WHOA That's Good Podcast - How to Stay Above Your Fears & Remember God's Got You! | Sadie Robertson Huff & Katie Davis Majors

Episode Date: March 22, 2023

What if we could keep a God's-eye view of our lives — that no matter how scary or painful a situation might be, coming up ahead of us is a break and some peace? Sadie's guest, Katie Davis Majors, was reminded of this truth in a particularly harrowing experience she had while swimming in the Nile River. Katie was 18 when she first traveled to Uganda for a mission trip, and she ended up staying for many years, starting a charity, meeting her husband, and adopting 13 girls! Katie and her family — including 2 boys now! — just recently moved back to the United States, a decision that wasn't easy and one that Katie didn't initially understand. Katie encourages anyone wondering what they're going to do with their life that God is way more concerned with who you'll BE than what you'll DO. Start focusing on who God's called you to be! And don't discount the experiences you're having right now, wherever you are in your life — you have no idea what God is preparing you for! Sadie and Katie talk about the importance of sisterhood and how, whether they're biological, adopted, or even best friends, the blessings of sisters are an amazing picture of God's love for us. Katie's book "Safe All Along" is available for preorder now.  https://www.reliefband.com — Get 20% off plus FREE shipping with code WHOA! https://liberty.edu/Sadie — Get your application fee WAIVED when you start your future with Liberty University today! https://www.homechef.com/whoa — Get 75% off your first box! - Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Friends, when it comes out to it, when you are nauseous, you need a product that works, especially if you get C-sick, motion sickness when you travel. And some products out there just aren't worth it, especially when it comes to not feeling your best. You want to make sure you can really count on something. I know you don't want to mess around with a bunch of pills, what's going to make you feel good, it makes you sleepy or cheat bands that don't get the job done. But friends, if you have travel or trouble, you gotta try relief band.

This is the real deal. It's the number one FDA-cleared anti-nauzia wristband that's been clinically proven to relieve and prevent nausea and vomiting. It works whether your nausea's caused a motion sickness, anxiety, chemotherapy, and so much more, even morning sickness. And you know, that's important to me.

I always grew up getting car sick and sick on boats and all the different things. And I really did hate the feeling of being tired or sleeping through the whole experience of the travel. So that is why Relief Band is a great gift. And so the journey you wanna be a part of and Relief Band helps you to actually get to be a part of that without being super groggy.

And that's why I love the simplicity of this band. You can even adjust the intensity of a sun how you feel at the moment. It works for everyday relief or for the occasional cure from nausea with no side effects. And I think that's the best gift. You're not going to get drowsy from this. It just gets the job done. Really, band has an A-plus rating with the Better Business Bureau and over 100,000 satisfied customers. So you know this thing really works plus you can use your HSA and FSA account to get a relief band. If you want a band that actually works at relieving your nausea, check out relief band. Right now we've got an exclusive offer just for a while. That's good listeners. If you go to reliefband.com use the

promo code woe. You'll receive 20% off plus free shipping. So head over to ReliefBand. That's R-E-L-I-E-F band B-A-N-D.com and use our promo code WOW, W-H-O-A, for 20% off plus free shipping. Sold the Generos State of Mind. Receive 10% off on your first order on Sold the Generos.com. Plus free shipping with the code Sold the Generos 10. What's up fam? Welcome back to the World That's Good Podcast. Happy Wednesday, everybody. I hope you're having a great week, but let me tell you, it is about to get better

because we have a very special guest on the pie cast. She has a new book out. We have Katie Davis majors. And she has a new book out called Safe All Along. I love the subtitle, trading our fears and anxieties for God's unshakable peace. How many of you need that? I know I do.

So Katie, we're so grateful that you're on the piecast today. Thank you for having me. I'm excited to be here. Yes, this is awesome. And I was just mentioning before you popped on that I actually got to meet you and you gone to like seven years ago or something, which is so cool. Yeah, so fun.

I can't believe it's been that long. And I also can't. Like it feels like so long ago and also just totally It is weird. It is a weird thing how life works But I'm so grateful to get to talk to you and first I want to ask you the question I ask everybody who comes in the loads good podcast before we dive into everything else And this is a little bit of an intimidating question, but Katie, what's the best piece of advice that you've ever been given? Oh my goodness.

I know, I just hit you with it. It comes on strong. Oh gosh, that's such a hard question, but I think right before I moved to Gondap, when I was 18 years old, I asked my young life leader at the time, um, how am I going to know what God wants me to do? And she just looked at me and said, Katie, God is so much more concerned with who you were going to be than what you were going to do. And so you just need to focus on being who he wants you to be. And so, um, I should put it back to that again and again and again and again and again

and you know that was gosh almost 20 years ago but that's definitely the best piece of advice that I've ever gotten. Well that is like the best piece of advice ever especially I mean I'm just thinking about so many people listening right now, especially in their young twenties I feel like there's this big question like what am I gonna do and there's such a fear Surrounding it that what if what if I mess up? What if I don't do the right thing or what if God's leading me to something I do the wrong and there's just like you put this pressure on yourself But I so agree with that like God's so much less concerned with what you're gonna do He's so much more concerned with who you're gonna be and who you are gonna be is going to less concern with what you're going to do. He's so much more concerned with who you're going to be and who you are going to be is going to lead you

into what you're going to do. Right. And so that is just like the best piece of advice ever. So let's go there. So your 18 years old, you're about to move to Uganda. Was that like the plan? How did that even happen that you were like 18 and thought that you were going to, well, not just thought that you did move to Uganda? How did you get get to that point? Well my mom and I had gone on a short term trip over my Christmas break. I see your year of hospital. So about three weeks we were over and we volunteered in an orphanage. And while we were there, we met a pastor and his family that ran in different orphanages. It was further outside the town where we were staying. And he had very little staff and like a lot of kids, 12 kids, and he just said, like, well, I feel like the Lord is speaking over your life that you're going to come back here

and work. Do you want to come back and volunteer with me for a little while? And so I was like, well, sure, maybe, I don't know, maybe, I'll do that. And so I came back to the States, finished up high school, and prayed about it. I had applied and not into several colleges, but I ultimately decided I would take a gap year and go and volunteer with him for a year.

