faith

‘Satisfied’ is a truly satisfying book

June 18, 2021 by Kristin Leave a Comment

“Satisfied: Finding Hope, Joy, and Contentment Right Where You Are” by Alyssa Joy Bethke is truly a lovely book inside and out. It’s full of pretty pictures and beautiful Biblical truths. I truly enjoyed holding it in my hands and reading it.

I saw that it’s available as an ebook, but I don’t recommend that. This is the kind of book you’ll want to hold, read, display, and read again. The chapters are topical essays so you could even read whichever one seems right on any given day. The topics addressed include loneliness, grief, body image, social media, motherhood, anxiety, and fear. But they all come back to the beauty of faithfulness and goodness.

“Perhaps this life is made up of small miracles. Of looking for all the little ways the Lord loves us and is at work. Of how he is holding all things in his hands, and holds all things together.” — Alyssa Joy Bethke in “Satisfied”

This book points to Jesus, offers practical advice on living out your faith in your ordinary life, encourages women in areas that matter, and ends with some recipes I can’t wait to make.

About the book

In “Satisfied,” Alyssa Bethke shares a compelling collection of relatable essays that will help you embrace and cultivate beauty in your life. This book will provide you with the knowledge that you are not alone in your fight to be fulfilled. Alyssa shows you the ways in which you are enough — not only for those around you, but for yourself.

The book is divided into three parts and includes these chapters:

Longings Met
Holy Moments
His Love
Griefs Healed
Slow Miracles
Weary Hearts Rejoice
Trap of Comparison
Fighting for Faith
Oh, Hey Body!
Garden of Our Hearts
True Identity
Enough
Small Things
Learning Contentment
Laughter
Thankful Hearts
Joy in the Grind
My People

This 240-page hardcover book is published by Worthy Publishing (June 15). Learn more at the book’s webpage.

About the author

Alyssa Bethke is a mother to three children, Kinsley, Kannon, and Lucy, and a dog named Aslan. She and her husband, Jeff Bethke, live in Maui, and are bloggers, YouTubers, and hosts of The Real-Life podcast. Jeff and Alyssa are the New York Times bestselling authors of Jesus > Religion and It’s Not What You Think and Love That Lasts. They are passionate about encouraging and strengthening families at familyteams.com a program that brings families together with the idea of becoming a team.

*****

I received a free copy of this book from Hachette Book Group as part of FirstWords Bloggers in exchange for a review, but I truly love it. In fact, I’ve already spent my own money to buy it as a gift for one friend, and I suspect I will buy several more copies to share with friends.

Hospitality celebrates

May 3, 2021 by Kristin Leave a Comment

The beauty of real-life hospitality: Everyone leaves whenever you are full in every way. - Kristin Hill Taylor, Bringing Home More Than Groceries #morethangroceries

In honor of my birthday and birthday season around my house, I wanted to share an excerpt from my book “Bringing Home More Than Groceries: Stories About Gathering & Nourishing People.” It’s actually an excerpt from one chapter, so if you’d like to read the whole chapter on how hospitality celebrates, you can! DOWNLOAD IT HERE.

Last year, we missed celebrating birthdays like we usually do, so this year we’ve been celebrating all the birthdays and love doing so! Three of the five of us have birthdays within two weeks from the end of April to the beginning of May. Pretend you’re joining us on our porch for one of the recent birthday parties, and let’s celebrate together.

*****

I grocery shopped on my 37th birthday. It was a Tuesday in the middle of a busy season for our family. Cate was finishing third grade and Ben had made it to the end of kindergarten. We’d all survived and maybe even thrived as we added a new person to our family about a month after Ben started kindergarten. We had a new groove as a family of five.

The week ahead held birthday party preparations for my girl turning nine, end-of-the-school extras like class parties and Teacher Appreciation Week, and some of my own celebrating, of course. I had a really long list: ingredients to make chicken enchiladas for the teachers for Teacher Appreciation Week and then double for my own family, gifts cards for presents, diapers in a bigger size because Rachel was growing before my eyes, baby formula, toppings for the pancake bar Cate wanted for her Pippi Longstocking-themed birthday party, and, well, food for meals and snacks.

