Kristin Saatzer

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Is He Safe?

June 26, 2022 By Kristin Saatzer 4 Comments

A couple of weeks ago, my husband lost his job. The day I learned this news, my mom called to tell me that my stepdad has cancer. Again.

This day’s news triggered me and tripped me up as my mind traveled through the past six years of my life and the often-recurring trauma, loss, heartache, and physical suffering. I am astonished that I am still standing.

Or am I? Still, standing?

This thing called “adulting” stinks some days. Some seasons. Some years. Who’s with me? I know a few of you are because I hear from you. Your stories break my heart, and your prayer requests bring me to my knees.

So, there’s a thought that nags. Oftentimes it is there when I pray, and I have only recently allowed myself to swirl it around in my mind to see it for what it is. And then today, I admitted it to God.

Lord, I believe You are good, but I wonder if You are safe. Continue Reading

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Four Faves for May

May 23, 2022 By Kristin Saatzer 5 Comments

Happy Mid-Spring! It’s that glorious time of year when the stunning Jacaranda trees bloom in Southern California (my favorite tree).

Here are four other faves that I’d love to share with you:

One: The Lectio 365 Prayer App (free). I’ve been using it almost daily for a few months. I adore the beautiful spoken prayers to begin and end the day. I am hooked: https://www.24-7prayer.com/resource/lectio-365/

Two: I am passionate about learning, and going deep in God’s word. The Back Porch Theology Podcast with Lisa Harper is a delight and makes theology user-friendly. I look forward to it each week and I haven’t missed one yet: https://lisaharper.org/podcast

Three: As we gear up for summer reading, there’s a book you might like to add to your list: The Maid, by Nita Prose. A cozy mystery (that is mostly clean) with a delightful protagonist. A perfect beach or airplane read.

Four: A lovely short story with pretty illustrations called, “Home is a Cup of Tea”: https://longreads.com/2017/07/03/home-is-a-cup-of-tea/?mc_cid=16c2de1db9&mc_eid=9b3c14bce2

What are you enjoying these days?

Until next time!

Blessings,

Kristin 

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Room for Rest

April 6, 2022 By Kristin Saatzer 4 Comments

 

The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”

Mark 6:30 and 31 NIV

This season, I am looking at Lent differently. Many in the Christian faith choose to observe Lent by fasting from something (meat, sugar, TV, social media…) in the weeks approaching Easter. I have often done the same. But this year, I have chosen to fast from my “to do” list. I am making room for rest, exchanging busyness for some time in quiet contemplation. As the pandemic numbers go down and the world opens up, it seems life is speeding up faster than I want it to.

I am weary. As I write, I am recovering from an illness that has hung on for eighteen months. I am learning to accept what my body can and cannot do, build margins around my health, and allow others to pick up my slack. I don’t like it, yet invincible I am not. So, I lean in. I transfer trust in my strength to my Savior’s.

In God’s word, we read how the Messiah repeatedly made room for rest; it was a priority in His ministry. He took His men away from the expectant demanding masses to recharge and He often got away by Himself.

We find an example of this in Mark, chapter 6. Jesus sent the disciples out two by two to minister to the people of Galilee. He gave them His divine authority to preach, heal, and cast out demons. They returned to Him with accounts of their triumphs and the stories of God’s achievements. The crowds clamored to get to the Master and His men who needed rest and care after a busy time. So, the Savior insisted that they steal away together to refocus, recover, sabbath, and spend intimate time as a group.

I love that Christ implores us in His word to come to Him for rest, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28 NIV. It’s like a holy permission slip. In fact, Jesus called Himself the Lord of the Sabbath in Matthew 12:8.

Hebrews 4:9-10 NIV says, “There remains then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their work, just as God did from His.” This Lenten season is the perfect time for us, the people of God, to take as much off the “to-do” list as possible, follow the Savior’s example, and cease striving. Let us sit at His feet and fix our eyes and hearts closer than we ever have before on His death and resurrection.

Let us lean into God’s Sabbath rest.

 

“To enter our Sabbath rest, we must come to God in humble submission to His truth and in complete dependence on Him. In order to cease striving, we must transfer our trust away from our own abilities, our own accomplishments, our own strength, and place it on His provisions.”

Charles Swindoll, Jesus: The Greatest Life of All

 

Reflection:

  1. Are you weary? Do you need to cease striving and take some things off your “to-do” list?
  2. Write down ways you will build margin in your life this spring.

 

 

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Feb Faves

February 26, 2022 By Kristin Saatzer 2 Comments

Hi friends!

I thought I would end the month by sharing some of my favorites of late…

Book: My reading life in 2021 has proved enjoyable thus far, and there is one book, in particular, I’d like to share with you. It is called The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry: How to stay emotionally healthy and spiritually alive in the chaos of the modern world by John Mark Comer. I loved this book so much that I started it again as soon as I finished it. Here is a quote: “Both sin and busyness have the same effect–they cut off your connection to God, to other people, and even to your own soul.”

Link: Even if the creator of this video was not my son, I would love it!  Enjoy: https://youtu.be/QTlLstJ5x4Q

TV Show: All Creatures Great and Small, Season 2. It is sweet and wholesome with all the feels.     https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/shows/all-creatures-great-and-small/#

Instagram: I am a fan of Dr. Daniel Amen. He is a psychiatrist and prolific author specializing in brain health (and so much more). Follow him for daily content with great tips on caring for and optimizing your brain: https://www.instagram.com/doc_amen/

 

Blessings,

Kristin

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Our baby is 18 today! The gift that this young man is to me defies description. Happy happy birthday, my Micah Jack, you are one of God’s sweetest gifts. I love you beyond measure.
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Our baby is 18 today! The gift that this young man is to me defies description. Happy happy birthday, my Micah Jack, you are one of God’s sweetest gifts. I love you beyond measure.
"Young boys should never be sent to bed. They always wake up a day older, and then before you know it, they're grown."
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Our baby is 18 today! The gift that this young man is to me defies description. Happy happy birthday, my Micah Jack, you are one of God’s sweetest gifts. I love you beyond measure.
"Young boys should never be sent to bed. They always wake up a day older, and then before you know it, they're grown."
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Our baby is 18 today! The gift that this young man is to me defies description. Happy happy birthday, my Micah Jack, you are one of God’s sweetest gifts. I love you beyond measure.
"Young boys should never be sent to bed. They always wake up a day older, and then before you know it, they're grown."
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Our baby is 18 today! The gift that this young man is to me defies description. Happy happy birthday, my Micah Jack, you are one of God’s sweetest gifts. I love you beyond measure.
"Young boys should never be sent to bed. They always wake up a day older, and then before you know it, they're grown."
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