Tag: life

Mark it Up!

I don’t know about you, but…

I write in my Bible.

A lot.

I mark it up.

Maybe it’s simply because I love annotating and post-it notes, and highlighters and journals and gel pens.

Maybe not.

God gave his word to US to devour and share and hide in our hearts.  How incredibly blessed we are with this gift?!

We need to SOAK IT UP.

We need to make it personal.

“A bible that’s falling apart usually belongs to someone who isn’t.”

Charles Spurgeon

Our Bibles can’t stay on our nightstands collecting dust. I realized how important making our Bibles personal when I left my Bible at church on Sunday. I could have borrowed a Bible or used one of numerous others lying around my room and house, but there is something about the bible we use on a consistent basis that helps us dive into the Word with a profound eagerness. In my bible I’ve written prayers, scrawled in the margins, asked questions and made comments. It’s practically a journal.

I’m resolving, TODAY, that I’m gonna be in the word more, because frankly, I haven’t been too appreciative lately of the fact that God gave it to ME to use! I look to everything else except what’s right in front of me, readily available. Aside from giving himself to me Jesus has given me the truest form of wisdom to be found.

“…he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”

Hebrews 11: 6

Will you resolve to seek Him as well?

-Kayla-

I appreciate your feedback! Comment below and tell me what you think (:

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Some Days It Rains

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There are days when bus stops are no fun.

But still, you drag yourself  on and on.

Lectures are taught when the sun is  behind shrouds of clouds.

The coffee isn’t strong,

And your tea  is not hot, but nonetheless, you step out the door to whatever lies

Beyond.

Sweaters are too bulky, particularly around the cuff.

Parking lots are still empty,

Some students seem tipsy.

Your brain is still fogged–

It shows right there on your blog.

Words not coherent ‘n’ all that good stuff.

Socks aren’t quite long enough,

and rain-boots too squeaky,

You find yourself thinking of your trip to Waikiki.

It’s the first week of classes, don’t forget your school passes, bus passes, or glasses!

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The Coffee

The Girl With the Purple Pen

but first, coffee
http://vestidinhosecalcoezinhos.blogspot.pt/2013/06/ora-vamos-la-isto.html

**The Coffee**

I’ve tried. Tea is bearable. I’m not biased. Sometimes I boil water in my room and brew a strong cup of tea. Typically, I only feel so inclined when I’m sick. Only then do I believe in the power of extra vitamin c, additional supplements, cold medicine. You name it. My conclusion that if I believe the stuff actually works then I’ll overcome whatever bug it is that has inhibited my body.

Coffee is where it’s at. Like others, my college budget doesn’t allow for a  four dollar  latte from Starbucks every day. That kind of reckless spending is hardly economical. That’s fine with me. I can do with another leisure: my Keurig coffee maker. One of the best birthday presents throughout my twenty years. Most people don’t need the extra calories pumped into most drinks elsewhere. And yet, on the rare occasion I treat myself—often out with a friend—I still laugh when they order a regular cup of Joe. I mean, for all I care, we could have just enjoyed a cup of coffee in my dorm. That’s just how my brain works. I’m practical and frugal.

There is an analogy between the coffee and my writing. My writing, the writing I share with social media anyways, is a compilation of thoughts similar to discussions I’ve had over coffee. The range of topics is broad. Occasionally, I meet with a friend to say “farewell for now. Enjoy your adventures globetrotting. Other times I find myself in deep theological discussions. Often, the theme is hardly complex. Small talk at best. “How is school?” “How is work?” “How is your relationship with that special guy of yours?” Coffee Shop Talk. The atmosphere in most coffee shops I’ve run into are welcoming. Mostly laid back—well, except for maybe those that are within a 3 mile radius any mall. Hardly formal. Definitely energetic.
This ideology is what gave me the inspiration to start my blog. I wanted a platform where I could be wrong. Make mistakes. Leave behind my grammar Nazi tendencies. And hopefully, make an impact. Be it big or small. This is my exhortation. If you are able to carry a conversation over a cup of hot liquid, I do not doubt your ability to write. One must not write to be known, but understood.