Food might be my love language. I used to think it was gift giving. And then quality time started to matter more. I still really love and feel loved knowing someone thought of me, took the time to get me something, and made plans with me.

But food.

Greg brought me a cinnamon roll from a local bakery that morning for my 37th birthday. My best friend planned dinner with some of my other friends later in the week so we could celebrate together. Even when it’s not my birthday, I like to lunch with my friends. I plan gatherings with adoptive moms around a table at a local restaurant that also has a ball pit. Among favorite blessings as a new mom were when friends showed up with meals, so that’s what I do for other new moms.

I’m telling you, food may be my love language. And birthdays.

Of course, there’s something sacred about sharing meals and our real lives around a table. So sacred that after God made covenants with people, they ate. Jesus calls Himself the bread of life (John 6:35) and multiplies fishes (Matthew 14:13-21) so people know what it’s like to feel full beyond their stomachs. We eat at weddings and birthday parties. We bring food after funerals and births.

Most importantly, we celebrate Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross with Holy Communion. Our church does this weekly, but I know frequency varies from church to church. Christ followers know this simple, traditional meal is life changing. We remember Jesus gathering with His disciples for one last supper. We remember Jesus knowing His time on earth was ending and displaying faithfulness to His Father’s plan. We remember His acts of dying and rising again and how that changes our futures forever. Communion is truth fulfilled.

*****

I have other hospitality-related goodies such as another excerpt, a printable on how to open your home and life in every season, and a playlist for you on the “Bringing Home More Than Groceries” page. Of course, you can buy the whole book at Amazon too!

3 Ways to Boost Our Kids’ Confidence

February 25, 2021 by Kristin Leave a Comment

Perhaps one of the most important gifts a parent can give a child is teaching them to be confident. Of course, there’s a fine line between confidence and arrogance. For instance, teaching children to make justifications or excuses for every mistake will certainly leave them able to defend their pride quite readily but unable to truly connect with others as part of a team.

I often think: I want to raise kids who love Jesus and take responsibility. For me, that seems like a great combination for confidence too.

As much as I wish I could teach my kids all of life’s lessons one afternoon, that’s not reality. Parenting and teaching is a marathon with lessons coming in small doses over long periods of actually living.

Let’s consider then, how healthily boosting a child’s confidence can be achieved, what that even means, and how this can help your child grow up believing in themselves but also humble enough to know where they could improve. (Yeah, at 41 years old, I am still learning right alongside my kids.

Positive Encouragement

Positive encouragement is essential when caring for our children. We must make sure they feel as if we’re noticing their efforts, such as sharing toys with a sibling, taking turns, or even trying to unload the dishwasher. Of course, it’s also nice to compliment our children and help them feel good about their behavior. I know, it’s hard sometimes, especially with my personality that naturally seems all the room for possible improvement! I do want to praise my kids in our everyday moments because I know it’s valuable.

Socialization

Socialization is an essential part of making sure your child develops healthily. They can often get this from the best childcare services and schools – those that understand how children work in a social environment, how positive cues can increase their confidence, and how exposure to other children can help them develop healthy life skills.

I’m grateful my kids’ school believes in teaching more than academics and aims to equip students to grow into Christ-following people. Yes, sometimes involving other people in our lives means we have to manage conflict, especially with other kids are who also learning. Socialization is so valuable even the hard parts are worth it.

Discipline & Reward

Discipline and reward go together quite nicely when we make use of it. (Yes, more than 13 years into parenting, and I still have to remind myself to be consistent!)

We use a marble jar for two of our kids. They earn marbles for completing daily tasks and chores, such as getting ready in the morning, cleaning their rooms, unloading the dishwasher, being kind to their siblings, and not complaining about dinner. Of course, they may also lose marbles for not completing tasks or behaving as expected. They can cash their marbles in for treats, extra screen time, or the freedom to choose dinner. This teaches them the foundational aspects of responsibility and reminds them of what they can achieve.

How have you seen a child’s confidence boosted?