About Kristen Kill

Kristen is a Northwest native who grew up surrounded by family, books, alpine peaks and lots of green. She never thought she’d leave. And when she did, she landed in a lot of concrete in a city that shapes the world’s culture.

Now she's figuring out a life that she longs to have marked by gratitude and grace, good food and conversation; beauty, art and homeschooling all squeezed into a Manhattan apartment. She writes about living with intention as a wife and mother of four in the midst of a city that makes her heart beat just a little bit faster every time she walks outside at Hope With Feathers.

Kristen has a background in Early Childhood Education, spent years as a missionary in Asia and Europe, and now relishes in her role as the Editor of Mom Heart Online. You can also find her musing on Twitter at @KristenKill

Freefall to Fly {A Breathtaking Journey Toward a Life of Meaning} & Giveaway

April 25, 2013 By Kristen Kill

What makes your heart sing? What is that one thing that you love to do, that stirs your heart and makes you feel alive? Whatever it is, its something God placed in you, as he delighted over you, as he wove you together in your mother’s womb- it is, as Rebekah Lyons calls it, “your birthright gift.” Did you know you had one? Sometimes as moms, in the busy years, the years with tug a pull and very, very little margin, we can forget those gifts were ever there.

I’ve spent a good long while in seasons that felt too busy to breathe, too dark to see any light. They felt crushing and I felt so alone, so far from what I thought my life would be like. At the time I couldn’t imagine any other mom felt like me, so out of control and displaced, a bit lost and beat down, a little too shabby to cultivate the dreams that had been stored up in my heart.

It is still a rare delight when a story feels a part of my soul almost instantly, when before I’ve finished the prelude, I’m already in tears as I nod and agree and see some of my own story woven in the fabric of words expressed. Freefall to Fly was one of those rare delights. Rebekah Lyons shares her own journey of her family’s move to New York City, her own struggles of how anxiety and fear began to lead her into a downward spiral that ultimately led to total surrender to, and a tender rescue by a loving Heavenly Father.

Author Rebekah Lyons and her sweet family in NYC.

Rebekah’s is a story that invites you to find your own among the pages, to recognize what breaks your heart and surrender the sorrows you carry, to let God reveal the talents he placed within you, to let him lead you into a life that is full. When we grab hold of our “birthright gifts,” when we recognize them in our sisters and friends, when we begin to affirm their use in our homes and in the body of Christ, we begin to come alive. We awaken to our calling and purpose. For the mom who feels a bit lost, who longs to be known, who longs to steward the gifts of her soul inside her home and in the world- let this book be your guide. Join the journey.

We are so excited to be giving away three copies of Freefall to Fly today! To enter to win, leave a comment telling us one thing that makes you sing- one gift that is unique to you, that brings life and joy down deep. I can’t wait to hear about the beauty with you, sweet mamas!

37 Comments | Filed Under: Following God, Hope

The Body of Christ and Your Kids

February 28, 2013 By Kristen Kill

“Mommy, what are all the guys doing?”

My son’s question surprised me in the middle of worship on Sunday morning. We’d been visiting a new church and it was one of the first times we had brought him into the service with us. We were surrounded by mostly college age and young adults, many sporting hipster fashion that instantly ranked them as “cool” in my kids’ eyes. My only son has a knack for spotting men in a crowd, shaking hands along side his dad, modeling his little self after what the “guys do” and taking pride in his unique status among three sisters.Our pastor led us in corporate prayers and songs of thanksgiving, adoration and then confession. As the church knelt together, my son was honed in, as usual, on the men around him.

“What are they doing mommy, why are all those guys on their knees?” As I explained to him that everyone in the congregation was taking time to ask God for forgiveness, and to repent of choosing our own way before the Lord’s, his eyes grew wide.

“All those guys are saying sorry to Jesus, mom?”

“Yes, all of them”

And with that, his little six year old legs hit the deck and he announced he had some things he wanted to ask God to forgive in his heart too.

Almost instantly, this morning with my son seemed to matter. It was a lesson unfolding in me for months afterward, about community, worship, discipleship, living life alongside our babes, and the future generation of Christians that will become the new guard of the church within our own lifetime.

How are we inviting these young ones into our community, into our traditions? How are we modeling our faith before them each day? I recently read and shared an article on Facebook that sparked some wild discussions about children and youth in today’s churches. It cited the current statistics and they are staggering:

Nearly 70% of children raised in the church leave upon entering adult hood. Less than half ever return.

I’m sure each of us could contribute our own ideas about why this is happening and how this is happening. I’m sure we could spar about theology, or simple hold one another tight and weep together about our Prodigals. And God does hold these sweet ones. Their stories are not complete, HIS story is ever unfolding.But how do we respond as mothers, as cultivators of lives and homes when we hear about that 70% that flee?

