Kristin Hill Taylor

Seeking God as the Author of Every Story

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Bringing Home More Than Groceries

September 8, 2020 by Kristin 20 Comments

Y’all, meet “Bringing Home More Than Groceries.” I’m breathing a deep sigh of relief that today is here and this is ready for you. I’m also a little nervous as I bare more of my soul to the world. Of course, I want to celebrate too!  

After years of writing and thinking about this book that has morphed from one thing into something else, I finished it while people were socially distant from each other. Talk about irony. But those months at home with a smaller-than-usual community have convinced me more than ever of the importance of this message. I believe in it, and I’m grateful for your support along the way. 

Join me in the grocery store, around tables with friends, and on her beloved porch where she loves to gather people. When I grocery shop, I bring home more than bags filled with cheese, fruit, eggs, and ice cream. There are life lessons, preparations for meals that create meaningful connections, and glimpses of my children as they become who they’re created to be.

Sometimes hospitality is flinging the doors to your home and life wide open for others to enter. Other times it means accepting invitations elsewhere because God has something for you there. Like everything in life, hospitality has seasons. What we do, what we eat, what’s on sale at the grocery, where we go, who comes with us all vary depending on circumstances and seasons – and through it all hospitality is love in action.

Of course, I couldn’t write a book about hospitality with some help from my friends! In “Bringing Home More Than Groceries: Stories About Gathering & Nourishing People,” you’ll also hear stories of hospitality and community from twenty-one of my real-life friends. Come on into the grocery store, in the kitchen, and on the porch where we learn how hospitality heals, nourishes, celebrates, and supports. 

I have a beautiful new landing page for this book, thanks to Mandy Roberson Media. Mandy, Traci, and Amy did a wonderful job bringing together what I saw in my head to paper and the screen. On the book page, you can find a sample chapter, hospitality resources, endorsements, and a playlist. You can buy the book on Amazon ($11.99 paperback; $6.99 Kindle) or from me directly ($10 paperback for local purchase plus $5 if shipped).

Giveaway!

And what’s a celebration without a gift? That’s right! I have a stack of goodies for one of you. Just look at what you’ll win!

  • Your own copy of “Bringing Home More Than Groceries”
  • $25 Walmart card
  • Paperback copy of “Practice Hospitality,” a devotional by Christen Price
  • Anchored Women meal planner PDF from Kayse Pratt
  • Package of 50 paper plates
  • 48 plastic forks and 48 plastic spoons
  • Ghirardelli brownie mix
  • Pioneer Woman set of three mini spatulas
  • Two regular-sized spatulas
  • Travel hand sanitizer
  • Two vinyl tablecloths

The giveaway is open to U.S. residents between now and Monday, Sept. 14. I will randomly choose a winner the following day. Use the Rafflecopter widget below to enter to win.

Enter More Than Groceries giveaway here!

I hope you are encouraged by these stories about hospitality, about love in action. And I hope you’ll swing your own doors and heart open to others, accept invitations from others, and recognized we truly are better together.

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Filed Under: books, hospitality Tagged With: books, community, faith, giveaway, hospitality, life, writing

Comments

  1. Mindy Estes says

    September 8, 2020 at 6:51 am

    I loved this book!! I might have to buy one soon!! Such good simple lessons out of ordinary things that I needed reminders of.

    Reply
    • Kristin says

      September 8, 2020 at 8:32 am

      I’m glad you enjoyed it, Mindy!

      Reply
  2. Joanne Viola says

    September 8, 2020 at 7:07 am

    Your book cover is just beautiful and I am sure every word inside is as well!!! Hospitality to me means that our home becomes a place of safety and welcome to anyone who enters. It means we share and extend ourselves, whether it is convenient or not, whether it is dusty or not, whether it is home cooked or ordered out. Hospitality means just being together and loving one another in every season of life. And I would love a copy sent to me from you 🙂

    Reply
    • Kristin says

      September 8, 2020 at 8:32 am

      I love how you describe hospitality! Thank you for always encouraging me! xo

      Reply
  3. Anna Evans says

    September 8, 2020 at 8:16 am

    Hospitality means open hearts, doors, home, tables, shared lives through good times and bad, shared families, warts and all, love and care.

