Kristin Hill Taylor

Seeking God as the Author of Every Story

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Four things I’m loving

May 9, 2018 by Kristin 14 Comments

I want my virtual porch to be like my real porch, where we could sit and chat about everything going on – the big things, what we’re loving, and ideas we have. The conversations would probably go from meaningful to practical without notice, which is exactly how I like it. With that in mind, today for #PorchStories, I’m going to share four things I’m loving right now.

1. Faithful Moms Summer Planner

My friend Erika Dawson created this resource that I’m so excited to dive into before I make my first official jump into the pool for the summer. My kids have LESS THAN TWO WEEKS of school left, we couldn’t be any more excited. But there’s a different pace to summer, and I have no doubt this summer planner will help me get everything that’s in my head down onto paper.

Yes, it offers a calendar and place to make plans, but it also offers spaces for moms to discern and reflect on summer priorities while still enjoying summer with their kids. These pages will help me process, prioritize, and document my favorite season that usually passes too quickly.

(You can still order one for yourself.)

2. A gooseneck clamp to hold my Kindle

You guys! Almost every time I read my Kindle in bed I (jokingly) asked Greg if he will hold it above me so I can lay down and read. Then I mention how I should invent a clamp that will hold my Kindle at the appropriate spot. Turns out someone already invented that AND MY HUSBAND SURPRISED ME WITH IT. Now I can stop talking to him about it and just read. Happy birthday and every other day to me!

(If you want to see the kinds of books on my Kindle, I keep an ongoing list of books I’ve loved.)

3. “Keep a Quiet Heart” by Elisabeth Elliot

This book is full of wise essays about following Christ in everyday life. I’ve mentioned before that I’ve been taking a break from most non-fiction books because I couldn’t handle all the noise, but Elisabeth Elliot is like the wise grandma everyone needs in their lives. I’ve sent passages from this book to friends and posted them online. I’m grateful for her words that do quiet my heart and remind me what matters.

4. Slugs & Bugs’ Sing the Bible Vol. 3

This new CD is officially available now! If you have kids or even know a kid, you’ll want this music in your home, car, head, and heart. The songs are full of fun, truth, and sometimes silly voices. But the music is excellent and I sometimes keep listening when my kids have left the room. I will recommend any Slugs & Bugs music because I believe in what Randall Goodgame is doing for families.

What are you loving right now?

{Tweet that.}

*****

There are a couple Amazon affiliate links in there, but I would never recommend anything to my friends that I don’t actually love and use. If you purchase through my Amazon links, the price doesn’t change for you but I get a tiny income for my recommendations. I supported the Slugs & Bugs CD on Kickstarter last year and it’s currently the disc playing in my minivan. I bought the Faithful Moms Summer Planner and have been stalking my mailbox for it to arrive, but I’ve seen it in person because Erika is my friend.

*****

Kristin Hill Taylor - Porch Stories
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Filed Under: Porch Stories Tagged With: books, motherhood, music, summer

Comments

  1. Rebecca Hastings says

    May 9, 2018 at 6:16 am

    Such a fun list! It’s always nice to see what’s working for other like-minded people 🙂

    Reply
    • Kristin says

      May 9, 2018 at 6:55 am

      Thank you! Hope you can enjoy some of these things too!

      Reply
  2. Michele Morin says

    May 9, 2018 at 6:21 am

    It makes me so happy that you have fallen in love with Keep a Quiet Heart. I have a flip calendar (over 20 years old and it looks it!) that came out at the same time as the book, and I’m still loving EE wisdom every single day.
    Actually, I’m also reading a book she wrote the forward to: A Leopard Tamed. One of her friends was a missionary to South Sudan, and she wrote a book about the challenge of white North Americans landing with all their stuff and all their strange ways in the middle of a primitive people group and trying to translate biblical values into that culture back in the mid 20th century. The book has the same tone as These Strange Ashes (by EE), and the recently released version adds a new preface by EE’s daughter Valerie Shepard.

