Taylor Paslay | Christian Women’s Speaker & Bible Teacher

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“The Church exists for nothing else but to draw men into Christ.” - C.S. Lewis

The whole point is to know Jesus. Not to just know about Him, or to know people you like who say they know Him.

To know Him.

And through knowing Him, everything else begins to grow. But we’ve been relentlessly discipled by a culture that tells us that if something doesn’t exist to serve us, it isn’t for us. So we bring that same consumerism into the Church and to the Word, asking first, what are you going to give me?

The Church was never meant to exist for our consumption… It exists to draw us to Christ.

And if Christ is not enough to keep us there, no amount of feeling or perceived feeding ever will be.

“The Church exists for nothing else but to draw men into Christ.” - C.S. Lewis

The whole point is to know Jesus. Not to just know about Him, or to know people you like who say they know Him.

To know Him.

And through knowing Him, everything else begins to grow. But we’ve been relentlessly discipled by a culture that tells us that if something doesn’t exist to serve us, it isn’t for us. So we bring that same consumerism into the Church and to the Word, asking first, what are you going to give me?

The Church was never meant to exist for our consumption… It exists to draw us to Christ.

And if Christ is not enough to keep us there, no amount of feeling or perceived feeding ever will be.

This not so little girl bit into an apple and out popped her first tooth 🥹 she feels so big, cause she is so big, but mom and dad can’t help but look at her and see our big brown eyed baby. First tooth and then first grade all in the span of a few weeks for our Rynnie girl!

This not so little girl bit into an apple and out popped her first tooth 🥹 she feels so big, cause she is so big, but mom and dad can’t help but look at her and see our big brown eyed baby. First tooth and then first grade all in the span of a few weeks for our Rynnie girl!

We were made for connection.

No matter how hard the world presses to divide us, or convinces us that life is easier alone, or that community is only worthwhile when it serves us, we weren’t created to flourish in isolation.

But we also can’t long for a holy community while refusing to become the kind of person who makes it possible.

Community is *just* as much companionship as it is stretching, sharpening, carrying burdens, speaking truth, extending grace, and remaining when leaving would feel so much easier.

The twelve weren’t called because they were compatible, or even agreeable… they were called because they were, at whatever cost, willing to follow the same Savior.

We were made for connection.

No matter how hard the world presses to divide us, or convinces us that life is easier alone, or that community is only worthwhile when it serves us, we weren’t created to flourish in isolation.

But we also can’t long for a holy community while refusing to become the kind of person who makes it possible.

Community is *just* as much companionship as it is stretching, sharpening, carrying burdens, speaking truth, extending grace, and remaining when leaving would feel so much easier.

The twelve weren’t called because they were compatible, or even agreeable… they were called because they were, at whatever cost, willing to follow the same Savior.

“Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under trees on a summer’s day, listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time.” – John Lubbock

If there were a way to bottle up summers, to be able to revisit forever, this one right here would surely be one of them. 𓇢𓆸

“Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under trees on a summer’s day, listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time.” – John Lubbock

If there were a way to bottle up summers, to be able to revisit forever, this one right here would surely be one of them. 𓇢𓆸

Sometimes the greatest act of faith isn’t solely reaching for what God has promised, but simultaneously being just as desperate and just as willing to loosen your grip on what He has asked you to release.

Turns out there are some mercies that arrive only after we’ve made room for them.

“For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly. O Lord of hosts, blessed is the one who trusts in you!” - Psalm‬ ‭84‬:‭11‬-‭12‬ ‭

Sometimes the greatest act of faith isn’t solely reaching for what God has promised, but simultaneously being just as desperate and just as willing to loosen your grip on what He has asked you to release.

Turns out there are some mercies that arrive only after we’ve made room for them.

“For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly. O Lord of hosts, blessed is the one who trusts in you!” - Psalm‬ ‭84‬:‭11‬-‭12‬ ‭

God doesn’t entrust us with gifts, people, things, callings or resources because He needs managers from a distance. He does it because stewardship boldly exposes the condition of the heart.

