Our Story Part One: Hawaii, Serve, and Jacob

     As I sit here, in my new house, unemployed, I realize that I still have not told you the story. The one where God was clearly at work. The one where I met my husband.

     I've got time. Want to hear a God-story?

     Looking back, it all started way back in August of 2018, although I didn't know it then. Out of the blue, I got an email. The man said he was from YWAM in Hawaii, and he asked if I would consider joining their team there. I was floored. This was not on my radar at all. I was comfortable where I was -working at the greenhouse, and volunteering at the church- and returning to YWAM, at a completely different base where I knew exactly zero people, had never entered my mind. So this email really threw me for a loop. I agonized over the decision -I had never felt called back to YWAM, nor to Hawaii. I had felt called to the greenhouse and Georgetown. But was THIS God calling me there? I would feel peace when I thought about staying put, but then I'd get anxious that it wasn't God's peace, but rather a feeling of comfortability where I was. After constantly wavering back and forth for about a week, I ran into a friend's mother after church, and it all came out. She didn't give me any answers, but I felt a lot better after speaking to her. And by the next day, I felt certain that I was to stick to my commitments here in Georgetown -my job, youth group, worship team, mentoring one of the teens- and decided that after I returned from my week long trip out East, I would respond with a no.

     Well, as it turns out, I spontaneously responded before my cousins and I ever started driving across the country. Which, as I said to my cousin Jacob on the drive home, turned out to be a major blessing. If I hadn't declined the offer before we left, I would have spent the entire trip second guessing myself, and trying to confirm and reconfirm over and over again that I had made the right choice. Instead, I was able to truly relax and rest and enjoy the trip. Which turned out to be quite necessary, with the year that was coming.

     Because while all this was going on, my church had been approached with an offer- would we want to host a Serve team during March break of 2019? When this proposal was put forward to the congregation, I -and many others- wondered why on earth a serve team would want to come to Georgetown, Ontario. We're hardly a poor area. But as strange as it seemed, we had been asked and we did feel the call to accept the offer. 

     I feel like this is a good time to introduce Jacob to you. He's my cousin, my best friend's little brother (though not so little anymore!). He's been around for as long as I remember, being just 3 years younger than me, and we got along, but were never close. That East Coast trip that I took in August of 2018 was with Jacob and his younger sister, because Jacob and I were dropping Victoria off at her school in Nova Scotia. Jacob and I got along and enjoyed the trip -apart from the times on the drive home when people assumed that we were a couple... gross!- but we weren't super close or anything. Since he had just graduated from university that summer, he was taking a gap year before going to law school. So he was living at home, going to church, and got involved with youth group. Together, we were leading worship at youth starting in September.

     So one day in October, I went over to Jacob's house. That Serve team was on my mind, and I said "Jacob.... I think you should be the worship leader for Serve." He nodded, "My dad just said the same thing. And I agree.... but only if you do it with me."

     And that was the beginning of The Twins. 

     The entire winter of 2019 was a time of Jacob and I working very closely together. We spent a lot of time together. We were assembling a worship team for Serve, running practices twice a week, and spending the other evenings planning the set up, song selections, as well as simultaneously planning a 4 week long youth series on the Holy Spirit that we had agreed to teach. I'm not kidding when I say that I spent almost every evening at least in part with Jacob during January-March Break that winter. It was an insane amount of work and time together, and I am so glad I got to do it with Jacob.

     Jacob, during the fall, had been studying for and then took his LSAT to apply to law school. With that done, he was temporarily laid off from his job, and so during this time when we were insanely busy, he was not working. Which means he could spend his days continuing the work we needed to get down. Honestly, if he had been working, I don't think we could have done it. We simply wouldn't have had enough time to actually get everything done. God was so, so good. Jacob's boss texted him the week before March break, asking Jacob if he would be able to start working again.... the Monday following March break. Literally the first day that Jacob and I were finished all the crazy amount of work we needed to do.

