Packing for a Little Trip...

I confess: I don't mind packing. I guess that's not much of a confession. A better confession would be- I just ate a whole pack of cookies! But I didn't. Anyway, for all of you who despise packing, maybe my thoughts will provoke you to think differently.

Being that I am packing, it can only mean that I am about to go on a trip, and as such I am eager to handle such a task for an adventure. I love to travel, and the more I travel the better I get at packing light, only including items I know will be used. I think the problem most people have is packing too much. They think they will need that bright orange sweater that only goes with one outfit and that pair of shoes that isn't even comfortable. But they don't need those things. The best idea for outfits is to pick a color scheme and stick to it. Pick pieces that can be mixed and matched in a variety of ways.

As I begin my packing for a week in the North Carolina mountains, it's looking like I have a general blue theme going on. And I am even hopeful in my packing, bringing a light sweater and a thin scarf! Not that it's going to be cold by any account, but evenings can get chilly 4,000 feet above sea level (I hope...please please please!).

Kindness in Action

And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth.
-2 Timothy 2.24-25

These words register with me and how certain people in my life have shown me this kindness in action. Growing up, whenever I hung out with Dad I would see that kindness. I saw it and knew it was the right way to be, but it was not always convenient. If there was ever an "errand" to run with Dad, it usually involved some other sort of errands along with it, and usually to check on something or help someone.

It would make us late or cause us to make an extra stop. That wouldn't stop my Dad. It was taking the narrow path, the more difficult road. A little less comfortable. The selfless path. The one that few take.

And as I have grown and matured I have seen for myself how important this is. As I see those close to me display this kind of kindness, I am changed, opened, receptive to people I never would have been a few years ago. Ready to show others kindness. Okay....I am ready most of the time.

God clearly tells us to be kind to any opponents and show them the right way with gentleness. There is always someone watching, and when they see your kindness in action, they may seek out the truth in God to find out why you acted like you did.
That's shining your light.....

Word Up

Words are important. Without them our actions lose meaning. And without meaning we cannot live...A word of love can be the greatest act of love. That is because when our words become flesh in our lives and the loves of others, we can change the world.

-Henri Nouwen

No matter how modern we are with technology, with cell phones that have become as complex as computers and cars that drive themselves, words are always going to be important. We may communicate differently: it's not stone tablets or papyrus that we write on, but most likely digital text messages and emails, yet the words are still there. We haven't changed to symbols or pictures, though we do have a variety of shortened words and acronyms (LOL). But words are still used to communicate our message. I just happen to be one who loves words (especially hand-written), so to me, the words we choose to say (or not say), write (or not write) are shaping us all along.

James 3 agrees with that outlook, telling us about taming the tongue and how difficult it is. He reminds us that our words may seem small, but they can produce something huge, and that can be good or bad.

How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! -James 3.5

We have this gift of words and language.  It can be used, as Henri Nouwen wrote, to change the world. So let's be thoughtful about words.

Fill These Pages

Only slow me down to fill these pages

Long enough to ink my words for the ages

A station for pausing and musing

Waste not, for in time we are losing

Intricate thoughts that spring to mind

That fall away when distractions find

My heart, which is attuned to You,

Is in the shape of one so true

Keep me rooted where You want me going

Keep me filled to the brim, so I am growing

That in every sunlight sky or moody blue

I remember it's not about me, but You

Good Morning, Psalms

When my soul was embittered,
when I was pricked in the heart,
I was brutish and ignorant;

I was like a beast toward you.

Nevertheless, I am continually with you;

you hold my right hand.

You guide me with your counsel,

and afterward you will receive me to glory.

Whom have I in heaven but you?

And there is nothing on earth that I

desire besides you.

-Psalm 73. 21-25

The Psalms sometimes have words that eerily read like they are written from my own heart. Like prayers spoken in the quiet of the night or the early morning. It is astonishing how the Psalmist's words from thousands of years ago can sink into my heart as I ponder them today.

The sun rises everyday, sometimes behind dark clouds or a dreary mood, but no matter my outlook God has given all of us this day as a gift that we are meant to use for God's glory. Even though I feel "pricked in the heart" sometimes due to my own emotion and choices, God is there, giving me another day with so many things to be thankful for. What else do I need to desire? Okay, I'm human, there are many things that I desire, but God wants me to focus all my desires on Him, which is what this section of Psalm 73 reminds me. It brings me back to what is really important, because frankly, I can lose sight of that too easily.

