• How to use technology for good

    ByKristin faith, technology

    I’d say I have a love-hate relationship with technology. Personally, I love connecting with people, having access to endless information, and knowing my life is more convenient with it. But raising kids in this technology age is difficult, and sometimes all that info can be overwhelming. 

    Even so, technology can be used for good, especially to connect people for meaningful purposes. 

    When you can help others beyond your own responsibilities, fundraising for important causes can be one of the best ways to live out the generosity that flows from our faith in Jesus Christ. Giving allows you to help others and is one way to be an influencer for your faith. The face of fundraising is changing nowadays, like most everything else, but modern tech makes it more convenient and accessible. 

    Expanding your reach

    For some causes, you could potentially reach much farther than just the community around you. I believe in the local church and local causes, but sometimes there are opportunities to help elsewhere or connect with like-minded people who live in different locations. Social media platforms can help you tap into a much wider world of people who would be willing to help. Plus, social media allows you to share stories and testimonies that will draw others into the needs. 

    For instance, I created an adoptive moms support group on Facebook about a decade ago, and it’s created friendships across miles for moms who sometimes need others to understand what raising a child from a hard beginning may mean. Those in the midst of adoptions were also able to use the group for fundraising ideas and campaigns. 

    You can also find causes you believe in through social media and connections you have already made. 

    Make giving easier

    Fundraising used to mean going door-to-door selling candy bars for a T-ball team, but now even the Girl Scouts sell cookies on Facebook! Of course, they do set up at Walmart too, but I often have to pass by because I don’t usually carry cash. 

    This scenario is when affordable mobile card readers for entrepreneurs can be a huge help. And, again, hello, technology for good! These small portable devices come as stand-alone devices or those that can easily connect to tablets and smartphones, and allow supporters to tap their card or phone to donate within seconds. With digital receipts and basic tracking, you can provide some peace of mind to givers as well, not to mention proof for their tax returns. 

    And you may get a box of cookies from the exchange! 

    Having a platform

    Technology connects people across the miles, thus sometimes an online fundraising platform is needed to allow someone in Kentucky to reach someone who cares in California or even Australia. These third-party platforms use secure payment systems that ensure their funds are going to the right place and often include features such as progress trackers, personalised donation pages, and automated receipts. All this helps with trust and transparency in the campaign. Then, you can easily share these links through social media, via email, and even with your next-door neighbor.

    Fundraising usually comes with a goal, so don’t be shy about using technology to help you get there and bring support and awareness to the causes close to your heart. 

    *****

    God authors the stories on our porches – in every season. If you haven’t already, please subscribe to #PorchStories emails to receive them about every other week.

  • Hospitality adventures

    ByKristin adventure, books, community, faith
    God has made each season beautiful and appropriate in its own time. - Kristin Hill Taylor, Bringing Home More Than Groceries #morethangroceries

    I was a little nervous about moving to the country, where friends and stores aren’t quite as convenient. “Living out of town” in small- town lingo meant we were fifteen minutes away instead of three. I grew up in a subdivision with one entrance where I befriended certain neighbors and knew plenty about the other ones. I spent four years of college living in a dorm with my best friends in my room, through the shared bathroom, down the hall, or no farther than across campus. After college, I lived in apartments in Kentucky’s two largest cities. Even in small-town Murray, I lived in two different houses off the busiest four-lane where I could walk to the park, restaurants, and stores.

    I wasn’t sure what a change to country scenery would do for our social life, but the move felt right. We’re still here in a house surrounded by woods and creeks. And, guess what, friends have shown up for small group meetings, game nights filled with roasted potatoes and Settlers of Catan, lunches with chicken salad and other adoptive moms.

    Rachel learned to climb stairs before we moved to the country and how I was grateful for a single-level home for my fearless girl to explore. She walked in the living room four months after we moved in and hasn’t stopped getting into things yet. She runs in the wide-open fields and loves riding through our woods and down the logging road in our Kawasaki mule.

    Four years after we moved, we spent much time at home during the worldwide coronavirus epidemic. I loved my days at home, where I could drown out the chaos of the world and rest in peace at the creeks and walks down tree-lined paths. When I ventured to town to get groceries, I brought anxiety home with me. Our world shifted that spring and I’m thankful our country home calmed my heart, even though we did miss opening our doors to others during that time.

    Maybe a move eight miles outside a small town doesn’t seem significant, but for me it has been. I learned dreams change and God binds together his people. I know God has me where he has me for reasons I’ve experienced deeply and ones I don’t even know about yet. …

    We didn’t live here in the spring we bought this property, but we stopped by to check on things periodically. Living here when the grass and trees become greener brings healing and adventures. Now I know where the daffodils pop up, often in February, and I wonder if they’ll really survive March. Somehow they do.

