Christians Read

On one particular day, I came home to dog hair and paw prints on the floor. I loaded the dishwasher and one of the grids from the bottom rack came apart. I found an array of papers, plastic bags, flashlights, and a million other things strewn across the kitchen counter. I turned on the washer machine, it filled with water, but then the motor seemed to have died. I rushed around the kitchen, trying to get dinner on the table. Before I knew it, it was time for bed. It was tempting to get frustrated by the chaos.

But then I remembered Jennifer. I had a friend who died of sarcoma at the age of thirty-four. Although she is now in a much better place, I know she would have liked to have spent more time on this earth. More time with her daughter. More time with her family and friends. More time going to work. More time in the midst of this beautiful chaos that we call life.

And I thought about one of my sisters who never saw her fiftieth birthday. If she had known at the age of twenty-five that her life was half over, would she have done things differently? Would she have loved more? Would she have spent more time with her children? Would she have embraced the disorder we find in everyday life?

Life can make us weary at times. We have long to-do lists and looming deadlines, as we juggle too many plates in the air. But I have found that perspective is key. I think about all the people in hospitals fighting for their lives. I think about missionaries across the globe living in danger as they spread the gospel. I think about my sister and my friend whose lives ended way too early.

And this week in particular, I think about the people in the Bahamas who have seen overwhelming destruction and devastation from Hurricane Dorian. The minor vexations in our daily lives suddenly don’t seem so bad. My heart breaks for all those who have been impacted by this hurricane.

I like the way 2 Corinthians 4:18 reads in the New Living Translation: “So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see last forever.” This is a good reminder for whatever we might be going through. When we keep our eyes on the Lord, it can help us to stand strong in the storms of life.

When small annoyances creep into our day-to-day life, if we keep it in perspective, they suddenly won’t look so bad. We want our lives to be perfect. So when things appear to be messy, we see ourselves as “less than.” But in each one of these messy moments, we have the choice to turn to our Savior and allow Him to handle our daily stresses with His strength.

And when large tragedies come our way, such as this hurricane, we can pray to our Heavenly Father for help. No matter what we are facing, He is there. When life seems unbearable, He is there. When we don’t have the answers, He is there. When we feel helpless, He is there. He is always there.

Psalm 121 holds a special place in my heart because it is one of the Psalms that my grandmother had memorized. But it’s also a beautiful reminder of how God cares for us. He cares for us in the calm and in the storm…

(The clouds in the picture are from the tail end of the hurricane as it passed through my area of Florida.)

As Christians, we work for the Kingdom of God. Everywhere we go and everything we do, we are on duty. Whether we are at our place of employment, at home, at the grocery store, driving, or anywhere else – we report to God. He is our ultimate boss.

This is important to remember in all of our daily activities. Keeping this in the forefront of our minds will help us to make better decisions. It will help our words and actions to reflect the love of Jesus. It will help us to be a shining light in this dark world.

In The Essentials of Prayer, E.M. Bounds put it this way, “Christians are the Bible that sinners read.”

Wow! When we look at it like that, it tells us how important our actions really are. We have the power to influence those around us each and every day. The things we do and the things we say matter.

As St. Francis of Assisi put it, “Preach the Gospel at all times, and if necessary use words.”

Those are powerful words. One way or another, people are watching. So what will we tell them with our actions and words? Hopefully we are reflecting the love of Jesus.

One way we can spread the gospel is just by being ourselves. Here are some examples:

• At my job I am often told that I am calm and peaceful. My coworkers seem to want what I have. It is no secret that I am a Christian. So I hope that by them seeing me as calm and peaceful, this will help them to want more of Jesus in their lives.
• One of my coworkers, who is a Christian as well, shared a story with me a while back. He said that he was in a meeting with someone and the other person said a dirty word. Then they said something like, “Oh I’m sorry, I know you don’t talk like that.” My coworker never had to say anything. He was just being himself, but he still was a positive influence.

Another way we can spread the Lord’s love is through what people call “random acts of kindness.” They don’t have to be big and extravagant gestures. Any small deed has the potential to leave a lasting influence.

