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