faith

My Own Personal Truman Show

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Hi Friends,

Do you ever have moments that are so unlikely that you feel like maybe you are living in The Truman Show? I often do. Here are a few examples. I constantly hear my playlist in stores, restaurants and hotels. I would think my playlist is full of songs no one else knows or likes — they certainly aren’t on the radio. How is that possible? A few weeks ago my husband mentioned a specific example involving a Costco receipt from a Tim Keller sermon he listened to. The next day my niece texted me that sermon because of that Costco example. In April I saw a friend from Northern Virginia I never see. I’ve seen her three times in the last eight years. Later that day — in April mind you — in her mailbox was the Christmas card she sent me. We move a lot. Mail is snail-like. But April? On the very day I saw her in the flesh?

But this week I had probably the most unlikely experience of my life. Maybe someday I’ll share the details but for now, trust me that it was less probable from a statistical standpoint than any of the above, by many orders of magnitude. It was also incredibly sweet.

It’s been a long time since I’ve seen the movie, The Truman Show, but eventually Truman recognizes the charade for what it is. Sometimes I am amused to imagine an audience watching me saying, “Geez, is she ever going to figure it out?!”

But the truth is much sweeter. Thankfully, I am not in a show. I am in the loving arms of my Savior. My grace-upon-grace life is ordered by Him.

It’s funny how we can be consumed by striving and achievement, as if we ultimately determine our steps. I say funny because we cannot even guarantee another breath. I believe in working hard. The times of my life where I have worked the hardest are the most satisfying — from hard work seasons of motherhood to manual labor in home improvement projects — it feels great to go to bed exhausted. But working hard doesn’t mean a specific outcome will always be the result. In the end everything depends on God.

Saint Augustine is often credited with saying, “Work as if everything depends on you and pray as if everything depends on God.” Since Augustine lived in the 4th Century maybe the quote needs a 21st Century paraphrase: “Stop streaming and scrolling. Start working hard with your hands. Pray without ceasing, acknowledging that it all depends on God.”

Proverbs 16:9 says, “In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.”

And if you are in a place that feels hard, or even impossible, I read this morning from Psalm 106:9 which says, “He rebuked the Red Sea, and it became dry, and he led them through the deep as though a desert.”

I love the imagery of that. Maybe you are in the deep. Praying God leads you through as though a desert.

With Love,

Kristie

Hope Springs Eternal: A 30-Day Challenge

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Hi Friends,

I love Spring. Living in South Florida you have to be quite observant to appreciate it — the changes are subtle. But just a little north the new green is more evident. A couple of weeks ago we drove to Alabama to visit two of our three sons, and there were already little patches of green among the brown grass that looked so eager to push out those early daffodils. I just love it. I love it that it is a whole process too, that God, in His infinite creativity, has ordained it so that every single day is unique. Can you imagine what it would feel like to gift glorious surroundings to someone and have them just bury their face in their phone all day? Let’s get out there and enjoy it, even if you are like me and sneeze your head off more and more with each passing year.

Appreciating God’s creation is good for the soul, but even better is just spending time with God through His Word. How is your 2026 going in terms of your commitment to Bible reading and prayer? I would give myself a solid B. I am keeping up with my reading plan and writing often in my prayer journal. However, my sweet friend Michelle sent me a book that has me re-thinking what I’m doing. The book is A Life Worth Living by Chuck Reinhold. Chuck was extremely influential in Young Life for decades, and was known for encouraging those around him with a Thirty-Day Challenge:

The “Challenge” is this: that we commit ourselves to meet with the Lord Jesus Christ every morning for thirty straight days by reading a portion of the Scripture and asking the Lord to give us something to apply to our lives that day. If we miss a day, then we start over until we meet with Him for thirty straight days. If we do this, chances are we’ll never quit and our lives will continue to grow in our Lord Jesus Christ. During this special time, look for an answer to the question, “What does He want me to be, feel, or do today.” Then write out in a sentence what He wants for us to be that day, as specifically as we can. Then, as we pray for the day and our cares, ask God to help us apply the truth that we learned that morning from His Word. (p. 123)

March 1st would be a great day to start the challenge. I will have a very busy March, getting to see all four kids (yes, I am already claiming Aly even though the wedding isn’t until July) and some other major events, but busyness means we should be more committed to prayer, not less. Martin Luther is credited with saying, “I have so much to do that I shall have to spend the first three hours in prayer.”

Please join me in doing this challenge. Easter Sunday is April 5th, but let’s see if we can journal every day in March in the way that Chuck Reinhold suggested.

