Renewing Our Minds Through Gratitude

April 15, 2024 | The Journey Church | Ballard, WA

On April 15, 2024, we gathered with about sixty other women ranging in age from 20-60 years old at The Journey Church overlooking the beautiful Puget Sound. As everyone arrived, they were greeted with big smiles and invited to grab a sparkling lemon and pineapple mocktail, cornbread bites, and shrimp skewers before taking their seats. Women traveled from all over the city, excited to spend their Friday evening diving into the topic of gratitude with our featured speaker Katie Mathews.

In true Live Salted fashion, we created a space where women are not talked at but engaged with. We believe transformation happens when we receive new ideas and truths, process those thoughts internally, then share in a group setting. This evening was no exception.

After selecting from the  buffet of street corn and tacos, we were asked to engage with this question: “What is a situation or story in your life that hasn’t gone according to plan?” If you’ve ever attended one of our events before, you know we like to get straight to the heart of the matter. We believe when we get to experience true vulnerability and transparency, our lives start to change. 

Our speaker, Katie, is intimately acquainted with this question. She was just 16 years old when a car accident left her paralyzed from the waist down.  It was an accident that could have taken away her will to live, but Katie used it and the massive life changes that followed to take her relationship with God deeper, discovering the joy that comes when every day is seen as a gift.

“If we didn’t have these paralysis in our lives – mental, physical, emotional – we would be our own Gods. Gratitude brings us back to being in the present moment with a God who wants to partner with us in the here, right now, in who He has created us to be.” -Katie Mathews

To listen to more of her story, watch an Instagram interview between her and Salt Founder, Krista Breilh, here. 

After listening to Katie’s powerful testimony about how she lives each day with thankfulness at the forefront of her mind, we made space for Q+R, followed by a round table discussion. It’s safe to say, everyone in the room that night felt encouraged. Katie allowed the Lord to work through her situation to bring all the glory back to Him, and we all left desiring to do the same  in our own lives.

Broken Elevator? No Problem.

And to think this whole evening almost didn’t happen. 

Around 8 a.m. the morning of the event, we got a call saying the elevator to the building was broken. After chuckling with disbelief (and maybe a tiny bit of panic), a wave of conviction and  feisty determination  came over us.  We knew in our hearts we weren’t  going to let the enemy stop this event from happening, but it was hard to ignore the difficulty of our situation.

• Katie’s Chair: weighed 500 pounds.
• Building: No ramp to the second floor or any other ADA access point.
• Main Venue Stairs: 15+ narrow stairs meant we couldn’t even carry Katie.
• Side Stairwell: 6 steps, possibly wide enough to carry Katie and her chair to the venue. 

So that was it. We were going to need 5-6 very strong men to help carry Katie up those 6 stairs. With the help of Krista’s husband, JJ, we rallied a crew of men and made it happen. So 500 pounds, 6 steps, and many strong arms later, our obstacles were crushed and Katie was able to share her message!

Thank You!

We were so encouraged by our time together at our dinner, that we are already looking forward to our next one! If you would like to join us again or for the first time in the future,  join our email list, and check out our upcoming events calendar!