A long story for a little lady... my Grandma Rene!! :)

Let me start by saying, " I sure hope my Grandma is okay with me putting all this out there!!!"

To me God made something special when He made my Grandma Rene. I will say growing up I strongly disliked whenever I tried to tell her a story and she would stop to correct my poor grammar. "Kathryn, who?" she would say. And I would sigh dramatically big (i was/can be a bit dramatic) and say, "my friends and I". Seriously, being the kid of a principal and music teacher was tough enough, but add to it the granddaughter of 2nd grade teacher and I thought I had it rough. :)

Soo tourtured... or sooo loved!!! I think its the latter :) My Grandma Rene and me (2 yrs old)

Kathryn (2), Grandma Rene, and Jenn (6)

The wiser, older, me is very thankful for the guidance and help from all my family growing up. And now I find myself silently correcting everyone anytime they start a sentence with "me and my friends, or me and so and so." I think my Grandma would be proud she's engrained that in me.  But seriously, if you say that around me and you see me smile it's not your story. It's the thoughts of the gentle correction my grandma always would give me, along with an ever so gentle judgment on your lack of skill in the grammar department. (Sorry i'm human, i try not to judge but poor grammar gets me every time!)

But I digress, if you read my Happy Heart Day post last year then you know that I have some pretty amazing family. (Full disclosure, every family has its disfunction ... it puts the FUN in family, but despite our sinful nature and flaws my family is pretty darn awesome!)

So, todays tale starts last week with a great FaceTime spent talking with my Grandma Rene. She is the recent recipient of my uncles Ipad and has google fiber.... yes google fiber in her town of (i think this is right) less then 600. I know at one point it boasted a pop. of 700 but my grandma told me they decided not to count the dogs anymore so its 600. So regardless, a very small town with google fiber! Be jealous!

She is learning how to use her ipad and facetime and I love it!!! I get to see her face more often since I live so far away and only get up to the portion of Iowa once a year.

My Grandma Rene and Grandpa Leonard from Christmas 2014 :) 

So, we were talking and I told her I was going two stepping that night. To which (as does everyone and i do mean EVERYONE in my life) she gently asked if I was going with a group of friends or with a fella.

When you reach your late 20s and are in church work everyone and their grandma (mine included) want to set you up, find you your husband or talk about why you seem so single. Sometimes, it does get the better of me and I get a bit snarky in my responses, but I knew my grandma was simply trying to gently ask if I was seeing anyone. I told her I had been seeing someone, but that it wasn't the guy for me so right now I'm single.

She told me that if it was God's will he would work it out and that she had really tested God in finding her her husband, and she thought she'd never find the guy for her. (If someone who has been married for 60 years starts giving you advice on marriage and relationships you sit up and listen---60 years folks that's amazing!!)

I laughed and she told me, " I told God I wanted to marry someone who didn't drink, didn't smoke and loved God." She thought 60 years ago that would be impossible to find, but God placed my grandpa Leonard in her life through a quick decision of a change in plans. Instead of going to see a movie, last minute my Grandpa and his friend Sam decided to go bowling instead. Sam and my grandpa both met their future wives that night at the bowling alley. (God is in the smallest of decisions!!!)

I laughed and told her, "I'm okay if he drinks the occasional wine, and your criteria are my criteria too, but I'd also prefer if he was taller then me." At 4 foot 10 she never had to worry about this last bit (my grandpa is over 6 foot tall), and we laughed as she agreed she would never have dated anyone shorter then her. That'd just be too short!

There was a lot more laughing within our conversation but we ended with her saying that she understood my waiting, that I should be picky, and that she was and would be praying for me to find a good tall Christian man!

Too which I said, "Your prayers seemed to work well for me 28 years ago, it seems you've got the big guy's ear. So, yes, pray for me!! Maybe they'll work, if it's God's will." We laughed and truly enjoyed our talk and time on Facetime together. Man is technology a huge blessing when you're in ministry and live far away from family!! 

But seriously, there is power in prayer, and while I jokingly laugh off the power of prayer to find me a good husband, I also realize that we're called to pray in all times without ceasing about all things. -- That's scripture folks!. (1 Thess. 5:17).

So, today is Happy Heart Day and given the recent conversation with my Grandma about prayer I thought it was fitting to share a poem of prayer my grandma wrote for me. Prayer has the power to change lives, to transform, and to grow our relationship with Christ and with each other. Here is a prayer that is forever near and dear to my heart in so many ways, and if you did read my post last year this is the prayer poem I referred to receiving from my Grandma Rene 25 years after my heart surgery.