Here are a few examples that come to mind:

• When we go to the store and my husband sees shopping carts strewn about the parking lot, he will grab a couple of them and put them in a nearby corral or pull them up to the store. This has the opportunity to make a positive impression on other shoppers who see his actions. And it helps the employees that work there as well.
• One of our family members used to live next door to a grumpy neighbor. The family member has now moved to a different home and is no longer neighbors with this person. However, my husband and I send the sulky man a Christmas card every year in order to spread the love of Jesus.
• One of our neighbors knows that a different neighbor has a second home a few hours away. So when he sees that they are away he will put their newspaper in a safe place, so that it’s not obvious to any onlookers that they are out of town.
• I have a coworker who recently placed fortune cookies on her fellow coworkers’ desks with a note attached that said something like, “We are fortunate to have you.” This was something small, but it brought smiles.

These are just a few small examples of how we can leave lasting effects as we work for the Kingdom of God. But the possibilities are endless! Just start with a smile and common courtesy.

Unfortunately we live in a “me” world. Many people are “all about me.” Many people don’t think about others. Many people don’t want to help others because they will be inconvenienced.

But in The Broken Way, Ann Voskamp said, “You love as much as you are willing to be inconvenienced.”

Well that pretty much sums it up right there! Are we willing to be inconvenienced?

The Bible says that we are Christ’s ambassadors. And Jesus said that we are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. All three of these statements show us how much power we have in this world. Once we recognize our true power in Jesus, we have the ability to make an immense impact.

(Photo by Esteban Lussich.)

As a writer, you never know how someone will interact with your book.  Sometimes, it’s in terrible ways, you couldn’t have imagined.  And sometimes, it’s absolutely a God-thing.  More than you can imagine.

A few months ago, a reader’s boyfriend contacted me through Facebook and said that his girlfriend loved my books.  “A Billion Reasons Why” was her favorite and he wanted to propose using the book in his proposal.  So, Kristin being Kristin, I didn’t have any copies of the book — so once my mom rescued me with a copy, I wrote in the book, “XX, Will you marry Dylan?” Then I signed it.  I sent it off to him and didn’t hear anything for a few months.

Last I’d heard, he was planning to propose that month.  So at first, I thought, “Oh no.  He didn’t propose.”  Then I imagined, maybe she said NO!”

I’m happy to report, it was none of those things.  You see, Dylan had quite the elaborate proposal planned that included a trip to the library and a librarian who was in on the ruse.

I should mention that she found a copy of “The Theory of Happily Ever After” and didn’t know I had a new book out.  So my marketing minor failed me there.  I digress.  So our heroine picks up said book and she’s upset.  Because there are no library markings on the book and that’s not right.  So our hero asks her to look inside.  She does and he drops to one knee.  Are you swooning yet?  Because a guy who proposes in a library is Mr. Darcy quality, am I right?

Anyway, the happy couple is engaged now and planning their wedding and I just think it’s a life highlight that my book got to be involved!  I feel a little like “Emma” with slightly better matchmaking results.

I love the fall. I know we are not quite there yet, but we’re getting so close, I can almost smell it. Although you wouldn’t know it by the temperature. I live in Florida and it’s still in the 90s here.

But I am still looking forward to the fall. I always feel that autumn is the time for new beginnings. I imagine the majority of people would say that spring is the season for new beginnings. I can see their point, with new growth on trees, flowers blooming, and birds chirping. But for me, it’s the fall that inspires change.

Perhaps living in Florida has a lot to do with it. The heat does make me feel very sluggish. So when the temperatures finally give us a little break, I feel as though I can breathe again.

So I already have plans on how I want to map out my fall. Last November I held a Gratitude Challenge on my website and social media pages. The participants and I walked through my book Every Day is a Gift, which talks about … yes, you guessed it – Gratitude. It was a big hit, and inspired me to do something similar this fall. During the month of September I am going to hold a Redeemed Challenge on my website and social media pages. This time the participants and I will walk through my book You Are Redeemed which talks about our true identity in Jesus.

I will also be publishing another book over the next few weeks. It is in my editor’s hands, as we speak. (Ok so we are not really speaking, but you get the idea!) I will give you the scoop on the new book soon.

This fall I also hope to catch up on my ever-growing reading list. I have quite a few books I have been itching to dig into. I am sure you know what I mean!

