Episode Transcript
[00:00:17] Speaker A: Hey. Hey. Welcome back to Working Out God. We are back continuing our conversations around God at work, faith on the front lines, and we're hearing from people who are living out their faith in some of the most real complex issues and unseen spaces. So today we're really excited to have Katie who will be joining us. She works in youth services, in the youth services space in early care, leading a team within our local council here in London. Through her role, Katie is working directly with young people and families, navigating incredibly challenging circumstances, supporting, advocating, and making decisions that can have a profound impact on people's lives. So, Katie, welcome to the podcast.
[00:01:04] Speaker B: Great to be here. Thanks for the invite, guys.
[00:01:08] Speaker A: Well, thanks for joining us. We're really excited to chat through everything that you guys have been doing, your role, and just to hear your insights. So I'm going to jump straight in.
Could you start by talking us through your journey into this space, into the youth services space? Was this something that you always envisioned, or did you get a sense of God's call over time?
[00:01:34] Speaker B: Starting off with such a big question, wow, How did it begin?
Honestly, you know, when I was at school, I feel like I struggled a lot with certain subjects. And, you know, I later found out at university that I was dyslexic. And I guess I sort of wondered, yeah, what. What I'd end up doing.
But one thing that always kind of shone out was my relationships with people.
And it was something that other people really noticed in me.
And when I was thinking about possibly going to university, you know, I had people sort of saying to me, why don't you study psychology? And I thought, okay, yeah, I could study psychology.
I'd done sociology as well at the A level level. And, yeah, it was just really interesting for me to understand more about people and know why things happen and society and why things happen in society. So I decided to study further around psychology and sociology.
And again, kind of, you know, friendships and relationships were always a key part of my life. And church and church community as well was always big for me.
And I think, you know, reading for me was something that I never really enjoyed, to be honest with you. And my mom, she always tried to find, you know, books or things that I might enjoy to read. She's a lover of reading. And, you know, eventually I found biographies. And I found, wow, these biographies are just absolutely amazing. And, you know, I'd read biographies about kind of Nikki Cruise in New York and eventually kind of like reading about Patrick Regan, who is an evangelist in London, and just kind of hearing their Stories and the work that they were doing, it really spoke to me in terms of my faith in action and being in the community and being alongside people.
And, yeah, I think that's kind of how it started, really.
[00:03:34] Speaker A: So I guess that leads us to today, into your current role, what you're doing in the local council in London here. Do you mind just starting as well with just giving us a bit of a background into the role and what you do and some of the kind of most pressing needs that you guys are responding to at the moment?
[00:03:56] Speaker B: Yeah, I feel like I've been in a kind of. I don't say a roundabout journey, but I think from a young age, God really put young people and youth on my heart.
You know, when I was growing up, I had an amazing youth leader.
And I always remember this quote that I read, actually, and it talked about, you know, when you're growing up, you know, you need your mother and you need your father, and then you get to a certain age where, you know, no matter how great your parents may be, you. You would always need that additional person to speak to. And it really sat with me because it spoke true in my life of kind of having traditional person that mentor, if you like, in my growing up years that I could turn to and speak to, and really, I think, discipled me as I was growing up in. In parts of life that maybe you don't want to share with your parents. But while young people always on my heart and while youth work was always on my heart, I am. I found myself in sort of different roles, really.
Working very much frontline for a good few years with victims of domestic abuse. So working in women's refuges, working and delivering therapeutic groups to mothers and children who'd fled domestic abuse situations and circumstances.
[00:05:17] Speaker C: I'm going to jump in and ask a question actually here, Katie, because you mentioned two books in the last question and you talked about faith in action.
So I just want to ask you. So obviously we have you on this podcast because you are a Christian, but what about faith in action really stirred your heart that then led you to make these decisions in terms of your career? Because there are other ways, right, that you could have put faith in action, but how is it that you've now decided to give your whole life and your career to these type of frontline roles?
[00:05:53] Speaker B: I don't know, honestly, but I feel like I didn't know what else I would do. I felt like this really was my. My everything. And when.
When I read about what other people were doing and I let's say, pray. Prayed about, you know, what people were doing or.
I just always felt this closeness to God. That's. That's it. I just always felt this closeness to God in being close with people.
And I don't know if there was ever a moment that I felt like, this is. This is what I'll do all my life or. But it's like, this is what I was good at and this is how I felt like I could serve and I could just be.
Be with people.
And gosh, you know, I've done so much learning over the years, you know, about what being with people means and looks like.
