Kristen Welch

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Just Because We Don’t Like to Think About It Doesn’t Mean We Shouldn’t

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This post is sponsored, but all expressed opinions are my own.

Next month, my husband and I will do something we have never done before.

We will leave the country while our kids are at church camp.

This 4-day trip with my husband is for Mercy House. It’s something I want to do. It’s something we need to do.

It’s something I’ve always been hesitant to do.

Because I am The Boss of overthinking All The Things That Can Happen when an ocean separates us.

But just because we don’t want to think about things, doesn’t mean we shouldn’t.

And that’s exactly why we legally obtained our Last Will and Testament.

Yeah, I know.

It’s something we don’t like to think or talk about. Being an adult is hard.

We actually had a Will, but it was 15 years old, outdated and pretty much inaccurate. Over a decade ago, we sat in a lawyer’s office wrestling our one year old and went through the hassle of time away from work and a big expense to put our wishes on paper.

And then the unthinkable happened: my husband’s sister, the person we had asked to take our children if something terrible happened to us, died. That was over three years ago and we haven’t touched our will because it was too painful to think about.

But last week,  we obtained a legal Last Will and Testament in less than 30 minutes from the comfort of our home while we watched an Andy Griffin rerun. The heaviness of what we were doing was still heavy, but it wasn’t difficult or expensive at all, thanks to Bloomwell.

I immediately felt a huge sense of relief.

Bloomwell2

Bloomwell is a family-centric company founded by a husband and wife lawyer team (who graduated from Stanford and Harvard).  They have built high quality legal documents and are challenging the idea that one cannot compete on quality. They are also nice people, and only focus on helping families.
One of the things I liked was how easy and straight-forward the process was to complete. The legal documents allow people to customize their legal documents based on their personal beliefs and to honor those beliefs.  (I really liked that the Will and Living Trust documents allowed us to personalize part of our estate (all $97 of it) to a charity. And you can state your personal/religious believes regarding healthcare decisions. There is immediate “Chat Now” button and also a phone number to call if you need help.
Adulting isn’t away fun, but it’s important that we step up and provide for our children in the future. I can’t think of a better way to spend $79 on peace of mind (besides all the legal documents, you also get  the Child Medical Consent in case a rambunctious child on a slip-and-slide needs a little medical help while you are traveling).

It’s still something I don’t like to think about.

But when I’m flying across that ocean in a few weeks and my kids are racing down a soap-covered slip and slide, I will be glad that I did.

That Time We Had To Cancel Our Cabin In the Snow

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One year. That's how long I had been imagining going to that tiny cabin in the snow. We live deep in the heart of Texas and the closest we get to a white Christmas is when the wind blows styrofoam in the air. Our work is heavy. It's fulfilling and life-giving, but it is heavy. With a new book coming out this month and burnout nipping at my heels, I told my husband I couldn't think of anything I needed more than a couple of days in a remote cabin with my family and a lot of natural ... Read More

We Can Support Persecuted Christians This Christmas

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Nearly 7 years ago, I chased my toddler daughter right into the arms of another mother at the park around the corner from my house. When I scooped her up, I apologized to the stranger who had caught my running tot. She looked down shyly and spoke softy in a thick foreign accent I couldn't place. I was immediately drawn to her. "Where are you from?" I asked. Uzbekistan. Immediately, I had chills. I was a Sunday School teacher and we had been praying for this very country. When I ... Read More

One of the Most Meaningful Things We Can Do With Our Kids This Holiday Season

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It's the most wonderful time of the year. And I'm not just talking about hot cocoa, winter weather, boot cuffs and Christmas gifts. Obviously. I'm talking about the opportunity to talk with our kids about giving and generosity. It's so easy to focus on ourselves this time of year. It just comes naturally. Family and friends ask our kids what they want, they make lists, and before we know it, we've taken a holy time and turned into something about us. But teaching our kids to think of ... Read More

Our Real Problem

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Twenty-four hours after I recovered my blog Facebook page from a malicious hacker, I was ironing wrinkles out of my 13 year old's light blue Oxford dress shirt so he could wear it to the funeral of his beloved archery coach. I swallowed down tears as I straightened my son's necktie, the memory of holding this almost 6 ft sobbing teenaged boy in my lap the day we heard the news, still fresh. Nothing prepares you for parenting moments like these. Nothing prepares you for the often ... Read More

This Just Makes Me Happy

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While my teens were at youth camp this weekend, we turned our beige walls gray. And I decided to rehang all my favorite pieces of art and inspiration together to create a gallery wall. Every time I walk in the living room, I smile. It tells the story of our lives: 1. The REDEEMED letters are my motto. This is my family's word. We are a broken mess. But God. 2. The old white window frames are from a building that was being torn down in a town we lived in more than 13 years ago. It ... Read More

What Kids Are Really Doing Online (& Why We Can’t Ignore It)

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When this email hit my inbox, it made me sick to my stomach: "My second grader spent the night at a friend's house last week. The girls were innocently playing games on the computer and one things led to another and they typed in the word "boobs" on the Internet to see what would come up. My daughter and her friend were exposed to very graphic porn. She can't stop crying and she can't sleep. We are devastated." The blog reader who sent me this email asked me to tell parents to do whatever ... Read More

31 Ideas to Encourage Your Kids On A Bad Day

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Recently, I had a chance to sit down with a new friend and talk about life, purpose, parenting and Africa (she currently lives in Uganda with her family). Janel is one of those people who inspires. She worked at Family Life Today for years, served on the team at NavPress that wrote the Message Bible and  has important stuff to say. My kids have had their fair share of bad days around here and I'm taking notes on her guest post that she is sharing here today.   by Janel of A Generous ... Read More