Praise our LORD for His faithfulness. Some of you know that my mother-in-law, Kate’s Mom, has been looking for a full-time job for a few years now- and facing some tough times financially. Finally, this week she received a job that not only pays well, but provides her with full insurance. This happened right after we talked to her about trusting God, and that He is faithful to His people. That day, she surrendered everything to the Lord and felt a great peace. The next day, she received the call that she got the job! For those of you who knew about this situation, thank you for your continued prayers. For those of you who did not know, take some time today to thank God for how he takes care of all the needs of His covenant people.
-Jeremy
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Emily's Collage!
I made this for little Emily as a thank you to Ang and Alex for having us for a weekend in Chicago... and I thought I would post it now that they have received it and show you again how sweet she is! :)Thank you for your prayers as my fever is gone and I am starting to feel better! :)
-Kate
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
New Prayer Requests!
Check out a few new prayer requests to the right and thank you for your support through prayer! :)
We love you!
You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many.
- 2 Corinthians 1:11
We love you!
You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many.
- 2 Corinthians 1:11
Chicago!
Here I am- unable to sleep due to a bit of a fever- and ready to post some pictures from our weekend trip to Chicago to visit friends and family!
Jeremy and I were able to spend some quality time at the Art Institute. This is one of my favorite Monet's.
Jeremy and I were able to spend some quality time at the Art Institute. This is one of my favorite Monet's.
The infamous "bean" at Millennium Park.
We were able to spend some time with one of our best friends, Chad!
Two of my favorite men in the world!
A HUGE reason we came was to see this LITTLE BUNDLE OF JOY! Our Niece Emily is adorable!
Kissing her while at our fav chi-town place- Flat Top!
Who knew bath time could be so fun!?
She started teething while we were there- so anything and everything near her went in her mouth! :)
Happy sweet girl! We love her SO MUCH!
Overall, it was a blessed visit with Jeremy's sister, brother in law and our little Emily as well as Chad, and his wonderful girlfriend! I was again reminded of what an excellent daddy Jeremy will someday be! :) It was also fun to be in a different culture with a more varied people group than La Crosse has.
We were able to spend some time with one of our best friends, Chad!
Two of my favorite men in the world!
A HUGE reason we came was to see this LITTLE BUNDLE OF JOY! Our Niece Emily is adorable!
Kissing her while at our fav chi-town place- Flat Top!
Who knew bath time could be so fun!?
She started teething while we were there- so anything and everything near her went in her mouth! :)
Happy sweet girl! We love her SO MUCH!
Overall, it was a blessed visit with Jeremy's sister, brother in law and our little Emily as well as Chad, and his wonderful girlfriend! I was again reminded of what an excellent daddy Jeremy will someday be! :) It was also fun to be in a different culture with a more varied people group than La Crosse has.
We praise God for the people He has so graciously placed in our lives! We love you!
- Kate and Jeremy
- Kate and Jeremy
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Body Image: The Truth
For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.
My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them.
Psalm 139:13-16
As we continue to look into the issue of body image- we must begin by reading Psalm 139. For within this jewel of scripture we find truth about our body. Our Lord and Creator was there- in the beginning. We were an embryo, unformed and shapeless- and He in His sovereign power and intimate design, formed and shaped us as the Potter shapes the clay. We know that all God does is perfect- and His creation of our figure is certainly no exception. Thus, I know each time I criticize my body or despair of my appearance, I am calling into question God’s perfection, plan and sovereignty. This is nothing short of sin. I often read this Psalm in times like that- to realign my thought life with the Word of God.
Another set of verses that speaks directly to us regarding this issue of body image is 1 Peter 3:3-4, " Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious."
