Kristin Hill Taylor

Seeking God as the Author of Every Story

  • Home
  • About
  • Books
    • Peace in the Process
    • Bringing Home More Than Groceries
  • Contact

Choose the Joy

November 4, 2015 by Kristin Leave a Comment

Mary Carver from Giving Up on Perfect is one of my favorite writer friends from the internet. She edited my ebook, writes about some of my favorite things (choosing joy, letting go of perfection, television shows, and bacon …), and is one of the people I hope to hang out with in real life one day. Until then, Mary is here sharing about choosing the joy one fall day and inviting you to be part of her book’s launch team! 

When you buy your kids matching jack o’lantern shirts, there’s an expiration date on appropriate photo-taking opportunities. I mean, sure, they can wear them after Halloween, but it’s a little lame. And making them wear them on the same day and posting all the pictures I snapped on Facebook? Just doesn’t make since once we hit November.

So last week, just a couple days before those shirts were as irrelevant as the VCR sitting in my garage, I put them on my daughters and told them we were going outside.

We grabbed a couple of the pumpkins off the front porch and headed out to the soggy, leaf-covered back yard. I cheered and bribed and begged until I had at least one shot of both girls smiling at the same time. Then I gave up and let them run around like chickens for a while.

[Side note: I don’t know that they literally ran around like chickens. Maybe monkeys? Or just kids giddy to be outside after being indoors most the day. Whatever, they went a little nuts.]

As they ran from tree to fence to tree and back, slipping on hills and sliding on leaves, they couldn’t stop grinning. I could hear, “Freedom” by George Michael playing in my head as I realized that these poor babies really had been cooped up for too long. (Our backyard was overrun by mosquitos and spiders this summer, so for a while it was go to the park or stay inside. In hindsight, not my best mom move. #liveandlearn)

ANYWAY. They played while I watched and snapped a few dozen more pictures. My 8-year-old decided to create a nest for the birds and nothing I could say convinced her that was unnecessary. Meanwhile, my almost-2-year-old discovered how fun it was to roll pumpkins down the hill at the back of the yard.

After a while I said, “Okay, it’s time to go inside. I need to cook dinner!”

I’m sure, if you’ve ever met a child, you can imagine how well that was received. The NOOOOOOs came fast and furious, with a little bit of negotiating from my oldest for good measure. As she ran through her objections and recommended revisions to my plan, she finally landed on a good one. She said: “But, Mom! We’re CHOOSING JOY out here! Don’t you want to take more pictures of us CHOOSING JOY?!”

Well played, child. I see a debate team in your future.

See, my daughter knows that my first book is coming out in a couple months – and she knows the focus is all about finding joy. And, most importantly to her argument, she knows I’ve been working hard to really take the lessons to heart and intentionally choose joy in my day-do-day life.

So that afternoon, as the sun continued to set and we got colder and dinner got later, I decided to choose the joy. I decided to choose my girls and to choose the moment and to choose the joy.

And I decided to make use of that frozen pizza I had bought for nights exactly like that one.

I’m not always good at recognizing the opportunity for joy in my life. Sometimes it takes the heart – and, let’s be honest, the mouth – of a child to make me stop running through my to-do list and start running toward my kids as they laugh in a pile of leaves.

Is it hard for you to choose joy? When was the last time you did?

If you’d like more inspiration to choose the joy, you can find it in “Choose Joy: Finding Hope & Purpose When Life Hurts.” And if you’d like to help spread the word about the book, I’d love for you to apply for the Choose Joy Launch Team! Click here to apply.

_____________________

Mary Carver is a writer, speaker, and recovering perfectionist. She lives for good books, spicy queso, and television marathons, but she lives because of God’s grace. Mary writes about her imperfect life with humor and honesty, encouraging women to give up on perfect and get on with life, at her blog, GivingUpOnPerfect.com. She is also a regular contributor to several other websites, including (in)courage, a women’s website from Dayspring. Mary and her husband live in Kansas City with their two daughters.
_____________________

152 Insights to My Soul

An InLinkz Link-up

Want more insights? “Peace in the Process: How Adoption Built My Faith & My Family” is available on Amazon. Like me on Facebook, follow me on Twitter, peek into my life on Instagram, follow 152 Insights at Bloglovin’, or subscribe to receive “Insights in Your Inbox.”

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • More
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)

Filed Under: books, guest post, JOY

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Let’s Connect

  • Bloglovin
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • RSS
  • Twitter

About Me

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

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

Learn more about my story here.

