Oil Diving — Everyday Mercies

For I will take you out of the nations;

I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land.

I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean;

I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols.

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you;

I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.

-Ezekiel 36:24-26

The past 50+ days have been a nightmare for the people of South Louisiana. The oil spill is affecting our shoreline, our wetlands, our wildlife, our food, and our people... And somehow it seems unfixable! It seems like there is no end in sight, and that's scary, especially as the oil moves toward the gulf stream, and we start looking at the Atlantic coast being contaminated as well. You can't turn the TV on without seeing horrible pictures of dead or dying oil soaked wildlife, hearing stories of the men on the oil rig who lost their lives, or of the fishermen who are losing their livelihood one day at a time. Katrina was horrible for South Louisiana, but everyday we hear more and more people making the claim that this is worse. When we walk out of our house on a windy day, the stench of the oil makes it seem even more real. We can't escape it... We can't fix it... It just seems to be absolutely destroying us!

This situation desperately needs your prayers, and every one of them is much appreciated! The spill seems soooo out of control, and yet I know that I serve a God who is in control of all things... We have tried and tried to volunteer with the clean-up of animals and beaches, but there doesn't seem to be anything they will let us do to help... and so we pray.... and we pray, and we pray, and we pray... we pray for this awesome God-made creation that is quickly being destroyed by human error... we pray for His protection over His wildlife, and His children who have to deal with the aftermath... and we pray that we will be changed for the better through this catastrophe and that God will be glorified.

In normal Anna Kathryn-fashion, I feel the Lord teaching me already through the oil spill... I'll try to share what I'm learning with you as short-winded-ly as possible!

When I look at the images of the pelicans on the news, I can't help but think about myself, and my own stench, the sin-soaked slow death that I was once stuck in. No matter how much I tried to clean myself, no matter how much I did to try to mix this sinfulness with the God I love, I couldn't... In the same way the oil in the gulf will not mix with the pure water out there, neither would my sin mix with my perfect and holy God. I couldn't escape it... I couldn't fix it... It was absolutely destroying me!

Can any of you can relate? It feels hopeless, doesn't it? Like the pelicans, the sea turtles, the manatees and dolphins.... we will die if we're not cleansed by something bigger and better than ourselves!

I've attached some pictures of the process the pelicans are going through, from contamination to being cleaned... I hope you'll look at the pictures and see the awesome example that the wildlife workers give us of our God's cleansing work in our lives! First we see these hopeless birds, just soaking in the filth that they can't escape from on their own. Then we see the workers seeking them out and bringing them to safety where we see them being cleaned and made healthy again. Finally we see the final product, a healthy pelican regaining his strength until he is ready to be safely released back into his pelican community.

How perfectly does this depict our journey toward faith!? While we were still sinners, Christ sought us out! (Romans 5:8, Luke 15:1-7) He shed His blood for us, cleansing us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9), so that we can be clean and prepared to go into our communities and the nation to teach about Him and His awesome love for each of us! (Mark 16:15)

Unfortunately, one of the organizations that is rescuing the pelicans is releasing them in Tampa after they've been cleaned... If and when the oil reaches the gulf stream, the very same pelicans that were rescued and cleaned, will be in danger again. Does God send us back into the world after He has rescued us and transformed us? Yes! ....does He send us out there unequipped to face the dangers and sinfulness we will face? No! He doesn't allow us to be tempted beyond what He has given us the capacity to stand up against! (1 Corinthians 10:13) So what does this mean for us? ...for our future? Does this mean when we go out into the world, we shrivel under temptation and dive right back into the oil...? Or do we show gratitude to Him for rescuing us and use the tools He's given us to remain clean?

I guess that's a decision you can make for yourself...

For me... Some days I feel like I do a lot more oil diving than actually using those tools and being grateful to Him for what He's done in my life. Seeing those pelicans everyday is serving as a great reminder to live a life of gratitude. I hope they do the same for you!

Again, your prayers for our people and our coast are greatly appreciated!

I love you all so very much!

--Anna Kathryn

"I thank my God every time I remember you!

In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy!"

-Philippians 1:3

Oh hi!

I'm Anna Kathryn! ...and most days I'm a mess - desperate for the Everyday Mercies of a sovereign God who knows me, pursues me, loves me. I'm here to share my mess, to share His grace, and to encourage moms on this journey with me, embracing the life-giving mercy of Jesus in the exciting, in the mundane, in the failures and successes of each new day. Learn more...

April 2, 2018

Everyday Mercies: faith planner and journal for moms

You know that feeling when you send your kids off to overnight summer camp for the first time...?
You know the one I'm talking about... the feeling as you wave goodbye, and a tear wells up in your eye because you know how very much you'll miss them, but you can't wait to see how they blossom while they're away...?

Yes!
THAT feeling!
Soak it in for a minute...

Ok ok, it's true - I don't personally know that feeling, because my kids are three and five and have never been to overnight summer camp... but I'm imagining it's similar to the feeling I had when I left my personal copy of this beautiful book with my amazing photographer and stunning friend Alli of Alli Cheatwood Photography.

...I knew that what would blossom from it's time away would be more than perfect, and OH was I right!

September 13, 2017

Confidentiality and Identity in Foster Care

We had a sitter once who asked about a friend’s newly adopted child, not by the child’s name or status as a son or daughter, but by the child’s ethnicity. In that very moment, I realized that I needed to be much more confidential about the reasons our foster child was in our care. Because the reasons he came into care did not define him then, and they don’t define him now. Those obstacles are not his identity, nor is the fact that he was in foster care at all. His identity is found in Christ, and in Christ alone. Sometimes I wonder if by sharing details about our foster children, we are unknowingly allowing a large misunderstanding population to assign them a false identity that will follow them the rest of their lives, along with all the stereotypes that will jump on for the ride.

No, actually… I don’t wonder if that happens. I know that happens, because I’ve seen it happen.

August 5, 2019

High School, Jesus, and Everyday Mercies

Did anyone else NOT have it all together in high school?

I was painfully shy.... painfully. From my earliest memories until I went to college.

I like to blame it on my outspoken sister for talking so much that I could never get a word in…. but the truth is, I was just too scared of saying the wrong thing and having people look at me funny. As I grew, it affected more and more parts of my life, down to my spiritual development and growth. In high school I was too shy to go to youth group and WAY too shy to go to Sunday School where I might be *gasp* called on!

I was walking with Jesus at the time, but most of my peers wouldn’t have known… instead they just thought I was awkward and silent. (Which I was. Super awkward and literally silent.) In fact, I remember the question I was asked most by my peers in high school: “Why don’t you talk?” And you know what effect that had? I talked less.

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