Eventually you have to sow the seeds He has given you, before it makes sense asking for more.

We aren’t owners passing time, because we get to be stewards passing through.

God doesn’t entrust us with gifts, people, things, callings or resources because He needs managers from a distance. He does it because stewardship boldly exposes the condition of the heart.

Eventually you have to sow the seeds He has given you, before it makes sense asking for more.

We aren’t owners passing time, because we get to be stewards passing through.

Another 4th of July shenaning-again with my favorite ever crew 🇺🇸

Another 4th of July shenaning-again with my favorite ever crew 🇺🇸

“(Insert siblings name) said nanananabooboo” - The note casually slipped into my hand by one of my kids while I was reading.

I laughed much harder than they anticipated, the note earned a permanent spot in mom’s memory box, and I’m happy to report that the two parties reconciled within minutes. Photo evidence that summertime is surely in full swing over here ❁

“(Insert siblings name) said nanananabooboo” - The note casually slipped into my hand by one of my kids while I was reading.

I laughed much harder than they anticipated, the note earned a permanent spot in mom’s memory box, and I’m happy to report that the two parties reconciled within minutes. Photo evidence that summertime is surely in full swing over here ❁

Comfort makes for an easy idol because it never asks for repentance.

God has never been fearful of our multitude of questions. He knows that every sincere question in His direction is another step toward seeing Him more clearly. The enemy, then, has little reason to fear us finding truth if he can simply satisfy our hearts with enough comfort to stop our seeking.

Comfort makes for an easy idol because it never asks for repentance.

God has never been fearful of our multitude of questions. He knows that every sincere question in His direction is another step toward seeing Him more clearly. The enemy, then, has little reason to fear us finding truth if he can simply satisfy our hearts with enough comfort to stop our seeking.

HBD to my person ♥︎

You are worth celebrating far beyond today and far beyond anything we could ever do for you today alone. Thank you for making this life so full of joy. Thank you for leading our family so faithfully, for making us laugh endlessly, and for loving Jesus in a way that continually points us back to Him. There’s no one I’d rather walk through life, with all its ups and downs, alongside than you.

A whole lot of lives are brighter simply because you’re in them. We love you so much AJ!

HBD to my person ♥︎

You are worth celebrating far beyond today and far beyond anything we could ever do for you today alone. Thank you for making this life so full of joy. Thank you for leading our family so faithfully, for making us laugh endlessly, and for loving Jesus in a way that continually points us back to Him. There’s no one I’d rather walk through life, with all its ups and downs, alongside than you.

A whole lot of lives are brighter simply because you’re in them. We love you so much AJ!

If Jesus can be made to fit comfortably into your life as it stands, He likely isn’t Lord of it.

Following Christ will disrupt your timing, and dismantle your plans, only because He intends to exchange them for what leads to life.

“Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.” - Luke 14:27

If Jesus can be made to fit comfortably into your life as it stands, He likely isn’t Lord of it.

Following Christ will disrupt your timing, and dismantle your plans, only because He intends to exchange them for what leads to life.

“Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.” - Luke 14:27

It seems that much of our faith is trusting that the God who called you has not forgotten you, even when the road seems to disappear beneath your feet.

What feels like a detour may, in time, prove to have been the road itself.

It seems that much of our faith is trusting that the God who called you has not forgotten you, even when the road seems to disappear beneath your feet.

What feels like a detour may, in time, prove to have been the road itself.

A 2026 “State of Discipleship” study found only 31% of Christians read Scripture daily. Fewer still do so consistently, and 25% say monthly, rarely, or never.

And yet we are somehow trying to navigate a world that requires discernment with a faith we mostly receive secondhand. The entirety of some of our biblical knowledge comes to us through the voices of your favorite online believers and we don’t seem to see the eternal danger in that…

When Scripture is only something we hear about rather than live in, our foundations stay fragile and we risk absolutely everything. We need God’s Word in us, not just around us, so it becomes the lens through which everything else is tested.

We can’t know who’s misleading us if we don’t know what to look for.