Subscribe for Updates

Recent Posts

  • 3 Ways to Boost Our Kids’ Confidence
  • Songs of Hope
  • Share Your Stuff. I’ll Go First.
  • Looking for fun, longing for Eden
  • How to make celebrations fun

#PorchStories button

Join the Conversation

Join the Conversation

On Instagram

Happy, happy 70th birthday to my wonderful mother- Happy, happy 70th birthday to my wonderful mother-in-law. We all are especially happy to celebrate her life this year after her recent quadruple bypass heart surgery and recovery. 🎉 #weekending #TeamTaylor #birthdaygirl
A new book by a favorite author is always a welcom A new book by a favorite author is always a welcomed thing, and @kristinhannahauthor didn’t disappoint. Plus it was my @bookofthemonth pick. 

#TheFourWinds is set during some sad years with the Dust Bowl, migration to California, and the Great Depression. Yet this is a story of hope and belonging. Hope kept a mom and her two kids going, despite circumstances that destroyed. Hope led to this mom finding her voice, recognizing her worth, and discovering love that lasts.

Follow #KHTreads for more book talk. #recommendedreads #fiction #amreading #bookstagram #historicalfiction #bookofthemonth
Seven weeks after quadruple bypass heart surgery, Seven weeks after quadruple bypass heart surgery, my mother-in-law moved home today. We were happy to care for her and we are thrilled she’s doing so well. 

I knew she was faithful and strong before, but watching her recovery from open heart surgery convinced me even more of her steadfastness and courage.

#TeamTaylor #livingfaithfully #reallife #choosingJOY
After three weeks, they’ve returned to school! H After three weeks, they’ve returned to school! Here’s to hope on a Monday morning for whatever comes our way. #momlife #reallife #choosingJOY #siblinglove
Often I don’t want the weekend to end or the sea Often I don’t want the weekend to end or the season to change, but I’m looking forward to Monday after three weeks of quarantine and sickness then snow. I’m looking forward to the snow melting away and eager for spring to bloom.

I’m grateful for health and family and home and a fresh start. A walk through the melting snow with the sun shining and temperatures in the 50s was a sweet spot today. So was gathering with friends we hadn’t seen in too long after church.

Just a few days ago I felt defeated and weary. Now I’m feeling ready and hopeful. Transitions can be rough, but ultimately I’m thankful for new mercies and new seasons.

#weekending #reallife #socialdistancing #countryliving #bettertogether #winterweather #springiscoming #choosingJOY #girlmeetschange #livingfaithfully
We’re sad tonight was the last #MurrayState home We’re sad tonight was the last #MurrayState home basketball game of the season, but we are thankful we had some live winter entertainment. Of course, games looked and sounded different than usual, but the season isn’t over and we’ll be rooting for our blue & gold. 💛 #WeAreRacers #RacerNation #collegebasketball #TeamTaylor #weekending #socialdistancing #thirdchild
We all benefitted from getting outside today. Hone We all benefitted from getting outside today. Honestly, I was so bundled up I got a little warm because somehow I now live where 30 degrees (that feels like 21) is a heat wave. These three help me remember to loosen up and enjoy the moment. ❄️ 

#momlife #snowday #countryliving #socialdistancing #choosingJOY #reallife #winterweather #kentuckyweather
I'm glad I was able to contribute to "Songs of Hop I'm glad I was able to contribute to "Songs of Hope (Vol. 2)", which was compiled by fellow writers @kerilynnsnyder & @sarah_e_frazer. This devotional spends 31 days in the Psalms. 

I share about Psalm 68 and how God built a sanctuary for me at our house in the country and how I want to share that with others. I end the devotional with these questions and a prayer:

"Songs of Hope" offers encouraging truth to bring hope to your weary soul. The devotional is a digital product so you receive the PDF immediately and can read it on any device.  There's a #linkinbio to buy this devotional and more info #ontheblog. #bloggerlife #authorlife #amreading #psalms #psalm68 #bettertogether #hope #KHTreads
I ended 2020 saying it had been a weird year, but, I ended 2020 saying it had been a weird year, but, truthfully, the first six weeks of 2021 have been weird too. Weird seems like a weak word, but I can’t think of another. These past six weeks haven’t been bad, have included plenty of great moments, and shifted so many things in our house. Through it all, my best friend Jaclyn and I haven’t gotten to hang out much.

I’m thankful Greg picked up her and her girls in his four-wheel drive truck yesterday after his short day at the office. We bundled up for some time outside, the kids had legit snow cones, we combined food to make dinner, and various people played various games. Jaclyn and her girls went back to their house this morning, but we are all thankful for old friends & new memories.

#bettertogether #winterweather #reallife #countryliving #snowday #livingfaithfully #choosingJOY
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Favorite Places & Projects

Categories

Archives

Copyright © 2021 Kristin Hill Taylor | Design by Traci Michele | Development by MRM

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.