Say "Hi!" Sunday

This is my first Sunday participating in Say "Hi!" Sunday hosted by Three P's in a Pod

It's really not complicated . . . at all . . . just hop on over, link up, visit some other links, and say, "Hi!"

That is all :) Have fun!

<3,

Then Sings My Soul Saturday

This is still one of my all time favorite worship songs! We sang it a few times at service project, and there is nothing like the sound of 300 teenagers and leaders singing their hearts out about how much He loves us! :) God is so good!



He is jealous for me,
Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree,
Bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy.
When all of a sudden,
I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory,
And I realise just how beautiful You are,
And how great Your affections are for me.

And oh, how He loves us so,
Oh how He loves us,
How He loves us all

Yeah, He loves us,
Oh! how He loves us,
Oh! how He loves us,
Oh! how He loves.


We are His portion and He is our prize,
Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes,
If grace is an ocean, we’re all sinking.
And Heaven meets earth like an sloppy wet kiss,
And my heart turns violently inside of my chest,
I don’t have time to maintain these regrets,
When I think about, the way

Have a great weekend!

~ My Husband Rocks! ~ My very best friend!

Click here to read about why I started MHR Fridays!

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We laugh together . . .



. . . we cry together.

We have so much fun together!



No matter where we are, how much money we have, or who else is around, we are who we are - each others' best friends! I have been so very aware of this fact all week, and I have also come to the realization that this is not a reality for everyone! I am so blessed to have a husband who loves me, who defends me, and who will always go to bat for me!

I am thankful for my
sweet,
strong,
sensitive
husband!

I am so very blessed!



My husband ROCKS!

Hope you all have a fantastic Friday, and a wonderful weekend!


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I am the only person who has the ability to add blogs to the MHR blogroll. If you are a MHR blogger, and have not been added to the blogroll, plase comment or e-mail me at katylinvw{at}yahoo{dot}com and I will gladly add you to our little group!!!

(if you would like to add the MHR Fridays button to your sidebar, use this code ).

<a href="http://honestandlasting.blogspot.com/2008/06/my-husband-rocks-friday.html"><img src="http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/nn135/katylinvw/mosaicmhrf.jpg"/></a>

If you're not a blogger, but still want the world to know about your amazing husband (or wife, or husband to be, or wife to be, etc.) leave a shout-out in the form of a comment! If you're unable to comment, e-mail me at katylinvw [at] yahoo [dot] com and I'll add your shout out to this post!

As always, on Fridays Union 28 will refund your shipping on any order of two or more items if you mention the great adventure and ~my husband rocks! Fridays~ in the "how did you hear about us?" section of your order form, so run on over there and check them out, too! Thank you Union 28!

Book Review: Courting Trouble by Deanne Gist

"Tired of waiting for a match made in Heaven, she'll settle for one made in Texas."



"It's 1894, the year of Essie's thirtieth birthday, and she decides the Lord has more important things to do than provide her a husband. If she wants one, she needs to cat him herself. So she writes down the names of all the eligible bachelors in her small Texas town, makes a lists of their attributes and drawbacks, closes her eyes, twirls her finger, and . . . picks one. But convincing the lucky "husband-to-be" will be a bit more of a problem."
(quotes from the back cover)

It's summertime and the reading is good :)

I just finished Courting Trouble by Deanne Gist, and I was very impressed!

The story covers about 8 months in the life of a 30-year-old single woman, Esther (Essie) Spreckelmeyer, in the small town of Corsicana, Texas in 1894. Essie is the only child of the town's judge, and beloved by almost everyone in her delightful little hometown.

This book is well-written and obviously, thoroughly well-researched; however, through the first few chapters I was afraid that I was not going to like it. This was mostly because I got that "I'm so embarrassed for you" feeling on almost every page reading about Essie's attempts to catch a husband. I should have realized that that was actually a very good sign - I was already emotionally connected to Essie.

Throughout the rest of the book, we follow Essie as she wrestles with God's plan for her life, and at some points, takes matters into her own hands - with some heartbreaking consequences. I'm pretty sure that the people at the laundromat thought I had lost my mind. There I was, folding clothes and reading simultaneously, and weeping as Essie and her family worked through some of the more serious issues together. (I'd make that a much better sentence, but I'd hate to give away the good parts :D)

This was such a beautiful story of God's grace and redemptive power in a person's life. It was also a wonderful, realistic look at how the choices we make effect everyone around us, not just ourselves. The author also did a fantastic job of looking at God's forgiveness and the importance of accepting His forgiveness by forgiving ourselves.

All in all a great, emotional read that I would highly recommend! I both shed some tears and laughed out loud, and I can't wait to get my hands on the sequel: Deep in the Heart of Trouble.

Hope you have a tremendous Tuesday!

June 2011 Newsletter

June Newsletter

To see this newsletter on the Scribd website, click the link at the top of the post :)

If you would like to become a part of our support team, please visit www.yfc.org/give. There are several different ways to give which you can select by clicking on the appropriate link. When you get to the "Donation Information" section, please be sure that you select "VanWyk, Austin & Katy" from the "Designation" drop-down menu.

If you have any questions, or if you would like to receive our newsletters in hard copy, please shoot us an e-mail at hossandkatylin{at}gmail{dot}com

His,

March 2011 Newsletter

March Newsletter

To see this newsletter on the Scribd website, click the link at the top of the post :)

If you would like to become a part of our support team, please visit www.yfc.org/give. There are several different ways to give which you can select by clicking on the appropriate link. When you get to the "Donation Information" section, please be sure that you select "VanWyk, Austin & Katy" from the "Designation" drop-down menu.

If you have any questions, or if you would like to receive our newsletters in hard copy, please shoot us an e-mail at hossandkatylin{at}gmail{dot}com

His,

I need...

. . . okay, I couldn't even finish the title. Need is definitely strong.

I REALLY, really, really want a 220v KitchenAid mixer.

Yes.

I know that even thinking the sentence "I need a KitchenAid" proves that I am a very spoiled American. And that is the truth.

However, I don't think I know how to cook/bake/do anything culinarily related without a KitchenAid.


Isn't it beautiful?
It is all I've ever known! My parents had one in their kitchen, so I grew up with it. We received one as a wedding present, so all of the years we lived in Iowa, it was my faithful kitchen companion.

Now here I find myself: smack in the middle of Germany, no KitchenAid to be found. *sniff*

Actually, that's not true. They have KitchenAid mixers here. I would just have to promise my first-born to the store to get to take one home.

So, I will make due with my trusty hand mixer. And be thankful for it :) - honestly! I know that life could be so much worse, and the fact that I can even think to pine for a KitchenAid means that I have more to be thankful for than about 90% of the world's population.

Thanks for indulging my whininess :)

Hope you're having a great day!

His,

January 2011 Newsletter

January Newsletter

To see this newsletter on the Scribd website, click the link at the top of the post :)

If you would like to become a part of our support team, please visit www.yfc.org/give. There are several different ways to give which you can select by clicking on the appropriate link. When you get to the "Donation Information" section, please be sure that you select "VanWyk, Austin & Katy" from the "Designation" drop-down menu.

If you have any questions, or if you would like to receive our newsletters in hard copy, please shoot us an e-mail at hossandkatylin{at}gmail{dot}com

Blessings,

Newsletters

In the next couple of days I will be posting our newsletters from the past few months. Sometimes I'm a little slow, and forgot that this was even an option :) From here on out, I will be posting them as they are written/mailed.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to comment, or shoot us an e-mail at hossandkatylin{at}gmail{dot}com

His,