Driven and Tossed

In Scotland, the weather changes every 5 minutes, so if you don't like the weather, just wait for the wind to change it.....

But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. -James 1.6

I like this glowing light that's coming into my room at this time of day. Just as the sun is getting close to the horizon it casts an orange radiance in the clear sky. I sit here reflecting in my favourite wingback chair watching the wind blow the trees westerly. It is somehow comforting watching the wind by way of the trees. We can feel the wind but cannot see where it comes from or where it goes, except through the tangible things it moves.

I don't want to be tossed by the wind, though, I realize that I sometimes am. Something in my day may toss me away from my center, and if I don't focus back on God and forget that it's not about me, I'll be hopelessly flying circles in the sky, or at the mercy of the wind, like a kite.

But James is telling us that the testing of our faith will come with trials, but we are to ask for wisdom from God with no doubts in our hearts, for that is when we are like a helpless kite blowing carelessly by the wind. Who knows where we will end up? At that point, you've lost your roots and you need to get grounded again.

I am taking notes on this as something I need to remember as the deep thickness of uncertainty surrounds me. This is where tests of my faith are going on. I wait for You, Lord. 

Manche Bücher

Manche Bücher (Some books) I have been reading:

1. The Bible (ESV)
Currently reading a couple Psalms each day, and going through the New Testament. I just finished Hebrews, and I am now reading James (which is a book that kicks you awake. This is a book to read slowly; there is a lot crammed into each chapter and it is so good)

2. The Essential Rilke
Rainer Rilke was a German Christian who wrote beautiful poetry. His words are so poignant, and yet so reachable (meaning, he doesn't use high language) that anyone can relate to what he is writing about. I feel myself floating  away into his words very easily. This book is particularly special because it has the German on one side of the page, and the English translation on the other side. As I learn German, I will be able to read it in German!

3. Lit!, Tony Reinke
On being a Christian and the choices we make in our reading selections. The book is aimed at people who don't read very much, to encourage wise choices and good suggestions. So, it was a little pointless for me to read for that. I read it because I love reading and it offered me some insight and interesting ideas.

4. The Conquest of Granada, a play by John Dryden
Modern plays tend to lose my interest, but Shakespeare plays are so interesting to me. Dryden would be in the realm of Shakespeare. Written in 1672, this play has all the tragedy, rhyming lines, and characters that you don't quite understand until their purpose is fulfilled somewhere near the end. I read through the 161 page play in a short time just by reading several pages on my breaks at work.

5. The Spirit of Cities, Daniel A. Bell and Avnet de-Shalit
Spotlighting 9 different cities, the authors discuss why cities and their individual spirit (ethos) is so important to maintain. I love learning about cities, love visiting cities, and there are several in this book that I want to visit. I am learning about each city's history, culture, the people's outlook, the buildings, and the struggles each city has had to overcome before embracing it's unique identity. So far I have read about Jerusalem, Montreal, Singapore, & Hong Kong.  Next up are Beijing, NYC, Oxford, Berlin, and Paris.

6. Leave it to PSmith, P.G. Wodehouse
British humour at its best. Written in 1924, it's that funny, silly, story with a man who calls himself PSmith. PSmith puts an ad in the newspaper putting himself up for hire and, well, it's the kind of book where I chuckle out loud at the silliness.

Welches Buch wirst du lesen? (Which book will you read next?)

God is Big

Yosemite National Park

...who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight.
-Hebrews 11.33-34

A week or so ago I wrote about faith being a victory, and then this morning I read this passage and was given a whole list of examples of such a truth. I think we tend to lose sight of the bigness of God sometimes. We think about how He loves us and knows our hearts, but what about the fact that He can defeat armies, conquer kingdoms, part the sea, and make city walls tumble down? I think this is why we can dream big, too. Nothing is impossible with God. When I think of earthly examples of God's bigness, I flash back to my family's time in Yosemite, three years ago. How can you stand in the valley at Yosemite looking 360° around you at the towering mountains, cliffs, waterfalls, and Half Dome, and not feel God's grandeur? I felt so tiny in the midst of God's creative imagination with how He can arrange landscapes. I am always astounded looking back at my photographs, with how much they look like paintings. How can that be real? It's so amazing!