And I helped him kind of start up this little preschool and kindergarten program and get out of the ground for the kids in his orphanage. And I mean, long, long long story short just like totally fell in love with Uganda and the people and the landscape it's just as you know such a gorgeous gorgeous place with the kindest most hospitable people and snow. Well, start in building my life there and my gap returned into a lot of features. Wow. How long were you there for? I was there about 15 and a half years.

Wow. It was almost a little gap. 15. Yeah. That's awesome. Wow. That's so crazy. This might be an obvious answer. Maybe not. I don't know. But were you scared like at 18 to move? Were your parents scared? How did you kind of get the confidence to move, was your parents scared? How did you kind of get the confidence to actually take that leap of faith and go? I think my parents just raised me to have like a super adventurous spirit and to love travel

and to love different cultures. And so I think I was sad that that first year you got up because I was leading behind you, you know, good friends and just kind of this sweet, almost American dream like life. And so I think I was sad and missed that. I felt lonely in Uganda, especially that first year. There were a ton of English speakers

around where I was living. I just thought kind of isolated, but I didn't feel scared. And I think I don't know, I think part of that is just being, yeah, I mean, we moved back to the States about a year and a half ago and I thought, way more scared to do that. Really? I was like, you know, a grown up with a family and kids and whatever, like that felt way more scary.

I think just going off on my own at 18. Yeah. I don't know. And some of it I think is just that God equips us for what He wants us to do. It's definitely removed that fear for me. My parents were definitely fearful. I don't think as much for my safety,

but just at the thought that I might be throwing away opportunity. And they had worked really hard to create a life for me, in which I had every opportunity to do whatever I wanted to do. And so I think they were worried about what I might be throwing away or not taking advantage of. Missing out on for sure. Yeah. Well, I think that's really cool to just share that because I think so many people are contemplating big moves in their life

or feeling called a certain thing, but the fear of what will my parents think or what will it be like and I think that it's so cool to share the reality of when you got there there was like a year of loneliness and a year of just trying to like find your footing and I feel like a lot of people nowadays because I guess you mentioned the American dream it's like we so desire comfort over everything that it's like if it's not comfortable then is this the right thing to do, you know, and so so many people tap out, you know, at the year mark or the six month mark and they don't make it past that because you're like, oh, well, this isn't comfortable. This must not be right. Or sometimes we've been taking it even further. This isn't comfortable. This must not be God. Yeah. But don't know why we think that if you read the Bible,

this is a mean that you're going to be comfortable when you follow God. But how did you make it past that year of the Loneys? Did you ever question, is this right? Is this really you? Or did you always kind of have like a, I know I'm supposed to be here feeling? Yeah. That's a great question. And I so resonate with that idea of like, man, so often we feel like, oh, if I'm not adjoining this or I'm not comfortable. Yeah, like maybe this is a God's plan for me, which is just hilarious, because you see Paul like in prison. You know, all the early disciples, and you're like,

yeah, I don't need God's plan and our enjoyment, always necessarily go together. I think for that first year in Uganda, I definitely out. Then I was. We're gone. Had me. And I mean, I think it was easier to fill that way because there was such tremendous need all around me. And a lot of the things were really basic, right? Like the kids in my class were hungry or maybe a neighbor didn't have the money to pay for the medical care they needed. Like they were smaller needs that I could need. And so that is soul-thirling for me and feels really good and really merciful.

But I think also there was like a stubbornness aspect to me. I feel like it was one of the times where God like takes your faults and uses them for good because I think I really did want my parents or my friends or people from my culture to kind of be like oh see which all dude would like it. Yeah. So there was definitely that side of it too or just pushing through to prove myself. Um, but then once I did push through you know I found that I really did love it and I really did have so much joy.

It's funny even. Yeah. really did love it. And I really did have so much joy. It's funny even. And we had a series of circumstances, like I said about a year and a half ago where both my husband and I felt, felt really deeply that God was saying that it was time for us to stay in the States. We were actually here almost supposed to be a three week trip. And we were headed back to our home in Uganda. And a lot of different circumstances lined up and a lot doors here opened and a lot of doors in the front of closed and you were still kind of in the middle of pandemic stuff. And for me, it was the first time in my life or I guess when I moved to Uganda, I felt

clearly that it was what God wanted me to do and I also wanted to do it. And so that felt really good. Moving back to the States, it felt really clear and I just like had this deep knowing in my spirit that this is what God had next for us. And yet, it wasn't really what I wanted. And so I wrestle with that a lot. And when it was really, the chance of sure was really hard. I need like, like we've been talking about and move to you, God, I was 18.

