Kristin Hill Taylor

Seeking God as the Author of Every Story

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Knowing God deep enough to dream

July 17, 2017 by Kristin Leave a Comment

“Deep enough to dream in brilliant colors I have never seen.
Deep enough to join a billion people for a wedding feast.
Deep enough to reach out and touch the face of the one who made me.
And oh the love I feel and oh the peace, do I ever have to wake up?”
– Chris Rice in “Deep Enough to Dream”

I don’t like naps, but sometimes I feel like I’m missing out on the escaping real life with some daytime dreams. And even if I weren’t actually sleeping, my mind tends to focus on what’s happening or planning what’s to come next, letting the potential daydreams escape me.

Sitting in the pickup line at school a couple months ago, I heard this older Chris Rice song. It’s one of those that I haven’t heard in years, but I managed to sing along with like I heard it yesterday.

The words struck me, and I was thankful for the moment to remember what trusting in the Dream Giver Himself is about.

I said no to a friend this spring even though I believed her invitation was important. I knew no was right, but it was still hard.

Saying no is hard. (And, yes, sometimes saying yes is difficult, depending on the circumstances and your personality.) Slowing down and not glorifying busy is a challenge in today’s fast-moving world. Focusing on small, faithful steps is necessary in God’s Kingdom but nearly impossible in our culture.

Join me at God-sized Dreams …

where I’m sharing some ways to realize the dreams God has given you.

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One God-sized dream showed me others

June 7, 2017 by Kristin 5 Comments

I remember longing to become a mom. And then God built our family through adoption, demonstrating His faithfulness to hear the desires of my heart, even if the whole story looked completely different than unexpected.

Now I’m a mom to three kids who are 10, 7 and 1, and God took that dream and expanded it after He made it possible.

God is a god of many dreams, and I’ve seen
Him build them upon what He’s already done.

{Tweet that.}

My husband and I have had our eyes opened to needs right here in our community. That started with a couple local birth moms who chose us as parents and showed us how others in our small town live.

Then we started serving with our kids and other families. As we did, we met more people, networked with more groups, and started a small group dedicated to community service and living out our faith.

After making me a mom, God prompted me to encourage and support other adoptive and foster families. Then He used that to inspire me to volunteer at our local crisis pregnancy center. Without having journeyed with God to my dream of becoming a mom, I wouldn’t have been in a place to see the other needs around me.

Join me at God-sized Dreams …

where I’m sharing more about what happened after God fulfilled my dream.

*****

Kristin Hill Taylor - Porch Stories
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On becoming whole, together

October 31, 2016 by Kristin Leave a Comment

gsd-prayers-healing-10-31-16

Rachel was just a couple weeks old and our speaker in church talked about prayer and how it heals. While Rachel slept in my arms, I looked up “healed” during the sermon and read “to cure, to make whole …”

In that moment, as I was holding my baby – the third one that came after much waiting – I was keenly aware of what God has done through prayers to make our family whole.

I’ve told pieces of our family’s adoption story here. But the short version is God used a hard season of infertility to lead us to adoption. We adopted Cate (2007) and Ben (2009) through smooth, domestic, private processes. We spent years trying to adopt a third time and then let go of our desire after doors kept closing.

God surprised us in 2015 with Rachel.

We think our family is complete. I say “think” because I’ve learned never say never when it comes to God. But here we are, a party of five that God orchestrated.

There’s evidence of God’s faithfulness in my kids’ eyes – the girls have matching brown and Ben’s are blue like Greg’s and mine. There’s proof that God hears the desires of our hearts when I remember how we got here.

Read the rest of this part of our story at God-sized Dreams, where I’m happy to share about prayer and healing.

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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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