• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Kristen Welch

We are THAT Family

  • Home
  • About
    • Meet Kristen
    • FAQ
      • Privacy/Disclosure Policy
      • Giveaways, Reviews & Sponsored Posts
  • Blog
  • Mercy House Global
    • Learn more
    • Mercy House Global Marketplace
  • Books
    • Raising World Changers in a Changing World
    • Raising Grateful Kids in an Entitled World
    • Rhinestone Jesus
    • Don’t Make Me Come Up There
  • Podcast
    • Subscribe
  • Contact
  • Nav Social Menu

Blog

Are We Still In 2020?

October 23, 2020 by Kristen

The other day I mentioned a fond memory to my kids. My husband, youngest daughter, the dogs and I had driven halfway between our college kids’ university to meet up for dinner. As you do when you’re all homesick for each other.

We grabbed dinner to go and ate at a park–very global pandemic. I was meandering down memory lane, as moms do, and they all stopped and looked at me like I was crazy, “Mom, you’re talking about Spring Break. That wasn’t years ago…it was in March, this year.”

Shut. The. Front. Door.

They were right. But no one really blamed me for my mistake. We all know it has been the longest year.

Time is weird, so are pandemics. If you’ve been reading my blog for awhile or read my last book, Made to Move Mountains, you know that 2019 was a challenging year. And then I met 2020 and was like, ah, perspective.

I started this year feeling tired before the world shut down.. Along with my staff, I poured my creativity into Mercy House Global during the long lockdown months doing everything I could to keep it going. I didn’t have the energy to podcast or write. Sadly many nonprofits haven’t made it through the year … I’m so grateful to still have a job and live out my purpose longer in this ministry.

This month, we celebrated 10 years of Mercy House Global. We raised $144,000 virtually on the Mercy House Global App. Again, very 2020. I jumped really high.

I don’t really know what this blog space is anymore. I throw out occasional invitations and announcements here and there. Blogging has changed so much. So have I.  Most days, I find time for a quick post on social media and maybe a couple of stories and pour the rest of my time and attention into Mercy House (hosting really fun sales on our App) and my family. And I’m really happy.

I don’t have any more books in the works. I am content with the five I’ve written and feel an urging to talk/write less during this season. I hope to continue to write a series of children’s books for Mercy House Global that will serve as a resource for parents. (The first one released two weeks ago. It’s precious and totally supports teen moms in Kenya. My new favorite thing is writing a book with zero sales pressure-FYI).

I’ve written thousands of posts on this blog. I will probably write a few more here and there–when the time and passion present themselves. I can’t seem to say goodbye to this little home on the Internet where I’ve journaled for almost 13 years now. (My kids were 1, 5, and 7. They are now almost 14, 18 and 21.) We’ve been through a lot together.

If you don’t subscribe to my newsletter (if you get my blog posts in your inbox, than you already do), I plan on continuing my lists of What I’m Loving–maybe weekly. Maybe not. Who knows, really. It is after all 2020.

11 Comments Filed Under: My Life

Surprise! I Wrote A Children’s Book

October 11, 2020 by Kristen

I have dreamed of writing a children's book for more than 30 years. Well, I did it! And do you know what's even better? It’s available today! I wrote it for Mercy House Global and one of my friends (and employee) illustrated it and that makes me so happy. It's pretty amazing to check something off your bucket list in a year like 2020. As our 10th year of ministry as a non-profit approached, I started thinking about a celebration and someone suggested we have a giant birthday party for ... Read More

5 Comments Filed Under: My Life

Mercy House Global is a True Story

September 22, 2020 by Kristen

Over the past decade, I’ve cried a million tears, told a thousand stories and witnessed the miracle second chances of a hundred teen moms and their babies that are still alive long after the world left them for dead. This is the true story of Mercy House Global.  At first news of the global pandemic  in March, I knew it would make what we do in Kenya more difficult and even more critical. I hate it when I’m right. In the last couple of months, we’ve rescued a girl who was sold for a loaf ... Read More

4 Comments Filed Under: My Life

Living a Paradox: The Truth About A Contradictory Life

September 2, 2020 by Kristen

I'll never forget the moment of clarity I had in the middle of the pasta aisle. It was the day after I returned from a trip to Kenya with my family. I ran into an old friend next to the spaghetti sauce and she hugged me and said, "so, was your trip to Kenya just ah-maazing!?!?" She drug out the last word and her voice went up and I was afraid to commit. It's the tone used to describe a memorable vacation in an exotic place with a lot of exclamation points. Before I could answer, she said, ... Read More

16 Comments Filed Under: My Life

5 Questions to Ask Kids about a COVID School Year

August 23, 2020 by Kristen

guest post by Janel Breitenstein Last week I joined the ranks of those with weighty personal loss from COVID—and 2020, the Year with No End. There’s a lot of talk of loss this year, so I won’t add mine to your pile just yet. But we also chatted around the table last night about the loss of youth group this summer; the loss of full weeks of summer camp. And now, nearly all extra-curriculars cancelled. I’ve also written you before about helping kids turn suffering into praise. So as we head ... Read More

2 Comments Filed Under: My Life

The Big Lesson of The Year

August 13, 2020 by Kristen

I knew what was coming. The lump formed in my throat long before I heard the "Welcome Home" chant of the mask-covered students waving arms and signs in front of my son's college dorm. I had been here before with my daughter. This is it, I thought as the students escorted my son away with his belongings and left me crying in the car I was told to park. My next thought was they lied. Whoever told me launching my babies into the world gets easier wasn't tell the truth. The day before we ... Read More

9 Comments Filed Under: My Life

Next Page »

Primary Sidebar

You know the ones …

Order Today:

Subscribe to My Newsletter

Footer

Search

Recent Posts

  • Are We Still In 2020?
  • Surprise! I Wrote A Children’s Book
  • Mercy House Global is a True Story
  • Living a Paradox: The Truth About A Contradictory Life

Categories

Copyright © 2008-2018 Kristen Welch, We are THAT Family · Site by Design by Insight · Family Portrait Artwork by Marry Me in Spring

Copyright © 2021 · Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in