katie rose writes

As I drove up to church, singing loudly along with "Steady my Heart" by Kari Jobe, I was reminded of the many, many ways He has done just that over the past week. He has steadied my heart with brightly clouded skies, with news of what is ahead of me, with sweet friends who are excited with and for me, with little gifts like caramel macchiatos and pots & pans. With times of sweet worship in the midst of great pain and fatigue. With the joys found in community, with a sweet embrace from a stranger. With phone calls and secrets and soup and scarves. I could keep going for hours, but I'll refrain for a moment. So I walked into church expected. I love getting to church early, sitting where I always sit, and prayer journaling. It's a routine that I cherish, and today was no exception. I began to journal about singing that song, how it was just a declaration of truth over my life right now. And the Spirit brought to my mind this phrase: "a place of abundance....

I've been listening to a podcast series on Esther by Mark Driscoll in conjunction with the Beth Moore study I am going through with a women's small group at my church here. Beth & Mark are two totally different teachers, but the Word is the same and it's been so cool to see the overlapping and overarching truths that God has been pounding into me through these studies and other sources as well. One of those themes has been identity. I read this quote by Mark Driscoll from one of his speaking engagements at a conference a few weeks ago: "Our identity is received, not achieved."  I was blown away by that simple thought, and my mind kept looking for my own patterns in how I identity myself vs. how God identifies us. I was reading a little bit in Colossians during a week off of my Esther homework, and it hit me again in the first verse: "Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus, by the will of God..." Another one of my favorite speakers always harps on ...

Tonight at church, I was in my element. The pastor was a guest. From Africa. A pastor & lead church planter from the Congo. He spoke through a translator, because even though he knew a bit of english, he wanted to share the Word of God in his heart language,  Lingala. So, his words were translated into english as he went. I curled up Indian style in my chair, even though I was wearing a skirt. I think I listened more intently to the main speaker, as opposed to his translator. It was absolutely beautiful. I felt so at home, as I listened and learned. He spoke mainly from John 4, where Jesus encounters the Samarian woman at the well. She has come to gather water. At the hottest part of the day, to avoid the whispers and stares of the other women. He asks her for a drink, and she is floored. She questions Him, "Why on earth would a Jew consider her, a Samarian, worthy of being spoken to, let only worthy enough to draw a drink from the well for him?" He turns the tables on...

This is a true story from God's Word, and can be found in 2 Chronicles 14-16. Backstory: The time period of this king was when the people of God had strayed far from Him. The kingdom was divided into two nations-Judah to the South (including Jerusalem & the Temple), and Israel to the North. Both nations had many idols and "high places," devoted to the worship of other gods. Many hearts were far from Him, even in His Temple where His presence dwelt.  During this time, a new king arose in Judah, King Asa. In his days, the land of Judah had rest from war and strife for ten years. Asa did what was right in the eyes of the Lord his God. He tore down the foreign idols and the high places of idolatry in the land. He commanded Judah to seek the Lord, the God of their fathers, and to keep the law and the commandment. He purged the land of incense altars and places devoted to anything or anyone other than God. He built fortified cities across his nation, for the land had r...

I don't know a lot of things right now. I don't know where God is taking me. I don't know what He is up to. I don't know how He is working all this out for my good & His glory. I simply do. not. know. But thankfully, when we lay all of our unknowns at His feet and leave them there, He promises us peace. Not just any peace. His peace. Peace that surpasses our mind's need to have understanding-and therefore a sense of control-in the midst of it all (see Philippians 4:4-7).  And thankfully, His Word is still true and still speaks. So, even with all of these unknowns crushing my weary heart, there are also many things that I do know. In no particular order, here are some of those high points. Number One.  One day, I will be going back to India. That was made abundantly and beautifully clear from the moment I stepped out of the airport into the sticky, humid air in Hyderabad. It felt like home. Literally, with a side of cheesy, it felt like home.  Then our ...