Psalm 119:34-37 says:

Give me understanding, and I will keep your law and obey it with all my heart. Direct me in the path of your commands, for there I find delight. Turn my heart toward your statutes and not toward selfish gain. Turn my eyes away from worthless things: preserve my life according to your word.

With Love,

Kristie

“Look Alive”

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I like to have friends who are funny. I guess everyone likes to laugh, but it is super important to me. If my husband wasn’t exceedingly funny I don’t know what our marriage would look like. His unparalleled ability to make me laugh has been a staple of my adult life — we started dating a few weeks after I turned nineteen.

But I have been blessed to know lots of funny people. One friend of mine, Carol, had such a great line the other morning that I just keep replaying it my mind.

For the past couple of years I have been in a Bible study that meets at 6:30am. Now, you should know that I hate the idea of being somewhere at that ungodly hour. The first year or so it was on Thursdays, which worked well for me because I taught on Thursdays. But then it switched to Fridays and there was no earthly reason for me to do it except that I adore these girls — girls of all ages. One newly married, one with five kids in her thirties, and so on. We have every decade covered from twenties to seventies. Carol is the oldest in the group, and last Friday the funniest.

Most of us in the group come looking like we just rolled out of bed, because we have in fact just rolled out of bed. But there are some exceptions, and Carol is one.

When it was observed on Friday that Carol looked very put together with her make-up beautifully done, she defended herself with her thick southern accent like this:

“You know how an Army sergeant tells a subordinate to ‘LOOK ALIVE!’ That’s all I’m aiming for here. I’m just trying to look alive so y’all don’t cart me out of here with me saying ‘I’m alive! I can walk!'”

There’s no way I’m doing it justice. It was so perfectly timed and delivered. We laughed and laughed, and I’ve smiled every time I’ve thought about it since.

But beyond it being a fabulous line, I am just grateful to have friends of all ages. I feel like women who only hang with women in their own demographic are missing out. Life is richer when you know new mamas and aged adventurers (my friend Ann is the gold standard on this front — she was born in 1937 and is still game for all kinds of fun and travel). You should know girls who are in college and those who are new grandmas.

How can you cultivate these relationships? It’s actually so easy. Be committed to a church. That’s all it takes. Have a meal here or there with some women from church and before you know it, you have all kinds of women who love you and whom you love.

Don’t worry about finding a perfect church — it doesn’t exist. I love the line from someone who was inviting a friend to church. The friend was reluctant and said, “Nah, church is full of hypocrites.” But the churchgoer said, “C’mon, there’s always room for one more.” This is the truth. The church is full of sinners and hypocrites, like every other institution in this fallen world, but there’s also love and authenticity and true friendship, and the Gospel. Plus the Bible is absolutely clear: God loves His church and we are called to love it too.

Hebrews 10:25 says, “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another — and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”

I pray you are committed to a church and that you have a Carol who can make you laugh even at the crack of dawn.

With Love,

Kristie

Cheer Up! On Your Feet!

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Friends,

How is 2026 starting off for you? We’ve sent our boys all back to work and school, and I’m already trying to figure out how and when I can see them again. It helps to know the days are getting longer and spring is around the corner.

Plus, I am so encouraged by my daily Bible reading. This year I am using the Bible that my parents gave us for Christmas in 1997. My dad’s unique handwriting is such a warm greeting when I happen to flip to it, and I am enjoying having notes too. For 2024 and 2025 I read through the whole Bible in versions that did not have notes, which is important. Let’s not be too eager to rely on someone else’s interpretation. Still, on occasion it is really convenient to have a little help. Hopefully I am striking the right balance with it.

One verse that no one would need a note for is Mark 10:49 (NIV 1984):

Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.”

So they called the blind man, “Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you.”

This is true every day of our lives: Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling YOU.

It doesn’t matter what you may be facing in life, Jesus is calling you. He’s calling you to know Him better through His Word, through prayer, through Christian community. He’s calling you to obedience and to abide with Him in the vine. Maybe your 2026 is going swimmingly thus far, Jesus is still calling you to your feet. He’s still drawing you closer.

But maybe your 2026 is already one of disappointment and heartache. Jesus is there to provide forgiveness and healing. Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you. He’s calling you to know He will never leave you nor forsake you. He’s calling you to stand up and do the next right thing. He’s calling you to have an eternal perspective and to ponder the verse below:

“For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.” 2 Corinthians 4:17 (NIV 1984).

