Kristin Hill Taylor

Seeking God as the Author of Every Story

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We’re better together

March 16, 2017 by Kristin 17 Comments

I’d never met in person any of the six women who I invited into my lake house for the weekend, but being with them felt familiar. The internet is a crazy place, and so good when we use it to foster real connections.

We became friends when Kayse recruited us three years ago to be in a Facebook group together to talk about blogging and writing. We agreed to share each other’s posts, but we ended up sharing our lives virtually. We’ve prayed for each other and used emojis that meant we were laughing.

So last weekend they came from five different states. We’ve decided only comfy pants and real life were allowed. We are all writers, but we are all also wives, moms, friends, volunteers, and employees.

Carving out time to gather with like-minded
people is sacred because the world is so loud.

{Tweet that.}

There’s something sacred about carving out time when the world is so loud to gather with like-minded people who can encourage one another in our similar but unique callings.

I spend so much of my life multi-tasking, and I’m a fairly high-capacity person who can have my mind going in different directions for a limited time. But this past weekend was a gift of focusing on this crazy calling to share stories through blogging, books, and social media. We talked and laughed and brainstormed and encouraged one another. Some people napped and some went on a walk. We all ate well.

Our conversations covered all sorts of topics while we were able to take a break from the usual multi-tasking ways and soak into the truth that God calls us to faithfulness, regardless of the kind of work or activity we are doing. I’m grateful for the opportunity to retreat with these friends I had never met in person but who knew me well already. I came away with a full heart, new ideas, and some deeper friendships.

*****

I’m happy Kate Motaung chose FRIEND as this week’s Five Minute Friday prompt. I wanted to post about the weekend, so it was the perfect prompt for that. The rules for Five Minute Friday are simple: Set a timer and write for five minutes. Then link up at Kate’s place and this crew that’s like a flash mob of writers.

And if you’d like to get to know these writer friends of mine, you can: Kayse Pratt. Anna Rendell. Mary Carver. Erika Dawson. Christen Price. Amanda Conquers. 

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Filed Under: Five Minute Friday Tagged With: friends, writing

Comments

  1. amandaconquers says

    March 16, 2017 at 10:07 pm

    All the warm-fuzzies

    Reply
    • Kristin says

      March 16, 2017 at 10:08 pm

      Same here. I was out there today tending to some things and missed you girls!

      Reply
    • Kayse says

      March 16, 2017 at 11:02 pm

      Yep. Me too. Next year – longer. 🙂 Love you girls!!!

      Reply
      • Kristin says

        March 17, 2017 at 10:10 pm

        Love you, friend! Thanks for bringing us all together. xo

        Reply
  2. Mary Carver says

    March 16, 2017 at 10:27 pm

    Our weekend together was just perfect. Thank you so much for hosting us and feeding us. I can’t wait until we do it again!

    Reply
    • Kristin says

      March 16, 2017 at 10:55 pm

      You’re so welcome. I would do it all over again because it filled me so much.

      Reply
  3. Anna Rendell says

    March 16, 2017 at 10:33 pm

    LOVE this recap, friend. So, so deeply grateful for our time together!

    Reply
    • Kristin says

      March 16, 2017 at 10:55 pm

      I needed that time more than I realized. So grateful YOU were part of it.

      Reply
  4. Andrew Budek-Schmeisser says

    March 16, 2017 at 11:46 pm

    What a wonderful, warm post, and a lovely picture to go with it. You’ve brightened my evening; thank you for sharing this.

    Reply
    • Kristin says

      March 17, 2017 at 10:09 pm

      Thank you, Andrew. I hope you’ve been feeling better today.

      Reply
  5. Susan Shipe says

    March 17, 2017 at 12:46 pm

    I love that y’all did this!

    Reply
    • Kristin says

      March 17, 2017 at 10:09 pm

      Me too! It makes me want to gather even more of my writer friends (including YOU!) in the same room!

      Reply
  6. Stephanie Thompson says

    March 17, 2017 at 10:32 pm

    “Carving out time to gather with like-minded people is sacred because the world is so loud.” What a fabulous opportunity you provided! This past year, God has provided venues, community, and time through which to devote to writing and blogging. It’s a new season in my life and I’m loving it. The Five Minut Friday Writing Community has been such a gift. I’m looking forward to meeting these women in real life at the retreat. I never realized how valuable these online communities could be and how online friendships become just as sacred as in person encounters. I’m number #49 at the link-up.

