Owen on the News

A Blessing...

So this little story started with a facebook "conversation" with my sister-in-law, Ang, yesterday. She mentioned that Chris Tomlin had a concert in Minneapolis last night and that her and her husband were possibly going to his Chicago concert the next day, (today). While I had heard it over the radio for the past several months, I hadn't thought twice about it because it simply isn't within our means right now. But later, as I was writing in a prayer request to the local Christian station- about health for various family members, myself as well as a few other pertinent requests, I asked them to pray for my husband. I asked that he would be blessed because we have a had a very difficult few years as far as circumstances go. I shared that it was our 6 year anniversary since our first date and that if they had any extra tickets to the concert, I would love to bless my husband with a night of music and worship. Even as I wrote it, I didn't think for a second that anything would come of it. It just came out from my fingertips to the prayer- requesting e-mail.
I received an e-mail back saying they would certainly be praying, and asking others to pray, but that they didn't have any more tickets to give. I didn't care one bit- because prayer is really the most powerful and significant gift anyone can give us now. I thanked them and shared my whole-hearted appreciation.
A few hours later, I received another e-mail. They has rounded up 2 tickets for us and we could pick them up at "will-call". I started to tear up instantly- I was so moved. It wasn't even that I love Chris Tomlin's music- although I do. And it wasn't that I was so astounded by the kindness of this women- although I was. It was that God had orchestrated this small blessing. It was as if He said, "Kate, I love you and I love Jeremy. You didn't expect these tickets, nor should you, but I want to bless you with a night to enjoy Me and enjoy one another."
So, Jeremy and I enjoyed the concert and I truly met with God during that time. Our absolute favorite was singing "Amazing Grace" with thousands of others. It was simply beautiful.
But really, this wasn't about the concert. It wasn't about the radio station being kind. It was about God showing such love and saying, "I am here with You. I walk alongside you." I didn't need a concert to bask in this truth- but it was what He decided to use yesterday...

Thank you Lord, for your loving kindness.

Kate

Six years ago today...

I just realized that today marks six years from when Jeremy and I went on our first date! I wanted to write something dedicated to the love of my life...

Jeremy,

I love you more than you will ever know. When I met you, over six years ago, I knew instantly that you were different from anyone else I ever met. Once we started to "court", my first impressions were solidified- you were the man God intended for me. We have certainly had our share of 'valleys' in these past few years- but walking through those unintended journeys with you has made all the difference. THANK YOU for being you. Thank you for allowing God to shape you and take hold of your life. Thank you for loving me through sickness and health, joy and sorrow...as long as we both shall live. So here is to 60 more years of being best friends, of making eachother laugh like no one else can, and clinging to Christ together when all else seems to fail. Apart from knowing Christ, YOU are the biggest blessing I have ever and will ever know.

Your wife,

Katey

Be All There

(this picture was taken in November- on a pathway in the woods, just a few blocks from our home.)

Hello friends! Once again, I sit here and realize it has been over two months since my last post. I finished teaching the writing course at Minnesota School of Business and my schedule became much more manageable. Kate Wenzel Photography was busy from May-November but has really slowed down this month.

Jeremy finished up coaching at the beginning of November and it has been wonderful! We have been able to spend a lot of time together and we both love it. We have also been able to hang out with friends and family more. Today marks the start of the 2nd Trimester and Jeremy grows as a teacher with each one; I really believe he does an outstanding job.

We spent Thanksgiving with my family and are looking forward to heading to Milwaukee for Christmas. We have an adorable new nephew to meet and simply cannot wait!

This is a seemingly quiet time in our life and we need that. After several years of medical issues and thus, financial difficulty, we have been looking forward to times of rest. Now that I have a diagnosis- it is about adjusting our life to a place that works best for our little family. I can no longer look at life with the same set of expectations that I had before- but now I appreciate the "little" things so much more. I love going for walks with Jeremy and Owen- basking in the beauty of God's creation. I love watching a good movie, snuggled up by the fire with my wonderful husband. I love getting a long e-mail from a good friend. I love the chance to hold adorable babies at church nearly every Sunday. These are the little things that God gives that make life precious. It really doesn't come down to the house you live in, the car you drive, the title of your position at work or the extravagant vacation you went on...but about relationships- with God, with family and with friends. It is so easy to live a life where you are discontent. Where you just live and forget to live intentionally. So, I am learning the beautiful art of thankfulness- and how it changes the situations of life so dramatically.