But, you know, I'm here and I. Continuing on that journey of learning, really, I feel so privileged to be with people and to sit and hear people's stories and journeys and their experiences. And I feel like actually it's a wealth for me to. To really hear and understand what people are experiencing.
So, yeah, that. That's kind of, I guess, why I've continued working in the field that I work in.
I don't sort of directly, you know, spend a lot of time with young people anymore. You know, a lot of my role is around supporting the team and thinking kind of strategically around kind of next steps of how we develop the work that we're doing, which is really exciting.
[00:07:36] Speaker C: But, yeah, so when we were kind of brainstorming for this season, I told you that I was reading Jackie Pullinger's book, you know, Chasing the Dragon, and you said to me that you had read the book, you had even met her in person. And actually a lot of her book or what she was sharing was very much what you're saying now, which is about being with the people, the fact that she wanted to stay within the. The walls of that space in Hong Kong. So for someone like me who doesn't quite understand, and maybe some of our listeners won't understand, but when you say being with the people, what about being with the people motivates you? Like, how. How do you not allow the circumstances, the stories that you're hearing, to feel overwhelming? How does that not kind of like, debilitate you when you're hearing these stories? Because you are working with some of the most vulnerable in North London, in some of these boroughs. And so how do you stay motivated? How does being with the people give you joy and keep you motivated in what you're doing?
[00:08:47] Speaker B: So I haven't met Jackie Pullinger. Actually, my friend read her book, and my friend went out and actually spent time with Jackie Pullinger in her missionary Work. And my friend, my goodness, she's absolutely amazing.
You know, I remember being at university with her and she would literally just bring young people on a bus to church every single week. You know, she's such an amazing person to have in my life.
You know, I'm blessed to still be friends with her.
I think I just have to thank God that he constantly refreshes my soul. And you know, I have to admit I'm totally not perfect. You know, when you're sitting with people who are in pain and have been through difficult experiences and you know, sit, let's say on the poverty breadline, life isn't easy. And when you hear about people's trauma and the difficulties that they're facing on an every day, it is difficult and, and it does affect you. I don't think there's any way to fully protect yourself from that. But I think it's about coming back to God. I think it's about allowing him to refresh your soul. It's about having the friendships. I have a lot of friends that do similar types of work to me and you know, we really are one another's support system in that sense.
So I think that's really key.
And then I don't know if you've seen recently there's astronauts that have gone up to space and I was actually with my friend the other day, we were talking about the photos they've taken of Earth and just reminding ourselves that, you know, the world is so big, there's so much happening in the world. You know, sometimes watching the news is, is yeah, really difficult and consuming yourself with what's happening in the world, which I think is really important to do, but also having that bigger perspective of, you know, who we are in the kingdom of God, the eternal life that we, we have in him and yeah, keep keeping, keeping foresight of that I think alongside the work that we do.
[00:10:54] Speaker A: I was just going to jump in there and ask just on like your, your role in this space. Obviously you work for the local government, local council.
So it's not actually like a, like a faith based environment.
So how do you live out your faith? I guess in that system which isn't explicitly faith based but then obviously the, the need and everything, it really taps into like the heart of God and what we should be doing in those spaces. So like I guess how do you balance that? Because are you able to one talk about your faith in that environment?
And if not then I guess what are ways that we could like encourage I guess the listeners and how we can like live out our faith in environments that aren't explicitly faith based.
[00:11:45] Speaker B: I think one big belief I have is that, you know, Jesus is love.
And I guess for me, walking out my faith is being the love that Jesus is to people.
And now I don't always explicitly talk about my faith, but the people that I'm close to do, or the people that are around me in my work environment definitely know that I'm a Christian.
It's really funny actually, because just before coming here, I was talking to a young man, I was introduced to him and he told me that he's a Christian and I asked him, oh, what's your favorite book of the Bible? He was asking me, what's your favorite scriptures? Because my colleague had introduced me and, you know, said that I'm a Christian as well. And I was just reminding myself, you know, James, it's always been my favorite book.
And Bueller and I were recently talking about how actually it's quite a. What was your word? Beulah.
[00:12:34] Speaker C: It's quite a direct and difficult stomach book.
Not for the faint hearted, but yeah,
[00:12:41] Speaker B: I just love, I love the book.
You know, in James it says that you see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.
And I guess, you know, when we carry the light of God, it's about how that light shines wherever we are and whoever we're around. So, you know, for me working in the council, it is just about being who I am and who God's allowed me to be in the spaces that I'm in.
