Kaitlyn E. Bouchillon's Blog, page 2

An End-Of-Year Blessing

Instead of ‘ending the year strong’, what if we chose instead to end the year…

soft.

A year from now we’ll look back on whatever story 2024 ends up telling, our eyes skimming the highlighted and/or tear-stained pages.

It probably won’t go how we think it will; it never does, does it?

Things will shift and change, storms will rage or maybe, may it be, the sea will still for a moment. Who knows what we’ll see when we look back, but we could still look forward with hope, let the armor rust and end ...

For When the Storm Just Won’t Let Up

If you prefer audio, this article is also available as a podcast episode.

Panic hit like a freight train. I woke up to hundreds of social media notifications on an otherwise regular Wednesday, and the one thought running through my mind was: I’ve been hacked again.

I waited for the page to load, my stomach in knots, remembering the last time this happened. Sure enough, thousands of comments filled the screen, another hundred appearing every time I clicked “see more”, and my mouth literally dropp...

Next Time You Feel Alone, Picture This…

If you prefer audio, this article is also available as a podcast episode.

Nearly ten years have passed since I witnessed this admittedly ordinary moment, yet every month or two, it comes to mind once again.

The bare tree branches provided a clear view that February morning. If he had looked up, the man in the baseball cap would have seen a college student with a scarf wrapped around her neck, hands in her pockets, momentarily frozen on the sidewalk.

But he never glanced my way. His focus was set...

For When You Find Yourself Asking God “How Much Longer?”

If you prefer audio, this article is also available as a podcast episode.

“How much longer?” the small voice asks from the car seat, barely fifteen minutes into an eight-hour drive with extended family. I smile at my toddler cousin, but after the fifth or sixth time, I realize: This is the very thing I’ve been asking God. Maybe you’ve wondered this, too?

Day after day after day. Prayer after prayer after prayer.

We stand in grocery lines and sit in uncomfortable chairs at Urgent Care. We listen ...

Urgent Care and ‘Loving Your Neighbor’

It’s a good day when you get to share words of wisdom and encouragement from one of your very favorite people—and today is one of those days. The article below, written by Holley Gerth, was originally part of her (fantastic) book Fiercehearted. It didn’t end up in the final manuscript, so consider this a “never before seen” moment. Hopefully it arrives just on time, years later, for someone? May we show up, may we sit with in waiting rooms, may we wrestle well and love well. May we stay through ...

Good News: One Day, the Sea Will Be No More

If you prefer audio, this article is also available as a podcast episode.

There are mornings (ahem, months) I can barely bring myself to look at the news, at social media, at updates coming in from around the world.

Chaos and disaster, suffering and disease, confusion and division . . . they’re all within reach, as near as the closest device. “Come, Lord Jesus” escapes in a whisper and echoes in pixelated captions. It’s all too much, so much more than we were created to hold, and our hands are a...

Here’s the Promise: Goodness Will Chase You Down

If you prefer audio, this article is also available as a podcast episode.

Keep a straight face, I thought to myself.

Everything was already in place. The date was marked on a dozen calendars. The cards were signed, the gifts wrapped, the decorations purchased and ready for a celebration.

Then, just a handful of days before the surprise, I listened as she spoke words of frustration and loneliness. I could see the weariness in her eyes, hear it in her strained voice, and I blinked back tears at he...

14 New Books You Don’t Want to Miss This Summer

Here we go! Open your Goodreads account and get your To Be Read list ready, friends.

I’ll share additional book recommendations in Thursday Things (plus real-time ‘currently reading’ updates in our private All The Things group), but if you’re looking for a new book for pool days, upcoming travel, or long summer evenings, this will get you started! I’ve said it before and it continues to be true: there’s a theme among many of the books below. It’s pretty incredible, as books are typically contrac...

For When You’re (Still) Waiting on a Miracle…

If you prefer audio, this article is also available as a podcast episode.

Easter has passed and I’m still waiting for resurrection.

Hoping for, begging for, watching for signs of life. Straining my eyes for beauty in the ashes, listening intently for a whisper in the rubble.

There are many who say it’s best to wait until you’re on the other side before you write the story, before you say the words, before you tell what happened. Perspective and all. There’s wisdom in that, but if I’m honest, whe...

When Hope Feels a Little Foolish

No pun intended, but it’s a delight to welcome Nicole Zasowski, author of What If It’s Wonderful?, to share here today. I underlined so. much. of her book and think it’ll be an encouragement to you, too, if hope or joy feel a little risky. What If It’s Wonderful? doesn’t tie a tidy bow on pain or disappointment—instead, it gently offers a lens to look through that both acknowledges hurt and courageously cultivates joy in the middle of it all. The following excerpt is a reminder to each of us: ce...