I am also being stretched to TRUST God for things I cannot see. To wait patiently for something I believe He has called me to be but not yet; I am speaking of being a mom. Our situation is more complicated than that of a typical 25-year-old couple. With my diagnosis and progression of the illness, we have been told that the window to bear and care for infants is pretty small. We also have been made aware of a condition that impacts our ability to get pregnant quite a bit. All of this is sometimes heart-breaking. But I see His will in this...no, WE see His will in this and are moving forward in obedience and anticipation of what He desires for our lives. I simply ask for prayer. Please pray that I would experience peace and comfort. Only couples who have faced the same circumstance can understand- the longing to be parents and yet the possibility of that not happening on "your timeline" is difficult. Thankfully, others who have struggled through this have been placed in our lives and their wisdom and kindness makes all the difference. I am learning to LOVE the season Jeremy and I are in. I became discontent, wanting to move to that next stage so badly that I was missing the beauty of THIS time. Our marriage is wonderful, our love grows daily and we have a wonderful puppy to make us laugh. We have a great church family and incredible friends....so much to be thankful for! As Jim Elliot, the great missionary, once said, "wherever you are-be all there." I've decided to be "all there" for what God has for me TODAY.

Kate

The Home-Stretch

Hello beloved! We hope you are well! I am in the final week of teaching the college writing course. Due to the fact I have been working 70+ hours per week for the past 10 weeks, I gave my notice at the college. The good news is- I have an open invitation to come back if I want to at any point. Praise God for options. :)
Other than working, I have been sleeping. No, seriously...that is what my life has consisted of. I have an outstanding husband who has done more than his share of work around the house to keep us running. Thank you Jeremy for being wonderful in more ways than I can count. :) I love and cherish you. You are an incredible man.
I have started reading some interesting books in my spare time ( what spare time again?). :) I've decided to share those on the left hand side of this blog- check them out.
God is good and I have much to be thankful for. More to come in the coming weeks!

Blessings!
Kate (and Jeremy)

ps: Congrats to Karen, Casey, Rachel, Jess and more for your exciting news! We are praying for you and your babies wellbeing during these nine months. :)

From Streams in the Desert...

Songs of Praise Rise From Affliction
"Just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints" (Rev. 15:3).
The following incident is related by Mrs. Charles Spurgeon, who was a great sufferer for more than a quarter of a century:
"At the close of a dark and gloomy day, I lay resting on my couch as the deeper night drew on; and though all was bright within my cozy room, some of the external darkness seemed to have entered into my soul and obscured its spiritual vision. Vainly I tried to see the Hand which I knew held mine, and guided my fog-enveloped feet along a steep and slippery path of suffering. In sorrow of heart I asked,
"'Why does my Lord thus deal with His child? Why does He so often send sharp and bitter pain to visit me? Why does He permit lingering weakness to hinder the sweet service I long to render to His poor servants?'
"These fretful questions were quickly answered, and through a strange language; no interpreter was needed save the conscious whisper of my heart.
"For a while silence reigned in the little room, broken only by the crackling of the oak log burning in the fireplace. Suddenly I heard a sweet, soft sound, a little, clear, musical note, like the tender trill of a robin beneath my window.
"'What can it be? surely no bird can be singing out there at this time of the year and night.'
"Again came the faint, plaintive notes, so sweet, so melodious, yet mysterious enough to provoke our wonder. My friend exclaimed,
"'It comes from the log on the fire!' The fire was letting loose the imprisoned music from the old oak's inmost heart!
"Perchance he had garnered up this song in the days when all was well with him, when birds twittered merrily on his branches, and the soft sunlight flecked his tender leaves with gold. But he had grown old since then, and hardened; ring after ring of knotty growth had sealed up the long-forgotten melody, until the fierce tongues of the flames came to consume his callousness, and the vehement heart of the fire wrung from him at once a song and a sacrifice. 'Ah,' thought I, 'when the fire of affliction draws songs of praise from us, then indeed we are purified, and our God is glorified!'
"Perhaps some of us are like this old oak log, cold, hard, insensible; we should give forth no melodious sounds, were it not for the fire which kindles around us, and releases notes of trust in Him, and cheerful compliance with His will.
"'As I mused the fire burned,' and my soul found sweet comfort in the parable so strangely set forth before me.
"Singing in the fire! Yes, God helping us, if that is the only way to get harmony out of these hard apathetic hearts, let the furnace be heated seven times hotter than before."

