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Karen Veenstra

"We read to know we are not alone." - CS Lewis

I write to help others know the same.

About Me

I want to learn to love others better and help make the world a better place every day I'm here. I hope the example I set in my life, in my writing, and in my humor can do just that.

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What I Can Do For You

You'll see below a collection of different work featuring professional pieces from ministry, personal pieces from motherhood, and staff contributor pieces as an avid sports fan. Although these examples share a few passions of mine, it is not a full representation of what or who I can write for. Wherever my journey takes me next professionally, I can promise any future employer this: 

  1. The passion for writing doesn't stop here. It will join me when I lock arms with you. Your passion will become my passion.
  2. The voice, vision, and values of your organization will be in good hands. What you want to communicate, I will do so appropriately, creatively, and with great quality.
  3. Stop, collaborate and listen... (thank you, Vanilla Ice). Always ready for feedback, to work as a team, and be "others" minded. Content creation is at its best when its creators are at theirs.

Whether through writing content, editing or proofreading yours, providing social media creativity, or managing a team to do all three, my goal is to do so with excellence, trust, and humility.

    FEATURED WORK

    Liquid Church •

    Establishing Routines That Work For Your Family

    I won’t lie. When I was asked to write a blog post for parents sharing advice about staying afloat during the start of the school season, I laughed. Mainly because many parents who will read this have been navigating back to school seasons way longer than I have. In fact, I have never navigated a back-to-school season. This Fall will be my first. My oldest is entering Kindergarten, and I’ll be honest, I have NO IDEA what I’m doing.

    So, while I cannot yet share with you my own advice from past e
    Liquid Church •

    Monday, April 19

    One of God’s best characteristics is being an ultimate Provider. He is always going ahead of us arranging in advance for us His plan and Goodness. Unfortunately, one of our worst characteristics as humans is forgetting this very truth about Him. Especially when we’re in the thick of life’s brokenness.

    Recently, I watched a documentary film on Netflix called “7 Yards: The Chris Norton Story”. Chris was a freshman in college playing football when he suffered a devastating injury, paralyzing him f
    Liquid Church •

    The Gift of Parenting: Trusting God when nothing goes as planned.

    “So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.” - Luke 2:4-7

    When my youngest
    Liquid Church •

    The Gifts Your Kids Really Need This Christmas

    I recently read a comment on Instagram from a man who was admiring his parents for the ways they made his childhood special. He and his brother loved baseball. They played it constantly and watched it endlessly. He said all they ever wanted was to go to a Major League Baseball game, but his parents simply couldn’t afford it. So, one day, when they arrived home from school, their Dad was waiting at the door. He handed them two hand made tickets, a couple dollars each, and welcomed them to the bal
    POPSUGAR Family •

    We Totally Failed and It Was the Best

    We Totally Failed and It Was the Best

    As originally featured on her blog, Faithful Thoughts, mom and blogger Karen Veenstra shares how parents should learn from and laugh at the memories they've created from their failures.


    There are two photos in our family room from a wonderful vacation we took in the Bahamas recently. You could say they are those perfect family photos, the ones you share on all of your social media accounts. The ones, you know, you put in cute frames and display proudly i
    POPSUGAR Family •

    I’m Always Thinking About Poop — and 9 Other Things I've Learned as a New Mom

    Mom and blogger Karen Veenstra shares all the funny realizations she's come to live by as a mom in this post originally featured on her blog, Faithful Thoughts.

    Locked in my office, pumping out breastmilk for the third time one day, I grabbed my phone to do my daily check in and texted my mother-in-law who was on baby duty that day.

    After asking the general, "How's it going?" my next question was one I had become all too familiar with.

    If she answered yes, I was all like, "Yay! Poops!"

    Then

    BRONX PINSTRIPES

    Bronx Pinstripes | BronxPinstripes.com •

    Judge, Sanchez headline the nine arbitration-eligible Yankees today

    BRONX, N.Y. — It’s the one day of the year in which Twitter will soon be flooded with an annoying amount of arbitration deals, none of which are usually that exciting.

    That is, until now.

    By noon today, Aaron Judge will have a deal with the Yankees, headlining the players who are arbitration-eligible this season.

    The deadline to make a deal is 12 p.m. EST. The question is not whether Judge will make a deal with the Yankees, but how much that deal will turn out to be.
    • Will this deal be a for
    Bronx Pinstripes | BronxPinstripes.com •

    The 2019 #NextManUp Yankees: A Poem

    Not sure what to write.

    It’s not so much a plight,

    As it is a massacre.

    Has taken more hits than a boxer,

    Who keeps getting knocked down,

    Only for the next blow,

    It just doesn’t let up.

    From one night to the next

    Will soon be looking for work.

    So many new faces,

    50 different ones, in fact.

    Any more and we’ll soon have imposters

    Yeah this could be true,

    You’re not scared of MRI booths, are you?

    The back and forth news of injuries and come-backs,

    Wondering who the heck is next.

    Jus
    Bronx Pinstripes | BronxPinstripes.com •

    Tough decisions await the Yankees

    I wonder how much sleep Aaron Boone has lost this year. Between the injuries and historically bad stretches of pitching, while simultaneously having the best record in baseball, this scenario would be a head scratcher for anyone, let alone the guy who’s seeing it unfold right before the bill of his cap.

    Boone has seen it all this year, and this year has surely not gone the way he planned a potential World Series year to go. Yet here he is, playing for the best record in baseball, eyeing the pla
    Bronx Pinstripes | BronxPinstripes.com •

    What is it about baseball?

    On the 20th anniversary of David Cone’s perfect game, a co-worker spotted me watching the highlights of his historic day several times over as if I didn’t just watch it 90 seconds prior. Noticing him looking at me like I was crazy, I spoke up without even taking my eyes off the screen.

    “I was at this game,” I said with a reminiscent smile and tear-filled eyes. “It was 20 years ago today.”

    “Oh. Was it an important game or something?” He asked.

    “It was a perfect game. There have only been 23 pe
    Bronx Pinstripes | BronxPinstripes.com •

    Breaking down Brian Cashman's big trade deadline decision

    The second half of the baseball season begins tonight, the trade deadline is upon us, the dog days of summer are approaching, and one big question looms for the first place Yankees: Which starting pitcher should they trade for at the deadline?

    To make this clear, I’m in the camp of they should go after another starting pitcher. However, I could see reasons not to, mainly being the most realistic available pitchers simply may not be worth it or simply may not be available after all. But even Bri
    Bronx Pinstripes | BronxPinstripes.com •

    The Yankees three keys to a championship

    After game one into the 2019 season, I highlighted a few key areas the Yankees needed to be successful in this year to win a championship. Now, 61 games in — a little over a third into the season, the Yankees are in first place. But have they gotten here because of these 3 key areas? Let’s break down my previous article and see if we can give them a check mark for each. What I previously wrote is in italics.

    They need to stay on the field. CC and Sevy are already on the shelf, but seemingly wil

    PUBLIC SPEAKING

    1. Not a Fan (December 2019)
    2. Subject to Change (2018)
    3. I Want to Believe, But (2017)