Kristin Hill Taylor

Seeking God as the Author of Every Story

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You’re Already Amazing {a review}

March 1, 2016 by Kristin 3 Comments

I’ve had the privilege of sitting at a table with Holley Gerth. We talked about infertility, adoption, writing, marriage, and faith. We shared how all of those aspects of life work together and become part of our purpose.

That’s what the new “You’re Already Amazing: Embracing Who You Are, Becoming All God Created You To Be” study is like.

Who wouldn’t want to sit at the table with Holley Gerth? She’s an encourager of women. She wants people to find their place in God’s kingdom. She gracefully dispels the idea women have to be all things to all people and rather encourages women to be who God created them each uniquely to be.

But she doesn’t want figuring that out to mean doing more. She understands the pressures of this world and how they distract us from what matters.

In this study, which is based on her book by the same name published in 2012, she asks questions, offers encouragement based on scripture, and shares real-life stories. I’ve been working through it on my own, but it would be a wonderful study to go through with your closest friends or women in your bigger circle.

There are six sessions – each with a section in the workbook and then a video that’s about 10 minutes long. The sessions are called: Who God Created Us to Be, What’s True No Matter How We Feel, Our Amazing Journey with Jesus, God’s Plan for Our Relationships, God’s Purpose for Our Lives, How We Can Thrive for a Lifetime. There are sections in the workbook to answer specific questions, journal thoughts and prayers, and do other creative exercises.

While some sections of study come directly from her original non-fiction book, you could do the study without having read the book. Likewise, even if you’ve read the original book, you’d still benefit from the study because it offers new information and has the exercises to make practical applications to your own life.

During the second session on emotions and God’s truth, I got a new perspective on one of my favorite passages of scripture (Phil. 4:6-7). Holley writes about the armor of God from Ephesians 6:10-17 and how the breastplate of righteousness covers our hearts. In other words, that’s important because “choosing to do what is right in spite of our emotions protects us” (page 54).

Whoa, says the girl who has been known to respond with my emotions when I should have focused on the truth. Like Holley shares in the video for the second session, “emotions are good messengers but bad bosses.”

Then she brought me back to the passage from Philippians I love:

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Will guard your hearts and minds. Our emotions matter, but they aren’t always based in truth. Holley does a believe job of teaching why replacing lies with truth matters – in your own life and how your life overflows to others for the glory of God.

_____________________

Learn more about “You’re Already Amazing” LifeGrowth Guide & DVD at Holley Gerth’s website as well as on Amazon {LifeGrowth Guide // “You’re Already Amazing“}. I received a free copy of Holley Gerth’s “You’re Already Amazing” LifeGrowth Guide & DVD for being part of her launch team. The insights here are my own. 

I’m linking up this post at Holley Gerth’s place. 

Want more insights? Subscribe to get new posts in your inbox and a monthly newsletter with content not available on the blog. When you subscribe, I’ll send you a FREE #choosingJOY printable. 

“Peace in the Process: How Adoption Built My Faith & My Family” is available on Amazon. Like me on Facebook, follow me on Twitter, peek into my life on Instagram, or follow 152 Insights at Bloglovin’.

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{Three Word Wednesday} Moment by Moment

January 21, 2015 by Kristin Leave a Comment

Nineteen years and one day ago I decided to follow Jesus. Somebody had just talked about the Prodigal Son and how he came home. The worship band played “Growing Young” by Rich Mullins. And I nailed some sins written on a slip of paper to a wooden cross laying in the floor.

You’d say I was saved that night.

But I’ve since learned salvation is about so much more than that one moment. Of course, that one moment mattered because it changed every other one that would follow.

That night I believed I was saved from myself and eternal separation from God. I’ve since realized I was saved for something too. My salvation frames my story. My choices – where I went to college, who I dated, who I married, trying to conceive, deciding the adopt, how I spend my time, how I spend my money, what we teach our kids – are continually filtered through my identity as a daughter of God who decided 19 years ago to come home.

Although, really, it’s not about just coming home.

I’ve never been the rebellious one. I’m your stereotypical first-born child who follows rules, wants to please people, and has controlling tendencies. When I first heard the story of the Prodigal Son, I figured God wanted us all to learn that we need to come home – to him. And when we do, he’s waiting for us.

While that’s absolutely true, I don’t think that’s all the story is about. {If you don’t know the story, read it here.}

Truthfully, I identify more with the older brother – the one who kept the rules and was bitter when his brother got a party and grace when he deserved judgment and punishment. My natural ways tend more toward justice than mercy.

But I follow a God who is the exact opposite.