But mainly this fall, my hope is to slow down and savor my time. In the fall I like to do what I call soul harvesting. It’s the perfect time to reflect on what your year has looked like, and what changes God may be prompting you to make in the coming year. For me personally, I have been putting extra time towards my new book over the last several months. So I know I need to give my soul a bit of breathing room. The fall is the perfect time to sit with the Lord and just listen to the things He would like to share. My hope is that I can do just that. Unfortunately I tend to get in my own way sometimes by overfilling my plate. But I am really going to try not to sabotage myself!

So what about you? What will your fall look like? Are you planning any downtime? Or do you have your schedule all mapped out? I’d love to hear!

(Photo by Goran Kolacko.)

A couple of weeks ago I heard a sermon in which the young pastor reminisced about My Space a bit. I do remember this social media platform, but I don’t remember the particular My Space feature he mentioned. He said that My Space would tell you who your top eight friends were. I suppose this was calculated off of who interacted with you the most.

The point he was getting at was to ask – who are the top people in your life? Who can you talk to about your Christian walk? Who can you rely on and trust? We all need friends who have the same values and beliefs that we do.

The Bible has many verses scattered throughout its pages that illustrate what true friendship looks like. One of my favorite verses that deals with relationships is Proverbs 27:17, “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” I think this is a wonderful way to look at two people who are there for each other, they will listen and provide comfort in time of need, and they know one another’s heart. However, they will also help one another grow, they will build one another up, they will strengthen one another, and they will correct one another if needed.

One beloved example of friendship in the Bible is David and Jonathan. The ESV version of the Bible puts it this way, “… the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David…” (1 Samuel 18:1). What a beautiful way to word it! Jonathan was the son of Saul, who was actually out to kill David. Yet Jonathan made a covenant with David and helped him in time of need. They loved one another as though they were brothers. Sadly, one day Jonathan died in battle, but David did not forget him. In fact he found Jonathan’s son, Mephibosheth, who was unable to walk due to an injury as a child. King David ensured that Mephibosheth had his due inheritance and that he always ate at the king’s table.

In the world of social media, we all have hundreds of “friends.” But in reality the majority are not a deep, bonding type of friendship. Unfortunately, in today’s society, many of our friendships are only surface level. Superior relationships in our world should be cherished.

So I wanted to ask you today – who are your people? Do you have anyone in your life with whom you share a camaraderie like we see in David and Jonathan? If the answer is no, then maybe you will consider making that a goal in your life? Start with prayer. Ask God to bring a solid Christian friendship into your life. If the answer is yes, then take a moment today to thank God for your friends. And also thank your friends for being there for you.

(Photo by Brendan Gogarty.)

I like turtles.  I mean, who doesn’t?  But I like my straws too, and I’m struggling with the “no straw” rule that’s happening in California to “Save the Turtles.”  I mean, I recycle.  I’m earth responsible, but I want my straws.  Straws in iced soy lattes are how I start my writing day. It’s not just practical, it’s a ritual.

That’s my dog, Fiona.  She likes straws too.

Yes, I know the new caps at Starbucks are made to drink without straws, but here’s the thing, I have an overbite.  I never had braces, so I want my straw.  Besides, what do they think the caps are going to do for the turtles?  Will they have hats to wear?

So I dislike these new rules.  I dislike that I must live the way people tell me to because a nine-year-old girl did a science project. I’m not a fan of paper straws.  (Is anyone a fan of paper straws?)  The metal ones make the coffee taste weird.  And no one seems to care that McDonald’s and Taco Bell, etc., still have straws.

I only drink Starbucks, FYI, because they have virtually killed the independent coffee roasters.  For most of my life, I went to Dana Street Coffee (where I wrote a large portion of my Ashley Stockingdale series) and Coffee Society.  I moved away from Dana Street and Coffee Society is no more.  A moment of silence.

So while the straw dilemma rages on, I’ll be muddling through with my own straws.  (In restaurants now, you must ask for straws. They cannot give them to you willingly.)  When I went to Colorado, the waitress told me I could keep my straw as a souvenir.   Now, if you’re like most people, this issue has very little impact on your life.  But to me?  To me, it’s one more freedom slowly ebbed away where I must conform or get out…

Maybe I need to write a poem — an Ode to Straws…