For those of us that believe in the church of the Bible, that hold that the church is not just a sweet place for moral teaching or social networking, or even a catalyst for our own personal growth, but rather, that the church is the actual Bride of Christ, washed in his very blood for his glory and our benefit, than we must absolutely grieve that these young people, whom we cared for when they were small, in our homes and in our Sunday schools are counted among the Lost.

We could easily ignore this, decide not to have the hard conversations about how to tie hearts together, about what isn’t working and where we need to repent. Or conversely, we could become bound in fear, slaves to a method, concerned with how to “do it right” and begin to manage our children in a way that starts to bind them up too. But then I think about my small son, drawn into confession by the model of those around him that he esteemed, tied to the greater community, inheriting a faith that transforms, that is relational and true, that ties him to something bigger, someone bigger.

And although his story is in its early chapters, I don’t know what dangerous course he will travel yet, what he will need to be courageous to face, as his mama, I will fight with all I have, right now to tie him to the Body of Christ, to make this eternal family real and tangible to his little self so that he knows he will never be alone in his journey of faithfulness.

As you prepare your young ones for a life in the church, I’d love to pass on some resources to you, to spur your relationships, your discussions about faith and theology and some basics about what life looks like in the family of God. We use each of these in our home, and they have been a gift and a blessing. It is so beautiful to share with our children that these are creeds and prayers that have been a part of the church for over centuries and that they are a part of this great legacy.

The Apostles Creed and the Nicene Creed - We sing these in the morning and take a line or two at a time to talk through the truths they share and expound more on them with Scripture.

The Lord’s Prayer - We pray this together at bedtime, sometimes at breakfast or another meal, and the children light up when we pray it in a worship service. They love that they can participate fully!

The Doxology- We sing this at the start of our homeschool day as a call to begin our studies and in our worship tradition at church, it serves as a call to begin worship as well.

Don’t hesitate to ask the staff at your church about where you can get copies of the music from corporate worship times, so you can sing them at home with your kids, or play them in the background throughout your days. (Our family uses Pandora, a free online radio service,quite a bit for this!)

Our favorites for family devotions:

Our 24 Family Ways

Thoughts That Make Your Heart Sing

The Dig For Kids

photo credit

Leave a Comment | Filed Under: Boys, Discipling Children, Girls, Parenting, Prayer, Teens, Toddlers

5 Ways to Warm Up Your Soul on The Dark Days of Winter

January 24, 2013 By Kristen Kill

The bleakness of Winter often leaves me with feelings of depression and discontent. It’s always unsettling. I find the seasons are so powerful in the way they express my heart and emotions. I can see my self mirrored in the natural landscape. The flow and changes that are before me outside are so much like the rhythms of my soul, showing in the blades of grass, the blossoms and dancing leaves, the wet earth and tucking in of snow.

Winter, if nothing else, reflects a cold and lonely quiet, that in the middle of January threatens to never let go. I’ve found myself wondering if March will ever come, wondering if we all might be stuck in a perpetual freeze. It is in Winter’s cold silence that I find my own desparity is revealed, when the bleakness of my own sin seems big. And so, the dark days of winter stir up in me a desperate longing for Spring: for the new, the life that is revealed in the crocus, in sunshine extending the days, and in bursts of color to discover! I can imagine the warmth of the sun adding pink to my cheeks and the merry feeling of stepping outside without a wool jacket and my mind can think of nothing else.

In Spring I know I will sing and rejoice not only in the natural changes freeing me from the barren landscape outside, but also through the remembrance of Christ’s work to bring new life through the Cross.

While I wait, I must choose to bring the warmth of Spring into the hearts and souls of my home…especially on these cold dark days! We all need help seeing through and holding firm to the hope that is in us. We need to laugh and feast and bring life to our homes. As mothers we can shine a light into the blah, down days, bolster the faith of those we love, demonstrate beauty and remind them that Spring will come!

Here are Five Ways to Warm Up Your Soul on The Dark Days of Winter:

1. Take in a museum tour across the world, even from your living room by visiting The Musee’ du Louvre’s Online tour or using their free ipad or iphone app. Our family has listened in English and in French to the wonderful descriptions of works of art and felt like we had truly been there, without the plan trip.

2. Serve something that warms your heart and brings life to your table. Light a candle, pull out a lace table cloth and help those you love know you delight in them. Sally’s Tortellini Sausage Soup is a great recipe to try if you need a nudge toward something delicious. My girls and I love baking bread using this recipe on dark days. The dough can be stored in your fridge for up two weeks and pulled out to bake at a moment’s notice.