“You can choose, like many, to chain yourself to your hurt. Or you can choose, like some, to put away your hurts before they become hates. You can choose to go the party. You have a place there. Your name is beside a plate. If you are a child of God, no one can take away your sonship.

Which is precisely what the father says to the older son. ‘Son, you are always with me, and all I have is yours’ (Luke 15:31). And that is precisely what the Father says to you. How does God deal with your bitter heart? He reminds you that what you have is more important than what you don’t have. …

The brother was bitter because he focused on what he didn’t have and forgot what he did have. His father reminded him – and us – that he had everything he’d always had. He had his job. His place. His name. His inheritance. The only thing he didn’t have was the spotlight. And because he wasn’t content to share it – he missed the party.”

{Max Lucado in “He Still Moves Stones”}

Because of who God is, I’m not the same person I was 19 years ago. It began with a moment of salvation and has continued as God has saved me, adopted me, promised me, grown me, transformed me, taught me, strengthened me, forgiven me, trusted me, and celebrated me so many moments since.

Some hurts still haunt me, but I know God is dealing with those now. I’m sure there will be more hurts, but God promises in the end everything will work together for the good for those who follow him (Romans 8:28).

I was saved then. And I’m being saved now. Moment by moment. Grace by grace.

__________

An InLinkz Link-up


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I’m also linking up this post with Holley Gerth’s Coffee for Your Heart and Jennifer Dukes Lee’s #TellHisStory. 

Want more stories? “Peace in the Process: How Adoption Built My Faith & My Family” is available on Amazon. Like me on Facebook, follow me on Twitter, peek into my life on Instagram, follow 152 Insights at Bloglovin’, or subscribe to receive “Insights in Your Inbox.”

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How January has changed me

January 12, 2015 by Kristin 21 Comments

Ask me what my favorite month is and I will tell you May. I love that it’s my birth month and the month I became a momma. I love the weather and how it changes from the beginning to the end. I like that it’s the month when the doors to summer open wide.

But it’s been January that’s changed my life.

Nineteen years ago, I became a Christian on a weekend that epitomized God’s love in a way I’d never experienced and breathed the beginning of true transformation into my heart.

Thirteen years ago, Greg surprised me with a marriage proposal. I said yes, obviously, and we were married later in 2002.

Life-changing news isn’t always good, but I was diagnosed with diabetes 11 years ago.

And then there were two big adoption-related moments. In 2007, we met Cate’s birth mom for the first time in a doctor’s office waiting room. We saw our girl, thanks to the ultrasound. And then we all committed to this adoption plan. In 2010, Ben’s adoption was finalized.

Talk about January and I think back to these things. Perhaps I should stop giving May all the favorite-month credit and realize I wouldn’t be who I am without so many Januarys.

In honor of this, “Peace in the Process: How Adoption Built My Faith & My Family” will be on sale for 99 cents, starting today and continuing through the end of the month. This ebook is my story. It’s the story of so much brokenness redeemed in ways only God can do.

Yes, it’s about adoption, but it’s also my faith journey. People who have no desire to adopt have been encouraged. I hope you will be encouraged too. {Did you know you can also gift ebooks? Anyone can read a Kindle book with a free app for mobile devices and computers.}

Yes, January is cold and dreary. But God redeems and makes new. And that’s reason enough to celebrate.

___________

I’m joining others for the weekly Soli Deo Gloria Gathering as well as Holley Gerth’s Coffee for Your Heart and Jennifer Dukes Lee’s #TellHisStory.

I’m also linking this post with Hearts at Home’s Blog Hop at Jill Savage’s place. This month she’s talking about starting fresh, which is what January reminds me to do. 

Want more stories? “Peace in the Process: How Adoption Built My Faith & My Family” is available on Amazon. Like me on Facebook, follow me on Twitter, peek into my life on Instagram, follow 152 Insights at Bloglovin’, or subscribe to receive “Insights in Your Inbox.”

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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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School’s out FOR THE SUMMER! #88daysofsummer #mo School’s out FOR THE SUMMER! #88daysofsummer #momlife #siblinglove #summerisbest #maydays
I’m proud of myself for … … surviving and t I’m proud of myself for …

… surviving and thriving this school year. I resist change almost all of the time, and the past nine months have been full of so many transitions for our whole family. I know, that’s life, but these changes seem like the kind that will mark us forever. 

My kids navigated new beginnings in kindergarten, middle school, and high school. As a mom, sometimes I’m too close to see the growth, but this year it happened in each of them right before my eyes. They navigated friendship hurdles, embraced new friends, and settled a little more into who God created them to be. Middle school isn’t for the faint of heart, but I feel like I’ve come out of this year closer to my son, so I will take it. 

