While I may not have asked for it, wished for it or even admitted I wanted it,  it has happened.  Our life has become a whole lot simpler. 

We live in a small town. 

After having every store I could ever want to shop at "just across town" I now have Wal-Mart, Sentry grocery store, Walgreens, a hardware store and Maurices as my local options. (I've been to all but Walgreens at least one time already :))
We have one coffee shop.
A few parks.
Maybe 2 or 3 places that are open past 9pm?
One weekly story time option at the library
We get an ad and coupons for ONE grocery store.
We had one good option for a local bank

Our life has gotten a lot simpler! Noah and I LOVE to find good deals.  We can spend too much time online shopping around and looking for the best deal. And I can spend way too much time going to 5 (or more) stores just to get the best deal. I guess the Lord wants to make things more simple as He knows that is what we need!

Our life has been anything BUT simple for the last month.  In 5 weeks we have had two major trips to Chicago for my brother's graduation and then again for his wedding, packed up our entire house and life in IL and moved to WI. We have unpacked an entire house, cared for two little girls, hosted my parents and Noah's parents for long weekends, gotten new drivers licenses, license plates, bank accounts, library cards, purchased (and assembled) a house worth of furniture, found a new dr. for the girls, visited two new churches, been shopping at a LOT of stores (including 2 carts at Lowes!) getting everything under the sun to complete our new home.

It has NOT been simple.  In fact we are exhausted. But somehow God has found a way to slow us down by eliminating options and making life more simple. 

I don't know if I like it, but I guess it's good for me!
Here's to a simple life in small-town Wisconsin. 

(Where the only thing that isn't simple is choosing what flavor of ice cream I want and what lake I want to go to :))

This fall, a student that I love dearly and have invested in for years went through an incredibly challenging time.  She and I had been meeting for almost 4 years, and I wasn't sure if she really grasped the gospel.  We had read through the book of John and she continued to see Jesus as a great example and a good teacher, but I wasn't confident that she understand Jesus as her Savior and Lord. 

<Insert significant trial this fall>

In the midst of her trial she asked if I could come over to pray with her.  We had never prayed together like this before, but I was grateful for the opportunity and eager to do so. In hearing all that she was going through I was incredibly burdened by the thought, "This just isn't fair God! Why are you allowing this to happen?"

After we prayed, I remember telling her that night "this is so hard, you will NOT be able to do it on your own strength.  The only hope you have is Jesus.  To trust in His strength through you one day at a time.

Her trial didn't go away, but neither did God. She continued to find comfort in the truth of Scripture and strength from Jesus through some really difficult days.

<Fast forward 4 1/2 months>

Last week I met with this student and heard her testimony.  She was aware that God had been working in her life in recent months, and had finally taken time to write it all out. 

You can imagine my surprise when I discovered that just when I was telling God "This isn't fair"  He was working salvation in her heart.  Through her greatest trial, the door was opened for her to put her trust in Christ. I'd say that is way better than fair.

Praise the Lord!

Thank you for praying for God's work to be done here on campus.  We continue to be amazed at the way He is working in the hearts and lives of the students we know and love.

When I arrived home from the hospital with Josie, I was overwhelmed to say the least.  It was me (recovering from an unexpected c-section 2 days prior), a new-on-her feet 1 year old and a newborn. I remember my mom telling me,  "You'll be fine as long as you focus on taking care of the girls and don't try to get anything else done." 

That's harder to do than I thought.
That means not unloading the dishwasher or throwing in one quick load of laundry.
That means not keeping up on emails or making that one "important phone call"
That means not planning play dates or inviting students over to meet.
That means not trying to make cookies quick or update my blog (both things I love :))
All of those things fall in the "anything other than taking care of the girls" category.

And so, I did my best to focus on taking care of the girls, and nothing else.

As time passed, I've had to learn how to re-add in my normal life activities and figure out what to let go of. (Did you know that the bathroom is still usable, even if it hasn't been cleaned for a month? Did you know you can still sleep in your bed even if it hasn't been made from the night before?) :)

Here we are four months later, and I find that my best days are the days that I don't expect to get much else done other than caring for the girls.  As soon as I get high hopes and expect to use nap time to make supper, I guarantee their naps won't overlap.  As soon as I get excited to take a long shower, I promise Ellie will wake an hour earlier than normal.  