May 2026 be a year we all recognize what is truly important and know it’s not anything that is in our news feed. It’s much much simpler. What’s important is that Jesus is calling. And we always answer, one way or the other.

Blessings,

Kristie

P.S. This little graphic below is so apt. I would give credit to the maker but I don’t know where it came from. I re-posted it a few years ago, but it is still on point.

Bah Humbug!

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Last Wednesday I saw A Christmas Carol the broadway musical at The Wick in Boca Raton, Florida. I highly recommend it. On Saturday I went to a Christmas party/book exchange and walked away with the beautiful edition pictured above. My attitude this year has been rather “Bah Humbug,” which is not usually an issue for me, but two doses of Dickens has helped.

Part of the issue is a major construction project which has made our living space quite small. I wasn’t even going to do a Christmas tree because of the mess. But my sweet Nate insisted on buying me a little tree the first day he was home. And honestly I’ve probably never appreciated the smell so much. I can look at the lights on the tree in that little corner and pretend that there is no construction. Obviously any construction project is a first world problem. All five of us will be together starting on Sunday and I am immensely grateful for that.

Even so, the reminders from A Christmas Carol are helpful.

Dickens wrote that the misery experienced by the ghosts “was, clearly, that they sought to interfere, for good, in human matters, and had lost the power for ever.” And he was correct. We will all lose that power, and we should make today count for eternity.

Another passage that stuck out to me was this one:

And now Scrooge looked on more attentively than ever, when the master of the house, having his daughter leaning fondly on him, sat down with her and her mother at his own fireside; and when he thought that such another creature, quite as graceful and as full of promise, might have called him father, and been a spring-time in the haggard winter of his life, his sight grew very dim indeed.”

This longing for family, daughters in particular who I am only gaining through marriage, is conveyed in such a sweet and unique way: “a spring-time in the haggard winter” of life. I love it!

And of course this passage is wonderful too:

“But they didn’t devote the whole evening to music. After a while they played at forfeits; for it is good to be children sometimes, and never better than at Christmas, when its mighty Founder was a child himself.”

I hope as we are getting so close to Christmas that you have many opportunities to be child-like and to reflect on the fact that the “mighty Founder ” of Christmas was a child himself.

For to us a child is born,
    to us a son is given,
    and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
    Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the greatness of his government and peace
    there will be no end.

Isaiah 9:6-7a

Blessings,

Kristie

Hot Tips: Make Eye Contact and Set Limits

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In 1997, Will and I moved to Arlington, Virginia, where I was starting law school and Will was starting residency at Walter Reed. One of the first Saturdays we lived there, we packed a picnic and gloves and a baseball and went to the Jefferson Memorial. After our picnic, our game of catch was short-lived, because Park Police told us there was no ball playing allowed. It was a matter of reverence.

But things have changed. Just a few weeks ago I was walking around the Iwo Jima Memorial. A cute young girl was using a ball throwing thing with her dog. Since I circled the monument a few times to try to get in a few steps and take in the fall colors, I passed this girl, her dog, and the ball repeatedly. I would’ve smiled at this girl, but she had expert training in not making eye contact under any circumstances. In fact, most young people in DC have this skill. And I’m just going to be honest: I hate it. I’m an introvert. I find small talk exhausting. But the no eye contact thing is weird. I was in Washington the same month I spent a week in Alabama. Guess which group of people seems happier? It’s not even close.

Partly it’s the old truth: right feelings follow right actions. Smile and acknowledge, and you feel more joyful and worthy. Who is responsible for teaching so many to stay in sad and awkward silos? The Bible says we are made in the image of God. Do you ever stop to think how incredible that is? Should an image-bearer be committed to ignoring other image-bearers? Obviously not.

But I have another tip for you. And I guess it’s probably related since it involves social media. Last Friday morning I was writing in my prayer journal, confessing yet again that I had not been using my time wisely. I felt right then that I should set a limit on my phone. I put my prayer journal down and had to look up how to do it. I set a limit on social media for one hour. Seemed pretty generous. I know someone who has a much shorter limit, and he cannot change it because his friend has the password. But guess what? Even though it was like 11 am, I had already reached an hour! Kind of embarrassing. But also kind of great, because the rest of the day I was more productive and focused than usual.

A week in and I can tell you this limit is my friend! I feel like my attention span is healing with all the reading I’ve been doing.

Plus, in the only Psalm written by Moses, one verse says, “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom” (Psalm 90:12).

Let’s number our days aright and affirm the worthiness of those around us.

