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!
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Friday, December 19, 2008
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Friday, December 12, 2008
Thanksgiving and such...
Well, I figured it had been a while since we've posted an update or anything. Like most of you, we have been very busy celebrating and getting ready for the holidays! Over Thanksgiving, we were able to go to visit Jeremy's family in Milwaukee for a long weekend. During this time, we celebrated thanksgiving, Christmas and our beautiful niece Emily's 1st birthday!~ Needless to say, it was a packed weekend. :) It was wonderful for us to spend time with family and talk, play games, etc. Unfortunately, I had a serious relapse of my chronic fatigue and it left me in bed for over 24 hours. Thankfully, I have since made improvements. I am learning more and more what my limitations are and sometimes I certainly push myself more than the illness will allow... and that's when i "crash". Overall, it was a lovely time.
Since then we have been working, enjoying actually having time with one another due to the Volleyball season being over for Jeremy and visiting a few more churches. We have narrowed it down to two churches...one in Anoka and one in Elk River. We want to attend each one a few more times before we make our decision but I do believe the doctrine is sound and the preaching good at either one.
My Designs by Kate business has obviously slowed down quite a bit as a result of me not having an indoor studio currently. However, without pursuing any sessions, I have had two people contact me and just completed one session today in Plymouth and will be doing a sports session later this month. I was also privileged to speak in several Economics classes about Entrepreneurship and enjoyed that experience greatly!
I wanted to say another thank you to everyone who prayed for us during the theft situation. Things are finally pretty much all wrapped up regarding the money being refunded, etc. There are no leads as to catching the suspects but I have forgiven and am trying to regain a general sense of security. The whole circumstance was one I wouldn't wish anyone to go through but know that it is unfortunately fairly common.
In all, we are starting to adjust to our new jobs, home, and city... and looking forward to a few days off during Christmas and New Years to spend with family. I'll post a few pics of the weekend at the wenzel's over thanksgiving! More to come later....
Love in Christ and Happy Holidays,
J & K
Owen in his sweater that I bought him for $2 at Target b/c it was hilarious. He wore it for all of about 3 hours. :) Now it's a chew toy.
Jeremy w/ Emily: (this pictures makes my heart melt!)
Since then we have been working, enjoying actually having time with one another due to the Volleyball season being over for Jeremy and visiting a few more churches. We have narrowed it down to two churches...one in Anoka and one in Elk River. We want to attend each one a few more times before we make our decision but I do believe the doctrine is sound and the preaching good at either one.
My Designs by Kate business has obviously slowed down quite a bit as a result of me not having an indoor studio currently. However, without pursuing any sessions, I have had two people contact me and just completed one session today in Plymouth and will be doing a sports session later this month. I was also privileged to speak in several Economics classes about Entrepreneurship and enjoyed that experience greatly!
I wanted to say another thank you to everyone who prayed for us during the theft situation. Things are finally pretty much all wrapped up regarding the money being refunded, etc. There are no leads as to catching the suspects but I have forgiven and am trying to regain a general sense of security. The whole circumstance was one I wouldn't wish anyone to go through but know that it is unfortunately fairly common.
In all, we are starting to adjust to our new jobs, home, and city... and looking forward to a few days off during Christmas and New Years to spend with family. I'll post a few pics of the weekend at the wenzel's over thanksgiving! More to come later....
Love in Christ and Happy Holidays,
J & K
Owen in his sweater that I bought him for $2 at Target b/c it was hilarious. He wore it for all of about 3 hours. :) Now it's a chew toy.
Jeremy w/ Emily: (this pictures makes my heart melt!)
Is she not adorable? :)
Bathtime!
Emily opening gifts:
Emily and Kate:
Siblings: :)
the girls!
The whole gang...
Bathtime!
Emily opening gifts:
Emily and Kate:
Siblings: :)
the girls!
The whole gang...
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Update on the Theft
Hello friends! It has been one week since the theft occurred and things are MUCH better. Since Friday, I really started to sense the peace of the Lord and He gave me perspective and endurance. Thank you for your prayers because I certainly felt them! :)
Today we finally got access to our checking account again and we are still waiting for new credit cards to come. I really didn't realize how much we depend on money to survive...I mean, I couldn't do ANYTHING without my cards or access to any money... we are so in need of those resources to get through our day-to-day lives and it is something that is humbling and forced me to rely more on God.