So it was my first experience living outside my parents house. Like everything I know, how many do you in adult life? I learned in that context, you know, getting my wild change or paying my water built. Like I know how to do all that in a completely different world. And so to move back here as an adult and as a married person and as a person with a job and a person who has kids that she's responsible for and really trying to help, you know, all my family members suggest that the way and way scarier. And I did, I did have moments of like,

wait, this is so, so hard. Like did I, did I hear the word wrong? Like did I just, did I just make that up that, did I felt like this is where he wanted us? Which is such like a false, you know, it was like such a false theology up like, well God, if this is what you like are asking us to do, why is so challenging.

Fam, I'm always so excited to talk to you all about something near and dear to my family, Liberty University. Several of my family members have gone to Liberty. My brother, both my brothers actually went to Liberty. My sister is a Liberty University. Several of my family members have gone to Liberty. My brother. Both my brothers actually went to Liberty. My sister is a Liberty Online. I even did Liberty Online for a semester. Liberty is just awesome. It is a world-class Christian university that's been turning champions for Christ for more than 50 years. That's the foundation of everything they do. Liberty students represent all 50 states and over 70 nations. Plus, they volunteer for over half a million hours of community service each year so that's some serious love.

Liberty offers more than 350 residential degrees for undergraduate and graduate students. Their campus is over 7,000 acres and has amazing facilities and tons of student-led clubs and sports teams. Liberty University was also voted in the safest campus in Virginia by your local security.com. Liberty students get to have the peace of mind while they're pursuing their dreams, which is a great thing, especially in the world that we live in today. Liberty, my personal experience at Liberty was amazing. Like I said, I just did one semester, but the professors were so kind. And what I love most about it is that as I was, you know, growing my knowledge and education, I was also growing my knowledge about the Bible because they do such a great job of incorporating

scripture and all these things into the classes that you're taking. So I love taking the classes at Liberty. I know you will too. Liberty has got you covered whether you're starting out on a totally new adventure or you're just wanting to learn more about something that you're really interested like I was. Plus Liberty offers a bunch of scholarships and discounts to help you reach your dreams without breaking the bank.

To start your future now, go to Liberty.edu slash sati and because you're a well-that's good podcast listener, you'll also get your application fee waived. So friends, don't wait, go to Liberty.edu slash sati now and get your future started today. You know, I was with some friends last weekend that I had been with a year ago when we first moved and a lot of people were just like, how, you seem to be like better, like you're better. I said, yeah, yeah, I was around friendware guys, but I just feel like I can look that. And I felt like double times in the hardship.

I just there were so many times when I injured, just like, God, I'm why? Like, why are you doing this? Like our whole life and our community and everything we love and everything that we built, we left it over the on the other side of the world, you know, and we came here while and we did not friends, we didn't have community, and we have parents, and they were so gracious and great, but like our kids didn't know anyone. And I just kept asking why, why, why, why, and I felt like over and over again, he just dropped into my spirit, the line, I'm making more like me. And you know, there worked well. Definitely the days of you like, I don't know if I want that, this is too hard. But you know, I looked like over. Definitely the days of you. Like, I don't know if I want that. This is too hard.

But you know, I looked back over the last year and a half and like without a shit of like pride or boastfulness that it's not what I mean by that. But and look back over the last year. And I feel like, oh, I see it. Like you were making us more like you. If you're making me more like you, and my husband more like you, he had more like you. And so it making me more like you and my husband more like you,

kids more like you. And so it hasn't been easy, but I think I'm finally in a place to go. Like, yeah, but it's we worth it because we've like known God in our dependence in a way. That's cool. That we wouldn't have known. Kim, if it wasn't so painfully hard. Yeah, wow, that's so cool. And it's so powerful. I actually just finished. I've been listening

this audiobook. It was about the story of Richard Wormbrand. I don't know if you've heard of him. He was just a Christian, a pastor in Romania during the time of communists and everything. It was like a 10 and a half hour audiobook and I have been just, I could not stop listening to it and his revelations the whole time were that the suffering was making him more like crisis ever and it's making him understand more of God's love and actually like through suffering and through being tortured like he then understood the true love of God for the people torturing like, it was just this like crazy idea, right?

That through suffering and through pain and through hardship that we really do get to discover the goodness of God. And I mean, listening to this, I was just blown away because in my life, I have not had to go through things to that extent, you know, that have pushed me to a certain place where it really reveals that core, you know, belief, but the things that I have gone through that are hard. I can say it has revealed those same things. The love of God,

the goodness of God, you become more like him and I love you. Wrote this in the book. I thought this was really cool. When you talked about lamenting, that lamenting actually gives you an opportunity for worship. And it's like these things that are so contradicting to the world, but they work like perfectly together in the Kingdom of God. And so it's so cool to hear that part of your story, that through this, y'all were becoming more like him, through this y'all were seeing him in new ways,

through the hard, you know, God was producing so much good. And so, and it's cool to see what a year of a difference does. I'm not a great journalist, but the one year I did journal, it was really cool from birthday to birthday to see the growth in like who I was as a person and even how I handled hard things and challenges that throughout my way, I was so much quicker to worship than I used to have been so much quicker to fix my eyes and see where God was not not saying that there weren't still tears involved with that but it was just a different heart perspective so that is just awesome so you mentioned you know being married and

having kids now and one of the crazy parts of your story is that you adopted, it was 13 girls. By the time you were like 23, so by the time you got to you got there from 18 to 23, how did that happen that you came onto adoption and adopting not only one, but 13 girls? Yeah. So during my time in Uganda initially, I've been working at this work niche and I've