Blessings,

Kristie

Can You Ever Go Home?

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Hey Friends,

I hope you are kicking off this month of Thanksgiving in some wonderful way. I walked along the beach this morning on a path I haven’t done in months. I used to do it all the time. But in the last year I have taken not one, but two, nasty falls on that route. Both times I was enjoying my music and evidently not paying enough attention to the little variations on the sidewalk. Both times I scarred my knee and hurt my wrist. So I tried to be so careful today. No music, just enjoying the cooler temps and the beautiful sights. And in some ways this feels like home. We’ve lived here for more than three years now and I have memories from this precise area since I was eleven years old. We got engaged here. We have a ton of great memories here. We have a wonderful church community and I feel known and loved.

But in some ways, nothing feels like home. My first eighteen years were spent in Michigan, but obviously that was a long time ago. I spent a total of seventeen years of adulthood in Northern Virginia and as much as I love it there and have wonderful friends there, it doesn’t feel like home. I visited just last week and the “this is not home” sentiment feels a little sad. I had babies there. I was flooded with memories practically everywhere I went. But still, it was not home.

Our two older sons graduated from high school while we lived in Tennessee, and there were some tremendous blessings in that season. But as charming and beautiful as it is there, I haven’t felt like it’s home when I have visited.

Truly, nowhere feels like home. But maybe that’s a gift. Maybe the nomadic life leaves you with an openhandedness that is healthy. I do not feel like I have to live in a particular place to be happy. In fact, I feel pretty confident that I could live almost anywhere and soak up whatever a certain locale has to offer. Maybe because I don’t have an earthly home like some do, my longing for an eternal home is stronger. I hope that’s the case, because all of us are just passing through.

As Paul writes in Philippians 3:20-21, “But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.”

Everything and everyone is subject to Him. One day my lowly body– that trips and falls– will be like Jesus, glorious beyond imagining. And what comfort to know that I cannot be plucked from His hand. My citizenship is sure, written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. Yes, that is home.

What is home to you?

With Love,

Kristie

Hairdresser Wisdom

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I recently had a fascinating interaction with a hairdresser. He told me he has the same conversation over and over again. Women sit in his chair and lament that their children do not want children.

He also told me about one client who is in her 50’s. This woman cares for her aging mother and wonders how her mother could possibly get by without the help she is able to provide. She worries about what will happen when she herself begins to require help yet has no children.

These are sad conversations. I have compassion on this man who navigates them daily. Meanwhile, I have multiple friends, roughly my age, who are already blessed with grandbabies. How can these divergent paths be explained? I think it’s just one word: evil. Satan is the father of lies and it’s a lie that anything in this world could be better than family, than trusting and obeying God’s design to procreate.

Jim Carrey said, “I think everybody should get rich and famous and do everything they ever dreamed of so they can see that it’s not the answer.” He’s on to something. One of the privileges of success or wealth is to know that it is not the answer. I’m sure you know some very successful people. I’m sure you know some wealthy people. I certainly do and none of them would claim that either is as satisfying as spending time with their families. Nothing we do is as impactful or joyful as building a strong family.

And yet no family is perfect. Even with attentive and loving parents, the world is a fallen place and there will be problems. But a Christian family that tries to live out the teachings of Jesus can point to the perfect peace and perfect belonging that we will enjoy in eternity. Of course there are people who are not blessed with a spouse or with children despite their intentions and desires, but I think their God-given roles are still family-like. We are all called to invest in future generations, to care for the aging in various capacities, to help every person we encounter to know that God loves them.

An older friend of mine has a granddaughter who will not speak to her. The granddaughter’s values do not “align” with her family’s and she has cut off ties with all of them. A willingness to do this should be met with shame by everyone. Every single person in this woman’s life (I think she’s around 30) should be telling her that she’s being ridiculous. A true friend will always encourage forgiveness, and reconciliation, if appropriate.

Satan wants us bitter and alone. Jesus wants to gather us like a hen gathers in her chicks. Satan wants us to focus on being aggrieved. Jesus wants us to be celebrate being grafted into the family of the One True King. Satan wants us cut off from our families and to live in uncertainty about our destiny. Jesus wants us to know that, as believers, nothing can separate us from Him.

Jesus said,“Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.” Matthew 10:16. How are you putting these words into practice today? Do you know who the wolves are? Do you recognize and fight against the lies of our culture? I hope so.