The police are not acting too quickly to solve this case but there may be some footage of the women as they attempted to use my card at Holiday and Exxon Gas Stations in the area. Please do continue to pray for protection against identity theft and for continued peace.
Thanks again and know that we love you!!!
Today we finally got access to our checking account again and we are still waiting for new credit cards to come. I really didn't realize how much we depend on money to survive...I mean, I couldn't do ANYTHING without my cards or access to any money... we are so in need of those resources to get through our day-to-day lives and it is something that is humbling and forced me to rely more on God.
The police are not acting too quickly to solve this case but there may be some footage of the women as they attempted to use my card at Holiday and Exxon Gas Stations in the area. Please do continue to pray for protection against identity theft and for continued peace.
Thanks again and know that we love you!!!
Thursday, November 6, 2008
What Happened....
I wanted to first thank all of you for your prayers and kind e-mails! Many of you asked exactly how this happened so I wanted to let you know...
Yesterday, I was working my job as Office Manager at that Chiropractic and Massage Center in Elk River and 4 woman walked in. This was at the exact same time that I had 3 patients signing in and 2 patients trying to check out and the phones were ringing. I had never seen these woman before but they seemed to be 3 daughters and a mom. They asked about 15 questions regarding our clinic and insurance. Apparently, one of them snuck around to the backroom where we keep our purses, etc. Although there were 1 or 2 other purses, mine was the only one that was looked through and my license, credit cards, $50 cash and debit card were stolen. Thankfully, one of our patients noticed this woman walk out of the back office and informed me as soon as they had left. By the time I checked my purse, they were gone. Immediately, I called the banks and credit card companies but within 10 minutes they had already spent $1,000 from my checking account on a laptop at Office Max which in about 4 blocks away. There we no camera's and no one saw what they were driving although many of us were able to give a description.
So in a few minutes I am leaving to go back to the Police Station to pick up my filed report, to the DMV to get a new License and to the banks to get new accounts and cards opened.
I feel very violated, scared and mad. I looked at these woman in the eyes and helped answer what I thought were their sincere question and concerns. I gave them my undivided attention and showed care. I feel fearful b/c they have my license and so Identity Theft is a real possibility. They have my address, date of birth, full name and much more. Please pray for things here on out to go smoothly. Please pray for me to experience peace and to not be afraid.
Thank you dear friends and family.
Kate
Yesterday, I was working my job as Office Manager at that Chiropractic and Massage Center in Elk River and 4 woman walked in. This was at the exact same time that I had 3 patients signing in and 2 patients trying to check out and the phones were ringing. I had never seen these woman before but they seemed to be 3 daughters and a mom. They asked about 15 questions regarding our clinic and insurance. Apparently, one of them snuck around to the backroom where we keep our purses, etc. Although there were 1 or 2 other purses, mine was the only one that was looked through and my license, credit cards, $50 cash and debit card were stolen. Thankfully, one of our patients noticed this woman walk out of the back office and informed me as soon as they had left. By the time I checked my purse, they were gone. Immediately, I called the banks and credit card companies but within 10 minutes they had already spent $1,000 from my checking account on a laptop at Office Max which in about 4 blocks away. There we no camera's and no one saw what they were driving although many of us were able to give a description.
So in a few minutes I am leaving to go back to the Police Station to pick up my filed report, to the DMV to get a new License and to the banks to get new accounts and cards opened.
I feel very violated, scared and mad. I looked at these woman in the eyes and helped answer what I thought were their sincere question and concerns. I gave them my undivided attention and showed care. I feel fearful b/c they have my license and so Identity Theft is a real possibility. They have my address, date of birth, full name and much more. Please pray for things here on out to go smoothly. Please pray for me to experience peace and to not be afraid.
Thank you dear friends and family.
Kate
Monday, November 3, 2008
Owen!
We have a new addition to our family... Owen. He is our adorable puppy! He is just about 3 months old and is half yellow lab and half australian shepherd! We have had him for over 2 weeks now and he is just adorable! Puppies are LOTS of work but there are great rewards too! Here are a few pics of our little Owen. :)
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