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Kristin Hill Taylor: Seeking God as the Author of Every Story
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  • {Giveaway Winners}

    ByKristin December 19, 2011 giveaway, Wayfair

    Hooray! Katy and Colleen, you are the winners of the board game giveaway. You both should have an email from me in your inbox with more details. A package from Wayfair will arrive on your doorstep soon!

    Thanks, everyone, for entering the giveaway and for reading my blog. Hope you all enjoy this week leading up to Christmas. May your days be merry and bright.

    ________

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  • {Giveaway} Soaking in the Season

    ByKristin December 2, 2011 family, games, giveaway, holiday, Wayfair
    9 Comments

    ‘Tis the season for twinkling lights, Christmas carols, sweet treats, cold mornings, remembering Jesus’ birth, parties with family and friends, wrapping gifts for those we love, finding ways to help people around us, candy canes, and … busyness.

    My calendar is full. Thankfully, it’s full of good things. Dinners with friends. Parties with family. Family-friend activities like a live nativity and Christmas parade. Plans to cut down a Christmas tree. A road trip to visit my side of the family. It’s full of so many things I love about December.

    But I still enjoy the breaks. The days like today when I don’t have much planned and I’m still sitting in my pajamas while my kids argue {I mean, play …} with the Little People nativity and GeoTrax train to the North Pole.

    These moments are as sweet as the busy ones. Because, really, time does fly.

    I have a 4-year-old girl who soaks in everything around here. And my 2-year-old boy will try to do anything she’s doing. They’re both independent and determined. But they’re both loving and sweet. It seems like just yesterday I was trying to think about how to make these days — the ones where they’re watching and listening and soaking it all in — special.

    I want them to know Jesus is alive and he was born as a baby, just like they were. He slept in a manager those first days, like they slept in their baby cribs. He cried. He needed his momma. His father — both his earthly one and his heavenly one — adored him.

    Just like them.

    That’s what this season is about. Jesus knows what it’s like to live this life. And he gave up his life so we could have abundant, eternal life. With him. And his father.

    It’s a merry season indeed. Soak it in.

    One of our favorite ways to take a break from the busyness and just enjoy each other is play games. We love that Cate is old enough to play some board games with us. And she loves that we’ll sit down and play with her. Sorry and Mancala are popular ones around here these days, regardless of the season.

    How do you take a break and enjoy this season? Are you doing anything special this year to help your kids soak in what Christmas means? Tell me in the comments below and you could win one of our favorite board games from Wayfair.com, which was formerly CSN Stores. Thanks to Wayfair.com for making this giveaway possible and letting me choose something to share with you.

    Here are the giveaway details:

    • I will randomly choose two winners on Monday, Dec. 19, so you have until then to enter.
    • Participants must live in the United States for shipping purposes should you win.
    • I’ll need your email address, so I can contact you if you win.
    • Extra entries can be earned by following me on Twitter and tweeting about this giveaway {daily, which means you can rack up the entries}. Please leave a comment here should you do any of those things.

    Until then, may your days be full of all the joys of the season.

    ________

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About Me

Kristin Hill Taylor Headshot

Telling stories is my therapy, and I love sharing them with friends on my porch. God authors the stories on our porches and wherever we go.

The main characters in my stories are my entrepreneur husband, our college girl, our high school boy, and our fourth-grade girl. As we live out our stories, we seek God as the author of them all.

Learn more about my story here.

Join me for #PorchStories

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  • A great Bible for teens
  • Made New
  • Happy birthday, Rachel!
  • A Gorge-ous Weekend
  • How to make the most of family walks

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Seeking God as the author of every story — on our porches, in our journeys, and wherever we are! 💛

Remember when I wasn’t a pet person? One dog and t Remember when I wasn’t a pet person? One dog and three cats not pictured. 

#PorchStories #countryliving
“You do not have to be grateful for the Bad Thing, “You do not have to be grateful
for the Bad Thing, but can
you see the ways it has been 
redeemed and resurrected
into the Very Good Things?
All those lost pieces
of your life reshape and grow
you, a mysterious exchange
of grief for glory.” 

✨ @laurawifler in This Side of the Sky

Hello, October. Sometime about now seems like a fresh start, a beginning of a new season. And I feel ready to notice God’s glory. 💛
Productivity can become an idol for me really quic Productivity can become an idol for me really quickly. I’m a doer, so sometimes I get so absorbed in my to-do list that I lose sight of what really matters. But we were created in the image of the Creator to be human beings. Not human doings.

I have to remind myself of that regularly.

By the end of yesterday, I felt unaccomplished and frustrated. Yet I had spent most of the day working on my computer, switching loads of laundry, and checking things off my to-do list. Somehow, despite all that doing, I still felt like I hadn’t done enough. 

