Hi friends!
Over the past few months, we’ve gained some new readers here, which is encouraging, exciting, and humbling. I’m so thankful for each of you. While I don’t see your faces when you sign up, I do see your email addresses. Please always feel free to email me and let me know you’re here, what you want to know, and any fun facts about yourself.
About Me
If you don’t know me, my name is Kelly Ottaway, and I live in southwestern Ontario. I was born and raised in Indiana, with a short childhood jaunt in Detroit, MI. Three states will always hold a special place in my heart: Michigan, Indiana, and Montana. Michigan because it has never-ending opportunities for adventure. Indiana because it raised me. And Montana because we all belong in the mountains, whether you know it or not! My favorite city though is Chicago. Simply a dreamy city.
Growing up, I loved riding horses, writing, and reading. I was blessed with supportive and amazing friends and family. I’m forever grateful for my imperfect but wonderful childhood. Now that I’m an adult, I know what a gift a sweet childhood is.
I attended undergraduate college at Moody Bible Institute where I majored in Biblical Studies. Attending school at MBI was a joy of my life. I made lasting friendships and learned a great deal in theology and biblical studies. Most importantly, I learned how to do theology for myself. I wasn’t spoon-fed what to believe. Rather, I learned how to search Scripture inductively and draw wise conclusions. College was extremely formative for me. At MBI, I met my husband Marty who hailed from Chatham, Ontario. Admittedly, I was fairly ignorant about Canada before I made Canadian friends. Now, my home is here, and it’s a great place to live. After we married, we lived in Jackson, MI for a few years, made wonderful friends, and I completed my Master’s in Counseling at Spring Arbor University. We also had our first two pregnancies in Jackson, one of which ended in the miscarriage of our baby, Joy. The second pregnancy ended in the birth of our now 4-year-old son, Thomas.
In October 2018, we moved to Harrow, Ontario, where Marty serves as associate pastor at a church. I work as a Licensed Professional Counselor at a private counseling practice in Jackson, MI (I do telehealth), and as a Registered Psychotherapist at a crisis pregnancy centre in Leamington, ON. I love both of my jobs! The mental health field is fascinating, challenging, and rewarding. Most recently, I completed training in Perinatal Mental Health, and I have one step left to be certified in the field. That final step is the exam! Eek! Nothing gets me down like exams. :)
Since moving to Ontario, we’ve enjoyed the birth of our now 2-year-old daughter, Millie, and the recent birth of our son, Jay. There was a time in our lives that we could not see through the painful diagnosis of infertility; I could hardly hold hope in my heart for raising children. But we learned to hope in Christ, not in parenthood. That’s a whole story that I reference often, and it’s made infertility a special focus of mine. It’s an honor to be walking through the infertility journey with others now.
Any time someone lets you into their deepest struggles, consider it a gift—a gift that they’ve trusted you to hold their hand in the darkness and point them to hope.
If you want to know more about our infertility journey, you can find it detailed in my old blog, here: Springs of Joy.
Well, this is getting longer than I intended, so I’ll start to wrap this section up. I’ll leave you with some random facts about me.
Sparkling water is my jam, and I’m proud to say that I have persuaded many people to love it, too. Currently I’m also into Bubble Tea. My order is a Coconut milk tea with light ice and light tapioca bubbles.
We have a 1.5 year old Double Doodle named Tobi, which my brother Toby was probably thrilled about.
Nature calls to my heart, and I love being in it. I also love watching any nature shows. I’m currently fascinated by whales, and I highly recommend “Secrets of the Whales” on Disney+
All-time favorite band is Sleeping At Last. But I grew up on country music, so it holds a special spot in my heart. There’s nothing like driving with the windows down, sun shining, and blasting country music. Other than that my taste in music is pretty eclectic.
I love writing, but I really can only do it in the margins of life, which right now are naptimes and early mornings.
This summer I’m studying through the Psalms for my personal Bible study. All of Scripture is beautiful, but my writer’s heart is always pulled back to the Psalms.
Marty and I love a game called Dominion.