Book Club: Chapter One

I really cannot add anything of value to what the women at GirlTalk wrote this week about Chapter 1. It is a convicting reminder and something that I am facing in my own life right now. Those "good things" are often what distract us from God, our relationship with Him and our aim to glorify Him. Please share your own thoughts - I'd love to have a great discussion going!
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We may run ourselves ragged doing many good things and yet miss what’s most important. Given the incessant “shouts from the misguided cultural sidelines” and our own wayward hearts, we easily become muddled, scattered, confused, and then overwhelmed. We lose the clarity of purpose found in Scripture’s guidance for our lives: both in the creation mandate and the wonderful privileges afforded us through the gospel.
But we must be careful that the good, even the very good, never replaces what Scripture says is most important. We must not try to “win it” in many good areas at the expense of “winning it” in the essentials. We must be clear on what Scriptures says are the priorities of our “position”: our spiritual growth, service in the church, evangelism, love for our husband and children, caring for our home.
We must ask ourselves—what am I spending my strength on? Where does most of my time and energy go? Where am I trying to “win it”? Have I allowed the good (even the very good) to distract me from Scripture’s clear assignment to me as a woman? Am I giving myself to temporal matters at the expense of the eternal? Have I unintentionally wandered from my position? Are there any good things that I need to give up in order to fulfill the role assigned to me in Scripture?
These questions are just to get you started. As you prayerfully consider them in light of God’s Word, He may prompt you with other probing questions that enable you to view your life through the lens of Scripture.
But let me encourage you to take time to evaluate your life and priorities. After all, what we’re playing for is nothing less than the commendation of our Lord and Savior: “Well done, you good and faithful servant.”
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I hope these words were both convicting and encouraging! :)

GirlTalk Book Club

Hello friends! I am doing a Book Club study with GirlTalk. If you haven't visited there before, I highly recommend it. Anyway, I'm pretty limited for time these days but I wanted to be involved in some sort of study and grow in my understanding of womanly godliness. It's pretty easy to commit to; simply purchase the book on e-bay or amazon and read one or two short chapters a week. Then, stay tuned on the GirlTalk site and even this site for updates and commentary. :) The book is called Womanly Dominion by Mark Chanski. ~Kate

His Face

"Lead me safely on to the eternal kingdom, not asking whether the road be rough or smooth. I request only to see the face of Him I love."

-Valley of Vision, pg. 103-

Summer Update...

Hello Friends and Family! I hope you are all well! I thought I would write a post and provide an update on our lives. Please know that we love you and pray for many of you often. We sincerely hope you are finding God's grace sufficient and His power is being made perfect in your weakness. (2 Corinthians 13). Below is an abbreviated version of life's newest happenings...

-Jeremy finished teaching two sections of summer school just this Friday. He is now focusing on getting ready to coach again and completing several projects at home. He had a great first year teaching and coaching but I believe he is looking forward to enjoying a month off.


- I received an opportunity to teach part-time at Minnesota School of Business. I will be teaching a Writing Fundamentals course starting July 21st. It is a big undertaking and will most likely be both challenging and rewarding in its own right. If this first Quarter goes well, I have the opportunity to then receive my MBA for free and continue teaching.

- Kate Wenzel Photography, (http://www.katewenzel.com/), is doing great! Word is getting out and I am becoming increasingly more busy with each passing month. It is both a blessing and bit overwhelming as neither Jeremy nor myself expected growth of this degree to occur this quickly.


- We just got back from a week-long vacation in La Crosse, Elkhart Lake and Door County, Wisconsin. During this time we were able to see friends from Christ Covenant Church, visit our college, attend a wedding, spend a few relaxing days at a beautiful resort and have quality time with family in Fish Creek. Even though we enjoyed our time, we were ready to get back to MN to our home and our puppy. :)


- The rest of summer should be both fun and extremely busy. We have our annual Wenzel Weekend in Milwaukee. We cannot wait to see our growing niece Emily- who is over a year and a half now!

- Lastly, we could use some prayer regarding my health. I continue to have varying degree's of pain in my joints, tissue and muscle as well as fevers, migraines and numbness in my limbs. It is both scary and aggravating. The most difficult aspect is waking up each morning with the extreme pain and uncertainty of what the day will look like. Some days are better than others, but the reality of this illness is never far from my mind. It impacts everyday tasks such as opening a jar of peanut butter and trying to lift a neighbor child for a hug. My hope and prayer is that I will learn and grow in my relationship with Jesus through this and be able to help others go through suffering by clinging to God. Life with this is about adjusting my expectations for myself in a given moment, hour, day and week. There are so many lessons to learn- I just pray I'm willing to learn them.