gotten to know just a ton of people in the community, like one thing that I saw that was really surprising to me as an American was that a lot of the kids that were living inside the work niche would talk about going to visit their mom, going to visit their dad, going to visit their grandma or their aunts and uncles, or whatever, like they all had families that they talked about. So I just started asking more questions. And so like, okay, what do you mean? Like I just thought, like my Western perspective was like, and if you lived in an orphanage,

your parents were like deaf and gone, and they didn't want you anymore. And so it just started asking like, maybe you go, you know, you go visit. Kaiho is with you and what has that like. And as I started to understand where the dynamic of the community, it was usually that the children were put in the orphanage so that they could go to school and they could eat healthy food

multiple times a day and they could have medical treatment when they needed it, things like that. People weren't giving their children up because they didn't want them, or because they couldn't take care of them, but because they were poor. And they thought that they're cancer. These better opportunities, if they lived their core condition. And when you got it, it's not free. And so school is a huge expat sprappinum, especially if you have some multiple children, which

most you've got, if you have families families are enlarged and have multiple children. And so, kind of organically, I started paying for a couple of the kids in this village that didn't live at the orphanage to go to school, as a way to kind of keep the out of orphanage care and living with her grandmother. And then I was telling my mom on the phone about that one day and she was like, oh, well, are there work kids that need to go to school? Like I want to send some the razzle. I mean, yeah, sure. There are plenty like there's plenty of need like I said all around And so within that first year, I was actually just kind of on my own sending 40 kids to school and so I was like collecting a little money from friends and family at the streets and sending these kids to school and once the number kept growing and growing, I decided

to put them on profit. The not profits called the Mazema, which means truth in the local language in Uganda. And so it was my heart. Really that these kids didn't just have an education and have access to the film and medical things that they need, but they would all snow Come to know Jesus and so they would go to school and I would hang out their families or meet with them in the evenings And we would study the Bible together. I would have all the kids over to my like little one room house on Fridays and you would read the Bible together

I just I wanted them to have more than just like a good life but the opportunity for eternally. And so I was doing that for a couple years and now a month has grown and it's huge only how schools and yeah a staff of over 300 and they're awesome and I get to just kind of well. But back and forth between hearing me got that and checking on that and it courage that sound. But after a couple years of doing that so I I kind of decided, okay, clearly I'm going to stay here for a while, moved out of the orphanage into this other little house in the state community, like just down the road. And there was a situation that came up where a couple of the kids I was already came forward to go to school. They were in this terrible accident. The house fell down that they were staying in a storm

because the house was really unsteady. And the oldest was injured in the hospital and the two little guys took out a place to stay. And so I just kind of said like, okay, well they can come and stay with me while we like figure things out. And once we reach out, we looked for a long time for other family members during that time. They're grandmother passed away and she and her kind of they're right. Very cute, Jibber. And so I mean, it was basically like this extended sleepover. Like I just kept staying like you can stay here a little longer, you can stay here a little

longer and after they hit. Stayed for a while. I'd be gying on like the government process of like, okay, I think you're need to become a foster parent so that they can legally keep staying with me. And after I became their foster parent, they started calling me mom, and I just really prayed and prayed and felt like the words saying like, yeah, you're gonna be, you're gonna be their mom. And so, I began the journey. It's a super long process to go from being a foster candidate to being like an officially adopted and I started the journey of files and miles of paperwork you know and so that happens by two or

times where a siblings that was placed with me originally for like a temporary foster placement and we did have lots of temporary foster kids over the years that were common then go back but um for these 13 They're they're predominantly sibling sets and they just dinner. We just weren't able to locate family members that they can go back to and so They stayed and then that we can go back to. And so they stayed and then a couple years later, I'm husband, take your award. I still sometimes am like, my husband is from,

so I grew up in Broadway. My husband grew up in Franklin. So we're from like, yeah, it's like, we kind of like been at the same like sporting events in high school and we didn't know each other. I mean, Vod is just, I don't know, sometimes still. I mean, we've been married eight and a half years and I still look back and just think like, God, you did not. Like, you're so kind to me. I did not believe he did that. So he was in Uganda doing a mission work with a different

organization and we just kind of did into each other a little bit. He started coming to our church. He joined a small group that I was a part of. So that's how we became friends. And we decided to get married. And so he just kind of jumped in on the paperwork with me and we adopted our girls together. And then we would have two more babies.

And because God is fun and funny, both our babies are boys. So we've got that. That's our team girl. And then we've got two little boys down at the end who are like ridiculously dogged in our so much fun. And like this total like different kind of energy. And girls like sometimes I still they're four and six now and I still look at that. And like, what? We're doing it. Like your sister's just like dinner But they're they're so funny. Oh my gosh. That is the coolest story because I just love it for so many reasons

And I hope that every girl out there and guys listening to that that like you move to Uganda and you are about to adopt 13 kids and Like you still end up meeting your husband who is like from Literally if you know Franklin and Brentwood, it's like My mom's a face like 10 minute. I mean literally sporting events the whole thing But you meet him in Uganda on mission work Bible study like the whole thing is so crazy because I have people that tell me friends here, because I live in a small town. They're like, I'm never gonna meet my husband in this small town and I'm like, okay,

God is so much bigger than this small town, you know? And I just think like, God is gonna do it. He's gonna do it. I'm like, look at Katie. Look her story. If she can move to Uganda and adopt 13 girls and still find the love of her life, then that is a God thing over a Bible study. I mean, that is just so cool. And again,

it kind of goes about to your first piece of advice. Much more concerned with what you do. It's really who you are and who you are is going to lead you to what you do and who you are is going to lead you to the person that you end up marrying, who you are is going to lead you to the person that you end up marrying, who you are is going to lead you to the fringered group of the community that you have, who you are really does. Like if you're doing the thing God's called you do, that's an overflow of what he's, you know, been doing in you, then he aligns the path for the people that need to be in your life. And I think about that with my husband.

