God Wants Me to Do Hard Things

I know that this is a little long, but it was really helpful to me so I'm passing it along. Below is an excerpt from Alex & Brett Harris over at the Rebellution."All of God’s commands in Scripture are hard. Of course, our tendency is to just say that God’s commands aren’t “easy” or that it’s only by His grace that we can obey any of them — and both of those statements are 100 percent true — but why can’t we ever come out and say that God’s commands are hard? Everything God commands is hard. Repenting is hard. Forgiving is hard. Turning the other cheek is hard. Overcoming sin in our lives is hard. Honoring our parents is hard. Sharing the gospel is hard. Reading our Bibles is hard. We could...

Read More

Sweet Baby Boy

In My Arms (by Plumb)Your baby bluesSo full of wonderYour curly cuesYour contagious smileAnd as I watchYou start to grow upAll I can doIs hold you tightKnowing...Clouds will rage andStorms will race inBut you will be safeIn my armsRains will pour downWaves will crash aroundBut you will be safeIn my armsStorybooksAre full of fairytalesOf Kings and QueensAnd the bluest skiesBut my heart is tornJust in knowingYou'll someday seeThe truth from liesWhen the...Castles they might crumbleDreams may not come trueBut you are never all aloneCause I will alwaysAlways love ...

Read More

Always in Need of Grace

There is nothing like getting less than two hours of consecutive sleep a night to make you see your need for grace up close and personal. Hi. My name is Katie and I am a sinner. I have this knack (otherwise known as the "sinful nature") to think that overall I am a pretty good person who reacts much better to challenging situations than your average Joe. After all, I'm a Christian! (And a prideful one at that.) But the truth is, when I'm trying my best to be a "good girl" all of my deeds leave me flat on my face, especially when the circumstances/heat around me get a bit rough.Over the past week I have gotten impatient with my parents who are pouring out their own lives to serve us as we...

Read More

Tali & Bear

Tali and BearTali loves bears. She is constantly putting her hand to her ear (her sign for "I hear something!") and when we say, "What did you hear," she smiles and growls. She does this off and on all day long. It's very sweet, especially considering that we live in Illinois where the only bears we'll be seeing are in the zoo.Last Christmas, my brother, Jason, sent Tali this big stuffed bear. As you can imagine, she loves this bear and always wants to walk upstairs to her bedroom to see it. She will hug it, lay on it like a pillow, and "read" it books. A couple of days ago, my parents and Josh & I were in our room with Owen and Tali decided to do something new with the bear. It was hilarious!...

Read More

More Pics of Owen

Just wanted to share a couple more shots of Owen for you. He's a cutie!Also, I just wanted to thank you for your prayers. Last week I kept asking the Lord to surprise me in regards to the baby's birth. I was trying so hard to trust Him with the impending induction and with wanting so badly to go into labor on my own. God granted me much peace and trust in Him in the waiting. Then, on Monday evening, I went from eating a yummy dinner to suddenly wondering if I was sick, to quickly needing to rush to the hospital with contractions that were about 2-3 minutes apart. God did, indeed, surprise us! My labor was only 4 hours long and so sweet (minus the pain, of course!). With Tali, the induction took...

Read More

He's Here!

Monday evening at 9:06pm our sweet baby boy, Joshua Owen (we're calling him "Owen"), was born! We are loving time with him and so grateful to God for the gift of this child. Hopefully a longer update to come. Thank you so much for the praye...

Read More

Updated Prayer Requests

Thank you so much for praying! The Lord does hear and it is a joy and humbling privilege to come to His throne of grace. Just wanted to update you on the prayer requests:1) Baby James Snowden is in need of continued prayer. He was taken by ambulance last night because of low heart rate and what they think are slight seizures where he "blanks out." He is scheduled for surgery Monday morning to have his g-tube back in as it is essential that he gets the proper nutrients to thrive. Please, please, please pray for James and Jimmy & Kristal (his parents). My friends have earnestly sought to trust the Lord and are examples of how the Gospel really does transform lives such that you can have...

Read More

Coming to the End of Ourselves

I loved the awesome commentary that I was reading on Esther & Ruth, but alas, it's over. For this last little stretch before Joshua Owen or Connor David is born, my hubby suggested that I spend some time in Philippians. I have always loved the book of Philippians. The way that Paul is so centrally focused on the cross is always a compelling and refreshing reminder for me to do the same. Along with reading in God's Word, I've been using D.A. Carson's "Basics for Believers," a very helpful and applicable-to-life commentary of Philippians.Check out this quote that I read yesterday concerning the incredible passage in Philippians 2 where we are shown the ultimate example of sacrifice and love:"To...

Read More

Some Prayer Requests

As a dear friend reminded me today, God loves to answer our prayers and gets much glory as we thank Him for His answers. So...I wanted to pass along a couple of requests that you might share in rejoicing with me at however the Lord chooses to answer.1) For little James, the baby of my friends, who has been struggling to live from the day he was born eight months ago. Pray especially that the Lord would help him to eat and that God would give sustaining grace to his parents as they care for him.2) For Tali's health. After just ending her meds from the sinus infection she had, she now has something else. I think it's a stomach thing because she won't really eat or drink, is having some nasty...

Read More

In Love at Christmas

After a very busy weekend, my husband blessed me with a special Christmastime date-day! Yesterday morning, we awoke to a world covered in a beautiful "blanket of white." Soon, we turned on the Bing Crosby and headed out into the snowy morning to see our friend, John, in "A Christmas Carol." The theater (Drury Lane) was all decked out for the holidays and filled with chattering children who were bursting to be on a field trip. The show was outstanding and especially fun because the kids were gasping and laughing out loud throughout (much unlike an occasional clap when adults are the only audience!). It was such a joy to just sit in a beautiful theater, soaking in the performance while holding...

Read More

38 Weeks and Counting

As of Sunday, I am now 38 weeks pregnant and anxiously awaiting the arrival of the little guy (aka: Joshua Owen, or Connor). I feel so good that it's hard to believe that soon we'll have another little baby here. Last year with Tali, I felt wretched so all I could think about was the upcoming birth, looking forward to seeing the fruit of all the aches and pains. This time, it all seems surreal and I can even forget that a big thing is about to occur. A part of feeling so good has been thinking that I can do whatever I want rather than resting. This has led to packing my schedule tighter than might be helpful. I was thinking this morning that if others looked in and saw all that we've had...

Read More