Blessings,

Kristie

Jerry with One R

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Hi Friends,

I started writing this blog in August of 2008. It was a nice outlet for me to think and write deeply about various facets of life with three young sons. On occasion I would write posts specifically to commemorate events that I found particularly amusing or interesting. When I flip through my volumes of the early days from Spur, I have zero recollection of some of the stories. Had I not written about them they’d be forever lost.

So, I am shamelessly admitting up front that part of my motivation here is to remember the events of last night.

Yesterday we drove up to St. Augustine to attend an Alison Krauss & Union Station concert. Will bought the tickets when the tour was announced months ago and we’ve had it on the calendar as our first empty-nester trip. We stayed in a lovely hotel and Ubered to the Amphitheater.

The crowd was especially friendly, and we talked to various people around us. In fact, as we we walked in we saw an older couple we had chatted with at the hotel. When we were introduced to their friends, one woman hugged me “Hello.” As we entered the venue Will said, “Did you just hug that woman?”

But the funniest part was when we met the group sitting in front of us. The woman’s name was Alison (with one “l”) Kraus (with one “s”). After we had talked for a few minutes, Will said, referencing another band member, Jerry Douglas: “It’s funny that’s your name because my name is Jerry Douglas with one ‘r.’”

It was never clear whether they knew he was joking because they proceeded to call him “Jerry” the rest of the night. But the very best part was when we decided to walk partway back to hotel because the Rideshare line was too long. There we were walking down a pretty dark street in street in St. Augustine when a car zoomed by with a woman hanging out the window yelling, “JERRY!!!”

What a delightful time we had! I climbed into bed laughing about “Jerry,” and savoring hearing such fabulous live music. Making sweet memories is so good for your soul. As Ecclesiastes says there is a time for everything, including a time to laugh.

The picture above is of Saint Augustine and his mother Monica. I took this picture yesterday inside the Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine. In his Confessions, Augustine said that those who knew his mother felt God’s presence in her heart. What a lovely sentiment! We do know that she prayed fervently for her son during his years of rebellion, and we know she was full of joy to know those prayers were ultimately answered.

Anyway I’ll close this with a refrain used as part of closing out the concert last night.

In Your Love I Find Release
A Haven From My Unbelief
Take My Life And Let Me Be
A Living Prayer, My God To Thee

Take My Life And Let Me Be
A Living Prayer, My God To Thee. (written by Ron Block)

With Love,

Kristie

Winning, Dooming and Rendering True Judgments

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Hi Friends,

I’ve had a winner of a day. First, I finished reading the Old Testament for 2025 (and tomorrow I get to dive into the Book of Matthew). Second, I finished my Continuing Legal Education hours for 2025, making it possible for me to practice law (more on that another time). Third, I whittled down my stack of papers to almost nothing — no unpaid bills, all important documents neatly filed. Perhaps this level of organization is the norm for you. But it is not for me.

The truth is, I am knocking out lots of little things in preparation for my next era. Will and I have a couple of trips coming up (one short, one long) and when we get back from the second one, it will officially be the end of my new-to-empty-nesting sabbatical. And I’m ready. As much as I love walking on the beach whenever I want, or going to swim laps if the notion strikes me, I want and need more structure. Six weeks to myself has been enough. I am struck once again by how I get more done when I have more going on.

Another thing that may have contributed to my winning day mentality is not having much time to doom scroll, which I have to admit I have done a lot of in recent days. It can be so discouraging to see how hateful people can be, how willing they are to take things completely out of context, how quick they are to voice opinions without giving an issue any time or research.

Yes, since Charlie Kirk was assassinated, I have been spending too much time doom scrolling, but I have also opened my Bible each morning in books like Hosea and Jonah and Zephaniah. These books paint a picture of a loving, long-suffering God who will rejoice over us with singing if we will repent.

Then this week, I was struck by this verse in Zechariah: “Thus says the LORD of hosts, Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another, do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, or the poor, and let none of you devise evil against another in your heart.” (7:9).

In addition to praying for revival in America, I am praying that this verse would be lived out. Let us render true judgments (let us not implicitly or explicitly allow untruths to go unchallenged). Let us be kind and merciful. Let us help the widow and the fatherless. Let us act in ways that do not oppress sojourners and the poor (let our churches care for these people, not the government — this needs its own post, but government “helps” are often a means of oppression). May God’s redeeming love root out the evil that some devise against others. Isn’t it amazing how much is packed into that one little obscure, yet timely, verse?

As always, thank you for reading and abundant blessings on your weekend! And how about reading the New Testament with me these last few months of the year? You can find the daily readings (through December 6) below.

With Love,

Kristie