    Reply
    • Kristin says

      March 18, 2017 at 1:31 pm

      So much value is in those communities – I’m glad you’ve had those opportunities recently. Thanks for coming by here, Stephanie!

      Reply
  7. Jeannie Prinsen says

    March 19, 2017 at 6:32 pm

    This sounds like the most amazing experience. Many of my online connections have become so important to me and I would love to meet with these friends one day the way you did. Thanks for the inspiration.

    Jeannie (#34 in the FMF linkup this week)

    Reply
    • Kristin says

      March 19, 2017 at 7:21 pm

      I’m so glad I got to have this experience, and I hope you get to do something similar! It’s well worth the time. Thanks for coming by here, Jeannie!

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. How to Find Community says:
    May 24, 2017 at 6:00 am

    […] March, I spent the weekend with some of my favorite writer friends. That was the first time I met Christen Price in person. She had driven from Alabama to my lake […]

    Reply

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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 high school girl who never forgets, our middle school boy who has no fear, and our joy-filled first-grade 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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🎶 All throughout my history / Your faithfulness 🎶 All throughout my history / Your faithfulness has walked beside me / The winter storms made way for spring / In every season, from where I'm standing / I see the evidence of Your goodness / All over my life … 🎶 @joshbaldwin in “Evidence”

I love summer. But my summer has started off busy: appointments, book edits deadline, establish new habits with the kids at home. All that’s necessary and good, it just cuts into my down time beside the pool. 

Today we have two open gyms for our basketball players, my book study with a few friends, a new weekly high school girls’ book study at our house, and a monthly dad-son character study. 

I long for a little more white space on the calendar, but I also wouldn’t change a thing because the kids are only 16, 13, and 7 once. This summer will only be this summer once. And I’ve already learned time flies with big kids. 

So here we are finding out footing, singing praises with church friends on our porch, grilling delicious chicken, and squeezing in the wide-open spaces when we can. This is evidence of the good stuff. 

#84daysofsummer #poolpeople #momlife #momconfessions #faithlife #livingfaithfully #favoritethings #choosingJOY #countryliving #reallife #PorchStories
The Hill family reunion at @shelterpointretreat ha The Hill family reunion at @shelterpointretreat has become a favorite tradition to kick off summer! The weather was perfect and everyone enjoyed one another. 

#familyreunion #lakelife #kentuckylake #kylake #getoutside #familytime #memorialday #memorialdayweekend #favoritethings #84daysofsummer #summerisbest #choosingJOY
Hello, #84daysofsummer! ☀️ #TeamTaylor #girl Hello, #84daysofsummer! ☀️ 

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But this made me wonder: how do we know if a book is going to be weird, contain elements we don’t like, or go places that don’t make sense? I don’t like to read much about a book before I read the book. Usually, I do a better job of picking books for myself. 

#KHTreads #bookstagram #booklover #donotrecommend #bookofthemonth @bookofthemonth
I needed this low-key weekend that was pleasant we I needed this low-key weekend that was pleasant weather, a mixture of productivity and rest, and had plenty of wide-open space to enjoy our property and each other. 

#weekending #TeamTaylor #poolpeople #countryliving #favoritethings #choosingJOY #maydays
And that’s a wrap on soccer season! I love watch And that’s a wrap on soccer season! I love watching them both play. 

#soccermom #weekending #springtime #momlife #girlmom #boymom
On Mothers Day, I wanted to sit by the pool with a On Mothers Day, I wanted to sit by the pool with a book, but I didn’t know what I wanted to read. Whenever I have indecision about books, picking up a thriller usually helps because of the story’s pace. 

“The Only Survivors” worked well because there was a lot happening! Lots of creepy, mysterious moments. Only so many people could be guilty of infiltrating a small group who had lots of secrets! 

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“The moments you collect may not be loud or flashy. They might be quiet or covered or a far-off view you were lucky to catch. But this I know to be true: A moment savored says to your soul, ‘You have lived something beautiful.’ And it keeps you buoyed. It sustains you when you’re running empty. It lifts you up and carries you forward.” — Joanna Gaines in @magnolia summer 2023 journal issue no. 27 

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