scripture – KELVEY OLIVIA VANDER HART

Green leaves in the background with white text overlaid and a white frame around

July 2022: ‘Things That Matter’ + Resisting Consumerism

Posted on August 2, 2022August 2, 2022 by Kelvey Vander Hart in L I F E

We’re more than halfway through 2022. Wild, right? Here’s your July 2022 recap:

Best Book I Read This Month

Many people think that minimalism is about getting rid of things until you have one lonely chair sitting in your pretty empty home. But what if minimalism was about refining your life to live on purpose? Joshua Becker explores this concept in his books. Because I’ve been reading a lot of Becker’s work, this month is a two-for-one recommendation. Find out more about Becker’s Things That Matter and The More of Less here.

Best Article I Read This Month

Shameless self-promotion here. July played host to Shark Week! I love sharks and I love writing – read the combination of these loves here.

Tip + Trick of the Month

July was all about minimalism on the homefront. Have an overabundance of towels and blankets that have seen better days? Don’t throw them away – take them to your local animal shelter! As someone who has volunteered for two different shelters and has a shelter pup of her own, I can testify that there is always a need for more soft things for dogs and other animals to sleep on.

Quote of the Month

“Often, Christians ask me, ‘How can I love my neighbor without misleading her into thinking I approve of everything she does?’ First, remember that Christians cannot give good answers to bad questions. No one approves of everything that others do. No one. It is a false question. The better question is this: ‘How can my neighbors know that because I live under God’s authority rather than the compulsions of my own selfish desires, their secrets are safe with me?’ The answer is simple: love the sinner and hate your own sin. Or, as Mark says ‘Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another’ (Mark 9:50).”

-Rosaria Butterfield, The Gospel Comes with a House Key

Kelvey’s Thought for the Month

As Americans, we’re conditioned to think that more is better. That is the very heart of consumerism. But what if we start to resist that notion?

I know I have been harping on minimalism throughout this entire monthly update, but I think regardless of how strongly/loosely you hold to such tenets, there is goodness for everyone to find here. As of late in my own life, it has been a freeing resistance to consumerism. Do you know how good it feels to walk through a store and have my brain be thinking about how happy it is to not bring unnecessary items into my home rather than wanting to buy everything?

Something to think about. Hit the comments or the reply button if you have your own thoughts on this and, as always, I’ll catch you next month.

What Kelvey Olivia Dot Com Will Look Like In 2022…

Posted on December 30, 2021 by Kelvey Vander Hart in L I F E

The Kelvey Olivia Dot Com blog used to be the section of my personal website that caught literally all my random ramblings. And, there used to be a weekly cadence of posting. I have been pretty quiet over the last months as I thought about what I wanted the future of this website to look like. Now, as we draw this year to a close, I am excited to share what is in store.

This blog is not going anywhere, rest assured. But my life has changed a lot and I want the website to reflect it. For 2022, I will be transitioning over to a monthly cadence and will be using each monthly post to share in a more structured way. These posts will highlight the following:

Best Book I Read This Month

I read a LOT. I love talking about books, and I love hearing book recommendations. So, I will be highlighting my favorite read of the month and would love to have you let me know in the comments whether you have read it and/or what other books you recommend.

Best Article I Read This Month

I work full-time as a writer and communicator. That means I don’t just read a lot of books – I read a LOT of digital articles. Whether news or opinion, short-form or long-form, lifestyle or theological, I’ll loop you in on my favorite pick of the month. To get you started, enjoy this fun read about camel botox I stumbled upon a few weeks ago by clicking here.

Tip + Trick of the Month

I like to share what works for me. But I also like sharing great ideas FROM other people WITH other people. Catch me sharing the tips and tricks I stumble across here.

Quote of the Month

This is pretty self-explanatory. I’m the person who completely uses up highlighters when reading, so I’m particularly excited about this section.

Kelvey’s Thought for the Month

Finally, I still want to include space to write about what has been on my mind. This might be a new workout routine, Scripture, a lifestyle change, or something else. I’m leaving this vague on purpose, and look forward to sharing my perspective in a fitting way each month.

I hope you join me in 2022. Happy new year!

Fear and Hope Don’t Exist On A Spectrum

Posted on March 14, 2021 by Kelvey Vander Hart in S P I R I T U A L

As I draft this, I can see a church sign blinking outside my window. One of the messages rolling on the sign is, “Hope, not fear.” A nice sentiment, but the more I’ve seen it flashing across the screen, the more it has bothered me.

Do hope and fear actually live at opposite ends of the spectrum? I don’t think so.

First of all, the hope and fear pairing is not necessarily accurate. I would propose that the more accurate pairings are actually hope/despair and fear/trust.

But while I don’t think the ends of the spectrum are hope and fear, I think that things likely look a lot more like this:

Fear and despair can certainly be friends, and hope and trust also go hand-in-hand. Thankfully, Scripture speaks to all of these things. I think a beautiful example is Isaiah 41:10:

“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

You see the opposites on the grid play out here. Do not fear – trust that he is with you. Do not despair – hope that He is your God who WILL strengthen and help and uphold you.

Knowing that fear and despair tend to plague me at the same time and that I should turn toward hope and trust help me understand my emotions and tendencies more. Maybe not the deepest train of thought prompted by a church sign, but one I appreciated today.

