Kat and Nate's Adventures

Humility is an interesting thing. I'll start out pridefully by saying I believe I am a fairly competent person. God has blessed me with a sharp brain, surprising people skills, quick musical abilities, and enough common sense to not get myself killed (despite contrary belief). I've always said I could make it pretty far on my own, through my own abilities and work ethic, and yet, "pretty far" isn't far enough. I believe God has called me to even greater things, well beyond my capabilities. And so, I get to learn the fun lesson of humility. This lesson has come in various forms- being driven by security to the nurse's office because I was too weak to walk to our dorm lobby. Meekly accepting food offered by housemates when they realized I'd skipped every meal that day to work and hadn't packed anything. Receiving a failing grade on a paper and having to rewrite it to pass a class required for my major. And most recently (and I think to the greatest ext

"You have your life together!" Ha! Hahaha... ha... yeah.... That was my first response, but then I though about it a bit. I just graduated from a prestigious college. I graduated with departmental honors. I'm getting married in the fall to an amazing man. I have a strong community both in Iowa and Michigan. I have a job. My life is pretty put together. God has blessed me with so much. And yet I can still find myself caught up in the logistics and details. Caught up in the to-do lists that haven't been done, in the invitations that should have been sent weeks ago, in the phone calls that haven't been made, or the meetings that haven't been scheduled. I feel discouraged at one phone call not returned or one slightly critical comment from my parents. I feel like my life is an unknown mess and I'm failing everything. But I'm not. My life is pretty put together. Because my value is not in what I do. It is in Christ. And my worth is not in what I accomp

So going into my senior year and looking ahead to working at Crossroads, I've spent some time thinking about what my goal and vision are and should be. How do I want to spend these last weeks as a student at Hillsdale? How do I want to be able to be there for my Crossroads kids? My church? My family? My friends? Nathan? Well, I've finally put into words what God has been teaching me for the past, well, pretty much for my entire life. "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude. It is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails." 1 Cor. 13:4-8

Please be prepared for stream of conscience: Guest Lists are hard. You wouldn't expect them to be. You're literally trying to decide who you want to be there with you on one of the most important days of your life. My first reaction? Everyone. Clearly. Let me just copy paste my 1300 Facebook friends onto a guest list and we're good. Oh wait, I have to send each of them an actual invitation? Stamps cost 50¢ a stamp? Hmm. Maybe we should cut that list down a bit. And wait, who is that guy? I think I met them once at a tournament six years ago... Ok. Nixing the Facebook list. Now, if a family member already told me they won't be able to come, do I send them a courtesy invitation anyways? You know, one of those, "I love you and I want to include you in my life even though I know you have a life of your own and can't come" things? Ugh. This is complicated. How many people can fit in the church again? And how many can we have at the reception? How many cookies d

What an amazing part of our life this ministry has become! Crossroads Farm is a rural youth outreach ministry that targets kids in Hillsdale County, kids that would otherwise not be reached. Katrina began volunteering at Crossroads Farm the fall of 2013, her first semester as a sophomore at Hillsdale College. Nathan joined her, after much prayer, the fall of the following year. They have worked together to pour into the lives of these kids, often  coming home, as their classmates can attest, exhausted but excited at the relationships built every week.