    I feel like this is a good place to stop for now. This post started as a retelling of my love story, and it still is that. I haven't even met Raymond yet, and most of this post talks about my male cousin -who I can assure you is not the love interest here! Yet it is a very important piece of this story, and one I am incredibly thankful for! 

     Blessings,

          Katie

Relocation

     Tomorrow, Raymond and I will have been married for 7 weeks. Seven weeks! Already! 

     It has been a crazy, wonderful, and comfortable seven weeks. Comfortable. It's a strange word to use, considering how much change has happened, and how little I like change. Yet that's exactly what it has been!

     After our relaxing honeymoon at a rented cottage, Raymond and I spent a week saying goodbye and packing up before we headed out for the long drive across the country. I've never driven through northern Ontario, Manitoba, or Saskatchewan before, but it was an incredible drive. Northern Ontario is beautiful! Ontario is huge -the halfway point of our drive was STILL in Ontario- but beautiful!

     We arrived in Edmonton after four long days of driving, and after a week of settling in, Raymond went back to work and I officially went on the job hunt. My days are spent at home, unpacking, reorganizing, and applying for jobs.

     And then, my Opa died. It didn't come from out of the blue -he's been going downhill for the last year and a half- but it was still sad. I flew home for the funeral, and spent Thanksgiving with my family in Ontario. 

     But not with Raymond. He stayed here in Edmonton while I was in Ontario. We were only apart for nine days -which, considering we were a long distance couple, is nothing!- but it was so so hard. I missed him so much. He struggled with some "phantom limbs" from his divorce. We talked briefly on the phone most days, but it was a strange week. Good, because I got to spend time with my family and my cat, but hard because I missed my husband.

     Ultimately, that week back in Ontario was really a blessing when it came to my adjustment to moving to Edmonton. Being back at my parent's house, I realized that it really isn't home anymore. Home is Edmonton, because that is where Raymond is. And as cheesy as it sounds, home is where Raymond is. 

     I love that man so much. 

     God is very good.

     Blessings,

          Katie

New Normal

     Today is the first day of all the change in my life. I mean, obviously not really, since I've been engaged for 7 and a half months, and you could point out numerous other changes along the pathway of my life. BUT today is the day it really gets real. 

     Yesterday was my final day working at the greenhouse. I have been working there, in various capacities, for more than 13 years. I've been full time there since I came back from YWAM in 2016. It's my second home, a place where the people are like family. I've experienced a lot of frustrations and annoyances there, but I have also had a lot of laughter, fun, and friendships. That place has produced friends that will, God willing, be in my life forever. I've learned a lot, from the practical things about growing plants to the strategies of leadership and supervising. I've learned how to have fun while doing crappy jobs, and I've learned how to multitask like crazy. It has been a fantastic ride, and one that I am sad to see end. I had a lot of emotions over the past 8 months, processing the end of this era, and it's been quite the pendulum. Ultimately, it was a bittersweet goodbye. 

     However, it's ending means a tremendous new beginning. Today, Raymond arrives in Ontario and our time as a long distance couple officially comes to an end! A week from tomorrow, we will be getting married! 

     This is the beginning of our new normal. To which Raymond would say "There's no such thing as normal, it's just a social construct!" 

     Our wedding is going to look drastically different than we first imagined it would. Back when we got engaged in late 2019, we had no idea what was about to unfold in our world. Covid-19 was something no one had ever heard of, cause it hadn't even been named yet! Instead of a church wedding with everyone we love, we will be having a smaller, outdoor ceremony. Wedding planning has been a crazy ride, one that changes constantly, but honestly, I'm so happy with how the plans are turning out. I'm okay with a smaller ceremony and even smaller reception. I'm completely happy with it.

     Because ultimately, all the matters is our marriage. Saying the vows and committing to each other. Entrusting our lives to God. If Covid has taught us anything, it is that God is in control and He is what truly matters.

     Blessings,

          Katie

Re-Boot

     Hey! It's been so long, but my life is changing yet again and I feel like this is a good platform to process it on.

