Kristin Hill Taylor

Seeking God as the Author of Every Story

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Adventuring together

July 25, 2018 by Kristin 7 Comments


Vacation with my parents and siblings has usually meant the beach, specifically Perdido Key, Florida, when I was younger and Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, in more recent years. Greg and I have gone on vacation about every two years since we’ve been married.

This year we decided to go to Lake Placid, NY, which is more in the vicinity of where my sister and her family live than our southern beach tradition. Technically, there was still a beach, but this time the location involved fresh water instead of salt water and was in the mountains instead of at sea level. We hiked, toured winter Olympic sites, ate well, walked more steps than usual, and took a ferry to Burlington, Vermont.

I really loved it.

I don’t say that because I’m surprised; I’m pretty much game for any trip. I just wasn’t sure what to expect and was pleasantly surprised by just how beautiful and fun this vacation spot among the Adirondack Mountains is. While we were there, I learned a couple of hard things about people who I care about in my everyday life.

The freedom and adventure of vacation in a beautiful place were momentarily interrupted by the overwhelming feelings of this world’s brokenness. I remembered then how Christ followers are called to a different kind of life.

When we step into adventures with God, we witness
surprises and beauty – even when stories are hard.

{Tweet that.}

We know God is kind and faithful, yet we manage to be surprised when He shows up and provides what we didn’t know we needed. We know God has a plan, but we sometimes seem overwhelmed when He reveals it to us.

But there’s glory right around the corner, y’all. (See 1 Peter 4:12-13)

Back to vacation, I enjoyed Lake Placid in a way I didn’t expect. I am grateful for the adventure and our time as a family there. (Plus I went down the bottom of a ski jump hill on a tube!)

We had three two-year-old kids with us, so of course it was an adventure! But I really loved being with my sister and sharing this season of parenting toddlers. I learned hiking — even about six miles round trip to and from a waterfall that was about half the size of what we were expecting — is Rachel’s happy place. Ben learned he likes Shirley Temple sodas and lake water in the north is colder than here in Kentucky. Cate was helpful with the many small children and had a wonderful attitude about it. Greg and I got to enjoy our time with each other, our kids, and extended family.

Now we’re home with three weeks until my big kids go back to school as third- and sixth-graders and my baby goes to Mothers’ Day Out two days a week. We’re cramming a few more adventures into summer because that seems to be our love language. (Feel free to follow along here or here.)

*****

What kind of adventures have you loved lately? How have they reminded you of a faith journey? If this post had a soundtrack, it would definitely include “Keep Your Eyes Open” by Needtobreathe: “… ’cause if you never leave home, never let go / you’ll never make it to the great unknown til you / keep your eyes open, my love …”

*****

Kristin Hill Taylor - Porch Stories
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Filed Under: adventure, Porch Stories Tagged With: faith, family, life, summer, travel

Comments

  1. Barbara Harper says

    July 25, 2018 at 9:27 am

    Sounds fun! We don’t go on vacation often, but sometimes we’ll spend a day at a nearby attraction.

    Reply
    • Kristin says

      July 26, 2018 at 8:20 am

      Local adventures are great too! Thanks for being here, Barbara!

      Reply
  2. Melody says

    July 25, 2018 at 10:25 am

    Glad ya’ll had a great time! Your video of tubing down the ski slope was awesome! Were you dying the whole way down? It looked like you were going 80mph! Scary fun!

    Reply
    • Kristin says

      July 26, 2018 at 8:20 am

      I seriously think they told us we were going 55 mph. It was super fun … and fast! I was hesitant at first, but then I totally wanted to do it again. 🙂

      Reply
  3. Lisa notes says

    July 26, 2018 at 11:08 am

    We are more of a beach vacation family too, but lately we’ve ventured out to more diverse locations and found we also loved that! Glad to hear your story, Kristin. So many beautiful and fun places out there yet to be discovered.

    Reply
    • Kristin says

      July 27, 2018 at 8:06 am

      I’m glad you’re getting to experience the same! Thanks for being here, Lisa!

      Reply

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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.

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To live in communion with one another, means to sh To live in communion with one another, means to share meals, space, advice, and prayers. It also means sharing hope, disappointment, dreams, and forgiveness. 

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So many of my Facebook friends shared lovely pictu So many of my Facebook friends shared lovely pictures of their daughters yesterday for the completely made-up National Daughters Day. Regardless, today I'm all in my feelings about my daughters. 

They're 16 and 8 right now. Both of their classes have been studying ancient Egypt and had a joint feast today. Sweet, huh? 

BUT THEN TIMEHOP GOT ME! Apparently, NINE years ago today, when Cate was a second-grader, her class had an Egyptian feast. I think about a particular picture of Cate and her friend Kilee from that day AND THEN IT CAME UP IN MY TIMEHOP TODAY. Facebook also told me that same day nine years ago, Monica and I became Facebook friends. We probably were at the Egyptian feast and decided we'd be friends because our girls were friends. Y'all, God has been so good to me through my friendship with Monica. Our families click in a special way with our three sets of same-aged kids, most of whom have been adopted. 

Anyway, my daughters. They're lovely, funny, and smart. I love that Cate helped Rachel with her Egyptian eye makeup this morning and made her a Nutella and banana sandwich. I love that they got to have a party today at school together. I love that even though they're eight years apart, they're sisters. 

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I’m pretty much always thinking about my next tr I’m pretty much always thinking about my next trip! Be it a weekend getaway or a family vacation, I’ve always got ideas of where I want to go next. The rest of my family always has suggestions too. Yes, take the (next) trip!

In the blog post HOW TO TAKE THE TRIP, I share lots of links and suggestions on where to go, who can help you, and what to take with you. 

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You’re a light wherever you go! And you like to You’re a light wherever you go! And you like to go! You’re always making friends, asking about our next adventure, wanting to know what’s next, and talking if you’re not singing. You’re the joy our family needed in 2015 and you continue to be the one who makes us laugh and love better than we did before we knew you. 

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