    Adventures don’t always come easily to me because I like order, but I’m part of a family that’s full of adventurers. And now I live in a place that beckons me to come out—out of my house and out of my comfort zone. My kids are growing up here, where the stars are easier to see and the trees shelter so much life. Since we’ve moved to the country, they’ve outgrown many pairs of shoes and pants, lost their teeth and Nerf bullets, and moved up so many notches on the growth charts.

    I’ve grown up too. Greg and I have had some of the best years of our marriage here in the country, where my soul feels more relaxed and the pressure to keep too-quick a pace is less. I’ve bought muck boots, know the best entrances to the creek, and keep an eye on the turkey and deer who like to call our yard home too.

    Spring on our property and in my soul makes it seem like life is always changing and being made new. But my faith remains in a constant God who faithfully ushers me into a connection with Him and my people in all the seasons. Hospitality allows us to adventure because we’re anchored to where we’ve been, where we are, and the unknown that’s still to come. Through it all, God is unchanging and asks us to seek Him all of our days.

    *****

    Happy Spring, friends! In honor of the new season blooming in our lives, I wanted to share an excerpt from my book, Bringing Home More Than Groceries: Stories About Gathering & Nourishing People. I also have a pretty download to encourage you to open your home and heart to those around you, regardless of the season. Learn more about the book and hospitality here.

  • How to be human

    ByKristin family, life

    I recently told a friend that being a human (a wife, a mom, a friend, a sister …) is hard. Then I recognized part of the reason is that we live in a culture that celebrates humans doing all of the things.

    We praise productivity and are eager for efficiency. We applaud achievement and measure our days by the marks on our to-do list. But if we aren’t careful, we determine our worth based on these metrics and not by what our Creator says. The pressure to do more can quietly shape the way we see ourselves, even as followers of Christ.

    But Scripture consistently reminds us of something different: Before we are called to do, we are invited to be. We were created as human beings to be with God and others. 

    At the very beginning, in the Garden of Eden, humanity wasn’t created with a to-do list. Adam and Eve were created for relationship: to walk with God, enjoy His presence, be with each other, and live in the identity by which He defined them. Their first calling was to BE. Then God entrusted them with working in the garden. That order matters because otherwise we begin to live out of striving instead of identity and become “human doings.” 

    Even in the life of Jesus, we see the rhythm of being. Before Jesus began His public ministry, before the miracles, the teaching, or the crowds, something profound happened at His baptism. A voice from heaven declared: “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

    Notice something important: Jesus had not yet performed a single miracle or sermon.

    The Father’s pleasure came from who Jesus was, not what He had done. That same truth is extended to us. Through Christ, we are adopted as sons and daughters of God. Our identity is not built on our accomplishments, our ministries, our parenting success, or our productivity. Our identity is rooted in belonging to Him.

    When we live primarily as “human doings,” several things begin to happen: We attach our worth to our productivity. If the day was productive, we feel valuable. If it wasn’t, we feel like failures. We struggle to rest because we think even that has to be earned. We fall into the false illusions that everything depends on us instead of trusting God with outcomes.

    Even spiritually, we can fall into this trap. We can turn faith into a checklist: Did I read my Bible today? Did I pray long enough? Did I serve enough?

    These practices are good and life-giving, but they are meant to flow from our relationship with God, not replace it or define it. 

    From a place of being, doing naturally follows, but it looks very different. Instead of striving for approval, we begin to live from approval. Instead of trying to prove our worth, we begin to serve from the security of being loved. Jesus described this beautifully when He said to abide in Him (John 15).

    While “abiding” is an ongoing verb, it is NOT about constant activity. It’s about connection with God and others. When we live from that place, our work, service, parenting, and ministry become expressions of the life God is already producing within us. Now, this isn’t a call to be lazy, but to be wise and in tune with God says about us as His creations.

    Certainly, listen to how God is calling you into His presence and rest, but here are some suggestions (not a checklist) of how to be human: 

    • Slow down enough to notice God’s presence.
    • Create space for quiet prayer and reflection. Leave the sink of dirty dishes alone for now. 
    • Remind yourself that your value doesn’t rise or fall with your productivity.
    • Take a nap. Sometimes that’s what we need to take care of responsibilities later. 
    • Read. Work a puzzle. Call a friend. Take a walk. Plan a trip. (I’m telling you, hobbies matter.)

    When we rediscover the freedom of being with God and stop the striving and trying and doing, something beautiful happens: Our work becomes worship. Our service becomes joyful. Our rest becomes peaceful.

    That’s how to be as a human rather than do. 

    ***** 

    This is a newly written blog post, but it echoes some of the themes of how we were Created for Communion, which is the title of one of my books. Learn more here.