I face, you know, barriers and difficulties every day as people do within their workplaces. And I just always keep going. I just, I don't know, have this, have this sense of just, I will do my best, I will always do my best as much as I can.
Obviously I also fall short 100%, but I just try and pick myself up and just keep going.
[00:13:41] Speaker A: Yeah, that's good. And have you ever had like a time in this job specifically where there's been a bit of tension between like your professional responsibilities and your personal faith?
And if so, how, how do you navigate that?
[00:13:59] Speaker B: That's a really hard one too, to be honest with you.
I think, you know what, as I've got older, I've just really realized that we have to be humble in everything that we do. Like, you know, it sounds like such a simple thing to say, but you know, in my 20s I feel like I was really like a bit fiery. Like people that knew me in my 20s, I was a bit fiery and I just make decision.
I was quite confident on a lot of things. And I think strangely enough, as I've got older, I've become maybe more uncertain about certain things.
And it's because I'm more willing to kind of explore question. You know, we use this phrase at work, professional curiosity.
We, we use like a signs of safety model we call it, which is a strength based approach to working with people and really looking at what's working well.
And I think, you know, now I just really dig deep really and think, you know, how can I be curious about this, how can I really understand? And I think what that's allowed me to do is really open my eyes to understand people a new depth and a new level. And you know, when, when somebody trusts you with their story and tells you their story, it allows me to come hopefully with God's wisdom more so than ever around, you know, what to do next or how to support them.
And a big part of the youth service and the youth development at the moment is really how we move into a space of coaching young people and really supporting young people through coaching to create their own ideas, solutions, thoughts and really set goals for themselves about what, you know, they would like to do next within their lives with the discipleship of those that work with them. And that's really exciting because I think when you are able to sit back and you are able to allow somebody else to be in their driving seat, that really allows you to, to support them, to think about their own circumstances and situation in a way that allows them to see that light actually that they want to move towards.
[00:16:05] Speaker C: You are probably one of the most passionate people that I've met. So when you said you were fiery back in your 20s, can't imagine what you were like then, if you're fiery as I know you now.
But what I wanted to ask you was you as a, as a, as a friend and as someone that I've known for a little while, you do wear your heart on your sleeve. And you are in a sector, in a place of work where, as you say, it's a great privilege, right, to hear some of these people's stories. But you're not just dealing in data and fact. You're dealing with actual lives, actual families. And so how do you get home?
And can you ever switch off from this type of work or, or what are the tools or the strategies that you've adopted over time to still serve the community that God has placed you in? But not that it becomes all consuming and almost like, am I doing enough? How do you manage that? Tension between. God has called you to this, but clearly the need still is a continuum, right?
[00:17:16] Speaker B: Yeah, you're absolutely right, Beulah. And honestly, I find it very hard to switch off. I love my job, I. I love doing what I do. And, you know, being in this new season of motherhood now with my own children, it really is difficult to find that balance. I want to be 100 at home, I want to be 100 at work. I want to be 100 in my community. And, you know, being 100 in all of those spaces doesn't really exist.
So I'm still definitely working that out. I think the best kind of advice or, you know, ideas that I've heard around that are, you know, things like trying to be in the moment. And I guess that's always something to encourage people with, to be in the moment. And, you know, when I'm at work, I do try and give my all, you know, I try and arrive early, I try and leave late. From the sense of just, I'm here, I. I will give as best as I can, you know, trying to problem solve wherever challenges come up.
And then I remember sort of hearing from somebody once about how when they get home from work, you know, they touch something or they just have this mind switch of like, okay, I'm leaving work outside and I'm walking in as mummy, and then just going into the house and just being ready to be. To be mommy and to really embrace that next moment of the day.
And I think that's really powerful.
So, yeah, I try. I try to be present in the moment and enjoy those experiences, you know, both at work and at home. But I don't find it an easy balance, to be honest.
You know, when I was younger, I would stay at work, later into the evening, I would be there to have conversations when people, you know, wanted to have conversations. And I guess now, you know, that kind of clock does change to wherever half past five, six o', clock, and then it is time to go home and be a parent.
[00:19:07] Speaker A: I guess when you're, I guess, dealing with, you know, really heavy situations
[00:19:17] Speaker B: in.
[00:19:17] Speaker A: I'm. I'm guessing that some of the situations don't really resolve overnight or very quickly. Sometimes it might take time in whatever you're dealing with, the people that you're working with, how do you, I guess, hold on to your hope and your faith in those situations when you're not really seeing the improvement, but like, you're doing all the things professionally, you know, and it Just takes time to see that change.
