About Karen
Hi! I am Karen, and I would like to introduce you to my family. The handsome man sitting next to me is my husband, Brian. Joshua is sitting on my left. Matthew and Elizabeth are in front of us. The little critters on Elizabeth are her pet rats, Lacey and Allison. (She insisted they are part of our family and had to be part of the picture!) Many times I am asked to provide someone with my bio or a belief statement before I speak for their group. It seemed to make sense to have that information more easily available, so I decided to add the About Karen page to my website. The purpose of this page is to provide you with information you may wish to have about me and my background before you invite me to speak.
I am including my bio, my personal testimony of how I came to faith in Christ, as well as my belief statement. I hope these items will be helpful to you but, by all means, if you still have questions please do not hesitate to contact me personally and ask!
Karen's Bio
Karen Hossink is a wife, mother, speaker and author. She and her husband, Brian, have three children: Elizabeth, Joshua and Matthew, and they make their home in Okemos, Michigan.
Karen graduated from Western Michigan University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication, which was helpful, but it is an on-going education at Weary Mom University which has led to her roles as speaker and author. When God revealed to Karen that He was using her children and her struggles as a mother to make her into the woman He wants her to be, she found hope, and in 2005 she began sharing that hope with other moms as a regular speaker for moms’ groups. Since then, Karen has shared her story with hundreds of mothers across the state of Michigan and has traveled to Florida, Illinois, Minnesota and Wisconsin to speak, as well.
In 2006 Karen wrote, Confessions of an Irritable Mother: Hope for Overwhelmed Moms, in which she shares the whole story of her mothering journey and the hope she believes other moms can embrace. Through her book and her blog, Surviving Motherhood, mothers around the globe are finding hope in the midst of their struggle, and are reminded that God is good – all the time. Karen is presently working on her second book, a devotional for moms, expected to be released in the fall of 2008.
Karen's Faith Story
I grew up going to church. I believed in God. I knew we celebrate Christmas because of Jesus’ birth and Easter because of His resurrection. I knew He died to pay the price for our sin. Overall, I was a pretty good kid. Because of those things, I believed I was a Christian.
What I didn’t know was that I needed to make a personal response to what Jesus did on the cross. And I really didn’t understand that Jesus could be a part of my life and make a difference in my every day. I didn’t know He was relevant today!
When I was a freshman in college I met a guy who started talking to me about God, asking me questions, and even reading the Bible with me. As we talked, I realized I was not a Christian after all. So I confessed my sin, asked Jesus to forgive me, and invited Him come into my life as my Lord. I got involved in a Christian fellowship group on campus, started reading my Bible and praying regularly, and even paid attention in church!
Jesus has become real to me. I know now that He is relevant today. In fact, I know I cannot make it through a single day without Him. I am so thankful the Lord pursued me for the first eighteen years of my life until He caught my attention, and I am thankful for every day He faithfully sees me through.
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. I know I can trust Him, and I long to be like Him!
Karen’s Belief Statement
I believe in the triune God, creator of the world, as revealed in the Bible - His inspired and perfect Word. I believe mankind was created to be in a relationship with God. However, when sin entered the world that relationship was broken and now every person, because they are sinful by nature, deserves to spend eternity separated from God.
I believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God; fully God and fully man. I believe He was sent to earth by God to restore the broken relationship between us. Jesus lived a sinless life here on earth. He was crucified, died and was buried. He rose from the dead and ascended to heaven where He now reigns with God the Father.
I believe Jesus’ death was for us. He took our place and took upon Himself the punishment we deserved. And now, I believe every person can be saved by the grace of God alone and be restored to the relationship they were meant to have with Him. I believe this relationship is for all of eternity and begins when a person:
- confesses their sin and their need of a Savior,
- believes Jesus is that Savior and the death He died was sufficient to save them,
- and asks for forgiveness and invites Jesus into their life as Lord and Savior.