It's better for me to just expect to change diapers, clean up spit up, change diapers, change Josie's clothes, discipline Ellie, change diapers, get a snack for Ellie, change my clothes, change diapers, etc.  

Then I'm really grateful when I get a few minutes to call a friend.  I'm excited when I get time to actually wash all of the laundry that's accumulating. I'm thankful when Ellie and I get to do something special like make brownies or do a craft.  I find myself blessed to hold Josie as she watches Ellie play and I'm not (as) whiny if the house stays dirty and I don't get a nap.

This isn't to say I don't get time to accomplish things.  In fact, I really value getting to meet with students, attend our Small Group, catch up on emails, etc.  I've learned how to maximize my energy and eliminate things that zap my time, but I have to live -eyes fixed on Jesus, holding my desires with an open hand.

It's not easy to live day by day, moment by moment.  But I find when I seek The Lord and ask Him for grace.  He gives it, over and over again.  Am I exhausted? Of course! Am I overwhelmed? Oftentimes I am.  But am I grateful and very blessed? YES and YES!

This week I met with a dear student friend Kaitlyn for coffee.  She shared with me that she had started memorizing scripture, and wanted to quote a verse for me.  She then quoted Ephesians 3:20-21

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

I looked at Kaitlyn (not her real name) through tears and said wow-- I was speechless.

I met Kaitlyn 4 years ago in the fall of 2009- our first fall here.   She joined the Navs, attended my Bible Study, and we began meeting one-on-one.  She had gone to youth group growing up, but wanted to take walking with Jesus to a new level.  

On one hand she was growing growing growing. She delved into the scriptures- reading John her personal quiet times,  faithfully attending Nav Night, small group, and our one on ones. She even broke up with her non-christian boyfriend as she wanted to be single-minded to pursue Christ. 

On the other hand- she was running from God.  She joined a sorority, and got very involved in a whole new lifestyle afforded by her sorority.  By the end of her freshman year she told me that walking with God felt like being in a cage- she was saying no to so many things she didn't want to let go of, and not happy at all. Walking with Jesus was anything but full of life.

While God continued to give me open doors of relationship with Kaitlyn and a really deep love for her, her desire to walk with Him diminished and all-but disappeared.

Throughout the highs and lows of her life, we continued to meet.  We read through The Reason for God by Tim Koeller, we went out to lunch, we had deep talks, we talked on the phone during hard times, we laughed in coffee shops during good times.  The Lord continued to give me an incredibly DEEP love for Kaitlyn. Even when I had to bend over backwards to fit in our time together, I always wanted more time with Kaitlyn. She is full of joy, life-giving, refreshingly honest, open and so very FUN! She was openly not interested in following Jesus, but welcomed a continued relationship with me.

------
So this week when she quoted Ephesians 3:20-21 for me, all I wanted to do was say AMEN!  She is the proof that this verse is TRUE! 

Over the past 2 months, the Lord has gotten a hold of her.  Kaitlyn has gone back to church for the first time in years.  While listening to the sermons, she is writing down all of the verses that are referenced and studying them throughout the week. She's (by the grace of God) making major changes in her lifestyle.  She's attending a Bible Study and challenging other members to commit to a whole new level of inductive study. She's writing verses on notecards, putting them in her pocket and reading them as she walks across campus. She's finding Hope in God's word. She's kneeling and praying and asking the Lord to lead and guide her life. She's clinging to Jesus, she's holding on to truth. She's telling me that she knows that everything else leaves her coming up empty, but holding on to Jesus gives her eternal hope and joy. 

She're reminding me that God pays for what he orders. He is all-powerful, all-knowing, more patient than we can understand, more loving than we can fathom. He can do immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine.  He has done this. He is doing this. He will continue to do this forever.

And all I can say is AMEN! Hallelujah. Praise the Lord!

For any day that my job feels hard, daunting or not worth it, Kaitlyn's life alone is proof that it couldn't be more worth it.  Thank you LORD!

As I mentioned awhile back, I'm co-leading a Tuesday morning Bible study with 7 women on campus.  This isn't your typical inductive study, this is a purity study entitled Into the Light.  It is not a replacement for our typical Navs Bible Studies, it is an additional optional study for women who are interested. (They've got to be pretty interested to get up and to the union at 7:30 am!! They are college students after all!)  It's purpose is to help women learn how to invite Jesus into the place of pain and brokenness in their lives. When these dark places are left un-dealt with, they often manifest themselves in the forms of enslavement to different kinds of sexual sin and impurity, anxiety, and depression.

