Kristin Hill Taylor

Seeking God as the Author of Every Story

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Stories from the Porch in December

December 29, 2018 by Kristin 1 Comment

Oh, December, I have such mixed feelings about you. I adore Christmas season, even when we approach all the festivities simply like we did this year. But I’m not so sure I’m ready for 2018 to end. Obviously, I don’t have any choice in this matter of time. I’ll take the mildness that let me go on walks outside, the sweetness and joy that come with Christmas, and wonder for just a little bit longer if I’m ready for 2019.

Highlights

Obviously, Christmas was a highlight. I love the way Christmas lingers while we catch up with friends are who aren’t always near, reminisce and plan with family members, and enjoy some slow days of working puzzles, reading books, and building new Lego sets.

I also really loved reflecting on 2018 and anticipating 2019 with my friend Kayse Pratt from Anchored Women. She hosted #reflectandrefresh2018 on Instagram and the prompts were just what my heart needed. (Here’s one of my posts. I’d love for you to scroll the others and share your reflections. Plus I didn’t realize how much this challenge would help me sort the thoughts in my head and come to a word for the year I wasn’t expecting. More on that on Wednesday.)

Favorite things

“One Line a Day: A Five-Year Memory Book” — I’ve filled this out almost every day this year and am excited to begin year two in the five-year journal. I gifted it to three people this year.

23andMe DNA tests – I wrote a post about our experience testing my kids and then ordered kits for Greg and me. We’re going to send off our saliva samples soon!

Murray State Basketball – We love college basketball around here, and are happy to be in the midst of a fun season cheering on our Racers. In December, we took a road trip with friends to see MSU play at Middle Tennessee State and got to watch an exciting game against Auburn on TV the Saturday before Christmas.

Christmas cards – I know social media threatens this tradition, but I sure do love sending and receiving Christmas cards, family photos, and year-in-review letters. I’ve got the ones we’ve received hanging in our kitchen bay window and I may just keep them there for a while.

From the bookshelf

“Come, Let Us Adore Him: A Daily Advent Devotional” by Paul David Tripp – I really enjoyed reading this advent devotional and have no doubt I’ll bring it out again in the years to come too.

“Letters to the Church” by Francis Chan – I’m reading this one slowly, but it’s excellent. Our small group is actually getting ready to work through the video series and study guide.

“God Over Good: Saving Your Faith by Losing Your Expectations of God” by Luke Norsworthy – I’m excited to be into this one. I’ve been waiting for the mental space to start reading this.

Here’s a list of all the books I read in 2018. I got several new fiction titles on my Kindle, so I’m reading to immerse myself in those.

On the screen

“Smallfoot” — We saw this in the theater for not-quite-first-run movies while visiting my family before Christmas and I really loved it. It reminded me of “Trolls” in some ways, but I loved the message so much.

“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” — I think I liked the second season better than the first. (This is included with Amazon Prime!)

*****

As one year ends and another begins, it seems appropriate to share some lyrics from Rend Collective I’m loving:

“Your grace will never be forgot
Your mercy, all my life
Will be my source forever song
My story and my light

From mountain top to valley low
Through laughter and through tears
Surely the goodness of my God
Will follow all the years

For all that You have done for us
For every battle won
We’ll raise a song to bless Your heart
For all that you have done

… In unity we’ll stand as one
As family we’ll go
Shoulder to shoulder
Hand in hand
Into the great unknown …”

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Filed Under: Porch Stories Tagged With: books, Christmas, life, music, quotes, TV

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  1. Being faithful in 2019 says:
    January 2, 2019 at 4:01 am

    […] I also shared some highlights, favorite things, books, and TV shows from December, if you want to check out that last post of 2018. […]

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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
First of all, who else has read this book? The plo First of all, who else has read this book? The plot was promising as a thriller and the setting really worked. There were some good twists, and then there were ridiculous twists. I skimmed the end only because I wanted it to make sense. And it didn’t. It was too weird for me. 

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
Y’all we are very ready for summer. ☀️ And Y’all we are very ready for summer. ☀️ 

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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