     For the last few years, since 2016 and coming home from YWAM (wow, has it really been 4 years already?!), I've been living at home with my parents, attending the same church, and working at the same job. It's been normal. Rooted. I'm home. I'm flourishing, I'd say, in some areas. I've been working at my high school job, a greenhouse, but in a very different capacity, and it's a place I've very much felt called to. And I love it! I've also become very involved at my church, even becoming the youth director this year, along with my friend and a girl I mentored, a now twenty year old sweetheart. It was super hard and super challenging, but God was so faithful and good.

     Here's the thing, though: in December, I got engaged to my amazing fiance, Raymond. How we met is a complete God story in and of itself, one that I will definitely be telling another time, simply for my own reflection! Every time I look back on how God brought us together, I can't help but laugh and be in complete awe of Him!

     Raymond, however, lives not in the Toronto, Ontario, area where I live, but in Edmonton, Alberta. So after we get married on August 29 of this year, I will be moving out west to Alberta! Which is equally scary and exciting. I have to say goodbye to my job, which I love, and my church, which I also love, and to some extent my family. It's not going to be an easy thing, but it is where God is calling us to begin our marriage, and so there we will be. I'm excited to enter this new adventure with Raymond, and to get to know his family and friends better. I'm also very very VERY thankful that my cousin and best friend, Rachel, already has lived in Edmonton for several years for work. God is good!

     So, with that being said, here is my life. We'll see how often I write, but this is really just for me, anyway. And if others get enjoyment out of it, I'm glad!

     Blessings,

          Katie

A Reluctant Bride

   This summer, I received a book titled A Reluctant Bride, by Jody Hedlund, to read and review. I have always enjoyed Jody's books in the past, so I was looking forward to this one. Mercy Wilkins has a chance to escape her life in the slums of London, by last minute joining a group of women sponsored to immigrate to British Columbia. It isn't until after she is on the ship that Mercy realizes that it is a bride ship. While on board, she finds herself the assistant to the ship's surgeon. It isn't long before the two have fallen in love- but she is meant for those awaiting them in British Columbia.
     I enjoyed this novel. It has been awhile since I've read a historical romance, and this was a nice one to break the streak with. I stayed up late to keep reading it, and managed to finish it within a few days, even though my life was pretty busy. One thing I really appreciated -though it wasn't until I read the Author's Note at the end- is that this book was loosely based on truth. The ship was real, as was its purpose, and the ship's surgeon really did fall in love with and marry one of the women intended as brides. All in all, I would say this book was a satisfying read!
    *** Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc. ***

Jerusalem's Queen

This past Sunday, I had spent a majority of the day with my nose in a book. Jerusalem's Queen by Angela Hunt, to be exact. A book in the Silent Years series, it follows Salome Alexandra, a simple country girl who becomes Jerusalem's queen. After the death of her father and sister, a distant relative -also the high priest- takes Salome and nurtures her, providing her with everything she needs to become an influential woman. Her thirst for learning is recognized and encouraged, but when Salome grows older, she realizes that she still is just a pawn to be used by her guardians.

I enjoyed this book. It provided an interesting look at the time that the Bible is silent on. I found Salome and Kissa and the other characters to be real and I felt like I could connect with them. It was a satisfying historical read, for anyone who is interested in that era!

Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.

Mind Games

I recently had the opportunity to read a book called Mind Games by Nancy Mehl. From the beginning, the novel intrigued me. This novel is about Kaely Quinn, an FBI Behavioral Analyst who is the daughter of a serial killer. Many people don't agree with Kaely's methods, by they have always proved to be effective. Now, a killer is taunting Kaely, seemingly mocking her and daring her to find him. Kaely and her new partner, Noah, must race to figure it out before its too late.
From the beginning, the characters felt real and I was invested in this novel. I started reading and didn't want to put it down. I thoroughly enjoyed this first book in the Kaely Quinn Profile series. It wasn't completely unpredictable, but that's okay. I enjoyed it all the same!
Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.