How do you, I guess, hold on to hope in those situations?
[00:19:49] Speaker B: Yeah, I think in my job, you know, like I said, I feel like it's a real privilege to do life with people. And maybe, you know, as a professional, you have an idea about what kind of maybe success looks like. You know, I guess in an ideal world, I believe in a 10 out of 10 life, whatever that means.
And I guess, you know, success looks like different things for different people at different moments and at different times. And I think.
I think. I think we have to just do the best that we can to be with people.
[00:20:22] Speaker A: Have. Have there been moments where you see, like.
Have ever been small moments where there's just, like, little transformations that remind you why the work kind of matters at those times? Like, maybe it's not something massive where you see change straight away, but just like the little things that kind of keep you going in this role.
[00:20:45] Speaker B: Yeah, I think change is always incremental.
I started my current role about two years ago now and I guess, you know, there was just lots of things to work out. Lots of things to work out. And sometimes I do like to just go at things really, you know, quickly and just, you know, like, create resolutions, create solutions.
And I guess, you know, yet again, I had to humble myself in really realizing that it is just one small step at a time.
And every step that you take is a powerful step.
Every step that you take is a brave and bold step.
I remember Christine Kane actually once talked a little bit about, you know, we're always trying to get there, but then when we get there, we're then trying to get to the next place.
I hope I haven't misquoted her. But in life, there will always be next steps.
So it's always important to celebrate the steps that we have taken and we have achieved.
[00:21:46] Speaker C: Katie, can we go back a few questions and a few steps? So when you said that you didn't really know what you wanted to do, but people were telling you that, you know, you're really great with people.
And then, you know, you explore sociology, psychology, you're really interested in people.
So that's a natural interest of you. That's your kind of personality, your characteristics.
But how has life, or your experience or even God, how has that shaped your heart to be in frontline roles? Because, okay, you love to talk to people. Why didn't you become a counsellor? You love to talk to people. Why didn't you go into events or pr? You love to talk to people. Why are you Not, I don't know, like a public speaker or in sales, for example, but what has shaped you into actually going into frontline role? So was there any particular individual that you admired as you were growing up? Was there conversations that you were having? Were there things that you were exposed to? I know that you touched on the fact that you were being discipled and you had a mentor. What was happening in your early 20s, late teens that was forming this career pathway that you're on now?
[00:23:05] Speaker B: Yeah. So I guess, wow, there was this one moment where I was at university, you know, and the church rallied round and we were going to do this, this day where we invited women into the church.
It was really pivotal, you know, because actually I kind of dreamed as a teenager maybe I'll be a hairdresser one day. I thought hairdresser would be a great career because then you get to talk, talk to people all day and I'm pastor them, you know, because they show your life when you're having your head on. I love going to the hairdressers. And anyway, we did this church day. We invited these women to come into the church. And, you know, one of the things that was that everybody had donated some clothes and some shoes and I was doing hair, so I was washing women's hair and styling it for them. I mean, don't ask me now if I'm good at hair. But one thing that really struck me this day is that 10 pairs of shoes have been donated and nine women came in, and every single one of those women left with a brand new pair of shoes that fitted them. And I thought, how perfect is that? That God would see each of those women in that moment and provide that for them.
And I think it was moments like that that really allowed me to trust God in. In what he was doing in my life and those around me. And, you know, really, I guess, made me believe that God would always be with me, you know, no matter kind of what I was doing or who I was serving, God would always kind of pull through. He never lets you down, you know, he never fails. And I think those were the moments that it really spoke into what I was trying to do.
[00:24:46] Speaker A: Yeah, I think we kind of touched on this as well be in the first season with, you know, one of the pastors had said before, and how we just kind of follow through the open steps and they kind of like just being. Be able to rest assured that God is with you and that he will guide you through each step because I guess not everybody here's like a An audible voice or a clear, like, voice saying that this is what I should do, this is the will of God for my life.
So I guess, especially with your experience, would you say that calling is something we discover, something we grow into? And what would you say to someone who was like, waiting for a clear cord calling for, you know, what they should be doing and what the will of God is for their lives when it comes to their vocation?
[00:25:40] Speaker B: You're making me go back to my 20s.