“I write because I don’t know what I think until I read what I say.”
Flannery O’Connar

I don’t mean to bore you. Rather, I desire to inspire you to begin your own adventure. In all honesty, life in words is may seem dull at first. But then, you look back on that first page you wrote. Your thoughts will probably vary. You may laugh, you may cry, you may feel inspired. I never write to grab the attention of a highly esteemed audience. Elite wordsmiths. That group is small. Ordinary people do extraordinary things. They are the ones who take risks. This group doesn’t let the burden of conformity shape their voice. I raise my mug of coffee—your choice of drink is entirely up to you—to the underdogs, the creators of mistakes, the adventurers, the risk-takers, the beginners, the aspiring wordsmiths, the coffee drinkers and tea drinkers. May you take note of the people and experiences who become a part of your writing adventure.

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The Girl With The Purple Pen

A little bit of fiction, to kick off  31 days of writing. My 500 Words is a challenge created by Jeff Goins.  It’s intended to inspire daily writing habits among writers in all stages.

Chapter 1: The Girl With The Purple Pen

**About Me**

It’s a nickname unheard of among most college students. I accepted it. It was in no way offensive. In fact, I take it as a compliment. I am indeed the girl with the purple pen. Like most names, there is a story behind it. My favorite color is purple. My real name is Brittney. However, most people call me Brit. Naturally, I feel inclined to pen my thoughts with this seemingly majestic ink. Few students in my field have such a strange fetish. However, nothing motivates me quite so much as the flow of fresh ink across a Moleskine journal–another leisure I sometimes indulge myself in. 

  I’m a communications major. Journalism and Media Production, to be more specific, is my area of expertise. A dying art. Pursued by few.The internet has already occupied the jobs of more than a few  journalists.   Even fewer who pursue it are successful. I’m considering a minor in professional writing. You know, something I can do outside of my 8am-5pm job. A hobby that could possible help with the student loans I will inherit once I’m on my feet. My goal is to pay them off  before I presumably get married, have children, all that jazz. 

In the summer of 2012, I found myself in Port-au-Prince Haiti. A location desired by few high school students. It was there, I knew I wanted to write. I shared my experiences via a  blog and was told “hey, you’re not half bad at this.” My travels were really a turning point. Kake, Alaska, Tijuana, Mexico,  and Port-Au-Prince Haiti make for some pretty exciting adventures. They aren’t your typical vacationing spots. But I wasn’t there on vacation. All three times I was there for relief work. This purpose opened my eyes to instance I like to call “beauty in the broken” experiences.

In Haiti, I first became aware of beauty in the broken. Life in death. Joy in the most depressing of places. Sweet music in streets filled with political riots. Hope in a land wrecked with economic strife, uncertainty,  and violence. I’ve found that most people don’t understand to the full extent what I’m trying to say, where I’m going with all of this. Third world countries open your eyes to things which we are otherwise blind to in filthy rich America. Believe it or not, being well off has it’s downsides.

Anyhow, in Mexico and Haiti, I kept a consistent journal. Not your typical entries i.e. “This morning I woke up and had Cheerios for breakfast.” Not that there is anything wrong with this information. In fact, it’s where I started out. I’d like to think I’ve made progress since then, but I some days are less exciting than others, and that’s OK. Many new writers are discouraged by this. I’ve been trying to emphasize to my friends and family that it’s not about what  you write, it’s just important you write at all. Even those who right for a living didn’t wake up one day knowing they were going to write a bestseller.

I’ve been writing for quite a while. I tried my hand in the field as early as elementary school with the typical “dear diary” entries. Didn’t we all? Some of us develop a habit, of it, others don’t.

**About The Roommates**

They’re an odd bunch, but not too Crazy. Emily is up there with the STEM people. In other words, her major is math related and there are times when I wonder if she’s related to Einstein. She’s not so math oriented that I can’t hold a conversation without her going on about how much she loves functions. She’s human, and for that I’m grateful.  I’m not quite sure how I got paired up with her. The math, the thinking, I just don’t get it. We have a deal. I’ll help her with words if she’ll help me with my poor technology skills. Thus far, the arrangement has worked out pretty well.

Lizzy is down to earth. She’s part of the Communications College like me. We have a couple prerequisites together this quarter. You might say she’s my study buddy. We may not see eye to eye on everything, but our one common  thread is this: we all love what we do and we want to do it well. That’s good enough for me. I’m not gonna lie, I’d heard enough horror stories about bad roommates, that I’d nearly given myself a complex waiting to hear back after submitting my housing application. So, I was relieved to hear that in spite of my awkward tendencies, I’d been placed with people who won’t judge me.

