Kristin Hill Taylor

Seeking God as the Author of Every Story

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Stories from the Porch in March

March 28, 2018 by Kristin 9 Comments

March was full of madness – in good ways! But the month went so quickly. I’m happy winter seems to be waning and spring is coming, but, still, I need to figure out a way to slow down time, especially as I look forward to our busy April and May.

Highlights

We had a lot of fun watching basketball – in arenas and from our couch. We went to Evansville to watch our beloved Murray State Racers win the Ohio Valley Conference championship and clinch the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. They ended up a 12 seed, but they got a rough draw with West Virginia and its feisty defense.

We also went to Nashville for one day the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament to watch two second-round games. We saw Nevada make its incredible comeback against Cincinnati and then witnessed Xavier blow its lead to Florida State.

Earlier this month, I wrote about why I like taking my kids to basketball games. And I stand by that after our fun month of basketball.

We also spent a weekend at Kentucky Lake with our best friends to celebrate Jaclyn’s 40th birthday. The whole weekend was truly such a gift. And we won a local Trivia Night fundraiser competition. I wrote about a scary moment from the weekend that showed me God’s faithfulness and kindness.

Favorite things

DropBox app – I realized this month if I could scan documents with my phone, my life would be more organized and my counter less cluttered. This app is a great solution for me! It’s way better than dragging out my scanner or keeping the scanner on the kitchen counter like I used to.

New music – I bought a couple entire new albums this month. Often times I’ll just buy songs I already like. But I couldn’t resist new albums from Brandon Heath and Tauren Wells.

From the bookshelf

I had trouble picking up another book after I finished “The Nightingale,” but I eventually did.

“The Weight of Lies” by Emily Carpenter – I really enjoyed this one and have already recommended it to real-life friends! It was suspenseful and I couldn’t quite put it all together before I got to the end.

“Burying the Honeysuckle Girls” by Emily Carpenter – Thanks to my Kindle recommendations, I realized I wanted to read more of the same author. It immediately pulled me in and kept my interest as the story unfolded with the main character discovering more about the generations before her.

(Plus I could borrow it free from Amazon with my Prime membership. The number of things we order from Amazon, the streaming shows and movies, listening to music for free, and now the books I can borrow are really worth the membership fee. Try Prime FREE for 30-Day Free Trial30 days! And I keep an updated list of books I’ve enjoyed on Amazon for easy recommending to friends.)

“This I Know: Trusting Your Unknown Future to a Known God” by Laura Dingman – I’m slowly working through this study, which is excellent! (You can read my full review.)

“Small Church Essentials” by Karl Vaters – I mentioned this last month, but I officially reviewed it this month.

“Keep a Quiet Heart” by Elisabeth Elliot – A friend shared some of this book with me, and I immediately bought it. I just started, but I already love it.

On the screen

“The Voice” – Thanks to all the promotions for this show during the Olympics, my oldest wanted to watch this. So I started recording, and the kids and I started watching. We love it! Plus one of the contestants this season is friends with a bunch of my friends, so that’s fun.

My DVR is full of episodes of some of my regular shows (“Madam Secretary,” “Blue Bloods,” “Designated Survivor” and “Black List”) as well as a couple new show (“Instinct” and “For the People”). I’m looking forward to catching up now that there is less basketball on TV.

Was your March madness in good ways?
Let’s share our #PorchStories.

{Tweet that.}

*****

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5 Ways to Handle Friendship Changes

February 14, 2018 by Kristin 26 Comments

I’ve been missing the season of my big kids being toddlers and preschoolers – not because I want to go back to them being little but because I miss the way my friendships were then. I have a toddler again, and as we go to swim lessons and potty train I’m reminded of when I walked through these seasons before.

Most of my friends then were stay-at-home moms too. We had a babysitting co-op. We met at the park often. We left one gathering usually knowing when we’d see each other again.

I have many of those same friends, but our friendships look different because the seasons have changed. The kids have grown up and go to school and have other commitments. Some of the moms have gone back to work and a few families have moved. Our schedules aren’t in sync like they used to be.