This was written for my granddaughter Kathryn. I'll give it to her when she is older. 

It took me all afternoon to write it and all evening to polish it. 

She tacked this photo taken 6/1/86 on the front of the poem: Dad, Mom, Jenn and Kathryn

I Prayed for You by Maurine Amendt

Mom (Janna) and me 5/9/86

Kathryn Marie, I prayed for you. 

The news of your birth on May 9th

Came to me as I finished noon duty. 

You were only a couple hours old

When I learned you weighed  7lbs 11 oz.

And Mom was so proud of your long dark hair.

Dad (Bruce) and me... look at that hair! 5/9/86

The next day was Saturday so

Grandma & Grandpa drove to Mason City. 

We visited with Mom, Dad, and Jennifer. 

"Do you want to see my sister?"

Jennifer bounced down the hall

Jenn (4 yrs) looking in on her baby sis

Climbed up to the viewing steps

And announced to all

"There's Baby Kathryn!"

I, too, climbed up the steps

And knelt beside Jennifer

Note the pic of my adorable sis Jenn on my bassinet May 86

And gazed in awe. 

Such beautiful long dark hair. 

"See my picture?" Jennifer asked. 

Her photo was taped to your bassinet. 

The hospital "Sibling Class" had planned ahead

So you and Jennifer could become close friends. 

Then Dad told of a slight heart murmur. 

Tests were scheduled for the morrrow. 

Kathryn Marie, I prayed for you. 

Dad called Sunday evening after consultation 

No hole in the heart or meningitis

Pneumonia was the diagnosis. 

Your respiration and pulse were high, 

Medication and tubes were prescribed.

Mom came home Thursday, very sad, 

You had to stay a few more days,

And Jennifer went home with Grandma Hight. 

Mom and Dad were all alone. 

Kathryn Marie, I prayed for you. 

The following Sunday, the news was worse. 

You were flying by helicopter to Iowa City, 

Your pulse and respiration hovered at 200. 

No one knew if you'd survive the flight

For possible heart surgery on Monday. 

Mom and Dad drove to Iowa City. 

They met Pastor Bailey, Aunt Larie's minister,

Who baptized you into Christ's family. 

Kathryn Marie, I prayed for you.

Larie and I drove for hours. 

I could not teach Monday

If you were having heart surgery. 

It was a tearful reunion at the hospital, 

Then on to Larie's apartment

Where phone calls were made

To all concerned at home. 

"Kathryn had survived the flight

Heart catherization was scheduled for morning."

Kathryn Marie, I prayed for you. 

At 6:30 a.m. we were visiting you. 

This was my first chance to touch you. 

May 1986

"Please, Lord, don't let it be my last!"

Tears flowed as I snapped pictures

Of you with Mom and Dad. 

The nurse wheeled you out

In your self-contained unit. 

Oh, so many monitors and tubes

On such a tiny baby. 

But then I glanced at 25 other babies

You were bigger by far. 

Kathryn Marie, I prayed for you. 

We waited an eternity

Four long hours

In a very tiny waiting room. 

We thumbed through magazines, 

Read bulletin board notices, 

Compassionate Friends 515-424-7211.

"Please, Jesus, don't let us need that number."

Finally the doctors arrived. 

We studied their faces

And prayed for good news. 

"Her heart valve is bicuspid

Instead of tricuspid, 

But is functioning fine.

No surgery is needed for that. 

She does have coarctation of the aorta

And that will need surgery."

The doctors prescribed medication

And advised no surgery until age 3 or 4. 

Kathryn Marie, I prayed for you. 

My rededication clearly I was happy! 6/15/86 Me, Mom, Jenn, Dad

What a beautiful service on June 15th. 

Your parents, Jennifer, and grandparents witnessed

Your rededication on Father's Day, 

When you were 37 days old. 

Your mom and Aunt Brenda sang a duet. 

It was called, "For Baby",

And was very tender and loving. 

The whole congregation prayed for you. 

When you are an adult 

And read this poem 

You will know that every day

Kathryn Marie, I prayed for you. 

Every single time I read that poem I am in awe at the faith of my grandmother, my family and at the amazing power of prayer! If you don't believe me re-read it and re-read my Happy Heart Day post from last year. Prayer is amazing!

This is my "they're gonna do WHAT to me??? " face : Me, Jenn and Mom 3/2/87

This poem was written before I had to have heart surgery at 10 months old on March 3, 1987.