    Congratulations on your new book! Blessings for a fun and successful launch!

    Reply
    • Kristin says

      September 8, 2020 at 8:31 am

      I like your definition of hospitality! Thanks for being here!

      Reply
  4. Hannah says

    September 8, 2020 at 8:20 am

    This is so exciting! Hospitality is willingness to give of ourselves, both to prepare and while others are in our home.

    Reply
    • Kristin says

      September 8, 2020 at 8:30 am

      That’s so true of hospitality. Thanks for sharing in my excitement, Hannah!

      Reply
  5. Mandy Farmer says

    September 8, 2020 at 9:09 am

    I love to play hostess. But while i keep the house basically clean, my husband wants to do a spring cleaning anytime we have guests. It’s kinda put the kabash on inviting friends over. 🙂

    Reply
    • Kristin says

      September 8, 2020 at 9:12 am

      Ha! I’m definitely more in the “basically clean” camp! Thanks for being here, Mandy!

      Reply
  6. Sarah Geringer says

    September 8, 2020 at 9:47 am

    Happy book birthday, Kristin! Excited for you!

    Reply
    • Kristin says

      September 8, 2020 at 10:07 am

      Thank you, Sarah! xo

      Reply
  7. Sheri Roper says

    September 8, 2020 at 10:40 pm

    I am praying about “hospitality” being my word and theme of study for the upcoming year. This seems like a sign that I’m on the right track.

    Reply
    • Kristin says

      September 9, 2020 at 2:13 pm

      Oh I love that! I’m glad you’re here!

      Reply
  8. Melody says

    September 9, 2020 at 10:27 am

    So happy for you and can’t wait to read!!!

    Hospitality to me is having a spirit of warm invitation wherever we are but especially in our own homes and spaces.

    Reply
    • Kristin says

      September 9, 2020 at 2:13 pm

      I love your definitely of hospitality. Thanks for being here, Melody!

      Reply
  9. Brandy Lawrence says

    September 9, 2020 at 1:06 pm

    Cannot wait to read!!! Congrats on another book!

    Reply
    • Kristin says

      September 9, 2020 at 2:12 pm

      Thanks, Brandy!

      Reply
  10. Jen M. says

    September 13, 2020 at 7:39 pm

    Making others feel comfortable and welcomed in your home or other place you are with others.

    Reply
    • Kristin says

      September 14, 2020 at 3:42 pm

      Yes, ma’am! Thanks for being here!

      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 ninth-grade girl who never forgets, our have-no-fear sixth-grade boy, and our joy-filled kindergarten 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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We’ve taken our older kids on short-term mission We’ve taken our older kids on short-term mission trips and hope to go on more. They’ve served locally. We support missionaries. We want our kids to be open to wherever God calls them and incorporating missions into our small-town life is one way we, as parents, have hoped to teach that. 

I’m incredibly thankful @hardinbaptistchurch comes alongside us with the same message. The middle and high school @hardinstudents spent the summer looking at different aspects of the Great Commission in Matthew 28:18-20. Youth minister @cbright2 spent the last Sunday of the series looking at nine practical ways that students – yes, even middle and high schoolers – could participate in and pray about going for God. 

Chase shared these 9 Ways to Go with students' parents, and I asked him for permission to share them with you because even as an adult I want to remember to live on mission – even right where I am. 

9 WAYS TO GO FOR GOD: https://bit.ly/9WaysToGo

#linkinbio #ontheblog #bloggerlife #momlife #churchlife #faithlife #livingfaithfully #missions #missionminded #youth #teenagers #parenting #parenthood
“Writing is what makes me happy. Writing, even, “Writing is what makes me happy. Writing, even, is how I feel I contribute to the world. Reminding people of what’s important. Letting them escape the harsh parts of life, even if it’s just for a few hours. Helping them feel happiness through watching happily-ever-afters unfold. Remembering truths. Recalling their self-worth. Loving others. Living well. Learning. I want to do that.” 

And, let’s be honest, love stories about writers make me happy too. “Meet Me in the Margins” was cute, predictable, and a good way to escape for a little while. 