God authors changes, even the ones that come in relationships. That doesn’t always mean changes are easy, but knowing that truth does mean I see changes differently. Because, yes, when life changes, so do friendships.

(I know, I don’t really like it either!)

I’ve shared before, I’m the kind of person who wants to hold on tightly to friendships so things stay as they’ve always been with people choose I to be around. But that’s not realistic, as God is teaching me in this season of many changes.

I’m sharing five ways to handle friendship changes. In other words, this is how I’m slowly learning to hold loosely the people I love, even when I want to pull them all closely and hunker down in a commune-like bubble.

1. Find new ways to hang out.

My best friend is a teacher, so we have to hang out at different times than we used to. Plus together we have six kids who have their own stuff. But we still find ways to hang out. Some weeks we meet for dinner one evening between my girl’s piano lessons and her daughter’s gymnastics class. We love to gather our families on Saturdays for Settlers of Catan marathons, dinner, and general catching up. The kids like when that happens too.

Another friend and I have recently been trying to figure out how to get back in the habit of hanging out. We’re meeting for dinner this week, and hopefully we’ll be able to find other times that work in this season that involves homeschool and her own part-time job for her family as well as school days and toddler for mine.

2. Appreciate the traditions you have.

The photo I chose for this post is from one of my favorite traditions with my favorite friends. Our four families have gathered for Thanksgiving dinner together the past nine years. So many things have changed over those years, but I’m so grateful we’ve prioritized this tradition.

We have other friends we like to travel with to go see Murray State basketball games on the road. We outgrew fitting in one vehicle, so now we’ll borrow a bus so we can still go together. Closer to home, we’ll meet for dinner together before games.

Remembering and continuing those traditions are some of the best ways to connect.

3. Reach out to friends as you pray for them.

People are always going through things. Families I know are walking through hard times. Marriage and parenting can always use prayer. There are medical situations and job changes. So I put them on my prayer list and then I check in with them, even if that means sending a text with some encouragement or a quote that reminded me of them.

Reaching out doesn’t have be complicated, especially with today’s technology. Even when changes are for the good, they can be hard on people. Being present with prayers is a practical way to be there for people you love.

4. Don’t take their changes personally.

It’s true that a close friend’s circumstances can affect your life and have ripple effects. But I’ve had to remind myself God’s plans for one family often won’t look like his plans for mine. You can encourage them in whatever is happening for them and still process the effects on your life.

5. Notice the provision God has for you.

When a friendship changes because of logistics and schedules, I grieve what we used to have. And that is okay and healthy. But those changes don’t mean God is leaving us without. So many times I’ve seen new friendships develop or old friendships take a new shape in my life.

Sometimes the provision looks like new friendships. My closest friends are done having babies, but God has put a different circle of people who are pregnant and adopting in my life.

God knows what we need and provides
that – even when it surprises us.

{Tweet that.}

Yes, sometimes people are in our life for a particular season. Sometimes we see the big picture in those scenarios and sometimes we have to hold onto the promise that God is for us and working all things together for the good even when we can’t see the whole thing.

I miss the friendships that came with having two small kids at the same time, but I love those kids being bigger now. And the friendships are still there, even if they take a little more work. Plus there are opportunities here with the toddler I do have and the people in our circle. I’m gathering a few of those friends at my house later this week for a lunch because God reminded the season we’re in now matters.

*****

I originally shared this post a couple years ago, but it came to mind recently so I updated it with where I am now. I needed these reminders, so I thought maybe someone else did too.

*****

Kristin Hill Taylor - Porch Stories
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A Christmas Do-Over

January 17, 2018 by Kristin 23 Comments

I didn’t plan it, but I got the Christmas do-over I wanted when I finally felt better.

I had the flu in the days leading up to Christmas, forcing me to miss some gatherings I had been looking forward to with my extended relatives and some friends. I managed to do some Christmas celebrating with family and friends once my fever broke and I was feeling somewhat better. But my cough and snot lingered. I ended up going back to the doctor and learning I had bronchitis and an ear infection.