Here's a few pics the day before my big surgery.  

Dad, Mom, Jenn and Myself 3/2/1987

Dad and me 3/2/87

Can we all agree my sister has the best smile!!! Jenn, me and my dad 3/2/87

God preformed some pretty amazing miracles that day, but it's the relationships and the heart that has come out of such pain that has truly been the biggest blessing. 

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. -- Romans 8:26. 

While my family was praying in agony or at times simply relying on the Spirit to intercede, God was and continues to work miracles that day and to this day. 

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. -- Romans 8:28

That day was a hard day in the Amendt family, one that can now years later be looked back on with joy and thanksgiving. This wasn't and won't be the hardest, worse or last bad day in my life or the lives of my family. This side of heaven we will continue to experience pain, sorrow, hurt, and agony because we live in a broken world full of messed up people who from time to time mess each other up. But I thank God that through prayer, through Him, He is able to bring beauty out of dust, miracles out of caios, and a happy heart out of one once broken. 

I used to hate my limitations and my scars but I know that my scars saved my life, without my scars I wouldn't be here and I wouldn't be who I am today. But I also know by His scars on his hands, his feet and his side... by Jesus' scars my life isn't just saved here on earth and my life isn't just transformed here on earth. But by His scars I have been given new life, eternal life and through His suffering and pain we all get to experience great joy! What gladness fills my heart with that knowledge!!!

I thank God for His amazing hand in my life, in my relationships and for all the amazing blessings he has so graciously given to me... especially the love and prayers of one pretty amazing woman of faith, my Grandma Rene!! 

Grandpa and Grandma Amendt 2014

Happy Heart Day!! Remember God can bring good out of your deepest pain, beauty out of your ugliest days , and joy out of the most broken of hearts if you trust in Him! God bless and Happy Heart Day!!!!

Ps I called my grandma she's okay with me sharing this story ;) 

Pps My parents are pretty darn sweet too!! 

Ppps My sister rocks as well!!! Check out our cuteness!! 

I think the Sibling Class my grandma mentions works cuz I thank God for my Best Friend Jenn!!!

Pppps To my sister and Grandma Rene... don't proof read this post too harshly... i tried my best to edit it, but it's a bit of a long post ;) 

Ppppps at what point does post scripts get a bit redundant and you should've just continued in normal paragraph form? The answer!!! Never!!! Sorry not sorry for all my post scripts :) hehehe Happy heart day again y'all make it a good one!

Let the challenge begin... 30 by 30!!

I started 2015 off like many folks I'm sure...Investing my free time, oh so wisely, in rewatching the entire series of Friends on Netflix! (seriously a great show!!!)  While watching the episode of Rachel turning 30 I realized I would soon be turning 30 in a little more then a year and half. I also realized when this show came out how OLD 30 seemed... it didn't seem so old anymore. 

I thought 'I'm TURNING 30!!!?!?!?! What have I really accomplished in those 30 years? Why am I sitting at home alone with netflix and Morelli? Is this who I wanted to be at 28, let a lone on the precipice of turning 30?' 

So, as someone who loves to make spontaneous "semi" planned out MAJOR life changes, goals, and trips I decided why not get my booty off the couch and accomplish something! And stop letting mindless activities like watching T.V. rob me of my joy and zest for life. 

I'd like to say after this epiphany I immediately jumped up, grabbed the proverbially bull by the horns, and at the very least went for a run with the pup; but alas I thought why not make a list and start checking that list tomorrow... or soon... or after I turn 29. 

Who can say no to a run with this guy!! That face!

Let's just say sometimes my procrastination gets the best of me so instead of getting up and going right away I googled 30 by 30 and started reading what other people put on their lists. Here the most common things I found...

1. Quit your job for your dream job

2. Go back to school to get your dream job

3. Move to a new city

4. Move to a new state

5. Start your 401k

6. Start a Roth IRA 

7. Learn to be a bartender  

8. Go on a foreign mission trip

9. Learn to be a barista

10. Mentor someone

11. Run a 5k 

12. Get a dog

13. Learn to forgive

14. Go Karaoke 

15. Travel to Paris, London, Europe

16. Get a Tattoo

17. See a pro sport

18. Learn an instrument

19. Visit Vegas

20. Go wine tasting

21. Learn to live alone

22. Go see your favorite band in concert

23. See a Broadway show

24. Go on a cross country road trip

25. See the northern lights in Alaska

26. Try a fast

27. Climb a mountain

28. Dine out by yourself

29. Join an intramural sports team

30. Go whitewater rafting

And what would you know I have already done ALL 30 of these most common things!!!!! Go me!!! Turns out I had accomplished more then I had really realized. God is good and has blessed me richly!!

