Hey, I'm Kate.
I am NOT an expert on life. I do have doubts, fears that hold me back, and pain I'm still learning to process. I am not the absolute authority of Better Together. Instead, I am Better Together's beneficiary. I zealously want to learn, heal, and explore along side other authentic (possibly wounded and complicated) explorers. I am the facilitator: creating space where we work slowly toward wholeness together. The convener: gathering people together. The Spiritual Ally: transition-honoring your journey and celebrating your discoveries. |
If I had to give a Facebook status for my relationship with God I would reach a declarative, oversimplify statement: "it's complicated."
After decades of passionately seeking, pledging my allegiance, wholeheartedly selling out my energies and devotion in desperate attempt to chase after God in multiple faith belief structures throughout my lifetime of transactional relationships, I can, hear and now, proclaim I am bankrupt of certainty-- and am absolutely loving it. |
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I'm a 7 on the enneagram (that means I'm typically bursting with excitement).
I am a Cancer (So I am often over sensitive and dramatic). I am a cis gendered woman (I was born a woman and identify as a woman). I'm divorced (took a while for me to believe God loves me more that my contract- I am so grateful for fresh starts). I am a proud momma of these four kids (honestly, the best invest I ever made)! I'm a mess (and I'd prefer my expectations stay right at that attainable level). |
FAMILY WORK: foster family So I became a foster parent. Being a foster parent has been my great privilege! It offered me so much opportunity to heal go to express the love and belonging to other wounded children, healing my own hurts along the way. I have been a licensed foster parent in two states, on and off, over the last 14 or so years. I have loved my season as a foster parent and I'm so grateful that through this system I was able to adopt two of my beautiful children |
FAMILY WORK: new parents
In addition to my two adopted children I have two birth children. Which began my journey into exploring childbirth and our Western system of medicalizing growing families. I began my own journey of disssecting myths to calm my fears. So after much research I was empowered to educate women to rethink birth and choose a birth situation that was not just in their medical best interest but also to birth in a way that reflected their values. To do that work I became a certified labor and delivery doula, later a certified childbirth educator, and then later a certified nursing assistant. |
FAMILY WORK: church families
Along side my work as a birthworker and foster parent, I was also a Sunday school teacher, a youth chaperone, a minister's wife, a home-school parent, a director of family Ministries, and a director of elementaries Ministries I saw one very consistent truth working with these varisous groups. Most parents feel like they're doing it wrong. Like everybody else knows what they're doing but they don't. They seem to think their kid is the loudest kid, most rambunctious kid, most problematic kid, and that some other parent, any other parent, could do it better. And I would be lying if I haven't bought those thoughts myself! FAMILY WORK: every parents' confidence
But it is absolutely a myth that any parent is able to somehow intuitively, with no effort on their part, have the right answers, be the best example, know how to explain new math, model confidence, and of course never have your insecurities triggered by your child's Behavior or comments. Nope. Non of us get to escape parenting without feeling in over our heads, at some point. So exhale. You're in good company. For several decades my ministerial work was focused on children period on their need to be heard, on their need to feel like a deliberate Focus, on the very basic understanding that they don't want to go to church or learn if the environment isn't safe, Fun, and engaging and then it hit me.... We adults need that too! How could we possibly offer our children something we don't even have ourselves |