Do you know what? It's funny because when I left university, I got a job in a hospital. So I was just kind of, you know, a receptionist and paperwork. And I actually loved it because it was like systems and approaches and, you know, I find gaps. And then I'd be like, great, I found a solution to this gap. You know, I mean, we're strategically going to do this now, so there isn't a gap. And the hospital is just such a wonderful community, you know, get to know people at all levels. The doctors always really looked after us if patients weren't too happy, you know, with the long waiting times and stuff. And I used to come home and I used to tell my mom, oh, Mom, I've been reading this new Patrick Regan book, or I've been reading, you know. And then she used to say, so, Katie, what are you going to do with your life? And I'd be like, I don't know, mom. Like, I'm enjoying working in the hospital. You know, it's fun.
And then, you know, she'd say to me, but, but is this what you want to do kind of thing? Or, like, don't you think you should, you know, think about the next thing? And I'd be like, oh, mom, like, I don't know. Yeah, I should, I should. And then I get really excited about it. And then, you know, I think there was a bit of inaction on my part.
But then, you know, I. I did apply for a job and they just gave me a chance working in this women's refuge.
It was really, it was a big job. You know, I was working with women in crisis that had fled their homes with their children and came to live in this confidential house because the domestic abuse that they'd experienced. And I started off doing mornings there and I'd kind of juggle my week because I was also working in an adventure playground at the time. So I do, you know, refuge in the morning, adventure playground in the afternoon. And I think I still had a couple of mornings a week at the hospital.
And God just kept opening the door, really and truly. So then it kind of shifted and I was in the refuge full time, Adventure playground on a Saturday.
Did that for a good number of years. And then, you know, again, my mum was kind of in the background. I think she saw my frustration sometimes in the evening about kind of how I could do more, how I could be growing in this career of helping and serving people. And, you know, a few years later I felt like, yeah, got a bit more experience and confidence. And someone said to me it was quite pivotal at the time, like, stay for a year, learn how to do the role and then stay for a second year to build your confidence. So I did. I stayed for two years and then I put my foot out and applied for the next job. And I got it. I got it. And I think that was a really funny thing as well. When I applied for jobs in that season of my life, I got them. And it felt like, you know, you push the door, you ask, you seek, you knock, and that door is opened. And I think that's how it happened in some sense. You know, there was a desire in my heart, there was the encouragement of my mom and God just opened those doors as I knocked on them.
[00:28:33] Speaker C: So I've got a question for you and I think I might know the answer to this because you've mentioned this name a couple of times in the questions that we've been asking.
Who's inspired you along this journey?
And you've talked about a couple of things that you've read and pivotal shifts and people that have spoken into your life. So, yeah, who are your faith heroes?
[00:28:55] Speaker B: And to be honest, there's so many people, when I really think about life, I think, you know, there's people in my family that have done great things in terms of the gospel and the mission field and. And my family are already my faith heroes. So, you know, that's part of it.
You know, I think it's a funny thing walking out of faith, isn't it? Because in my teens I definitely went through that questioning stage of like, what do I believe? You know, it's great that my family believe, but what do I believe?
And I remember all my friends around me got baptized about the age of 13, 14, and I held out and I felt like, no, I. I don't know who I am, I don't know what I believe. And then at 17, wow, the holy Spirit just knocked me. Like, that was a crazy experience. And I decided to get baptized same weekend as my 18th birthday, actually.
And I really felt like from that point Onwards, no matter what happened, I knew God existed and I knew God was there.
And that. That was really pivotal for me because, yeah, that was my. That was my commitment of faith. And, you know, you sort of grow up and you make different commitments of faith, but that really was the moment that I knew God. God does exist.
[00:30:05] Speaker C: What happened in that moment?
[00:30:07] Speaker B: What.
[00:30:07] Speaker C: What was the experience, if it's not too personal to share with our listeners? Katie?
[00:30:13] Speaker B: So I was at somebody's baptism and I was just completely overwhelmed by the Holy Spirit. And I was crying and I was in a church which was.
It was a Baptist church, but it was much more conservative than what I'm used to now. So kind of the amount of crying I did that day of joy, of absolute joy and of confirmation of who God is, felt out of the ordinary, if it very much felt out of the ordinary. And then later on, I, you know, experienced different types of church and different ways of doing church and really pressed into kind of understanding who the Holy Spirit is and. And really kind of understood that church could be exciting and enjoyable and energetic.
And I feel like I am quite an energetic person. So it's quite nice to.
To be able to. To be energetic in my faith and, yeah, just feel the presence of God in that way.