I quickly realized this pity party of thoughts I had mere minutes ago were really lies Satan was telling me. He wanted me sitting in front of my T.V. feeling complacent, unhappy, and too lazy to change anything. So, I thought why not try to accomplish 30 more things!!!! Take that Satan :P... soon enough I had over 50 things I wanted to do in a little over a year and half. 

Tammy & Kathryn AZ mission trip summer 2014

The next morning I found myself trying to make my list shorter, and as with anything that I am particularly jazzed about I couldn't contain my joy to myself. I had to tell someone, enter my good friend Tammy/early morning workout partner. While running on the treadmill I told her my exciting idea and she began to tell me about how she has been wanting, for sometime, to continue her education and check off some goals. So, I told Tammy make a list and lets do this together!!! To which in her wonderfully joyful way she agreed and we started brainstorming her list while we worked on our back and biceps :) --side note: I love that for years I wasn't allowed to lift upper body weights due to my heart condition and now I can add nonchalantly this little tidbit! God is GOOD! And I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me... seriously!!!

I'm sure Tammy will love for me to share with you that she also is turning a big milestone birthday in 2016. So while I will be doing 30 by 30, Tammy will be joining me in doing 30 by 50!!! What better way to reach your goals then to have a partner in those goals! 

Patricia & Kathryn Mission Trip Summer 2014

As God is in the big things and the littlest of details the story doesn't end there...

Last Sunday Tammy and I were out to lunch with our good friend Patricia and in telling her our grand exciting plan for the next year and half we realized Patricia is turning 75 in 2016!!!! (Godincidence not just a mere coincidence) So.... now we three are doing 30 by 30, 30 by 50, and 30 by 75!!! Let's do this!! 

You may wonder like I did, is Kathryn crazy and just really persuasive in getting people to join her in her hair brained ideas or is there something greater at work in all of this???



I would say its BOTH!! To me one of the biggest lies Satan tells us is that we are all alone in our lives, in our struggles, and in whatever "stage" of life we may currently be residing. But God is showing me more and more everyday that no matter your age, your stage in life, how much you've already accomplished or not accomplished... He (God) is working wonders in even the littlest of details. He brought the 3 of us women together last summer on a mission trip to Arizona and little did we know where that would take us.

Our whole Apache Mission Trip team summer 2014

This trip helped develop deep relationships that allowed us each to open up about our lives over lunch after church on Sunday afternoon. In doing so He showed us how much alike we all were and how much joy, excitement, and encouragement we bring and will continue to bring into each others lives! Let me just say that at 28, 48, and 73 we all were feeling a bit lonely and down, and were looking for something to do to get us out of our houses and reaching for goals we had all been putting off. What greater joy is there then sharing life and love with those God has placed in your path?

I learned long ago that "In his heart man plans his course, but the Lord establishes his steps."--Proverbs 16:9. In making our lists my prayer is that as we plan our course for the next year and half together, God will show us the steps to take and do with this more then the three of us could ever imagine. Our lists are not finalized but Patricia has already signed up for an oil painting class (on her list), and Tammy and I have scheduled and bought tickets to zipline in Austin this March (on both our lists). 

God started this relationship, grew it and molded it on a mission trip last summer and we realized as we were discussing our lists we needed one FINAL BIG thing we all really have been wanting to do and to check it off together. I find it fitting that throughout our talk God guided us to discover we had all always wanted to visit Peru and what better way then to end this goal where it all started. On a mission trip serving God, shining His light and love, and growing in our relationship with God, each other and with those He has yet to place along our journey. 

So, coming soon the finalized 30 by 30, 30 by 50 and 30 by 75 lists. But just so you all know... number 30 on all three lists is...

30. Mission Trip to Peru Summer 2016. 

I'm excited to see where this adventure takes the three of us and how God will not only bless our lives but hopefully use this awesome adventure to bless and grow His Kingdom and quiet frankly shut up Satan and his lies he tries to tell us all daily. 

If you've read this whole thing then my final challenge to you today is what in the next year and half have you been putting off, thinking you couldn't do, weren't good enough to do and how can you start today to reach for that one goal? 

