An update, but not really...

Good evening! We have made a decision about what we are going to do next in our journey! It will be posted next week!!

Be on the lookout for it! 

Just continue to pray that we are heading down the path God wants us on! 

Katey

Anything

Have you ever prayed to God that you would do ANYTHING to make something happen? or prayed that you would do ANYTHING for Him? Then you were presented with an opportunity that you didn't follow through? Maybe we didn't recognize that it was an opportunity from God, or maybe we ignored it because we thought there is no way God would ask me to do that?

I ask these questions to tell you all about a new book that I have started reading. The book is called Anything: The Prayer that Unlocked my God and my Soul by Jennie Allen. It was written in 2011. Allen is also the author of many books, but most recently, Get Out of Your Head. It is also on my list to read.  

I haven't finished Anything yet. Jennie tells the reader at the beginning about a prayer her and her husband prayed together. "God we will do anything." She says, "In saying anything, it meant we were handing Him everything." So far the book is telling about events that lead up to that point, and then will move on to how it changed their lives. I tell you all this because it has one part so far that I really would like to share with you. There is a part where she is in a brief conversation with a friend battling infertility and I related to it so well. 

She shares that her and her friend have lunch, and the friend battling with not getting pregnant shares that she is wrestling that God makes babies, but hasn't given them one yet. One question led to something much deeper. Jennie asked her "What's the hardest part?" Her friend's reply, "I just feel so different from everyone, from all my friends moving on with their lives." 

"This different feeling, this different path God had for her and her husband was extra difficult because it was different. She was hurting and felt alone in her life." 

All I could think of when I read this was that I have been there, had those feelings, and every once in a while they resurface. Infertility is a path that God has chosen for us, for some reason. Yes it is difficult and yes it different than most of our friends. But yes, it has brought my relationship with the Lord closer- yes, it has brought Brandon and I closer- yes, it has made us build friendships and relationships with people we would have not otherwise met. 

What is it about being normal or like everyone else? Let's just be what God created us to be! 

Jennie goes on to say, "What is it about norms, about sameness, that feels so good? There are of course rebels who would rather die that be the same as anyone else, but deep down most of us feel most safe, most at home, with people to whom we are similar." 

A lot of the times we have a hard time relating to most adults conversations. Why? Because what do most adults talk about... their kids or grandkids? Please do not take this as we don't want to here about your kids or grandkids, that's not it. I am just saying we don't have a way to relate to it, but we hope and pray that we can one day! We are so blessed that we are not alone on our journey. It felt lonely at first, but now it isn't. We have educated others, we have so many people praying for us, groups that we know we can talk to when times are rough, and so much more! 

Instead of just saying we will do anything, let's give him EVERYTHING! Surrender... what do you and I need to give over to Him today? 

Here are some more of the Promises of God's Word: 

The Lord hears you (Psalm 34:17) 

God will make you paths straight (Proverbs 3:6) 

You are under grace (Romans 6:14) 

You are chosen and dearly loved (Colossians 3:12) 

*No update on a decision this week. I think we are leaning towards going through another round of IVF. However, we are still praying and just wanting to feel peace with the decision. Thank you for all the prayers! 

Much Love, 

Katey & Brandon

Name Above the Grave

Finding Peace in the Storm

I hope and pray that everyone has had a great February and beginning of March. 

These past two months have been a lot of ups and downs, but I want to just share some updates with you all before I share about Finding Peace in the Storm. 

    I was honored to join a group from the ministry Blessed Brokenness. This group is for women who have or are going through infertility, miscarriage, or infant loss. It has been such a blessing in my life so far. All of the women in the group have different testimony's but our love for the Lord through this tough journey has brought us all together! I can't share anything specific from the group, but just wanted to ask you all to join me in prayer for this group of ladies and their families. 

     In February, I had the opportunity to lead our Journaling Small Group. When I first started blogging about this journey in March 2020, I shared the story of Jesus calming the storm. For our class, that is the scripture that I chose and made a little note portion for the points that I wanted to share. I also had never shared my testimony with this group of ladies, so I was able to do that by sharing this scripture. Here is picture of the journaling and the notes. Just ignore my handwriting and scribbles in the notes. 

   Brandon and I had our follow up appointment on March 7th. Honestly, the appointment did not tell us anything new other than the fact that if you do IVF a second time within a year you get a 15% discount. Now, this is a lot when it is expensive, but we were hoping and praying for some other news that might be helpful. It was recommended for us to do IVF again and we were expecting that to be said. I just ask for your prayers as we make a decision. Do we go through all of this again or turn to other options? As we are praying, I really just want to seek what God wants us to do! I don't want to jump into another round if I don't feel like God is leading us to it. The crazy part is, financially, even though we complain about it, we could probably handle another round. And help has already been offered by others to help us if we decide to go that route. Again, I just ask that if you are praying for us, to ask for us to have clarity about what decision to make. That is really where we are in the fertility journey. 

   Also, if you know me well, you know that I LOVE VBS! I was asked to assist on the Montgomery Baptist Associational Team again to teach about Backyard Kids Club! Then I also got ask to be a big part of the planning for Journey's VBS as well! It is a big difference in how I have planned in the past, but I am looking forward to it so much! 

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    So, I have had people ask me how we have been after going through everything with the transfer.. and a month ago I would have told you that I was still struggling. I wasn't necessarily angry, I just was at a place of not understanding and it made it really hard. But the past few weeks, I have really been in a good place. I honestly am at peace with everything that happened and am ready to move forward with whatever we decide. Does that mean that the pain isn't still there occasionally? No. It means that I am relying on God and finding peace in the great plan that He has for us. I've said it since the beginning that I don't know what God's exact plan is for us, but I know that this journey is supposed to be used for His Glory no matter the outcome. I got to this place of peace just by drawing closer to Him. The book I just finished in one of my other groups is called A Confident Heart. It is about leaning into God's promises, who He says He is, and who He says we are! Then in my BB group last night, our leader gave us a sheet with 100 Promises of God from His Word, and it was like this all came together at perfect timing! I also want to share it with you all as well! 

Here are some of these promises that I have had to remember through this journey! I really want to focus on these promises the next few months - on learning them and hiding them in my heart! 

1. The Lord will fight for you. (Ex 14:14) 

12. You have review grace and peace. (Philemon 1:3)

22. God is good. (Psalm 145:9) 

38. God works for my GOOD. (Romans 8:28) 

67. Jesus will give you rest. (Matt. 11:28) 

91. God will finish the work he began in me (Phil 1:6) 

Dear God, 

  We just thank you so much for what you are doing in our lives! I pray that as we continue to seek you in our decision, that we are patient and have our ears open to hear and listen to you. I thank you for all the supportive people we have in our lives. It is such a blessing to have those people surround us in love and in prayers. We love you! Amen

If you haven't heard this song, please listen to it. It is beautiful about how powerful it is when we pray for each other in Jesus Name! With Him all things are possible! 

In Jesus Name - Katy Nichole