Katie M. Reid : Finding Grace in the Unraveling of Life

Hi everyone! I’m Katie M. Reid. I’m married to Adam, we have five children, ranging from 4 months to 12 years. We live in Michigan and my husband is the Youth Minister at our church. I used to be a high school Special Education teacher before I had children and now I homeschool our kiddos. I am a big fan of musicals, hot and iced tea, and cut-to-the-chase conversations (I’m lousy at small talk). I am also a writer and speaker who encourages others to find grace in the unraveling of life.

I grew up in a Christian home. When I was four, we lived near Watsonville, CA. On an overcast afternoon, I swung on our metal swing set. I pumped my little legs as hard as I could as I looked to the heavens and sang, “Into my heart, into my heart. Come into my heart, Lord Jesus. Come in today, come in to stay. Come into my heart, Lord Jesus.” With faith like a child, I asked Jesus in. However, it wasn’t until my freshman year in college, that my faith became my own as I recommitted my life to Christ and learned what it meant to have a personal relationship with Jesus.

I am a singer/songwriter and so I love the idea of God singing over us. I’m often very hard on myself, so the truth of God rejoicing and delighting in me are a gift of grace to my try hard soul.

I started blogging on Xanga (ha!) in the mid 2000’s and then got more consistent and serious about it around 2011 when we started the process of adopting. I’ve always liked to write, but blogging my way through our adoption wait provided free therapy and a creative outlet to process my feelings.

My blogging mission is to inspire others to draw closer to Jesus. I pray that God will use my words to bind up the brokenhearted and free those that are stuck or held captive by sin, hang ups, or discouragement (Isaiah 61:1).

The Creed of the Tightly Wound Woman

These two posts are from last year’s 31 day series:

Restoration Project: The Miracle that Answered Many Prayers

Restoration Project: Resting in Preparation

One of my favorite songs right now is I’d Rather Have You by Tommee Profitt and Brooke Griffith

Some of my favorite authors are Jennifer Dukes Lee and Shauna Niequist. Jennifer writes with talent and heart. She says things my try-hard heart needs to hear and encourages me to improve my craft through her skilled writing. Shauna inspires me with her well-crafted storytelling and poetic form. She writes about issues that I struggle with and extends grace with her words. I’m also a big fan of Karen Brown’s writing. Her blog “Stooping for Manna” is well-written and soulful.

I had a woman reach out to me from New Zealand. She read my blog and opened up to me about her life.

It is an honor to share God’s truth and love with women around the world, and also in my hometown, through my website. Sometimes you feel like no one reads your words, but stories like this encourage you to keep going and trust God with the results (even if you don’t see or hear about the impact very often).

You can find free blogging tips on my #WeWrite page via my website (see the following image for some of them). I also encourage you to sign up for the free writing resource called, “Ladder to Rooftop” via my friend, Jami Amerine’s blog. Ladder to Rooftop is full of great ideas from other bloggers and provides on-going support as you write.

Dear Reader: I pray that you know how deeply you are loved by Christ. For decades I tried to earn God’s favor through works and try-hard living. I now know that I am saved by grace, through faith, and that in Jesus, I am loved and delighted in. Yes, works are important, but they don’t earn us salvation or favor. Our good works should be an outpouring of our encounter and love for Jesus not a means to try and gain worth. “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” Romans 5:8 (NIV).