September 6th, 2011 by Kristi Stephens

Tonight we pulled the curtains shortly after the kidlets were tucked into bed. The sun is going down earlier. There is a chill in the air. Fall is on its way, and I am eagerly welcoming my favorite season with open arms!

Life is full of seasons. A woman’s life seems especially seasonal, full of all kinds of transitions as we minister in and through our homes.

This is somewhat of a season of change for me.

As regular readers have noticed, the blog has been rather silent lately! A new season of “official homeschooling” has begun in the Stephens home, and I’ve spent a lot more time here than at my laptop (or doing laundry, for that matter!).

Adding to the winds of change, I have been asked to serve as the women’s ministry director at our church. I wrestled over this in prayer, knowing that it would be a sacrifice – and I knew that one of the areas of life that would be most heavily impacted would be my blogging. As I sought counsel and prayed and discussed with my husband and wrestled some more, it became clear to me that this was something God was calling me to do. He loves to be strong in our weaknesses and be great in our smallness, and He is asking me to obediently follow in faith that He will take the little I can offer and multiply it abundantly.

Since I can’t seem to homeschool and post anything reasonably consistently, as I begin to serve as director of women’s ministries I know that my time will be all the more limited. I will still be keeping this blog going, but I expect that my posts will probably be much less consistent! I’m so sad that we didn’t finish out the One Summer, One Story series! My sincere apologies to those of you who were following it. I’m glad we at least made it through the bulk of the Old Testament – you can probably fill in most of the missing dots yourself in the New! =)

I will also sadly be stepping back from being a part of the writing team for Scripture Dig. I love these ladies and it has been a delight to work with them, but I knew that this was an area that was changing with this season, as well. I will, however, be writing for MOB Society once a month on the topic of teaching our sons to be missionally minded, which I am really looking forward to!

Our pastor exhorted the congregation on Sunday that when God places us in a local church, we need to be all there! As this new season of life and ministry brings new blessings and challenges, I know that God is asking me to be all here and pour myself into these new adventures He is bringing my way. May I ask a favor? If you have not already, I would love for you to consider subscribing by email and joining me on facebook so that it will be easier for you to keep up with what is happening here.

So, those are my winds of change. Is God bringing something new your way lately?

June 10th, 2011 by Kristi Stephens

Something’s in the works.

I can’t tell you what it is because I don’t exactly know yet. =) But I’m pondering and praying.

Would you be so kind as to take the following quick 10 question survey? The results are helping focus my pondering!

Thank you, friends- and have a wonderful weekend! We’ll dive back into One Summer, One Story on Monday!

{If the survey below does not show up in your reader or email, please click through? I’d so appreciate it!}

March 31st, 2011 by Kristi Stephens

It’s that time of year again… 5 Minute for Mom’s Ultimate Blog Party! A time for bloggers to mix and mingle and get to know one another a bit in the great big blogosphere!

So, to those visiting from UBP – welcome to my virtual living room! First, some quick introductions are in order. My name, as you might guess, is Kristi Stephens. I have been blogging here for almost three years- what started as a way to fill my Bible study ladies in on what they might have missed in our studies at church has turned into far more than I ever dreamed it would be.

I feel incredibly blessed to be a full time homemaker with three small children (5, 3, and almost 4 months) and also be able to teach the Word of God from my “virtual living room!” When I graduated with a Bible degree from Cedarville University I knew I wanted to be in ministry – I knew I wanted an extraordinary life. I just never dreamed what form that would take!

I write here frequently and also am a contributing writer at ScriptureDig.com… although some weeks are less “wordy” than others when I have speaking engagements or llama drama with my littles (I don’t really raise llamas, just in case that was misleading! ha!). But, I deeply appreciate my readers and count it a privilege to get to know them.

So, welcome! Kick off your shoes, pour yourself some coffee or other hot beverage of your choice, pull up a chair, and get comfy.

This virtual living room of mine has a fairly specific purpose – we get serious in this room. We roll up our sleeves, pull out our study Bibles, and dig into God’s Word. We are not wimpy women!

We ask tough questions like “How could a good God allow…“

We dig into the Bible and learn how to study it for ourselves; we discuss how to recognize God’s Big Story woven throughout.

We tackle daunting books like Revelation and Ecclesiastes and Leviticus… and we discuss how those words on the pages of our Bibles should radically change our lives.

I certainly don’t know all the answers. I’m on a journey with Christ like everyone else – and if there’s anything I’ve learned it’s that I can do nothing apart from Him.

So, if you’re on the journey and would like some encouragement and challenge along the way, join us! I can’t promise it will be light or funny reading, but nothing pays off like the hard work of mining for treasure in the depths of God’s rich Word.

Want to join us? Subscribe here!

On facebook? Join me here!

On twitter? I’d love to chat!

March 8th, 2011 by Kristi Stephens

Image by djwudi via Flickr

I feel like such a techie – KristiStephens.com now has a mobile app! Read on your phone and keep up with current posts by downloading the free app here!