I mean, I'm from the small town too, the Er of scare they're not going to find out. And I'm at my husband at the beach, you know, like just so random and so crazy. But when I'm like, look at it, that's not random. I'm like, that was God's perfect timing and intention. And like we recount our story to and we're like, we had so many opportunities to meet over the years before we're in the same place, like three different times. And we didn't. And it was just God's time that it was supposed to be then and who he was shaping us into being by the time we met was really great for each other to partner together. So I just love that. And I just think that's so cool. So I'm actually pregnant right now with my second girl. And so I'm about to have

little sisters in my house. And our whole thing at L.O. the ministry that I run is to be a good sister and a friend. Like we are all about sisterhood, all about friendship. And so I'm curious with 13 girls in your house. One, I want to know before I even ask that, one, did you have sisters growing up and two, with the 13 girls, one of you learned about sisterhood and just the value of it in your own home. [♪ music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music to make a good meal that your husband likes while also maintaining your daughter and also that you like because hey food's important to everyone. However, dinner time can be a lot easier with home chef because they've got you covered. They make meal times so easy and even pretty exciting with so many delicious meals that come right to your door. They've got all the fresh, pre-portioned ingredients and an easy to follow recipe cards so you

definitely will like a pro every single night. And hey, this is the cool thing about it. You still get to cook. So it's you cook game, but they're just doing a lot of work for you. They have 30 unique options available every week so that you don't get stuck in the same over a teen. They even got meals that will fit any dietary preference like vegetarian friendly options and carbon calorie conscious items. They we've received so many awesome meals that we've cooked. I mean I've cooked some impressive things like some steak, potatoes and asparagus, chicken parmesan, all these like fun things that maybe I'd be a little bit more intimidated to do by myself. But home shop makes it easy because they do all the prep work for you. Like go into the grocery store, they send all the ingredients,

all the spices, sauces, whatever Like go into the grocery store, this is all the ingredients, all the spices, sauces, whatever you need, and also a detailed picture, I guess example of what you're about to do, which is so easy, because I'm a visual learner. I like to take my time in the kitchen. I do find it relaxing, but if you do have a head to date going on, like I said, sometimes your kids are running around, it's just crazy.

Home Chef also has quick solutions, like 15 minute recipes, microwavable meals, and also oven ready options. And if you do have some time to spare and want to improve your skills, you can try all their classic meal kit options. You'll get chef written set by set recipes on classic dishes that will make you look like a professional chef for sure. For a limited time, only go to homechef.com slash woe.

For 75% off your first box. That's huge guys. Don't miss it. Again, go to homechef.com slash woe for 75% off. That's WHOA homechef.com slash woe. That's so good. I did not have sister's growing up. I always wanted a sister. I have one little brother. So a reasonably small family. I think it's funny how broad just like, prepare something for what he's gonna do in your life one day that you can't even see. Like from a very young age, I wanted a large family.

I'm a very productive children. I don't know where that came from because that wasn't my big experience or something I had exposure to. Like I feel like I just put my dream in my heart. And sisters, man, sisters are the best. It was really, I mean, I think it was really special because God just, a lot of our kids,

a lot of sisters especially, are like kind of similar age as because, you know, they were adopted from different families. And so their ages overlap some of them are even a year apart. And so they were very close in the age and you know it's kind of with so many different sisters are closer to different sisters. And one thing that is really special to me in our family that I don't think I talk about but it's just because I've never been asked about it, but, you know, obviously, as siblings, that a lot of the girls came into my family

with the biological sisters, but over the years of living together as family, like, you would be able to look at our family and pick out, oh, these two are really close and these two are good buddies, and predominantly, that doesn't have anything to do with biology. Like it calls a lot more to do with like ages and who shared bedrooms growing up and like

the different sports or activities or singing or different things that they were involved in and like just different personalities. And so it's really fun. And such a beautiful picture of what God does. Right. Like even as you talk about sisterhood, and you're not talking about biological sisterhood, you're talking about sisterhood in the body of Christ. And just like, I feel like in my family, I see a picture of what God does because, of course, it's a tragic and terrible thing to ever be in a place

in your life where you need to be adopted. And a lot of times in adoption, you like skip over that and go straight for the bit part of like, isn't that awesome that you happen to adopt as family? And it's like, well, that's redemptive. And like because we serve a good God, he can do redemptive things. But it's also like something pretty terrible

and traumatizing had to happen to ever get a child to look like when they need a second. See, Ollie? And so that God could take that and take that sadness and through it, like in my home, make a place where people who are related at all who might even never have known each other are now not just

sisters but like the best of friends. Yeah. That is really cool and really beautiful. It's beautiful. And you know, it's sisters. It's not all sunshine and roses and happy. Of course. Yeah. Just eat it a really beautiful picture of it. It's not like they bite me, get on each other's nerves, make for each other. I could damn you. Me and we do a lot of apologizing a lot of apologizing and a lot of like oh my gosh I screwed that up and a lot yeah honest conversations you know when one of them is coming to me and I'm saying like a whole is it you talk to her about it or do you need to step in and help you talk to her about it I

mean there's of course a ton of that especially with so many young women under one roof, but it's super true. A lot of them know. So I mean, a lot of them were like seven, eight, nine years old when I adopted them. And so now it's, you know, 12, 13, 14 years later, and it's never ground. A lot of them don't live with us. They're in college and they're working and they live in their own apartments, but like some of them live together and some of them go to college together. And even I was just with one of her daughters for lunch before this and she was like headed off to hang with two of her sisters and she's calling me a story. She had been through something not too long ago where she was really upset and she said

that she's called one of her sisters and her sister came over and like gotten that with her. And then another time she called the sister and then like, I don't know. I don't know. So I don't think I can go to work today. Like I'm too sad. Her sister came over and was like, get up. Let's go.