Surely these are amazing things, and sometimes we might read about such amazing things in the Bible as if they were some myth. But they happened. It is not just a story. It is recorded, written as if in a journal, with details about what happened. These writings have survived thousands of years and still speaks the same truth. The power in these writings is like nothing else we can ever read. All the most incredible books in the world, combined, do not compare with the Bible.
It is "breathed out by God" as 2 Timothy 3.16 tells us, and it is meant for teaching, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness.
God is BIG. Believe and put your faith in that.

Weekend Getaway

This weekend I packed my weekender bag, set it on the back seat, and drove down to Venice. For Father's Day weekend, it was great to be with family. At my home church, it was Pastor Tom's last day. He was pastor at the church for 13 years so he's pretty special to my family, and he will be greatly missed.

On my drive down, I stopped in downtown Sarasota to visit my favourite library in the area, the Selby Library.

The Selby Library is just cool. I visited the "friends of the library" bookstore and bought 3 books for $3.

I have to stop at Whole Foods to buy a few things I can't get anywhere else. I always want to buy everything in that grocery store- all the fresh fruits, vegetables, bakery items, and delicious prepared foods in the glass cases. I bought these grapes because the cool blue truck told me it was trusty produce. :-)

At home, this is what our parking lot looks like. If you aren't a BMW, you can't park here. Sorry, you just can't.

And if someone's car wasn't being worked on, I would wonder what is wrong with my brothers. This time, it's Jason's car. Going along with the car theme of the weekend, we had the TV tuned to the 24-hour Le Mans race over in France. I mean, who wasn't watching 24-hours of racing this weekend?

Surrounding Love

The last trip with Dad. San Francisco. 3 years ago.

Dad's typical attire: jeans, BMW shirt, BMW M school jacket

And in typical Dad fashion, he was always the one leading the hike deeper and deeper into the woods

This post is in memory of my Dad, who I remember every day, and love to remember. This weekend is Father's Day weekend, where it is brought to light that I can no longer be with my Dad here on earth, but I know I will see him in heaven. I think of my Dad often and love to share stories and memories of him. These are just a few mediocre words from my journal as he was on my mind.


Some say it gets easier
How can it ever be easy
To live without him?
Oh my soul longs to be
next to him to hear his voice.
To feel his trademark side hug.
The way he glowed with pride for me
when it's him that I am proud of infinitely...
...of loving God, family, and neighbors
of never backing off his morals or integrity
his hard work, labour, and wisdom gained
evidence of work on his hands thus stained
he never forgot a story, person, or thing
sharing kindness and stories was his offering
Always joyful in his daily tasks
Always ready to answer if asked
The world needs more people like my Dad
Five and twenty years in his surrounding love, I had

Window Seat

Continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
-2 Timothy 3.14-15

I am sitting by my window in my favourite chair, watching the rain fall and the trees rustle and sway, and I recall when I was younger I kind of liked to do the same thing when there was a storm outside. I would seek out a cozy spot for me and my book. It was as if the darkening outside gloominess made the lit indoors seem so inviting.

We remember our childhood with vivid images and memories. We remember the morals and values instilled in us without even thinking about it, in the decisions we make and the way we choose to live each day.

When we are "lucky" enough to have been raised by loving parents with Christian values, where the parents were good models to look up to, we don't have to be newly acquainted with Scripture because we grew up learning it. Many others are not so fortunate.

We have no excuse, then, to say and do things that hurt others or ourselves, and yet in our selfishness we choose to ignore, sometimes, things that we knew growing up. Paul's second letter to Timothy caused me to reflect on the invaluable upbringing I was blessed with from my parents. Indelible ink of love on my soul.

We can, perhaps, train ourselves to ask more and more often how the thing which we are saying or doing (or failing to do) at each moment will look when the irresistible light streams in upon it; that light which is so different from the light of this world- and yet, even now, we know just enough of it to take it into account.
-C.S. Lewis

Beauty of Dreams

The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.
-Eleanor Roosevelt


True, 'tis a narrow path that leads to bliss,
But right before there is no precipice:
Fear makes men look aside, and then their footing miss
-John Dryden (1672)

It wasn't too long ago that I was living here, at Florida Southern (this photo is of Annie Pfeiffer Chapel, just one of the many buildings on campus designed by Frank Lloyd Wright). I like to drive through campus every now and then, to check on things (they've made so many beautification and restoration changes!), and to remember those days, as they were good times. It was a time where anything seemed possible after graduation. So it got me pondering....why isn't anything possible now? Well after graduation?