I’m proud of myself for leaning into where God has me. I’ve grown deeper friendships, invested in my kids’ school as a board member and business manager, and seen God work in our ordinary days. 

Y’all know I’m a summer girl, so I’m proud of myself through getting through the winter and coming into summer stronger and braver. 

#OneDayMay #maydays #livingfaithfully #choosingJOY #momlife #summerisbest #bettertogether
I’m honestly surprised I didn’t read this book I’m honestly surprised I didn’t read this book sooner. I loved so much about it, but I did want some of her stories to be  less repetitive and offer more practical advice for living out “radical, ordinary hospitality.” Rosaria Butterfield defines hospitality like this as sharing what you have in real time, preparing to continually life this lifestyle, and bringing strangers in so they become neighbors who become family. 

I took notes throughout, but especially during the introduction. I came away with an appreciation that hospitality can involve lists, schedules, and habits. I felt encouraged, even if I thought the book could have been organized better to include practical tips and other people’s stories. 

#KHTreads #bookstagram #audiobooks #livingfaithfully #bookreview #booklover
Something I don’t usually share (online) … I Something I don’t usually share (online) …

I am an opinionated person, but I don’t usually share political opinions on social media. People who know me in real life know I value being pro-life, having less government involvement in our everyday lives, defining marriage as God intended it, and being fiscally conservative. As a former newspaper reporter, I still get excited about elections. I admittedly pay a little less attention in the almost 15 years I haven’t been in a newsroom. But I still care and have plenty of opinions. 

I voted today in Kentucky’s Primary Election. I’m thankful for the freedom to share my opinion by darkening some blocks on a paper ballot. 

#OneDayMay #maydays #reallife #livingfaithfully
Old friends and live music are two of my favorite Old friends and live music are two of my favorite things, so having them together is the best. My friend Aaron and I went to multiple Dave Matthews Band shows together during our college years, so now two decades later it’s fun to do it again as grown ups with our spouses for a band that speaks truth into our lives. 

@needtobreathe put on the loudest acoustic tour I’ve ever seen, but it sure was good! And its encore of completely unplugged songs was especially sweet. 

#NTBlive #needtobreathe #bettertogether #choosingJOY #favoritethings #livingfaithfully #weekending
Happiness is … … a slow morning that gave me Happiness is …

… a slow morning that gave me a chance to finish reading a good book right after I fixed my favorite cinnamon toast. 

… some shade to invite me to pick some more weeds around the house. But why doesn’t my Apple Watch count this as exercise? It felt like exercise to me! 

… an appointment with my oldest girl for us both to get our nails done this morning. 

… my youngest girl’s last soccer game of the season, even though the heat made her a little grumpy. 

… pool time, another good book to read, my mom visiting for the second weekend in a row, a little more weeding, and a night at home with no specific plans. 

Happiness is everyday, normal life with my people, especially when it comes with a slower pace after a hectic week. 

#OneDayMay #maydays #soccermom #KHTreads #momlife #weekending #choosingJOY #livingfaithfully #poolpeople #PorchStories
I regretted having to go to sleep last night befor I regretted having to go to sleep last night before I finished this book, so I picked it up at breakfast and didn’t do anything else until I finished it. 

I loved the Alaskan cruise setting, the quick love and understanding between Greta and Ben, and the realistic ways grief changes people. Well done, @jenniferesmith! 

#KHTreads #bookstagram #kindlebooks #booklover #kindlepaperwhite #reallife #weekending #recommendedreads #poolpeople #amreading
Happy Friday! 🎉 We’ve got four more days of s Happy Friday! 🎉 We’ve got four more days of school next week and then it’s #88daysofsummer! Obviously, we’re ready. ☀️ 

Here’s to a refreshing weekend with much anticipation of what’s to come! #weekending #choosingJOY #livingfaithfully #thirdchild #momlife #summerisbest #poolpeople #PorchStories #maydays
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I’ve already bou ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I’ve already bought three copies of “Glad You’re Here: Two Unlikely Friends Breaking Bread and Fences” by @walkerhayes and @craigallencooper to gift to specific friends. I’ve referenced this story in conversations this week and will likely recommended it for years to come. 

This story is about two seemingly different guys befriending each other because their kids were on the same baseball team and their wives became friends. They kept showing for each other, encouraged each other, and changed each other for the better. In fact, their friendship was the catalyst for Walker deciding to follow Christ. 

Give me Applebee’s on a date night, a real-life story of how we are eternally better together, and an audiobook that makes me want to drive and I’m a happy girl. I’m fancy like that. 

#KHTreads #bookstagram #bettertogether #livingfaithfully #hospitalitymatters #audiobooks #booklover #favoritethings
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