Kristin Hill Taylor

Seeking God as the Author of Every Story

Animals, shapes, and Jesus … oh, my!

by Leave a Comment

I got the new “Little Words Matter Jumbo Coloring Book” at a perfect time! With the COVID-19 threat altering our normal life, we’ve been home more than usual. I’ve got a fourth-grader and a seventh-grader who have to do school work remotely and a preschooler who just isn’t interacting with her teacher and classmates as usual.

The coloring book is full of animal friends, alphabet blessings, and reminders that Jesus loves us! I love how the pictures are simple but not boring – perfect for my four-year-old girl who is into coloring and doing “homework” like my older kids. Some of the pages include counting, matching, or alphabet activities too.

Who knows how long we’ll be at home during this weird world in which we’re living, but I’m glad my youngest girl has this fun companion. “Little Words Matter Jumbo Coloring Book” has been making its home on the kitchen table or counter near a box of crayons. I suspect it will get opened and used often in the coming weeks – or however long it takes Rachel to color all the pages!

About the book

“Little Words Matter Jumbo Coloring Book” has almost 400 pages of fun for toddlers and preschoolers. It’s published by B&H Kids (Feb. 15, 2020) and is available at Amazon, Lifeway, Walmart, Christianbook.com, and Target.

*****

I received a free copy of this coloring book through the B&H/Lifeway Blogger program in exchange for a review.

Love like Jesus

by 2 Comments

I’m currently working through Precept’s study of “John Part 3: The True Vine … One with Him.” Yes, part three. Yes, that means we’ve been in John for a long time, which has been good. I was working through lesson four the other day and knew I wanted to share with you the prompt and where it took me. 

Of course, I chose to write a devotional.

*****

“Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. … ‘A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.’”

–John 13:1, 34-35

Sometimes anticipation changes us. We stop reaching out to friends when we’re waiting for the next phase of life. We stop laughing when we fear worldly circumstances. We ignore our neighbors when it’s flu season. We hold back when we’re grieving.

But Jesus didn’t refrain from loving people until the end – even when he knew he was going to be betrayed by someone close to him, denied by another dear friend, and crucified by a government that didn’t believe who he said he was. He knew his Father had a better ending to the story and trusted his role in that victory.

Jesus was active during the Passover season even when he knew his earthly life was coming to an end. He washed his disciples’ feet (John 13:3-11), taught them (John 13:12-20), was troubled in spirit and testified anyway (John 13:21-30), encouraged people to love one another (John 13:31-35), and followed God’s plan (John 13:36-38).

Despite all the earthly hardships coming his way, Jesus remained faithful to his Father and who he was has a son. In that faithfulness, he lived out his purpose for God’s glory, even when it probably would have been easier to hunker down and isolate himself from his closest friends who were going to disappoint him because they couldn’t grasp supernatural truth with their human minds.

In our world of spiritual and political conflict, coronavirus and other sicknesses, and pressure to perform and produce, how will we treat others? Will we live like we believe we belong to God as Jesus did? Will we actively love, even if that means knowing we’ll be disappointed and denied?

Father God, let us be a people who follow Jesus, especially when we face unknown futures and conflicts. Let us be people who love others in ways that show the world we’re Yours. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

On the bright side with tambourines

by Leave a Comment

“For when the horses of Pharaoh with his chariots and his horsemen went into the sea, the Lord brought back the waters of the sea upon them, but the people of Israel walked on dry ground in the midst of the sea. Then Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women went out after her with tambourines and dancing.” – Exodus 15:19-20

I’ve read and heard the story of God parting the waters as the Israelites fled Egypt multiple times before, but I never noticed the tambourines. They danced on the dry ground with chariots from a great army on their tails and unknown wilderness ahead of them.

Author Melanie Shankle pointed me to the tambourines in “On the Bright Side,” her new book: “Because, yes, they were afraid and, no, this wasn’t their plan, but they trusted God, so they packed their tambourines. They believed and trusted that a day would come when they would dance and rejoice again.”

I haven’t stopped thinking about the tambourines since.

In the church the week after I read this book in two days, a worship song brought the tambourines back to mind:

“I will not forget You are my God, my King
And with a thankful heart I bring my offering
And my sacrifice is not what You can give
But what I alone can give to you

A grateful heart I give, A thankful prayer I pray
A wild dance I dance before you
A loud song I sing, A huge bell I ring
A life of praise I live before You”

– “I Will Not Forget You“

I realized how I don’t carry my tambourine but rather anticipate how stressful a situation could possibly and get anxious before anything (good or bad) actually happens. I want to be like Miriam and live a life of praise before my God, my King – the one who makes ways when we can’t see very far in front of us.

But I sure do have a grateful heart for Melanie Shankle writing and publishing this new book. Goodness, I needed a shift to the bright side. I said I read the book in two days, but I should probably tell you they were rainy days. And, honestly, I’m over this wet winter we’ve had. The dreary, short days leave me longing for the next season. I find myself doing that with life sometimes too.

But Melanie’s new book is a breath of fresh, bright air. She’s real and funny while writing about the ordinary and important stuff that make up our lives. This book reminded me of the bright side of parenting, friendship, pain, marriage, faith, fear, and bravery.

On the bright side, the sunshine came out the other day before some more rainy days and gave me a renewed perspective of God’s faithfulness. That’s exactly what this book did for my soul. I was left encouraged and ready to finish this season well before another one begins – with my tambourine in hand, of course.

About the book

Big Mama blog founder and “New York Times” bestselling author Melanie Shankle helps us sort through our questions about being true to ourselves in a world gone crazy and what matters the most in the end.

These days, so many voices tell us what to do, what to think, and what kind of parent or friend or spouse to be that it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and defeated. Somewhere in the midst of online arguments and crazy politics and the ups and downs of life, we’ve lost sight of the gifts that are all around us: kindness, love, mercy, and joy.

In “On the Bright Side: Stories about Friendship, Love, and Being True to Yourself,” Melanie Shankle reminds us of the unchanging principles we can count on in a changing world. This delightful memoir highlights the joys of life told in Melanie’s down to earth, relatable, and totally enjoyable style. It’s a how-to guide to knowing – and living – what matters most.

“On the Bright Side” is a 224-page book available in paperback, hardback, and electronic versions. It’s published by Zondervan (Feb. 25, 2020).

About the author

Melanie Shankle writes regularly at The Big Mama blog and is the New York Times bestselling author of four previous books, including “Nobody’s Cuter than You.” Melanie is a graduate of Texas A&M and loves writing, shopping at Target, checking to see what’s on sale at Anthropologie, and trying to find the lighter side in every situation. Most of all, she loves being the mother of Caroline, the wife of Perry, and the official herder of two wild dogs named Piper and Mabel, who were the inspiration for a new children’s book. The five of them live in San Antonio, Texas.

*****

I preordered this book, but then I also joined the launch team so I got an early PDF copy and read it almost immediately. These opinions are my own and I’ve already recommended and quoted this book in real-life conversations.