I was a bit intimated to help co-lead this study, but just three weeks in, I am already so grateful for this opportunity! It is a blessing to be a part of a small group Bible study on campus (as I haven't been involved in this capacity since the semester Ellie was born!) I also am so glad to be getting to know these women in a deeper way and able to love them as they process their pain. 

We have seen the Lord use this study in so many people's lives over the past few years.  We've had the privilege of watching students experience total life transformation, not just attempts at sin and behavior management.  The Lord is doing a redeeming work, and we are so grateful to be a part of it!!

The final question of this weeks study was "Identify one way in which you could cultivate non-sexual intimacy skills" 

One girl answered, "Discuss situations face to face"

While this may seem like a simple, 'duh?!' statement,  this was very profound.  

We are finding more and more each semester the need to help teach and train students to cultivate real friendships. We are seeing the need to help students live in the real world, face to face, not just screen to screen. These students so desperately want to be known, but find themselves hiding more and more than ever before, buried under shame, self-hatred, and layers of pain. In turn they are looking for something to fill their pain, this void that they are feeling. 

As each woman each shared what she was desiring, this is what I heard from the seven women around the table.... A desire....

-to be secure
-to be recognized
-to be good enough
-to be someone that people are proud of 
-to be accomplished
-to be wanted
-to be needed as a true companion

While we are living in a world where it is very tempting to live life behind a screen,  these women are aware that they need more than that. They need a deep and vibrant relationship with God, and they need each other.

One of the woman said it well, she said she was in this study because she is looking for "freedom from temptations that consume."  This freedom is only going to come through Jesus.

Thank you for partnering with us so that we can be here sharing Jesus with our students face to face .


-Katie

A few weeks ago Noah and I stopped by the post office on our way home from a dr. appt.  Noah came out from mailing a package and said there was a girl inside who needed to get to UPS (not USPS).  Noah was confirming with me where UPS was located so we could point her in the right direction.  We decided we might as well just offer to take her as it is all the way across town and too far to walk. Not to mention, this girl was a international student from China who didn't know her away around.

So there we were taking Crystal across town to UPS.   I ended up exchanging phone numbers with her and Noah asked if she'd be interested in visiting a church.  Crystal was thrilled to be invited and told us "You're my first American friends"  WOW! 

Her English is conversational, but we figured it would be best to bring her to the second service at our church as it has the service translated in Mandarin Chinese. (How awesome is that?)  We much prefer the first service, mostly because it works far better with Ellie's schedule as she is ready for a nap by the time second service starts, but we knew that was minor in the scheme of things.

 Awesome provision from God #1- Ellie slept in until 9 am on Sunday morning. That has NEVER happened before!

On our way to church, I got a text from Crystal.  Maybe it's because we're used to American college students,  and getting up "early" isn't their preference, my first guess was she'd be telling me she had overslept and wouldn't be coming.  Instead she said she was afraid she would be late, so she had arrived early (25 minutes early!)  

Awesome provision from God #2-  We are NEVER 20 minutes early for church, but we were this week!

We dropped Ellie off at the nursery, picked up a headset (for the mandarin translation) and got a seat. Crystal has absolutely no religious background and has never been to any sort of a church.  I was grateful for the time to explain things like a prelude, a worship band, a message, etc.  She seemed to really enjoy the service.

After the service I look over and another Asian woman is talking to Crystal- it happened to be the girl that was sitting on the end of our row- who happened to be from China and at TCBC for the FIRST TIME!  The two of them seemed to hit it off right away!  The other woman had a Mandarin/English dual translation of the Bible and she said she had picked it up on her way into church. (I didn't know we had them?!)  As I was on my way to go find them, 

Awesome provision from God #3  - a friend of ours  was already on his way over to us carrying TWO of them as he saw I was with two Chinese students.

Feeling in a hurry, I knew I needed to go pick up Ellie from the nursery but didn't want to leave the girls alone... I told them I would be right back when 

Awesome provision from God #4 - another friend of ours was on her way over  to introduce herself.  She exchanged numbers with them, and offered to meet them at church in future weeks (as she typically goes to the second service).  