    Reply
    • Kristin says

      May 9, 2018 at 6:57 am

      I’ve read “These Strange Ashes,” but it’s been awhile and I should break it out again. “Keep A Quiet Heart” has been so good for my soul. It’s quiet but powerful. And that’s exactly what I needed to get through all the noise in this world. I’m always glad to have you here and hear what you’ve read, Michele!

      Reply
  3. SUSAN SHIPE says

    May 9, 2018 at 8:03 am

    What am I loving right now? I love this blogpost! I love the sunny day out my window. I love my good health. I love my family to the moon and back. I love that we will be moving soon. And, I love you!!!

    Reply
    • Kristin says

      May 9, 2018 at 8:07 am

      Well, I love this comment and YOU! And the sunshine. Always the sunshine. 🙂

      Reply
  4. Barbara Harper says

    May 9, 2018 at 8:25 am

    I love EE and have long considered her my mentor from afar. That book is one of my favorites. Nice to know about that Kindle camp!

    Reply
    • Kristin says

      May 9, 2018 at 8:26 am

      Two separate friends recommended the EE book, and I’m so grateful they did. Thanks for being here today, Barbara!

      Reply
  5. Lisa notes says

    May 9, 2018 at 12:32 pm

    What? I’d love that clamp! Going to check it out as soon as I hit “send” here. 🙂 Thanks, Kristin. Sounds like a game-changer.

    Reply
    • Kristin says

      May 9, 2018 at 2:20 pm

      Hope you love it too! I was so happy Greg discovered it and surprised me with it! Thanks for being here, Lisa!

      Reply
  6. Tara says

    May 9, 2018 at 3:05 pm

    That Kindle hook looks really cool. And I will for sure have to check out Elizabeth Elliott’s book!

    Reply
    • Kristin says

      May 10, 2018 at 12:38 pm

      I’m glad you got some ideas here today, Tara! Thanks for being here.

      Reply
  7. Anita Ojeda says

    May 9, 2018 at 4:09 pm

    Oh, I’m loving all of the birds that sing and chatter and tweet all day long now that spring has arrived :). My ‘pets’ (aka hummingbirds) keep things lively at the feeders and give constant reminders of God’s creativity and care.

    Reply
    • Kristin says

      May 10, 2018 at 12:39 pm

      We’ve been watching the turkeys on our land, and I’m excited to see the babies soon. Their little heads bob up and down among the grass. And they’re all wild turkeys, so I don’t have to take care of them! 🙂 Thanks for being here, Anita!

      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! ☀️ 

#TeamTaylor #girlmom #boymom #momlife #reallife #summerisbest #siblinglove #countryliving #poolpeople #getoutside
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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! 

I loved the timeline of this one. The back story about an accident was told in seven one-hour segments. The present mystery was told in seven days. 

#KHTreads #bookstagram #booklover #latergram #bookofthemonth @bookofthemonth #poolpeople #mothersday
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And when I say summer, I mean we are ready to shake up the routine, mentally regroup, turn off the alarms, establish some new habits, soak in the sun, and catch up with friends we’ve been crossing paths with too quickly. 

I want to savor the #84daysofsummer and I want to embrace this new season. And it’s almost time. Three more days of school. (Deep breaths.) 

Meanwhile, I’m going to keep collecting the moments — the hard, hurried, happy, and heartfelt. The seasons do change, but this is the life we are living. 

“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 

#momlife #reallife #momconfessions #livingfaithfully #summerisbest #teenagedriver #choosingJOY
I’ve read quite a few World War II novels, but t I’ve read quite a few World War II novels, but this one by Soraya M. Lane focused on three nurses, their friendships, and how the war changed their lives. It’s a hard story, but it’s full of love and hope despite the destruction around them. 

And it’s the second historical fiction audiobook I’ve listened to in a row! #KHTreads #bookstagram #booklover #audiobooks #Audible #KindleUnlimited #historicalfiction
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