The Home-Stretch

Hello beloved! We hope you are well! I am in the final week of teaching the college writing course. Due to the fact I have been working 70+ hours per week for the past 10 weeks, I gave my notice at the college. The good news is- I have an open invitation to come back if I want to at any point. Praise God for options. :)
Other than working, I have been sleeping. No, seriously...that is what my life has consisted of. I have an outstanding husband who has done more than his share of work around the house to keep us running. Thank you Jeremy for being wonderful in more ways than I can count. :) I love and cherish you. You are an incredible man.
I have started reading some interesting books in my spare time ( what spare time again?). :) I've decided to share those on the left hand side of this blog- check them out.
God is good and I have much to be thankful for. More to come in the coming weeks!

Blessings!
Kate (and Jeremy)

ps: Congrats to Karen, Casey, Rachel, Jess and more for your exciting news! We are praying for you and your babies wellbeing during these nine months. :)

From Streams in the Desert...

Songs of Praise Rise From Affliction
"Just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints" (Rev. 15:3).
The following incident is related by Mrs. Charles Spurgeon, who was a great sufferer for more than a quarter of a century:
"At the close of a dark and gloomy day, I lay resting on my couch as the deeper night drew on; and though all was bright within my cozy room, some of the external darkness seemed to have entered into my soul and obscured its spiritual vision. Vainly I tried to see the Hand which I knew held mine, and guided my fog-enveloped feet along a steep and slippery path of suffering. In sorrow of heart I asked,
"'Why does my Lord thus deal with His child? Why does He so often send sharp and bitter pain to visit me? Why does He permit lingering weakness to hinder the sweet service I long to render to His poor servants?'
"These fretful questions were quickly answered, and through a strange language; no interpreter was needed save the conscious whisper of my heart.
"For a while silence reigned in the little room, broken only by the crackling of the oak log burning in the fireplace. Suddenly I heard a sweet, soft sound, a little, clear, musical note, like the tender trill of a robin beneath my window.
"'What can it be? surely no bird can be singing out there at this time of the year and night.'
"Again came the faint, plaintive notes, so sweet, so melodious, yet mysterious enough to provoke our wonder. My friend exclaimed,
"'It comes from the log on the fire!' The fire was letting loose the imprisoned music from the old oak's inmost heart!
"Perchance he had garnered up this song in the days when all was well with him, when birds twittered merrily on his branches, and the soft sunlight flecked his tender leaves with gold. But he had grown old since then, and hardened; ring after ring of knotty growth had sealed up the long-forgotten melody, until the fierce tongues of the flames came to consume his callousness, and the vehement heart of the fire wrung from him at once a song and a sacrifice. 'Ah,' thought I, 'when the fire of affliction draws songs of praise from us, then indeed we are purified, and our God is glorified!'
"Perhaps some of us are like this old oak log, cold, hard, insensible; we should give forth no melodious sounds, were it not for the fire which kindles around us, and releases notes of trust in Him, and cheerful compliance with His will.
"'As I mused the fire burned,' and my soul found sweet comfort in the parable so strangely set forth before me.
"Singing in the fire! Yes, God helping us, if that is the only way to get harmony out of these hard apathetic hearts, let the furnace be heated seven times hotter than before."

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