Karen Ehman

AuthorSpeaker

Oct 19

7 min read ⭑

“I love encouraging and empowering people to embrace the lot God has given them — no matter how little it may seem — so they will discover that true contentment isn’t having what you want. In fact, it is just the opposite. It is wanting nothing more than what you already have.”

Whether from a stage, from the pages of her books, or simply at the dining room table, Karen Ehman loves to tell others about the gospel. To her, it’s life’s highest honor. You would never guess from Karen’s down-to-earth demeanor that she’s a New York Times bestselling author or a popular Proverbs 31 Ministries speaker or that she's been featured on national media outlets like Fox News, TODAY Parenting, Redbook and more. She knows her calling comes from God — and she does it for him.

What you can tell right away from Karen’s demeanor, though, is how much she cares about people. In fact, one of her favorite things to do is whip up something tasty for someone while she listens to them share their heart. Today, you’ll get an insider look at Karen’s passion for people as she shares her joys and victories as well as her disappointments and mistakes.

QUESTION #1: ACQUAINT

There’s much more to a meal than palate and preference. How does your go-to order at your favorite hometown restaurant reveal the true you behind the web bio?

I grew up the daughter of a diner owner in the heart of the Midwest state of Michigan. My first job at the age of 16 found me donning a light blue apron and taking orders for his famous double cheeseburger, chopped slaw or glorified rice and getting to know the repeat patrons that frequented his café.

Today, you can find me hanging out Saturday afternoons with my family, sipping a little coffee with my cream and sugar, ground fresh in my dad’s original coffee grinder.

And I’ll order his signature tribute item still on the menu, a Pat’s pasty. This traditional meat and veggie handheld delight was originally eaten by minors in the upper Peninsula of Michigan since they were easy to carry and a complete meal in themselves.

For this lover of history, family and food, it is the perfect way to spend a lazy afternoon.

QUESTION #2: REVEAL

We’ve all got quirky proclivities and out-of-the-way interests, but we tend to hide them. What do you love doing that might surprise (or shock) people?

I love being productive. For me, checking boxes off my to-do list thrills my soul. At the end of the day, I’d like to look back and see that I’ve made progress, being intentional with my time without frittering any of it away.

However, one of the main things on my to-do list is to spend a day doing absolutely nothing. This may look like laying out in the hammock at the stretch of woods at the back of our property, staring up at the leaves as they dance in the afternoon breeze. In the winter, you may find me curled up in a comfy throw, in front of the fireplace, watching the flames flicker and letting my mind rest.

Although I prefer a quick pace to my day, I know that intentionally slowing down allows me to reset my mind and refuel my soul so I can face the tasks before me, both at work and at home.

QUESTION #3: CONFESS

Every superhero has a weakness. Every human too. We’re just good at faking it. But who are we kidding? We’re broken and in this thing together. So what’s your kryptonite and how do you hide it?

Growing up as a child in a broken home, my mom had to work long hours to put food on the table for my brother and me, whom she was raising as a single mom. But mom never failed to bake a plate of treats to greet us when we let ourselves into an empty home after school or when we woke up on a Saturday morning long after she had left for work. I soon equated food with comfort, with care and ultimately, with love.

As a result, I have had a tug-of-war relationship with food for decades. I often run to it no matter the emotion. I stress eat. Worry eat. Happy eat. Angry eat. I just eat.

However, I am learning that this numbing of pain, or celebrating of joy, is not a healthy choice. I am determined to try to break these old patterns and pursue health instead.

QUESTION #4: FIRE UP

Tell us about your toil. How are you investing your professional time right now? What’s your obsession? And why should it be ours?

I have a passion to help people to live their priorities and, as a result, love their lives. Not the lives of others they spy on social media that spark envy in their hearts, but their seemingly ordinary (but also delightful) lives.

I enjoy inspiring others through my writing so their lives can be an adventure by getting to know, and then serving and loving, those whom God puts in their paths. I love encouraging and empowering people to embrace the lot God has given them — no matter how little it may seem — so they will discover that true contentment isn’t having what you want. In fact, it is just the opposite. It is wanting nothing more than what you already have.

QUESTION #5: BOOST

Cashiers, CEOs, contractors or customer service reps, we all need grace owing into us and back out into the world. How does the Holy Spirit invigorate your work? And how do you know it's God when it happens?

Recently, I was able to obtain a rental at a lakeside cottage for half-price. I looked forward not only to time alone to read, study and make progress on my latest writing project, but I also could not wait to be alone in nature. I sat on the shore of one of the Great Lakes, Lake Superior, perched on a large rock, watching the tide ebb and flow. As I kicked off my flip-flops, I stuck my toes in the somewhat icy water of early fall. I could hear birds chirping and I spied two squirrels frolicking on the pathway that led back up to the cabin.