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This is the only picture I took tonight. You can’t tell, but there was a porch full of people talking, more kids playing basketball, and another group around the kitchen table. We covered a lot of ground in our conversations. Nobody cared that I didn’t have hot dog buns or tomatoes for the burgers. I ran out of paper plates and am happy to hear the dishwasher cleaning all the “real” plates. I’m grateful for come-as-you-are community, where we share real life. 

#88daysofsummer #PorchStories #livingfaithfully #morethangroceries #choosingJOY #bettertogether #reallife #hospitalitymatters #poolpeople
While Ben had a great week at @memgrizzyouth camp While Ben had a great week at @memgrizzyouth camp with some school friends, the girls and I soaked up some more of summer with our friends. 

#88daysofsummer #boymom #bettertogether #girlmom #momlife #reallife #choosingJOY
I’m getting ready to get in my van again to pick I’m getting ready to get in my van again to pick up a kid from basketball camp. It’s the third time today I will have driven from my house to somewhere else and back again. And this is still Summer Break, when things are supposedly a little slower. 

My friend @marycarver gets me. She knows us moms spend a million hours a week taxiing people to school and sports and church and friends’ houses and errands and appointments. And maybe we linger longer before coming in the house with arms full of groceries and bags and papers and books … because we just need a minute. Or maybe we answer some texts before we pull away from the store and catch up on phone calls while we drive or show up early to pickup to read a book that has captured our attention. 

We spend a lot of time and accomplish much in our cars. Mary knows this and is giving us the encouragement we need in her new book, “Prayers from the Parking Lot.” It’s a perfect size to keep in your car or purse. Each of the 50 reflections are practical and inspiring and meet moms on the go right where we are. 

Preorder this gem now so you have it the next time you have a few extra minutes in a parking lot, school pickup line, or waiting room. It officially releases next week and is available from @revellbooks on Amazon and wherever else you buy books. 

#KHTreads #bookstagram #momlife #reallife #livingfaithfully
20 years married. 💛 I’ve learned a million t 20 years married. 💛

I’ve learned a million things in these adult years, but I keep thinking about this one this today: Celebrate the good things. 

This world is so noisy, decisions and situations clutter our brains, and there’s so much heartache. But there’s also goodness. And our married life falls into that category and is a testimony to God’s faithfulness. It hasn’t been perfect, but it’s been sanctifying and life-giving. 

(And it deserves a second post today.)

We celebrated today with a lunch date, some love notes, the two bouquets he surprised me with a day early, some chocolates I left in the car too long but rescued and restored them from their melted state, and dinner out as a family. I’ll take it. I will take every ounce of goodness on an ordinary day that marks what feels like a big-deal accomplishment. 

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In the past year, I learned Greg doesn’t like pa In the past year, I learned Greg doesn’t like packaged taco seasoning and bought my engagement ring on sale at a pawn shop. This after I’ve been wearing the ring for two decades and made taco meat more times than I could even begin to count.

With that, happy 20th anniversary, husband. I’m glad we can still learn things about each other after knowing each other for more than 24 years and being married for two decades. 

Being in our 40s celebrating 20 years of marriage together seems like such a grown-up accomplishment. But it also seems like exactly where we are supposed to be. Let’s keep adventuring and learning together. Let’s go celebrate, maybe with tacos! 

https://kristinhilltaylor.com/2022/08/20-years.html

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I need to work, but I want to read. 📚 #KHTread I need to work, but I want to read. 📚

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I read my 6-year-old daughter "The Prodigal Son" s I read my 6-year-old daughter "The Prodigal Son" story from "The Jesus Storybook Bible" before bed recently, and God reminded me of some things. 

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I nailed some sins to a wooden cross in the sanctuary, representing surrender. I remember thinking of the beauty of the father welcoming his lost son home, understanding how the younger son thought he could hold together his own life, and relating to the older son who stayed and did what he was supposed to and found himself not quite willing to celebrate his brother’s homecoming. 

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Read GOD ALWAYS FINDS THEM #ontheblog at kristinhilltaylor.com. #linkinbio #bloggerlife #livingfaithfully #thirdchild #momlife #faithlife #choosingJOY #bedtimeshenanigans
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