[00:31:15] Speaker A: Maybe. To wrap up with a few last
[00:31:17] Speaker C: questions, I've got one. So, Katie, you mentioned about your family being, you know, like, on the mission
[00:31:29] Speaker A: field
[00:31:32] Speaker C: has the definition or your understanding of what the mission field is changed? And for, like, when I think of the mission field, I think of someone who is on mission, you know, and someone who's, I don't know, left global north and gone to places like Cambodia or Sri Lanka or something like that is what I think of the mission field. Do you have a similar definition or do you see, the mission field is a borough in North London or a borough in London or wherever that may be. What is the mission field?
[00:32:09] Speaker B: Yeah. Gosh, I love the idea of a mission field that's in the sunshine, you know, somewhere else in the world and that kind of escape. But I tell you something, I'm so proud of being from London. I'm so proud. I am, you know, as a child, would go out of London and then I'd be driving back in and I'd see it on the signpost, you know, London this way. And I get this excitement inside of me, like, yes, we're gonna go back to my hometown, where I'm from, London, like, the best place ever, you know, anyway. But in recent years, I really, yeah, found this Love for Tottenham.
But it's funny. God does have a sense of humor, because I met a man who also does love to put them more so the football team than maybe the people in the way that I do. Don't get me wrong, he.
Yeah, loves people, too. And I think the Mission Field for me is very much who we are and where we are and what we're doing. And the Mission Field is everything that we are in touch with. The Mission Field is our neighbors. The Mission Field is our friends. And, you know, as I said before, we are the light of God. So it is just to be the light of God in the places and spaces that we're in.
And, you know, I. I don't think we can be shy of the need that is on our own doorsteps, especially in a city like London.
And I think it's really important for us to be aware of that and to be able to.
To serve with our neighbors, with our friends.
[00:33:39] Speaker C: Oh, that's brilliant.
Not sure how long Tottenham is staying in the league, but anyway, that's another conversation. We're not going to go into that in this podcast, but.
[00:33:50] Speaker B: And I think.
[00:33:51] Speaker C: Final question for me, and I know that he probably has one for you as well, but what encouragement, Katie, would you give someone who feels called to love and serve their neighbor but doesn't yet know how to do that? What practical tips would you give?
[00:34:08] Speaker B: I'm going to come back to my husband for a moment.
During COVID obviously, everybody was at home. Everybody was kind of locked up. And, you know, where we live on our street, actually, there's such a mix of people. It's really.
Yeah. Such a mix. And, you know, it's funny, you go through seasons of life, you know, do you know your neighbors particularly well? I guess it was a question that came up at that time. And we walked up and down the street. We had a housemate at the time as well, and we just knocked on everybody's doors. Put a little note for if you need anything during COVID you know, this is our names, this is our phone number. Give us a call. And the amount of people that called us, it was crazy, you know, and to this day, still call us. And it was just that little act in Covid, really, that started it all. And, you know.
Yeah, we've taken on different roles, really. One thing that's been amazing over the last few years is that I had this sort of. Yeah. Heart for building into the community, building into the street. And then a few people kind of came around me that also live on the street. We created a little committee and now we have a play street that we run every year. And you know, when people hear play street, they think of children and children playing. But actually because of the demographic of our street, actually is more adults and elderly coming out of their homes.
And again, there was this beautiful moment where two neighbors who have lived there for many years, maybe 40, 50 years, actually met each other again during one of these street parties. And you know, both had gone through losses and health needs needs and hadn't been out of their homes and met and had that conversation even a few doors down from each other. So just to see that unity of them being brought back together to have that conversation was incredibly beautiful. So the chicken goes on the barbecue every year and you know, the neighbors come out, you know, and it's a funny thing. So to actually apply for that play street, we have to go door knocking on all the neighbors, you know, have a conversation. Is everybody kind of consulting that they're happy for this play street to go ahead? And it is just this amazing opportunity to know who lives next door to you. So I think, you know, the Bible very much talks about your neighbors and your neighbors are those around you, whether it's on your street, in your workplace.
I really felt at the beginning of this year actually that God had put the word lift on my heart.
We've been going through a lot of changes in the workplace, but I just really felt that that was something to share with the team. So I really just kind of communicated that to them. That it's like a word for the team or a word for the year really around lift. And everything that we go through and everything that we experience this year, let's just keep that kind of word lift in our hearts and minds. So that's what we've been doing.
So yeah, I'd say just start with whatever's in your hand. You know, we didn't knock on those neighbors doors with anything specifically for them.