As we say goodbye again, I wanted to post a link to today's sermon at our Church, Glory of Christ. Click here to listen to it. It was a phenomenal sermon that spoke life into my weary soul. I hope you find it as such.

Blessings,

Kate

I was having a terrible morning today. The pain was aweful and the exhaustion acute. I was so ill, I was unable to attend church- something that I greatly look forward to each Sunday. Partly because truth is spoken to me and my eyes are lifted up to Him- and partly because of the wonderful fellowship and support that I experience there. I cried hard. I felt so alone, so overwhelmed and thoughts of desperation, of hopelessness consumed me...thinking, I cannot possibly endure this day-in and day-out. I eventually fell into a deep sleep and awoke with a better sense of knowing that through God's grace, I CAN endure- but still dwelling on what I do not have, what I cannot do or what I miss out on due to the chronic illnesses...
Because I had missed church, I wanted to listen to a sermon. I somehow ended up a the Girl Talk Blog...if you haven't been there before- I highly encourage it. Before I knew it, I was listening to the 55 minute talk from a woman named Rachel. Rachel Barkey has been diagnosed with terminal cancer. Rachel is a wife, a mother of two young children, and she is not expected to live to see her 38th birthday. Several weeks ago, Rachel shared a message with a group of women entitled “Death is Not Dying: A Faith that Saves.”
As I listened...I felt tears well up in my eyes- this time not because I was feeling sorry for myself, questioning God, or focusing on my feelings and circumstances- but because I see the beautiful and transforming power of the Lord in a women with a circumstance exponentially more difficult than my own. I nearly passed by this talk of hers- but I am so glad that I did not- it was some of the best moments I have ever spent. I ask that you would take that time... do it while your folding clothes, paying bills, or washing dishes- just give 55 minutes of this day to listen to what life (and death) really is.

Living to bring Him glory by enjoying Him forever,

Kate

it is well with my soul

As I sit down to write an over-due update…the sun is just beginning to rise and illuminate the beauty that is the Lord’s creation. Moments like these are precious. Life seems to quiet and your heart seems to still long enough to experience a great sense of peace. With the overwhelming turn of events in the last few months, I am grateful for right now. Because it has been so long, I thought it would be easier to summarize the changes in life over the past several weeks.

- At the end of February, I was involved in a car accident in which the guy who rear-ended me fled the scene. I am still feeling the effects of that day on my back and neck but am trusting I will begin to feel better soon.

- After seeing a Rheumatologist and ruling out other medical conditions, I have been diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis. This explains my severe joint swelling and pain as well as my constant fevers and fatigue. It is a blessing in one sense because we now know what we face…it’s no longer an ambiguous monster, but a disease we can learn about and target head-on.

- Largely due to my medical conditions, we made the decision (at the recommendation of my Doctors) to quit my job as Office Manager at the Chiropractic & Massage Center. Yesterday was my last day and I am now going to turn my focus to Kate Wenzel Photography and taking care of myself medically. This way, I can decide my own hours, take rests when I need to and listen to my body when it screams it is crashing. I hope and pray this will lead to some improvement physically.

- We have found a WONDERFUL Church! The Lord has provided (in His perfect timing, as always), an incredible body of believers that have truly strengthened and encouraged me. The woman of the church have helped in practical ways such as coming to help clean our house every few weeks and providing meals throughout the week of the car accident. Once again, God has shown His amazing faithfulness through His people. We are forever thankful for these new and cherished friends. In addition to this example of working as a body, the teaching is solid and doctrine is held fast. Praise God for bringing us to Glory of Christ church!

- In other news, Jeremy has continued to be quite busy. He is currently an Assistant Coach for Track and was also given the opportunity to teach an extra class after school. Although these things consume his time and energy- they are blessings and he seems to truly enjoy all of it. I am so blessed to have such a hard-working husband. I know he is greatly looking to his upcoming Spring Break and now even more so with his whole family flying in to visit us for Easter weekend!

So as I look forward to the coming months- I am experiencing a sense of anticipation and yes, fear. I am excited to have time to focus on getting the rest, eating the diet and doing the limited exercise that may help me as I cope with RA. I am excited to continue to grow my business and blessed by the fact I have booked many clients for May and June. I am looking forward to understanding all my medical options and selecting the best course. I am learning to be thankful for the small things- like the days when it doesn’t hurt to breathe and the sun is shining, or when my joints feel well and my fatigue lessened enough to enjoy a walk with my husband and puppy. And a good life truly consists of responding to adversities with hopefulness and a clinging to all that is true- not the absence of suffering. Without Christ as my rock and refuge- all of this would be insurmountable. Thankfully, I am His and His grace sustains me.