We're going. Thank you so much. You gotta work. And so just such a, like as a mom, I often look and think like, man, I did a lot of stuff wrong. And like I have messed it up in every possible way that you can as a mother.

But like, how gracious that God like has given you each other and not like as the stars you've grown up. And like now you'll always turn to pop people in your corner. And I think, you know, as the sisters you've grown up and like now you'll always turn to pop people in your corner and I think, you know, that's with beauty of like what you're trying to create at L.O. or like, you know, just this sisterhood of like, let's come around each other

so that no matter what, like she always have. People in your corner, because sometimes, we all need somebody to come over, drags out of bed, stuff, time. You do. You do, see, that's the beauty of sisterhood. That's different than just like a friend. Because a friend, sometimes they, they're not

super honest with you, you know, because they're trying to just, you know, comfort you and hype you up. But a sister will be like, no, girl, get out of bed. I'm coming with you. We're going. You know, they're honest with you, but they're loving at the same time. Like, they show up for you.

They get you out of bed. Sometimes they show up and they lay in bed. But it's like this honesty and this true love. I think it's so beautiful to admit, and it's true. Like, sisters fight, you're gonna fight, you're gonna apologize. But the beauty of sisterhood is like, you don't give up, you don't walk away because you're family. I just love that about just how it's not always about the biological sibling. It really has to do with just the heart.

I think that that's the amazing thing about sisterhood, whether you had a sister growing up or you didn't, there is sisterhood out there in the world that's available in the fullest capacity. Even if they're not a biological sibling, I have friends of mine who have great sisters who are biological sisters and actually have an adopted mine who have great sisters, who are biological sisters, and actually I have an adopted sister who's no different than my biological sister, but then I also have friends who are just like sisters

in that honest, loving, never-ending friendship kind of thing. And so I just love that. You painted such a beautiful, but honest picture of sisterhood. So I gotta ask you, you know, you've written several books three now. Am I right on that? Okay, so cool.

Kisses from Katie being your first in daring to hope. And then, yes, okay, I read that one, I loved it. And then, yes, and then, safe along now. So how did you start writing? Did you know this was a gift that you had? When you wrote Kisses from Katie, what was the heart behind even starting it? And actually, I think, um, didn't Beth Clark help you on that? She did. You're back. And she, yeah, she did my first like three books too. And I love her. She's wonderful. She's just awesome.

So I remember whenever it was actually kind of cool whenever they put me with that from my first book I thought it was so cool that she did your book. I was like, oh my gosh. This is amazing So how did you get into writing in the first place? Yeah, so actually when I moved she got I started keeping a blog. I was like back when blogs were big Yeah, so I'm writing a blog. I mean really just to keep keep up, you know, to let my family and the handful of people who have given you a lot of money to go over to you've gone to kind of keep them updated. And the blog just got like,

Reuben popular with a lot, a lot of people started reading it. And so I have felt washers starting to out to me and just slow-pry, you know, because we turn your blog into a book and he's like making this story a book. And I mean, I was you know, could we turn your block into a book and he's making this story book. And I mean, I was like 20, maybe 21, 22, I was really young at the time. So I was kind of like, oh, I don't know.

Sure. And then they were like, okay, cool. We're going to send this lady back. And she's going to like, wow, we were going to hide and hide it all down. You know, and so she kind of took all my blog posts and stuff that she got for me and just hanging out with us in her home and turned it into a manuscript that I then approved. Had no idea. Like, no thought in my mind that it would sell like it did. We got so the name was kind of like, oh, this happened.

Which is great. But I do feel like I mean Yeah, I do feel like I look back at that book and think like wow one when you're like 2122 All like some really strong opinions And there are a lot of things that I still feel strongly about and then there are things that I've like really changed my mind Or you know, and that's a pink yeah Yeah, and also just add yeah just to have like a zero idea that it would sell as well as it did you know just got a crack yeah I'll write a book like people people write books whatever yeah that's I don't know not to say that it wasn't a good

experience but it wasn't like an intentional I don't think it's intentional. It was just wild. Yeah, so then for a while, I was really kind of overwhelmed by all the attention we were getting. It was kind of like, I'm never writing book to gag. No. Yeah. But I do love writing, and I am a big journalist,

like process by writing. And so then several years later, I guess right after I got me ready, I really felt the spirit that the Lord was counting me to write again and I wanted to write it myself this time. So my second book, Hearing to Hope, I wrote, without that love, but it was really a sweet process and a healing process for me to come through it myself.

