Getting to Know More About Kat

Last week I gave an open invitation to anyone to post questions for me with nothing being off limits and so many of you responded. I thought I would answer some of them for you today!

Divine Mrs D wanted to know:

What is the biggest miracle that has happened in your life?

This is easy for me. It would have to be last year, when Steve first went out in disability then was laid off. I tried in vain several times to find work in this economy. All we had to live on were Steve’s checks. We still had a mortgage, and all the monthly bills. We held fast to the verses in Matthew about God providing our needs. We couldn’t borrow any money from family and I remember one time we actually asked our neighbors for money to help get us through with food til next check came. It was so humbling for us. If we look back and add up our expenses versus income, it doesn’t add up. We were able to keep our home, never ran short on anything and God took care of our daily needs.

...and what's your favorite memory as a child?

I would have to say since my parents divorced when I was 7, my mom was forced to work two jobs to make ends meet. So many days and weekends it was just my younger brother, Mike and I to ourselves. We would invent all kinds of things to keep ourselves busy for days. Our favorite was taking a spare piece of paneling down from the garage and creating a city streets on the backside. We would take all my brothers Hot Wheels, divide them up and play in our pretend city for days. We used old boxes and containers and turned those into shopping malls, stores, schools and homes.

He & Me + 3 wanted to know....

But how did you and Steve meet?

I was asked to manage a service department in Rowland Heights, CA at LA Cellular because no one wanted to take that store on. When I agreed to do it, I was given a detailed description of the obstacles I was bound to face. One of them was a troublemaker named Steve who liked to be confrontation and was known to get in fights outside of work. I figured if I could turn this service center around, it would make me look good. I was still married at the time to my first husband.

Upon walking into the service center I met Steve, with a black eye no less. Even though I was married already, I knew there was more to this person than what I had heard. I set up to use him to make our service center better and in the process make a name for himself not as a troublemaker but a problem solver. Little did I know that within a month of that meeting, my marriage would dissolve. Over the next 6 months, Steve became a friend to me, being a single mom know there were times I struggled. He was always there. He signed my lease on my apartment because my credit was horrible. He never asked for anything. We became best friends over the next two years and he was my saving grace in the darkest time in my life.

After receiving my divorce papers I resolved to end my life because I truly felt abandoned and left all alone. I couldn’t see things right in front of me, my child custody rights were robbed from me by an ex who felt I would flee and take his daughter away. So I prayed to God that day that if anyone called me I would stop this attempt on my life. After two hours of waiting and taking pills each hour that I waited, Steve called. That day forever changed the rest of my life.

We spent the next year getting to know one another and eventually he asked me to move in. Within 3 months, he proposed and the rest is history. We will have been married for 12 years this February 9th and have been best friends for 15.

Where do you all like to take family vacations?

Our favorite place has been at the Squaw Peak Hilton Resort in Arizona during our summer. The rates are less than $100.00 a night and includes great accomodations and a water park on the property. The food at the restaurant is more than affordable and everyone gets what they love.

What is your favorite hobby?

Right now, I would have to say reading. I can’t get enough. The more books I read, the more I feel alive and more in tune with who I am and what God wants me to be. I can get through really good books in a matter of hours.

Andrea wanted to know:

Well, I think I have been here since the beginning....and I have come to know you as an awesome friend and prayer warrior. I am privileged to have you in my life.

Where were you born?

I was born in Fullerton, California. I have lived in Southern California my whole life. I grew up in Huntington Beach for about 6 years and then moved to Santa Ana until I graduated high school.

What is the craziest/wildest thing you have ever done?

I did say nothing was off limits. This was before my salvation days! When I was living my rebellious teenage years in high school, I joined a truck club my boyfriend and his friends created called Limited Edition. One weekend, we went to a three day truck run, where it is like a huge campout with all kinds of other truck clubs and you drink and party the whole weekend. I was prone to drinking Southern Comfort straight at that time and thought is was cool to act like one of the guys. So I drank a lot that night, marinaded my steak in it, and subsequently passed out that night. I woke up on the ground the next morning sick as a dog. For the next three days I had the worst hangover and I vowed to never drink again nor get drunk either. I pretty much lived up to that vow.

How has GOD really outdone HIMSELF in your life?

He has enabled me through so many situations in my life and brought me to the place where I am now. I can honestly look back and see how He was with me every step of the way even when I wasn’t with Him. Each circumstance in my life, He knew the people I would need and the challenges I would face to bring me through them. Looking back I think God had it right the whole time. I can only hope to do His will each day in my life and enter into His gates to hear the words, "Well Done Good and Faithful servant".

Jenn at Still Learning wanted to know:

Do you teach in church? You seem so knowledgeable!

Nope but perhaps that is the direction God would like for me to go in next. I was a corporate trainer for 10 years at AT&T and loved every day I went to work. I was making differences in peoples lives and that is something that no amount of money could ever pay you for.

What is the greatest lesson that God specifically taught you?

Trust him always. He will never let you down and you will become a better and stronger person as the result of going through His fire.

I will do the second part tomorrow and it's still not too late to leave my any additional questions. I took the weekend off from blogging because we have so much stuff to do to prepare for the upcoming holidays. I really missed all of you.....thanks for noticing. If you have a question just leave it in my comments. You all have some really great questions!