It is important to note that as Peter speaks of the braiding of hair, gold jewelry and clothing it is not speaking specifically of these things but as a warning against a preoccupation with outward appearance. Just as the culture Peter wrote to during the first century, so to our culture is obsessed with appearance and excess. Now, many women I have spoken with in the last few years will talk of their ever-controlling emotions. I, too, have unfortunately believed the lie that my feelings are too strong for me to overcome. Whether these emotions are about relationships, our walk or body image- the truth remains the same: God’s word is truer than anything I feel or experience. If we do not get to a place where we believe this and stand upon this, the reading of God’s Holy writ will not be as effective in conforming our thought life to His. I say ‘not as’ because God does promise that His word will never return void.
With all this as our base, I would say that in my experience, Body Image at its root is more of an issue of contentment than anything else.
"Two women looked through prison bars, one saw mud, the other saw stars."
While this is a simplistic illustration- it does show the power of perspective. All of our perspective and thought life must be filtered through the Word of God. This is the only thing that is true, unchanging and unfailing. Other's opinions, the culture and our own thoughts will shift, change and inevitably, fail. Contentment is a huge topic that we could discuss for weeks- so I am going to try to summarize it in a paragraph. Personally speaking, God has been working this issue through my heart for the last few months. While I will not pretend to have any prolific thoughts, I will say that God has unveiled my eyes to see that nearly every hardship or struggle is founded in the state of discontentment. With this, is it possible that those hardships can be transformed into joyous sanctification through finding contentment? Paul certainly stressed this!
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 12:10
Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. - Philippians 4:11
The Greek word for content is eudokeo. This can be defined as: think it good, choose, determine, decide to do willingly. What would it look like if we accepted the lot and portion God has given us in all facets of life and thought it good? If we willingly chose joy over want? This is not the way of our world today- especially in America! And so, as Linda Dillow writes in her book, Calm My Anxious Heart, "We become what we think- our thought life, not our circumstances, determines whether we are content." One powerful tool in being "transformed by the renewing of our mind" is to memorize and meditate on Philippians 4:8. A wise friend of mine suggested this when I was facing some serious anxiety and it proved to be a great help! Another way to think of contentment is as accepting God's sovereign control over all of life's circumstances. What joy I experience - and true peace - when I accept God's ordained plan for my illness right now. When I stop fighting my Lord and start resting in HIS ways- the ONLY way that is good and right and perfect- the way that will bring Him the most glory. And so I hope you have seen, as I have, that CONTENTMENT is the issue we must pray over and meditate upon. A poor, as well as an enflated body image will be resolved when we learn that contentment alone is in Christ Jesus.
The writers of the blog "GirlTalk" have some excellent thoughts to share on this very subject:
You see, women believe that physical beauty will make them happy, successful, popular among the women, desirable to the men – so they pursue it with a fury! Physical beauty, however, does not deliver as advertised. Proverbs 31:30 reveals the falsehood and the futility of this quest for beauty: Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain. Even if every girl did "feel beautiful just the way she is," it wouldn’t bring her true joy or lasting happiness or solve even one of her problems. Truth be told, what we all deserve is not to feel beautiful but rather to be condemned to hell for sinfully seeking to attract the worship of our fellow creatures instead of living to bring glory to God. God did not send Jesus to this earth to die so that women could get over their self-esteem problem and feel better about themselves. No, He sent his Son to die to rescue us from our sinful, futile quest for physical beauty and to reveal to us the satisfaction that comes from knowing God—whether we are beautiful or not! What freedom and hope is found in Christ! We don’t need to feel beautiful about ourselves to find happiness! In fact, we’re better off not even thinking about ourselves. Rather, God has offered us in Jesus Christ forgiveness, hope, freedom from sin and a joy that never ends.
What wise words and a biblical perspective on physical beauty!
To close, I want us to reflect on all that we have learned though God's word and the wisdom of others who have hidden God's word in their hearts! I know for me, the process of writing this morning has been both very convicting and revealing! Our role now is to live this out- is to share this with the women in our lives and to begin to contribute to setting apart Christians from the culture. This starts with being changed individually and then lovingly sharing it with those God has placed in our lives. Because as Ligon Duncan bluntly states, "Someone is teaching women principles of womanhood. Is it the church, or the world?" (J. Ligon Duncan & Susan Hunt, Women’s Ministry in the Local Church).