I ended the night reading from “This Side of the Sky: 101 Poems and Scriptures for the Hungry, Hopeful, and Homesick” by @laurawifler. Yes, I’m reading a poetry book. But, y’all, it’s so relatable, encouraging, and rooted in Scripture. It was exactly what I needed.

“We are all trying to be better at living. We are all asking God to make it easier, make it better, make it all work out. Medicine and therapy and counselors and hotlines and online comfort creators—“God, just use one of them, any of them.” Maybe He will. But maybe what He will use is each other. Maybe what we need is, How are you? / How did it go? / And then what happened? / Tell me more. / I’m sorry. / I love you.” — From the poem “These Days”

As tempted as I was to dive right back into my list first thing this morning, I didn’t. Instead, I hung out with my husband, walked with a friend, ran some errands on this beautiful day, and had lunch with my husband. AND THEN I opened my MacBook.

Turns out, the reset I needed this Tuesday wasn’t getting more done. Rather, I slowed my mind and noticed God’s goodness and faithfulness all around. 

#PorchStories
When @catetaylor07 and @jsiress05 went from kinder When @catetaylor07 and @jsiress05 went from kindergarten through 12th grade together in the same small class at @ncca.lions, I had no idea all the things God would do. But he’s faithful and knew the story he was writing then & now.

Celebrating these two was so easy & fun last night. We are grateful to grow our family in this way! 💛
When I first meet someone, I am usually pretty qui When I first meet someone, I am usually pretty quick to ask what she does. Not because I think work defines us, but because it’s an easy in to what someone likes to do and how she spends her time.

My answer is always a little complicated, but at the heart of any answer is this: I believe in stories. And I am a writer.

Long before one video of my daughter’s baptism somehow found its way onto more than two million screens, I was writing stories about faith in ordinary life.

I’ve written three books. They’re about adoption, hospitality, and friendship — different books that all come back to seeking God as the author of our stories in every season.

God is faithfully present, always — in the waiting, among the changes, in parenting challenges and celebrations, wherever we didn’t expect to be, and on an ordinary Tuesday afternoon. And yes, sometimes in a baptism pool with your daughter.

I write because sharing our stories helps us notice what God has been doing all along.

These are the three books I’ve had the privilege of putting into the world. And to answer another popular get-to-know-you question: Yes, I’m working on another one. This next one is about valleys, the places where so much of real life is actually lived. Mountaintop moments, like a baptism, are beautiful, but God is with us through the valleys too.

Regardless of your story, I’m glad you’re here. Faith, places, and stories — that’s pretty much what you’ll find here. 💛

And I’m curious: What kind of stories do you love?
Well, hello to new people & old friends! 👋 I cert Well, hello to new people & old friends! 👋

I certainly didn’t expect a video of our daughter’s baptism to reach as far as it has, but what a sweet reason for so many new faces to find their way here. I’m so glad you’re here. 

An introduction seems appropriate. I’m Kristin. I’m wife to Greg, mom to three kids, writer and author, school athletics director, rental property host, traveler, photographer of at least 46,000 family moments 😉, and someone who tends to have several projects going at once.

In my spare time, I like working puzzles, reading books, tending to my indoor plants, and being with my favorite people on my porch. Mostly, though, I’m a collector of stories — the ones God is writing in our families, our faith, the places we go, and the ordinary days that make up our lives.

I’ve written three books and have another one in the works. I write about faith and real life, especially the ways God meets us in unexpected places and seasons. 

The girl so many of you watched get baptized is our youngest, and she turned 11 this past weekend. We also have a college girl who is a sophomore at Murray State and a high school junior. Thanks to adoption, we brought each of them home as newborns.

If that video is what brought you here, welcome. I hope you’ll stick around. This little corner of the internet has always been about noticing God’s goodness in the middle of real life — not because every season is easy, but because He is faithful in every season. 💛

Your turn! Tell me something about you! Where are you from, and how did you end up here?
Afterward, she was giving us hugs and getting read Afterward, she was giving us hugs and getting ready to change into dry clothes, and I said, “Do you feel refreshed?” Immediately, she responded, “I feel made new.” 

Indeed! This isn’t just refreshment for the moment but life-giving nourishment for the rest of our days. 💛
Being able to say Rachel has heard the gospel her Being able to say Rachel has heard the gospel her whole life is a blessing, but that doesn’t change her personal need for a lord and savior. Jesus is the only way — to heaven, through hard days & seasons, and to peace that passes all our understanding. 

She may be young, but during a hard season in our home she ran toward Jesus instead of away from Him. Through many conversations with Greg and me, her teachers at school and church, and other trusted adults, Rachel realized she doesn’t want to be apart from God. 

One night in July when she should have been sleeping, right after our Alaska trip and before VBS and Crossings, she put her put her faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and decided to follow Him. 

She’s still asking questions, starting conversations, and digging deep, but she believes & trusts in Him who made her and wants to become more like Christ. She took a huge step forward this morning when she made this faith public through believer’s baptism. 

