What is lasting? Thoughts on a Wednesday

      Barriers that separate room from room, baskets, bed sheets, and bookcases, all get miserably old. If anything in a room remains, it must be the nails. Though everything else may burn to ashes, nails often survive the worst of fatalities that walls holding them encounter. However, even the thickest of nails grow weak and old with time; just like humans. That said, the metaphysical of a room must linger. Ruminate the thought of books. Surly they can tear, they can burn easily and only the morsel remnants of words are what remain. But the ideas or beliefs each book carries, has already taken stance in other homes or libraries. I once found a Bible on the side of the road in Thailand where the front page read, “Paper no good for cigarettes.” The writer of the note obviously tore out pages to test this. And although that particular Bible had been used for ulterior motives, there are millions of other copies and a multitude of individuals that believe the words on those pages still stand, regardless of whether the paper is good for rolling herbs or not.

       So I ask you this, what is lasting? Walls will burn, shoes will wear, bodies will pass, clothes will go out of style, and electronics will be upgraded. What lasts? "Imperishable things drift through the air, mixed with what is passing, it's someone's job to sort them out" (Adam Zagajewski, A Defense of Ardor: Essays). 

Homemade Granola

You like granola? I like granola. You don't like granola? You will like this granola. Not only do I like granola because it sounds like 'gorilla' but I also think it's one of the tastiest treats for breakfast. Now that the word 'granola' has properly been abused in every prior sentence, and most likely the ones to follow, I present to you:

Homemade Granola

This is the best. By showing you these photos, I hope to convince you that you will never want to purchase granola again. I grew up going to family camp in Canada every summer, and this was one of their items on the breakfast table. I've never stopped making it! This recipe is extremely versatile, so you can add in whatever suits your fancy. (*my additions, aside from the original recipe.)

1 c. coconut
4 c. rolled oats
1 c. sunflower seeds (raw)
1/4-1/2 c. sesame seeds
1 c. chopped peanuts
1 c. honey
1/2 c. vegetable oil
1 T. cinnamon
3/4 c. pumpkin seeds (raw)
* optional 1 c. dried fruit, handful of sliced almonds, small handful of flax seeds. (If you add these last two ingredients, use a tad bit more honey.)

Mix all the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Measure the honey, oil, and cinnamon into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Pour over dry ingredients and mix thoroughly. Spread on two cookie sheets. Bake at 325 degrees for approximately 30 minutes, stirring every ten minutes. Allow granola to cool then break into chunks. *Optional adding of dried fruit.

A taste for meaning

Today I encourage you to abandon the meaningless.

“Once you live a good story, you get a taste for a kind of meaning in life, and you can’t go back to being normal; you can’t go back to meaningless scenes stitched together by the forgettable thread of wasted time” (Donald Miller, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years).

A work of vulnerability: brought by my sister

"The Children is basically a reverse of our (Re)Collection show. I am installing old photographs of my siblings and I on the street. Most people won’t even darken the doorway of a gallery, let alone go in. My objective is to exhibit to the biggest audience possible. It was hard, leaving something so personal in a place where I had absolutely no control over the outcome. But here lies the beauty, I can’t control how people receive The Children. And I don’t want to."

The top photo is of Jenny, the creator of this work, and the bottom photo is of my brother and I. If you would like to check out more of Jenny's work, visit her website here, and her blog, here. For more commentary on the project, visit the blog posts here and here.

Is this true for you? Typically people walk right by galleries. How do you feel about a gallery coming to you instead of you making the choice to go into the gallery? What would your response be if you saw these photos on your way to work?  

Highs and Lows

Let's do highs and lows. We're not just talking about five's, friends.

 Highs

-Getting excited about Jesus.

-Going into Seattle tonight to spend time with friends from the streets.

-Planning a road trip to visit a dear friend over spring break.

-Watching a younger sister in her high school musical last night. She played the enchantress and a spoon for Beauty and the Beast. (By far the prettiest spoon I ever did see!)

-Orange juice. Oranges. And orange flavored lollipops.

-Tom the turkey is dying. I know this sounds like it should be on my 'lows' list, but this turkey is a pain. He has meds and is a kajillian years old and wobbles and gobbles when he feels threatened. I guess he's alright for the most part, but really, a turkey with medicine? It's a bit peculiar.    

-Discovering the best Thai restaurant two miles away from home. Our bank account is guaranteed to plummet. Massaman curry, oh how you make my taste-buds dance.

-New art projects. Expect to see a stenciled door soon. Stenciled, yes.

-A family friend gave us a bread machine. Mold scent, I declare you GONE in the name of fresh baked buns! 

Lows 

-Our heater went out. It's okay though, we found a new one in the barn. From the loft. ...I have no idea why there was a heater in the loft. There is hay in the loft. It's a wooded barn. These things don't add up.

-Dying flowers.

-3:00am papers. Sleep debt, what up.

What are your highs and lows this week?

Seven months of marriage

It's been seven months since THIS happened.

A few highlights of marriage below:

-Baking a new batch of granola for my love on Sunday mornings. I will post this recipe. Promise!

-Being able to go anywhere and do anything whenever we want. (i.e. getting a nose ring 11 o'clock at night before school, bike riding around town in rain storms, midnight grocery shopping for honeycombs, last-minute decisions to catch the final ferry to go adventuring, etc) All these include making excessive amounts of coffee to bring along. A must.

-Never saying good-bye.

-Watching God provide more than we need. 2 Corinthians 9:8, what what!

-Playing Bananagrams at every cafe we sip tea in. (Check this game out if it doesn't already exist in your life. It's worth it.)

-Making fresh squeezed orange juice every.single.day.

-Talking about everything and anything. Communication is so vital.

-Going to school together. And eating meals together. And working on a farm together.  

-Decorating our new home and making decisions like adults do.

 Life is good. God is good. And even in trials and conflicts, marriage is tough but worth every moment.     

Let this be encouragement today

via
"...There is no pit so deep that He is not deeper still."  

The Hiding Place, Corrie ten Boom

Betsie, one of the most forgiving and compassionate individuals I have ever read about, spoke these words in Ravensbrück concentration camp as she was on the floor dying. I hope you believe her words, they have been so true in my life! There is truly nothing better than to love and be loved by someone who cares for us more than we comprehend. If you want to know more about Jesus, I am open to any questions. If you need prayer, I would love to pray for you.
katie10cupsofchai@live.com

   

Let the more loving one be me

"If equal affection cannot be, let the more loving one be me." W.H. Auden's literary gem, 'The More Loving One', has ushered in a whole new paradigm. If this could be the stump we stand on with everyone we meet, day in and day out, imagine what type of change would wreak. Love your neighbor? Love him more! Don't love your neighbor? I pose this challenge to to you. Let the more loving one be me.

Tea in Thailand

“If there is any secret to this life I live, this is it: the sound of what cannot be seen sings within everything that can. And there is nothing more to it than that.” -Brian Andreas