As I think more and more about my dreams, I ask myself what am I doing right now to inch me closer to making that dream happen? What prep work am I doing and what is the ultimate goal?
When someone dreams so big, it inspires me, and rubs off on me. Why am I afraid to dream big? I don't want fear to cause me to lose my footing, like John Dryden writes about in 1672.
One of my dreams is to be a freelance writer and be able to travel and live wherever I want while doing something I love. That is a pretty big dream because the competition is out there, and one has to become recognized, which is a hard thing to do. However, I have been making lists of ideas, searching for leads, and writing as much as possible. Practice practice practice! Right? You can't start a grand journey without taking a little step....

Reading the Word

In several different ways over the past week, God has been telling me to get into His Word more. When God is trying to get your attention, it tends to repeat in ways that is hard to ignore. Isn't it interesting that my conviction for the week is to make reading the Bible my priority when I have been struggling with that very thing recently? It's no coincidence, that's for sure. Whatever my lame excuses have been (too busy, too tired, gotta brush my teeth) they are no good. It's all about setting priorities because we all choose what we do with each hour we are given. Even though I work 8-5 I still have several spare hours in which I can select my activity. Be it that I love reading, my stacks of books are always calling my name, but if I haven't opened my Bible that day, I need to make a choice.

Here are a few ways God showed me:
1. While volunteering at Our Giving Tree store at church, I assisted a Dad with picking out a teen Bible for his young daughter. I talked about how I love my small Bible because I can carry it wherever I go.

2. The book I have been reading, Lit, talks about all kinds of reading, but that the Bible should be the first and most important, for it sets standards by which everything else I read stands against. This is how we gain discernment, when that firm foundation in the Bible is set and we can compare all that we see in the world with what the Bible says.

3. A blog I randomly came across, written by a girl about my age who loves to write, had a post about how she stopped reading all other books except the Bible for a little while, because she realized the other books were taking precedence over her time with the Bible. I realized with disdain that I have done this very thing. Set aside the Bible for other books.

So, I am feeling convicted. God has shown me in 3 ways how I need to sink into His Word much more than I have been. I haven't been totally neglecting it, but it hasn't been the highest on my priority list. And you know? It's when I give God time that things work as they are meant to, without my fretting about it. It's because my focus is with Him.

Last Week in Pictures

Happy Monday! Hopefully your weekend was a good one, despite all the rain. Reflecting on last week, it was pretty busy, and this week seems like it's going to be even busier! So here are some images from my handy Droid, capturing some lovely things. I have always loved taking pictures, and nowadays with cell phones, it's so easy. I do love my real camera, but that's a little impractical for taking with me everyday or a spur of the moment find.

What shall I render to the Lord for all his benefits to me? -Psalm 116.12

This is just a typical spread- books, journal, coffee, laptop

From under my umbrella- It's been a rainy week

Working at Our Giving Tree shop at church. Some lovely jewelry.

The storage room at church- shelves of books are so inviting...

IBC black cherry soda and a salad is a perfect summer lunch, I do believe.

How could a huge chocolate chip cookie from Black 'n Brew not make the day brighter?

Wie geht es dir?

Wie geht es dir? How are you?
Ich bin gut. I am good.

I am so excited to be learning German online for free using Duolingo.com. The reason it is free is because as they teach you and you go through the lessons, and you actually translate sentences from the internet. The internet is not fully translated into German. So, when the German books are scanned, the internet cannot recognize many of those words. Therefore, human assistance is needed. Duolingo is a win-win situation where I work for free and I learn a foreign language for free. 
I log in and do the lessons each day. I type in German and English, learning new words in each short lesson. The speaking and pronunciation is a challenge because I am not speaking with someone in German, but the computer speaks the sentences, so I can hear how it is supposed to sound and mimic that myself. Being able to read and write German, however, is a great step, and that is what I am learning the best.

Bis bald!

Coffee, Uncomplicated

Catapult Magazine is out with a new issue! The topic is "Drink"
I wrote an article called "Coffee, Uncomplicated"


Click here to go to Catapult Magazine or


Click here to go straight to my article.


Happy Friday! Enjoy the musings about how drinks play a part in our daily lives.

What is Truth?