We invited them all to lunch, but they weren't able to come.  They had to get to the library to resume their studies.

Awesome provision from God #5- as we were on our way home, we ended up driving past the two Chinese girls walking together to the library-- how awesome is that?!

We were very humbled as we felt like we didn't have much to offer Crystal- our plates are very full and it had taken a few weeks for us to even be available enough to invite her to church... but all we had to do was invite her and God just showed up!  We shouldn't be surprised that He works in such amazing ways as He wants us to depend on Him!  

In fact, this very point is what Pastor Allen introduced his sermon with.  "When we hear Jesus' call to care for the needs of our world, it is very apparent that we don't have the resources.  In this story (of feeding the 5,000) Jesus is forcing the disciples to see the same thing! The question is, Am I willing to bring the little I have [even though I know it isn't much] and give it to Jesus?"

We are grateful for this (and many other) opportunities to bring the little that we have and give it to Jesus, and then be amazed as He makes it work!

One major difference between the University of Illinois and other campuses we have been on- is the school spirit and insane amount of things going on on-campus.  There is always far more events/activities/ concerts/sports/etc. than you could ever keep track of!

As you can see here, even the grocery stores get into the Fighting Illini spirit!  Anything they can do to make things a little more orange!

How does that affect us?  

Well, as a ministry, we have found that students are often very involved on campus in a variety of RSOs (RSO= Registered Student Organization).  Between all of the RSOs socials, the Big Ten sports, the concerts and shows on campus, etc.  students aren't looking to have as many NAVS socials.  They have plenty of things to do without us filling their calendar with social events. 

This means that we (as staff) try to focus on three or four big events per semester, and leave the rest up to students. This fall we are having two Welcome Back socials on back-to-back weekends.

Would you pray that these socials would prove fruitful in building relationships between students and welcoming new freshmen to The Navigators?  We try to cultivate a "family atmosphere" in our ministry, where people feel really welcomed and loved.  We think it goes a long way in advancing the gospel and maturing people in Christ.

Fall Launch continues!  Thanks for standing with us!

-Noah and Katie

It's hard to believe I'm almost half-way through this second pregnancy. I'm not sure if it's having another child, spending a month at Spring Hill or being in the midst of a busy summer, but this pregnancy sure has flown!

I've been feeling very good overall (especially now that I'm in the second trimester- yippee!) 

The main point of this post is to share that we find out THIS WEEK if we are having a boy or a girl. Our appointment is on Thursday! I've been thinking girl, Noah has been thinking boy. I'm wrong almost all of the time, so I guess it probably is a boy, but I'm still sticking to girl, and so is Ellie :) We have two little babies for her doll house (one boy and one girl) so we put them out today and had her pick one. She's picked girl every time, and she did so again today! I got a video, but I'll need Noah's help to post it :) 

I thought I'd post a few pictures of the wedding this weekend. We took a mini family vacation/trip to St. Louis/Alton. Wednesday-Friday we stayed in downtown St. Louis and went out to eat, to the hotel pool, the zoo, and had a picnic at the arch. We had a LOT of fun. I'll have to post more later. All I can say, is vacation with kids are just so much different :) 

Friday-Sunday we were in Alton for Meg & Carl's wedding. Meg is a former student and I was VERY honored to stand up in her wedding :)  It was a BEAUTIFUL wedding. Meg had crafted so many decorations and it just looked awesome! She even made bracelets and hair pieces for each of the bridesmaids. It was an adorable wedding that was TOTALLY Meg's style :) 

Just had to share a picture of the banner she made to hang up... 64 yards long and totally transformed the room :) 

Here I am at almost 19 weeks :) 

And here is beautiful Meg! I loved her something old (necklace from her grandma when she was 7) something new (dress) something borrowed (veil) and something blue (blue shoes!) Too cute :) 

Can you tell someone is VERY tired? :) Ellie did a great job, but it was a busy weekend! Oh and notice how I have to hold this girl- above the baby bump :) She's getting too big to be carried all the time! :) 

Had to show off the hairclip! And the hair (Meg's friend Kristin did it for me!) Thanks to curly hair, it took like 10 minutes :) 

BIG WEEK- we will keep you posted :) 

We love you baby #2. We are SO excited to meet you, and can't believe we're almost halfway there!!

Keep growing healthy and strong! I'm enjoying your little kicks :) 

:)