopped me and my friend I went with from breaking our ankles, God is that for literally every aspect of our lives. 

Just like the railroad tracks were the path that I followed, God wants to be the path that I follow along.

Jesus doesn’t just want to be our headlamp he IS our headlamp!

Jesus doesn’t just want to be our railroad tracks he IS our railroad track!

Love,

Katie

What do you run for?

“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.  Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training.  They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get the crown that will last forever.  Therefore do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air.  No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.”

1 Corinthians 9:24-27

 I think about this passage a lot.  I think it applies to a lot of things that we as humans go through. 

In this passage Paul is telling us to prepare.  We all prepare for tests, work, different games, etc. but do we fully prepare ourselves for God and all the wonderful things God has in store for us? 

We all often times walk around aimlessly. 

However we all seem to be in a hurry.

But for what?

Do we truly prepare ourselves for the things we are going to come into contact with?

Can we ever truly be prepared?

Am I ever going to be prepared to see what I am going to see when I go on mission trips? 

Probably not, but I am prepared to have my life changed and to maybe change some one else's life.  

I used run to prove to my best friends that I could finish 26.2 miles. 

I now run to prepare myself.  I run for that crown that will last forever.  I run for change.

What do you run for?

Love,

Katie

How Great Would it Be!

When you are running, unless you are running with someone else, you are left with nothing but the road, the clothes you have on, and your mind.  You let your mind wander, and the best thing you can do is forget that you are actually running then you realize that you don’t know where you have been running or how long since you thought about the fact that you are running.  It’s like a free mile! It’s the best!

            The same thing happens to me when I’m reading the bible, I get so wrapped up in what I’m reading, it’s like a movie playing in my mind, I can see everything and then I look at my phone and have five missed calls and several texts, and I’m left wondering how long I have been reading. 

            How great would it be if we got so lost in everything we did that time was no longer a concern or that dumb technology was forgotten?           

            How great would it be if we could all work like this? If when we were all on mission trips that we just loved what we were doing so much that we get so wrapped up in serving the people who need us that we forgot that we had the most comfortable life back home!

           

            How great would it be if all college students could get so wrapped up in their studies that no one ever wanted to just sit and hang out but they just constantly wanted to be learning? Never thinking of that comfortable bed that is right above their desk or that new movie that just came out!

            How great would that be?!  If we all did that we could change the world!  People would be serving everyone they came into contact with because they loved serving others!  Every college student would have a 4.0 just because they loved studying!  Every runner would get lost in their runs and forget how long they had been running for!  Every Christian would get so wrapped up in their faith that they could never take their eyes off the eternal prize! JESUS CHRIST!

             

            How great would that be?! Really though, think about it.  

Love,

Katie