And it was a lot of different stories of people got in, brought to deliver this over the years and just, a different did Bradx grants us. It's really cool. We had had, and then about, probably a couple years ago, we had just like some big family staff, and it brought up in me just a lot of sear and anxiety, um, why our family covers was really, really sick, and it was just really hard and Funny after I kind of came through

In my mind what's I didn't kind of overcome the anxiety? I was like, oh, I'm gonna write a book I'm gonna write it about yeah Inside me. I'm living in the peace of God and what this looks like and what this is looked like in my own life So it actually turned in like an outline of it to my publisher. And then really shortly after that, like what another big family thing and then COVID was here and shut down the country and couldn't get in or out of Uganda. And then shortly after we like found ourselves in the States. And they'll be. And so then my anxiety was like through the rage and out back to my

public sure it was like never mind I take it back. I don't know about this. I cannot write this book. I had a really good friend state in need during that time. I need a self-fins will don't want to learn expert thing while I was selling who's like in the struggle with that and also learning it. And I was like, okay, well, if that's true, then I suppose I could try to write this book. It's, see Paul along. I mean, a lot of it is just the kind of sharing as I'm like, okay, God promises that he gives us peace, Paul says his peace transcends all understanding

and do not be anxious about anything and cast your tears on them because he tears for you and like in my head intellectually, I do know that's true, I do believe that that's true and do trust God, but like how do I move that from the head knowledge to like actually living out and walking. And I'm by no means an expert. Like the things I wrote about in that book, I'm still going back to every day like, okay, how do we do this again?

But it was again like a really healing book for me to write especially. So the majority of it ended up being what's we were here in the States. And so I think I feel like I gave me something to do and to work on that was creative, kept me grounded in a time of the rest of my life. So a little bit out of control. Crazy. Celebrate the 4th of July with Academy Sports and Outdoors. Take up to $100 off grills. Get up to $400 off ghouls and Nike Tees starting at $24.99. Shop Academy sports and outdoors, deals and July 4th. Exclusions and restrictions are flawed.

See Academy.com slash discounting with details. Yeah, well, you are a beautiful writer. And you're so good at, you really are so good at putting your heart on paper and also just helping teach as you walk through things. And I love how you're just taking God at His word in this. There's, you know, that verse, like, love a Lord to God that your heart,

like, soul going in mind, like, strength. And sometimes I'd sell God, you know, God, like, I love you, you know, it's easy to love you through all my heart and my soul and my throat, but my mind is the crazy thing. Or it's like, or my mind loves you, but my heart is high. How do I, you know, it's like one part of you just all in.

Your head's all in, your heart's like, wait, what? Or your heart's on, your head's like, hold on. And I think it's so beautiful to not just sit on those anxieties or sit on those words, sit on those questions, but really dive in. Like, hey, God, if you say this, then show me what that means in my life.

And so I just think that it's so cool that you did write this book. And I was laughing when you said you turned the manuscript, you're thinking, you know, because I get that, you know, as soon as you think, like, oh, I'm going to do this message because I got this. I know. The whole time you're writing it, you really realize that you're not half this.

Oh, my gosh. But it's so true. Like people, you know, people want to sister. People want to hear from somebody who's just honest and going through it. And it's like, hey, here's what I'm discovering about God. And here's what I'm discovering about myself. And that is just so practical and so relatable. And you just have so many great illustrations and scriptures that you break down that are going to help so many people. So I want you to tell the opening story. If you don't mind, just set up

that this beautiful picture of the book. So I was telling you that when we went to Uganda, we went white water rafting or whatever on the Nile River and it was literally the most scary thing I've ever done. It was terrifying because the rapids there are literally crazy. You know, rapids here are all, like if it's dangerous, you don't do it, you know, you don't go on it or it might look dangerous, but it's Disney World.

You're gonna be fine. But in Uganda, and Uganda is not Disney. It's like, no, you're gonna fall out of the boat. You're gonna just have to make it. Somebody from a kayak will pick you up and we'll meet you at the end. And so, I just remember I was so terrified and I bought the t-shirt, I survived the now river.

And so, when I was reading this opening story, I was like, oh my gosh, that is so scary because I know that water is crazy. Like, people here might not be able to see in their mind how crazy those rapids actually can be or how one moment it can be still. The next moment, it's like, crazy. So tell us a little bit about what happened.

I don't know, such a scary day, but just the revelation that came out of it that kind of set up the book. Yeah, so it's fun to talk to you and know that you've experienced that so deeply. So we live right near the Nile River. And so like that was kind of always our family. Fun day, we would go out, kayak,

how to work. And so it was like, I don't know, I'm sending it up. So then nobody out there thinks like, why do you have your kids in the river? Like, they're like, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, there are parts that are going. So, uh, and our girls are big and they're pretty great. So, I'm like, everybody's a straw swimmer. And so, we had gone on our annual family camping trip, um, and we found a new spot on the river that we wanted to try out instead of for a seat that we were there. Yeah, we're going to go down and jump and then we were like jackets and so where we were there was a new swimming sign, but my husband and our daughter

who would have been 18 or 19 at the time were like, okay, we're going to jump in because we can see the current and it kind of looked like you got in and the current just kind of brought you back around to the shore. It was like a circle. And so they did it. They jumped in. They circled back around to the shore. It was exactly what would happen. So I was like, oh, that looks so fun.