Yep, another ear infection: My sixth in not quite a year. (Yes, I have an appointment with the ENT in a couple of weeks.)

But then last week Greg and I went on a road trip back to Louisville, where the flu forced me to miss out, and Lexington because he was gifted tickets for the Kentucky vs. Texas A&M basketball game (thank, Mom!) and had a training for work.

We were gone for 30 hours without the kids and that included driving about four hours there and back, sleeping, Greg’s real estate attorney training and networking, my mom and I shopping, lunching with one of my best friends and her family, driving around where we lived our first year of marriage and reminiscing, eating dinner with another dear friend and her husband, and going to the UK basketball game.

(Yes, take a deep breath now. I needed to when I got home.)

Worth pointing out: I seriously can’t tell you the last time I hung out with my mom and nobody else. No husband. No kids. No siblings. No nieces or nephews. Just me and mom. I was so happy for those hours together, and the fact my search for a new coat was doubly successful.

Then I had a couple “normal” days of packing lunches, picking up kids from school, taking my boy to get an allergy shot, and general household management. I should mention that on Wednesday and Thursday the temperature was in the 60s. On Friday, we had freezing rain that turned to snow, eventually leaving us with a couple inches of ice and four or so inches of snow. SNOW DAY!

(Welcome to Kentucky with its crazy weather!)

With Martin Luther King Day on Monday, we had a FOUR-DAY WEEKEND WITH NO PLANS!

Of course, I made a little plan, but it didn’t involve leaving my house! And the four-day weekend became five days, and then six days, and then I wondered when I’d leave my house again!

I decided to potty train Rachel. We had a stack of undies, a Minnie potty seat that goes on the regular toilet, and some leftover Christmas M&Ms – you know, basically all the necessities. For those of you who care, she’s been doing a good job.

When I wasn’t escorting my two-year-old girl to the bathroom, I read “In Bloom” by Kayla Aimee (coming soon – I’m excited to tell you more!), scrapbooked many pages in the Project Life app, watched “Frozen” more times than I can count, watched basketball, ate food I cooked, played in the snow (hello, one of my new coats!), started working a puzzle with Cate, and played games. My kids watched movies and built Lego creations – sometimes even together without fighting. Cate made crafts and read books. Ben and Greg put together a puzzle.

Most importantly, I feel like with my quick road trip and all the time I had home with my people, I got the Christmas do-over I knew I wanted but didn’t expect to receive. Now that’s a gift!

*****

Given that crazy weather I just told you about, I’ve been thinking about my porch. I walk on it every time I go in and out of the house, but I miss being on it. I miss the poolside gatherings. I miss the stories that are shared and the memories made.

So I wanted to invite y’all over to share stories here anyway – on my blog this time! My heart behind #PorchStories is for people to share their real-life stories so we can come alongside each other with prayers and encouragement.

With the new year, maybe you’re learning something new, creating a new rhythm, or finding freedom somewhere new. Newness is refreshing. I’d love to hear more about whatever freshness is falling upon your life. It doesn’t have to be complicated or deep. It just has to be from your real life.

Who wants to share? Just email me 500-700 words, a short bio, a picture of yourself, and any other image you might have to share. I’m hoping to scatter these among my own stories in the coming weeks on the blog. Let me know if you have any questions.

Welcome to the wintry porch, friends. I’m so glad to have you here.

*****

Speaking of stories, yesterday in conjunction with my post about how Januarys have changed me I shared about how my book – both the paperback and Kindle versions – are on sale for the rest of this month.

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About Me

Telling stories is my therapy and love sharing with friends on my porch.

The main characters in my stories are my entrepreneur husband, our fifth-grade girl who never forgets, our have-no-fear second-grade boy, and our joy-filled toddler girl. As we live out our stories, we seek God as the author of them all.

Learn more about my story here.

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  • Finding shelter in community
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  • Stories from the Porch in March

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