Read Boring Books of the Bible

Posted on January 31, 2021 by Kelvey Vander Hart in S P I R I T U A L

My Bible study plan had me read Leviticus this week.

Yes, you all may cringe with me.

This wasn’t my first time reading Leviticus before – I had done Bible in a year plans several times before. But it WAS the first time I was determined to truly digest the book. To not allow my eyes to glaze over while reading.

And folks, the exhortation from 2 Timothy that ALL Scripture is God-breathed and useful remains true.

To illustrate this, here are just a few things of note from my study:

Illustrated The Protective Care of God

Out of context, a lot of the rules laid out in Leviticus about cleanliness, eating, etc. seem restrictive. But context is key. This book wasn’t written in modern-day America – it was written to the ancient Israelites.

This means there is one thing that needs to be hammered into us when reading these: Modern medicine and science didn’t exist.

When you place it in context, you see the care and protection that God shows for the Israelites. I was talking about this with a family member earlier this week, and we were both wishing that we could see statistics about disease rates among the Israelites compared to nations around them. I’m guessing they were much, MUCH lower.

Emphasized My Need For Jesus

Reading the law in Leviticus is overwhelming. Can you picture that way of life being our only means of salvation? Having that distance between us and God and constantly slaughtering innocent animals in an effort to bridge it?

I need Jesus. Constantly, continually. Jesus, as quoted in the Gospel of Matthew, points out that he is the fulfillment of the law. He is the one who bridges the gap, he is the one who is the better sacrifice, he is the one that lived the law on our behalf. We all need him.

Exhortation for Holy Living

Leviticus 20:7 captures a reoccurring theme in the book:

“Consecrate yourselves, therefore, and be holy, for I am the LORD your God.”

Life after salvation means we’re walking in a new way to be human. While the New Testament calls us to holy living over and over, Leviticus connects that holy living to the God who heads our lives. A much-needed exhortation.

I could continue, but I would rather just leave you with a simple exhortation: Read the boring books of the Bible. They are there for a reason, for your good, for God’s glory.

Fight For The Lovely, Now More Than Ever

Posted on January 10, 2021 by Kelvey Vander Hart in P A R A D I G M, S P I R I T U A L

At surface level, there’s not a lot that’s lovely or beautiful surrounding us as we begin 2021.

A global pandemic.

Well-documented racism and corruption.

Seditious actions and a political sphere in turmoil.

Division, anger, hostility.

What’s lovely about that?

It’s easy to succumb to the gloom and fury that are thrust upon us during this time by our friends and family, our digital landscape, and the media. But now more than ever is the time to resist succumbing to those things, and instead, to fight for the lovely.

A well-known passage of Scripture, Philippians 4:8 (emphasis mine) outlines the things that should be sought out in this world:

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”

It makes sense that these things are not easily seen – we live in a fallen world that is broken beyond belief and corrupted by sin. If we want the lovely, the true, the pure, the just, it must be FOUGHT for.

Senator Ben Sasse (R-NE) recently admonished, “Don’t let nihilists become your drug dealers.” His comment is spot on. This world wants to suck all the joy and meaning away from life, leaving nothing but brokenness. We must push back.

Fighting for the lovely looks like being kind to your neighbor, even when (especially when) you disagree.

Fighting for the lovely looks like a refusal to allow the agenda of the political class and the media to dictate your life, your joy, your priorities.

Fighting for the lovely looks like ordering your life according to what really matters – God and people.

And yes, fighting for the lovely expands to include the grim fight against the abuses of people that break God’s heart. Fighting for the lovely is the fight for justice, for dignity, against abuse and corruption. But loveliness brings happy warriors to these fights, not bringers of gloom and doom.

We are not called to just lay down and accept the darkness of the situation. We are called to be light. We are called to seek the lovely. That is exactly what we must do – now, more than ever.

Groaning To Gratitude

Posted on July 22, 2020 by Kelvey Vander Hart in S P I R I T U A L

A few nights ago, I pulled into a parking lot. I was on the phone with someone, listing my problems and groaning about how the day had gone.

An hour later, I was driving out of that parking lot. I was struck with the sunset. The city lights starting to flicker on. The feeling of being ALIVE.

A deeply rooted gratitude that just started flowing out into prayer. And that simple shift from groaning about my life to thanking God because of all the things that I could still be grateful for radically shifted the trajectory of my evening.

A day or two later, a newsletter I’m subscribed to included this very timely quote from Maya Angelou:

“Sister, there are people who went to sleep all over the world last night, poor and rich and white and black, but they will never wake again. Sister, those who expected to rise did not, their beds became their cooling boards, and their blankets became their winding sheets. And those dead folks would give anything, anything at all for just five minutes of this… So you watch yourself about complaining, Sister. What you’re supposed to do when you don’t like a thing is change it. If you can’t change it, change the way you think about it. Don’t complain.”

While Angelou’s words ring true, Scripture is even simpler:

“Rejoice always…give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you (1 Thess. 5:16-18).”

Groaning and grumbling and complaining stacks up, but so does gratitude. They both impact our hearts, but only one turns our hearts toward joy, toward Christ. Shifting from groaning to gratitude is a choice – let’s choose it.

Tag: scripture