Come on, go again with me. We jockey. And I don't know if we like overshot the current and jumped too far. Or if the current, like he said, like they can just change, like if it just changed in the middle. But within like a minute, we were out in like the middle of the river, the water is going so fast. You know, you're feeling when you're like swimming as far as you can or running as far as you can. And you could feel that your body is at moving. And so you're like, you think, I know, you're not holding forward. And so, she's like over on one side of me, the shore is over on the other side

of me. So I'm trying to simultaneously like swim to my left to get out, but reach to my right to get her. So I was cany-kne. I've reached up with a branch snapped off of my head. And you're like something out of a movie. Oh love it. Oh my gosh. Finally I was able to catch onto this tree kind of, that was hanging off, but as I reached out to grab my daughter, she went around the corner. I couldn't see her anymore. So she's like, I'm around the corner in the river. I can't see her. I can't see her. You know, the river's loud roaring loud. So I'm like, waiting at my family, it's back on the shore, trying to somehow let them know.

I'm feeling like, I don't have your sister, like do something. And I can't, they're far away, like I can't see it, but worry to wherever, but I can see it kind of like starting to walk over to me. So I'm like, I'm just sitting there on this rock, like screaming, like Jesus, please, please please please please like you have to say her I'm imagining every worst case scenario of course. Yes, and so I think I'm like coming through the bushes on one side of me

I share these footsteps roaming from the other side and I see my daughter and just really Just like washes over me and I you know I can grab a card screaming like are you okay oh my gosh and she's just like yeah I'm crying like it was fine you know not scared again 18 years old not worried about today oh my gosh she kind of jumped off through sisters and was like laughing like I'm on the little spoon many more today let's go play cards. Oh, and so I held this here there, and I played it cool until I found the hits.

But then like when I knocked, we had, of course, I just like fell apart, like lost it. And I was crying. Yeah, oh, like gosh. So sorry, like I thought I lost her. I thought she was gone, you know, crying in sobbing. And so we stood there for a few minutes.

Finally, he said like, hey, I want to show you something. I thought she was gone, you know, crying and sobbing. And so we stood there for a few minutes. Finally, he said, like, hey, I want to show you something. We need to hit my hair. And he let me like up, leave it like, hi up on the stripper bank. And from way up there, you could see the river down below and you could see the whole path and all the twists and turns.

And he just kind of started me out, like, look, you had a cut nope here. No, there was a little islanding here you could swim to I'm like there's this little ball over here you could come to and look over there the water still and she could have gotten out and he showed me all these different places where like we would have been safe and I felt like the Lord just kept dropping into my spirit, but you are safe all along. Well, I not that tribe, um, we and just kind of out of that really hard season. I just hold you out with our family.

And I just remember like, you need to river and like, oh, yeah, God. This is what this looks like for you. Like for me, I get like this view, right? I love all with the rapids and I and panicking, but like, God sees the whole thing. He sees the view from a bath. He sees all the way, he's gonna cure, yes. And just remember looking back the last season of my life,

like, wow, I have really panicked. And really, you know, just to look down and see the river, I see it again, all my anxiety and fear and the panic I just felt a minute ago felt like kind of, like kind of ridiculous. Like, wow, we were really freaking out. And you were, okay.

And just to look back at our life and go like, yeah, that was really hard. And we're like, yeah, we're being up and bruised in bed. Like, we're all right. And like God still can't enjoy and God still can't just say it and God was still with us. And so I just thought, like, you know, what would it look like?

God, if I really, truly deeply believed that you have control. And like, yeah, I'm down here in this life, I see just a little bit. And it is so easy to panic, because I don't see the picture. But God dies. And so how? It's beautiful. How do I stay down here in the chaos but real? Yeah. With what I know is true. And that is that we have a God that is greater. And he's not going to leave us alone. Gosh, that's beautiful. That's such a great, great story and such a great analogy

and example for us that really and truly, like we only have this perspective and it does seem chaotic and it seems absolutely crazy and the river seems loud and the roars of the world seem intimidating and you don't see the full path on where you're going, but you get a little bit higher. You, just I love that verse as the heavens are higher. So I was yeah thoughts in his ways for your life And I remember when I went skydiving I went skydiving because I really just wanted to prove to myself that I could do something scary and

Hi, this crazy revolution when I'm up in the sky falling, you know with this parachute Oh my god. I didn't feel afraid. That was crazy. I didn't feel afraid. And I realized it was so peaceful. It was like, we were going down so slowly. And I was like, I'm really like above all my fears right now. Like really the things that scare me are all on the ground.

Like I thought skydiving was the scariest thing. But no, like, I'm actually getting a perspective now on what it looks like to be above the fears of the world, because this is God's view. Like, there's not scary like, literally, it's bird-fine by me like chilling. I'm like, this is like amazing. Like what kind of peace do you have? Like, when you get this like fresh perspective of what it looks like to just be higher, you know, just be a lot of those

things. And so I just I love it. And that safe all along is just a beautiful, beautiful word to keep in your heart as you walk through those hard things that you might not see the end, but God does and he's with you in the midst of it. So I am excited for people to read this book, friends out there. If you haven't gotten a presale on this already,

or I don't know, I guess by the time this podcast comes out, it might already be out. Go check it out, safe all along. And you have so much to look forward to as you dive into Katie's life. You just got a 40-minute picture of who she is and how amazing her and her family are. I don't know if you guys learned so much,

but like I mentioned, she has other books out there that are incredible resources. And Katie, I'm just grateful that I got to connect with you over a couple. Wow, I'm so excited. I guess, and Griffo got to meet you years ago. And now you're a lot closer to me than you used to be. So next time in Nashville, I have to hit you up.

Yes, come say hi. Thank you for being on this podcast. It was awesome. Thank you so much for having me. I really enjoyed it. [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ OUTRO MUSIC