September 17, 2013

Kisses from Katie

Katie's been compared to Mother Teresa and Amy Carmichael and I would have to agree and do the same.

I feel Katie is wise beyond her years and she shares this wisdom in her beautiful book.

For example Katie writes about...Psalm 37:4

"Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart." 
                   
"I used to believe it meant that if I did what the Lord asked of me, followed His commandments, and was a 'good girl,' He would grant all my desires and make my dreams come true. Today, this is still one of my favorite passages of Scripture, but I have learned to interpret it in a totally different way. It is not about God making my dreams come true but about God changing my dreams into His dreams for my life."

If you follow my blog you know I've been quoting Amy Carmichael book 'if' on Fridays. There is one quote that really struck me and I think about often:

If...I refuse to allow one who is dear to
        me to suffer for the sake of Christ,
if I do not see such suffering as the
       greatest honor that can be
       offered to any follower of the
       Crucified,
then I know nothing of Calvary love.


Now this doesn't mean I want my child to suffer, but that I be willing to give them up to the Lord and trust Him with them.

This is hard. It was hard for me when my daughter went to Africa and it was hard for Katie's parents when their daughter decided to live in Africa.

and yet Katie says here:

"Sometimes I felt it was easier to cling to Jesus in that state of having nothing (in Africa) than it was to cling to Him while surrounded by the abundance of America. Although I was not physically hungry or in need, my soul was thirstier than ever."

Isn't that what every Christian parent wants for their child, to cling to the Savior? Isn't that the only way a person can really get to know Him?


One particular thing that stood out to me in this book was how she talked about her children...the thirteen girls she has adopted!

Katie has such a mother's heart and I loved reading about the simple daily things us mothers do everyday that mean so much to a child. It was encouraging as a mother myself. We really do have the most important job in the world!

Katie with her 13 daughters


Lastly near the end of the book Katie talks about how she is often surprised by how much God loves her.

She writes about it here:

"I was sharing all of this with a friend recently, this wonderful surprise of how much He delights in me. He simply laughed and said, 'Of course. He loves you, Katie. You are one of His favorite people.' 

The truth resonated in my spirit. Yes, that is what I feel like: one of His favorites, lavished with His love. Isn't that what He wants each and every one of His children to feel, all the time? 

The big God of small details loves each one of us so intimately, created each of us in His image. Each one of us is cherished. How would life change if we thought of each other as such? If each person who approached us we treated as beloved of God, cherished by God, one of God's favorite people? 

The God of the universe delights in you. In me. In them. 

Could we rest in that? Could we love like that?"

I think that was my favorite passage in the book! : )

I can't tell you how inspiring Katie is and how I enjoyed her wisdom, wisdom she is living out. I highly recommend her book.

Visit Katie's ministry blog:amazima

Buy it HERE on Amazon



18 comments:

  1. Wow, I am excited to read this. Thank you!

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  2. This looks great- I have seen it before but glad you shared your thoughts!

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  3. Thank you for sharing this. I really enjoyed the quotes and was comforted by one in specific (the Amy Carmichael one). This is something I will think about as some changes are going on for my loved one's this week. I am visiting from Deep Roots at Home and glad I did ;)

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  4. Kisses from Katie is a great book. It was really impactful for one of my daughters. She read it before and during our trip to Haiti in January.

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  5. I loved this book! It is such a testimony of God at work when we are totally yielded to Him.

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  6. This sounds like a must read! I firmly believe there is no safer place we can put our children, than in Jesus' care asking Him to glorify Himself through their lives. It is hard, but with practice it becomes easier and easier! Thanks for sharing this book.
    Blessings XX
    Mia

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  7. This sounds amazing! Thank you so much for sharing! I'm going to see if my library has it! :)

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  8. Visiting today from the Fellowship Friday blog hop! I thoroughly enjoyed your review of the book "Kisses from Katie". I wouldn't say that I'm an avid ready though I do enjoy a good book, one that I can really sink my teeth in so to speak. This sounds like a lovely, heart-inspiring read that is going on my "to-read" list. http://vintagehousewife.org/2013/09/20/five-minute-friday-she/

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  9. Thank you so much for this refreshing book review. I felt uplifted by your writing style as I read it. I haven't read Katie's book but my daughter has. I'd like to read it sometime soon.

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  10. This was one of my favorite reads last year!

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  11. Amy Carmichael is one of my favorite people! Thank you for introducing me to Katie! I will definitely check out her book.

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  12. I have read Kisses from Katie, and also got to know Katie herself while doing short term mission work in Jinja, Uganda. She is a beautiful girl, inside and out.

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  13. Glad those of you who have read this enjoyed it too. If you haven't read this book yet, I'm pretty sure you will enjoy it and be blessed by it. It's a beautiful book. Thanks for all stopping by! : )

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  14. Hi Cathy,

    Nice to meet you. That's such a good book, isn't it? I enjoy her blog too.

    So your daughter is in Africa? That's great. Where? I used to live in West Africa for several years, and loved it.

    Have a great week,
    Jennifer Dougan
    www.jenniferdougan.com

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    1. Hi Jennifer, nice to meet you too. : )

      My daughter went to Ethiopia last fall for 6 weeks to help at a mission there. It was a wonderful experience for her and she especially loved the children!

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  15. We started reading this book earlier, but stopped because we are going to do a Unit Study for our homeschool on it. But the chapters that we did read were just amazing! She will truly encourage anyone who reads it. Thank you for sharing this because it is definitely a great read.
    www.thehealthyandfithomeschoolmom.com

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    1. Great book to read with your kids! Thanks for stopping by. : )

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  16. I've heard such good things about this book! I'm moving it higher on my reading list now! Sorry I’m so late to pop over! Thanks for sharing this post at Booknificent Thursday last week! Looking forward to seeing what you have to share with us this week!
    Tina

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Feel free to leave your own thoughts in the comments. I try to respond to all of them by the end of the week. : )