Kaitlyn E. Bouchillon's Blog, page 11
October 22, 2018
Your Story Is Far from Over
There’s a game I like to play, and it never fails to catch people by surprise. Here’s how it works: I invite someone to grab coffee and once we’ve found a comfortable seat, our hands wrapped around a cup of something delicious, I look into their eyes and say these words: “So, what’s your story?”
Almost every time, they hesitantly respond, “My story? What do you mean, exactly?” I then offer to go first, to share with them the pages He has given me to live, and for the record, I don’t sugarcoat...
October 15, 2018
Two Free Prints: Don’t Give Up
The words on these two free prints are ones I need to hear in my right-this-second life. Maybe you do, too?
I spent this weekend working on the next edition of The Table — my monthly(ish) newsletter full of behind-the-screen updates, in-process thoughts, my favorite reads from around the internet, and gifts just for subscribers.
Putting words around the past couple months has proven to be quite the task (surgery… a fire… an unexpected breaking) and I’ve returned to these two prints while writ...
October 1, 2018
A (Publishing) Secret Two Years in the Making
This secret has been nearly two years in the making, but today I finally get to share the news!
In the fall of 2016, I was invited to contribute to the Bible. Yes, the Bible. And I’ll be straight-up honest with you… I thought and prayed about it for a while. I believe that we aren’t to take away from or add to Scripture, that it is the Word of God. But the more I learned about this new LifeWay project, the more excited I became.
The short version of the story is this: I said yes. And then I...
September 17, 2018
Where Are You, God?
I’ve been asking God where He is.
On Sunday, we sang these words in church: I am chosen, not forsaken. I am who You say I am. You are for me, not against me. I am who You say I am.
I hung my head and raised my hands and wondered if faith sometimes looks like singing through the sadness, like coming empty but showing up anyway.
Although there have been lessons worth learning along the way, this summer has felt much more like the wilderness than the Promised Land. I have more questions than ans...
September 4, 2018
15 Can’t-Miss Books Coming in 2018: September-December
2018 has been jam-packed with incredible books releasing, and this final list is no exception. For the first time, I’ve split the Can’t-Miss List into three posts: January-April, May-August, and September-December — because there were just too many books to narrow it down to a dozen or so.
Every time I curate a new list, I’m amazed at the number of shares, pins, comments and personal emails letting me know what books you’re most looking forward to. Your excitement makes all the behind-the-sce...
August 30, 2018
What I Learned This Summer
One of the ways I intentionally practice appreciating the beautiful but so-very-ordinary stuff of real life and regular days is by keeping track of what I’m learning. It’s far from complicated, but somehow jotting down notes of the small, the sacred, and everything that falls somewhere in between helps me stay grounded and present in the place where my feet are planted.
I’ve said it before, but it’s worth repeating: more than anything else, this helps me pay attention to what’s happening arou...
August 19, 2018
One Small Step That Changed My Life
I didn’t want to write this book. I put it off, came up with a dozen reasons why it wasn’t the right timing, and told God that He had picked the wrong girl.
His response was kind but clear: to do anything else would be disobedience.
Three years ago today, I opened a blank page and wrote exactly 2,000 words. I didn’t know where those words would go or what they might become. I didn’t know He’d ask me to write about singleness, revisit heartbreaks, or put words around night terrors and spiritu...
August 11, 2018
Won’t You Be My Neighbor?
No one stood up when the credits began to roll.
Whispered wows mixed with the sound of sniffling as we reached for tissues, blinked our eyes, and stayed for just a moment longer.
Like so many others, I grew up watching Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. Childhood memories flooded back as the red trolley, the closet full of sweaters hung with care, and the familiar and welcoming face of Mr. Rogers filled the big screen.
At the time, I’m not sure I understood just how unusual — in every wonderful wa...
July 23, 2018
If You’re Showing up to a New Week with Empty Hands…
If you’re empty, exhausted, or overwhelmed today, this is for you.
To be honest, I wrote it for myself because I desperately needed a reminder of hope in the midst of the crazy.
I took this picture of limestone and teal, of bright red flowers blooming tall, two years ago. And then two days later, I found myself sitting at my little white desk in Alabama, no longer standing on cobblestones in Jerusalem.
I came home to 400+ work emails and countless projects waiting. This time, while preparing...
July 9, 2018
It’s True: You Have Something to Offer
You are talented.
Before you shake your head, deny those words, and click the little red X on this page, let me ask you a question.
Do you remember the parable of the three servants who were given different amounts of talents?
I’ve been thinking about it recently, this story Jesus tells in Matthew 25. The short version is this: Before leaving, a master gave three servants different amounts of money. Upon his return, they were to give the money (called “talents”) back to the master. Two of th...
