Kaitlyn E. Bouchillon's Blog, page 9

Don’t Underestimate the Power of an Invitation

There aren’t too many people I can happily talk with during a long, steep hike out of a wadi in Israel — but Katie Reid is one of those people. We survived the hike, gasped for breath at the end, took a picture in an attempt to mark the moment and show the depth of the valley, and then continued talking. Because there’s always more to say and share, and I’m telling you Katie is not only kind and a good listener, but a champion of others. We spent two weeks together in Israel last summer, and...

What Does It Look like to “Wear Love”?

She sat down next to me, leaned in, and smiled wide. Behind black-rimmed glasses, her eyes showed kindness and welcome. Her outfit was simple but chic, cozy, and effortlessly cute — a lightweight sweater over black leggings. Five minutes passed quickly as we caught up on life, diving right in and skipping past the casual chit-chat.

And then just like that, she was gone, walking up to the front in her black and white tennis shoes, preparing to lead us in worship.

I turned to my right, locked e...

10 Free Summer iPhone Lock Screens

With the amount of times I pick up my phone for this that and the other, it’s important to me that I’m constantly looking at a beautiful reminder of Truth on the lock screen. Apparently you feel the same way, because every time I create prints or lock screens, you send me pictures of the art on your walls and phones!

With summer just beginning, I sat down to create new lock screens for the coming months. I asked on Instagram if you prefer bright and colorful or calm and soothing colors, clea...

What I Learned This Spring

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.

My friend Emily is the mastermind behind this simple but meaningful practice. Since 2016, I’ve joined her by jotting down notes of the small, the sacred, the silly, and everything in between.

More than anything else, this helps me pay attention to what’s happening around me, what’s happening within me, and what surprises me alon...

eight twenty eight (free printable)

With tears in my eyes, I started this post back in July of 2016. I haven’t opened it since.

But it’s time. I know it’s time. And so with a deep breath, today I find myself re-reading drafted words strung into sentences that have somehow stood the test of time. Well, maybe that’s a stretch. But they feel just as true today, in May of 2019, as they did nearly three years ago.

In a way, it’s laughable. After all, I had only just graduated a year before. The rug beneath me was still new, the bedr...

When “Abundantly More” Looks like Crying in a Bookstore

“When is the last time you cried in a bookstore?”

If you had asked me that question two months ago, I would have looked at you blankly, racked my brain, and then hesitantly replied “Umm, I’m not sure I’ve ever done that.”

I’m the girl who read straight through dinner, who ate with a fork in one hand and a book in the other because she simply had to know what would happen next.

I’m the blogger who bookmarks upcoming releases and compiles them into “can’t-miss” lists to share with readers.

My b...

14 Can’t-Miss Books Coming in 2019: May-August

There are dozens of fantastic books releasing this summer, and I’m excited to share these 14 with you—perfect to bring along on vacation, give as a graduation gift, or consider for a summer book club or fall Bible study.

After several years of compiling these lists, I’ve started splitting them into three posts due to the number of great releases each year. (Here’s the list for January-April of 2019.)

As you know, I’m kinda maybe sorta just a little bit (ahem…) obsessed with books. And based o...

For the One in the Messy Middle

Two years ago, my family spent week after week sitting in waiting rooms and hoping for answers. Two years ago, just a few hours before the light of Easter morning began to stretch across the sky, my phone lit up with one of the worst text messages of my life.

Exactly one year prior, on the greatest In Between day, I began writing Even If Not: Living, Loving, and Learning in the in Between. At the time, I thought it was a blog post in the making. But those words about darkness and difficult se...

An Ordinary Challenge: Power Lines and Hidden Magic

I stopped in the middle of the trail, mouth wide open as runners passed me by.

Winter was still hanging on, everyone wearing an extra layer or two, but the sun was shining after a week of rain and one tree on the path began to bloom.

Amidst the weeds and the mud and the bare branches all around, this one colorful tree stood tall with the beauty of new life and the reminder that Spring always comes. I pulled out my phone, my roommate smiling because of course I needed to snap a picture. We ste...

This Isn’t Where Your Story Ends

A few weeks ago, I walked into the living room, still groggily wiping sleep from my eyes and mentally thinking through my to-dos for the day, and immediately started blinking back tears.

I planted the bulb in December, watered it through January, and kept waiting for it to bloom. An amaryllis grows in winter, when harvest has come and gone and we’re waiting for spring to arrive. When so much feels quiet and still, dead and bare with no signs of life to be seen, the amaryllis slowly begins to...