I could list so many people who helped us raise this girl in the ways of the Lord, but I’ll just leave it with we are so grateful to be surrounded by such an awesome community, especially at @hardinbaptistchurch and @ncca.lions. Walking up to the baptistery, through the high school room, to her Sunday school class, and then back into service was so fun because so many people wanted to celebrate her — who she is in Christ and what He’s doing in her life. These our snapshots of some of our people. Together is truly the only way we know to know God and make Him known. 💛
BLAST OFF to age 11! 🚀✨ We had a great time celeb BLAST OFF to age 11! 🚀✨

We had a great time celebrating Rachel’s birthday with 10 of her friends. They jumped at Vertical Jump and then we ate at Mellow Mushroom.

Of course, @morganscakesandcookies came through with delicious & cute cookies once again! 🪐✨

#birthdaygirl #thirdchild
This girl has grown up this year. I realize that This girl has grown up this year. 

I realize that’s cliché and literally what happens from birthday to birthday, but I can see it. You know, sometimes you’re so close to a situation to see the changes? Yeah, I’ve seen this girl grow in height, maturity, and faith — and she’s as physically close to me as anyone ever wants to be. She’d sleep in my bed with her lanky limbs wrapped around me, if I’d let her. I don’t let her, just for the record. 

Rachel is 11 today! 

🎉 kristinhilltaylor.com/2026/09/rachel11.html

📷 Shawna Munger/Bailey & B Photography
“It’s been a really full week,” I said tonight whi “It’s been a really full week,” I said tonight while sitting at the fourth middle school volleyball game in two days. I also was thinking about all these other things I’d been working on as a mom, athletic director, and property manager. 

Friends, today is Tuesday. 

We aren’t even to the midpoint of the week. 

The calendar is calling me tomorrow and Thursday and Friday. Then we have a big weekend. 

Yes, it’s been a full part of a week. Yes, it’s a full life. But I’m so grateful for all the blessing that fill it — today and all the other days. 💛
I like being a volleyball mom. 🏐🦁 @ncca.lions #vo I like being a volleyball mom. 🏐🦁

@ncca.lions #volleyball
Full, fun weekend. 💛 Full, fun weekend. 💛
Thankful for my boy and this sweet opportunity wit Thankful for my boy and this sweet opportunity with church friends. Having a photographer daughter is a perk too! 💙

📷 @backroads.and.blooms
These dog days of summer were best spent at Kentuc These dog days of summer were best spent at Kentucky Lake with extended family. This tradition is full of laughter, reconnections, good food, and lots of games! 💦☀️🌳💛
Puzzle time! 🧩✨ @completingthepuzzleofficial is a Puzzle time! 🧩✨

@completingthepuzzleofficial is a great way to get some fun mail, have a screen-free hobby, and borrow various puzzles. SAVE when you use my link & KRISTINHTAYLOR in checkout. Let me know if you want me to send you the direct link! 

Happy puzzling, friends! 🧩✨

#bloggerlife #puzzles #hobbies
“All ground is holy ground, every day is precious. “All ground is holy ground, every day is precious. Even to our old age and to gray hairs he will carry us. The light of the Spirit shines brighter as the wisdom of age grows within us. Because bodies decline and people develop, we who have repented of eating the fruit of self-determination and instead bear the fruit of the Spirit will indeed shine like stars in a crooked generation.” ✨ @jenwilkin in “Dust to Dust: Aging Wisely in an Anti-Aging World”

First book club with some of my best girls is in the books. 📚 So thankful to share meaningful discussion today. 

#PorchStories #bookclub #KHTreads
Hello, Friday! I’m so glad you’re here. Here’s a p Hello, Friday! I’m so glad you’re here. Here’s a peek into life lately.

🏐📷: @shawnamunger
About once a year, usually in August or September, About once a year, usually in August or September, Greg and I try to get away to celebrate our anniversary. This year we chose to venture eastward in our home state to Red River Gorge, which is a neat, geologically diverse area with the Daniel Boone National Forest and nearby Natural Bridge State Park. Sometimes we forgot we were in Kentucky!

✨ A GORGE-OUS WEEKEND: 
kristinhilltaylor.com/2026/08/redrivergorge.html

#redrivegorge #marriage #bloggerlife #roadtrip
When we first moved to the country with three kids When we first moved to the country with three kids in single digits and then again during social distancing days in 2020-21, we went on many family walks. We explored our land, the creeks, hunted Easter eggs, and rode four-wheelers. 

Now the kids are 19, 16, and 10 (almost 11), and family walks don’t happen like they used to. But, you know, as soon as the weather cools off a bit, I think my youngest and I will hit the trails in our backyard again. Really, it’s a healthy habit for us all, and a fun way to get the steps in.

💙 Here are some tips to make the most of family walks, wherever you are:
https://kristinhilltaylor.com/2026/08/familywalks.html

#bloggerlife #ontheblog #linkinbio #momlife
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