A 2026 “State of Discipleship” study found only 31% of Christians read Scripture daily. Fewer still do so consistently, and 25% say monthly, rarely, or never.

And yet we are somehow trying to navigate a world that requires discernment with a faith we mostly receive secondhand. The entirety of some of our biblical knowledge comes to us through the voices of your favorite online believers and we don’t seem to see the eternal danger in that…

When Scripture is only something we hear about rather than live in, our foundations stay fragile and we risk absolutely everything. We need God’s Word in us, not just around us, so it becomes the lens through which everything else is tested.

We can’t know who’s misleading us if we don’t know what to look for.

Four ♥︎

It’s hard to believe that it’s been only four years with the littlest brother when it feels like he’s always been part of our crew, and at the same time, hard to believe four years have somehow already passed us by.

Harbor, you are an absolute joy and are truly the source of endless laughter in our home. Dad and I have learned to say goodbye to a whole lot of seasons that before you felt endless, and yet every season that followed was even sweeter. You walk your own walk and are growing braver by the day, and goodness… we are all so blessed by you.

Happiest Birthday to our goofball guy, we love you more than you’ll ever know!

Four ♥︎

It’s hard to believe that it’s been only four years with the littlest brother when it feels like he’s always been part of our crew, and at the same time, hard to believe four years have somehow already passed us by.

Harbor, you are an absolute joy and are truly the source of endless laughter in our home. Dad and I have learned to say goodbye to a whole lot of seasons that before you felt endless, and yet every season that followed was even sweeter. You walk your own walk and are growing braver by the day, and goodness… we are all so blessed by you.

Happiest Birthday to our goofball guy, we love you more than you’ll ever know!

Some of the most evident mercy in my life has been found in God’s correction, just as much as I’ve found it in His comfort.

The Spirit isn’t convicting us for the purpose of shame, but for the unimaginable gift of freedom that comes from releasing our grip on the exhausting work of pretending we are sinless.

Lord, keep me tender enough to consider that sometimes I am the source of my problems too.

Some of the most evident mercy in my life has been found in God’s correction, just as much as I’ve found it in His comfort.

The Spirit isn’t convicting us for the purpose of shame, but for the unimaginable gift of freedom that comes from releasing our grip on the exhausting work of pretending we are sinless.

Lord, keep me tender enough to consider that sometimes I am the source of my problems too.

God’s next chapter for our family begins June 1, as He calls me to serve the women of @crosspointcity as the Women’s Groups Director.

During the interview process, someone told me that in her decades of involvement in various women’s ministry settings, she had never encountered a group of women more eager to see the Lord move in their lives, marriages, friendships, homes, and communities. What a sacred thing it is to be invited in to what Gods already stirring.

Would you pray alongside me for a few things?

• That Jesus be glorified above all else
• That the women of Crosspoint feel deeply seen and loved by Him, and find a community that contends for them, sharpens them, relentlessly points each other back to Christ, shows up for one another, blesses their homes and cities, and feels like home itself
• That I am able to join our church family in a new way as a staff member and get to know this already incredible team in deeper ways
• And for our family, as we walk through the transition and stretching that comes with change

Acts 20:24 has long been my life verse, and it naturally seems to grow louder with time:

“However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me, the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.”
‭‭
Jesus, may I love Your daughters well. They mean everything to You, and it’s clear that You are moving. They are hungry. So am I.

Let’s do this ♥︎

God’s next chapter for our family begins June 1, as He calls me to serve the women of @crosspointcity as the Women’s Groups Director.

During the interview process, someone told me that in her decades of involvement in various women’s ministry settings, she had never encountered a group of women more eager to see the Lord move in their lives, marriages, friendships, homes, and communities. What a sacred thing it is to be invited in to what Gods already stirring.

Would you pray alongside me for a few things?

