Author Archives: Kris

Kris is just a girl who loves Jesus with her whole heart. She is a stay at home mom, MOPS Coordinator and an Advocate for Compassion International. Kris winds through her days, homeschooling 4 kids, and playing wife to her amazing husband.The floors are covered in crumbs and the washing machine never stops running (never!) but she counts each day as a gift! In her spare time (ha ha ha!) she writes, reads and plays with her camera.

Why It’s Ok To Admit That You’re A Bit Of A Mess

“Come messy”, That’s what I read right before I closed the book for the night. I took a photo of the words and tweeted them out to anyone who might need encouragement like that–because honestly, more than I care to admit, I do. I seem to need constant reassurance that my cluttered heart, and my messy emotions are ok to bring before God.

I remind my children all of the time, that God sees everything–that there’s no place they can hide from Him and how that fact shouldn’t be scary, but instead ought to be a comfort. But when it comes to my own messy parts, well, suddenly, I’m not so sure anymore.

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Baking For Christmas, A Tradition Evolving

It is without pride that I am able to confess, that I know my way around a plate of cookies. At Christmas time, my Mom always makes butter cookies in various holiday shapes, which, when I lived at home, we’d ice and sprinkle and then consume by the palm-full. My Grandfather always had a plate of brownies on the counter for our Sunday visits, and with my Granny, I treasure years of kitchen memories making her beloved ‘Face Cookies”.

There’s something familiar and comforting about a plate of fresh baked treats, in my family, these plates were edible love letters.

The first year I was married I baked somewhere around 8 dozen cookies the week before Christmas.What

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The Gift That Gets Us Through

Faith is something given, not achieved. It is created by God’s word in Christ. H.A Williams, via Madeline L’Engle, Walking On Water

The week ‘s wrung me out with the constant upset of a house filled with colds and sleepless nights for a chain of days on end. The schedule fell between the cracks as I watched the sun rise each morning, through bleary, heavy eyes and a heart weighted down with a rap sheet of mishaps and forgotten chores. Laundry threatens to swallow me right up, and the dog stinks and needs a good clipping.

In my frustration over a long week where every moment turned opposite of the way I willed it to, I find I’ve stuffed God into a box, determining for myself how He will answer my prayers–or not. 

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Are You Ready?

No one is ever ready when I would like them to be. Around here, when I say, “get your shoes on, it’s time to go” I’m often met with grumbling, or a frantic race through the house for that something to bring along in the car. It doesn’t seem to matter that I gave a five minute warning, or that I’m already standing at the door with purse and keys in hand–nobody’s ready, and so until they are prepared for action, we’re not going anywhere.

The other day as I read 1 Peter 1, I noticed this little line, that though I’ve read it before, didn’t leap out at me until that day–

Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self‑controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed.

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What Difference Does It Make?

But the Israelites acted unfaithfully in regard to the devoted things; Achan son of Carmi, the son of Zimri, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of them. So the Lord’s anger burned against Israel. Joshua 7:1

Quizically, they’re looking at me from across the chipped up table and I’m starting to get uncomfortable. My throat’s tightening up I keep swallowing forcing the moan that’s building back down. I’ve read this story before, but this reaction that’s usurping me–this is a first.

We’re reading the story of Joshua leading the Israelites into battle and they have just lost the battle at Ai.

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How To Embrace God’s Vision For You

Sometimes God makes promises to us for our future and we find ourselves facing new lands, a new direction–the unknown.

Before we can harness the blessing of God’s gifts, the fullness of His vision must be realized.

God made Abraham such a promise. Abraham, already a wealthy man, lived along side Lot  in a land unable to sustain their two families. Before moving on, Abraham calls on the Lord. While we aren’t privy to the words of this call, what matters most is that Abraham prayed first.

With all of the crowding from the two large families, unrest began to take its toll among the people.

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