We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.
-1 John 5.19-20

The dominating view of living a good life in today's society is the approach of "do what makes you happy". Whatever that means. It is open to interpretation. It's the lazy approach, I think, because it creates one's own philosophy of living a good life according to one's own tastes and emotions. "Good" is defined by whom? Each person would have his/her own definition of good morals and behavior. It is a shape-shifting view that doesn't follow truth that is given to us in Scripture.

Many people would call themselves Christians, and yet the decisions they make in life are contradictory to what we are taught in Scripture. There are so many warnings in the New Testament, especially in Paul's letters, about the false teachings out there, which includes what we are fed by today's culture. It is clear from Paul's letters that in the first century that was an issue just like it is in the twenty-first century. 

While much of what we see in this world is shielded by culture as acceptable, if we know what the Bible says on matters in question, we will be able to discern what is right and true, and what is not. Knowing, reading, meditating, re-reading the Bible is the way to set our hearts and minds on the way God calls us to live.

Desires of eyes, flesh, and pride

For all that is in the world- the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions- is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

- 1 John 2.16-17

These verses are a reminder of all the earthly things we let occupy our thoughts, eyes, and feelings and how all of them will pass away. We keep none of it. No matter how hard we work for it, we can't keep it. No matter what we desire, it will dissolve. The worldly things that become so important to us everyday (here I am thinking about books and writings!) can't come with us.

We are given the creative nature to sub-create in this world. Beautiful paintings, lovely fabrics, thoughtful books, amazing buildings, fast cars, new electronic devices. We were made this way, because God created us in His image, and He obviously likes to create things. So that natural desire to sub-create is infused within us.

It gets dangerous, though, when the desires of our eyes, flesh, and pride come before God. When we lose sight of what is eternal and make our center something other than God. Our focus tends to be on the finite, but there is more ahead...

C.S. Lewis always has something to say that causes my mind to ponder:"Has this world been so kind to you that you should leave with regret? There are better things ahead than any we leave behind."

Sky Light

The sky is beauty tonight

as the sun fades slowly down

the curve of the earth

leaving behind a trail of glowing

patches of light amid thin, wisps

of clouds, now burning.

Colors change each minute, from

red to purple, pink to orange;

The long summer days confuse my

clock, as the evening is bright

I am distracted by the light

Yet I am focused on the light

And in entering the night

A trail of God's light

Stays with me.

Bodleians

What a place to be in is an old library! It seems as though all the souls of all the writers that have bequeathed their labours to these Bodleians, were reposing here, as in some dormitory, or middle state. I do not want to handle, to profane the leaves, their winding sheets. I could as soon dislodge a shade. I seem to inhale learning, walking amid their foliage; and the odour of their old moth-scented coverings is fragrant as the first bloom of those sciential apples which grew amid the happy orchard.

-Charles Lamb, Essays of Elia

Dear Oxford,

I miss being in your presence. A year ago I walked your streets, explored your buildings, browsed your bookstores, admired your history, met your citizens, and basked in the music, books, learning, and food. It's been too long since we've seen eachother and I think it is time for a reunion. I will come to you and we can catch up from all that I have missed. If you brew a pot of tea I will bring some biscuits and we can spend time together. You can show me more of the quads, Addison's Walk, the High, St. Mary's, the Bodleian, and the colleges. I'd be most happy.

Yours,
Kacie

(One year ago I was standing here, at the Bodleian Library in Oxford. The greatest library and probably the oldest university in the world. All at once it feels like I was just there while it also feels like it's been a century since I was there. A place like Oxford does not leave my mind easily. It is always there, reminding me of all that it has to offer me.)

Faith is Victory

For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world- our faith.
-1 John 5.4

My faith is a victory?
I never thought of it like that, but it is true.

We overcome the world with our faith because nothing and no one can take our faith away. We hope for things not seen. Our faith hold us in that hope, knowing without seeing today that all of God's promises are true and everything in Scripture is true.

We live in a country and a time where we have a lot of freedoms, but so many people around the world do not. They have to hide their beliefs, but these verses remind me that even those Christian brothers & sisters who are persecuted still have victory because no government can take their faith. They may take their home, job, liberties, and well-being, but not their faith.

In China, Christianity is growing, even though they mostly have to meet secretly in homes and hide the fact that they are Christians. How can they have such faith in those circumstances?
Oh, me of little faith!
Oh, they of BIG faith!

Today, we "see" Christ's glory by faith in the words of Scripture.
-Tony Reinke