Know that you are loved, are good enough, and can do all things through Christ Jesus! 


Stay tuned for the lists, posts and pics of the lists being checked off :) 

Happy Heart day!!!

Today is Heart Day!!! I think it is utterly fascinating how many different sayings, phrases, songs, books, poems, emjois, etc. we have for issues of the heart. The heart is a fascinating, mind-bending thing. It’s an organ but it’s also so much more. For me my whole life has been a matter of the heart. I literally wear my heart on my sleeve (if you’ve seen my tattoo), but that’s not the whole story.

If you’re like me you love a good story, one that takes you into experiences you couldn’t possibly imagine, down paths with twists and turns you never could predict, and filled with an inspiring, consuming love that you can only dream one day to be able to grasp at. Some authors can write a story that is so semantically beautiful that at times you feel as though you can smell and taste the very scenery they describe. The world of books is one that I love to escape and get lost in. One I feel many of us love to wish and long for, but I feel we sometimes miss the forest for the trees.

            You see while I read fascinating plots with crazy twists and epic love stories I realize I’m missing the epic tale that God is writing in my own mundane life. Yes, I don’t like when the alarm clock rings and I have to roll out of my delightfully warm bed to travel the few steps to my desk to start my workday. Yes, I loathe trudging down the three flights of stairs in the freezing (albeit most the time above freezing) weather to let my 4 year old black lab do his business. I realize as I scroll through facebook and see all my “friends” traveling to far off places, getting married, making babies; that I covet their milestones and life stories. And don’t even get me started on the chores of life that make me grumble and groan while I sweep up the equivalent of a small puppy from the fur that billows off my dog, or while I stuff as much laundry into one load and then leave it in the dryer for days because the thought of folding and hanging a months worth of clothes just seems too immense to bare.

            But that’s life! Right? The everyday mundane things that make us grumble is life. But it’s what we all try to escape from when we watch movies, read books or play video games (to list a few). And I can’t help but laugh at myself for how much I seem to view life as chores instead of blessings, as mundane instead of extraordinary. Instead of extra…ordinary! You see, I… like you, have this amazingly epic love story unfolding before my eyes every moment of everyday, but I miss it!

This is my story of the heart, my love story…. What’s yours?

My parents prayed, and tried for years to have their second child. You see they loved the amazing little blonde haired blue-eyed, vivacious girl that God had blessed them with, and they longed to give her a sibling to play with. They wanted to plan to have their kids two years apart so they could play and be fast friends. But as God always seems to do, he has a different plan. So at almost four years since their first, God answered my parent’s prayers with their second daughter. Their precious baby was blessed with a crazy head of long dark hair and a not so perfect heart. They watched helplessly as their little baby went through heart failure, was life flighted away, was baptized in the hospital for fear that she wouldn’t survive long in our world, and then discovered that she was born with two heart defects: a narrowing in the aorta and a bicuspid aortic valve. They spent the first months of her life feeding her medicine that she would throw up and wondering what God’s purpose and plan for all this was. At ten months old they found out the medicine was no longer helping their little girl and that she would need to go under the knife. After a long day on March 3, 1987 their little girl came out of surgery mended and full of energy. She no longer had a pulse in her left arm as they used it to fix the narrowing in her aorta but they were told she would live a very long and normal life.

My Family (left to right) Me, Janna, Bruce, Joe, Jenn

            This was my story, the story I was told a lot growing up. I was told it everytime we went back to the hospital for my check ups, everytime I complained because I wasn’t allowed to do the same things my classmates were doing for fear that it would put too much stress on my heart, everytime I went to the dentist and had to chew 9 huge chalky nasty antiobotics to prevent bacteria from getting into my body for fear my heart couldn’t fight an infection. Over and over I heard my story. And I hated it! I hated that I was different, that in third grade I was no longer allowed to do anything that strained my upper body, so doing the ropes in gym class was out.

I hated my story, but it was mine and I learned over the years to embrace it. I knew that my life was a miracle but I didn’t see just how beautifully God is at writing each of our stories.