Being refined by the Father, Kate
you knitted me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.
My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them.
Psalm 139:13-16
As we continue to look into the issue of body image- we must begin by reading Psalm 139. For within this jewel of scripture we find truth about our body. Our Lord and Creator was there- in the beginning. We were an embryo, unformed and shapeless- and He in His sovereign power and intimate design, formed and shaped us as the Potter shapes the clay. We know that all God does is perfect- and His creation of our figure is certainly no exception. Thus, I know each time I criticize my body or despair of my appearance, I am calling into question God’s perfection, plan and sovereignty. This is nothing short of sin. I often read this Psalm in times like that- to realign my thought life with the Word of God.
Another set of verses that speaks directly to us regarding this issue of body image is 1 Peter 3:3-4, " Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious."
It is important to note that as Peter speaks of the braiding of hair, gold jewelry and clothing it is not speaking specifically of these things but as a warning against a preoccupation with outward appearance. Just as the culture Peter wrote to during the first century, so to our culture is obsessed with appearance and excess. Now, many women I have spoken with in the last few years will talk of their ever-controlling emotions. I, too, have unfortunately believed the lie that my feelings are too strong for me to overcome. Whether these emotions are about relationships, our walk or body image- the truth remains the same: God’s word is truer than anything I feel or experience. If we do not get to a place where we believe this and stand upon this, the reading of God’s Holy writ will not be as effective in conforming our thought life to His. I say ‘not as’ because God does promise that His word will never return void.
With all this as our base, I would say that in my experience, Body Image at its root is more of an issue of contentment than anything else.
"Two women looked through prison bars, one saw mud, the other saw stars."
While this is a simplistic illustration- it does show the power of perspective. All of our perspective and thought life must be filtered through the Word of God. This is the only thing that is true, unchanging and unfailing. Other's opinions, the culture and our own thoughts will shift, change and inevitably, fail. Contentment is a huge topic that we could discuss for weeks- so I am going to try to summarize it in a paragraph. Personally speaking, God has been working this issue through my heart for the last few months. While I will not pretend to have any prolific thoughts, I will say that God has unveiled my eyes to see that nearly every hardship or struggle is founded in the state of discontentment. With this, is it possible that those hardships can be transformed into joyous sanctification through finding contentment? Paul certainly stressed this!
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 12:10
Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. - Philippians 4:11
The Greek word for content is eudokeo. This can be defined as: think it good, choose, determine, decide to do willingly. What would it look like if we accepted the lot and portion God has given us in all facets of life and thought it good? If we willingly chose joy over want? This is not the way of our world today- especially in America! And so, as Linda Dillow writes in her book, Calm My Anxious Heart, "We become what we think- our thought life, not our circumstances, determines whether we are content." One powerful tool in being "transformed by the renewing of our mind" is to memorize and meditate on Philippians 4:8. A wise friend of mine suggested this when I was facing some serious anxiety and it proved to be a great help! Another way to think of contentment is as accepting God's sovereign control over all of life's circumstances. What joy I experience - and true peace - when I accept God's ordained plan for my illness right now. When I stop fighting my Lord and start resting in HIS ways- the ONLY way that is good and right and perfect- the way that will bring Him the most glory. And so I hope you have seen, as I have, that CONTENTMENT is the issue we must pray over and meditate upon. A poor, as well as an enflated body image will be resolved when we learn that contentment alone is in Christ Jesus.