• That Jesus be glorified above all else
• That the women of Crosspoint feel deeply seen and loved by Him, and find a community that contends for them, sharpens them, relentlessly points each other back to Christ, shows up for one another, blesses their homes and cities, and feels like home itself
• That I am able to join our church family in a new way as a staff member and get to know this already incredible team in deeper ways
• And for our family, as we walk through the transition and stretching that comes with change

Acts 20:24 has long been my life verse, and it naturally seems to grow louder with time:

“However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me, the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.”
‭‭
Jesus, may I love Your daughters well. They mean everything to You, and it’s clear that You are moving. They are hungry. So am I.

Let’s do this ♥︎

Life is a lot, which is why Scripture reminds us we were never meant to do this alone. The enemy will take every opening you give him to make your striving feel small and your weariness feel final.

Dependence is not weakness… it’s our entire design. It’s surrender that leads us to still waters. And every yes you give is still doing something eternal, even when you cannot see it yet.

Life is a lot, which is why Scripture reminds us we were never meant to do this alone. The enemy will take every opening you give him to make your striving feel small and your weariness feel final.

Dependence is not weakness… it’s our entire design. It’s surrender that leads us to still waters. And every yes you give is still doing something eternal, even when you cannot see it yet.

These slow days together felt especially needed. So thankful for uninterrupted time spent with my favorite people ♥︎

These slow days together felt especially needed. So thankful for uninterrupted time spent with my favorite people ♥︎

Read: my striving is not enough… praise God.

Not my discipline, my determination, my passion, or my endurance.

Because my power assumes that perfection is found in performance, while the Lord perfects His power in weakness.

Weakness.

The humbling reality that I am deeply limited, and He is not. And somehow there, we find ourselves so much stronger than we were before.

Read: my striving is not enough… praise God.

Not my discipline, my determination, my passion, or my endurance.

Because my power assumes that perfection is found in performance, while the Lord perfects His power in weakness.

Weakness.

The humbling reality that I am deeply limited, and He is not. And somehow there, we find ourselves so much stronger than we were before.

Today feels as beautiful as it does because of the six people who make it so. Sometimes I still can’t believe Jesus entrusted me with this life.

Few gifts have humbled, stretched, and brought me joy like this one. So today I’m thankful for my five littles, and the incredible husband who makes me a better mother in every single way ♥︎

Today feels as beautiful as it does because of the six people who make it so. Sometimes I still can’t believe Jesus entrusted me with this life.

Few gifts have humbled, stretched, and brought me joy like this one. So today I’m thankful for my five littles, and the incredible husband who makes me a better mother in every single way ♥︎

Joy and grief are not opposites. They are companions, because we serve a God who suffered, wept, walked through loss, and bore ridicule so we would know how to carry both.

Some of the hardest seasons of my life hold the most tender memories, and on the other side of that mountain I realized it wasn’t by mistake.

“The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.” - Psalm 34:18

Joy and grief are not opposites. They are companions, because we serve a God who suffered, wept, walked through loss, and bore ridicule so we would know how to carry both.

Some of the hardest seasons of my life hold the most tender memories, and on the other side of that mountain I realized it wasn’t by mistake.

“The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.” - Psalm 34:18

In honor of May 4th, here’s a throwback to Halloween 2023 which may still be everyone’s favorite. Look at how little they were 🥹

Happy Star Wars day!

In honor of May 4th, here’s a throwback to Halloween 2023 which may still be everyone’s favorite. Look at how little they were 🥹

Happy Star Wars day!

I find that most often, the enemy tells us that we are the solution. And then we live like it, trying to be everything for everyone, always. Convinced that loving others well means forgetting that we aren’t in control, nor are we the answer. Jesus is.

I had the privilege of hearing @elizabethwoodson speak earlier this year, and she said it perfectly… “You are a part of God’s plan, but you aren’t the whole thing.”

We get to be a part of His redemption story without mistaking ourselves for the redeemer. And what a weight we shed and a freedom we find in finally seeing it.

I find that most often, the enemy tells us that we are the solution. And then we live like it, trying to be everything for everyone, always. Convinced that loving others well means forgetting that we aren’t in control, nor are we the answer. Jesus is.

I had the privilege of hearing @elizabethwoodson speak earlier this year, and she said it perfectly… “You are a part of God’s plan, but you aren’t the whole thing.”