Welcome to my crazy life. I hope you enjoy the ride.

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2013: A Year In Review

Facebook doesn’t accurately highlight my year. Not everything that happened was declared in a status.,

32 Things I learned in 2013:

  1.  Graduation ceremonies are overrated.
  2.  I’m a very horrible party planner.
  3.   AOSS (Awkward Older Sibling Syndrome) is a very real and prevalent disease.
  4.  Summer quarter is no fun.
  5. Handwritten letters are a dying art. I’m still struggling to enter the twenty-first century.
  6. “It’s only awkward if you make it awkward” is a true statement. That being said, I’m guess awkward is my specialty.
  7.  I’m an ISFJ.
  8.  Starbuck’s Peppermint Mocha is starting to taste like toothpaste.
  9.  Spontaneous trips to Chipotle with the siblings will be missed.
  10.  Facebook debates are immature.
  11.  Skype is probably my favorite technology.
  12.  Time and distance are the ultimate tests of friendship.
  13.  Awesome friends ask you challenging questions.
  14.  Chivalry is not dead.
  15.  I don’t recommend procrastinating on essays that are worth 10% of your grade unless you work well under pressure. (Thankfully, I do most of the time).
  16. Textbooks are expensive.
  17. God is very good to me.
  18. We have so many things to give.
  19. Accepting help is not a sign of weakness.
  20. If you want to hear God, you need to listen.
  21. Many people won’t agree with you.
  22. If you don’t laugh, you’ll cry too much.
  23. Small acts of kindness have huge impact.
  24. God has a strange way of placing people in our lives. Sometimes it takes awhile to discover why they’re there.
  25. “EVERYONE” and “I’M THE ONLY ONE” are some of the most destructive phrases.
  26. Miracles happen.
  27. My sister picks out good Christmas trees.
  28. I don’t like being an adult.
  29. It’s OK to let go of those autographed Jump 5 posters.
  30. AT&T is annoying.
  31. His mercies are new everyday, not January 1st.
  32.  I cannot function without coffee in the morning.

Also in 2014:

  1. I chopped off all of my hair and donated it to Locks of Love.
  2. I graduated from Highschool.
  3. I got accepted to Washington State University. Go Cougs!
  4. Remembered  Windy<—read his story!
  5. Started this blog!
  6. Drank coffee with some pretty great people.
  7. I went 107 days without a single seizure.
  8. I had a successful  surgery .

I’ve always been somewhat on the fence about New Year’s resolutions. Nonetheless, here are some things I want to be more consistent in! (Not just in 2014).

  • Joy. In the worst of times, and in the best of times.
  • Writing.
  • Reading.
  • Pursuing God. He pursued me first! Before I knew Him, He wanted me? Why? Because our God is full of grace.
  • Love more.
  • Worrying LESS.

Have a fantastic New Year! I hope to see and hear from you during Coffee Shop Talk 🙂

-Kayla-

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An Open Letter to Humans: “Oh the Drama!”

“Can we all just get along?” Rodney King asked that question in 1991 and it embodies the sentiments of many people still today.

Actually, yes we can. The real question is “will we?”

Some people are under the impression that drama and gossip only ever occur in high school. This could not be farther from the truth. Graduation is more like an opportunity to act mature and all grown up.  You see, there is this myth out there that the day after you graduate high school, you wake up a sage old soul full of wisdom “beyond their years.”

Now, just to be clear, this open letter isn’t meant to be a passive message. In fact, passivity is something I’d like to address in this post. I never intend to use any of my blog posts as a form of vengeance. So. That being said, think what you will. Much drama that I’ve witnessed first hand or second-hand is worsened because of passivity. I think the best definition of passive in this case is this  2. not involving visible reaction or active participation. It’s often “subtly” or “indirectly” hinting that so-and-so (supposedly) said or did something.

1. Don’t be a passive. Especially on social media. Save yourself the heartache of blowing up something that’s already a problem. I believe venting can be healthy. However, it requires the right place, time, and if you’re not writing it down in a journal, as I often do, the right person. When I say the “right person” it’s usually someone who has gone through the same thing, but with different people. Otherwise you’re just throwing a gossip party–not something that’s typically healthy or constructive.