Being alone in nature to unplug and unwind allows my brain to breathe. And it helps me find my footing, which then in turn positions me best to get the creative juices flowing. Perhaps it is seeing God’s handiwork that allows me to do my best creative work as well.

QUESTION #6: inspire

Some people divide things sacred and things secular. But you know, God can surprise us in unlikely places. How do you find spiritual renewal in so-called “nonspiritual” activities?

My mid-century dining room table is a holy place to me. It also serves as somewhat of a magnet, drawing in the others for conversation, coffee and good food. I love to serve others by providing a hearty and healthy meal, shared as we converse about everything from the trivial to the troubling. Breaking bread with others allows them to open up and share on a deeper level. It is here that I best see the hand of God, tracing a path directly from my heart to the heart of another. I feel we best serve God by serving others. Meeting their very basic needs for food and connection may take time, but the results are oh-so-worth-it. I find renewed passion for ministry and a sense of belonging myself. Relationships are the fertile ground where our walk with Christ can grow deeper, sending down strong roots and shooting out branches of love and peace.

QUESTION #7: FOCUS

Our email subscribers get free ebooks featuring our favorite resources — lots of things that have truly impacted our faith. But you know about some really great stuff too. What are three of your favorite resources?

One of my favorite resources is the book “Soul Keeping: Caring for the Most Important Part of You” by John Ortberg. I re-read this book once a year, and it helps me to intentionally tend to my soul and resist the rush of life, thereby preventing my faith from growing restless or stale.

I also can’t recommend enough the “Hebrew-Greek Key Word Study Bible.” (I use the CSB version.) It identifies the keywords of the original languages and presents clear, precise explanations of their meaning and usage. Highly recommended!

And finally, I am loving the “Verity” podcast with Phylicia Masonheimer. It tackles both current issues and basic theology, breaking them down into everyday terms and offering challenging questions to ponder.

We all have things we cling to in order to survive (or thrive) in tough times. Name one resource you’ve found indispensable in this current season — and tell us what it's done for you.

I learn much better by hearing than by reading. Therefore, if I want to memorize a large chunk of Scripture, it might help to have it printed out and posted in a prominent place where I am sure to see it often, like my car’s dashboard or the bathroom mirror. However, what I find most helpful is to use the voice memo app on my iPhone.

There I can record my own voice reading the Scripture out loud and can listen to it over and over while walking, waiting or doing household tasks such as dishes or folding laundry. I have even committed entire chapters to memory this way. It’s a simple concept, but it has yielded tremendous results and helped me to store Scripture in my soul for those times in the future when I will surely need it.

QUESTION #8: dream

God is continually stirring new things in each of us. So, give us the scoop! What’s beginning to stir in you but not yet fully awakened? What can we expect from you in the future?

One day last spring, I hung up the phone and went out to my back deck to sit in the sunshine. But there was nothing sunny about my disposition. Instead, I broke down in tears — not because the phone call was discouraging or tragic, but because I had once again said yes when asked to do something when I knew I should have said no.

It was then that I realized that people-pleasing is a prison and I was locked up tight inside. It was then that I began to face reality: I often put people in the place of God, caring way more about their opinion of me than I do about what he has called — or not called — me to do.

After coming to that painful realization, I set out on a mission to dismantle my people-pleasing ways. I’m eager to share the painful lessons I’ve learned, as well as the progress I have made, with my readers. I just turned in the manuscript and I can’t wait to see how God will use it to help others caught in the unhealthy pattern of people-pleasing.

What is it that you run to when you’re hurting? Or when you’re worried or stressed? Karen was honest about what she tends to run to — food and people-pleasing. And she’s definitely not the only one who struggles with that. Really, if we were all brutally honest with ourselves, we might find we run to those same things, too. But hopefully, you don’t have to hit that point of total exhaustion and frustration to realize these things can’t satisfy. So today, we’re inviting you to take some time and give those things to God. Steal away to the secret place and let him speak to you — and take his rightful place as the one thing you run to.

Karen Ehman is a New York Times bestselling author, Proverbs 31 Ministries speaker, and a writer for Encouragement for Today, an online devotional that reaches over 4 million daily. She’s written 15 books, including KEEP IT SHUT: What to Say, How to Say It, and When to Say Nothing at All. Karen has been featured on national media outlets including TODAY Parenting, Redbook, Fox News, Crosswalk and HomeLife Magazine. Married to her college sweetheart, she’s the mother of three. You most often can find her feeding family and friends who gather around her midcentury dining table. Find her at karenehman.com.