Kristin Hill Taylor

Seeking God as the Author of Every Story

Adventuring together

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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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Six Things I Learned in April

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Ah, April, what an adventure you’ve been. You’re the introduction to my favorite month, so I like you. You’ve come and gone so quickly, but we’ve had fun. Before May arrives, let’s remember this month.

(AND if you haven’t signed up for my newsletter, you should do that before May 2, when my next one goes out. There’s a fun, free printable included with a quote I’ve been loving. Really, I welcome new email friends anytime, though! I’ve started updating my ebook and email subscribers will get peeks into that process.)

So, anyway, here are six things I’ve learned in April …

1. The Nashville Flea Market is great. Maybe all flea markets are great, I don’t know. My first flea market experience is in the books. And I hope I get to go back.

(The flea market was only one part of our recent Nashville road trip. We also saw Rend Collective in concert!)

2. Kayaks are good lake entertainment, even if getting them home from Walmart is an adventure.

Let me tell you about that adventure: I’d been thinking kayaks would be a good addition to our lake house. (It’s available for vacation rentals. Did you know that?) And then there they were, on display and on sale at Walmart. So we bought two. And then we realized they wouldn’t both fit in our mini van with two adults, two kids, and a baby … and a stroller, and all the other randomness in my van. So I took on kayak and the girls home, cleaned out the van, and the girls and I went back to Walmart to pick up the husband, son, and second kayak.

(Here are some pictures, if you’re interested.)

Both kayaks now happily reside at Shelter Point Retreat. And my daughter, niece, and nephew were happy to break them in.

3. I can be intrigued enough by a story to keep reading even when I don’t really like the book that much. 

“Everything You Ever Wanted” by Jillian Lauren was that for me. It’s an adoption story, and there were parts that were fascinating and interesting. But other parts I ended up skimming. Regardless, it’s brave to tell your story, especially when it has many hard parts, so I’m glad I read it, but I’m not sure I’d recommend it. Does that make sense?

4. A new strawberry patch opened just down the road. 

I love picking berries and now it’s even more convenient. If you live in Murray, be sure to check it out the next few weeks while the strawberries are in season. Maybe you’ll have an impromptu adventure like I did.

5. Adventure would be my word for 2016, if I had chosen a word. It’s all around me, as you can tell with my multiple references to it in this post alone!

6. I’m a communication nag. 

If I email you about an event or project, send you an invitation for a party, or ask for feedback … and I don’t hear back, then just wait, I will solicit a response in follow up emails, Facebook messages and texts. I’d say I’m sorry, but, really, there’s usually a reason I asked or invited or emailed in the first place, and the reason usually involves a response.

Perhaps you can blame the journalism degree with an organizational communications minor.

So, how was your April? Did you have any adventures?

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I’m linking up with Emily Freeman, who inspired this way of documenting life. It’s become one of my favorite practices. {Read previous Things I Learned posts here.}

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How adventure found me in a strawberry patch

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Adventure keeps showing up around me. The word. Quotes. Opportunities to embrace the concept. {Yes, I talked about this yesterday too.}

On Tuesday, adventure looked like impulsively picking strawberries while wearing Rachel.

I love picking berries – strawberries in April or May, blueberries in June, and blackberries in July. It’s usually the kind of activity I plan with friends when my big kids are home from school. But it needed to happen on Tuesday because 80 degrees and sunshine are exactly my kind of weather.

The Patch is a new local strawberry patch basically right in town. Hello, convenience. I was driving by on my way to tend to a lake house I manage. So on my way home, I stopped at the Dollar General, bought a bottle of water, and paid the silly convenience fee to get cash back.

All because picking strawberries was my adventure.

And I’m glad I did.

Rachel smiled. She tried to grab berries and enjoyed the one she got her hands around.

Of course, when Ben got in the mini van at the bus stop, he immediately saw and smelled the strawberries and said, “You picked strawberries without me?” He ate a whole bowl full when we got home and I promised we’d go again when he wasn’t in school. That boy embodies adventure, and I’m glad he’s mine.

I’ve been #choosingJOY the past couple of years and God is still teaching me about that. Most recently the lessons have come when I see an opportunity for adventure and embark upon it.

So, here in April, I’m choosing adventure for 2016. I wasn’t going to choose a one-word focus for the year, but it’s clearly choosing me with two-thirds of the year to go. Like seasons, the kinds of adventure change. But here we are, on the brink of summer. And I’m ready.

What adventures are choosing you? {Tweet that.}

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This reminded me of another lesson I learned in a strawberry patch three years ago :: “Mothering is a weary job sometimes, but I want to say yes. I want to speak with a softer, kinder voice. I want to remember we don’t always have to be in a hurry to get to the next thing. I want to let them jump and make messes. Yes, I want to teach them truth and problem-solving strategies. Yes, I want them to learn responsibility. But I want them to live joyfully.” {Read the whole post here.}

And clearly I like to write about strawberries :: 2011. 2012. 2014.

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