We get to be a part of His redemption story without mistaking ourselves for the redeemer. And what a weight we shed and a freedom we find in finally seeing it.

I love that this probably wasn’t written with believers in mind, and yet it still points to something unmistakable. There is something undeniably different about a life fully surrendered to Jesus.

Anyone… absolutely *anyone* can say they know Him. But the fruit of a life radically, boldly, and truly transformed by Him is something the world cannot ignore.

I love that this probably wasn’t written with believers in mind, and yet it still points to something unmistakable. There is something undeniably different about a life fully surrendered to Jesus.

Anyone… absolutely *anyone* can say they know Him. But the fruit of a life radically, boldly, and truly transformed by Him is something the world cannot ignore.

You didn’t climb your way into redemption. You were carried.

A heart that remembers its own rescue cannot weaponize another person’s weakness. The world around us expects harshness towards the hurting, so when we choose the opposite it’s forced to pause.

… Jesus knelt beside the adulterous woman not to excuse sin, but to show us that truth isn’t compromised by kindness. It’s made beautiful by it.

You didn’t climb your way into redemption. You were carried.

A heart that remembers its own rescue cannot weaponize another person’s weakness. The world around us expects harshness towards the hurting, so when we choose the opposite it’s forced to pause.

… Jesus knelt beside the adulterous woman not to excuse sin, but to show us that truth isn’t compromised by kindness. It’s made beautiful by it.

A prayer for bold faith in a hurting world.

Jesus, may the faith we feel, the truth we hear, and the community we so deeply cherish on Sunday extend far beyond the pew. Teach us to love the world so well, so deeply, and so faithfully that it cannot help but lift its eyes to You.

A prayer for bold faith in a hurting world.

Jesus, may the faith we feel, the truth we hear, and the community we so deeply cherish on Sunday extend far beyond the pew. Teach us to love the world so well, so deeply, and so faithfully that it cannot help but lift its eyes to You.

Life lately 𓇢𓆸

Life lately 𓇢𓆸

The temptation of gossip doesn’t disappear in Christian spaces, it adapts to it.

It slips into “prayer requests,” community circles that mention Jesus but linger on people, and grows in the soils of comparison. Ya’ll… we cannot afford to bend the truth to fit cultural norms any longer.

If our enemy thrives on division, love demands we name this for what it is.

The temptation of gossip doesn’t disappear in Christian spaces, it adapts to it.

It slips into “prayer requests,” community circles that mention Jesus but linger on people, and grows in the soils of comparison. Ya’ll… we cannot afford to bend the truth to fit cultural norms any longer.

If our enemy thrives on division, love demands we name this for what it is.

What a gift it is to be unashamedly, powerfully, and boldly, the daughter of a King.

What a gift it is to be unashamedly, powerfully, and boldly, the daughter of a King.

I love the saying that we often wish God were more like a helicopter, lifting us up and out of the storm, quick to carry us to the other (brighter) side. But Scripture reminds us that God is an anchor, purposefully steadying us within it instead.

The fear we feel when the waves rise and everything seems impossible… that’s what teaches us dependence. It’s what prepares us for the next storm. To wish fear away is to miss the very place God grows faithfulness and courage in us. And as the good Father we know Him to be, He knows we’ll need both to endure the world we’re living in. So He walks us through it, not around it.

Our fear isn’t a barrier, but the means by which our faith learns its footing.

I love the saying that we often wish God were more like a helicopter, lifting us up and out of the storm, quick to carry us to the other (brighter) side. But Scripture reminds us that God is an anchor, purposefully steadying us within it instead.

The fear we feel when the waves rise and everything seems impossible… that’s what teaches us dependence. It’s what prepares us for the next storm. To wish fear away is to miss the very place God grows faithfulness and courage in us. And as the good Father we know Him to be, He knows we’ll need both to endure the world we’re living in. So He walks us through it, not around it.

Our fear isn’t a barrier, but the means by which our faith learns its footing.

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THE LATEST LITTLE JOYS

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