3. Write a love letter. Encourage your husband, your children, an old friend, a new mama or someone who goes unseen most days with a handwritten note. Use a fancy pen, write in cursive, share a few stories, a poem,or a passage of Scripture that has nudged at your heart lately and tuck it in the mail. Sweet gifts often come in such a simple form and warm both the hearts of the recipient and the sender.

4. Create. And help your children create! It is life-giving indeed to be a part of producing something lovely rather than just consuming it. Knit, embroider, make friendship bracelets, hang doilies to resemble snowflakes on the window, paint a chest of drawers, sketch, write a sonnet or a limmerick…just begin and enjoy!

5. Pour in thoughts that spark new ideas.Journal them, share them and talk about them over yummy soup and candlelight at the dinner table. Some of my favorites this season: Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry, Desperate by Sarah Mae and Sally Clarkson, God’s Smuggler by Brother Andrew and Every Good Endeavor by Timothy Keller.

And don’t neglect this with your children either! We’re snuggling up under blankets and with hot cocoa and enjoying these titles as a family this winter: School of the Woods by William J. Long, The Story of the Trapp Family Singers (From the Sound of Music) by Maria Augusta Trapp, Ten Boys Who Changed the World by Howat Irene, and Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare for Children by Edith Nesbit.

Blessings, Kristen Kill

1 Comment | Filed Under: Following God, Uncategorized

Making the Most of the Holidays with Your Children

November 22, 2012 By Kristen Kill

There are some days of the year that touch our senses so deeply we can almost touch them, even years later.

Thanksgiving is one of those days for me, time and again. I’ve always held November to be orange in my heart, maybe with a bit of brown and mossy green tossed in. Anytime I spot those hues I think of the Autumn. Pumpkin and cinnamon and chocolate fudge bring me to my grandmother’s hearth, and I can hear the conversations, remember the feeling of Thanksgiving together, of holding her hand by the fire, even in July….even years later. I think God designed us this way, and as we take in sights and smells and tastes and the clasped hands of our loved ones near by, our hearts are opened to Him and to His great beauty and love for us in a deeply personal way.

When I became a mom, the tasks and work that came along with making holiday preparations for my family overwhelmed me. I was undone by the baking, the dishes and the expectations of being perfect. But when I thought about how I was giving my own babes the foundation that would bring memories years later, making grooves upon their hearts, weaving the sights and sounds and smells of home into their hearts for eternity, it gave great purpose to the tasks that lay before me. I was buoyed when I realized I have the privilege of opening their hearts to the fingerprints of God upon their life, and that He would meet me in finding ways to share Him with my children.

So our home has become one that engages the senses. We light candles, bake fragrant pies and bread, trim turkeys and eat until we want to burst. But we also touch and wrestle and read and share and snuggle under blankets and talk about art and thoughts and ideas that grow and expand who we are as God’s children.

One of my favorite ways to share life with my kids is through poetry and hymns. They require the highest level of thought to listen and soak in and often speak the language of our souls with a beauty our every day words often lack. The lyrical style often awakens my heart to truths from the gospel I haven’t understood before, or deepens my resolve. When my children were old enough to sit for a stretch of time, (or while they were restrained in their high chairs!) I began sharing my favorites with them each day, pouring into their hearts, affecting their senses and hoping to create grooves of memory in their tiny brains.

The following is our favorite Thanksgiving poem, Harvest Home by Henry Alford. It was actually the hymn recited in C.S. Lewis’s “The Magician’s Nephew” by Frank the Cabbie just before Aslan began creating Narnia. May it’s truth enrich your family celebration today as you thank God for all he has given us and the precious promises found in his Word.

Harvest Home

Come, ye thankful people, come,
Raise the song of harvest home:
All is safely gathered in,
Ere the winter storms begin;
God, our Maker, doth provide
For our wants to be supplied:
Come to God’s own temple, come,
Raise the song of harvest home.

All the world is God’s own field,
Fruit unto His praise to yield;
Wheat and tares together sown,
Unto joy or sorrow grown;
First the blade, and then the ear,
Then the full corn shall appear:
Lord of harvest, grant that we
Wholesome grain and pure may be.

For the Lord our God shall come,
And shall take His harvest home;
From His field shall in that day
All offenses purge away;
Give His angels charge at last
In the fire the tares to cast;
But the fruitful ears to store
In His garner evermore.

Even so, Lord, quickly come
To Thy final harvest home;
Gather Thou Thy people in,
Free from sorrow, free from sin;
There, forever purified,
In Thy presence to abide:
Come, with all Thine angels, come,
Raise the glorious harvest home.

~~Henry Alford, 1810-1871

Blessings, Kristen