            God, had a plan and still does! At 25 I realized God was calling me into full time ministry so I decided to quit my job in corporate America and move to Texas to go back to school. I went to visit my grandparents before I moved out of Iowa and soon learned just how amazingly detailed my love story is. You see I knew my parents prayed, I knew that God answered their prayers for my life, to keep me safe and healthy; and to help me survive that first precarious year. But I didn’t know just how covered in prayer I was during that time. My paternal grandmother gave me a poem she had written that first year of my life titled “Kathryn Marie I prayed for you”. In a nutshell it is one of the most wonderful gifts I could ever have received from her and something I have and will treasure all my life. Over and over the poem repeats “Kathryn Marie I prayed for you!” After receiving this wonderful gift I left to go visit my maternal grandparents and go to church with them. At the end of the church service my Grandmother got up and asked for the congregation to pray for me, she told them about my plans for going into ministry, and then reminded them that they had prayed for me before. On March 3, 1987 they had held a 24-hour prayer vigil while I was undergoing surgery.

My Grandma Amendt and I --the day she gave me the poem

My Grandpa Amendt and I

My Grandpa and Grandma Hight--the same day as the above pics (and the day she asked her church to pray for me)

            My imperfectly formed heart was overflowing that day with awe, love, thanksgiving, and so many more emotions then I can put into words. My mundane life was (is) a series of answered prayers by some pretty amazing prayer warriors. God had and has a plan. God had truly blessed my life, my family, my surgeon’s hands, and my heart more then I ever imagined. His story for me was more riddled with details then I knew.

            That vivacious little blonde blue-eyed girl I mentioned earlier…. My amazingly wonderful big sister Jennifer was and is always a part of his details. My parents wanted to plan for us to best friends, but we were anything but that growing up. For the longest time we would push each others buttons, get each other in trouble, and I would be to her that annoying little tag along. 

My bestfriend and Sister Jenn and I hamming it up!

          But we were sisters and friendship (while always there) grew and grew into best friends. Jenn had moved to Texas before me and helped me find God’s path into ministry. But even more intricately then that God placed Jenn where she was so that she would become friends with an amazing woman Teri. 

Jenn & Teri in Austin

         Teri had a daughter at the university I was going to attend. Her daughters name is Ellen and she was a sophomore at Concorida when I moved to Austin. Ellen and I became roommates by default, but God’s hand was in the friendship between Teri and Jenn and in the making of roommates and friends between Ellen and myself. 

Ellen and I

         We all learned that our families had a LOT in common. Besides Ellen’s older brother going to Iowa State University (my alma mater… Go Cyclones!) and beside both our families being Lutheran… their family and mine also share an important anniversary. March 3^rd! Known in my family as my heart surgery day, a day that gave me a new life. One where I could be the bubbly crazy girl God made me to be. March 3^rd to the Rice family… is known as Van’s new heart day! The day Van received the amazing gift of life through organ donation!

            I’m not sure how God did it… and what crazy little intricate details God had to put into place to bring our two families together but he did and I am in awe. What are the odds that we share something as crazy and unique as March 3^rd Heart Day! God is truly amazing you see not only did He save my life in 1987 but He saved Van’s life in 1994 on the same day. And then years later had our paths cross.

The amazing Rice family (left to right) Teri, Trevor, Kiba (puppy), Ellen, Van

            Blessings and events like this just make me stop and wonder at what details in our lives we miss each day because we are focusing on the wrong thing. Because we are focusing on the tree and we miss the forest. God blesses us each day with so many things, more then we could ever imagine, yet we take those blessings and turn them into chores, we take those mundane things and forget how sacred, how perfectly wonderful they are! We forget that we don’t need to escape into stories, or movies to find love. Because our story… yes yours too, is so overwhelmingly filled with love that even the best novelists or movie directors can never depict our story.

            We are so loved by God that he would send his son, to die so that we wouldn’t just be given life here and now. But that we would be given eternal life, life forever with him! He not only saved my life, and Van’s and fixed what was broken in with our physical hearts but he fixed what was broken in us! He mends us, He washes us clean, He loves us more then we can ever envision, so that we can have new life in Him! So that your heart issues, your matters of the heart can be mended and made new! So that we can love on others, we can love on our families, or friends, or pets, that annoying driver in front of you during rush hour, the mean person who always seems out to get you…everyone!

 Today March 3^rd will forever in the Amendt and Rice family be our Heart Day! But today I want to invite you all to make it your heart day too! To walk through your story to realize that every moment is a blessing, whether it was a time of immense pain, or ecstatic joy, and to realize that your detailed, messy, wonderful story is a matter of the heart… because your heart matters and because it has been mended and fixed too! God bless you and your wonderful mundane world today and everyday!!! And may you find the joy, love, and wonderful story not in a book, tv show, movie, etc. but in your story! Because you are loved to death…by an amazing God who loves you far beyond death! Happy Heart day!!