The writers of the blog "GirlTalk" have some excellent thoughts to share on this very subject:
You see, women believe that physical beauty will make them happy, successful, popular among the women, desirable to the men – so they pursue it with a fury! Physical beauty, however, does not deliver as advertised. Proverbs 31:30 reveals the falsehood and the futility of this quest for beauty: Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain. Even if every girl did "feel beautiful just the way she is," it wouldn’t bring her true joy or lasting happiness or solve even one of her problems. Truth be told, what we all deserve is not to feel beautiful but rather to be condemned to hell for sinfully seeking to attract the worship of our fellow creatures instead of living to bring glory to God. God did not send Jesus to this earth to die so that women could get over their self-esteem problem and feel better about themselves. No, He sent his Son to die to rescue us from our sinful, futile quest for physical beauty and to reveal to us the satisfaction that comes from knowing God—whether we are beautiful or not! What freedom and hope is found in Christ! We don’t need to feel beautiful about ourselves to find happiness! In fact, we’re better off not even thinking about ourselves. Rather, God has offered us in Jesus Christ forgiveness, hope, freedom from sin and a joy that never ends.
What wise words and a biblical perspective on physical beauty!
To close, I want us to reflect on all that we have learned though God's word and the wisdom of others who have hidden God's word in their hearts! I know for me, the process of writing this morning has been both very convicting and revealing! Our role now is to live this out- is to share this with the women in our lives and to begin to contribute to setting apart Christians from the culture. This starts with being changed individually and then lovingly sharing it with those God has placed in our lives. Because as Ligon Duncan bluntly states, "Someone is teaching women principles of womanhood. Is it the church, or the world?" (J. Ligon Duncan & Susan Hunt, Women’s Ministry in the Local Church).
Being refined by the Father, Kate
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Jeremy's Sermon- God's Faithfulness!
You can find the audio of Jeremy's sermon on God's faithfulness at the link below. I am so incredibly honored to be the wife of this man and am thankful the heart God has blessed him with shows throughout this sermon.
Audio of Jeremy's Sermon 2/3/08
Audio of Jeremy's Sermon 2/3/08
Saturday, February 2, 2008
The Passing Time
Hello! Sorry I have not continued the series on Body Image/Beauty in Christ. We will continue that eventually... the internet was down for a few days, Jeremy has had full reign on the computer in preparation for his sermon tomorrow morning and life in general is often too busy to hop on here and write.
We are well overall and I am enjoying my new job. It is a challenge everyday physically- but a great blessing emotionally and spiritually to be able to assist others in their own health struggles. It has proved to be a great ministry as well! While talking to a friend the other evening, I mentioned that I am blessed in many ways through this illness, (although often that is hard to see!). One of these ways is that I have to rely on a God in a very real and physical way each and every moment of every day. I am constantly made aware of my fragile state and my need for God's grace and goodness. As a woman in my 20's, I know without a doubt that I would not be able to rely on Him this way if I was healthy. I may not know Him so intimately as the Comforter and Sustainer like I do today. I relate with elderly people far better and have a heart for those who have chronic illnesses of all ages. The enemy often greatly succeeds through isolation, discouragement and hopelessness in people with long- term sicknesses...and now i can use my own past and current experiences to help minister to those physically (and often emotionally).
We love you and will be posting Jeremy's sermon when the audio becomes available at our church website.
-Kate
We are well overall and I am enjoying my new job. It is a challenge everyday physically- but a great blessing emotionally and spiritually to be able to assist others in their own health struggles. It has proved to be a great ministry as well! While talking to a friend the other evening, I mentioned that I am blessed in many ways through this illness, (although often that is hard to see!). One of these ways is that I have to rely on a God in a very real and physical way each and every moment of every day. I am constantly made aware of my fragile state and my need for God's grace and goodness. As a woman in my 20's, I know without a doubt that I would not be able to rely on Him this way if I was healthy. I may not know Him so intimately as the Comforter and Sustainer like I do today. I relate with elderly people far better and have a heart for those who have chronic illnesses of all ages. The enemy often greatly succeeds through isolation, discouragement and hopelessness in people with long- term sicknesses...and now i can use my own past and current experiences to help minister to those physically (and often emotionally).
We love you and will be posting Jeremy's sermon when the audio becomes available at our church website.
-Kate
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