And we've been really blessed by it as well because there's been a few times we've done, you know, a pot of food and giving it out to a couple of neighbors. And then one of our neighbors, she's so fantastic, goodness me. She's always knocking on the door if it's one of the girls birthdays and.
And she always says that if you give her a pot of food, then she has to return it full, not empty. So, you know, we're blessed by that. And then one of the neighbors makes puff puffs and yeah, she makes A massive pot and then lets all the neighbors know. One of the others messaged me the other day. I've got all this bread. It was baguettes and baguettes of bread, enough for me to take around to my friend's house as well. So we have been blessed by being a blessing, and I think that that's something that that is always returned.
I actually do have something else to say. I don't know where this fits into one of the other questions, but I'm just going to go for it.
There was a preacher a few years ago at church, and the gentleman preaching was a rugby player. And he talked about playing rugby in his fresh whites, and he talked about how he wants to land on the gates of heaven.
And he talked about being on the rugby pitch and being beaten and being bruised and being covered in mud by the end of the game. And I really felt that spoke to my heart because, you know, I don't find life particularly easy sometimes. You know, I don't feel that I do things particularly well all of the time. And I. I really would say I'm my own biggest critic, to be honest.
You know, I hold myself to quite a high standard, and I don't like to make mistakes and get things wrong. So I hold that quite deeply. But the preacher really spoke to my heart because I guess the question to myself was, how do I want to land on the gates of heaven? And the answer to that is I don't want to land there with a white, fresh, shiny kit. I want to land there even if that means that I have to be beaten and bruised. I will land there saying I was a faithful servant with what was in my hand. So hopefully, hopefully I am living out the calling that God has placed on my life.
[00:38:49] Speaker C: That's a really beautiful analogy to end with because I think.
I don't know where I heard it, if I'm, you know, paraphrasing the Bible and maybe a preacher or a book. But, you know, when they. When you hear that saying that says that, you know, you want to smell like the sheep, right? Like, you want to have been amongst the pen of the people that you're serving and you're stewarding and you're watching over. And so, you know, if you don't smell like the sheep, then you haven't got close to the sheep that you're supposed to be with. So I think that's a really lovely thought. And do you have any kind of final words of wisdom or encouragement, judgment, or a scripture that you want to share that's really held you during challenging seasons or continues to just be a light sometimes when things get difficult or something you'd like to just share with our listeners as to, you know, God's with us and God's in it or. Yeah. Any last thoughts from wise Katie?
[00:39:47] Speaker B: May God Sophia be with me. God's wisdom.
We've been singing a new song at church recently. It's called One More Day and it's really spoken to my heart because I feel like every day that God gives us is a blessing and it's an additional day to do his works on this earth.
So I, I listen to the song and I kind of just pray God one more day to be your servant on this earth. Use me.
So yeah, that would be my encouragement really.
[00:40:20] Speaker C: Oh, Katie, I love your heart. I really do. Honestly. You're just. And maybe I don't say it enough and I'm always berating you for taking everything on your shoulders. Well, actually it is your heart that bought brought you into this conversation with us and into this season. So I owe you, I don't know how much cups of tea for this, but incredibly grateful for you, for everything that you do. You're, you're in a borough, that's where I grew up and you serve the community so beautifully and you have such a heart for it. So we're thankful. We are, aren't we? T?
[00:40:54] Speaker A: Yeah. Thank you so much. Honestly, it's been really great, super insightful and such a moving conversation. You can really see your heart through everything that you've shared. And I think that what really stands out as well is just how beautiful it is that like when you're talking about the situation with you and your high husband and just using everyday moments to make a big difference and seeing how many people responded to that, what seeming seemingly looks like a small act of service actually had such a really big response and it just shows the need in the community and I think that really challenged me and hopefully encourages everybody as well in the same way that like the way we treat people, how we listen, how we, we show up, how we choose to serve in our day to day really does reflect the heart of God, of what, what he wants us to be doing in our everyday lives in spite of whether we are working in full time, you know, frontline roles or not.
So, yeah, thank you so much for sharing. Thank you so much for coming on and just being so open and candid about everything and nice and raw about things, the realities.
Thank you very much and yeah, loves chatting to you.
[00:42:15] Speaker C: Yeah, And I just, just to quickly end on that actually, too, is, you know, speaking to all our guests so far, the one thing that's really coming across is that actually no one is talking about these big grandeurs of service.
