Hello and welcome to Kept and Keeping!

My name is Lauren. I’m a follower of Jesus, wife to my husband Nathaniel, mother and educator of two rambunctious boys, and queen of the minivan, the laundry, and all things food- and finances-related.

I suppose you could also say that I rule over the dust bunnies, but in truth, I simply try to keep them from ruling over me.

Thinking and writing have been a part of my life for as long as I can remember, and they seem to make my other jobs all the more enjoyable. I hope my thinking and writing–about the Christian life, books I’m reading, homemaking and homeschooling–will have the same effect, in at least some small way, on you.

The heartbeat of my life, and by extension this website, is to know, love, and live for the Lord Jesus Christ. I am kept by Him, by His saving grace which has given me new life and taught me to rest in His finished work on my behalf. And I am keeping the faith, continuing on with Christ in the new life He’s given, seeking to offer up every labor of love as a gift to my Savior.

And I do this perfectly, of course.

Please excuse me while I wipe the laughed-so-hard-I-cried tears from my eyes.

Ahem…

No, of course not!

On the contrary, I find that all-too-often I forget the life-sustaining themes of rest in the Lord and moving forward by His grace. In fact, I specifically chose this name so that I could be constantly reminded of them.

These truths course through the two passages of Scripture that I run to in my most desperate and depleted times. I encourage you to take a look at Romans 8 and 1 Peter 1:3-9. They’re pretty amazing.

While the words “kept” and “keeping” may conjure up other themes you’ll find on this site—such as homemaking, relationship building, and several aspects of a Classical / Charlotte Mason education—it’s my prayer that they will primarily remind you, as they do me, to rest in grace and labor in love.

Soli Deo Gloria