Spending time with family and friends is my favorite, especially when it involves camping, pools, beaches, or mountains.
Okay, tell me something fun about you!
My Writing
If you subscribed, you should have received a welcome email, but if this was shared with you, and you want to subscribe, you can do so here:
When you signed up as a reader, you received a welcome email that details just why I am writing this in the first place. I don’t have much to add to that, so if you missed it, here is a link to that post: Why I Write.
Several other platforms hold some of my writing as well, including Waiting in Hope, which is a Christian infertility organization. I started writing for WiH in 2020. You’ll find that I integrate my experience with infertility into my writing periodically. Check out the wonderful ministry of Waiting in Hope for yourself.
I also contribute to a new, online publication called SEND Magazine. SEND is a bi-monthly publication, put together and edited by my friend Adsum Ravenhill, and it consists of writings from Christians all over the globe. Past issues of SEND Magazine can be found here on my main page.
I have also had a couple of articles published at Gospel-Centered Discipleship. You can find my articles and many others on GCD’s website. I am very appreciative for GCD as they helped refine my writing through a writer’s cohort I did with them in 2021.
Lastly, I occasionally post microblogs on Instagram, where you can find me as @kel.ottaway
And if you want to view any of my past newsletters, just go to my main page at kellyottaway.substack.com.
Future Newsletter Themes
Welp, you may be wondering what I primarily write about (or you may already know). Mostly I focus on theology (I love love love theology. Get this, everyone is a theologian!), and recently I’ve been focusing on grief. My background in the mental health field also finds its way into my writing. I’m fascinated by the integration of psychology and theology, so I hope to write more about that process as well. Other random things you may find me writing about include: infertility, gardening, baking, book reviews, and quite honestly, I do hope to engage a little bit more with this cultural moment in my newsletters. So you may see some of that in the future.
Historically, I’ve stayed away from writing publicly about current events for the most part, but my heart does feel a pull to be more vocal due to various reasons. I want to let God guide me in that, and should I delve more into current events and politics, please know that I do so thoughtfully and delicately. My hope is to demonstrate how our theology necessarily forms our engagement with culture, and our words hold deep weight; we must be intentional and compassionate. I’ll never claim to “have arrived,” because none of us have or will. I’ll always be open to growth, listening to other perspectives and stories, and being refined. This is part of sanctification, isn’t it? A willingness to be molded throughout our numbered days. In the meantime, one of my favorite go-tos for commentary on current culture is David French and Curtis Chang in their podcast, Good Faith. It’s an excellent resource. David French also has a newsletter called The French Press.
My next newsletter contains a fiction piece I wrote about the patience of God. It was a writing assignment through GCD, and it is dear to my heart. It will come out later this month. I hope you enjoy it!
Recommendations
You can find other recommended newsletters on Substack in the Recommendations tab on my main page.
Other publications and podcasts I highly recommend are:
https://lauren-bowerman.com/about/
https://www.gracefullyslathy.com/
https://www.jenoshman.com/all-things-podcast-1
https://amygannett.com/
The Good Faith podcast which was linked above.
Housekeeping
Substack recently came out with an app for Apple devices. There is one in the works for android as well. If you’re interested, you can learn more about it here.
All Done
Okay, old and new friends, I’m all done taking up your time today. I’ll be back in your inbox soon to talk about God’s patience. This issue of Springs of Joy really focused on me, which seems counter-productive to what I want to do here. I want to point you to Christ, because, “He must increase, I must decrease,” (John 3:30). But I know when I read someone’s work, it’s more meaningful when I know a little bit about them, so that’s why I wanted to send out a little Friday introduction (just like they do on IG, yeah?!). But please know, that the purpose of this newsletter is to think through different topics, with a Christian worldview, pointing you to our only hope, the only one that matters—Jesus Christ.
I can never tell you enough how grateful and humbled I am that you’ve chosen to spend time here today. Thank you, thank you. I love to hear from you! Tell me about who you are if I don’t know you. And if I do know you, tell me a new random fact about yourself. :)
The grass withers, the flower fades,
but the word of our God will stand forever.Isaiah 40:8