Thank you for your continued prayers and love, Kate

Blessings

I don't have time to write long- but I did just want to say that this weekend was an amazing one of fellowship and being spiriturally restored! We've updated our prayers and praises to the right so please check them out! Also, we believe we are getting closer to finding out more specifically what health issues I am facing! Praise God for that!

Thank you for your continued prayers and love!

Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. - 2 Corinthians

God's Megaphone?

I have been reading Elisabeth Elliot’s book entitled Loneliness with a dear friend of mine and several points have really struck me… maybe because of my personal relation to them, or maybe because of the truth they speak- or perhaps both! In the beginning of the book she opens with this, “…as I began to learn about suffering I learned that trusting in those strong arms means that even our suffering is under control. We are not doomed to meaninglessness. A loving Purpose is behind it all, a great tenderness even in the fierceness.”

What beautiful words. What true comfort… to know that while we experience suffering, and we will- because a life with Christ doesn’t exclude suffering but always INCLUDES it- but that while we walk through the valleys, we can take heart in KNOWING that there is a divine purpose in this season. To know that although life feels like utter chaos, there is order in that it is in His sovereign hand. And as I read on, I came to a sentence that I believe God was speaking directly to me. “But a pure faith would be worth far more to God than all the service she had hoped to render if poor health had not interrupted her plans.” It was as if this sentence was written to my soul. It meets me right where I currently am. I so long to serve God in very real ways- short term missions, seminary, woman’s and children’s ministry, ministry to those who are poverty-stricken, foster care, dinners for my husband after a long day of work for both of us, and the list goes on. These are things God has so imparted in my heart- given me such a passion for…and yet I am so incredibly limited in my physical abilities. I find my sinful nature rears its ugly and too-familiar head and I begin to think thoughts that bring no glory to Him. Thoughts of why has he imparted these passions within me if I cannot act on them while so many healthy individuals could care less and yet have all the health to minister in those ways. But I catch myself sometimes and know that asking “why” is pointless- not to mention sinful because it means that I am not trusting His perfect wisdom and purpose. It means I am starting to believe the tempting lie that I know better than my Lord, Creator and King. It is a grievous error- one that I must rest upon His grace and mercy for. And then I read these words from one of my favorite woman authors…words that pierce right to the core of my questions and aching heart. All of those endeavors of servant hood should be done for one reason: to bring glory to my Lord and to please Him alone. And to know, to realize that a pure faith, an intimate relationship that magnifies Who He is… THAT pleases Him more- THAT is the ultimate aim. I am able to do this. I am able to go through the fire of what I consider suffering on a small level compared to the millions who agonize through far worse- and come out with a faith tested and purer than before. If this illness purges the parts of me to allow room for Him to make His home, for Him to be seen, then this sickness in itself is a beautiful ministry- full of purpose and servanthood. Now, unfortunately, I don’t always have this perspective- this “big picture” wisdom. No, unfortunately, I battle real thoughts of anger, frustration, uncertainty and feelings of purposeless and unbelief. But I am thankful that those situations give me the opportunity to turn back to scripture for guidance and truth. I am keenly aware of my feebleness, of my failures, and am constantly humbled by the limitations the illness puts on me and my lack of graciously reacting to these limitations. But I know that He meets me here. He meets me in these times. He knows the WHYs and the Ifs… I praise Him for the reality that His faithfulness is completely unrelated to my own. What a good God we serve. And C.S. Lewis brings a great summation to all of this for me…the man was big on free will which isn’t great but he has a lot of wise and true statements as well… after all, he was human and we tend to miss the mark sometimes, don’t we? Anyway, Clive puts it eloquently:

“Pain is God’s megaphone. He whispers to us in our joys, speaks to us in our conscience and shouts to us in our pain.” While God’s tone and “loudness” most likely remains consistent, we so often are ready to listen while in pain and suffering. The world and its offerings are stripped from us, leaving us with that still, quiet voice that belongs to our LORD.

Are you listening?

Love in Christ, always, Kate

Ps: Even in writing this the Lord gave me a great realization… something that prods at me from time to time but I seem to forget or ignore far too easily; I may not be able to DO some of the ministry I long to, but oh I can PRAY for those that can! I can do that in bed, with no energy to move but only the ability to offer up weak yet sincere prayers to the God of all things. I have long wanted to grow in my prayer-life and perhaps this is the vehicle to start on that. Any thoughts on how you’ve grown in your own prayer disciplines would be wonderful!