Like, nobody is saying, like, you know, go and, you know, hire at a restaurant and invite your local community and pay for everybody's food, which if you feel lazy to do that, absolutely do that. But it's, it's the actual, seemingly simple, everyday things that Katie has just shared and, you know, Ralph and Susan have shared as well in the other seasons that actually, it doesn't require much of us to actually make impact and to pivot, you know, change in our communities and to the people that God has put on our front steps. And so just before we go, Katie, can you share with the listeners the book, books that you would highly recommend that you think might be, has been encouraging to you along this journey that maybe our listeners and we can pick up and, you know, deep dive into.
[00:43:18] Speaker B: Oh, Bueller, there's so many books, to be honest. I mean, Patrick Regan, I've read all of his books. I recommend them all.
Was Nikki Cruz's book called Run Baby Run, I think is his book.
I read it many years ago, but absolutely loved it. Absolutely loved it. And one more, Stay the Path by Bobby Houston. I, I read that in a time where I really needed to hear that, actually. To stay the path to, to continue.
Yeah, on the path that had been laid out for me. So, yeah, that really spoke to me as well.
[00:43:53] Speaker C: You've, you've literally just opened up another question for me. But, no, we've got it. We've got to wrap it up. We've got to wrap it up.
Okay.
[00:44:00] Speaker B: I might have to be cut out, isn't it?
[00:44:02] Speaker C: Okay, fine. You're giving me the signals to say, go and go. One more, one more. So, okay, now you, you've said that in a season of your life where you had to stay the path.
Can you kind of elaborate a little bit on that? Because that's, that's real, real, right. That we, in our journeys, there are times where we're just like, am I even on the right path? God, is this where you want me? And you're feeling tired, you're feeling exhausted, you're feeling frustrated, Nothing's really happening in the way that maybe you want to see things happen? So actually talk us through that particular situation. And for anyone that's listening that's probably wondering, is this the right path? What would, what would you say to them?
[00:44:43] Speaker B: Yeah, I Think I've sort of said a lot around kind of, you know, friendships that I have and kind of people that speak into my life on a day to day, week by week, month by month, and, you know, are in a similar line of work. I think we encourage one another, but I think, you know, I know, I know how I have operated in my younger years. I think I'm a bit, bit better at being a bit more balanced these days. But, you know, there was definitely times in my twenties where I was a whirlwind of energy, let's say, and I would go, go, go, and then I'd kind of collapse, let's say, and just be exhausted. Just be exhausted and not be very good at taking that time out. Then I think probably what I am trying to learn to do is just be a bit more balanced in that and know when I need to, to take that break in my, in my role. I've often found myself, you know, in the middle of winter, 4pm, 5pm, in the dark, in the rain, taking a bus to knock on somebody's front door and to go and to sit and to hear their story and, and work together.
And I think stay. The path for me in those moments was about being faithful with every door knock, being faithful with every conversation.
And I actually took a couple of days off work. Not like me, to be honest. But it was in that moment that I read the book. Just over two days, I read that whole book, which, as I shared before, I'm not really a reader. So it was a lot for me to read that in two days. But it was what my soul needed and what my spirit needed in that moment. And it really was that time out that kept me going for that next season. So, yeah, every time I knock on a door, I really feel.
I don't know what word to use, but that responsibility that it's not just me knocking on that door, it's something that I've been entrusted with.
[00:46:37] Speaker C: Just want to give you a big hug.
I really do. I just want to give you a big hug.
Okay, we're gonna have to get you back.
Gonna have to get you back. I know you're dreading it and you're
[00:46:48] Speaker B: just thinking, what are you doing to me?
[00:46:50] Speaker C: Babe, we're gonna have to get you back, but okay, Right. Thank you. Thank you. And if I don't stop this now, I am literally going to have another five questions and you could stay here and record with us all night. But listeners, I know that you love listening to Katie, and I know that you're going to be saying bring her back, bring her back. And we are going to. So, so thank you so much, Katie. For someone like you say, who's not a big reader, girl, you've got through a few books here. They've written, I've written them down now so I'm gonna check them out. But thank you so much. T take over. Otherwise I'm just gonna keep chatting away and keep everyone on this call.
[00:47:30] Speaker A: Yeah. Thank you so much, Katie, and thanks to all the listeners, everyone who's joined us today.
I guess we should all kind of just maybe ponder and think about like how we can reflect the heart of God, I guess wherever we've been placed and just take the words of wisdom on board where we can. But yeah, thank you so much for joining us on Working Out God. And we will see you in the next episode.