2. To keep it simple, if you hear something about someone, don’t be naive and believe everything you hear. Go to the person who is the subject of all the controversy. I’m no statistician, but I can almost guarantee that most of what you’ve heard is either completely a lie, or blown out of proportions.

3. Remember: you can’t take back what you say or don’t say for that matter. You could be a positive. Also remember that social media is a whole new level of bad. Social Media is  another post in itself.

4. It doesn’t matter if a rumor is true or not. It isn’t your business.

5. Another myth. Just because you aren’t the one talking, doesn’t mean you aren’t  partaking in the gossip.

6. On that note, it does matter that you find it in you to say “Hey, you know what guys? I don’t want to be a part of this conversation. There are better things to talk about.” The decision to be the person in your friend circle is hard. But it’s totally worth it.

7. Saying, “ugh. I’m so tired of drama” is  kind of claiming superiority over those who are dramatic. Ironically, you more often than not come off as dramatic as well.

As I like to say, “if it bothers you, DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.” It’s much more effective than writing a Facebook status or Tweeting your feelings of frustrated.

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Adventure is Out There

@ All Rights Reserved
@ All Rights Reserved

“We always have some kind of adventure, it’s fun”

May 25th, 1994

Mae “Annie” Bonar

This picture was clearly not taken in 1994, both of my great grandparents were in their ’80 s at the time of my grandmother’s journal entry. In this particular instance, the adventure my grandmother was writing of was a country drive turned day long road trip. They missed their highway exit which caused a setback. Except she didn’t remember it as a setback. Rather, she saw it as an opportunity for adventure.

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Jesus is Love.

http://spiritualinspiration.tumblr.com
http://spiritualinspiration.tumblr.com

So I started this list.

I was trying to remind myself of what love is exactly. Because let’s face it. As Christians, we should see love differently than the way the world sees it. Naturally, out of habit, I turned to 1st Corinthians 13.

I started thinking (surprise!)

Jesus is love. If Jesus is love, we can learn how to love by looking at Jesus’s life–as well as his followers.

Love is not sex. Love is not an emotion. Love is not having a boyfriend. Love is not being married. Love is joy in Christ.

Love is unconditional. Love loves when we aren’t feeling loved.

Love is not jealous.

Love is sacrifice.

Love forgives.

Love is embracing.

Love is welcoming.

Love is hospitable.

Love serves without reason.

Love turns the other cheek.

Love gives second chances.

Loves sees the good and learns from the bad.

Love is unconditional.

Love is unfailing.

Love is understanding.

Love is faithful.

Love is unfailing.

Love is grateful.

Love is hopeful.

Love is inclusive.

Love takes risks.

Love is patient.

Love is persevering.

Love is serving.

Love is joyful.

Love is persevering.

Love loves their enemies.

The greatest of these is love.

How else is Jesus love?

-Kayla-

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Embracing the Unexpected

Peace

Unexpected

*Surgery and a month-long recovery

* Cold turned-sinus infection

Expected

*Expectations

*Responsibilities

Promised

*Grace

*Second chances

Jesus Calling, November 4th

by Sarah Young

Walk peacefully with Me through this day. You are wondering how you will cope with all that is expected of you. You must traverse this day like any other: one step at a time. Instead of mentally rehearsing how you will do this or that, keep your mind on my presence and on taking the next step. The more demanding your day, the more help you can expect from Me. This is a training opportunity, since I designed you for dependence on your Shepherd-King. Challenging times wake you up and amplify your awareness of needing my help.

When you don’t know what to do, wait while I open the way before you. Trust that I know what I’m doing, and be ready to follow My lead. I will give strength to you, and I will bless you with peace.

Exodus 33:14; Deuteronomy 33:25; Hebrews 13:20-21; Psalm 29:11.

Embrace the unexpected journeys. Keep in mind the spectacular view from the mountaintop. Your journey is not the same as others. Cross out the words “always” “everybody” “perfect” and “failure” from your vocabulary lists. Remind yourself that if you continue to make attempts at living up to another’s expectation for what should be God’s plan for your life, you will never be happy. Worrying displays a lack of faith in God. He desires to do whatever it takes to  “wake you up.” You are only human. Nobody is perfect the first time around. Or the second time. And even the third time. Rejoice in new mercies each morning.

-Kayla-

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